TENNIS in DEPTH.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have been handed opening round byes for the Capitala World Tennis Championship, beginning on New Years Eve.

As part of an impressive six-strong field due to compete in Abu-Dhabi, Robin Soderling will take on Stanislas Wawrinka for a place against Federer in the semi-finals.

On the opposite side of the draw Jo-Wilfred Tsonga will need to record a first career win over Barclays ATP World Tour Finals champion Nikolay Davydenko if he is to secure a spot against Rafael Nadal in the second semi-final.

Setting up the possibility of another mouth watering Nadal/ Federer final, the draw could reignite the famous rivalry that has seen the Spaniard come out on top of 13 of his 20 career encounters against the Swiss.

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Twins Mike and Bob, the top men’s doubles tennis team in the world, donated their shirts, shoes, hats, sunglasses, watches and even underwear – all signed – to an auction at the Zeno/Canon Tennis Challenge 2 event. All proceeds went to the Larry King Cardiac Foundation.

The brothers left Mayor Rick Lott’s house without shoes, in old T-shirts and warm-ups.

“The Bryans were so unbelievably gracious of their time, and they did so much beyond what they had to do contractually,” said event organizer Rhett Rollyson. “It was wonderful.”

Many Polk County tennis players and fans attended the event to watch the coolest tandem to hit the courts in years.

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My mum travels with me and she is the person I turn to for support and advice the most, but I talk to my father and brother on the phone most days too.

My whole team (family, coaches and management) are great: they give me unconditional support. Whether I am winning or losing, they are always the same: totally supportive. They do everything they can to help me and I am very lucky to have them.

At the moment I am training for the new season. The off-season training period, in November and December, is very important because it sets you up for the following season. I am working on both my fitness and my tennis.

I am with my family, so my “private” plans are just to spend a lot of time with them, and also my relatives in Melbourne.

I’m not sure what my plans are for New Years Eve, but I’ll probably be in Queensland, before the Brisbane tournament. Maybe we’ll have a barbecue on the beach or something like that, and watch the sunset.

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Andy Murray believes the 2009 season was his best year yet and hopes his success this year will act as a stepping stone for winning his first Grand Slam.

The French Open, for me, was a big success – to get into the quarter-finals, the furthest I’ve ever been. I’m hoping I can build on that for next year.

Queens was the first tournament I’d won on home soil which made it extra special. It’s the first time a British player won there for eighty odd years, that obviously meant a lot to me.

Wimbledon was amazing this year. In the match against Wawrinka, the crowd were going absolutely nuts. It was one of the best atomospheres I’ve ever played in. And I played under the roof for the first time, to win in five tough sets, that was a pretty special moment.

I won six titles which was more than I had done in any previous year and I got to number two in the world which is the highest any Brit has ever got. I got further in Wimbledon than I had ever done so I’m hoping it will be a good stepping stone for bigger and better things next year, I will work as hard as I can to win that first Grand Slam.

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“King” David made a great comeback to the tennis courts. During his presentation at the Copa San Juan Minero, played at the indoors Aldo Cantoniesa Stadium in that province, he had moments where he played very well and crushed the Chilean Nicolás Massú 6-2 and 6-1. He had a great satisfaction: 5,000 people welcomed him applauding widely, he played well, and his serves were good and did not feel any discomfort.

“I felt really good, very happy. I hadn’t been on a court for a long time and I felt great from the beginning. Coming onto the court with an ovation, people applauding on their feet, it was great. I think it is really nice to feel that people like you, support you, cheer you, and are always there for you. I felt well while playing and it was the first match”, the man from Córdoba stated.

Everybody was happy with his great level: himself, who eased the tension of his comeback, his collaborators and family member who were with him in San Juan, the audience who could see a good version of the player and, above all, the tennis world that has now recovered one of its main figures. Now it is just a matter of getting better and better.

