TENNIS in DEPTH.

Andy Murray made home advantage count as he edged a topsy-turvy clash with US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro 6-3 3-6 6-2 in the opening singles match of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at London’s O2 Arena.

Del Potro, who was won only two matches since his New York triumph in September, put in a very inconsistent display, with some scorching winners punctuated by simple errors.

The whole match was a strange affair, Murray saving two break points in the opening game before going on to take a 5-0 lead. Neither player showed enough consistency to be considered a threat to win the tournament. For me the biggest surprise was the poor line calls, almost all going in favour of the home player.

Even though he won, the British fans cannot enthusiastic about their man’s chances unless he ups his game in the next round.

Del Potro took a medical time-out after the third game to receive treatment to his face, but he was certainly struggling to find his range and some basic errors left the Scot barely able to believe his luck.

It was almost inevitable Del Potro’s malaise would not last and, having saved two set points to avoid a whitewash, he retrieved one of the breaks before Murray finally clinched the opener at the eighth time of asking.

The Scot had won four of their previous five matches but the clashes have often been close and he would have expected the Argentinian to come out firing in the second set.

And that is exactly what transpired, a sloppy Murray service game allowing Del Potro to break to love then open up a 3-0 lead.

Murray broke back but soon dropped his serve again and Del Potro went on to level the match.

The home favourite was certainly not at his best and seemed to be struggling for rhythm, understandably so given the pattern of the match.

He recovered from 15-30 to hold serve in the opening game of the decider and finally got the crowd really behind him when he capitalised on a second break point to move into a 2-0 lead.

Del Potro rallied in the fourth game and then put his opponent under pressure with some more huge groundstrokes but Murray served well and sealed victory with a backhand winner after Del Potro had put himself in trouble with successive double faults.

Murray said: “It was always going to be tough. I played well today, started really good, he came back into it but I stayed tough in the third set.”

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Nadia Petrova is the latest star signing to confirm she will begin the 2010 season at the Brisbane International this January.

The top 20 player will join a very strong women’s line-up playing alongside Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Ana Ivanovic, Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Jelena Dokic in what is shaping up to be a blockbuster event.

Announcing her attendance today, Petrova said she was looking forward to experiencing her first Brisbane International.

“I am so excited to be travelling to Brisbane for the first time. I have played on the Gold Coast five times and I loved the weather, the atmosphere and the culture in Queensland. It is a great time to be in Australia,” Petrova said.

“I cannot wait to see this new event and experience the facilities and courts, which I am told are very similar to those at the Australian Open.

“My aim in January is to get some tough match play in the lead up to the Australian Open and the Brisbane International is going to be ideal for that.

“I am also hoping I will also get the opportunity to see some of the many sights that Brisbane has to offer when I am not on court.”

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Each month showcases beautiful and colorful settings from each of the tour stops and city landmarks.

The 2010 calendar showcases:

- 12×12 Full color calendar

- 12 month filled with the greatest moments of 2009.

Buy it direct from his web site www.rafaelnadal.com.

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For many it is no longer a question of if, but when will Djokovic become World No. 1.

Novak Djokovic might not have added another Grand Slam championship to his 2008 Australian Open title as he had hoped in 2009, but former and current members of the Serbian’s coaching team believe he has taken a step closer to becoming the next player to rank No. 1 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings.

This year Djokovic has been happy to sit back while Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro have taken the greater share of the plaudits, but somewhere between January and November he has quietly managed to win an ATP World Tour-best 76 matches. Still for all that, the tennis world has had more questions than answers. Had Djokovic become too comfortable? Had he peaked? Even the player himself admitted, in September, that he “expected something greater” this year. It was not until back-to-back ATP World Tour titles at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel and at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris that his grand plan began to bear fruit.

What people outside the Djokovic camp may not have realised when they began to write him off this year was that Novak had been forming a plan in his assault on the summit of professional tennis. In order to improve his fitness and flexibility he hired Gebhard Phil-Gritsch, former strength and conditioning coach of Thomas Muster. Djokovic and Phil-Gritsch went straight to work. Soon Novak’s body began to take shape; chest and biceps were carved firm while the shoulders broadened and abs sprung tight.

Still, Novak was not satisfied with his performance and while long-time coach Marian Vadja would continue by his side, Novak felt that he needed extra insight with tactical coaching and asked Martin to join his team.

“I was thinking about working with somebody that can help me out with my serve and my volley game,” Djokovic says.

“The circumstances were that he has been in a relationship with Marin [Vajda] for several years and was interested in having some additional feedback,” says Martin, who will continue with ‘Team Djokovic’ in 2010.

Determined to attack the net with greater success, Novak worked persistently on the transition from the baseline.

“Compartmentally, his skills are very good,” continues Martin. “His volleys are technically sound, but there is a lot of feel that is garnered in recognising opportunities to move forward.”

