Quote For The Day

“This tournament has a great champion, like Nikolay. He worked hard to beat every player here this week. So maybe I have to improve a little bit the little things. But he played much better than me, and that's it. He played unbelievable tennis. He beat me in a good way. He's very strong. I never beat him on hard court or indoors. He's very fast. He plays like PlayStation. He runs down everything. It is very difficult to hit winners. But I think he is a great champion. Nobody knows how we can beat him.”--Juan Martin del Potro

World Tour Champions

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Nikolay Davydenko of Russia holds the trophy as he celebrates winning the men's singles final match against Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina during the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena on November 29, 2009 in London, England.

::

He beat the world No's 1, 2 and 34, as well as the US Open champ in the final. Nice work if you can get it.

::


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Bob Bryan of USA and Mike Bryan hold the trophy as they celebrate winning the men's doubles final match against Max Mirnyi of Belarus and Andy Ram of Israel during the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena on November 29, 2009 in London, England. With the title, the twins clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking for the fifth time in their storied career.

World Tour Finals Final

Reuters/Getty

The one who defeated Roger Federer en route to this final should take the title.

Oh, wait. They both did that.

Okay. So. The one who returns serve most aggressively should take the title. Nikolay Davydenko, who returns to his second year-end final in a row, is capable of serving into the corners when you least expect him. But Juan Martín del Potro won't be as frustrated by the Russian's delivery as he was by the Swede's so he should find himself with more looks to break through. But Kolya returns serve about as well as anyone, leads their head-to-head 2-1 with both victories on indoor hard courts, and gave the reigning US Open champion quite a shellacking at this event last year. Still, the Tower of Tandil is a different player now than he was a year ago.

I've no doubt both of them can hoist the tour's final 2009 trophy, so I'll take another third-set breaker, a tub of popcorn, and may the most composed man win.

World Tour Semifinals Preview

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Group A has the advantage. Roger Federer and Juan Martín del Potro had a day off, Robin Soderling and Nikolay Davydenko did not.

The Russian has the shortest turnaround and the worst record of all against his opponent. I still don't understand why Kolya hasn't been able to defeat the world No. 1 even once. They have played tight sets, but Kolya always manages to find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I'm not sure Raja will be in any mood to even allow him to get close today. I'll be surprised if the Swiss doesn't win in straights.


Getty

Getty

I, for one, am going to thoroughly enjoy watching the Rude Power boys duke it out. They've split their only two meetings with the Argentinean winning their only match in 2009. But that was way back in Auckland, which seems like a lifetime ago. The Swede won a set last night to avoid facing Raja in this round, so let's see what he has left to bring against del Potro. I see a third set breaker. Bring on the popcorn.

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Day 7 - Semifinals Order Of Play

Day Session: 12.30 pm GMT (7.30 am ET)

Mirnyi/Ram vs. Cermak/Mertinak

Followed by
[1] Roger Federer vs. [6] Nikolay Davydenko

Night Session: 7 pm GMT (2 pm ET)

Bhupathi/Knowles vs. Bryan/Bryan

Followed by
[8] Robin Söderling vs. [5] Juan Martín del Potro

There should be no night session for the semifinals. In both singles and doubles, it gives the day-session winners an advantage they don't need heading into the finals tomorrow.

Face Of The Day

Reuters

Novak Djokovic of Serbia strums his racquet face like a guitar after winning his ATP World Tour Finals tennis match at the 02 Arena against Rafael Nadal of Spain in London November 27, 2009. It wasn't enough. The defending champion was eliminated from the event a few minutes ago.

World Tour Finals Day 6

Reuters

Argentina and Manchester City soccer player Carlos Tevez watches compatriot Juan Martín Del Potro take on Switzerland's Roger Federer during their ATP World Tour Finals tennis match at the 02 Arena in London November 26, 2009.

