TENNIS in DEPTH.

Michael Llodra powered to his fourth ATP career title with victory over fellow Frenchman and doubles partner Julien Benneteau in the Open 13 final.

Llodra, a runner-up at the event in 2009, never looked in danger on his own serve and cruised to a 6-3 6-4 victory in Marseille.

The world number 79 created only two break points in the match and converted both to win in an hour and 10 minutes.

Llodra fired down 14 aces, including one on his first match point, and afterwards spoke of his delight to have avenged his defeat to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga last year.

“I had set myself one aim this year and that was to win a tournament in France at last. I’m proud,” said Llodra, who won his previous titles in Hertogenbosch, Rotterdam and Adelaide.

Eighth-seeded Benneteau battled for almost three hours to beat defending champion Tsonga in the semi-finals on Saturday but he refused to blame Sunday’s loss on fatigue.

“My previous matches have been tough and long but that is not the reason why I lost. I lost because of Michael Llodra. I can only say ‘hats off to him’ as he served extremely well. I’ve had no break points,” Benneteau, 28, told Sport+.

“It’s tough to end a tournament this way but I couldn’t do anything,” the world number 39, who has yet to win an ATP title, added.

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Roger Federer has pulled out of next week’s Dubai Tennis Championship because of illness.

The world number one has been suffering from a lung infection and has not recovered in time for the tournament, which gets under way on Monday.

Federer, who has lifted the Dubai title four times in his career, will rest for the next two weeks and is expected to return to the ATP Tour in Indian Wells from March 11.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic and world number four Andy Murray, who lost to Federer in this year’s Australian Open final, are among the players competing at the hardcourt event.

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Just 21 days have passed since Andy Murray was the unfortunate fall guy as Roger Federer chose the Australian Open final to reaffirm he is probably the finest tennis player the world has ever known. Murray is in the mood for conflict again and warming to the fact that a hot sun is once again burning on his back. “This is a tournament where I feel very comfortable and apart from last year’s quarter final, when I unfortunately got sick and had to pull out, I think I’ve always played good tennis.

“We are obviously obligated to play the four Grand Slams and eight Masters 1,000 Series events, but alongside Queen’s Club in London, I think Dubai is my favourite event to play where I have the choice. Everything seems to suit me here and the way I’m feeling just now, well rested and very relaxed, I’m very confident.

“I have had a lot of time to think since Australia and I’ve worked a few things out in my mind. I have not really done very much at all on the practice court and I’ve spent most of my time just relaxing and taking in a few football matches.

“Now I’m raring to go again but after all the hard physical work I did in December and then playing the Hopman Cup in Perth before preparing for the Australian Open, I think it was important to get good rest.”

With the exception of world no.8, Sweden’s Robin Soderling, every top 10 player that is currently fit to compete, figures in the Dubai draw. Andy Roddick, the 2008 champion, was forced to announce a late withdrawal from Memphis after suffering a recurrence of the arm injury that troubled him in Australia, while Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin Del Potro continue to convalesce.

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A first-time all-American battle will punctuate the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships on Sunday afternoon, with two of the country’s most promising – and tallest – rising stars meeting for the title.

John Isner and Sam Querrey – ranked No.25 and No.31 in the world, and seeded No.6 and No.8 here, respectively, both made it through tough draws and will now play each other for the very first time in the final at the Racquet Club of Memphis. They do know each other very well though – they are Davis Cup teammates and good friends.

According to ATP World Tour records, this is the tallest final ever – Isner is 6’9″, Querrey 6’6″ – and it is also the first time two Americans will play for a title since last July in Indianapolis, when Querrey was a runner-up to Robby Ginepri. Isner is going for his second career ATP World Tour title and Querrey his third.

Querrey was responsible for the departure of top seed Andy Roddick, beating the world No.7 in three sets in the quarterfinals.

After the singles final, the two will pair up in the doubles final, taking on British-Australian pairing Ross Hutchins and Jordan Kerr.

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Injury Forces Serena Williams Out of Madison Square Garden Showdown

Serena Williams, the Billie Jean King Cup’s defending champion, has withdrawn from the upcoming BNP Paribas Showdown, scheduled for Monday, March 1, 2010 at Madison Square Garden.

Williams, who qualified for the Showdown based on her 2009 victories at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, has withdrawn due to a leg injury sustained during her recent run to the Australian Open Championships. This injury has also forced Williams out of WTA events in Paris and Dubai.

Former French Open Champion, Ana Ivanovic has been added to round out the field. Only current and former Grand Slam champions or year ending World No. 1 ranked players are eligible for the one night event.