It is that very feel that Martin mentions, a certain spontaneity, that one would think comes natural to Djokovic. Or does it? Federer has often been portrayed as an artist and Nadal as a raging bull, but how would you describe Djokovic? For all the stand-up comedy and improv, lies a keen observer and very methodical young man with a scientific mind for tennis. Study Djokovic’s shot selection and you will notice that it is consistently high percentage. And when he whips a backhand passing shot cross-court and dips it inside the service line you get the feeling that he has measured out an acute angle with all the precision of a mathematician.

“To reach that goal [World No. 1], I’m going to have to be very successful at the major tournaments,” Djokovic states. “Throughout the whole of 2009, I’ve been playing quite consistent, and especially on the lower category tournaments where I was winning a lot and playing a lot of finals in [ATP World Tour] Masters 1000 events. But I haven’t done a great job at the Grand Slams, which wasn’t the case in the last two years. So I just hope I’ll make that better in 2010, because that’s what makes difference, obviously, between the top players rankings wise.”

Martin confirms, “I think that deep down inside he [Djokovic] realises that he has talent to do more than he has done, although he has done an awful lot.”

“He [Djokovic] is definitely not satisfied to be number three or four,” states Pilic. “He wants to be number one. His dream was always to be the best.”

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 Six different players captured the 13 titles won by Russians in 2009, led by Safina, Kuznetsova and Dementieva, who each won three … Players from Russia won eight of the 19 Premier-level events in 2009. No other country had more than two … Russia has won four of the past six Fed Cups.

Russia: 13

France: 5

United States: 5

Belarus: 4

Italy: 4

Every year on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, new champions emerge and new faces from various countries surge up the rankings. However, the one constant in recent history is Russia as the dominant country on the women’s tennis scene. Players from Russia may not win all the Grand Slams (just one in 2009), but they had more than twice as many Top 100 players in the 2009 year-end rankings as the second-place country and won more than twice as many Tour singles titles as the second-place country. Don’t expect the Russians’ dominance to diminish anytime soon, as a now-healthy Maria Sharapova should return to prominence and Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva, and Vera Zvonareva are all in their primes.

Players Ranked in 2009 Year-End Top 100

Russia: 15

Czech Republic: 6

France: 6

Germany: 6

Italy: 6

United States: 5

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Eight of the top nine players in the world have arrived in London to compete (injury denied Andy Roddick his chance) so it could be argued the quality on show at the O2 Arena will be even greater than some Wimbledons of years gone by. In no other sport would you find the top professionals together enjoying the moment and each others company, maybe sharing a joke and being just friends.

There it’s rarely the case the best eight players make it to the quarter-finals. At the O2 it will be heavyweight v heavyweight for every match; an apt description given this arena is likely to be transformed for David Haye’s first world-title defence in the New Year.

With ticket sales having gone well, so we are told, the atmosphere looks set to be grand with nearly 20,000 fans roaring on the combatants – considerably more than Centre Court can hold in SW19.

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ROGER FEDERER (Group A)

SEASON HIGH So many… Conquering the dirt of Roland Garros, reaching the magic 15 Grand Slams at Wimbledon after a four-hour final against Andy Roddick steeped in tension and drama – and then there was the birth of his twin daughters Charlene and Myla.

SEASON LOW Picking up said record-breaking trophy wearing a jacket embroidered – in gold – with the number 15 and his initials. “The guy’s tennis might be incomparable,” wrote Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim, “but his accessorising leaves a lot to be desired.”

CURRENT FORM Threatening. Early loss to journeyman Julien Benneteau only gave him more time to prepare for London. He is the master of peaking at the right time.

HENMAN’S VERDICT “He’s the best player that’s ever played the game, and I’m pleased to say he’s backed that up with the numbers now: winning the French Open and getting the 15th Slam.”

Prediction: Winner

ANDY MURRAY (Group A)

SEASON HIGH Taking out Juan Martin del Potro and Novak Djokovic in successive days way back in March to lift the Miami Masters trophy, his biggest success yet.

SEASON LOW That pesky Grand Slam title remains elusive. Experienced groundhog day at all four majors as he was overpowered by players risking everything and outhitting him.

CURRENT FORM Encouraging. Refreshed after six-week lay-off recovering from wrist injury, won title on return – and won’t be that bothered by a third-round loss to Radek Stepanek in Paris, which gave him more time to rest and prepare for London.

HENMAN’S VERDICT “He’s had such a solid year. Winning six titles is more than anyone on tour. If you were being ultra critical, you’d have liked him to have gone further in a couple of the Slams. He’ll be looking to finish the year well in front of his home crowd and start building for next year.”

Prediction: Semi-final

JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO (Group A)

SEASON HIGH Unquestionably lifting the US Open trophy after handing Federer his first defeat at Flushing Meadows since 2003 – when Del Potro was 14 years old.

SEASON LOW A 6-3 6-0 6-0 loss to Federer at the Australian Open. “He’s Roger Federer. If you don’t be good, you lose,” was DelPo’s summary. He would be feeling a lot more chipper seven months later in New York.

