TENNIS in DEPTH.

Spain’s Crown Prince Felipe, top left, and Princess Letizia, top center, watch as their daughters, Sofia, bottom left, and Leonor, bottom center, argue for a tennis ball as they watch with their cousins, right, an exhibition match between Switzerland’s Roger Federer and Spain’s Rafael Nadal at Caja Magica in Madrid on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2010. Nadal and Federer played the second of two year-end charity matches in aid of youth sports projects supported by the world’s top two players. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

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Jelena Dokic and Peter Luczak, both finalists at the Australian Open Play-off, have been awarded wildcards into the main draw of Australian Open 2011.

“I had a pretty good play-off considering I didn’t play a match in over two months, it was a good practice run for me and I’m very happy to receive the wildcard. I did play well and I got better with each match,” Dokic said when asked about her form in the Australian Open Play-off last week. “Obviously the [Australian Open] draw will be very tough. You’ve got to go match by match, you never know what can happen. There’s always been kind of underdogs that have come [through], especially early in the year as everyone still coming off their breaks, their off seasons. My goal is not to just do well at the Australian Open, it’s to play well.”

Peter Luczak is treating his wildcard as an early Christmas present. “Todd Woodbridge called me last night to let me know, and I’m stoked, really pumped about getting a wildcard and playing another Australian Open. I feel as though all my Christmases have come at once,” Peter Luczak said. “I think last night my wife and I were high fiving when I found out the news, so it’s pretty special. I told my parents as well; they were pumped for me. I’ve got a lot of friends and family out here so I can’t wait to get out there.

“It’s nice knowing my summer is set, I can play Brisbane, I can play Sydney, hopefully get a few wins under my belt and have a bit of confidence coming into the AO. “It’s huge,” Luczak said when questioned on having a possible home ground advantage. “Especially if it’s pretty hot out here. A lot of the guys are coming from the winter, coming from the US or from Europe, so it’s nice to get a nice hot day, especially with a big crowd behind you it can definitely play a massive role. “I know coming out on to this court [Margaret Court Arena] a couple of times, I’ve had the national anthem and Waltzing Matilda, people are singing, and carrying on … as soon as I walked out the adrenalin kicked in and you’re not going to leave anything on the court when you’ve got that kind of support behind you.”

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Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal drove together to the exhibition match in Zurich. Federer picked up the world’s top-ranked player at the airport and took a jaunt through downtown before heading to the stadium. Nadal arrived in Switzerland on Tuesday morning for the first of two exhibition matches this week with Federer, his long-time rival. He was met on the airport runway by the all-time winningest Grand Slam champion and then hopped in Fed’s red Mercedes SLS AMG with gullwing doors (retail price: around $200,000).

The world’s top-ranked players are competed in an exhibition on Tuesday afternoon in Zurich and then will fly to Madrid for another exhibition in Nadal’s native Spain on Wednesday. Proceeds from the exhibitions will go the players’ respective charities. These sorts of matches are great for the sport and it should be an enjoyable event to watch. Some will try to take meaning from the results, but those will be just as important as the final score of a preseason football game. It’s meaningless, frivolous fun. Expect two three-setters (gotta give the fans their money’s worth) and for each man to win the match in his homeland.

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Gilbert, who is currently a guest coach at Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, will be his new traveling coach and mentor. Kei Nishikori will be expanding his IMG Academies coaching team with a consulting role for Brad Gilbert. Gilbert , where Nishikori trains year-round under the tutelage of legendary coach Nick Bollettieri and his world class staff. Gilbert has led Andre Agassi to six Grand Slam titles and also coached Andy Roddick and Andy Murray.

“Kei is a fierce young competitor. He knows what he wants from the game of tennis. I’m excited to expand my relationship with the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy and help consult Kei during the 2011 season.” Said Gilbert. “I am excited about the addition of Brad to my team. Brad’s knowledge as a former top player, as well as his coaching success, is something that can help me become a better player,” added Nishikori. Added Bollettieri, “As a coach, Brad adds the little things to a player that make a big difference in the higher echelon of the game. Brad’s long-term relationship with the Academy and me as a student, a player, and a guest coach, make Brad a great addition to consult Kei’s coaching team, as well as to assist the program at the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy.”

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All the talk is about a ‘Rafa’ slam, and the resurgence of Roger to take back the #1 spot, but keep an eye on Novak in 2011. He finished the 2010 season on a high, he’s healthy, he’s confident and he’s hungry!