::

Day 6 Round Robin Order Of Play

Day Session: 12.30 pm GMT (7.30 am ET)

Dlouhy/Paes vs. Mirnyi/Ram

Followed by
[2] Rafael Nadal vs. [3] Novak Djokovic

Rafa is playing for pride. And his No. 2 ranking. If Djoke wins the title, he can replace the Spaniard as second best. Djoke can lose the match and still advance, but he'll need Kolya to lose as well.

I think.

Night Session: 7 pm GMT (2 pm ET)

Bryan/Bryan vs. Kubot/Marach

Followed by
[6] Nikoloay Davydenko vs. [8] Robin Söderling

Can Andy Roddick's substitute win the title as he did in 2005? Stay tuned.

Yesterday's Results


Reuters

Group A Singles
A Murray (GBR) d F Verdasco (ESP) 64 67(4) 76(3)
J Del Potro (ARG) d R Federer (SUI) 62 67(5) 63

Matches don't get much tighter than these.

If you're a fan of Murray, you're not coming up from under today. First time ever a player is eliminated in a round robin tiebreak decided by number of games won.

Guess he had a brutal draw after all.

Group A Doubles
D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d M Bhupathi (IND) / M Knowles (BAH) 64 76(9)
F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) d M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) 64 64

Group A Final Standings

Singles
(1) Roger Federer 2-1 - Wins group with 44-40 games record
(5) Juan Martin del Potro 2-1 - Advances with a 45-43 record

(4) Andy Murray 2-1 - Eliminated by one game with 44-43 record
(7) Fernando Verdasco 0-3 - Eliminated after loss to Murray

Doubles
(3) Mahesh Bhupati/Mark Knowles 2-1
(5) Frantisek Cermak/Michal Mertinak 2-1

(8) Mariusz Fyrstenberg/Marcin Matkowski 1-2
(1) Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjic 1-2

World Tour Finals Day 5

Happy Thanksgiving to those who observe it today.

::

Raja has clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking, but he could still be eliminated if the US Open champion defeats him in straight sets and if the Scot defeats the Spaniard in straights. At least that's what Jimmy Arias said yesterday.


Reuters

Round Robin Day 5 Order Of Play

Center Court - 12:30 PM Start

Nestor/Zimonjic vs. Bhupathi/Knowles

Followed By
[4] Andy Murray vs. [7] Fernando Verdasco

At 7pm
Cermak/Mertinak vs Fyrstenberg/Matkowski

Followed By
[1] Roger Federer vs. [5] Juan Martín del Potro

Yesterday's Results


Reuters

Group B Singles
R Soderling (SWE) d N Djokovic (SRB) 76(5) 61
N Davydenko (RUS) d R Nadal (ESP) 61 76(4)

Robin played well, but Djoke was beyond tired. The second set was a capitulation. The more the lithe Serb misfired, the better the lumbering Swede scrambled about the court.

Kolya never really let Rafa in the match and when he did, the former world No. 1 didn't really know what to make of the opportunity. The first man eliminated (?), Rafa can return to Mallorca and start getting ready for next season. Yeah. I'm suggesting he skip Davis Cup.

Group B Doubles
B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) d L Dlouhy (CZE) / L Paes (IND) 63 64
L Kubot (POL) / O Marach (AUT) d M Mirnyi (BLR) / A Ram (ISR) 46 64 16-14 - saved 3 M.P.

Quote For The Day

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"It's great. Top eight, top nine guys in the world here. I mean, I won two matches in straight sets against the World No. 2 and No. 3. I couldn't have asked for anything more. So far I'm enjoying it a lot. But there's still at least two more matches to go. I hope to do really well in those two, as well."--Robin Söderling, on becoming the first player to qualify for the semifinals

World Tour Finals Day 4

AP

U.S.'s Andy Roddick, left, with Chief Executive Officer of Lacoste, Christophe Chenut after he announced his renewal of his sponsoring contract with Lacoste in a press conference during the ATP World Tour Finals tennis match at the 02 Arena in London, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009. Roddick qualified for but pulled out of the ATP World Tour Finals due to an injury.