Because Serena won 2 Grand Slams in 2009, Venus was added to make up the  foursome and now Ivanovic has been added too. The 2010 participants will be Clijsters, Kuznetsova, Ivanovic and Venus Williams.

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Maria Sharapova got back on the winning track Saturday night in Memphis, capturing her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title of the year – and the 21st of her career – at the Cellular South Cup.

Seeded No.1 at the International-level tournament, Sharapova was considered the favorite in the field from the beginning, and boy did she deliver, not dropping a set the entire way. In fact, the Russian lost just 21 games in 10 sets – her 62 61 win over Sofia Arvidsson in the final was one of her quickest of the week.

Arvidsson, who actually won six matches to make it to the title match, two in qualifying and four in the main draw, lost nine straight games from 2-2 in the first set. Serving down 62 50 she saved a match point with an ace and closed to 5-1, but Sharapova dashed any hopes of a comeback by serving it out at love.

“I feel great. I came here for matches – I got five and I got the win, so it was a good week,” Sharapova said. “I served and returned well, two things that are very important indoors. I also did the right things against Sofia today. I worked hard after the Australian Open and little by little things are coming along.”

Arvidsson’s best previous result on the Tour came right here in 2006, winning the title; this year the Swede, who turned 26 this week, upset two seeds en route to the final, most notably a 61 63 quarterfinal stunner over Melanie Oudin. Oudin, the No.2 seed, had been tapped as Sharapova’s biggest threat for the title.

Sharapova earned her 21st career singles title on the Tour. Also, by virtue of the title run, the former No.1 will rise to No.13 on the new rankings – a far cry from her career-high, but she has nothing to defend until mid-May, which is when she returned from a nine-month shoulder injury lay off last season.

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Venus Williams won her 2nd Dubai title with a straight set victory over Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 7-5. It was her 42nd. WTA title and she has never played better! For those who have voiced their opinion about a retirement for Venus, suggesting that she would be smart to retire at the top of her game rather than waiting until she slides down the rankings and plays as only a shadow of her former self, she showed that she is not ready to leave the tour.

Azarenka played as well as she could and would have probably defeated most other players, but when Venus’s game is on she is vitually unbeatable. The match was played at a very high level, both players served at about 70% efficiency, but it was the overpowering pace on her serve which provided Venus with so many easy points.

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Roger Federer’s impromptu ‘Hit for Haiti’ is to be replicated in Indian Wells by new tournament owner Larry Elisson in an event expected to raise at least $1million for relief efforts in the impoverished Caribbean nation.

Due to take place on March 12 ahead of the main draw of the BNP Paribas Open, the latest Haiti fundraiser looks set to be less of a banter-filled knock around than the Melbourne event, more a doubles clash encompassing two of the sport’s greatest rivalries.

Federer will team up with 38-year-old Pete Sampras to take on Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi – a pair who would arguably have won far more than their 14 collective Grand Slam titles were it not for the long-standing dominance of the Swiss and the American.

Software billionaire Elisson coined the idea of a second ‘hit for Haiti’ after seeing the success of the Melbourne event, which raised over $600,000 from ticket sales and donations.

“When I saw the first Hit for Haiti event in Australia, I was very moved by the players coming together, on the eve of an important tournament, for such a worthy cause,” said Ellison.

A crowd of around 17,000 people gathered for the initial event at Melbourne Park’s Rod Laver Arena, and Ellison hopes to create an equally well-received event at what has become the most attended tennis tournament in the world outside of the four Grand Slams.

But unlike the jovial atmosphere in Melbourne, the return of the Agassi-Sampras rivalry looks set to be especially spicy, particularly after Agassi’s ill-received comments about the 14-time Grand Slam champ in his candid autobiography ‘Open’.

“I envy Pete’s dullness,” Agassi wrote. “I wish I could emulate his spectacular lack of inspiration, and his peculiar lack of need for inspiration.”

Sampras responded by saying he would like a ‘sit-down’ with his long-term rival.

“I got wind of a few things that he said about me, and I was a little surprised and a little disappointed,” Sampras said in January.

But the pair will once again let their tennis do the talking in Indian Wells – a tournament Agassi won once and Sampras won twice during their careers – and Elisson is particularly excited about their participation in the fundraiser.

“I wanted to bring together an exceptional group of players, with an unprecedented amount of Grand Slam titles, at the BNP Paribas Open,” he said.

“Our goal is to leave a memorable impression on fans, while raising a substantial amount of money that will directly impact the needs of people in Haiti.”

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