TENNIS in DEPTH.

Two of the UK’s top sporting heroes England international footballer, David Beckham, and Britain’s top tennis player, Andy Murray, took centre stage at Wembley Stadium, to mark the launch of Malaria No More UK – a not-for-profit organisation, committed to ending suffering and death caused by malaria, a preventable disease. The event took place on the same day as their meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown at No. 10 Downing Street.

Malaria threatens half of the world’s population and those most vulnerable are pregnant women and children. In Africa, malaria kills one child every 30 seconds; it kills more children under five than any other single disease.

But malaria is preventable and treatable. One of the most effective means of stopping suffering and death from malaria is to invest in preventative measures now. Blanketing Africa with mosquito nets is one of the most simple and effective ways to help prevent the spread of malaria and yields life-saving results. In recent years countries such as Rwanda, Ethiopia and Eritrea have successfully used bed nets, insecticides and access to medicines to cut malaria deaths by over 50%.

Beckham and Murray are members of the Malaria No More UK Leadership Council and played against one another at the world famous Wembley Stadium for a-once-in-a-lifetime sporting moment1. They played football tennis, normal tennis, and ‘keepie uppies’ with footballs and tennis balls over the world’s longest tennis net spanning 68 metres, produced out of blue mosquito net fabric. They moved onto football and took turns to take free kicks into the first ever blue mosquito goal net. While Andy passed on a few tennis tips to David, David let Andy into a few secrets on how to take the perfect free kick. The games symbolised the urgent need for bed nets for those who die from malaria.

Together these two sporting heroes are campaigning to raise awareness about malaria, starting with the simple message that for just £5 a bed net can be bought, transported and delivered to a family in Africa, so protecting a mother and child or brother and sister against malaria for up to five years. The ultimate goal: to ensure all those at risk of malaria in Africa have access to a bed net by the end of 2010.

David Beckham says: “By creating awareness we can really make a difference. Days like today are so important. It’s a real honour and a privilege for both Andy and me to get behind Malaria No More. When I went over to Sierra Leone as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, I saw the devastation that many diseases cause, but malaria is the biggest single killer for children under five. The statistics are really frightening.”

Andy Murray says: “It’s great that we’re here to help with the campaign and make a difference. Malaria is preventable. The suffering and deaths it causes are so unnecessary especially because it is so cheap to make a difference – just £5 to protect a family for up to five years.”

Sarah Kline, Executive Director, Malaria No More UK says: “We are thrilled that David and Andy have so generously given up their time to raise awareness about malaria. They are two of the world’s biggest names in sport and it is fantastic that they want to help us end suffering and deaths from malaria.”

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In 2009, Nadal and Murray have accumulated the most points in nearly four months of action (as of Apr. 20) with both players leading the ATP World Tour with three titles and a 29-3 match record. Here’s a look at the Top 5 players based on 2009 results only:

This points chart is interesting as it shows who is ‘hot’ in real time. The ATP rankings are based on a 12 month period and not 4 months, but is easy to see that the competition for the #2 behind Nadal is very close. Roddick is not expected to accumulate any points during the clay court season which will mean that Federer will not be passed by the American. However it is quite conceivable that Federer will be ousted from his #2 spot by either Murray or Djokovic.

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Dinara Safina was left off the Russian team that will face Italy in the Fed Cup semifinals on the same day she took over as the world’s top-ranked women’s tennis player.

Russia will be represented by Vera Zvonareva, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova and Anna Chakvetadze, the International Tennis Federation announced Monday. The Russians, who have won four of the last five Fed Cup titles, play at Italy this weekend on outdoor clay in Castellaneta Marina.

In the other best-of-five semifinal series, the United States will visit the Czech Republic.

Former No. 1 Maria Sharapova, who has rarely played for Russia in the Fed Cup, is still recovering from a shoulder injury. Third-ranked Elena Dementieva was also not picked to play, but Zvonareva, Kuznetsova and Petrova are all ranked in the top 10.

Italy, which won the Fed Cup title in 2006 to break the string of Russian victories, will counter the powerful Russian team with Flavia Pennetta, Francesca Schiavone, Sara Errani and Roberta Vinici.