::

Round Robin Day 4 Order Of Play

Center Court - 12:30 PM Start

Kubot/Marach vs Mirnyi/Ram

Followed By
[3]Novak Djokovic vs. [8]Robin Söderling

At 7pm
Bryan/Bryan vs. Dlouhy/Paes

Followed By
[2]Rafael Nadal vs. [6]Nikolay Davydenko

Yesterday's Results

Group A Singles
R Federer (SUI) d A Murray (GBR) 36 63 61
J del Potro (ARG) d F Verdasco (ESP) 64 36 76(1)

Raja finally beat the Scot from a set down and secured the year-end No. 1 ranking. He also proved that he wasn't exactly showing his ass when he claimed that the outcome of this match-up depends more on him than his opponent. The encounter featured some great shotmaking but I imagine the final set wouldn't have been so lopsided if Murray wasn't in such visible physical discomfort.

The US Open champ is still alive.


AP

Czech Republuc's Frantisek Cermak, left, and Slovakia's Michal Mertinak celebrate after winning their ATP World Tour Finals tennis match against Canada's Daniel Nestor and Serbia's Nenad Zimonjic at the O2 Arena in London, Tuesday Nov. 24, 2009.

Group A Doubles
F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) d D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) 63 64
M Bhupathi (IND) / M Knowles (BAH) d M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) 36 63 10-7

World Tour Finals Day 3

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Andy Roddick of USA watches the men's singles first round match between Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Nikolay Davydenko of Russia during the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena on November 23, 2009 in London, England.

from andyroddick on twitter: its an unreal event that has been put together at the O2.... i really miss playing but it was good being around the energy of it again

::

Round Robin Day 3 Order of Play

Centre Court – start 12:30 pm

Bhupathi/Knowles vs. Fyrstenberg/Matkowski

Not Before 2:15 pm
[5] J del Potro (ARG) vs [7] F Verdasco (ESP)

At 7:00 pm
Nestor/Zimonjic vs. Cermak/Mertinak

Not Before 8:45 pm
[1] R Federer (SUI) vs. [4] A Murray (GBR)

Yesterday's Results


Getty

Serbia's Novak Djokovic, right, swaps shirts with Russia's Nikolay Davydenko, left, after their ATP World Tour Finals tennis match at the O2 Arena in London, Monday Nov. 23, 2009.

Group B Singles
R Söderling (SWE) d R Nadal (ESP) 64 64
N Djokovic (SRB) d N Davydenko (RUS) 36 64 75

As I said in the comments, Rafa is barely on the court these days. I do enjoy Söderling's "rude power" and wouldn't mind seeing him doing well here but I don't think he's going to win another match.

Djoke and Kolya really know how to turn a single match into three. Some of those games were 15 minutes. Got a bit too nervy for me at the end, but it was a well-fought war.

Group B Doubles
M Mirnyi (BLR) / A Ram (BLR) d B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) 64 64
L Kubot (POL) / O Marach (AUT) d L Dlouhy (CZE) / L Paes (IND) 63 76(3)

World Tour Finals Day 2

AP

A spectator cheers on Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro during the ATP World Tour Finals tennis match against Britain's Andy Murray at the 02 Arena in London, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009.

::

Today is the rematch between Rafa and Robin, their first since the earthquake in Paris.

Who's taking it?

Round Robin Day 2 Order Of Play

[2] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) vs [7] M Mirnyi (BLR) / A Ram (ISR)

Not Before 2:15 pm
[2] R Nadal (ESP) vs [8] R Soderling (SWE)

At 7:00 pm
[4] L Dlouhy (CZE) / L Paes (IND) vs L Kubot (POL) / O Marach (AUT)

Not Before 8:45 pm
[3] N Djokovic vs [6] N Davydenko (RUS)

Yesterday's Results

Group A Singles
A Murray (GBR) d JM del Potro (ARG) 63 36 62
R Federer (SUI) d F Verdasco (ESP) 46 75 61

Group A Doubles
M Fyrstenberg (POL) /M Matkowski (POL) d D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) 64 64
M Bhupathi (IND) / M Knowles (BAH) d F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) 63 63

World Tour Finals Day 1

AP

Tennis players, from left, Fernando Verdasco, Juan Martin del Potro, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Nikolay Davydenko and Robin Soderling, pose for a photograph alongside a London bus in Westminster, London Friday Nov. 20 2009.