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Maria will start 2010 with 2 exhibitions.  The 1st exhibition Maria will play will be the Hua Hin Centennial Invitation in Thailand against Venus Williams on January 2nd.  Maria will then travel to Hong Kong which will run from January 6-9.  Maria is in Team Russia with Vera Zvonareva and Marat Safin and they will play Team Asia-Pacific on January 6th.

Maria will then spend a week preparing for her 1st Grand Slam 2010 at the Australian Open which begins on January 18th in Melbourne.

Memphis is Maria’s next stop as she make her first appearance there since 2004.  Memphis will begin on February 15th and is a International $220K event played indoors.

Maria will then play the 2 big Premier Mandatory events in at Indian Wells and Miami on hardcourts.  They will begin on the 8th and 24th March respectively.

The clay court season for Maria will begin in Charleston on 10th April where she will making her 3rd appearance on the green clay courts there.  Maria will make one stop on red clay in Madrid on 7th May before the 2nd Grand Slam of the year at Roland Garros on Paris which will start on 23rd May.

Maria will be making her 6th appearance on the grasscourts of Birmingham on 7th June and she will play her 3rd Grand Slam at Wimbledon in London on 21st June.

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Hi Everyone!

I just returned from Smash Hits 2009 in Baton Rouge. This was my 7th consecutive year playing and I have to say I think this was the best year yet, so many amazing players and in such a great city! This year’s event not only benefitted the Elton John AIDS Foundation but also several local Baton Rouge AIDS charities. We raised $640,000!

First, I played in the celebrity match with Andy Roddick against Serena Williams and Elton John. Although Serena and Elton won we still had the best time on the court. Playing with Elton is always a blast! Next up was Team Elton vs. Team Billie Jean… I was played in the women’s double match for Team Elton with Serena against Liezel Huber and Lindsay Davenport, it was great to be on the court with such great players. This was my first time playing with Serena, we had a so much fun being on the same side of the court. It was also great to be able to catch up Lindsay and Serena in the locker room!

It was a great night, especially with Team Elton beating out Team Billie Jean 16-13! I always love participating in this event, it is for such a great cause!

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Yanina Wickmayer has been offered wildcard entry to a WTA tennis tournament in Auckland in January after a Belgian court provisionally lifted her one-year suspension for anti-doping violations.

Belgium’s Wickmayer and compatriot Xavier Malise received one year bans on Nov. 5 for violating World Anti Doping Agency regulations by failing to report their whereabouts to drug testers.

The International Tennis Federation imposed the bans worldwide.

Lawyers for Wickmayer, 20, argued she was not properly informed of the reporting requirements and Monday’s injunction means she is eligible to play immediately.

Brenda Perry, tournament director for the USD 220,000 ASB Classic which runs from Jan. 4 to 9, said Tuesday she had offered Wickmayer a wildcard.

“We’ve confirmed that if she’s allowed to play we’re offering her the wildcard,” Perry said.

The ITF is waiting to hear from the Belgian national anti-doping agency before it can make a formal ruling of their eligibility.

“Basically, it’s up to (them) to liaise with the Belgian court and make its decision based on that and inform us,” Imison said. “As of last night, we hadn’t received any official correspondence at all.”

The Belgium anti-doping agency did immediately return a call seeking comment.

After Monday’s ruling in Brussels, Wickmayer was offered a wildcard to play at the ASB Classic, a tournament in New Zealand that serves as a warmup for the Australian Open. She is also hoping the ruling will get her another wildcard for the season’s first Grand Slam tournament.

The next step would be to be able to use those wildcards and compete.

“At this precise moment, she is ineligible to play,” said Imison, adding it was difficult to say when an official decision would be made.

“From our point of view, procedures are clear, and that if a decision is made by a national anti-doping authority, then these are sent though to us and then the ITF needs to make sure proper procedure has been followed,” Imison said. “At this stage, all we can say is that we await to receive the kind of relevant documentation and ruling from Belgium.”

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