Bleacher Report - Articles by Nima Naderi

Davydenko Topples Federer: Battles Del Potro for ATP World Tour Title

Nima Naderi — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:53:23 -0500

Barclays ATP World Tour Final—London

Defending finalist Nikolay Davydenko captured his first win in 13 attempts against Roger Federer on Saturday, defeating the year-end No. 1 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.

Davydenko began his quest to derail the fierce competition of his Swiss opponent by converting on three of four break point opportunities in the first set to lead one set to love.

Federer, who had lost the first set in his three previous matches throughout the week, picked up his errant play from the opening set. Federer broke Davydenko in the ninth game of the second set after the Russian sailed a forehand error long.

Federer's loud chant of encouragement after capturing the second set was equaled by the supportive roar of the English crowd. The sold out 02 Arena began to sense a tight knit third set on the horizon.

Moving along in due course in the third set, Davydenko stung Federer for a break of serve in the 11th game via a backhand return winner.

Requiring four crucial points to capture the biggest win of his career, Davydenko saved a late break charge by Federer at 30-40 on the strength of an off-the-rise forehand winner.

With the match on his racket, Davydenko celebrated his first win over Federer with a reserved stoic gesture, remaining internally ecstatic when the Swiss netted a cross-court forehand.

The loss against Davydenko ended what had been an astounding year for the top ranked Swiss. Winning two of the four Grand Slams events, Federer was reserved and complimentary towards his opponent during the post-match presser.

“Sure, it's disappointing,” lamented Federer.

“But not to lose against him; just to lose in the semis," Federer continued. "I thought he played strong throughout, even though I don't think it was our best match we ever played against each other. He finally beat me today. I wish him all the best for the final.”

Federer will now begin his much needed offseason and will return to action on Dec. 31st in Abu Dhabi. The Swiss superstar will take on world No. 2 Rafael Nadal in a winner-take-all exhibition worth $250,000.

Davydenko will attempt to go one better than his finals loss a year ago to Novak Djokovic in Shanghai. He described his outlook on defeating a player who had defeated him on numerous occasions.

“I think all my family, everybody who supports me, was waiting for this moment when I can beat Federer, because I have beaten everyone in the Top 10 except Federer,” said Davydenko.

“I was thinking today I want to show the same confidence as yesterday because I won yesterday and I really felt good. I know now in confidence, if I beat everyone, then I can play very well.”

Davydenko will now aim for his fifth title of the year on Sunday when he battles reigning US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro. Del Potro came through a classic encounter with Robin Soderling, defeating the Swede, 6-7 (1), 6-3, 7-6 (3).

With the powerhouse pair splitting their two previous meetings, the much anticipated match between del Potro and Soderling was on deck.

After blasting their way through six respective holds of serve, a deciding tiebreak—which was owned by Soderling—saw the Swede win all but one point along his path to holding a one set lead.

Not to be outdone, del Potro stormed back in the second set, using his new found touch and emotional outbursts to convert on his second break point in the eighth game of the set.

After engaging in an anxious set point at 5-3, a mistimed forehand by Soderling evened the encounter at one set all.

Pumping his fist in a whirlwind state of excitement, del Potro was all but ready to fly into his first year-end final.

Captivating the crowd with one-handed backhand passes and sonic-level serves, both combatants managed to break serve on one occasion. The exciting game culminated a match-ending tiebreak to produce the ultimate victor.

Del Potro, who is slowly gaining the reputation of holding the most lethal forehand and backhand combination on Tour, began the tiebreak with a clean inside-out backhand winner.

Holding three match points at 6-3, del Potro produced his 13th ace of the contest to clinch the victory.

With the win, del Potro will now head to Sunday's clash with Davydenko in search of his fourth title of the season.

Soderling, who will end year ranked No. 8 in the world, was pleased with his progress throughout the week, which included wins over Djokovic and Nadal.

“I think it's pretty obvious losing 7-6 in the third [set] in the semi-finals here, it's pretty disappointing,” said Soderling.

“Maybe I could have played a little bit better in the important moments and taken advantage of my chances. I don't think I did anything wrong at the end of the match; he just played a little bit better than me.”

Del Potro, who is rapidly turning into tennis' next great champion, spoke of his desire to close out his Swedish opponent.

"It was a very, very tough match," said del Potro. "It was so close. We played unbelievable points. We served well. The difference was just a couple of points in the tie-break in the third set."

Del Potro and Davydenko have met on three occasions on the ATP World Tour, with the Russian leading 2-1 in the pair's career head-to-head meetings.

The lanky Argentine previewed tomorrow's final showdown, expressing concern towards the challenge that lies ahead.

"I will want to close a good year," said del Portro. "I will play against Nikolay. It will be tough. But if I play like today, maybe I will have chance to win."

"He's very fast and he plays well on this kind of surface. But if I play good, I think I will have chance to win. But I think it will be a good final to watch."

With the final regular season match waiting in the bounds, please check back on Sunday for a complete recap from the Barclays ATP World Tour finals in London.

Djokovic Defeats Nadal in London, Davydenko and Soderling on Tap

Nima Naderi — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:49:06 -0500

Barclays ATP World Tour Final—London

No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic handed No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal his third straight loss of the Tour finale on Friday, defeating the Spaniard 7-6 (5), 6-3.

Djokovic, who desperately needed a win over Nadal to keep his hopes alive of advancing to the weekend's semifinals, prevailed in a back-and-forth opening first set which featured two breaks of serve by both players.

Djokovic began the contest with an early break of serve to lead 3-1. Using his flexible serve and inside-out forehand, the Serb appeared in control of the marquee match up.

Nadal, who had been struggling with his depth of shot throughout the week, gained a measure of control over the match by breaking back to level the set at 4-4.

With both combatants holding serve in routine fashion to force a first set tiebreak, it was Djokovic who jumped to a mini-break lead to capture a 6-2 advantage.

Nadal fought back with purpose to save three set points, only to send a weak forehand wide and handing Djokovic a one set lead.

Nadal's form at the end of the first set was highlighted by seven winners and 20 unforced errors.

Injury woes began to take precedent during the second set for Nadal. Trailing 1-2 on serve, the Spaniard received treatment for a lower back injury.

Adding to the Mallorcan's recent battle with knee and abdominal ailments, it was evident that the mental strain of a long year was catching up with second seed.

Djokovic immediately took advantage of his opponent's injury, breaking and holding serve to lead 4-1.

Nadal clawed his way back to post a respectable three games in the second set, which included saving Djokovic's first match point with a laser-like backhand down-the-line, and the second which featured an off forehand which clipped the right sideline.

The Serb was forced to save a critical break-point with a forehand winner, only to convert his third match point when Nadal sprayed a backhand wide.

With the win, Djokovic improved to 7-3 lifetime against Nadal on hard-courts, while decreasing his head-to-head deficit against the Spaniard to 14-7 lifetime.

Nadal's grueling season is not over by any means. He will travel back to his native Spain in order to prepare for the Davis Cup final against the Czech Republic.

"I am confident [about the Davis Cup final]. I know [it is] going to be a difficult final," expressed Nadal.

"The change on clay, going to be a big change. But that's a big motivation for me, [to] finish the year winning. And I have the opportunity there to play well, to play good tennis on clay and to win, to win something important for my country and for my friends."

Nadal continued to reflect on his week of tennis with optimism during his post match presser.

"[It's not very disappointing]. It's disappointing if you arrive here with the feeling that you have a big chance to win. But I didn't arrive here with that feeling. I know before the tournament that [it was] going to be really tough. But I tried. Every day I tried my best. I think I improved a little bit. But that's tennis. I'm playing against the best players in the world. It wasn't enough on this surface," said Nadal.

Nadal, who currently stands at 399-91 in his career win-loss record, will attempt to become the youngest player in tennis history to capture 400 career wins in less than 500 ATP World Tour matches played.

Djokovic, who is still in the hunt to overtake Nadal's No. 2 ranking this week, will have to wait on the result of tonight's encounter between Nikolay Davydenko and Robin Soderling.

"I think the season that I had this year has taken its toll on me a little bit in this tournament," assessed Djokovic.

"I'm not saying that I should have done some things different. You try to win every match you play. Unfortunately for me, the exhaustion came in the tournament where I should have been the freshest: here. But, still, I managed to get two out of three wins. If I finish today the season, I will be very happy to finish in this way, and just hope to rest well for 2010."

In the event that Davydenko defeats Soderling, the Russian would join the Swede in the semifinal portion of the event.

Soderling currently leads Davydenko 6-3 in career head-to-head meetings, owns a 3-1 record this season.

Soderling, who stands at 2-0 in round robin play, remains the only player left in the field with a chance of capturing the undefeated pot of over $1.5 million, as well as 1500 ATP World Tour ranking points.

Group A action, which wrapped up on Thursday saw, Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro as the two semifinalists.

Federer, who needed to win at least one set against del Potro to advance to the semifinals, achieved his goal on his way to a three set defeat to the Argentine.

Del Potro, who need to defeat Federer in straight sets to assure his semifinal position, barely squeezed into the final four over Andy Murray by winning one more to game over the Scot (45-44).

Del Potro's win became the second straight over his Swiss opponent, adding to his glorious run of capturing his maiden Grand Slam title in New York.

Please check back on Saturday for an semifinal recap from the Barclays ATP World Tour finals in London.

Exclusive Interview with Marco Chiudinelli

Nima Naderi — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:17:17 -0500

After suffering a slew of injuries during the 2008 season, Swiss player Marco Chiudinelli has put forth an onslaught of great results during his 2009 campaign.

Chiudinelli, who is 28-years-old, currently resides in Fuellinsdorf, Switzerland, and is ranked No. 54 on the ATP World Tour.

Chiudinelli was kind enough to answer the following questions for me after returning from his offseason trip to the Dominican Republic.

1. Coming into the 2009 season, what were your expectations in terms of ranking position and results?

As I started the year only being ranked No. 603 and just having a few more tournaments left where I was able to use my protected ranking, my goal was to end the season at least around the No. 160 spot, so I could be seeded in the qualifying of the Australian Open '10.

I knew this was already going to be quite difficult, but it seemed [like] an OK goal to me for the '09 season, and then I was planning to try to make the top 100 in the '10 season.

2. What component of the game did you find most difficult to regain when coming back to competition after an injury plagued 2008 season?

I struggled quite a long time with my backhand, which was one of my best weapons before my surgery. It took me a long time until I regained full confidence in it again and only tried to keep the ball in play at the start of the '09 season.

3. What motivated you to gain your highest career ranking of No. 54 in the world after starting the year ranked No. 603?

Reaching the top 100 was always my goal since I started to play as a pro. In '05 I came quite close, reaching a ranking of No. 129, but then was stopped by a major shoulder injury. After a nine-month break due to shoulder surgery, I dropped back to No. 795, and then made it back to No. 130 within nine months of playing after my comeback.

So it was my second time that I got very close to breaking the top 100, but once again I was forced to stop playing, this time for 18 months due to a knee surgery.

I was never giving up on my dream and worked hard for my comeback as I always had belief that I can achieve my goals. I am very happy and proud that in '09, in my 10th year on tour and after all the big setbacks, I finally made my dream come true and now it's time to set myself a new goal.

4. What players supported you the most when you were sidelined for the majority of the 2008 season?

The player who supported me the most during my injury break was definitively Yves Allegro, who is my best friend at the same time, not only on tour.

5. What would you consider your highlight moment of 2009?

I had quite a few, the first being winning my first challenger in Tenerife in April, which made me re-enter the top 300. Then one of my best moments ever was definitively winning my first doubles title together with Michael Lammer in Gstaad. The other highlights were getting to the third round of the US Open, entering the top 100 by playing my first ever quarterfinal on tour in Bangkok, and last but not least, my first semifinal ever at my home tournament in Basel.

6. It is widely known that Roger Federer is your good friend on tour. Is this type of friendship common on tour, or is it more of every man for himself?

I think almost every player has a few very good friends on tour. Mine are: Yves Allegro, Roger Federer, Michael Lammer, and Ivo Klec.

7. Now that you have reached a high enough ranking to enter a majority of the tour-level events, what are you goals for the 2010 season?

First of all, I need to put all my efforts into keeping my position inside the top 100. If I can maintain my position for the first few months of the '10 season, then I can set myself new goals, maybe getting to the top 50 and trying to win a singles title.

8. Finally, if you could disclose one locker room story that the public doesn't know about, what would it be?

There isn't any particular story in my mind. Talking of locker rooms, a Challenger in India comes to my mind. As this was the only tournament I have ever played where there wasn't even a locker room...

Andy Murray Defeats Fernando Verdasco in Three Set Epic

Nima Naderi — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:54:58 -0500

Barclays ATP World Tour Final—London

Home country hero Andy Murray prevailed in strong fashion during his final round robin match on Thursday, outlasting a determined and hard-hitting effort by Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.

The 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3) victory for the Scot, which lasted three hours, saw both competitors put forth their highest quality of tennis in front of another sold out crowd.

Murray, who began in blazing form, broke Verdasco in the ninth game of the opening set on the strength of winning 81 percent of his first serve points.

The break of serve by Murray at the tail end of the first set became crucial in the sense that it would remain the lone break point conversion by either player throughout the match. Murray would end the affair winning one of 13 break point chances.

Verdasco would score his only break opportunity late in the second during the ninth game. Holding a slim 30-40 opportunity, which was also a set point, Verdasco failed to block back a well-struck Murray serve, which ultimately led to a 5-5 scoreline.

Verdasco's mettle, which had been tested all week, had seen the Spaniard lose all of his round robin matches in three sets.

Maintaining his three-set theme of the event, Verdasco produced a superb tiebreak highlighted by high kicking second serves and devastating forehand winners.

With the match heading to its deciding set, Murray's anguish of going the distance resonated throughout the supportive crowd.

Such outbursts as punching his strings and yelling after an unforced error became the dialect of the final set.

What was perhaps the oddest moment of the match occurred when Murray called tournament supervisor Gerry Armstrong to the court to ask him the potential scenarios of how the semifinalists would be chosen.

With his mind clearly not on the task at hand, Murray became susceptible to further frustration from Verdasco's game.

Clawing and scraping towards a culminating tiebreak, Murray increased his first serve points won to 81 percent, while using his defensive to remain close.

Verdasco, who hit a 136 MPH ace heading into the tiebreak, appeared anxious to capture his first win of the week.

With the tiebreaker tied at 1-1, Murray produced a marvelous slice forehand passing shot, which Verdasco dumped into the net.

Leading 3-2 in the tiebreak, Verdasco donated a miserable double fault, which all but sealed his fate.

Staring down triple match point at 6-3, Verdasco committed his final unforced error of the match (64 in total), by missing a swinging forehand volley wide.

Falling to his knees in relief, Murray saluted the crowd for their support while embracing the moment of a fine victory.

With the win, Murray improved to 2-1 in Group A action, while Verdasco fell to 0-3 in singles action.

Although Murray's 39 winners and 28 unforced errors did not showcase his best form to date, the Scot did manage to remain economical during the crucial stages of the affair, allowing for his 65th win of the season to take place.

By contrast, Verdasco's high risk, high reward game of 56 winners and 64 unforced errors broke down when it needed to be much tighter.

The Spaniard will hope to improve his form heading into next week's Davis Cup final in Barcelona.

Murray will now await the winner of tonight's encounter between Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro.

The fate of Murray's potential semifinal appearance is broken down as the following:

In the event that Federer defeats del Potro in straight sets, Federer and Murray would qualify. In the event that del Potro defeats Federer in straight sets, del Potro and Murray would qualify.

Finally, if del Potro defeats Federer in three sets, Federer and Murray would qualify.

With Federer holding a commanding 6-1 head-to-head lead over del Potro, the year-end No. 1 will be quite confident heading into the night clash.

Another critical component to watch out for between the two Grand Slam winners this evening is the revenge factor.

Although Federer leads del Potro by a substantial win-loss margin, his US Open defeat to the Argentine will fuel the Swiss to come out strong in this contest.

Del Potro claimed that he would have to play even better than he did in New York if he was to defeat Federer in London, ultimately displaying the maturity of understanding that his opponent will not be fooled by the same tactics as their previous match.

All in all, you have to hand it to the season finale for providing its fair amount of drama until the closing stages of the event.

Friday's action in London will feature:

Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic, and Robin Soderling vs. Nikolay Davydenko.

Please check back on Friday for continuing daily coverage from the Barclays ATP World Tour finals in London.

Soderling Continues Fine Form in London, Ousts Djokovic in Straight Sets

Nima Naderi — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:13:16 -0500

Barclays ATP World Tour Final—London

Tour finale wildcard Robin Soderling made the best of his status this week in London, defeating No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic, 7-6 (5), 6-1 in the round robin portion of the season ending championships.

Soderling, who had ousted No. 2 ranked Rafael Nadal in straight sets on Monday, needed five set points to capture the opening set.

Djokovic, who saved three set points at 4-5, staved off a subsequent set at 6-4 in the tiebreaker with an unreturnable serve.

Serving his first set point of the set on his serve, Soderling blasted a service winner at 6-5 to lead by a set.

Although Soderling's net play was atrocious throughout the two sets, the Swede managed to maintain stellar serving numbers for the match, striking 10 aces, winning 80 percent of his first serve points and 60 percent of his second serve points, during the one hour and 34 minute affair.

After bagging a one set lead, Soderling's confidence hit another gear, while Djokovic's listless body language all but ended his day.

Losing his serve on three of five occasions in the second set, Djokovic appeared resigned from the mental fatigue of not capturing the opening set.

The Serb's recent sublime Tour record had included winning back-to-back titles in Basel, Switzerland and Paris, France, as well as well winning a tough opening round robin match against Nikolay Davydenko.

Djokovic, who is the defending champ of the event, will now have to defeat Nadal in Friday's final round robin contest if he is to advance to the semifinals.

Djokovic is also vying to overtake Nadal's No. 2 position in the world rankings with a deep performance in London.

With the win, Soderling became the first player in the event to clinch a semifinal berth at this year's world tour finals. For his efforts thus far, Soderling has pocketed $240,000 in prize money, while moving up a spot in the world rankings to the No. 8 position.

Tuesday's win improved Soderling's year-to-date record against top 10 opponent's to 6-8, while capturing his first career win over Djokovic in six matches.

The Swede will next face Davydenko on Friday, leading the Russian 6-3 in career head-to-head meetings, and 3-1 on the year.

The night session at the O2 Arena will be highlighted by continued struggles of Spaniard Nadal.

The current world No. 2 will battle Davydenko in a must win encounter.

After falling to Soderling on Monday, Nadal needs to defeat Davydenko in order to remain in contention for the weekend's festivities.

The Mallorcan, who is currently riding a two match losing streak, appears mentally frail for the first time in his career.

Resorting to an exclusive array of defensive shots, Nadal's court positioning and shot selection seem to have drifted away from his once first strike game plan.

Davydenko by contrast, has been in sharp form as of late, winning two indoor titles during his fall campaign, while defeating Nadal in the pair's last meeting in Shanghai, China.

Nadal currently leads Davydenko 4-3 in career meetings, but with the way the Spaniard is playing as of late, don't be surprised if he loses his third tour-level match against the Russian.

Thursday's order of play in London will feature:

Andy Murray vs. Fernando Verdasco (Murray leads 7-1 in head-to-head action), while year-end champ Roger Federer vs. Juan Martin del Potro (Federer leads 6-1 in head-to-head action).

With Tuesday's convincing win over Murray, Federer solidified his No. 1 ranking for the fifth time in his career. The Swiss trails only Pete Sampras, who finished the year ranked No. 1 six times during his illustrious career.

“It means a lot to have returned to No. 1 and to finish the year again at No. 1,” said Federer. “It was an incredible year for me both on the court and off the court and to be able to break the all-time Grand Slam record and finish the year on top is amazing.”

Please check back on Thursday for continuing daily coverage from the Barclays ATP World Tour final in London.

Quotes courtesy of theatpworldtour.com.

Del Potro Edges Past Verdasco in London, Federer and Murray Up Next

Nima Naderi — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:13:24 -0500

Barclays ATP World Tour final—London

Reigning U.S. Open champ Juan Martin del Potro captured his first round robin win of the Barclays ATP World Tour final on Tuesday, defeating a tentative but persistent Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (1).

The pair's first meeting, which lasted two hours and 24 minutes, featured almost inseparable form from the two combatants.