::

Who's jaded? Who's injured? Who's ready to play lights out tennis and take this trophy undefeated? The inaugural ATP World Tour Finals, formerly the Masters Cup, will be contested in East London beginning today before sold-out crowds.

Round Robin Day 1 Order Of Play

Centre Court – start 12:30 pm

[1] D Nestor (CAN / N Zimonjic (SRB) vs [8] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL)

Not Before 2:15 pm
[4] A Murray (GBR) vs [5] J del Potro (ARG)

The US Open champion has a bum knee or back or shoulder or something. The local favorite ought to prevail in straights.


Getty

At 7:00 pm
[3] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Knowles (BAH) vs [5] F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK)

Not Before 8:45 pm
[1] R Federer (SUI) vs [7] F Verdasco (ESP)

The Australian Open runnerup ought to handle his injured opponent in short order.

Here's hoping the gimpy players have something to trouble the top dogs with.


Getty

Yes. That's right. Night matches in London. Joy of joys.

Final Draw

Getty

The draws for the World Tour Finals were completed early today.

Singles

Group A
Roger Federer (SUI)
Andy Murray (GBR)
Juan Martin del Potro (ARG)
Fernando Verdasco (ESP)

Group B
Rafael Nadal (ESP)
Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)
Robin Soderling (SWE)

Group A is more injured than Group B so the top two seeds should get through without much fuss. The Russian could play spoiler in Group B.

::

Doubles

Group A
Daniel Nestor - Nenad Zimonjic
Mahesh Bhupathi - Mark Knowles
Frantisek Cermak - Michal Mertinak
Mariusz Fyrstenberg - Marcin Matkowski

Group B
Bob Bryan - Mike Bryan
Lukas Dlouhy - Leander Paes
Lukasz Kubot - Oliver Marach
Max Mirnyi - Andy Ram

Andy Roddick Withdraws From London

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Andy Roddick of the United States fields questions from the media at a press conference after retiring from his match against Stanilas Wawrinka of Switzerland during the 2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 at Qi Zhong Tennis Centre on October 13, 2009 in Shanghai, China.

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Neil Harman of the Times Online has reported that Roddick has withdrawn from the World Tour Finals with a knee injury.

Andy Roddick, who departed from London in July on a wave of appreciation for the way he handled defeat in one of the most memorable Wimbledon finals in the event's history, has lost his battle to be fit to perform in the first staging of the Barclays ATP World Tour finals in the capital.

The American world No.6 has withdrawn from the eight-man extravaganza - which starts on Sunday at the 02 Arena in south-east London - having been unable to overcome the knee injury that forced him to pull up lame against Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland in his opening round of the Shanghai Masters last month. It had been feared for some days that the 27-year-old would not have enough time to recover sufficiently to give his all and he had to bow to the inevitable today.

Swede Robin Söderling will replace him and France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will be first alternate.

Quote For The Day

"The reaction I received from fans after the Wimbledon final was something I will never forget. I've always had great support in London and I'm looking forward to being back there in November. I'm sure it will be a fantastic event,"--Andy Roddick, after securing his spot in the ATP World Tour Finals for the seventh consecutive year.

Let's Hear It For The Boys

Play is underway. Who will win?

At The Net

That's where Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat James Blake today. Quite a display of all-court prowess. Can he be the first Frenchman to win in Bercy since Sebastien Grosjean in 2001 and qualify for Shanghai in the process? He'll have to topple David Nalbandian, the defending champ, who had a rough time against that pesky Nikolay Davydenko in the other semifinal.

Who you got for the title?

Roddick Qualifies for Shanghai

We slam him when he deserves it, but Andy Roddick has qualified for his sixth consecutive Masters Cup, beating one of the season's hottest players in Gilles Simon to do it.

