TENNIS in DEPTH.

Federer won the joint WTA and ATP Florida event in 2005 and 2006 but smashed a racket in a rare flare of temper here a year ago as he lost a semifinal to Novak Djokovic.

His defeat last week in the Indian Wells third round at the hands of Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis was also a shock to the system, but the Swiss star said he was able to decompress as he made the move from California to Miami.

“I’ve had many years where I run from one thing to the next that also I welcome having all of a sudden more days off, more days of practice, more days where I can just wake up and see what I really want to do instead of having the perfect plan the whole time,” Federer said.

“It’s nice to adjust that for a change, if there’s anything positive to take out of a loss.”

The reigning Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion is fully primed for his first match on Saturday night after a bye awarded to all seeds.

Federer says his lung infection from February is also old news.

“I felt good ever since I got the green light from the doctors,” Federer said.

“I’ve been practicing hard before Indian Wells and also now in between, so no issues whatsoever. I’m fighting fit again.”

Bookmark It

American tennis player Wayne Odesnik faces a possible two-year ban after pleading guilty to importing human growth hormone (HGH) into Australia.

Customs officers found eight vials, each containing 6mg of HGH, in Odesnik’s baggage, when he arrived in Australia in January to play in the Brisbane International and Australian Open.

The American 24-year-old, ranked No.98 in the world, pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Magistrates Court to importing the hormone and was fined $8000 and ordered to pay $1142.80 in costs.

Odesnik made the quarter-finals in Brisbane, and reached the second round of the Australian Open, for which he picked up a $31,500 pay cheque.

The matter will now be referred to the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

Under the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) code – to which the ITF is a signatory – the penalty for possession of a prohibited substance is a two-year ban from the sport.

Bookmark It

Jim Courier is hosting Monday night’s Tampa Tennis Classic at the St. Pete Times Forum, an exhibition event that has attracted notable American men’s players Andy Roddick and James Blake, along with top 15-ranked women’s standouts Victoria Azarenka (No. 6) and Vera Zvonarena (No. 14), plus doubles player Rennae Stubbs.

All proceeds benefit Raymond James Courier’s Kids, an inner-city youth tennis initiative that supports the First Serve tennis program at St. Petersburg’s Bartlett Park. Courier instituted the program eight years ago.

A product of Bradenton’s Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, Courier won 23 professional singles titles and earned more than $14 million in career prize money.

He will be 40 on Aug. 17.

“It doesn’t mean a ton to me right now, but maybe it will when I get up to it,” Courier said. “I’m not overly reflective about that line in the sand. I’m hoping to get there. It’s a good place to be.

“I’m pleasantly surprised with how I feel. Given the mileage I put my body through – like a car, it’s not necessarily about the years, but the mileage – I feel like my body has held up pretty well. That’s a lot of road work, court work, starting and stopping. It’s not what your body was built for. But I came out of it OK. I’m as excited and engaged in life as I ever have been.”

Bookmark It

Former champions Svetlana Kuznetsova and Venus Williams safely negotiated their second-round matches at the Sony Ericsson Open.

It was far from easy for top seed Kuznetsova, who was taken to three sets by Peng Shuai of China.

The Russian, champion in Miami in 2006, eventually prevailed 6-2 3-6 6-4.

Life was easier was third seed and three-time champion Williams, who swept past Sorana Cirstea of Romania 6-4 6-3.

Agnieszka Radwanska, who reached the semi-finals at Indian Wells earlier this month, secured a comfortable straight-sets success over Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova to reach the third round of the Florida tournament.

Radwanska, seeded sixth, dominated from the off and forced 13 break points during the opening set, but her failure to take all but three of them saw her sneak the first set 7-5.

But the second set proved a more straightforward affair as the 21-year-old breezed through it 6-0.

There were two high-profile casualties in the the shape of Li Na and Flavia Pennetta.

Eighth seed Li was involved in a titanic struggle with Swiss Timea Bacsinszky, who eventually prevailed 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7/3).

Italian Pennetta, meanwhile, fell apart in the final set as she slipped 6-3 3-6 6-0 to Andrea Petkovic

Thirteenth seed Marion Bartoli is also through after she eased past Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia.

The Frenchwoman recorded five breaks of serve in total on her way to a 6-2 6-4 win.

Yanina Wickmayer, the 12th seed, progressed after a straightforward 6-1 6-3 victory over British qualifier Elena Baltacha.

The other seeds to secure a safe passage through to the third round were Nadia Petrova (16), Daniela Hantuchova (19), Ana Ivanovic (25) and Agnes Szavay (27) who beat Kimiko Date Krumm, Patty Schnyder, Pauline Parmentier and Alicia Molik respectively.

Wildcard Petra Martic will face Wickmayer after coming through a close three-set contest with 18th seed Aravane Rezai.

Croatia’s Martic claimed the opening set 7-5 but her French opponent hit back to take the second set by the same scoreline. But Martic secured a vital break of serve late in the decider to take it 6-4 in a match lasting two hours and 34 minutes.