Del Potro, who raced to an early lead in the first set, broke Verdasco in the third game to lead 2-1. The Argentine continued his momentum for the remainder of the opening set, saving two break points at 5-4, before capturing the first set after an errant Verdasco backhand.

Verdasco's fight continued in the second set, breaking del Potro in the eighth game to lead 5-3. The Spaniard's vicious forehand and well placed serve (which won 87 percent of his second serve points), persevered to level the match at a set a piece after striking an ace on set point.

Tied at one set all, del Potro began his charge early in what appeared to be a routine third-set victory. Leading 5-2, 30/40, del Potro's nerves prevented him from creating the required speed on an approach shot, leaving himself vulnerable to a Verdasco backhand pass.

After holding serve to trail 5-3, Verdasco broke del Potro in the ensuing game to level the set on serve. Verdasco then saved a second match point when serving at 4-5, pounding a deep backhand which del Potro could not combat.

The deciding tiebreak cemented what had been an up-and-down affair. Del Potro's confidence (which has improved leaps and bounds this season), saw the lanky Argentine gain an immediate mini-break to lead 3-1, only to extend his victorious margin to an insurmountable 6-1 advantage.

Del Potro wouldn't falter on his third match point, releasing a scream of relief when a final Verdasco forehand sailed long.

Verdasco, who fell to 1-13 against top-10 players this season, also dropped to 0-2 in Group A action. The Spaniard was defeated by Roger Federer in three sets on Sunday.

At this stage, it is all but certain that Verdasco will be eliminated from the semifinals this weekend, leaving his foremost thoughts on next week's Davis Cup final in Barcelona.

Trying times may be ahead for Verdasco, who seems to have frizzled after his great Australian Open campaign. The Madrid native's run to the semifinals in Melbourne showcased his lone top-10 win of the season against Andy Murray in the round of 16.

Verdasco will next face Murray on Thursday in pair's final round robin contest.

Del Potro, who improved to 2-2 in the event's history, now stands with a reasonable chance of qualifying for the weekends final four. The Tandil native will next face Federer on Thursday.

Speaking of Federer and Murray, the heavyweight duo will square off in the marquee match of the day during a sold out night session.

Murray, who leads Federer 6-3 in the pair's career head-to-head meetings, will attempt to be in top form in front of his home crowd.

With both players standing at 1-0 in the A Group action, a decisive win by either player would allow for a guaranteed spot in the Saturday's semifinals.

Ironically, the pair have never faced on a surface other than hard courts. Subsequently, only one of nine previous encounters by the two have been contested at a Grand Slam event; Federer winning the 2008 U.S. Open final.

When placed in a best-of-three set format, Murray is a dominating 6-2 over the Swiss, winning Indian Wells and Doha this season, but falling short to Federer in the pair's last meeting in the Cincinnati final.

Before the singles festivities get under way this evening, the No. 1 seeded doubles team of Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic will battle Frantisek Cermak and Michal Mertinak.

The matchup will be of particular importance to Nestor and Zimonjic, who will clinch the No. 1 ranking for the season if they are victorious.

In his ongoing blog for the week, Nestor was kind enough to forward me exclusive content from his experiences in London.

Here is his second blog from London:

Hello everyone, back again and as promised here to write about the fabulous arena and some of the action inside it. As we make our way down the banks of the Thames heading eastward and slightly out of the city, we start to see what appears as a huge tent with several huge antennas sticking out from it. The O2 arena is absolutely massive, and unlike any tennis venue out there.

When we get off the boat, a shuttle is there waiting to take us to our locker rooms which is about a 1 km walk around the stadium. I didn’t believe it was that far until my wife and I decided to walk it with our child in arm. About halfway through I realized that it was no lie and the stroller was put to use.

Inside the place it doesn’t look much different than most hockey or basketball arenas back home, though it is quite dark at all times as they are trying to have a boxing match type atmosphere with the spotlight on center court.

The singles players, for some reason, all have their own locker room with their individual pictures on the doors while us doubles guys have to share. It seems strange that they would give guys like Federer and Nadal this kind of service, and make Nestor/Zimonjic slum it up side by side with the other teams.

But somehow we manage and soon forget when we relax in the player/guest area on the 3rd level of the building which is basically a huge open suite that overlooks center court. Comfortable couches, hot food, video games, flat screens, internet—who cares about watching what’s going on down there on center court?

For some who still enjoy watching tennis they have that option too. I am not sure but I think they may have stole this concept from our Rogers Cup in Toronto and Montreal which are two of the few tournaments that offer this view while having a bite to eat for the players and their guests. Whatever the story is, the hosts are doing an unbelievable job of taking care of everyone from the fans, to players, to VIP’s.

On the court, we had the honor of opening the event (perhaps the organizers were regretting their decision afterward as Nenad and I didn’t play much like No. 1’s, though all credit to our Polish opponents who are very dangerous and were definitely the better team).

But unlike every other tournament where we lose our first match, this event is a little different as we play in a round robin of two groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the semis, meaning we still have a chance to go through if we win our next two matches.

If we bored the fans with the first match of the tournament then it was quickly forgotten as Andy Murray, The Last King of Scotland, came through with a nice win over the US Open champ Juan Martin Del Potro. Each day, the schedule has a doubles and singles match followed by a night session. We play again tomorrow night prior to the blockbuster between Murray and Federer (hopefully we bring our A game this time otherwise this trip will be nothing more than sightseeing on the Thames).

I was looking forward to taking my mind off tennis after the match Sunday with some NFL action because there is nothing better when you get live action in Europe, but I think I was more upset after the Steelers decided it was time for an early Christmas present as they lost to the lowly Chiefs. At least my daughter made me feel better later on that night when she pulled my hair, scratched my face and yelled at me.

I think she was trying to say, last time we were here four months ago you won Wimbledon, you call that tennis what you were doing out there today?

Anyways, that’s all for now, next time I will hopefully write to you after a win.

Daniel

Wednesday's order of play from the O2 Arena in London will feature:

Novak Djokovic vs. Robin Soderling and Rafael Nadal vs. Nikolay Davydenko

Please check back throughout the week for daily reviews from the Barclays ATP World Tour finals in London.

Soderling Upsets Nadal in London, Djokovic and Davydenko on Deck

Nima Naderi — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:23:30 -0500

Barclays ATP World Tour final—London

Robin Soderling caused the first major upset of the Barclays ATP World Tour final on Tuesday, ousting world No. 2 Rafael Nadal, 6-4, 6-4 in round robin play.

Soderling, who defeated Nadal at the French Open earlier this season, appeared motivated from the onset of the match to duplicate his fortunes in Paris.

Racing to a commanding 3-0 first set lead, the Swede demonstrated his precise, hard-hitting indoor experience.

Not to be outdone, Nadal broke back to level the set at 3-3, only to lose his serve at 4-5.

The Spaniard's willingness to win was present, but his length of shot combined with low first percentage (59 percent for the match), inevitably began to wear on his demeanor.

The fifth game of the second set, which lasted 12 minutes, featured countless break and game points for both competitors.

Soderling's backhand crosscourt, which was hit flat and early, was countered by Nadal's forehand down-the-line.

After holding to lead by the narrow margin of 3-2, Soderling continued his baseline onslaught on Nadal, following up his out wide serving with well placed inside-out forehands.

Nadal's renowned level of focus, was rivaled by Soderling throughout the one hour and 38 minute contest.

Winning nine more total points than the Spaniard in his straight set victory, Soderling simply played the big points better in each set.

"Especially today, I think I managed to play really well in the important points, which is something I think you have to do," said Soderling.

Nadal, who remains within mathematical distance of catching Roger Federer for the year end No. 1 spot, will now find his chances of finishing No. 1 nearly unattainable.

The Spaniard will now have to win his final two round robin matches and the title, while hoping that Federer doesn't win any of his remaining round robin matches and does not reach the finals.

Nadal, who saved his first match with a hard-fought 16-shot rally, lost the ensuing point when Soderling struck a blistering crosscourt backhand.

Soderling wouldn't falter on his second match point, screaming in victory when Nadal sent a final backhand wide.

Finishing the match with 27 winners and 23 unforced errors, Soderling was simply cleaner off than ground than the Spaniard.

Nadal's 18 winners and 24 unforced errors, resulted in limited opportunities to sustain momentum.

Aside from Nadal falling to 0-1 in Group B action, the Spaniard failed to gain a measure of revenge after losing to Soderling at the French Open (his lone career loss at Roland Garros).

Nadal was also denied his 400th career victory with his loss, holding a slight 3-2 career head-to-head lead over Soderling.

"He is a big player in this surface, so is difficult if you are not completely calm and playing very well in that moment [you will lose],” said Nadal.

"It's really difficult to win and today I didn't play in this way in that moments,” explained Nadal.

The Spaniard will now look forward to battling either Novak Djokovic or Nikolay Davydenko in his next match.

Djokovic and Davydenko will see action shortly at the O2 Arena, hosting the night session in front of another sold out crowd.

Tied with two wins a piece, Davydenko won the pair's last encounter in thrilling fashion during the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters 1000.

Djokovic, who is coming into London in scintillating form, captured back-to-back titles in Basel and Paris—his fourth and fifth titles of the season.

Expect nothing short of anything less then a barn burner between these two, with the slight edge going to Davydenko.

Tuesday's order of play in London will include:

Fernando Verdasco vs. Juan Martin del Potro and Roger Federer vs. Andy Murray.

Please stay tuned for continuing daily coverage from the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London.

Quotes courtesy of theatpworldtour.com

Murray Fights Past Del Potro, Wins First Round Robin Match in London

Nima Naderi — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:57:35 -0500

Barclays ATP World Tour final—London

World No. 4 Andy Murray put forth a sublime effort to his London campaign on Sunday, defeating reigning US Open champ Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in two hours and five minutes.

With a full house partaking in the first round robin match of the event, Murray began on top form in the opening set, breaking del Potro in the third and fifth games, resting on consistent serving and penetrating return of serves.

Del Potro, who appeared fatigued and unmotivated in the first set, increased his level of intensity to begin the set two, duplicating Murray's feat of breaking serve twice, leveling the match a set a piece.

With Del Potro's average ground stroke speed almost 10 miles faster than Murray's (77.4 mph to 67.5 mph), the towering Argentine appeared the front runner heading into the deciding set.

After capturing a routine hold of serve in the opening game of set three, Murray withstood eight of 10 first serves by Del Potro in the second game to lead 2-0.

Murray would stretch his third set lead to 4-2, winning all 10 of his first serve points.

The Scot's timely trips to the net were also integral part of his winning formula, capturing an impressive 9-12 opportunities when moving forward.

Del Potro, who remained diligent with his potent forehand, struck 31 winners to 38 unforced errors.

Serving at 2-5 down in the final set, Del Potro saved his first match point with a service winner, only to have Murray win the ensuing rally with a backhand winner—his 31st of the match.

With the win, Murray captured a 1-0 win-loss record in Group A action, while Del Potro fell to 0-1.

A positive note for the Argentine will remain his second set win over Murray. In the event that two or more players in the Group A end up with the same win-loss total—the tiebreaker would take into account most sets won.

All in all, the win by Murray will be remembered for his second serve points won, which reached an astounding 68 percent.

Murray's challenge going forward for the remainder of his career will be his ability to translate his return of serve prowess into best of five set matches. Although the task is much more difficult in a Grand Slam event, such statistics will be vital in Murray's ability to capture his first major title.

Murray, who is relatively fresh coming into the season ending championships, elaborated on his match form after defeating del Potro.

"Me and Juan haven't played that much since the US Open. I kind of expected a little bit of a scrappy match maybe," said Murray. "He didn't start particularly well, but after 5-0 (in the first set), I thought the standard was very good. Played some great points. Obviously happy to get the win.

Tactically, I've always been quite good. So I found a way through it today. He does have a big forehand. He can hit a lot of winners; he can make mistakes off of it. There was a period [from the] end of the first set till the beginning of the third where he was hitting it big. I managed to keep myself in the point with sort of low slices and backhands, up the line. They helped a lot to kind of keep him out of that backhand court a bit."

Del Potro, who fell to 1-3 at the event, spoke about his nose bleed in the first set, along with his missed opportunities throughout his defeat.

“I have a big nose, that’s the problem,” the Argentine said. “It’s just bleeding, I don’t know why.”

“Against Andy, always the match is very tough,” explained del Potro. “We play three sets in every tournament, every match. Today was a little strange, but he played great tennis in the third set. He was a little lucky, but you need the luck to win and today it was with him. We had a very good atmosphere, very good crowd. Many Argentineans come to watch this tournament. So I'm very, very happy to be part of the eight players."

The night session at the O2 Arena will feature world No. 1 Roger Federer against Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.

Federer, who leads the pair's head-to-head 3-0, will be playing with extra incentive this week with his No. 1 ranking on the line.

In the event that Federer wins his three round robin matches, he will clinch the No. 1 ranking for the year.

Verdasco, who is making his debut at the event, will attempt to utilize his forehand and left-handed serve to offset the rhythm of his Swiss opponent.

Another sold out crowd is slated for the evening session.

In doubles action, the team of Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic were ousted by the unheralded Polish duo of Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski, 6-4, 6-4.

Nestor, who recently won his ninth different Masters 1000 title in Paris (the only player in singles and doubles to do so on either Tour), was kind enough to provide me with a blog the day before his first round match. Nestor will be blogging throughout the week. Stay tuned.

Here's what the five time Grand Slam champ had to say:

So here we are at the end of another grueling season. It’s the year end championships, or the decider as they have been dubbed it, where the best of the best battle it out for year-end supremacy.

Qualifying for this tournament is a goal that every player has in January when the season starts and what a treat it is to be part of the show. Most tournaments on tour treat the players quite well but the masters take it to another level, which says a lot because we get treated well at every tournament we play.

One example is the boat shuttle they have organized to the site so that we don’t sit in traffic as the journey from hotel to venue is a straight shot along the Thames.

You can say we are sightseeing every time we go back and forth from our matches and practice as we pass Big Ben, House of Parliament, Eye of London, and the infamous Tower of London where King Henry ruled the town kind of like Andy Murray present day.

Having my wife and daughter with me is always nice and as this is the first time we are staying in the city as opposed to June where we are in Wimbledon village for the month. Both places are great, but being downtown gives you a whole new appreciation of how amazing this city is.

So many places to walk around and quite different from life in Canada where you need a car almost everywhere you go. Don’t get me wrong, I still regard the Canadian Open as my favorite tournament of the year because there is nothing like playing in front of friends and family.

Speaking of matches, we are first up tomorrow. We have the honour of opening the tournament so I am going to check out now to make sure that I am well rested to try and get off to a good start. But I will be back soon to talk about the state of the art O2 Arena where it all goes down. See you then.

Daniel

Tuesday's action in London will feature the commencement or Group B competition.

No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal will take on Robin Soderling in a French Open rematch, to be followed by No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic vs. Nikolay Davydenko.

Please check back throughout the week for continuing daily coverage from the Tour finale in London.

Gael Monfils: La Monf, The Man

Nima Naderi — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:37:52 -0500

In the midst of celebrating a glorious point, which included a mid-air two-handed smash against Marin Cilic during the quarterfinals of the Bercy event last week, a strange but confiding moment occurred for Gael Monfils: he became a man.

It wasn't so much his jaw-dropping attempt against his lanky opponent that caused the Frenchman's revelation—if anything, we've seen one too many (or too few) miracle acrobatic moves by the French player during his career.

Let's not forget the 100 mph forehand winners against Rafael Nadal at this year's US Open, or the perennial out-of-court, out-of-reach backhand passes the Paris native has created on his yearly romp through a few rounds at Roland Garros.

There was certainly something different about that point, which took place at 6-3, 2-4, Cilic serving. Monfils, who had never made the finals of a Masters 1000 event, missed a golden opportunity the week before in Valencia to remain in contention for the Tour finale in London.

The Frenchman's productive yet inconsistent year, which had included a title in Metz and a runner-up finish in Acapulco, was respectable, but was it enough?

Here was perhaps the best athlete on Tour, a player who had won three of the four Grand Slam events as a junior and at one time or another equaled or surpassed the Olympic curriculum for athletic measure.

Thus, it was easy to determine that even though Monfils held many exquisite attributes, comprising of a few trick shots and a fist pump here and there, the youngster's style of play would ultimately lead to limited results.

Putting on a good show simply held greater value than winning Major titles.

So what suddenly changed in the mindset of Monfils while slapping back a Cilic overhead?

Was his career worthy of a second look?

One could say that Monfils' intervention took place as a result of his failure to qualify for London—pain and reflection usually take place when the moment of truth has been revealed.

More than Monfils' missed opportunity to qualify for London, I believe the Frenchman finally (as it so fittingly happened on one of his miraculous circus shots) posed this specific statement to himself: Hey, if I do apply myself on a week-to-week basis, there is no reason why I won't be able to remain in the elite ranks of the game.

Now, I'm not saying that Monfils is a certifiable Grand Slam contender. His shot selection and ability to play under pressure remain in question. However, if the Paris Masters taught us anything, it was that the age-old theory of "heart" and "fighting to the end" will remain the cornerstone of any great competitor.

Even though Nadal was ushered out the event in convincing fashion by eventual champion Novak Djokovic, the Spaniard's resilience throughout the early stages of the tournament allowed for his deep progression. Against Nicolas Almagro and Tommy Robredo, Nadal's serve and forehand (his usual bread and butter) were "off," to say the least.

However, what remained a constant for Nadal was his ability to give 100 percent under any circumstance.

This tactic, or should I say mental asset, has served the Spaniard exceedingly well in his claim of both the No. 1 ranking and his six Major championships.

With the 2010 season a mere six weeks from commencement, it will be rather interesting to observe Monfils' trajectory up (or down) the mental ladder.

Remember folks, wanting to compete day in and day out is much easier than just reciting it to oneself. Monfils displayed tremendous grit throughout his last event of Tour, and if he is to creep up and become a consistent top-10 player, nothing short of a better game plan and continued belief must be present.

Monfils does deserves credit for being consistent in one facet of the game throughout his six-year career: he's managed to play tennis under his own terms.

I asked Monfils earlier this year in Montreal after defeating Marat Safin in a first encounter if he ever thought of holding back a touch when accelerating towards a dynamic all-or-nothing passing shot.

The charismatic 23-year-old, who was slouched over at the time, glanced down at his tennis shoes, thought about his answer for a second, and confidently replied, "If I don't play this way, I cannot play. This is my game. If I don't dive for the ball, I can't return it."

Who said anything about not diving for a ball?

At any rate, the consensus is out that Monfils is a real deal tennis player who will continue to battle the mental grind of what he hopes will turn into consistent results.

You can bet that during his current offseason, Monfils will attempt to inject himself with the following words of inspiration: How can I take my game to the next level?

This vital but precocious statement has never been apart of the Monfils repertoire.

He's always had the talent; now all that remains for the current world No. 13 to discover is the conundrum of fusing his athletic ability with his seldom-used metal game.

Will the task be easy? Not a chance.

Will it even happen?

Just like his miraculous portfolio of death-defying shots, La Monf has repeatedly proved that the unthinkable can be turned into a vivid reality.

Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Preview: the Fate of Eight

Nima Naderi — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:50:40 -0500

Tournament Preview

With the draw ceremony for the Barclays ATP World Tour finals taking place this week on the London eye, the world's best players are set to battle one another in two elite groups, comprising the final showdown of the tennis season.

The O2 Arena, which will host the biggest indoor tennis event in history, has sold out on a majority of their available tickets—250,000 to be exact.

Four-time champ Roger Federer heads the elite field, which will include all four Major winners this season.

An interesting fact going into this year's event remains that only Federer and defending champ Novak Djokovic have won the title in previous appearances.

In his fifth year of qualification, Rafael Nadal appears eager to rectify a season which has been hindered with both personal and physical anguish.

The Spaniard has exuded tentative play as of late, and will have to step up his court positioning in order to succeed.

Consistent Russian Nikolay Davydenko will be making his fifth straight finals appearance, highlighted by finals loss to Djokovic last year.

Davydenko, who was plagued with a number of foot injuries to begin the season, comes into London on the heels of winning four tour titles post Wimbledon.

Tour finale newcomers, Juan Martin del Potro, Fernando Verdasco, and Robin Soderling will be adamant on proving their worth after pouring in respectable year-long campaigns.

Del Potro, who won his maiden Grand Slam title in New York this summer, holds perhaps the hardest forehand on the circuit. The Tandil native has proved that he is not only one of the best ball strikers on the planet, but he also holds a full deck of focus when it comes to mental toughness.