The Americans and Czechs had already announced their teams, with Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Liezel Huber, Melanie Oudin and Alexa Glatch set to face Iveta Benesva, Petra Kvitova, Lucie Safarova and Kveta Peschke on indoor carpet in Brno, Czech Republic.

The United States, again playing without fifth-ranked Venus Williams and No. 2 Serena, has won 17 Fed Cup titles but none since 2000.

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Rafael Nadal has arrived in Barcelona where this year he hopes to capture an unprecedented fifth consecutive title at the Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, having achieved exactly the same feat in Monte Carlo last week, beating Serbia’s Novak Djokovic 63 26 61 in the final.

The Majorcan played could not have had a better start to the clay court season, despite pressure to repeat his incredible winning streaks of recent years on the surface. Showing his trademark hardworking qualities, the world #1 arrived late last night at Barcelona’s El Prat airport, and was to be found on court early this morning for a training session at the Real Club Tenis Barcelona-1899. After the session, Nadal attended a press conference at which he spoke about his experiences in Monte Carlo and his hopes for the coming week in Barcelona.

“Winning Monte Carlo five times is incredible, but I feel very comfortable there and I always want to do well there, as it was the first Master Series I won. For sure I had a great run there, but it was a very difficult tournament. Even when you have five titles it’s not easy, but the first was the most complicated. But I feel very good there and that helps me.”

“I’m very happy to be in Barcelona again. Playing here is always special because it’s an opportunity to play in my club in front of friends and family, and this makes me want to perform the best I can. I’ll give my all, and although the calendar is very tough I wouldn’t want to lose this tournament as it means so much to me. If I am here it is because I feel able to win, but this means I won’t have any rest in three weeks through Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome.”

“On clay in recent years I have achieved results beyond my dreams. I had never imagined anything like this, and for me every match is equal or more difficult than the last. Although people don’t rate my results unless I win, for me reaching the semi finals of a big tournament is a great achievement and this makes me approach every match with the maximum enthusiasm.”

The field is not as strong as it was in Monte Carlo, and is dominated by Spanish players. If the seeded players are successful then a final between Nadal and Verdasco could be in the making. It would be their first meeting since the epic battle of the Aussie Open. But a couple of glitches might change the script. Rafa will have to get past David Naladandian, a player who has a good record against him, and a player whose style gives Rafa plenty of problems. At home in Barcelona, coupled with a series of tough matches in Monaco might just be enough to find Rafa tired and unfocused. Verdasco on the other hand has to get by Gonzalez who is always tough on clay.

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Dinara Safina officially took over the top ranking on the WTA Tour on Monday, making her and older sibling Marat Safin the only brother-sister duo to have been No. 1 in professional tennis.

Safina, who has yet to win a Grand Slam title but twice reached a major final, is the 19th woman to top the rankings since they were introduced in 1975. She is also only the second Russian woman after Maria Sharapova to reach No. 1.

Safina replaced Serena Williams at the top, even though the American beat her in the Australian Open final this year. Last year, Safina lost to Ana Ivanovic in the French Open final.

Marat Safin was ranked No. 1 on the men’s tour in 2000, the same year he won the first of two Grand Slam singles titles.

“He has two Grand Slams,” Safina said of her brother in a video posted on the WTA’s Web site. “He’s still much better than me, so I have to catch him.”

Safina won four titles last year, but this year her record is not so good. She lost in the Hopman Cup to Dominika Cibulkova, she lost at the Medibank International to Elena Dementieva, she lost in the Australian Open to Serena Williams, at Indian Wells she lost to Victoria Azarenka, and at the Sony Ericsson she lost to Samantha Stosur. Hardly the record for the #1 player. She will take her new ranking into the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart later this month, but unless she can shake off her 2009 blues it is doubful that she will retain her new title for more than a month.

There are so many players whose level of play is almost equal, and each tournament produces upsets as a new ‘star’ is born. Currently the ‘hottest’ players are Azarenka, Wozniacki and Lisicki, and one of these players might just make it to the top before the year is over.