Idle Chit Chat - Post Masters Cup Edition

by Savannah

A Different View of the TMC

Nadal & Ferrer Battle Everyday, Roddick & Blake Eat & Sleep Together
13 November 2007 15:01:31

It’s been a sort of custom for ATP players to form their cliques among themselves. The arrogant Americans and the relaxed Spaniards have became two of the biggest cliques. The Americans will joke around while warming up, while the Spaniards love to use PS2 to warm up.

Nadal told the media that he specially brought PS2 along this time, this machine has accompanied him all around the world these past few years and he has made a number of new friends. “As long as Ferrer is in the same tournament with me, we will stay together and we will have a game after our matches. What do we play? Of course it’s football. We don’t talk football nor play football but everything’s clear after we sit down and played a few rounds on PS2."

As they are both Spaniards, both Nadal and Ferrer became best friends early on as they were ostracized for not being able to communicate in English. Both their English are so-so and their introverted characters made them lazy to initiate conversations with others, so cooping up in their hotel rooms playing video games became their favourite pastime. Nadal further added that veteran Moya will join in if he is in a good mood. This has became a tradition among the Spanish sportsmen.

However, the united Spaniards have a tough problem; who is better at playstation football has long became a debatable question among themselves. Ferrer claimed he’s the best and defeating Nadal is as easy as cutting vegetables; Nadal said Ferrer has never defeated him before. Guess there will never be a conclusion on who is the better between the two of them.

Note: I couldn't find the Roddick/Blake references. I'm sure that the headline doesn't mean what it appears to mean. This is not a slash forum.

Original Article in Chinese

In The Eyes Of The Chauffeurs: Nadal’s A Good Kid, Djokovic Very Well-mannered

13 November 2007 11:31

They are up close and personal with the players…..

Watching the television broadcast, you may be a dozen kilometers or even ten thousand kilometers away from the ATP Masters Cup players while you may only be 50 metres away from the ATP Masters Cup players in the stadium. But there are groups of people whom can be up close and personal with the players everyday; chauffeurs, chefs, physiotherapists, ball-kids……. You may hardly pay any attention to them but it is precisely the work of these groups of hardworking people whom are safeguarding the basic necessities and daily lives of the players. From a certain angle, they are actually the players’ left hand and right hand people in Shanghai. They can be very close or very far to the players.....

Journalist: Zhang Wei
Subject: Xiao Chen (alias)
Occupation: Chef
Working Hours: 8am to 10pm or later

30 "Catties" In 3 Days
Note: I assume that by "catties" they mean trays or plates or something other than felines.

Italian Pasta
For the past few days, Xiao Chen’s biological clock has been a little erratic, from the 9 to 5 in the hotel to late nights at the stadium, he feels that he has been very forgetful. Since last Sunday, together with dozens of chefs from the Hilton Hotel, they have been providing food for the players and 2,000 VIPs.

“We have been cooking in the big tents all day long, let alone the matches, I don’t even know how the players look like. We have to guarantee piping hot food to be delivered to the players within 20 minutes for breakfast to dinner and even additional meals.” According to the Hilton Hotel’s requests, each kitchen has to provide 20 different types of dishes for the players and VIPs everyday. The only difference between the players and VIPs is, the former chooses from the menus while the latter are buffet style. This has also decided that Xiao Chen and his colleagues are unable to leave their working positions except for their normal rest.

“We have started work the day before the first match start as the players are already training and they require meals.” Xiao Chen added that the most popular food among the players are Italian pasta, chicken, salads, sandwiches, bananas and cheese.

“They ate up 30 catties of Italian pasta in 3 days and this is what we expected, so we have to stock up within 2 hours. We are running out of supplies based on their consumption.” Xiao Chen said that actually the players’ meals quantity are not big, but in order to maintain their physical ability, they have to eat frequently. “The players also know that Chinese delicacies are much more delicious than Western delicacies but they are still used to having Western food before matches and only when they have completed their matches, they are able to relax and have a hot plate dish or thick soya sauce Chinese meal.”