Spaniard Verdasco has risen to the upper echelon of the game's elite this season, due in large part to his consistent results. His 52-22 match record highlighted by an epic run in Australia to start the season, has this Spanish powerhouse in full flight towards London glory.

Verdasco will be a dark horse in the event, resting on the strength of his affective lefty game.

Hard-hitting Soderling finds himself in the year's last tournament on the good grace of Andy Roddick.

The American, who was the sixth player to qualify for the event, was forced to withdraw from London due to an ongoing knee injury. Roddick has qualified for the year end finale on seven straight occasions.

Roddick's loss might just turn into Soderling's gain. The Tibro native will be playing with house money all week and was put in the Group B, which does not include his nemesis Federer.

Soderling has been suffering with a bothersome right elbow as of late and will hope for a clean bill of health as he embarks on the final event of the season.

With the stage set for what promises to be a week of both scintillating and sold out tennis, let's take a look at both groups and their respective combatants.

Group A

1. Roger Federer: The four-time winner comes into London with cloud of doubt over his record-breaking year. Two consecutive losses to Djokovic and Benneteau, holds Federer's drive for five in doubt. The Swiss will have to deal with Murray, who he trails 6-3 in career head-to-head meetings, Del Potro, who he lost to in New York, and finally a swing happy Verdasco with nothing to lose.

Federer should be able to make it through the round robin portion, though his matches with Murray and Del Potro could be ambush induced, to say the least.

A final note of importance for Federer: If he bombs out in the round robin draw, Nadal could very well snatch his No. 1 ranking away.

4. Andy Murray: The Scot, or Brit for the week, enters the burden filled O2 Arena with every English supporter expecting a title run. Murray's second appearance at the event will be highlighted by a recent title in Valencia, topping off an overall stellar year.

Let's not forget that a recent left wrist injury and five set confusion during the Grand Slam events has tripped up Murray during his season.

When it comes to figuring out three-set matches though, Murray is in a league of his own. Murray's confident head-to-head mark against Federer, Delpo, and Verdasco will aid well in his bid to the finals.

Murray's match against Federer will be key; likely implying a guaranteed spot for either competitor in the semifinals.

5. Juan Martin Del Potro: There's no time like the present to make a significant impact on tour. Del Potro is clearly in the Grand Slam mix after his triumph in New York, and a deep run in London would simply solidify his place as an Australian Open favorite.

Delpo has struggled against Murray and Federer, but has proved that he can create countless opportunities against either adversary.

It remains to be seen if Del Potro is still in hangover mode since winning the US Open; capturing only two match victories throughout the fall season would suggest just that.

All in all, I like Del Potro in this group, but his chances of survival against R-Fed and Murray will be difficult.

The Argentine has proved his mettle all season, and another chance to change the face of tennis lies in London.

7. Fernando Verdasco: Good old Nando. He's graced the world with his Aussie faux-hawk, a visor in the summer, and his current hybrid of Antonio Banderas meets a mobster from the Sopranos —what's not to like?

Regardless of his hairstyle preference, one constant in Verdasco's game this year has been his ability to win matches on a weekly basis. Seldom suffering a first round loss, Verdasco's forehand and improved fitness have aided him in becoming a respective member of the top 10.

The lone concern for Verdasco in London will be his shot selection. When Verdasco is winning, it's all about the pace he can generate. When Verdasco is losing, it's all about the pace he can generate—see a problem?

With versatility not being his strength, and a substantial losing record against both Federer and Murray, Veradasco's stay in London may just be filled with the experience of "just" being there.

All in all, with del Potro being the x-factor in this group (a giant one at that), let's stay on the side of factual and viable evidence and pick the two men who have been there, done that.

Semifinalists: Federer and Murray

Group B

2. Rafael Nadal: Talk about a long season, no? Not only does Nadal have to think about battling through a treacherous field in London and have the weight of an upcoming Davis Cup tie on his "sleeved" shirts, the Mallorcan, for all intensive purposes is also playing poorly.

What started off as a knee injury and stomach muscle strain for Nadal has quickly turned into an all out attempt at regaining his unbeatable court presence.

Once feared by everyone in the locker room, Nadal is simply beatable these days.

From his loss to del Potro in New York, to his white wash defeats to Marin Cilic and Davydenko in Asia, and even as recently as his semifinal drubbing at the hands of Djokovic in Paris, Nadal's defensive foundation has turned into his worst offensive nightmare. It seems that there is no offense in sight.

However, this isn't the first time we've seen Nadal struggle. If anything it's what he thrives on in the arena of competition.

His talent and fight will always be present on court, and his willingness to compete should last until his last breath on tour.

Now, on the flip side of hope, Nadal will have to deal with three foes which he has struggled against this season: Djokovic, Davydenko, and Soderling.

Losing to all three players in commanding fashion at some point during the year, Nadal is both vulnerable and eager for revenge.

The Spaniard has historically shown the ability to defeat opponent's that have handed him prior defeat—London's challenge will surely test all of the Spaniard's innate abilities.

3. Novak Djokovic: The man of the hour has never come into the tour finale more confident. Defeating Federer and Nadal along the road to capturing respective titles in Basel and Paris, Djokovic currently resides with significant bark to his title defense.

Using the current flame of confidence that Djokovic possesses to advance should be easy; keeping up his fitness for a third consecutive event will be the most challenging component.

Djokovic has rarely won three tour titles in a row during his career. With that critical stat lacking in his favor, a repeat to the Tour finale seems unlikely.

Based on his reaction alone after defeating Gael Monfils in Paris, Djokoivc should be spent. The fact that he has a losing head-to-head against Nadal, and an even head-to-head against Davydenko—Djokovic may just dwindle during the latter stages of the event.

Something tells me that a surprise or two may be in order in this group.

6. Nikolay Davydenko: Never a fan of the grass courts in London, Davydenko will happily throw his hat in the mix on the neutral hard surface.

Playing hard and playing often has allowed Davydenko to put forth a devastatingly successful fall campaign, which saw him defeat both Nadal and Djokovic on his way to his third Masters 1000 title in Shanghai.

It appears that a fresh Russian will look to run ramped on a fatigued Djokovic and Davis Cup-occupied Nadal.

All in all, Davydenko's karma seems to be right where is should be in London, resulting in a potential off-the-rise symposium which could take him to the winner's podium by week's end.

8. Robin Soderling: Soderling could very well have the most to prove in this event, simply because he wants to prove his worth. He knows that his place in London was achieved by default, and if not for Roddick's misfortune, his vacation time in Monte Carlo would have started earlier.

La Sod has the game to defeat everyone in this section and his match with Nadal should be the popcorn match of the event. If the flat-hitting Swede can control his nerves throughout his first few matches, a semifinal place is certainly within reach.

I alluded to his group being full of surprises, and Soderling may very well be the surprise of the event.

The odds makers weren't as kind to Soderling this time around, posing a further problem in choosing his glory.

However, Soderling does provide significant punch in his game—pound for pound—over the other three competitors in this group.

Power can often hinder a players' progression through a big time event, but in Soderling's case, his blazing ground game should fit right in with his O2 surroundings.

Semifinal picks: Davydenko, Soderling

Finals: Murray vs. Davydenko

Winner: Murray

Please check back throughout the week for daily coverage from the last ATP World Tour event of the calender year.

The fate of eight awaits.

Novak Djokovic Defeats Gael Monfils in Compelling Fashion to Capture Paris Crown

Nima Naderi — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:14:50 -0500

BNP Paribas Masters—Paris

Third seed Novak Djokovic captured the final regular season match of the year on Sunday, defeating an inspired Gael Monfils, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (3).

Djokovic, who dominated his French opponent in a first set with two breaks of serve, won a total of 84 percent of his first-serve points in the 30-minute set.

The Serb began the second set with the same amount of poise, breaking Monfils early to lead 3-1.

Monfils simply looked spent throughout the first set and a half of the contest; remaining in recover mode from his near three-hour epic with Radek Stepanek on Saturday.

However, in the spirit of all that is French flair, Monfils began to mount an incredible comeback which featured recommitted movement and improved serving.

Monfils, who won seven of the last nine games in the second set, was determined to give the Parisian fans a match to remember—he surely did not disappoint.

Monfils' embracing the fans after every winning shot did not sit well with Djokovic.

During the change over before the start of the third set, Djokovic spoke to chair umpire Carlos Bernardes to oversee Monfils' antics after winning and losing a point. Djokoivc's concern stemmed the rowdy crowd's noise level between points.

Monfils accepted the warning from Bernardes with a sheepish smile, only to continue his entertaining tennis for the remainder of the encounter.

Djokovic, who drew first blood in the final set, led 2-0 before Monfils leveled the set on serve.

The rollercoaster, poor serving set continued for both players, which saw a total of four break conversions, leading to a fatiguing groundstroke affair.

Monfils' bicep pump, which was exhibited upon entering the Palais Omnisports, continued its course throughout the latter stages of the set, drawing energy and conviction from the legion of French followers.

With a final-set tiebreak determining the titlist for 2009, Djokovic gained a mini-break to lead 4-2, only to set up his first match point with a routine overhead smash.

Monfils, who had exhausted all of his resources and then some to stay with Djokovic, double-faulted on match point, handing the Serb his fifth title of the season.

Djokovic, who immediately dropped to his knees after winning his first Bercy title, shouted in continuous compelling joy, acknowledging his well-deserved win.

"Winning back-to-back titles on this level is a huge achievement for me, and adding to that, beating No. 1, No. 2 of the world," said Djokovic, who dismissed No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals on Saturday. "So I'm very pleased with my performances in the past four, five weeks.

"I think winning back-to-back titles probably for the first or maybe second time in my career gives me even more motivation to make the same success in the future."

Djokovic, who improved to 76-18 on the year (first on Tour), remained perfect against Monfils in the pair's career head-to-head matches at 4-0.

Monfils, who was devastated by his loss, took solace in telling his hometown fans that he had given his utmost best on Sunday.

"Of course, [the] big support of the crowd gave him even more motivation and more energy towards the end of the match. So I was kind of fighting him and fighting the big pressure of the crowd.

"I was trying to hold all my nerves. At the end of the match, I threw all my emotions out and was happy."

"The only thing I see is that everything depended on this tie-break in the last set. I was not able to win that final tie-break," lamented Monfils. "I will be disappointed. I'll be disappointed today or tomorrow or in three weeks, because it was really tight.

There's nothing that I did wrong. He played very well. He was hitting well and no mistakes," complimented the Frenchman. "I needed to fight and stay in there. I started playing better in the third set. He broke me. I was able to find my energy to come back."

Monfils' heroic finals performance dropped his season mark to 42-19, while ending the year with one Tour title and two final appearances.

The Paris native will end the year just outside the world's top 10 at No. 13.

"This end of season gives me really the desire to work hard so that next year maybe I will have a full season. I'm thinking if I was able to play all the year round, all the tournaments, how good it would be.

"Without doing that, I'm already Top 13. I don't want to over-estimate myself, but if I had played a full year this year, I would have been among the Top 10. I'm almost sure of that. I'm sure next year I will be able to get back within the Top 10."

Watch out for Monfils in 2010; if he can keep his head in the game, there is no telling how far the athletic and entertaining Frenchman can go.

Djokovic, who will be hard pressed for recovery time leading into next week's Barclays ATP World Tour finals in London, remains confident that he will be able to repeat his title in Shanghai.

"I'm very happy that I managed to win a big tournament just two tournaments before the end of the season," said Djokovic. "Now I'm coming with a lot of confidence in London, and the only question is if I'm able to physically rest and get energy for that event."

Well, folks, that ends what has been another terrific year of jaw-dropping regular season action on the ATP World Tour.

Please check back shortly for a preview of the London finale, where the top eight players in the world will be vying for the prestigious year-end crown.

All quotes courtesy of the atpworldtour.com

Djokovic Thumps Nadal in Paris, Meets Monfils in Final

Nima Naderi — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:12:33 -0500

BNP Paribas Masters—Paris, France

No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic put an exclamation mark on two great weeks of tennis, easily dismissing No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals of the Bercy event in Paris on Saturday.

Djokovic, who defeated world No. 1 Roger Federer in three sets to claim the Basel Indoors event last week, took advantage of Nadal's weak serving on the day, breaking the Spaniard in six and eighth games of the opening sets—both at love.

The second set mirrored the first set in many ways, with Djokovic dominating the tempo of the baseline exchanges, striking deep flat groundstrokes.

Nadal, who had exhibited more of a defensive foundation throughout the week, couldn't generate the necessary firepower required to trouble his Serbian opponent.

Winning only 58 percent of his total service points throughout the one hour and 16 minute blowout, Nadal, who leads the Tour in several return of serve statistics, remained quiet on Djokovic's service games, failing to gather a single break point opportunity.

Djokovic, who was a relentless from every part of the court against his Spanish rival, improved his head-to-head deficit against Nadal to 14-6, while winning his Tour-leading 75th match of the season.

Djokovic was ecstatic after his victory, confessing that he couldn't have played any better.

"There's not much to say about today's performance, except it was perfect," said Djokovic, who hit 31 winners.

"[It was] exactly the way I wanted it. I have done, tactically-wise, everything that I imagined to do and planned to do before the match. I was very aggressive.

"[I] took the early control of the match over my opponent, and it paid off. I was hitting winners from all over the court and really trying to keep that momentum going throughout the whole match. I didn't give him many chances to come back into the match."

Nadal, who fell to 64-11 on the year, has encountered a variety of upsets as of late, losing to players who strike deeper more penetrating shots.

"He played very well," admitted Nadal. "He played unbelievable, in my opinion. I didn't play bad. That's the truth. But with this level of Novak's, [it] is very difficult to play at this level, especially [on] this surface. I finish the tournament playing much better than [how] I started [it]."

Nadal will now head back to Mallorca, before traveling to London where he will begin preparations for the Tour finale.

Djokovic, who will be competing in his 10th final of the year, will face athletic Frenchman and crowd favorite Gael Monfils in the final.

Monfils advanced to his first Masters 1000 level final on Saturday, defeating Radek Stepanek 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

Monfils, who dazzled the hometown crowd throughout the two hour and 41 minute slugfest, nearly lost his momentum in the second set after serving for the match at 5-4.

Stepanek, who remains one of the most determined competitors on the circuit, broke Monfils to even the second set at 5-5, before holding to lead 6-5.

Using a crafty selection of flat backhands and net approaches, Stepanek captured the second set with an overhead smash—converting his second of four break point opportunities.

With the Parisian crowd gasping at his every stroke, Monfils drew last blood in the ninth game of the final set, breaking Stepanek for the sixth time in the contest.

After Stepanek hit a final forehand long on match point, Monfils pumped his chest with vigor, acknowledging the tremendous crowd support.

With the win, Monfils advanced to his third final of the year and will attempt to win his second title on home soil in the last month, capturing his second career in Metz.

The flexible Frenchman, who improved to 42-18 on the season and 3-1 against Stepanek in career head-to-head meetings, spoke about his delight of reaching the biggest final of his young career.

"I don't feel tired anymore," said Monfils. "I know tomorrow I'll give my life on the court. I've been playing more than two hours today and the day before. It's no longer a physical issue. It's mental now. I want to win. I'm not listening to my body anymore. I'll give it all."

Monfils' inspiring words will be needed on Sunday, when he takes a 3-0 career head-to-head deficit against his Serbian opponent.

Regardless of his undefeated mark against the Frenchman, Djokovic will not be taking Monfils for granted come Sunday.

"[Monfils] is one of the players who is very unpredictable," said Djokovic.

"He can play really, really fast. And with a big serve, he can do a lot of damage to opponents. I've seen a couple of matches in this tournament, and I've seen that he's in good shape. He's moving really fast, he's fit, and he's motivate. He's going to have big support of the crowd, and that's one of the key facts."

Please check back on Sunday for a complete finals recap from the BNP Paribas Masters in France.

Getting to Know Marco Chiudinelli

Nima Naderi — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:53:04 -0500

Imagine growing up in the shadow of Roger Federer? Now, imagine growing up with Roger Federer and attempting to emulate his ever move?

For tennis nations such as Spain, Argentina and France, the talent pools remain so deep that there is enough success to go around.

However, when a player is attempting to advance to the higher echelons of world rankings, resides from the well kept but, power country of Switzerland—there is only one mark of excellence to compare oneself with—Mr. Federer.

Growing up with the current world No. 1, Marco Chiudinelli had the same aspirations as the 15-time Grand Slam champ.

Traveling to local tournaments together, sharing the same coaches and even playing soccer as a means of escaping the day-to-day grind of intensive training was shared between the two juniors.

Both aspiring pros wanted to reach the latter stages of Majors; both wanted to be No. 1 in the world.

Well, we all know how that story panned out.

Sadly, though, along the road to tennis' hierarchy, Chiudinelli was forced to live his dreams through his childhood friend. Seeing Federer capture 61 career titles (and counting), was not easy Chiudinelli, who spent the majority of his career in the Challenger circuit.

Suffering various knee and shoulder injuries over the last two seasons, Chiudinelli, who is the exact same age as Federer (28), found not only his tennis dreams dwindling, but his health as well.

Optimism was all but lost for Basel native, who completely fell off the Tour ranking system in March of 2008.

Entering the 2009 season with a ranking of No. 603, Chiudinelli's expectations of a successful season were put aside for the sheer pleasure of competing again.

While being back on Tour provided the forgotten locker room chatter and practice court conflicts, a funny thing began to happen, Chiudinelli started to win tennis matches.

Qualifying for his first Tour event of the year in Doha, Qatar, Chiudinelli made a modest first round exit to circuit warhorse Philipp Kohlschrieber.

Following his return to action in the Middle East, Chiudinelli gained further qualification into the Johannesburg and Dubai events.

Slowly but surely his ranking was making a rebound.

Representing his country in Davis Cup action (in the absence of Federer), Chiudinelli lost both his singles rubbers to Andy Roddick and James Blake.

Even though Chiudinelli was not successful in his Davis Cup campaign, the experience of playing two upper tier foes helped his preparation for the remainder of the season.

Chiudinelli's breakthrough of the year came in a little known Challenger in Tenerife, Spain. There, Chiudinelli defeated seven quality opponents (qualifying included), raising his ranking to No. 243.

Drawing inspiration from his Challenger victory in the Spanish suburb, Chiudinelli's next breakthrough occurred at the US Open. After qualifying for his fourth big league event of year, Chiudinelli advanced to third round action, losing a tight three set affair to Nikolay Davydenko.

The year, the struggle and the endless hour a training were beginning to pay off, Chiudinelli had cracked the top 100.

The Swiss' achievement in New York meant the right to partake in the qualifying draws during the fall circuit.

The fall season (for those of you who don't know) involves much more intimate draw settings than the rest of the season. Therefore, players taking part in the qualifying draws need to be ranked higher.

With the indoor season on deck, Chiudinelli qualified for three straight Tour events in Asia. Making the quarterfinals in Bangkok, the second round in Tokyo and the main draw in Shanghai, Chiudinelli's days of qualifying were finally left behind.

Gaining main draw acceptance into the Vienna tournament in Austria only paved the way for the highlight of his year to take place. Winning one previous main draw match in his home tournament of Basel, Chiudinelli was adamant on setting the record straight.

Being a former ballboy at the Davidoff Swiss Indoor Basel meant that a memorable performance for Chiudinelli would mean that much more.

Beginning his hometown campaign by exacting revenge on Germany's Kohlschrieber, Chiudinelli obtained the most impressive victory of his year by defeating Richard Gasquet in quarterfinals.

Advancing to the first semifinal of his career, the unheralded Swiss set up a first career meeting against his fellow childhood friend Federer.

The encounter would turn into much more than two former ballboys facing each other.

The competitive affair, won by Federer, saw Chiudinelli hold a set point in the opening set tiebreak.

Federer's good friend had now become a formidable foe—remember, Chiudinelli was ranked No. 603 at the beginning of the season.

The loss for Chiudinelli was taken in context: He may not have defeated arguably the greatest player of all time, but, if anything, for that one Saturday in his own backyard, he was seen as his equal.

Now that the season has come to an end for Chiudinelli, rumors of him recieving comeback player of the year honors have surfaced.

The current world No. 55 has locked up direct entry into the 2010 Australian Open and will now be looked upon as a legitimate No. 2 player for Swizterland's upcoming Davis Cup tie against Spain next year.