The upcoming Australian Open will mark three years since the 23-year-old Djokovic won his lone Grand Slam title, with victory over first-time finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Djokovic rose to No. 2 in the 2010 ATP Rankings in February and went on to finish the year World No. 3 for the fourth straight year. A grand achievement for the vast majority of professionals, but Djokovic will no doubt be eager to finish the year inside the Top 2 for for the first time. While Grand Slam success would surely help cement Djokovic’s place at the top of game, he will also look to improve his performance in ATP World Tour events. In 2010 the Serbian won just two ATP World Tour titles (Dubai and Beijing), his lowest tally since 2006 and five less than Nadal’s extraordinary tour-level haul. He particularly underperformed in the nine ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments, only reaching the semi-finals in Shanghai, Toronto and Monte-Carlo.

However, Djokovic reaped the rewards of hard work and self belief when he hit top form to save two match points and defeat five-time former champion Roger Federer in this year’s US Open semi-finals, before finishing runner-up to World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the final. The right-hander then went on to have a very successful end to the season, culminating in leading Serbia to a 3-2 victory over France in the Davis Cup final. While disappointed after his defeat in the US Open final, Djokovic believed he had turned a corner in his career. “I am feeling bad about my loss. I wanted that trophy, and I know I gave my maximum to get it even tonight,” said the Serb. “But when I sleep over the night, tomorrow I will wake up as a new man. I will continue to work hard and wait for the next chance to come. “I feel much more comfortable on the court, more confident and getting this aggressive game back – the game that I need to have in order to stay at the top – and a game that has been a part of me always. It’s a good sign. I will continue on working, as I said, and hope that I can keep that performance.”

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Lauren Davis defeated Coco Vandeweghe, 6-2, 6-2, to win the Australian Open 2010 Wild Card for the main draw.

Davis, currently ranked No. 444 in the WTA world rankings, won all three of her matches over the weekend without dropping a set. The 17 years old trains with the Chris Evert Academy in Boca Raton, and now 27 consecutive matches and 36 of her last 37 matches. She won two ITF Futures events and the recent Dunlop Junior Orange Bowl and the prestigious Eddie Herr Junior Championships. “I think I handled the nerves well and I handled her power and everything she threw at me,” Davis said.

When told she made only eight unforced errors, Davis was shocked. “Really? That wasn’t my strategy at all,” she said. “Of course I wanted to be consistent but I wanted to be aggressive too because if I knew if I didn’t she would just go right through me.” Davis started the match in great form as she twice broke and held serve to go up 3-0. She was then broken back to make it 3-1, but controlled the match from there on out. “All the credit goes to Lauren,” said Vandeweghe’s coach Tom Gullikson. “She set the tone for the match with those first few games. She didn’t miss a ball. She forced Coco to hit a couple three, four, five balls every point and Coco just ended up missing.”

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Andy Murray has confirmed he will stick with Alex Corretja as his main coach for the first part of the 2011 season. The Spaniard assumed the role after the world number four sacked Miles Maclagan in July, having previously been only a part-time member of ‘Team Murray’. Indeed, it was a difference of opinion over Corretja’s ongoing input that let to Murray’s split with Maclagan, and the two-time French Open finalist was at the Scot’s side during the latter part of the 2010 season. Murray has repeatedly said he will not be rushed into appointing a permanent successor to Maclagan, preferring to take his time to ensure he finds the right coach to guide him through what could well be the peak of his career. The 23-year-old will also continue to be assisted by long-time friend and occasional doubles partner Dani Vallverdu, who he met when they were both at the Sanchez-Casal Tennis Academy in Barcelona as juniors.

A statement on Murray’s website today said: “Andy has taken time out from his busy pre-season fitness training to confirm that the current coaching set-up, with both Alex Corretja and Dani Vallverdu, will continue into the first half of next year. “The guys are busy planning their tournament schedule for the early part of 2011 and are, as a team, very focused on preparing in the best way possible for each tournament.” Murray, Corretja and Venezuelan Vallverdu are currently in Miami, which the British number one is once again using as a base for his pre-season training. For the second season running he will warm up for the Australian Open by teaming up with Laura Robson for the Hopman Cup in Perth at the start of next month before heading to Melbourne.

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Turkish Airlines has made a deal with the world number one female tennis player, Caroline Wozniacki. It would make more sense for her to be the new face of Polish Airlines!

Caroline Wozniacki was chosen to become the new face of Turkish Airlines Business Class brand, and will come together with tennis lovers in communications in Europe. The  Danish tennis player of Polish origin, will represent Turkish Airlines on commercials and public relations activities for 3 years.

On 20 December 2010 , Caroline Wozniacki will arrive in Turkey to shoot a commercial and meet with Turkish journalists. Wozniacki will introduce the concept of Turkish Airlines’ new Business Class. THe TV Commercial will be published in all countries in Europe.

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