Subject: Liao Zheng (alias)
Occupation: Chauffeur
Working Hours: 24/7


Strange If The Players Are Not Late

About 15 Mercedes Benz C305 are displayed at the players’ entrance, chauffeurs in groups of 2 or 3 will stand under the hot sun or sit at the lounge to watch the matches. Liao Zheng took a pail of water to clean the car while the player was training. “He needs the car urgently during noon and I did not even have time to have my breakfast, not to mention washing the car. Now that they are training, I am making full use of the time to clean the car.” He never looked up while mumbling and gesturing at the same time as if afraid of any time delay.

For this year’s Shanghai Masters Cup, Liao Zheng and his colleagues are responsible for chauffeuring the players in Mercedes Benz C350 and are on standby 24/7. Liao Zheng has been doing this job for the 2nd year and this year he chose to chauffeur Doubles players instead of any famous ATP single players. “You don’t know but it’s very stressful, you have to chauffeur the players and are also responsible for their WAGs. There’s no rest at all.” Liao Zheng recalled, “The players have to attend commercial events before the tournament starts. I have to drive to and fro after the tournament starts. When the tournament is coming to an end, the WAGs will be busy shopping. I’m not exaggerating to say that my daily meals last year were bread.”

So, the experienced Liao Zheng this year chose to serve a pair of unknown doubles players instead. “The foreigners are very polite and very easily satisfied. They are very happy if you bring them to the temple or New World. They go to this 2 places year after year.”

Liao Zheng added that his colleagues will also gossip about their “passengers” in private, eg. Nadal obeys his uncle, a typical good kid, his manager is also Nalbandian’s manager; Djokovic is not as fierce as he looks, he’s very well-mannered and say thank you… When asked what is the common characteristic of the players? Liao Zheng blurted out, “Not punctual, they said they want to use the car at 10 but they will show up earliest at 11. It will be strange if they are punctual. Are you a reporter? I won’t say anymore. My superior has ordered that we are not supposed to talk to strangers. I will lose my rice bowl if I continue.”

SINA news China

Translations provided by Veyonce.

Wrap Up and Commentary on the TMC Shanghai 2007

For Craig's wrap-up of the 2007 Masters Cup, click here.

Martina Hingis News

Her ranking has been removed from the WTA official site.
Also found this gem on Off The Baseline



Exhibitions - ATP

Roger Federer vs Pete Sampras in Seoul



Rafael Nadal vs Richard Gasquet in Kuala Lumpur

Does anyone think they've paid Pete enough to lose to Roger?

Couple Alerts:


Serena is reported by two gossip sites and Page Six to be dating the rapper known as Common (real name Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. (born March 13, 1972). She's in his latest video which features Alicia Keys and Kerry Washington as well. Okay all you Astrology buffs. A Pisces man and a Libra woman. That's right, drag out your editions of "Linda Goodman's Love Signs" and see if this is a match made in heaven or would be better as a drive by.

• Okay was I the only one to notice that ROCK Mirka was wearing on the third finger of her left hand?! I was almost blinded by it and I was watching half a world away in my living room. Come on you Roger fans. Get to steppin'. Whazzup?!!!!

Serious Stuff

More on Nikolay's problems. I thought vengeance was a dish best served cold?

There has always been a suspicion, given Nikolay Davydenko's personal attack in April on Etienne de Villiers, the chief executive of the ATP, accusing him of incompetence, that the Russian has been a marked man. The world No4 remains under investigation after a match he was involved in during August in Poland was the subject of irregular betting patterns, but yesterday he won his appeal against a £1,000 fine for allegedly not trying hard enough during a defeat by Croatia's Marin Cilic in St Petersburg last month.