He may never win a Grand Slam event or be ranked amongst the world's best, but Chiudinelli, who stands at his career high rank, proved more than anything this season that hardwork personalized was worth every moment.

Novak Djokovic Eliminates Robin Soderling, Final London Spot Remains

Nima Naderi — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:41:38 -0500

BNP Paribas Masters—Paris, France

No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic dusted the hopes of another Barclays ATP World Tour candidate on Friday, defeating Robin Soderling 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

Soderling, who needed to win the tournament in order to qualify for the London finale, rebounded nicely to take the second set in convincing fashion, only to remain inconsistent in the final set charge.

Soderling's forehand was in good form throughout the encounter, striking a majority of his 23 winners off his one-handed stroke.

The balance for Soderling in terms of winner to error ratio was not upheld however, committing a miserable 39 unforced errors throughout the one hour and 57 minute contest.

By contrast, Djokovic's winner to error ratio was slightly better than Soderling (19 to 29), relying on timely passing shots and more confidence to oust his Swedish foe.

In fact, Sodlering's serving throughout the match, which saw him win 80 percent of his first serve points, was far better than Djokovic's 68 percent of first serve points won.

The No. 9 also converted on 15 of 20 trips to the net, while Djokovic capitalized on four of eight attempts when moving forward.

With emotions riding high during the pair's fifth meeting, a missed volley in the net by Soderling on match point all but ended his sensational year on Tour.

Returning to Paris for the first time since reaching his maiden Grand Slam final in the spring, Soderling will now sit back and hope that an ailing Andy Roddick, who is the sixth qualifier for the London finale withdraws.

Roddick continues to recover from an ailing right knee injury, remaining a question mark for the season ending tournament.

Whatever the case, Soderling would have much rather gained entry into London on his own merit.

With the win, Djokovic improved his Tour-leading match record on the season to 74-18, while increasing his head-to-head career lead over Soderling to 5-0.

Djokovic, who will contest his 15th semifinal of the season on Saturday, will now await winner of the day's second match between No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal and No. 8 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Tsonga, who must defend his title in order to gain entry into London, will take a 3-1 career head-to-head deficit against Nadal during the center court clash.

Tsonga's form this week has been quite uplifting, playing point-by-point, while not looking at the big picture.

Nadal on the other hand, struggled mightily in his first two wins over countryman Nicolas Almagro and Tommy Robredo.

Remaining predominately defensive throughout the event thus far, Nadal's back-court play has resembled his tactical approach to playing on clay: High spin and high margin.

However, when playing on a quick hard court like the one in Paris, a penetrating approach must be taken in order to succeed.

Nadal will also be attempting to aid his countryman Fernando Verdasco by defeating Tsonga. If the Spaniard can dismiss the Frenchman, Verdasco would qualifying for the finals in London.

Nevertheless, nothing short of a dramatic encounter should be set forth by these two entertaining combatants.

Following the Nadal-Tsonga clash, Marin Cilic vs. Gael Monfils will take place, followed by Juan Martin del Potro vs. Radek Stepanek.

Cilic, who defeated Verdasco on Thursday, will meet the flamboyant but erratic Monfils for the first time.

Monfils ousted countryman Julien Benneteau in a routine by scratchy affair on Thursday.

Monfils will be vying to reach his first Masters 1000 semifinal of the season, while Cilic, who has picked up his form as of late, will attempt to reach fifth semifinal of year.

The final encounter of the day will see a interesting contrast of styles between del Potro and Stepanek.

Del Potro, who fought through a monsoon of forehand winners by Fernando Gonzalez on Thursday, trails Stepanek 1-0 in career head-to-head meetings.

The serve and volley Czech poured in a stellar win over Andy Murray in the previous round, using his net touch and backhand up-the-line to offset the Scot.

Gonzalez, who played some of the best tennis of the week against del Potro, pulled up lame after two demanding sets, sustaining a knee injury at the end of set two.

Gonzalez held seven match points against against the Argentine, converting on only one of sixteen break point chances during the two hour and 24 minute battle.

Please check back on Saturday for a semifinal wrap up from the final Masters 1000 event of the year in Paris.

Verdasco and Davydenko Lose in Paris, Await Their London Chances

Nima Naderi — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:51:14 -0500

BNP Paribas Masters—Paris, France

An eventful day at the Paris Indoors saw an instant change of fate for two Barclays ATP World Tour hopefuls.

First off, No. 8 ranked Fernando Verdasco ran into a Croatian buzz-saw Marin Cilic.

Cilic, who had been eliminated from London contention when Verdasco defeated Andreas Seppi in first round action, exacted revenge in the best way possible, defeating the Spaniard 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

After winning the first set on the strength of capturing the lone break of serve by either player, Verdasco's serving numbers dipped drastically in the second set, winning only 30 percent of his second serve points, compared with 50 percent in set one.

Cilic's powerful ground game began to grow with confidence, leading the lanky Croat to a routine second set win.

The third set displayed continued success for Cilic, who broke Verdasco in the ninth game, while never facing a break point opportunity.

With the win, Cilic advanced to his eighth quarterfinal of season and now awaits No. 15 seed Gael Monfils, who defeated Roger Federer's victor Julien Benneteau 6-4, 6-3.

Verdasco's trip to London will remain in the bounds until the other remaining candidates in the draw for the Tour final are determined.

Verdasco remains in eighth place in the road to London with 3,300 points.

Monfils, who was eliminated from London contention last week in Valencia, Spain, defeated Benneteau in one hour and 56 minutes.

Monfils and Cilic have never met on the ATP World Tour.

Elsewhere, Robin Soderling and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga kept their hopes alive of qualifying for the season finale by dismissing Nikolay Davydenko and Gilles Simon respectively.

Soderling, who currently stands in the No. 9 position in the rankings, improved his career head-to-head with Davydenko to 6-3 lifetime.

The powerful Swede utilized 11 aces and two breaks of serve to oust his Russian opponent, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in two hours and two minutes.

Soderling will now need to advance to the finals of the event in order to qualify for London. He currently holding 3,010 overall points.

Davydenko, who must now await the results of other players' this week, stands in the No. 7 position.

Soderling will next face Novak Djokovic, who dismantled veteran Frenchman Arnaud Clement, 6-2, 6-2 in third round action.

Djokovic's dominating performance consisted of eight aces, five breaks of serve and winning 80 percent of his first serve points.

The in-form Serb captured his Tour-leading 73rd match victory of the year, increasing his winning streak to seven matches after winning his fourth title of the season last week in Basel, Switzerland.

Djokovic, who qualified for the London finale in August, appears to be the man to beat for the remainder of the season.

The 2008 Masters Cup winner remains in the hunt for his 16th career title this week.

Djokovic will take a 4-0 head-to-head lead over Soderling in the pair's quarterfinal contest.

Defending champ Jo-Wilfried ousted hobbled countryman Gilles Simon 6-2, 6-3, in the pair's fourth career encounter.

Tsonga, who needs to win the event in order to gain entry into London, struck 13 aces while winning a sublime 90 percent of his total service points.

Simon, who defeated Ivan Ljubicic in a second round contest, continued to struggle with a right knee injury he aggravated against his Croatian opponent.

Playing for pride more than anything else, Simon took his defeat with a friendly smile after shaking hands with Tsonga at the net.

Simon ended his year with a respectable 45-29 record, which included a lone title victory in Bangkok, Thailand.

Simon will likely end the year ranked between No. 12-15, depending on who qualifies for the London finale. Because the Frenchman made the semifinals of the Masters Cup last year, he will lose the 400 points he gained for advancing to the final four.

Tsonga will now await the winner of the night match between Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo.

Nadal survived a horrid performance against Nicolas Almagro on Wednesday and will attempt to defeat Robredo for the sixth time in the pair's head-to-head meetings.

Nadal, who made the finals of the Paris Indoors in 2007 (l. Nalbandian), remains in the hunt for his seventh different Masters 1000 title of his career.

The Spaniard, who has won 15 total Masters titles in his career, recently added titles in Indian Wells, Monte Carlo and Roma to his collection.

The lone upset of the day occurred when serve and volley specialist Radek Stepanek defeated No. 4 seed and recent Valencia champ Andy Murray, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.

After being dismantled in the first set by the Scot, Stepanek began his second set charge by hitting flatter more angled groundstrokes.

Murray, who had played until 2am the night before against James Blake, appeared visibly fatigued from his late night encounter with his American opponent.

Squandering four match points in the final set, Stepanek held his nerve while serving out the match on his second chance.

The win for the Czech, who lost his opportunity of qualify for the London finale after losing to Djokovic in Basel last week, won his first meeting against Murray in four encounters.

The day's last contest will feature reigning US Open champ Juan Martin del Potro against the final candidate for London, Fernando Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, who also needs to win in Paris to qualify for London, takes a 3-1 career head-to-head lead over the Argentine.

Del Potro, who ended the career of Marat Safin on Wednesday, snapped a two-match losing streak in the process.

The towering Tandil native remains adamant on capturing his first ever Masters 1000 title.

Please check back on Friday for continuing daily coverage from the final Masters 1000 event of the season in Paris.

So Long, Safin: The Russian Rasputin Retires

Nima Naderi — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:06:37 -0500

The famed, torn, and successful career of former world No. 1 Marat Safin ended this week with a final showing at the BNP Paribas Masters.

With a tsunami of career highlights both memorable and forgettable to recount, please allow me a more informal look at one of the most charismatic players tennis has ever seen.

My first run-in with Safin took place during the Masters event in the summer of 2000 in Toronto. A slightly more volatile Safin (if that is even possible) began what would become his destined run toward his first Grand Slam title in New York.

As I walked toward Court 11 on the campus of York University (both the school I attended and grounds of the event), I was curious to view the much talked about Russian in all his explosive flesh.

Prior to seeing Safin live for the first time, I had paid attention to a few of the Moscow native's wins, which had included defeating Jim Courier during a 1998 Davis Cup tie and ousting both Andre Agassi and defending champ Gustavo Kuerten from the French Open later that spring.

Playing former world No. 4 Jonas Bjorkman in a first round encounter in Canada, the ability to view the talented youngster first time could not have been more perfect.

With minimal spectators present, I was treated to the full entourage of Safin's game. Everything from his sonic serves and dynamo backhand, to his cursing in Russian, English, and Spanish.

Don't worry, folks; I was also treated to a racket brake, the loss of the second set, and, yes, a near-miss disqualification.

During the beginning stages of the third set (Safin had lost the middle set 6-1 to Bjorkman), the Russian, like only he can, screamed to the heavens after missing a break point opportunity. The pent-up frustration (no surprise, really) caused Safin to throw his racket at what seemed to be 100 mph right into the backstop.

Showing a little anger is never a bad thing in tennis (for Safin, it was the only means of getting himself going), but when the racket or throw in question misses the head of an innocent bystander known as the ballgirl, anger is a very bad thing.

Safin, who didn't receive a racket abuse warning for his actions, reacted to the situations with poise, giving the ballgirl a shameful but apologetic smile, only to subsequently break Bjorkman and win the match.

If anything, Safin's tirade at the beginning of the third set had aided him to victory—the luck of not hitting the ballgirl played a substantial role in his progression that summer.

To me, that win against Bjorkman was not only the turnaround moment in Safin's career; it also magnified the essence which made the Russian's game pure—uninhibited aggression, centered on uncontainable and deserved ability.

That side court win for Safin simply became the platform for the youngsters title run in New York, which he obliterated Pete Sampras in three convincing sets.

With stardom on the the horizon, and Sampras claiming that "you will be seeing this Safin guy around for many years," the oblivious and green Grand Slam champ reacted with an opposite approach to Sampras' assessment: He underperformed for the remainder of his career.

Sure, the Russian Rasputin reached the finals of the 2002 and 2004 Australian Opens before capturing his second and last career title in Australia in 2005.

Safin dabbled in blonds, brunettes, and bar fights, and as recently as this year in Monte Carlo Masters, took his racket-breaking escapades to a whole new level by slicing his frame in a clean-cut break while losing to Nicolas Lapentti. Impressive!

Now that the towering Russian has left the men's circuit, questions will inevitably arise concerning whether or not Safin's contribution to the sport will be worth remembering?

Will his antics and his self-loathing game live in the heart of tennis' fabric for years to come? Certainly, tennis was far better off with the big man present.

Creating controversy at every corner, Safin's natural and fluent demeanor in the interview room will certainly be his most missed attribute.

Constantly giving us exactly "what we need," during his post match pressers, the unrobotic Safin never shied away from speaking his uninhibited mind.

In a day and age when so many tennis players answer questions in the same generic tone, Safin was not only eager to share his personality with the media, the cornerstone of his legacy will be remembered by his insightful words.

Here are a few career quotes to the media from the man himself:

"It's like love. When you look too hard, you don't find it. When you let it happen naturally, it comes."

—To CNNSI.com, talking about how he rediscovered his form at the Australian Open 2002.

"Do you expect me to smile like an idiot on court? Nobody likes to lose, and I can't be relaxed when I see on the scoreboard that I'm loosing and making stupid mistakes. That's just the way I am."

—According to chinaopen.cn, following a first-round loss to Max Mirnyi in 2001.

"I pay the bills, I pay for everything."

—Safin on how he intends to keep new coach Mats Wilander happy.

"I was in the right place at the right moment. God came to me, patted me on the head and said: 'You will win the glory.'"

—To The Independent, on winning the 2000 US Open.

"Oh, don't go there, because otherwise you're gonna see a lot of balls flying around and rackets, and a lot of swearing. I don't think you want that extreme."

—Marat Safin on how it would work if players were allowed to express their emotions without censorship, June 23, 2009.

"Not a lot of tennis players have managed to have a great life afterwards with tennis. With all the respect, I want to try to be the guy who ends up doing something else and be good at it."

—According to tennis.com, June of 2009.

Call him what you want, but please don't call him boring. Safin may not have been coachable, reliable, or able to live up to his potential, but he certainly had passion for the sport like no other.

Although the Russian provided many uninspiring results through his farewell tour—losing to Jesse Levine at Wimbledon and Jurgen Melzer at the US Open—Safin did exhibit heart in his final career win against Frenchman Thierry Ascione.

Saving three match points on the strength of his serving and forehand potency, Safin simply highlighted the immense (and underused) potential he has always possessed.

Now, on the eve of a Safin-less Tour, could we, or should we, expect a return from the Muscovite?

The pending answer to all you "I heart Safin" fans out there is: the studly Russian will do what he wants, and if he desires to come back he just might. But I wouldn't be holding my breath in anticipation.

Leaving tennis with a splendid array of answers in his final post-match presser after a loss to Juan Martin del Potro, Safin was candid in saying goodbye to a sport he has played from the age of six, relinquishing any doubt the he did in fact give his career all he had.

"I don't have a lot of them (titles), only 15, so not too many majors," Safin said, according to GlobalPost.com. "But they were really special and very welcome. A lot of people [think] that I'm not really [a] hard worker, but you can ask all my coaches how I dedicated myself to tennis. I worked for it, and I worked very hard."

Whether or not you want to disagree with the work ethic of Safin throughout his career, the interest and the fanfare he brought to the sport will seldom ever be duplicated.

There is, and always will be, one Safin; like him or not, tennis will not be the same without him.

Marat Safin Ends Storied Career with Loss to Juan Martin del Potro

Nima Naderi — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:01:45 -0500

BNP Paribas Masters—Paris, France

Former world No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam champ Marat Safin ended his 13-year career on Wednesday, losing respectably to No. 5 seed Juan Martin del Potro, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

Safin, who won the Paris (Bercy) event in 2000, 2002, and, 2004 and was a finalist in 1999, broke del Potro in the 12th game of the second set, forcing the reigning US Open champion into a deciding set battle.

Del Potro, who broke Safin in the third game of the final set, hit 11 aces and won 80 percent of his first-serve points throughout the 1:55 contest.

Safin, who struck 15 aces past del Potro, gave the soldout crowd a powerful display of tennis during his final career match.

The 6'4" Moscow native began his tennis journey in Paris, reaching the 1998 French Open fourth round, defeating Andre Agassi and Gustavo Kuerten along the way.

After serving an ace on match point, del Potro and Safin embraced in a post-match hug, celebrating the successful career of the Russian.

Del Potro, who improved to 50-13 on the season, seemed almost embarrassed by defeating his idol.

"When I started to play ATP tournaments, I met him and I told to him 'You are my idol'" del Potro said, according to ATPworldtour.com . "After that, we started a good relationship. He's very friendly [and] he speaks Spanish. He's a great person. We will miss him in the tournaments."

Sitting beside Safin on his changeover chair, del Potro became part of the Russian's tribute, standing with the likes of Novak Djokovic, Gilles Simon, Ivo Karlovic, and Safin's good friend Marc Rosset.

Safin, who finished his career with a 422-267 mark, won 15 titles throughout his playing days, holding the No. 1 ranking for seven weeks throughout the 2000 and 2001 seasons.

"[My best moments] came in different stages of my career," Safin said in the same article. "Beginning with 1998 Roland Garros when I qualified and I beat [Andre] Agassi and [Gustavo] Kuerten and I lost to [Cedric] Pioline. And of course there is the next one, winning the 2000 US Open.

“I was a decent player," he told the Irish Times . "Just in general, I’ve been great to everybody, even if I had a few fights with chair umpires.”

The tall Russian alluded his intentions now that he is freed from the daily grind of the Tour.

“Now I have no schedule, no practices, no nothing,” he said. “I belong to myself. Tomorrow I’ll wake up and see what I want to do.”

Tennis won't be the same without Safin; that is a certainty.

With the win, del Potro will next face No. 10 seed Fernando Gonzalez. The Chilean gained a measure of revenge over John Isner, defeating the American 7-5, 7-6 (3).

Gonzalez, who gained 90 points in his charge to the Barclays ATP World Tour finals in London, equaled Inser with 13 aces, but gained the lone break of the match by either player in the 12th game of the first set.

The 1:29 victory for Gonzalez improved his year-to-date record to 39-15, while evening his head-to-head with the 6'9" Tampa resident to 1-1. Isner had defeated Gonzalez in Basel last week.

No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic continued his impressive play this fall, defeating Argentine Juan Monaco 6-3, 7-5.

Djokovic, who won his fourth title this season in Basel last week, improved to 2-0 against Monaco, while taking his Tour-leading record to 72-18 on the year.

Djokovic was quite flat in his win over Monaco on Wednesday, displaying the adjusting period required between back-to-back events.

Nevertheless, the Serb did what he needed to do during his one hour and 31 minute victory, maintaining his six match winning streak.

"I didn't feel that great on the court," Djokovic admitted in the ATP World Tour article. "Probably a long week in Basel affected [me] physically. But I got a victory, and that's what matters most. I want to do well here in Bercy, because I [haven't] had a lot of success in the last couple of years. I have a lot of support. It's a pleasure playing in front of them."

Djokovic will next play Arnaud Clement, who defeated a subpar Tommy Haas by a 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (8) score. The Frenchman saved a match point at 6-7 in the third-set tiebreak.

Haas, who was returning to Tour after a bout with swine flu last week, lost his first match to Clement in seven meetings. Haas had previously defeated Clement on hardcourt and twice on carpet.

Clement will take a 2-1 head-to-head deficit against Djokovic in their third-round encounter.

Elsewhere, the longest but perhaps most errant match of the day belonged to Rafael Nadal and Nicolas Almagro. The 3:13 affair ended on a final Nadal forehand, sending the Spaniard to the third round with a 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5 victory.

Nadal, who had encountered little adversity against Almagro in four previous meetings (leading 4-0), lost the first set after being broken in the fifth game.

Almagro sustained his level throughout the second set, striking his forehand and backhand with vicious spin and speed. Holding five match points in 12th game of the second set, Almagro couldn't overcome his fragile demeanor, losing the subsequent tiebreak.

The final set began with an immediate brake for Nadal, only to lose his serve in ensuing game. With no momentum in sight, seven total breaks of serve were dished out in a 12-game third set.

With Almagro beginning to cramp in latter stages of the final set, Nadal's fitness and heart inevitably took him to victory.

Almagro, who won five more total points than Nadal in the contest (69-65), struck 12 aces while winning only 42 percent of his second serve points.

By contrast, Nadal, who prides himself on consistent play, couldn't find confidence in any facet of his game, winning 59 percent of his second serve points while donating four double faults.

If not the frail mental state of Almagro, Nadal could very well have lost in the second round.