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France and Spain both go into the World Group Play-offs on 25-26 April knowing that a further loss in this year’s competition will see them consigned to World Group II for the first time in 2010 and unable to challenge for the trophy that between them they have won seven times.

This is just the third time that both nations have had to go through the World Group Play-offs. France successfully avoided relegation in both 2006 and 2008, with Spain doing so in 1997 and 2007, and after losing their opening matches of the 2009 Fed Cup, both have been handed tough assignments this time around.

France, which suffered a whitewash at home to Italy in the World Group first round, will face 2002 champion Slovak Republic, in Limoges on clay. The Slovaks currently have three players ranked in the Top 50 and comfortably disposed of Belgium in their World Group II first round tie. They are looking to reach the World Group for the first time since 2004.

Following its defeat to the Czech Republic, Spain has the unenviable task of taking on Serbia, which saw off Japan in the first round of World Group II. Serbia is unbeaten in its last five Fed Cup ties, and is looking to enter the World Group for the first time. A full strength Serbian team including Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic, both currently ranked inside the Top 10, who will certainly pose problems for Spain.

Another nation looking to qualify for the World Group for the first time is Ukraine, which travels to Argentina. After a tight 3-2 victory over Israel, the Ukrainians are in the World Group Play-offs for the second year running but they will face a tough task against Argentina. After winning promotion last year, Argentina fell to USA ina deciding doubles rubber on its return to the World Group and will fight hard to avoid an immediate return to World Group II.

The remaining tie sees Germany taking on a resurgent China in Germany. With its top two players recovered from injury and back in the world’s Top 30, China will hope to extend its stay in the World Group to a fourth and end Germany’s cycle of promotion and relegation. In the last four years, Germany has been promoted from World Group II only to be relegated the following year twice in succession.

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Sabine Lisicki a 19 year old from Germany won her first WTA Tour title in Charleston at the Family Circle Cup. She defeated Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4, who may have been a little tired after her 3 hour semi final match against Elena Dementieva, in a display of overwhelming power. She defeated Vevus Williams and Marion Bartoli to reach the final, and was on top of her game. Sabine served as hard as any player on tour recording speeds up to 125mph. She will move into the top 50 for the first time, actually rising to #43, and will be the highest ranked German player. After watching her play so strong on clay, and to serve with such power on a slow court, one has to wonder how awesome she might be on the grass courts of Wimbledon.

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Rafael Nadal became the first player to win five straight Monte Carlo Masters titles by beating Novak Djokovic 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 on Sunday.

The top-ranked Spaniard dropped his first set in Monte Carlo since the 2006 final against Roger Federer. The third-seeded Djokovic rallied to win the second set, pinning Nadal behind the baseline and picking him off at the net.

Nadal trailed 3-1 in the first set before reeling off five straight games. Struggling with his serve in the third set, he saved three break points and needed 14 minutes to hold his opening service game.

But Nadal held and Djokovic crumbled, with the Spaniard clinching the victory on his first match point when the Serbian sent a backhand into the net.

“A fifth victory here is a dream coming true. See you next year,” Nadal said.

Nobody has matched Nadal’s performance at the Monte Carlo tournament since tennis turned professional in 1968.

Djokovic had the momentum after he dominated the second set, winning all nine points at the net and putting pressure on Nadal’s wavering serve.

But Djokovic missed his chance at the beginning of the third set, wasting three break points in the first game. After a long rally at 30-40, Djokovic seemed certain to break Nadal with a drop shot, but Nadal somehow got it back for a winner and Djokovic sank to his knees.

With Djokovic finding his range with huge shots, he forced another chance that Nadal saved with a strong first serve. Another big forehand winner offered up a third break point, which Djokovic missed when his return landed just out.

Nadal broke Djokovic immediately for a 2-0 lead, but he was struggling to hold and dropped serve on his third break point in the third game to let Djokovic back in the match.

But Nadal improved and won the next five games—just like he did at 3-1 down in the first set—as Djokovic went for extravagant winners that landed out.

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