More HERE

Gold and Silver Exemptions for 2008 - WTA

Thanks to "Spiceboy" for posting the 2008 GOLD EXEMPT LIST

1. Henin
2. Sharapova
3. Jankovic

4. S. Williams*
5. Kuznetsova**
6. Ivanovic

7. Chakvetadze
8. V. Williams
9. Mauresmo
10. Petrova

11. Hantuchova
12. Bartoli
13. Hingis +

14. Vaidisova
15. Schnyder
16. Dementieva
17. Peer
18. Safina
19. Golovin
20. Bammer
20. Dulko (WC)
20. Sugiyama (WC)

Gold Exempt Emeritus: Lindsay Davenport

*S.Williams is #4 in Americas and Europe region
**Kuznetsova is #4 in Asia Pacific region

+ As of the WTA Tour ranking on the Monday after the US Open, September 10, 2007


2008 SILVER EXEMPT LIST

21. A. Bondarenko
22. Safarova
23. Szavay
24. Srebotnik
25. Schiavone
26. Li
27. Mirza
28. Pierce (SR 27)
29. Garbin
30. Zvonareva

31. A.Radwanska
32. Medina Garrigues
33. Krajicek
34. Santangelo
35. Kirilenko
36. Stosur
37. Danilidou
38. Azarenka
39. Paszek
40. Razzano
41. Vakulenko
42. Loit
43. Muller
44. Dushevina
45. K. Bondarenko
46. Jackson (SR 46)
47. Tu
48. Shaughnessy
49. Peng
50. Poutchkova
50. Pennetta (WC)
50. Vesnina (WC)

Odds and Ends

Donald Young and Steve Darcis are among those younger guns of the ATP who have played their way into the top 100 in time for the Australian Open.

Agnes Szavay is reported to be playing an exhibition match soon. I hope this means her back problems are better and that we'll see more of her in 2008.

The biggest bandwagons of 2007 have to be the ones featuring Novak Djokovic, David Nalbandian and David Ferrer. All three men secured wins over the top dogs after Wimbledon.

Most disappointing year on the WTA side has to go to Maria Sharapova. People jumped through hoops and did other gymnastic moves to try and secure her at least one slam this year and it didn't happen. She's still in the top ten though and unless everyone starts inhaling the baseline she'll end next year right about where she is now. I don't think Sveta will hold onto her number two ranking unless she out Jelena's Jelena.

Rafa is not going to make the South American swing in 2008 much to the disappointment of the TD's in Mexico and Buenos Aires. The Spanish press is reporting that he'll play Rotterdam and Dubai followed by Indian Wells and the the Davis Cup tie in Peru. Smart move on his part.

Funny how David Nalbandian is simply "Dahveed" now isn't it?

Some Final Thoughts

I need an explanation. Why is it other fandoms suffer through slams of their idol while fans of Roger Federer seem to do what I call swarming and proceed to give a verbal beat down to anyone who dares point out some of their FedGod's faults? Ask any fan of Andy Roddick for example what they've had to grin and bear over the years and you get an idea of what I'm talking about. Many of us Rafa fans get very upset by the slurs directed against him and we have forums to vent our anger but I don't see the swarming I see by Roger's fans. What about fans of Lleyton Hewitt? Martina Hingis? Justine Henin? Lleyton is regularly voted most hated. Justine has so many nicknames that could be considered slanderous it's not funny. And Martina, formerly famous for the tongue that knew no limits is now going to be the butt of baseline jokes the rest of her life.

And yet I don't see the swarming by their fans.

Dígame. Why is Roger considered above criticism when he so often leaves himself open to it? Sure he's answering the questions the reporters are asking him but he doesn't endear himself to everyone when he makes comments like the following made after his TMC match against Andy Roddick. I'm including the question for what will be obvious reasons.

Q. Watching last night's match against Andy, one was tempted to conclude he really lacks the tools and variety to challenge you, at least at the moment. If you compare tonight's match with yesterday's match, it's a similar pattern. When you're playing like this, are there any answers to your game you see on the horizon in the men's game? Is there any difference between the challenge you felt in the course of the match between tonight and last night?

ROGER FEDERER: Well, look, it's always been my big strength. Once I get on a roll it's hard to stop me. It's always been like this.