It is vital that Almagro address his overall conditioning and desire for competition if he is to reap the full rewards of his talents.

On the other hand, Nadal's defensive play and lackluster serving will need to improve if he is to adequately complete with the other members of the top five.

With the win, Nadal next faces No. 14 seed and countryman Tommy Robredo. Robredo defeated 2005 champ Tomas Berdych, 6-4, 6-4.

Robredo converted on two of three break point chances, while saving all five break points against his delivery.

Berdych, who couldn't find his range of the ground throughout his 1:17 defeat, finished his season with a 36-25 record.

Nadal and Robredo have contested five battles on the ATP World Tour, with Nadal taking all of them.

The final result of the day thus far saw No. 9 seed Robin Soderling overcome 14 aces to defeat Ivo Karlovic, 6-4, 7-6 (6).

After breaking Karlovic in the ninth game of the first set, Soderling, who has not seen Tour action since retiring from the semifinals of his native Stockholm event, persevered throughout a break-less second set, tying his head-to-head with Karlovic at two wins a piece.

Soderling, who remains in contention for one of the two final spots in the Tour finale, must reach at least the finals in Paris to stand a chance at the reaching London.

Soderling will next face No. 6 seed Nikolay Davydenko, who currently stands in the No. 7 spot for London qualification.

Soderling leads Davydenko 5-3 in career head-to-head meetings, defeating Davydenko earlier this year at the US Open.

Davydenko currently holds better form over Soderling, winning the pair's last match in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The meaningful encounter will take place on Thursday.

Matches that are still to come on a truly all-star day of tennis in France include:

No. 1 seed Roger Federer vs. Julien Benneteau, No. 4 seed Andy Murray vs. James Blake, No. 12 seed Marin Cilic vs. Lukasz Kubot, No. 15 seed Radek Stepanek vs. Viktor Troicki, and No. 15 seed Gael Monfils vs. David Guez.

Please check back on Thursday for continuing daily coverage from the final Masters 1000 event in Paris.

Nikolay Davydenko Wins in Paris, Fernando Verdasco Survives Poor Performance

Nima Naderi — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:29:51 -0500

BNP Paribas Masters—Paris, France

No. 6 seed Nikolay Davydenko, who won the BNP Paribas Masters in 2006, defeated Benjamin Becker in easy fashion on Tuesday, dispatching the powerful German, 6-2, 6-1.

The one-hour and 16-minute victory for the Russian was a significant boost in his claim of qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour final in London later this month.

Davydenko, who currently holds the No. 7 spot in the race to the Tour finale, added 90 points to his total and now stands 380 points clear of No. 8 Fernando Verdasco.

Davydenko also avenged a 2008 loss to Becker at The Wimbledon Championships. Becker, who won his maiden ATP World Tour title earlier this year in the Netherlands, was broken on five of 13 opportunities, while failing to convert on his four break-point chances.

With the loss, Becker ended his season with a 13-19 record, likely finishing in the top 50 for the first time in his career.

Davydenko, who improved to 53-15 on the season, will next face either No. 9 seed Robin Soderling or ace machine Ivo Karlovic.

Soderling is returning to action after being off for three weeks with a right elbow injury. Karlovic, who snapped a six-match losing streak by defeating Pablo Cuevas in first-round action, will attempt to surpass his best-ever result in Bercy, which was reaching the second round in 2007 (l. Federer).

Davydenko reflected on his performance on Monday, while looking forward to his likely qualification for the Tour finale in London.

"It was the same for me last year and the year before," said Davydenko.

"Four guys need to win this tournament [to qualify]. If somebody [reached] the final, it's not enough. It is not so easy for Tsonga or Soderling to reach the final and win [the] tournament."

Elsewhere, No. 8 seed Verdasco survived a listless performance in his first-round win over Andreas Seppi of Italy.

Verdasco's 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4 scratchy victory, could have been attributed to his nerves, considering that he needed to defeat Seppi to strengthen his chances of qualifying for London.

The win for Verdasco, which saw the Spaniard strike 43 unforced errors, eliminated Radek Stepanek and Marin Cilic's chances of qualifying for the Tour finale.

In order to qualify for London, both Stepanek and Cilic needed to win the event, while having Verdasco lose in his opening match.

The up-and-down affair between Verdasco and Seppi featured eight total breaks of serve during the two-hour and eight-minute contest. Verdasco was not able to save any of the break point chances against his serve (0-3), while Seppi managed to save 5-10 break point opportunities.

The Spaniard, who improved to 6-0 against Seppi in career meetings, gave a fist pump of relief to his corner after advancing to the third round.

Verdasco's road to continued success in Paris will be tested in the third round against either Lukasz Kubot or No. 12 seed Marin Cilic.

Cilic, who will be in tough against his Polish opponent on Wednesday, trails Verdasco 2-1 in career head-to-head meetings.

Kubot defeated Andreas Beck on Monday, adding to his fine month of tennis which last saw him defeat Andy Roddick at the Japan Open.

Elsewhere, Stanislas Wawrinka ended a year he would soon like to forget, losing in straight sets to French qualifier David Guez 6-3, 6-4. Wawrinka, who is ranked No. 21 in the world, failed to reach a Tour final all season, falling to 31-20 after his miserable loss to Guez on Tuesday.

Guez, who is currently ranked No. 179 on the computer, picked up his second career Tour-level victory over Wawrinka, improving his year-to-date record to 2-1. The 26-year-old Frenchman will next take on countryman No. 15 seed Gael Monfils in second-round action.

Monfils, who lost in the second round of Valencia last week, is also out of the running for a place in the Tour finale in London. The high-flying Paris native will attempt to improve on his 2-3 career mark at Bercy.

French hopeful Jeremy Chardy was ousted in first-round action on Tuesday, losing in straight sets to talented Argentine Juan Monaco, 7-6 (6), 7-5.

Chardy, who had high hopes of performing well on home soil, fell to 35-28 on the year, which includes capturing his maiden Tour title in Stuttgart, Germany.

Although Chardy was able to strike nine aces against Monaco, his points won on second serves, which totaled 35 percent, was far too low.

The loose limb Frenchman discussed his frustrations after his defeat.

"Today, I was frustrated because I was not able to do what I wanted to do," said Chardy. "When you are on the court and you just can't do what I want, it's always annoying."

With the win, Monaco set up a tough encounter with No. 3 seed and recent Basel champion Novak Djokovic.

Djokvoic, who defeated Roger Federer in his native Switzerland on Sunday, comes into Paris with a career 3-4 mark at the event. The Serb also holds a 2-0 career head-to-head lead over Monaco, defeating the Argentine at the US Open in 2007 and the Wimbledon Championships in 2005.

French favorites Julien Benneteau and Arnaud Clement delighted the Parisian crowd on Tuesday, defeating Philipp Petzchner and Feliciano Lopez, respectively.

Benneteau dispatched the hard-hitting ground game of Petzschner 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, while Clement handed Lopez his 24th loss of year with a scoreline of 6-3, 6-1.

Benneteau's victory over Petzschner was highlighted by 10 aces and three breaks of serve. Benneateau, who improved to 25-27 on the year, will next face top seed Roger Federer on Wednesday.

Clement, who improved his head-to-head lead over Lopez to 2-1, completely dominated the 50-minute contest with well struck returns, six aces, and 89 percent of his first serve points won.

Clement, who has restored his ranking in the past two weeks on Tour, comes into Paris on the heels of a quarterfinal finish in Lyon, France and semifinal showing in Vienna, Austria.

The 31-year-old Aix-en-Provence native has reclaimed a top-100 ranking, falling as low as No. 153 in the world in June of this year. Clement currently stands at No. 93.

The qualifying Frenchman will take on No. 16 seed Tommy Haas in second-round action.

Haas, who is recovering from the swine flu, appears to be fit and ready to improve on his 16-9 record at the event, which includes two semifinal finishes in 2002 and 2006. Hass has been participating at the Paris Indoors since 1998.

Switzerland's third-ranked player, Marco Chiudinelli, saw his attempt at adding to his career performance in Basel last week end, losing 6-2, 6-4 to Spaniard Nicolas Almagro.

Chiudinelli, who moved up to the No. 55 position in the world after advancing to the final four in his native tournament, was broken on four of nine occasions throughout the one-hour and 28-minute contest.

Almagro, who picked up his 10th hard court win of the season will next face No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal in second-round action.

Nadal leads the pair's head-to-head 4-0, defeating his countryman in a competitive third-round match at the US Open.

Action that is still to come on Tuesday in Paris will include:

Defending champ Jo-Wifried Tsonga vs. Albert Montanes and No. 11 seed Gilles Simon vs. Ivan Ljubicic.

Tsonga, who needs to defend his title in order to qualify for London, would be the favorite on paper against Montanes, if not for a recent left wrist injury he sustained against Mikhail Youzhny in Valencia last week.

Montanes persevered through a tight encounter to defeat Victor Hanescu in a third-set tiebreak on Monday.

Simon, who fell out of contention for the London finale with his quarterfinal loss to Youzhny in Valencia last week, will be playing for pride this week in France.

Ljubicic has recently enjoyed the form which saw him reach the No. 3 position in the world back in May 2006, winning the title in Lyon, France, and making the quarterfinals in both Beijing and Shanghai, China.

Wednesday's action in Paris will bring forth the top-five seeds in the event, with Federer vs. Benneteau, Rafael Nadal vs. Almagro, Djokovic vs. Monaco, Murray vs. Blake, and Juan Martin del Potro vs. Marat Safin.

Please check back on Wednesday for continuing daily coverage from the BNP Paribas Master from Paris, France.

Quotes courtesy of theatpworldtour.com

Tomas Berdych Wins in Paris, Marat Safin Plays Potential Last Match of Career

Nima Naderi — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:26:45 -0500

BNP Paribas Masters—Paris, France

Tomas Berdych, who won the BNP Paribas Masters in 2005 for his lone Masters 1000 title, defeated French qualifier Vincent Millot, 6-3, 7-4 (4), in first-round action Monday.

Berdych's year, which has consisted of winning his fifth career title in Munich (d. Youzhny), has produced a 36-24 record (including today's win) while retaining a top 20 ranking for the fourth straight season. (Berdych last ended the year ranked outside the top 20 in 2005, when he finished No. 24.)

Millot, who is currently ranked No. 247 in the world, squandered a 5-2 lead in the second set, allowing Berdych to brake back and use his potent serve to finish off the match in straight sets. Berdych struck an ace on his first match point, improving to 12-3 lifetime at the indoor French event.

Berdych will next face No. 14 seed Tommy Robredo in second round action. The top 16 seeds in the event received first round byes.

Elsewhere, Croatian Ivo Karlovic snapped a six-match losing streak, defeating Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas by a 7-6 (3), 6-4 score.

Karlovic, who struck 21 aces in his quick (1:16), straight-set victory, saved four break points in the first set while capturing the lone break of the match in the ninth game of the second set.

Taking chances on his return-of-serve throughout the first set tiebreak, Karlovic connected on two crucial down-the-line returns at 2-2 and 5-2, gaining a vital one set to love lead.

Karlovic, who improved to 23-22 on the season, has only won three matches all year which he has lost the first set. (A five-set comeback against James Blake in Davis Cup action, a three-set win against Jan Henrych at the Roma Masters 1000, and a three-set win against Julien Benneteau at the Madrid Masters 1000.)

Cuevas, who ended his season with a 19-15 record, recorded two Tour-level quarterfinal finishes this year (Moscow and Bucharest), while advancing to two Tour-level semifinals this season (Hamburg and Vinadel Mar).

The 23-year-old Argentine may compete in a few Challenger-level events before the end of the season—results which will not effect his Tour win-loss record but may increase his ranking.

With the win, Karlovic faces No. 9 seed Robin Soderling in second-round action. The blockbuster second-round affair will pit the powerful duo against each other for the third time in their career meetings. Karlovic leads the pair's head-to-head 2-1, winning the last encounter at the 2008 Madrid Masters. All of the pair's matches have taken place on hard courts.

Soderling, who joins a list of seven remaining candidates with a mathematical chance of qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour finals in London, currently stands in the No. 9 position, 380 points behind No. 8 Fernando Verdasco.

Soderling needs to advance to the finals of the event in order to have a shot at qualifying for the Tour finale in London.

Soderling, who is returning from a wrist elbow injury, will put his fitness and match toughness to the test this week.

Other candidates for the remaining two positions in the year end Tour finals include, Verdasco, Nikolay Davydenko, Fernando Gonzalez, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Radek Stepanek, and Marin Cilic.

Elsewhere, other first round results at the Paris (Bercy) indoor event included:

Italian Andreas Seppi ousting Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-3, 6-.3. Seppi will next face No. 7 seed Fernando Verdasco in round two. Verdasco can eliminate both Stepanek and Cilic from London contention if he defeats Seppi on Wednesday.

Lukasz Kubot, who recently defeated Andy Roddick in Japan while making his maiden Tour-level final in Belgrade earlier this season, defeated the competent challenge of Andreas Beck, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Kubot, who in previous seasons had participated predominately in doubles competition, has tried his luck in the singles arena this year, seeing his ranking rise from No. 209 at the beginning of the year to its current position of No. 111.

Kubot is competing in France as a qualifier this week and endured a similar qualification path to record his impressive results in Japan and Belgrade. Kubot will next face No. 12 seed Marin Cilic in second round action.

Spaniard Albert Montanes picked up his seventh hard court win of the season, dismissing the 6'6" challenge of Victor Hanescu, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3).

Montanes, who was struggling to find the rhythm on his serve throughout the 2:07 encounter, fought diligently to overcome the loss of the first set, completely controlling the third-set tiebreak with his one-handed backhand.

Hanescu, who lost his ninth match out of his last 11 on Tour, has struggled recently in a year which brought him a career high ranking of No. 26, which he achieved in June.

With the win, Montanes improved 24-20 on the season and will next face defending champ Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in second round action.

Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu endured a disappointing end to his year, withdrawing in the second set against Serbian Viktor Troicki, 7-6 (4), 3-0.

Mathieu, who sustained a right calf injury in the second set, fell to 28-29 on season, 4-7 at the Bercy event. Mathieu's poor performance on home soil has resulted in five opening-round defeats.

Colombian Aljandro Falla squandered three match points in the second set tiebreak and is now currently tied at one set all with American John Isner.

Isner, who saved three match points with blistering second serves, will be attempting to win his 27th match of the year while looking to crack the top 30 for the first time in his career. Isner currently stands at the No. 35 position.

Action that is still to come on Monday in Paris will include:

Sebastien Grosjean, playing in what may very well be the final tournament of his career, against recent Lyon, France winner Ivan Ljubicic.

Ljubicic, who made the finals of Bercy in 2005 (l. Berdych), has rounded into form quite nicely in the past month on Tour, winning his sixth career title in Lyon, while making the quarterfinals in both Beijing, and Shanghai, China.

Grosjean, who has seen limited court action this year due to right shoulder surgery which he underwent at the end of 2008, currently resides at the No. 705 spot on the computer.

The Frenchman, once ranked as high as No. 4 in the world (Nov. 2002), trails Ljubicic 3-2 in the pair's head-to-head meetings.

The final match of the day will feature the potential last match of former world No. 1 Marat Safin.

Safin, who is retiring at the end of this week, faces French qualifier Theirry Ascione in the night match.

Safin's record at the Paris Bercy speaks for itself, winning three titles, reaching the finals in 1999 and a quarterfinal finish in 2006.

The Russian rocket leads Asicone 1-0 in head-to-head meetings, defeating the Frenchman at the 2004 Estoril, Portugal event.

With the tournament beginning on Sunday, two matches—including James Blake defeating Fabrice Santoro, 6-4, 6-4, and Benjamin Becker ousting Michael Llodra, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3—were recorded.

Santoro, who is all but done his 20 years of professional tennis, said that he may participate in the Australian Open at the beginning of next year, becoming the only player in the history of the sport to play in four different decades.

"Before coming onto the court, I was in the locker room with two close friends and my dad," Santoro said. "We were joking. We made a few photos. We tried to immortalize the moment."

Blake, who will next face recent Valencia Open 500 winner Andy Murray in the second round, paid tribute to Santoro's longevity on Tour.

"He's a great competitor, such a classy guy, someone I've had a lot of tough matches with," Blake said. "It's tough when you get to serve out the match and the crowd is really behind him. Luckily I came through with a couple of big serves that helped kind of take the racquet out of his hand and give me the chance to close it out.

"He's had a great career. It's unbelievable how much success he's had in singles and doubles and how well liked he is by his competitors, which I think says a lot about a person, when they do retire, how respected they are by the rest of the tour."

Santoro will now contemplate whether or not he wants to become a Touring coach in the future.

Please check back on Tuesday for continuing daily coverage from the BNP Paribas Masters in France.

Quotes courtesy of theatpworldtour.com.

Novak Djokovic Defeats Roger Federer in Basel, Andy Murray Wins Valencia Event

Nima Naderi — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:37:01 -0500

Davidoff Swiss Indoors Basel—Switzerland

No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic capped off a resilient week of tennis in Basel, defeating No. 1 ranked Roger Federer in the finals of Davidoff Swiss Indoors on Sunday, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

Djokovic, who improved to 4-9 in Tour finals this season, showed tremendous heart in ousting the three-time defending champion.

After breaking Federer in the ninth game of the opening set, via a forehand unforced error, Djokovic, who won 68 percent of his first serve points, saved all five of the break points chances against his delivery.

Djokovic continued his drive to finish off Federer in straight sets. The Serb immediately obtained a 2-0 lead in the second set, only to find himself in the predicament a facing a rejuvenated Federer.

The Swiss, who had the entire stadium behind his comeback, broke Djokovic in the third, and ninth games of the set. Djokovic, who saved his first two sets points with a backhand crosscourt winner and then an unreturned serve, netted a forehand at 30-40 to level the match at a set a piece.

With Federer exhaling a scream of relief at the end of second set, it appeared all but certain that the remainder of the encounter would be played down-to-wire.

However, as Federer has shown on a few occasions this season, his ability to grind out tough matches has been in question.

Djokovic, who had experienced two comeback victories over Stan Wawrinka and Radek Stepanek in previous rounds this week, was adamant on remaining clam and aggressive throughout the earlier stages of set three.

Gaining an immediate brake of serve to begin the third set, Djokovic utilized his backhand to great effect, hitting both slice a drop shots of his predominant two-handed wing.

The Serb also took risky, but productive chances in his return games, constantly striking Federer's serve up-the-line on both the deuce and advantage sides.

Federer, who appeared mentally fatigued in his efforts to counterattack the spirit of his opponent, mishit a final backhand on Djokovic's first championship point, handing the world No. 3 the 15th title of his young career.

Federer, who was bidding to capture his 62nd career title, remains three shy of Pete Sampras' 64 career tournament victories.

The Swiss reflected on his missed opportunities during his post match presser.

“I missed plenty of opportunities, I was always down in the score," Federer said. "Each time I swung the momentum my way, I got broken again. If I had played a bit better on the attack, then it could have made a difference. It was a close match.”

“No doubt, it’s disappointing to lose in the final at home," Federer said.

Federer, who fell to 3-1 in Basel finals, will now head to the Paris Masters 1000 in France, competing as the top seed in the event. Federer will face either Julien Benneteau or Philipp Petzschner in second round aciton.

Djokovic, who was debuting in Basel this year, shared his strategy with the media after improving his head-to-head deficit with Federer to 9-5.

“I tried to stop him from taking control of the match because when he does, he’s the best in the world and he can end the match very quickly,” Djokovic told reporters.

“I tried to be patient, have good tactics and put pressure on him and make him play an extra shot.”

Djokovic, who will be seeded No. 3 in Paris next week, claimed €291,700 in prize money, while increasing his Tour-leading match record to 71-18.

Djokovic will face either Jeremy Chardy or Juan Monaco in the second round action of the upcoming French event.

Federer, who will be returning to Paris for the first time as the French Open champion, spoke about the crowd support he hopes to receive.

“We have some exciting weeks ahead of us, for all the players," Federer said. "I won Roland Garros in the summer and now I return to Paris. Of course having won Wimbledon, I will return to London. It will be interesting to see how the crowds will be, as I have never gone back to Paris as the Roland Garros champion. I am feeling well and mentally fresh. I am in the mood to do well there."

Both Federer and Djokovic have already clinched finals berths in the Barclays ATP World Tour finals, which will take place at the O2 Arena in London.