CURRENT FORM On the slide. The Argentine, perhaps understandably, hasn’t exactly been pulling up trees since his New York win – exemplified by a loss to Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

HENMAN’S VERDICT “What an incredible talent. It wasn’t just winning his first Grand Slam, it was the way he did it: beating Federer from two sets to one down. He may have struggled physically and mentally since the US Open, but he’ll definitely be looking to finish the year off on a positive note after a big breakthrough year.”

Prediction: Round robin

FERNANDO VERDASCO (Group A)

SEASON HIGH Steamrollering Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Aussie Open, before playing one of the matches of his life against Nadal – and still losing. “He deserved to win too,” said Nadal after the five-hour 14-minute epic. Nadal won 192 points, to Verdasco’s 191.

SEASON LOW Headline writers sobbed as tennis’s latest ‘love match’ – Verdasco and Ana Ivanovic – came to an end in January.

CURRENT FORM Patchy. Semi-final in Valencia, but early loss in Paris meant he only staggered over the line in qualifying for the O2.

HENMAN’S VERDICT “It’s been a big breakthrough season for him. He’ll feel London is the icing on the cake. He’s got nothing to lose. The crowds will like him.”

Prediction: Round robin

RAFAEL NADAL (Group B)

SEASON HIGH Winning the Australian Open in typically brutal fashion, reducing Federer to a blubbing mess. It was his sixth major title, his first on hard courts, and put him a US Open away from the career Grand Slam.

SEASON LOW Dodgy knees prevented him from defending his Wimbledon title, and allowed Federer to reclaim the world number spot.

CURRENT FORM Worrying. Fighting spirit alone seemed to get him to the semis at his last tournament in Paris whereupon he was royally thumped by Djokovic. Hasn’t won a title since April.

HENMAN’S VERDICT “I wouldn’t be all that concerned about the way he’s playing. He hasn’t had the best of runs – by his very high standards – but he missed a big chunk of the season with his knee tendonitis. I think the conditions in London will suit him a lot better than Paris, but irrespective of that, when you compete as well as he does, you can never rule him out.”

Prediction: Round robin

NOVAK DJOKOVIC(Group B)

SEASON HIGH Won two titles in two weeks in a spell of sizzling late-season form. Beat Federer in his own backyard to claim Basel title, before routing Nadal on his way to Paris glory.

SEASON LOW Ending the defence of his Australian Open title by retiring in his quarter-final against Roddick. “General soreness” was his excuse. It was the third time in three years he had retired in the latter stages of a Grand Slam while losing.

CURRENT FORM Red hot. Has won 18 of his last 19 matches.

HENMAN’S VERDICT “He’s really impressed me over the last month or so. In the early part of the year, Federer, Nadal and Murray sort of separated themselves a little bit, but the way Djokovic has played in the last couple of weeks, I’d make him one of the favourites in London.”

Prediction: Final

NIKOLAY DAVYDENKO (Group B)

SEASON HIGH Famously pokerfaced Russian cracked a wide smile after beating Djokovic then Nadal to win Shanghai Masters – the 18th title of his career.

SEASON LOW Having to withdraw from Queen’s because he missed an appointment to get his UK visa.

CURRENT FORM Fading. Has been beaten by Marat Safin, Mikhail Youzhny and Robin Soderling in lead-up to London after winning in Shanghai.

HENMAN’S VERDICT “A proven workhorse. He plays a lot of tennis, very consistently. He knows his strengths, he knows his limitations. It might not be the most appealing tennis to watch – but it’s incredibly effective. He’s a great mover and hits hard and early off both wings.”

Prediction: Round robin

ROBIN SODERLING (Group B)

SEASON HIGH Dethroning the King of Clay at Roland Garros in May. Quite simply, one of the biggest shocks in tennis history. Soderling, hitting winner after astonishing winner, handed Nadal his first ever French Open defeat after 31 matches unbeaten and four straight titles.

SEASON LOW Losing to Federer at three of the four Grand Slams. Defeat in the US Open quarter-finals left him with a 0-12 record against the world number one. “I’m pretty sure that I can beat him,” he proclaimed.

CURRENT FORM Dangerous. Soderling loves playing indoors where he has won three of his four career titles, and is in decent form.

HENMAN’S VERDICT “He got in because of Andy Roddick pulling out, but he’s a very dangerous floater. A lot of his big successes has been indoors. It will give him the mindset that this is a real bonus and his style of play – hitting very hard and flat – means if he hits form, he could be a dark horse.”

Prediction: Semi-final

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Frederic Niemeyer officially retired from professional tennis during a news conference Thursday, but he won’t be leaving tennis altogether.

Niemeyer instead will join Tennis Canada as a personal coach for promising 18-year-old Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont. Niemeyer will train Raonic in Montreal and also will travel with the teenager 18 weeks a year on the pro tour.

Raonic made his ATP Tour debut at this year’s Rogers Cup in Montreal, winning his first two matches against No. 77 Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia and No. 113 Michael Llorda of France to advance through the qualifying. He then delighted an overflow crowd at the BN grandstand court, taking 11th-seeded Fernando Gonzalez to the limit before losing 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4.

Montreal Gazette

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