Even in my young days, you know, as a junior, I was always so talented. Back then I didn't work hard enough yet to put it all together, you know, for, I don't know, let's say six games or, you know, two sets or something. Now I can. Now I can even pull it even through even longer and against the best in the world. I've beaten Rafa before 6-Love in a set. I've beaten the best very convincingly. But for me it's great to do it over and over again, you know, over many months, many years.

When it happens again for me, it's not as big of a surprise because this is why I work my tail off basically. That it all pays off in the end, it seems it's paying off again, you know, with my good preparation, my good scheduling. It's always nice when you can beat guys like Andy or Rafa, obviously.

I have no problem with most of what he says here except for that one highlighted phrase. He's smart enough to know that line isn't necessary. All he had to say was that he learned to pace himself and focus on his strengths and everything else is okay.

Then there was this gem.
Q. How would you coach someone to beat Roger Federer?

A.What would you say? "Don't even try, pal," he said with a grin. "It's going to be really, really difficult, you know. You're probably not going to win, but you can always try. I'm just kidding. I don't know. I'm not a coach just yet. I'm still a player, so I won't answer."

Then there's this classic from 2005:

No Trouble for Federer as He Cruises Into Semifinals

But Federer does not expect Hewitt to take the risk of radically changing his counterpunching baseline game. "He could, you know," Federer said. "But then again, he could even run into the knife more brutally."

Please keep in mind I'm just asking the question Roger fans. With all his PR savvy and IMG support shouldn't someone tell him to STFU and not take the bait reporters throw at him? And what would you all say if someone else said the exact same things and was not named Roger Federer?

Cup Cake

Roger Federer had his cake and ate it too. He won his fourth Masters Cup with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 drubbing of event surprise David Ferrer in a match that lasted just over ninety minutes.

The outcome was never in doubt. Despite Ferrer's play this week, I wrote this somewhere else yesterday.

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but even with how well David has played at this event, and he's played superb tennis, I can't see him winning more than four games a set in a straight-set loss.

He doesn't tend to show up for Fed.

I hope I'm wrong.

As for Raja, he'll be determined to assert his dominance and end David's run, reminding the world that he's still top dog.

I wrote somewhere else that the day this David beats Goliath, I would stop writing.

Ferrer was most definitely nervous at the start of the match. He certainly looked nervous. Missing shots he'd make in his sleep meant he was under some kind of pressure, no? He finished the match with an uncharacterstic 38 unforced errors.

Federer was most definitely playing marvelous tennis. Nothing like a massacre of Andy Roddick to restore his confidence. After that victory, Raja never looked back. Rafael Nadal didn't win as many games as Andy did, and in the first two sets, neither did David.

Rafa was more of a mental challenge, though, because of their record. But against David, whom he knew he could beat in his sleep, he was in full flight from the get go. Ferrer could't control Federer's slice and couldn't return his serve.

A Swiss flag said, "Shhhh! Genius at work." Jason Goodall said it's relatively easy to look like a genius when you know where all the balls are coming. Ferrer's tendency to hammer inside out forehands into the corner allowed Raja to camp out in the ad court and control play with his backhand, which was on fire.

He also served smartly, sending most of his first deliveries in the ad court up the T because Ferrer's backhand return is better from that side. Some of the aces Raja hit were even slow. David made almost no attempt to return them.

Make no mistake, Ferrer has gotten mentally tougher and is handling his business much better on the court. His tennis this week has been the best he's ever played (though his run in Tokyo was marvelous as well), but Federer's variety doesn't allow Ferrer to play his game at all.

I've always seen this matchup like the Federer-Hewitt matchup after Federer turned it around. Raja just has too many knives to slice the cake that Ferrer brings to the table. Raja spread the icing with a forehand winner that left David stranded in no-man's land to seal the victory in an hour and 38 minutes. Two minutes longer than his demolition of James Blake last year.

Ferrer's run to the finals moves him up to a career-high ranking of No. 5 in the world. With two Spaniards ending the year in the Top 5 for the first time since I can remember, 2007 wasn't only another great year for Raja but it was also a great year for Spanish tennis.