Valencia Open 500—Spain

Top seed Andy Murray captured his sixth title of the season of Sunday, defeated an under matched Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-2 in the finals of Valencia Open 500.

The straight forward, straight set win by the Scot consistent of stellar serving and brilliant tacitical play from the baseline.

Murray, who won 100 percent of his first serve points in the first set (14-14), converted on two of three break point opportunities to capture a one set lead in less than a half-hour.

Murray's baseline approach to the contest was quite interesting, with the top seed using a great number of off speed shots against his Russian opponent.

Youzhny, who relishes the opportunity of feeding off his opponent's power, was left vulnerable when forced to initiate the power quotient in a majority of the baseline exchanges, a position which the Russian was truly uncomfortable.

Murray, who continued his winning formula in the second set, broke Youzhny to lead 1-0, braking yet again to gain an insurmountable 3-0 lead.

Murray's routine holds of serve throughout the second set allowed him to open up his shoulders on his return games. Youzhny, who won a disastrous 23 percent of his second serve points (3-13), was broken on four of five occasions, while not producing a single ace throughout the one hour and eight minute contest.

With the loss, Youzhny fell to 42-28 on the season, falling to 1-4 in Tour-level finals. The Russian, who has made three finals in the past month on Tour, won in his native Moscow, Russia, while losing the Japan Open final in Asia. The defeat also marked the final match of Youzhny's season.

Due to his ranking not being high enough when the cut off for next weeks Paris Masters 1000 was determined, Youzhny's will not take part in the season's final tournament.

Youzhny, who is currently ranked No. 23 in the world, will likely finish the year in the top 20 when the rankings are released on Monday.

Murray, who improved to 63-9 on the season, captured his 14th career title on Sunday, while taking home € 323,000 in prize money.

Murray's comprehensive victory brushed aside any doubt that his ailing left wrist injury remains a concern.

The Scot will now attempt to carries his winning ways to the Paris Masters 1000 event in France next week.

Murray spoke about his level of play after defeating his Russian opponent.

“I’d say it was a little easier than I had expected, but he is a tough player,” Murray said. “I didn’t have high expectations this week, but with every round and match you get more confident. It is very rare for someone to win a tournament after a long break.”

Murray, who captured 500 ATP World Tour points for his victory on Sunday, faces American James Blake in second round action in Paris. Blake defeated Fabrice Santoro 6-4, 6-3 in first round action on Sunday.

At this stage of the season, Murray appears a prime contender to capture the Barclays ATP World Tour title in his native London in two weeks time.

With only two weeks of tennis remaining on the Tour calender, please check back shortly for upcoming daily coverage from the Paris Masters 1000 event in France next week.

Preview for BNP Paribas Masters, Paris

Nima Naderi — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:36:22 -0500

Tournament Preview:

The final Masters 1000 event of the season will once again host the game's best at the Paris Bercy. The 51st edition of the elite event will showcase 48 of the top players in the world, battling it out for a prestigious Masters 1000 title.

A surprising statistic heading into Paris this year remains that none of the top five seeds have ever captured the title in Bercy.

In fact, there are only four participating former champions in the draw, defending champ Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Nikolay Davydenko, Marat Safin, and Tomas Berdych.

Tsonga, who has dropped to the No. 11 position in the rankings, will need to defend his title in order to have a shot at qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour final in London.

Tsonga did suffer a left wrist injury last week in Valencia, forcing the Frenchman to withdraw in the first round.

Davydenko, who all but clinched his London spot with a solid performance in Valencia, will attempt to win the fourth Masters 1000 event of his career, after claiming his third title in Shanghai, China.

The final tournament of torn former No. 1 Safin will also take places this week, with the powerful Russian returning to his most successful Masters 1000 event, claiming the title in 2004, 2002, and 2000.

Berdych, who remains in the top 20 at No. 19, claimed his one and only Masters 1000 title in Paris, defeating Ivan Ljubicic in a five set thriller in 2005. Berdych remains an outside but solid candidate for the title his year.

The tournament, which boasts nine of the top 10 players in the world, lost world No. 6 Andy Roddick earlier in the week due to an ongoing knee injury. Roddick remains hopeful of participating at the Tour finale in London.

World No. 1 Roger Federer leads a deep field which consists of No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal, No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic, No. 4 seed Andy Murray and No. 5 seed Juan Martin del Potro.

The first-prize winner of the event will receive 450,000 euros and 1000 ATP World Tour points.

With the surface at Paris Bercy changing back to a hard court, the results throughout the event should remain more consistent. The previous carpet surface which the event was played on, provided a distinct advantage to a more powerful brand tennis.

With that mind, let's see how the top four seeds will shape up during the official final event of the season.

Federer quarter

Fresh off a glorious run in his native Basel, R-Fed returns to one of the few venues in the which he has not taken home the hardware.

In fact, Federer has yet to reach a semifinal in Bercy, falling in the quarterfinal stage on three occasions. The world No. 1 did not play the event last year, opting to rest a back injury.

Federer, who is undefeated in the quarter against the 11 players present, encounter a lone defeat to countryman and Olympic gold medal partner Stanislas Wawrinka at the Monte Carlo Masters earlier this season.

Federer is slated to meet Wawrinka in the third round, with No. 15 seed Gael Monfils being another formidable opponent along the way.

Monfils all but ended his chances at qualifying for the London finale with his loss to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in Valencia last week.

Monfils is playing at home however and would like nothing more than to ignite the hometown fans with a productive end to the season.

Marin Cilic, who holds an outside chance at qualifying for London, could face Federer in the quarterfinals.

Cilic would likely have to defeat No. 7 seed Fernando Verdasco in the third round, but with the Spaniard all but qualifying for London with a stellar showing in Valencia last week, a sharp Cilic may be the best candidate for a showdown with Federer.

The top-ranked Swiss holds a week of rest between Paris and London, further exemplifying why he will likely surpass, or at least equal his best-ever quarterfinal finish in Bercy.

Barring a catastrophe of sorts, look for Federer to come out of this quarter with a keen outlook to his first Bercy title.

Pick: Federer

Nadal quarter

Playing in only his third Bercy event, the Spaniard comes into Paris in search of his first title since capturing his fifth straight Barcelona Open crown in the spring.

Nadal, a finalist at the Paris Indoors in 2007, has a tricky quarter which includes defending champ Tsonga, former champ Berdych, Gilles Simon, and countryman Tommy Robredo.

Tsonga would likely provide the stiffest resistance to Nadal claiming his seventh different Masters 1000 title. The Frenchman is playing hurt, but will use the electricity of his home country supporters to advance to the latter stages of the event.

Marco Chiudinelli, who could face Nadal in the second round, must defeat Nicolas Almagro in round one. Chiudinelli advanced to his first semifinal of the season in Basel last week (lost to Federer).

Chiudinelli will likely be spent by his Switzerland performance, allowing Almagro to have a slight advantage going into their first round encounter.

Berdych, who has defeated Nadal on three occasions (all on hard courts), could pose a significant threat to Nadal in the third round. Berdych has just the kind of game to make a late-season charge and defeat the Spaniard.

Robredo, who is the slated to meet Nadal in the third round, would have to get by Berdych in round two.

Frenchman Simon, who was eliminated from qualifying from the London finale after losing to Mikhail Youzhny in Valenica, remains another hometown hopeful willing to give his all during the last event of the season.

Simon's roadrunner style could challenge Nadal if the pair met in the quarterfinals. Simon is slated to meet Tsonga in the third round, a match which be relished by the Parisian fans.

All in all, Nadal's quarter is by no means a cakewalk. The Spaniard has shown the vulnerability of getting whacked off the court on more than one occasion this season, and in the event that Tsonga is fully healed from his wrist injury, the Frenchman should make a confident charge to defending his title.

With that being said, Nadal seems fit and rested; a claim he has not been able to make at this juncture during previous seasons.

Pick: Nadal

Djokovic quarter

With a new lease on his young career, the Serbian sensation appears to have a clean grasp on his upcoming goals.

Djokovic, who has been in good form since the US Open, will have to be cautious in this section, with the likes of Nikolay Davydenko, Robin Sodering, Tommy Haas, Ivo Karlovic, Feliciano Lopez, and Jeremy Chardy present.

Davydenko has played virtually ever week since the end of the US Open, mounting his charge to finals showing in London.

The Russian can never be counted out of a Masters 1000 event, recently adding the Shanghai crown to his Masters 1000 collection.

Davydenko would have to get through either Soderling or Karlovic to set up a showdown with Djokovic, with both power hitters eager to finish their years off with a flourish.

Soderling is back on Tour after suffering a right elbow injury in Stockholm, while Karlovic, who has lost sixth straight matches on the circuit, dearly needs a few wins to boost his confidence.

Haas, who was recently diagnosed with the swine flu, could face Djokovic in the third round. Haas defeated Djokovic in consecutive events at Halle and Wimbledon this summer.

Lopez, who has gathered some steam in recent weeks, looks to be a better bet of reaching a third round clash with Djokovic.

Lopez could be the surprise story in this quarter, finally exhibiting the level of professionalism required to compete on Tour.

This could very well be the section where chaos reigns through and either Lopez or Karlovic make the semifinals.

Djokovic still remains the favorite, but with an upset having to take place at some point, the Serbian appears to be the prime candidate in taking a fall.

Pick: Karlovic

Murray quarter

Murray was granted little favors in this brutal quadrant. Apart from having Grand Slam champs del Potro and Safin present, Murray will have to combat the likes of Fernando Gonzalez, Radek Stepanek, James Blake, John Isner, and Fabrice Santoro, if he is to make the quarterfinals.

Starting off with Blake or Santoro, Murray will be assured a stern baseline challenge from the get go. Blake, who has plummeted to No. 41 in the world, seems to be in a ninth inning rebuilding mode in his career, via a new coach and ambitions of returning to the top 10.

Blake's forehand can never be counted out, and if he is in the zone, Murray may be in trouble.

Santoro, who has put retirement plans on hold for the moment, opting to play in next years Australian Open, would bring an off speed look to a match up with Scot.

Santoro's soft hands and x-ray anticipation could handcuff Murray in his attempt at capturing his fifth Masters 1000 title.

Stepanek and Gonzalez will be playing with much more to lose than Murray this week. Both players are still in contention to qualify for London, with Gonzalez, who stands at No. 10 in race, needing to win to event in order to book his top eight spot.

Gonzalez has cooled off considerably after reaching the US Open quarterfinals, leaving Stepanek's serve-and-volley game with a better shot at upending Murray.

Three-time winner Marat Safin will close out his famed career with what he hopes is a respectable run in Paris. The Russian opens against a qualifier, with No. 5 seed del Potro waiting in round two.

Del Potro, who remains winless after capturing his maiden Slam title in New York, will look to snap a two-match losing streak against Safin if that match takes place.

Safin does have a chance at stirring up an upset against del Potro, considering the Argentine is still recovering from a wrist injury.

Either way, a Safin-Murray, or del Potro-Murray quarterfinal clash would leave the Paris fans with nothing short of their monies worth.

All in all, Murray will have to get his punch card ready if he is to persevere in this quarter. The Scot displayed fine form in Valencia last week, showing ill effects from his recent left wrist injury.

It remains to be seen what kind of tennis del Potro and Safin bring forth; both power players have exhibited frail form as of late.

However, del Potro may have saved himself for a final push this season, leaving the rest of this quarter in danger of finishing second.

This quarter was truly the toughest to predict, but with that be said, Murray and del Potro remain the true standouts.

Pick: del Potro

Bercy has brought forth many surprise winners over the years, with this year's event capable of producing another first time champion.

Please check back throughout the week for continuing daily coverage from the final Masters 1000 event of season from Paris.

Roger Federer to Meet Djokovic in Basel Final, Youzhny Makes Valencia Final

Nima Naderi — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:58:26 -0500

Davidoff Swiss Indoors Basel—Switzerland

No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic overcome a one set deficit and three match points to defeat Radek Stepanek 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-2 in the semifinals of Davidoff Swiss Indoors Basel on Saturday.

Stepanek, who won the opening set on strength of winning 86 percent of his first serve points (18-21), struck four aces, while saving both of the break point opportunities against his serve.

Djokovic, who had to fight off a stern challenge from Stan Wawrinka on Friday, overcoming a set and break against the Swiss, began sluggish in the second set against his Czech opponent, finding himself down triple match point in the ninth game.

After staring defeat in the eye, Djokovic rebounded to save the first match point with a winning forehand, the second with a service winner and the third with yet another unreturned forehand.

Stepanek, who grew visibly dejected after squandering his match points, dropped his serve in the ensuing game, allowing Djokovic to attain complete control of the encounter.

As is usually the case when a player loses a match he should have won, Stepanek was broken on two occasions in the third set, once in first game, and later in the seventh. The Czech Davis Cup hero was never able to fully recover after failing to convert on his match points.

Djokovic's commendable performance, which lasted two hours and 31 minutes, will take the second seeded Serb into his Tour-leading ninth final of the season.

Djokovic assessed his win over Stepanek in his post match presser.

“I wouldn’t say necessarily it was my good shots that prevented the loss. It was luck only,” Djokovic said. “I just tried to get some first serves in and at least get that advantage. On this (hard-court) surface, it’s crucial.”

Djokovic, who also leads the Tour with 70 match wins this year, will take a 9-4 career head-to-head deficit against his finals opponent Roger Federer.

The Swiss No. 1 enjoyed an interesting victory over longtime child friend Marco Chiudinelli, defeating his countryman 7-6 (7), 6-3.

The high quality first set featured both men recording 78 percent of their first serves in, while saving five break points in total.

After capturing the first set which was highlighted by a nail-biting tiebreak, Federer settled in, and rolled through the second set.

Converting on his lone break point opportunity in the seventh game of the set, Federer improved his year-to-date record to 59-8, while remaining in the hunt for his forth straight title in Basel.

Chiudinelli, who increased his bid for comeback player of the year this week, will be ranked in the top 50 for the first time in his career on Monday.

Chiudinelli had fell as low as No. 884 at the end of last, while completely losing his ranking in March of 2008.

A productive 2009 campaign has seen Chiudinelli qualify for seven Tour-level events, which includes, reaching the quarterfinals in Bangkok (l. Tsonga), advancing to the third round of the US Open (l. Davydenko), and winning a Challenger level event in Tenerife, Spain.

Chiudinelli's semifinal loss to Federer was played under great admiration, considering the two combatants grew up together, riding their bikes to training sessions as juniors.

A nice moment was shared at the net after Federer served out the match, congratulating his colleague on his great week of tennis.

Federer will now look towards his 13th career battle with Djokovic.

The pair have split their four previous meetings this year, with Federer winning the last two encounters in Cincinnati and the US Open. Djokovic defeated Federer in the semifinals of both the Miami and Roma Masters 1000 events.

Djokovic was candid after his win over Stepanek, alluding to the difficulties of playing Federer.

“If I play Marco it will obviously be better for me,” Djokovic said. “If I play Roger it’s going to be a tough one.”

Considering the long matches which Djokovic has had to endure this week, compared with the effortless fashion which Federer has dismantled his four previous opponents, the odds of a Federer victory would be substantial.

Federer alluded to his required level of play against Djokovic on Sunday.

“I’m ready for a tough match. Novak’s played solid tennis during the week,” said Federer.

However, Djokovic has shown incredible resilience this week, proving that he can defeat any opponent on the circuit.

Nevertheless, a dynamic final awaits in Basel.

Valencia Open 500—Spain

Mikhail Youzhny won an all-Russian affair against Nikolay Davydenko on Saturday, defeating the No. 2 seed 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Youzhny, who has produced scintillating tennis since the US Open, progressed to his third final in his last four events.

The two hour and 24 minute affair began with Davydenko displaying the form that had seen him amass a 3-1 career head-to-head lead over Youzhny.

Davydenko, who gained a crucial break of serve in the eighth game of the opening set, utilized his backhand up the line to great affect against his lower ranked countryman.

However, in uncharacteristic fashion, Davydenko lost his focus in the fifth game of the second set, losing his serve at love. The No. 2 seed regained his composure to immediately brake back, but couldn't sustain his momentum, losing his serve once again in seventh game of the set.

Youzhny held his nerve in the up-and-down set to level the match at a set a piece.

The third set saw continued inconsistency from Davydenko, who appeared a step slow in combating the cross backhands of Youzhny. Davydenko's usually rock-solid serve and return game began to drastically decrease in level, winning a mere 42 percent of second serve points, while producing a sub par 29 percent of return points won.

With the win, Youzhny improved to 42-27 on the year (15-3 since the US Open), while advancing to his fourth final of the season (1-3 in finals).

Davydenko, who fell to 52-15 on the year, will now travel to Paris, France in search of his fourth career Masters 1000 title. Davydenko remains a prime candidate to qualify for the season ending event in London. He currently stands in the No. 7 position.

Unseeded Youzhny will await either No. 1 seed Andy Murray or Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in Sunday's final.

The drawcard match between Murray and Verdasco will be played in front of sold out crowd in the Agora building.

Murray currently holds a commanding 6-1 career head-to-head lead over Verdasco, winning the pair's last meeting in convincing fashion in Miami.

Murray, who is returning to competition for the first time since late September, remains in search of his sixth title of the season.

Verdasco, who needs to win in Valencia to assure a spot in London, will be attempting to advance to his fourth final of year (1-3 in finals).

Murray's crafty game will pose significant adversity for Verdasco, who relies on hitting powerful shots under any circumstance.

Please check back for a finals wrap-up on Sunday, from Basel and Valencia.

Stepanek Ousts Cilic in Basel, Murray Masters Montanes in Valencia

Nima Naderi — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:11:24 -0500

Davidoff Swiss Indoors Basel—Switzerland

Davis Cup finalist Radek Stepanek continued his winning ways on Friday at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors Basel, defeating fellow London contender Marin Cilic, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Stepanek, who holds the No. 5 seed this week, recovered from the loss of the opening to improve to 2-1 in head-to-head meetings against his Croatian opponent.

Cilic, who had fought for three hours and one minute against Viktor Troicki on Thursday, began strong against Stepanek, winning the first set on the strength of two breaks of serve, and five aces.

However, Stepanek's serve and volley style was up to the task of combating his lanky opponent's ground strokes. Gaining a mid-set break of serve against Cilic, Stepanek saved all three break points against his serve in the second set, leveling the match at one set a piece.

The third set involved a similar storyline to set two, with the fiery Czech player capitalizing on a break of serve to lead 1-0, and then breaking serve again to lead 3-0.

It was evident that Cilic was fatigued throughout the two-hour and two-minute contest. Cilic's renowned footwork was a step flow, and his serve, which usually spins off the court relentlessly, didn't have the same jump on a consistent basis.

The 6'6" Zagreb native will now require Fernando Verdasco to lose before the Valencia Open 500 final, in order to remain in contention for the Barclays ATP World Tour finals in London.

With the win, Stepanek heads to his fourth semifinal of the season, and his fifth career meeting with No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic, who overcame an early barrage of good form from Stan Wawrinka, rebounded to oust his Swiss opponent 3-6, 7-6 (5), and 6-2.

Djokovic's mental fortitude was on full display during his two-hour and 18-minute victory. After losing the first set by being broken on one of two occasions, Djokovic stormed back to re-brake Wawrinka after trailing 2-1 in the second set.

With a tiebreak on the horizon, Wawrinka missed a crucial volley at 4-5, which cost him a set point. Djokovic's spirits were immediately lifted, aiding the Serb to dominate for the remainder of the contest.

Djokovic's triumph was just another example of how crucial momentum is in sports. Wawrinka had his look at finishing off Djokovic, but with the loss of the second set, the talented Swiss player lost belief, and drive.

Djokovic will take a 4-1 head-to-head lead into his semifinal clash against Stepanek, winning the previous three meetings.

Stepanek will need to win in Basel this week in order to have a realistic chance of qualifying for London.

Elsewhere, matches that are still to come on Friday in Basel will include:

Roger Federer vs. Evgeny Korolev, and Richard Gasquet vs. Marco Chiudinelli.

Federer, who is the three-time defending champ of the 250-point event, takes a 1-0 head-to-head lead over his Russian opponent.

Korolev, who was defeated in convincing fashion by Federer at the Australian Open in January, will be in search of his third semifinal of the season (Florida and Houston), while contesting his sixth quarterfinal of the year.

The Gasquet-Chiudinelli contest will feature two of the finer comeback stories of 2009.