Seeds Aleksandra Wozniak and Sabine Lisicki exited as the former lost 7-6 (7/5) 6-3 to Polona Hercog while Lisicki was forced to retire while trailing 3-6 1-0 to Yaroslava Shvedova.

Alona Bondarenlo and Anabel Medina Garrigues, seeded 21 and 30, also bowed out as they suffered straight-sets defeats at the hands of Gisela Dulko and Roberta Vinci respectively.

Bookmark It

Ana Ivanovic scored a confidence-boosting 6-4, 6-3 win over French qualifier Pauline Parmentier in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

Does this win by the #58 player over a qualifier count as breaking news! No really, but it’s a reflection of the appeal that Ivanovic has, and the hope by most all tennis fans that she will find a way to regain her old form.

Now she has to put back to back victories together. That task will not be an easy one as she will meet Agnieszka Radwanska in the next round. Radwanska is seeded #6, and was a semi finalist at Indian Wells.

Yanina Wickmayer, the 12th seed, progressed after a straightforward 6-1 6-3 victory over British qualifier Elena Baltacha.

The other seeds to secure a safe passage through to the third round were Nadia Petrova (16), Ana Ivanovic (25) and Agnes Szavay (27), who beat Kimiko Date Krumm, Pauline Parmentier and Alicia Molik respectively.

Wildcard Petra Martic will face Wickmayer after coming through a close three-set contest with 18th seed Aravane Rezai.

Croatia’s Martic claimed the opening set 7-5 but her French opponent hit back to take the second set by the same scoreline. But Martic secured a vital break of serve late in the decider to take it 6-4 in a match lasting two hours and 34 minutes.

Aleksandra Wozniak and Sabine Lisicki were the other seeds to exit as the former lost 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 to Polona Hercog, while Lisicki was forced to retire while trailing 3-6 1-0 to Yaroslava Shvedova.

Bookmark It

Serena Williams was voted the Tour’s Player of the Year for the third time in her career. Williams had a stellar 2009 season, winning two Grand Slam singles titles (Australian Open, Wimbledon) and the Sony Ericsson Championships – Doha 2009. She also finished the year at No.1 in the world.

Serena and Venus Williams won the Doubles Team of the Year award for their collective achievements in 2009

Yanina Wickmayer won Most Improved Player after a breakthrough season that saw her win her first two Tour titles, in Estoril and Linz, and reach her first Grand Slam semifinal (US Open). She cracked the Top 20 in October.

Comeback Player of the Year honors went to Kim Clijsters, who made a sensational return to the Tour in August, reaching the quarterfinals in Cincinnati and the third round in Toronto before embarking on a memorable run at the US Open, winning her second Grand Slam singles title in only her third tournament back.

In addition to winning Comeback Player of the Year, Clijsters was honored with her seventh Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award, recognizing her conduct, attitude and sense of fair play. No one has won the award more times.

Melanie Oudin picked up Newcomer of the Year. Oudin’s first Top 50 season was highlighted by a breakthrough performance at Wimbledon where, as a qualifier, she reached the fourth round, defeating Jelena Jankovic on the way. At the US Open, Oudin reached the quarterfinals, defeating Elena Dementieva, Nadia Petrova and Maria Sharapova along the way.

Bookmark It

Justine Henin advanced to the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami with a commanding straight-sets victory over Jill Craybas.

The Belgian faced eight break points across the match but American Craybas could only take one as she lost out 6-2 before Henin repeated the measure in the second set to set up a clash with fifth seed Elena Dementieva, who she defeated in an epic second-round tie at the Australian Open earlier this year.

Japanese veteran Kimiko Date Krumm booked her place in the second round with a three-set victory over Russia’s Anna Chakvetadze.

Britain’s Anne Keothavong made an early exit from the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami after a poor serving performance saw her lose in straight sets to Austria’s Tamira Paszek.

The 26-year-old from Middlesex, who missed the latter part of the 2009 season with a serious knee injury, only managed to win 57% of points on her first serve in the opening set of this first-round clash as she let a 3-1 lead slip to a 6-4 loss.

Keovathong’s compatriot Heather Watson also exited the Florida tournament as she suffered a straight-sets defeat at the hands of Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova.

The Guernsey teenager matched her opponent in the opening set but failed to take the three break-point opportunities she created, with Pironkova taking her single chance to snatch the set 6-4.

Bookmark It

Former Wimbledon champions Martina Hingis and Richard Krajicek will be the star attractions at this summer’s Nottingham Masters tournament.

The event takes place at Nottingham Tennis Centre between 10 and 13 June.

Krajicek, winner of last year’s men’s title, won 20 career titles including the Wimbledon men’s title in 1996.

Hingis became the youngest player to win a Grand Slam, winning the women’s doubles title at Wimbledon at the age of 15 in 1995. And now she will be the youngest to be termed a ‘master’.

The Swiss originally retired from tennis in 2003 but launched a comeback before retiring for a second time in in 2008.

Krajicek retired from professional tennis in 2003 and set up the Richard Krajicek Foundation, which builds sports facilities for children in inner cities in the Netherlands.

Former British number one Jeremy Bates also joins the line-up for the first time.

Bookmark It