Gasquet, who was suspended for two-and-a-half months earlier this year for involuntary cocaine use, has rebounded nicely since the US Open, reaching the semifinals in Metz, France, the quarterfinals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, while still remaining in the hunt this week in Basel.

Chiudinelli, who fell off the world computer last season with a slew of injuries, finds himself in a position to gain entry into the Top 50 in the world for the first time in his career.

The Basel-born 28-year-old, who currently resides at the No. 73 spot, has qualified for seven Tour-level events this season, reaching the quarterfinals in Bangkok, Thailand, the third round of the US Open, and winning the Challenger level event in Tenerife, Spain.

Gasquet leads Chiudinelli 1-0 in career meetings heading into the Basel quarterfinal.

Valencia Open 500—Spain

World No. 4 Andy Murray, who is seeing his first action on Tour since losing in the fourth round of the US Open in September, defeated hometown hopeful Albert Montanes 6-4, and 6-2.

In a contest which featured Murray winning four-of-10 break point opportunities, the Scot, who is in search of his sixth title of the year in Spain, won 77 percent of his first serve points, while hitting three aces.

Montanes, who was attempting to win the third title of his season on home soil, was immediately put under fire against the early ball striking of his higher ranked opponent.

With the win, Murray improved to 61-9 on the year, while Montanes fell to 23-20 on the season.

The 73-minute victory also Murray's head-to-head career record against Montanes to 3-0.

Murray will next face either No. 4 seed Fernando Verdasco or No. 7 seed Tommy Robredo in the semifinals.

Verdasco and Robredo are slated to meet last on the day, in the new Agora building, in front of a packed, supportive crowd. The pair will engage in their eighth career meeting, with Robredo leading 4-3.

Verdasco's progression in the event is vital to his quest of qualifying for the season-ending event in London. Should Verdasco win in Valencia, a position in the prestigious final eight event will be assured.

Along with bonus money from sponsors, and much needed ranking points, a birth in the Barclays ATP World Tour finals in London is quite the accolade for any player to put on their resume.

Elsewhere, a tale of two other London hopefuls was written today, with Nikolay Davydenko defeating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4, and 7-6 (3), while Mikhail Youzhny dismissed Gilles Simon's London dreams, ousting the Frenchman 6-4, and 6-4.

Davydenko, who is all but assured a spot in London (currently in the No. 7 position), broke his Spanish opponent on one of two occasions in the opening set, while winning 87 percent of his first serve points (13-15).

The second set provided more adversity for the higher-ranked Russian, with both players breaking serve on two occasions, while Garcia-Lopez remained adamant on increasing his first percentage by using his dynamic one-handed backhand to stay in contention.

After both players gained control of their service games midway through the set, an ensuing tiebreak ended with Davydenko striking three unreturnable serves, improving to 52-14 on the year, while increasing his head-to-head mark over Garcia-Lopez to 2-0.

Davydenko now looks forward to an all-Russian affair in the semifinals against Davis Cup teammate, Youznhy.

Youzhny, who improved to 5-0 lifetime against Simon, all but eliminated the Frenchman's hopes of making the Tour finale in London.

Youzhny's play as of late has been astounding, to say the least. The 27-year-old, who recently captured his fifth career title in his native Moscow, Russia, also made the finals of the Japan Open (l. Tsonga).

Youzhny's flat ground game gave the equally flat strokes of Simon tremendous adversity throughout the one-hour and 36-minute contest.

After capturing the first set on the strength of 86 percent of his second serve points, Youzhny was made to work overtime in the second set, saving 11-of-11 break points opportunities against his serve.

Simon's apparent desperation was evident throughout the second set, pouring an onslaught of deep returns and timely trips to the net in order to offset his opponent.

After breaking Simon in the ninth game of the second set, Youzhny served out the encounter on his first match point.

With the win, Youzhny improved to 41-27 on the season, while Simon fell to 44-27.

As mentioned, Simon will now require Robredo to defeat his countryman Verdasco later in the day, in order to maintain a mathematical shot of qualifying for London.

Youzhny, who trails Davydenko 3-1 in career head-to-head meetings, won the pair's last encounter at the 2008 Australian Open.

Please check back on Saturday for a complete semifinal wrap-up from Basel and Valencia.

Novak Djokovic Crushes Jan Henrych, Nikolay Davydenko Continues London Bid

Nima Naderi — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:24:10 -0500

Davidoff Swiss Indoors Basel—Switzerland

No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic dismantled Jan Henrych on Thursday, defeating his Czech opponent 6-0, 6-0.

Serving up his first double bagel of the season, Djokovic won 78 percent of his first serve points, while converting on six of nine break point opportunities.

By contrast, Henrych, who was attempting to capture his 11th victory of the year, failed to capitalize on his three break point chances, while winning a miserable 38 percent of his first serve points.

The 52-minute affair featured Djokovic blazing through both his serve and return games. Using his full repertoire of shots, which included his backhand down the line, backhand drop shot, and forehand crosscourt, Djokovic convincingly gained his Tour-leading 67th win of the season, while advancing to his 18th quarterfinal of the year.

Djokovic alluded to the disastrous form of his opponent after the match.

“To win against somebody double bagel, an opponent has to play really, really bad,” Djokovic said. “He didn’t put a lot of effort in.

“It’s funny at the end with the crowd wanting him to win a game. It’s easy to understand that,” Djokovic added.

With the victory, Djokovic will next face either No. 6 seed Stanislas Wawrinka or Finnish veteran Jarkko Nieminen.

Elsewhere, hometown hopeful Marco Chiudinelli progressed to his second quarterfinal of the season (Bangkok, China), defeating countryman and qualifier Michael Lammer, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Chiudinelli, who has raised his ranking to No. 73 in the world (two spots shy of his career high of No. 71), held his nerve while converting on three of six break point opportunities in the second and third sets to oust his No. 167-ranked opponent.

Lammer, who began strong in the first set, broke Chiudinelli on two of seven break point opportunities, while winning 70 percent of his second serve points. Aided by his strong right-handed forehand, Lammer failed to continue his fortunes of the first set, falling to 0-5 on the year.

Chiudinelli, who improved to 9-11 on the season, will next take on either John Isner or Richard Gasquet.

Isner upset London hopeful No. 3 seed Fernando Gonzalez on Wednesday and currently leads Gasquet by a set and on serve in their second round contest.

Frenchman Jeremy Chardy couldn't follow up his hard-fought win over American James Blake on Wednesday, crashing out in second round action to Russian Evgeny Korolev.

Korolev, who defeated his French opponent 6-4, 7-6 (1), reached his fifth quarterfinal of season on the strength of eight aces and two breaks of serve.

By contrast, Chardy did his part to remain close in the encounter, winning 93 percent of his first serve points (26-28), while hammering 12 aces.

Korolev will next face top seed Roger Federer, who defeated Andreas Seppi for the sixth straight time on Wednesday in straight sets.

Federer and Korolev have met on one occasion on the ATP World Tour, with the Swiss disposing his Russian opponent in comfortable fashion earlier this year at the Australian Open.

The final match of the day will pit No. 4 seed Marin Cilic, who needs to win in Basel this week to ensure a realistic chance of qualifying for London, against hard-hitting Serbian Viktor Troicki.

Cilic, who is in the hunt for his fifth final of the season (currently holding a 2-2 record), leads his Serbian opponent 3-0 in head-to-head meetings.

Cilic remains 870 points behind No. 8-ranked Fernando Verdasco for the final spot in the London finale.

Valencia Open 500—Spain

No. 2 seed Nikolay Davydenko kept his quest for qualifying for the season-ending championships in full tilt on Thursday, routinely defeating Juan Monaco 6-3, 7-5.

Davydenko, who remains in the top five of three of the four major returning categories, broke his Argentine opponent on four of nine opportunities, while holding Monaco to a mere 38 percent of second serve points won.

Monaco, whose serve resides as one of the weakest on Tour, kept his spirits in check during the second set, breaking Davydenko on two occasions, while dictating a majority of the rallies with a rock-solid backhand.

However, as the match grew towards the latter stages of the set, Davydenko gained a crucial break conversion at 5-5 to serve out the match after one hour and 42 minutes.

The win for Davydenko improved the Russian's year-to-date record to 51-14, while the loss for Monaco, who was in search of his seventh hard court victory of the season, drops his record to 35-25 on the year.

Davydenko will next face Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who upended No. 6 seed Gael Monfils in straight sets on Wednesday.

Monfils' hopes of qualifying for the season finale in London were substantially diffused by his second round defeat to his Spanish opponent. Monfils will now head to the Paris Masters 1000 next week to finish out his season.

Davydenko leads Garcia-Lopez 1-0 in the pair's head-to-head meetings.

Local icon Fernando Verdasco, who like Davydenko remains one of the two realistic candidates to qualify for the London finale, increased his charge to the elite eight group by defeating in-form Serbian Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 6-3.

Tipsarevic, who recently finished a runner-up in Moscow, Russia, squandered five of six break point opportunities throughout the one hour and 22 minute affair, capitalizing on his lone break of serve in the second set.

Verdasco, who has appeared confident as the week has progressed, dazzled his home country fans with an array of blistering forehands, while striking four aces.

Verdasco's incredible form this season has seen the Madrid native reach the quarterfinal stage of 14 Tour events.

Verdasco's 50th win of the year will take the No. 4 seed into a final eight clash against his Davis Cup doubles partner Tommy Robredo.

Robredo fought off a stern challenge from good friend Feliciano Lopez, defeating the recent Shanghai semifinalist, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Verdasco and Robredo have met on seven occasions on the ATP World Tour, with Robredo leading the pair's head-to-head 4-3. Verdasco managed to win the pair's previous encounter at the Paris Masters 1000 in 2008. Verdasco holds a slight 2-1 hard court lead over Robredo.

The Spanish fortunes of Verdasco and Robredo did not continue for No. 8 seed David Ferrer.

Slated to face countryman Albert Montanes, Ferrer withdrew before the match took place with a hamstring injury. The withdrawal was particularly disappointing for Ferrer, who lives close by to the Valencia event.

As a result of Ferrer's misfortune, Montanes advanced to the quarterfinals, where he will face either top seed Andy Murray or up-and-coming Argentine Leonardo Mayer.

Murray, who will join the Adidas team at the start of 2010 (replacing his currently clothing contract with Fred Perry), currently leads Mayer one set to love.

Saving three set points in the opening set, Mayer saved four of five break point opportunities against his higher-ranked opponent.

After a drawn-out rally on Murray's fourth set point, Mayer overhit a routine drop shot to trail one set to love.

The Scot, who seems conflicted on court, is returning to action for the first time since losing in the fourth round of the US Open to Marin Cilic. The world No. 4 has been nursing a left wrist injury, which he hopes will subside for the remainder of the season.

The final result of the day saw recent Moscow winner Mikhail Youzhny capture his 14th victory in the past month, defeating Pablo Cuevas 6-2, 2-6, 6-1.

The fiery Russian won 70 percent of his total service points, while breaking the serve of Cuevas on eight occasions.

Cuevas, who defeated Valencia native Juan Carlos Ferrero on Tuesday, fell to 19-14 on the season.

With the win, Youzhny will now face No. 5 seed Gilles Simon for a place in the semifinals.

Simon, who is another player vying for a spot in the Tour finale in London, defeated Tomas Berdych in three sets on Wednesday.

Youzhny leads Simon 4-0 in the pair's head-to-head meetings, defeating the Frenchman on two occasions this season.

Please check back on Friday for a quarterfinal wrap-up from Basel and Valencia.

Player of the Month for October 2009: Nikolay Davydenko

Nima Naderi — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:23:19 -0500

After enduring various foot injuries to begin the 2009 season, Russian Nikolay Davydenko has rounded back to his usual top 10 self by capturing four ATP World Tour titles.

The Russian's method of operations simply remains to compete with nothing short of an onslaught of professionalism on a week-to-week out basis.

Over the month of October, Davydenko won 86 percent of his ATP World Tour matches (12-2), winning titles in both Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai. The Russian's 17th and 18th career titles were particularly impressive considering the cast of players he defeated along the way.

At the Proton Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur 2009, Davydenko defeated Gael Monfils, Robin Soderling and Fernando Verdasco in succession.

The Volgograd native's hard fought win over indoor specialist Robin Soderling in the semifinals was the highlight of the Russian's week, a match which featured Davydenko losing the first 6-1, only to roar back with a second set tiebreak win. After leveling the match at a set apiece, Davydenko dismissed Soderling in a convincing 6-2 third set.

Entering the Shanghai Masters 1000 presented by Rolex, Davydenko was up against the a tough field which included world No. 2 Rafael Nadal and world No. 3 Novak Djokovic.

In search of his third career ATP Masters 1000 title, the Russian rocket defeated both Djokovic and Nadal in back-to-back matches, clinching the biggest title of his season, while taking home $616,500 in prize money.

The 28-year-old right-hander, who can best be described as the pinnacle of tennis consistency, has resided in the world's top 10 since June 6, 2005. Davydenko briefly dipped out the elite top 10 in April of this year, failing to defend his Sony Ericsson crown in Miami due to his ankle injury.

Davydenko encountered another brief set back at the Wimbledon Championships, losing in the third round to Tomas Berdych. However, the Russian immediately rectified his grass court loss by winning consecutive Tour titles in Hamburg, Germany and Umag, Croatia.

The diverse Russian, who has been competing on Tour since 1999, has attained titles on clay (10), hard (5), and carpet (3).

Davydenko's consistent game style, which has historically revolved around his unbreakable serve, seldom is found down a break in match. Davydenko stands at the No. 3 spot in player's with the highest first serve percentage on Tour (69 percent).

Davydenko's serve is not to be overshadowed by his return of serve prowess. The compact, well timed returns of the Russian have him placed at the top of the list in returning statistics.

The Russian currently holds a top five position in three of the four major return of serve statistics. Davydenko, who is not intimated by the sonic serves of game's best, lands at the No. 2 position in points won returning first serve (35 percent).

The high spins and cutting slices, which encompass the solid second serve of the game's elite, are returned with ease by Davydenko, who owns the No. 5 spot when returning second serves (54 percent).

Undoubtedly, the most impressive of the Russian's returning accolades stands with his ability to convert on break point opportunities. When given a look at a break point chance, Davydenko is successful on 32 percent of his opportune moments.

Holding a career high rank of No. 3 in the world (June 2006), Davydenko's next goal will be to qualify for his fifth consecutive Barclays ATP World Tour final in London.

Currently on the cusp of qualifying, Davydenko holds the No. 7 position in the road to London. The Russian, who is participating in the Valencia Open 500 this week, could assure a position among the elite eight in London if he is able to capture the title.

A finalist last year in Shanghai, Davydenko finished second to Novak Djokovic at Masters Cup in China. Davydenko owns an 8-7 Barclays ATP World Tour final record.

In an era where success on Tour comes at a premium, Davydenko has shown that through a diligent fitness regiment, a relentless productive schedule, and finally the ability deal with the endless pressure that resides in the life of a world class professional, Davydenko without question has delivered the highest degree of what a true professionalism is defined by.

With another fantastic year on the ATP World Tour winding down, the consummate Russian will likely evoke continued success in the coming weeks.

Stay tuned, the race to the Tour finale in London awaits.

Getting to Know Horacio Zeballos

Nima Naderi — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:21:42 -0500

While covering the ATP World Tour stop in St. Petersburg, Russia last week, it was interesting to view the substantial rise of an Argentine by the name of Horacio Zeballos.

The 24-year-old Marta del Plata native has enjoyed one of the largest jumps up the South African Airways ATP World Tour rankings this season, which in large part has been aided by his stellar ATP Challenger Tour level record of 49-14.

By winning five of eight ATP Challenger Tour level finals this season, the right-hander, who resides in Buenos Aires, has increased his ranking by an astonishing 142 spots since the beginning of the year.

Currently residing at the No. 42 position on the ATP World Tour, Zeballos has recently translated his ATP Challenger Tour success into main Tour triumph.

Playing in just his fourth ATP World Tour event of his career, Zeballos reached the finals of the 250-point event in St. Petersburg last week, losing a down-to-the-wire contest to two-time Tour winner Sergiy Stakhovsky, 6-2, 6-7 (8), 6-7 (7).

Along the road to his maiden Tour final finish, Zeballos defeated the likes of Ernests Gulbis and Igor Kunitsyn (two well-established top 100 players) in the quarters and semifinals respectively.

Zeballos' game, which is designed around his potent forehand and speedy serve, struck 35 aces and nine double faults throughout his St. Petersburg campaign.

Primarily earning his way up the rankings on clay courts this season, the young Argentine picked up his first Tour-level win at the US Open this summer, defeating Michael Berrer of Germany in first round action.

In fact, Zeballos claims that hard courts are his favorite surface, and judging by the way he competed in St. Petersburg last week, his hard-court prowess will continue to grow.

Currently holding a 5-4 ATP World Tour win-loss record, Zeballos is coached by former Tour pro Alejandro Lombardo, who also coaches 2004 French Open champion Gaston Gaudio.

Zeballos and Gaudio recently contested an intense encounter in Buenos Aires, a match which Zeballos won 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

The significant win for Zeballos in his native country took him into the top 60 for the first time in his career.

Zeballos, who regularly trains with Gaudio on Tour, spoke about his milestone win after defeating his countryman.

“You can not imagine the feeling of satisfaction I have for winning in my country and (in front of) a player like Gaston, who is an idol,” reflected Zeballos.

The ATP Challenger circuit, which runs year round, provides excellent opportunities for budding stars like Zeballos to gain the necessary ranking points required to participate on the ATP World Tour.

Zeballos' diligent Challenger level play, consisting of 19 ATP Challenger Tour level events this season, has assured the Argentine of direct entry into the first major of 2010, the Australian Open.

Beginning the sport at the age of six, Zeballos has a younger sister, Carolina, who plays on the ITF women's circuit.

After suffering his heartbreaking loss to the Ukrainian Stakhovsky in St. Petersburg, Zeballos, who held a lone match point at 7-6 in the third set tiebreak, reflected on the positive outcome of losing his first Tour final.

“I missed a lot of chances in the second set, but he served really well in those moments. Maybe I should have tried to be more aggressive, but in that moment, especially in a final, it was really difficult because I was a little nervous. I’m really happy to reach this final. It was really close, so I’m really, really happy,” assessed Zeballos.

“He played the big points better than me; that’s why he won the two tiebreaks.”

Zeballos, who continues to train in Argentina when not on Tour, trails only US Open champ Juan Martin del Potro and three-time Tour-level finalist Juan Monaco as the third highest ranked player from Argentina. The South American country currently boasts nine players in the top 100.

Rapidly shooting up the world rankings, Zeballos' continued goal of reaching the world's top 30 goal remains on course with a Tour stop in Basel, Switzerland this week.

The Argentine will meet former world No. 7 Richard Gasquet, who is currently ranked No. 57 in the world, in first round action.

There is no doubt that the name Zeballos will be a feature in latter rounds of many upcoming ATP World Tour events. Stay tuned.

Marin Cilic Advances in Basel, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Withdraws in Valencia

Nima Naderi — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:57:57 -0500

Davidoff Swiss Indoors Basel—Switzerland

No. 4 seed Marin Cilic progressed to the second round in Basel on Wednesday, defeating flat-hitting German Philipp Petzschner, 6-4, 6-4.

Cilic, who currently stands in the 12th position in the race to qualify for the Tour finale in London, could add another 45 points to his total if he defeats his next opponent Viktor Troicki.

Cilic's loose limb groundstrokes aided him in progressing past his unorthodox German opponent in one hour and 23 minutes.

Striking 14 aces, Cilic maintained his mettle in the tight serving duel which saw both men win over 80 percent of their first serve points (82 percent of Cilic, 81 percent for Petzschner).

Petzschner, who was unable to defend his Vienna title last week with a calf injury, was not to be outdone in the ace category, hitting 10 aces of his own.

After gaining the lone break of serve in the first set, Cilic continued his winning formula of hitting his groundstrokes off-the-rise and near to the lines in order to offset his No. 76-ranked opponent.

Cilic will take a 3-0 head-to-head lead over Troicki into Thursday's second-round clash. The pair recently met in Zagreb, Croatia earlier this year, a tournament which the Croatian won to claim his second title of the season.

Troicki ousted Benjamin Becker on Tuesday.

For Cilic, or any player vying for a prestigious top-eight spot in London, they must be within 1,000 points of No. 8 Fernando Verdasco by week's end.

Elsewhere, Jeremy Chardy upset No. 7 seed James Blake, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (6), 6-4, in an up-and-down affair which lasted two hours and 16 minutes.

Blake, who has dropped to his lowest ranking since August of 2005, now sits at No. 41 in the world. The soon-to-be-30-year-old Yonkers native recently lost his semifinal points from the Paris Masters 1000 last year, which was played a week earlier.

Chardy, who is slowly being recognized as the future of French tennis, displayed his fantastic mix of retro and new age tennis in defeating his American opponent.

Sporting an early '90s short shorts look, Chardy took the opening set on the strength of eight aces and a crucial mini-break at 4-3 in the tiebreak.

Blake, who seemed upbeat after losing the opening set, stormed back in the second set by using his athleticism and down the line forehand to level the match at a set apiece.

Chardy obtained the lone break of the match in the ninth game of the final set, winning an extended baseline exchange by hitting an unreturnable backhand winner.

With the win, Chardy improved to 35-26 on the season, while Blake fell to 23-20 on the year.

The entertaining encounter, which posted 24 aces for Chardy and 14 aces for Blake, will now take the Frenchman to a second-round clash with Evgeny Korolev. Korolev defeated Simone Bolelli on Tuesday.

Frenchman Richard Gasquet won 72 percent of his total service points to defeat recent St. Petersburg finalist Horacio Zeballos, 7-6 (3), 6-4.

Since returning to the Tour at the US Open, Gasquet has reached the semifinals in Metz, France and the quarterfinals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Gasquet was tested by Zeballos' strong forehand and sneaky quick first serve throughout the one hour and 27 minute encounter.

After winning the first set in 45 minutes, Gasquet captured the lone break of the match in the ninth game of the second set.

Gasquet will next face either No. 3 seed Fernando Gonzalez or towering American John Isner.

The powerful duo will take the court later on Wednesday.

Remaining matches that are still to come on Day Three action in Basel will include:

Top seed Roger Federer taking a 5-0 head-to-head mark into his second round contest with Italian Andreas Seppi. Federer, who is the three-time defending champ of the event, is attempting to win the 62nd title of his career this week. Seppi, by contrast, has never won an ATP World Tour title.

Davis Cup finalist Radek Stepanek will be looking to advance to his seventh Tour-level quarterfinal on Wednesday, when he takes on lucky loser Florent Serra. Serra gained entry to the event when recent Vienna champ Jurgen Melzer withdrew.

Swiss hopeful Stan Wawrinka is presently battling tooth and nail with recent Lyon, France winner Ivan Ljubicic.

Ljubicic currently leads one set to love on the strength of hitting a service winner on his second set point in the tiebreak. The 55-minute first set was dominated by the cunning serving of Wawrinka, and the powerful placement of Ljubicic.

Ljubicic is attempting to win his sixth straight match on Tour, while Wawrinka will hope to improve on his 4-6 record at the event.

Valencia Open 500—Spain

Third ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga saw his hopes of qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour finals in London severely hampered on Wednesday, when the Frenchman was forced to withdraw in his first-round match against Russian Mikhail Youzhny.

Tsonga, who injured his left wrist after capturing the first set in a tiebreak, failed to win a game for the remainder of the 6-7 (3), 6-0, 3-0 contest.

After calling for a medical timeout after the opening set, Tsonga was reduced to competing without his consistent backhand wing, a weakness which Youzhny immediately exploited.

Tsonga's heart kept him in the contest, but his wrist would not let him continue. In light of having to defend his title at the Paris Masters 1000 next week, the flamboyant Frenchman conceded the match to his unseeded opponent.

Tsonga is currently 380 points behind the eighth-ranked Verdasco, who advanced easily to the second round when his countryman Oscar Hernandez withdrew, trailing 6-1, 0-1.

Youzhny, who had recently been dismantled by Tsonga during the finals of the Japan Open, had never won set against his French opponent prior to today's contest.

Youzhny will now head to the second round where he will take on Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay. Cuevas defeated local hope Juan Carlos Ferrero on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, Gilles Simon advanced to his ninth quarterfinal of season, defeating Davis Cup hero Tomas Berdcyh, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

Simon, who currently stands at the No. 13 position in the race to London, added 80 points to his total after ousting his Czech opponent.

Simon will essentially have to win this week in Valencia, and make at least the semifinals of the Paris Masters 1000 next if he is to qualify for London.

Simon's first serve, which has been in great form over the past few weeks, won 80 percent of its points, while striking 11 aces.

The Frenchman's velocity is not the catalyst which creates the respectable ace counts in his matches, though, the effortless spin and placement created allows for his many unreturable serves.

By contrast, Berdych, who can readily amp up his serve to the 135 mph range, struggled in his attempt to hold serve on a consistent basis, losing his delivery on three of nine occasions.

With the win, Simon improved his year-to-date win-loss mark to 42-27, while taking a commanding 4-2 head-to-head lead over Berdych in their career meetings.

Simon will next face Youzhny or Cuevas on Friday.

Resurgent Spaniard Feliciano Lopez dazzled the hometown crowd on Wednesday, ousting countryman Alberto Martin, 7-5, 6-3. Lopez's blistering serve won 89 percent of his first serve points, while producing 12 aces.

Lopez's trademark slice backhand allowed him to repeatedly approach the net, offsetting the baseline rhythm of his diminutive opponent.

With the win, Lopez improved to 17-22 on the season and will next meet Janko Tipsarevic, who defeated struggling Romanian Victor Hanescu by a 6-4, 6-3 score.

Tipsarevic is coming off two sensational week's on Tour, which have included advancing to his maiden ATP World Tour final in Moscow (l. Youzhny), and reaching the semifinals in Vienna (l. Melzer).

Lopez and Tipsarevic have met on four occasions, with the Spaniard leading the pair's head-to-head 3-1. Tipsarevic defeated Lopez at the French Open earlier this year in four sets, but has lost three previous hardcourt meetings.

The contrast between Lopez and Tipsarevic two should be interesting to observe, with Lopez using his attacking crash the net style against the opportunistic play of the Serbian.

Thursday's action in Valencia will feature:

Andy Murray vs. Leonardo Mayer, Nikolay Davydenko vs. Juan Monaco, and David Ferrer vs. Albert Montanes.

Please check back on Thursday for continuing daily coverage from Basel and Valencia.

Novak Djokovic Makes Basel Debut, Gael Monfils Marches to Second Round in Spain

Nima Naderi — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:09:23 -0500

Davidoff Swiss Indoors Basel—Switzerland

No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic will take the court later today at the newly named Roger Federer Arena, in what will be his first ever match in Basel.

The world No. 3 has enjoyed a productive fall season, which has included winning the title in Beijing Open and reaching the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters 1000.

The Serb, who has already qualified for the season ending Barclays ATP World Tour finals in London, will battle unseeded German Andreas Beck in first-round action.

Beck, who has increased his ranking 71 places since the start of the year, has enjoyed fruitful success this season. The 23-year-old Weingarten native has reached the quarterfinals of four Tour events, while amassing a win-loss record of 22-20.

The left-handed German has never faced his Serbian opponent on the ATP World Tour, who stands 30 place higher in the rankings.

The third largest city in Switzerland witnessed an upset on Tuesday, when No. 8 seed Philipp Kohlshcrieber went down in three sets to local favorite Marco Chiudinelli, 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-5.

Chiudinelli, who grew up with Roger Federer, riding their bikes after school to training sessions, has qualified for seven Tour-level events this season, holding an 8-11 record after defeating Kohlschrieber on Tuesday.

After claiming the first set on the strength of winning 75 percent of his first serve points, Chiudinelli's level dipped slightly in the second set, losing his serve on one occasion at 3-2.

With the match tied at one set apiece, Chiudinelli continued to remain poised while combating the hard serving of his German opponent.

After trading breaks of serve in the early stages of set three, Chiudinelli converted on a late break point chance at 5-6 to advance to the second round.

The two-hour, 15 minute battle featured 15 aces by Kohlschreiber and 11 for Chiudineli.

Kohlschreiber, who lost his sixth first-round match of the season, fell to 40-24 on the year.

With the win, Chiudinelli awaits the winner of Daniel Koellerer or Michael Lammer. The Koellerer-Lammer duel will be played later on Tuesday.

Recent Moscow quarterfinalist Evgeny Korolev improved to 17-18 on the year, defeating Simone Bolelli of Italy 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2.

Korolev, who is competing in Basel as a qualifier, overcame a shaky start in the first set by losing his serve on one occasion.

Korolev immediately rebounded in the second set, holding his nerve throughout the set which included no break point conversions by either player.

Tied at one set all, Korolev raced through the final set on the strength of four aces and two break conversions.

Korolev will now await Wednesday's first round match between No. 8 seed James Blake and Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.

Other completed matches on the day included:

Jan Henrych defeating Peter Luczak 6-3, 6-4, and Viktor Troicki taming the big serve of Benjamin Becker, ousting the German 6-2, 7-6(5).

Wednesday's action in Basel will feature:

Roger Federer vs. Andeas Seppi, Fernando Gonzalez vs. John Isner, and Stanislas Wawrinka vs. Ivan Ljubicic.

Valencia Open 500—Spain

Gael Monfils kept his hopes alive of capturing one of the two remaining spots for the Barclay's ATP World Tour final on Tuesday, defeating Spaniard Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-2.

Monfils, who was in complete control of the one hour, 10 minute contest, struck two aces while breaking his opponent on five of 10 occasions.

The Frenchman currently stands in the No. 16 position in the race to London, and will realistically need to win this week in Valencia as well as next week in Paris to qualify.

Monfils will next face Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in second round action. Garcia-Lopez defeated Simon Greul on Monday.

Fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon, who currently stands in No. 14 position in the race to London, boasted his chances of qualifying today, defeating Igor Kunitysn 6-3, 6-2.

Simon played flawlessly in advancing to the second round in 54 minutes. Winning 86 percent of his first-serve points, while converting on three-of-three break-point opportunities, the 24-year-old Nice native improved to 43-27 on the year, and 2-0 against Kunitsyn.

Simon will take a 3-2 head-to-lead over his next opponent Tomas Berdych. Berdych ousted Paul-Henri Mathieu in convincing fashion on Monday.

Elsewhere, an all-Spanish clash between No. 8 seed David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro ended when the seeded Valencia native took control of final set to progress, 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-2.

The defending champ, who improved to 5-0 against his countryman, won 76 percent of his first-serve points, while converting on 6-of-11 break point opportunities.

Almagro, who converted three of three break point chances, fell to 29-23 on the year. Almagro was the defending finalist of the event, and two-time former champion.

With the win, Ferrer, who was born and raised in Valencia, will next face Albert Montanes. Montanes defeated Roberto Bautista-Agut on Monday.

Former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero was not as lucky as his fellow Valencia native Ferrer, squandering a set lead in a losing effort to Pablo Cuevas, 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Ferrero, who had high hopes for his local tournament, lost focus in the second set after leading by a set and a break. Cuevas, who has made four ATP World Tour quarterfinals this season, utilized his powerful first-serve to level the match at a set apiece.

With momentum on his side, Cuevas gained the lone break of serve in set three, defeating his Spanish opponent for the first time.

Cuevas will next face either No. 3 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Mikhail Youzhny in round two. Tsonga is another prime candidate to qualify for the London finale, and will take a 2-0 head-to-head lead over his Russian opponent on Wednesday.

Tsonga recently defeated Youzhny in two routine sets to capture the Japan Open.

Other first round results which were completed on Tuesday included:

Juan Monaco defeating fellow Argentine Martin Vassallo Arguello 6-3, 6-2, while Leonardo Mayer used his flat groundstrokes to dispatch Igor Andreev 6-3, 6-3.

Monaco will next face No. 2 seed Nikolay Davydenko, while Mayer will await the winner of the day's featured match between top-seed Andy Murray and Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver.

Murray, who will see his first court action since representing England in Davis Cup action, remains cautious as he is returning from a wrist injury.

Murray has already clinched a place in the prestigious Tour finale in London, and is utilizing the next two weeks to test both his wrist and fitness.

The day's final match will see No. 7 seed Tommy Robredo vs. Christophe Rochus from Belgium.

Wednesday's order of play in Valencia will highlight:

Fernando Verdasco vs. Oscar Hernandez, Alberto Martin vs. Feliciano Lopez, and Victor Hanescu vs. Janko Tipsarevic.

Please check back on Wednesday for continuing daily coverage from Basel and Valencia.

Tomas Berdych Wins in Spain, Roger Federer Sees First Tour Match Since Davis Cup

Nima Naderi — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:39:50 -0500

Davidoff Swiss Indoors Basel

Lucky loser Florent Serra—who received late entry into the tournament when Vienna champ Jurgen Melzer withdrew—withstood 28 aces from Ivo Karlovic, ousting the Croatian 7-6 (5), 6-4.

Serra, who advanced to the quarterfinals in Lyon, France last week, won 84 percent of his first serve points and 77 percent of his second serve points throughout the one hour and 17 minute contest.

By contrast, Karlovic, who seldom posts poor serving statistics, won a shocking 38 percent of his second serve points (8-21), while being broken once in the ninth game of the second set.

The tall serving Croatian fell to 22-22 on year, losing his sixth straight match on tour.

Serra, who improved to 24-28 on the season, will next face either No. 5 seed Radek Stepanek or Rainer Schuettler. The Czech and German will lock horns later on Monday.

Elsewhere, Andreas Seppi overcame a first set to defeat local wildcard Stephane Bohli, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.

Bohli, who has yet to win a Tour match this season (0-4), delighted his local supporters by capturing the first set on the strength of two breaks of serve. The 26-year-old Swiss, ranked No. 148 in the world, couldn't maintain his form in the second set, losing his serve on three occasions.

With the third set remaining leveled, Seppi capitalized on a late service break at 6-5 to serve out the match.

The victory improved Seppi's modest season win-loss mark to 23-29, while recording his first win at the event in two attempts. Seppi was a first round loser in 2005 to Fernando Gonzalez.

Seppi will now await the winner of the day's last match between world No. 1 Roger Federer vs. Oliver Rochus.

Federer, who has been off Tour since helping Switzerland propel back into the World Group of the Davis Cup, returns to his home tournament for the 10th time.

Federer will take a 6-0 head-to-head lead over his good friend Rochus into their first round match. The pair have known each other since junior competition, and Federer has always held high praise for Rochus' terrific one-handed backhand.

Rochus, who advanced to his first Tour final in two seasons two weeks ago in Stockholm, prefers the indoor surface and will be keen on testing Federer's layoff form early.

Federer's first round encounter with Rochus will also be the first time the 15-time Grand Slam participates in the new Roger Federer Arena, which was previously called the St. Jakobshalle Arena.

Valencia Open 500—Spain

Former world No. 9 Tomas Berdych advanced to the second round of the inaugural fall edition of the Valencia Open 500 on Monday, defeating Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-3, 6-4.

Berdych, who has one Tour title to his credit this season (Munich), completely dominated the one hour 19 minute affair by winning 88 percent of his first serve points, while breaking Mathieu's serve on two of four occasions.

The powerful Czech, who will represent his country in the upcoming Davis Cup final in Spain, improved his year-to-date record to 34-23, while picking up his first ever win in Valencia.

The spectacular new Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias complex, which is hosting the event in the Ágora building, provides natural lighting throughout its fin-shaped roof.

The 5,500 seat Center Court crowd remained in awe as they took in the Berdych-Mathieu match, while admiring the breathtaking surrounding architecture.

Elsewhere, Albert Montanes, who is one of 13 Spaniards in the main draw, defeated countryman Roberto Bautista-Agut 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.

Montanes' seven previous trips to Valencia had taken place when the event was held in the spring. Prior to today's win over Bautista-Agut, Montanes success at that tournament was highlighted in 2004, when lost to Fernando Verdasco.

Montanes, who has enjoyed his best season to date on Tour, has won two clay court titles in Estoril (d. Blake) and Romania (d. Monaco).

The 28-year-old Spaniard was simply too strong for his younger countryman on Monday. Bautista-Agut, who was participating in the first main draw Tour event of his career, qualified for the event after defeating Steve Darcis and top seed Robert Kendrick.

Currently ranked No. 315 on the computer rankings, Bautista-Agut has exclusively participated on the Futures and Challenger circuits.

Montanes, who converted on three of five break point opportunities throughout his one hour and 55 minute victory, will next face either No. 8 seed David Ferrer or Nicolas Almagro.

Valencia born Ferrer will be eager to put forth a deep showing this week, while Almagro, who captured his lone title of the season in Acapulco (d. Monfils), will be looking to improve on his stellar 13-2 lifetime record in Valencia, which includes two titles (2006, 2007) and a runner up finish in 2008.

Spanish success continued on day one action, with Guillermo Garcia-Lopez ousting German Simon Gruel 7-5, 6-2.

Garcia-Lopez, who captured his first career title earlier this season in Kitzbuhel (d. Benneteau), won the first set against Greul by striking two aces and holding a perfect three for three mark on break point conversions.

With the first set in hand, Garcia-Lopez improved his points won on first serves to 87 percent, compared with the first set which he won 58 percent. The 26-year-old Spaniard also converted on two of three break point opportunities, while not allowing a single break point against his own delivery.

Greul, who has seen a steady increase in his ranking all season, fell to 15-15 on the year. With his loss to Garica-Lopez, Greul dropped only his second first round match of the season.

Garcia-Lopez will now await the winner of either No. 6 seed Gael Monfils or fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers.

The day's final match, which is currently underway, has No. 2 seed Nikolay Davydenko up an easy set and a hold over Alejandro Falla from Columbia.

Davydenko, who remains in desperate pursuit of capturing one of the two remaining spots for the Barclays ATP World Tour finals in London, trails Falla 1-0 in career head-to-head meetings.

The pair last met at Wimbledon in 2006 (Davydenko's worst surface), with Falla winning in four close sets.

Please check back on Tuesday for continuing daily coverage from Basel and Valencia.

ATP World Tour Previews for Basel, Switzerland, and Valencia, Spain

Nima Naderi — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:43:07 -0500

With two remaining weeks on the ATP World Tour calender, the world's best will gather in Basel, Switzerland, and Valencia, Spain to take part in two respective 500 point events.

After enduring a layoff after his US Open campaign, Roger Federer returns to the courts of his native Basel to defend his hometown tournament.

This year's edition of the Davidoff Swiss Indoors Basel will hold particular importance for Federer, who is not only attempting to win his fourth consecutive title, but will be participating in a Stadium named after him.

With his French Open win earlier this year, tournament organizers thought it would appropriate to rename the grounds after the world No. 1.

Federer will be joined in Basel by an impressive cast of competitors which will include, No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic, No. 3 seed Fernando Gonzalez and No. 4 seed Marin Cilic.

The 32-man draw will feature other notables, Ivo Karlovic, Ivan Ljubicic and Richard Gasquet.

The first prize winner of the event will take home € 291,700, and as mentioned 500 ATP World Tour points.

Onto the inaugural Valencia Open event, and the return of Andy Murray.

The Scot has been sidelined since his Davis Cup participation in England, which took place shortly after his fourth round exit at the US Open. The world No. 4, who will be the top seed this week in Spain, will have a hefty cast of characters to deal with if he is to capture his sixth title of the season.

The beautiful state-of-the-art Agora building, which seats 5,500 spectators, truly stands alone in modern day tennis facilities. The fin shaped glass roof will overlook the weeks action, while adding natural light to all the day matches.

Murray will be joined in Valencia by, No. 2 seed Nikolay Davydenko, No. 3 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and No. 4 seed Fernando Verdasco.

Other unseeded notables in the field will include, Valencia native Juan Carlos Ferrero, Tomas Berdych and Leonardo Mayer.

The first prize winner of the 500 point event will collect € 323,000 in prize money.

Without further adieu, let's take a look at the top and bottom halves of both the Basel and Valencia draws.

Davidoff Swiss Indoors Basel

Top half:

The draw gods were certainly kind to Federer in his return to competitive play. The world No. 1 will take on a qualifier in round one, with either Andreas Seppi or Stephane Bohli being his second round opponent.

Seppi is a more seasoned player than his first round Swiss rival. However, Bohli is playing at home and could cause an upset. Either way, Federer should easily dispatch either foe to reach the quarterfinals.

In the final eight, the 15-time Grand Slam champ could face No. 8 seed James Blake or French sensation Jeremy Chardy. Blake and Chardy will face off in round, with the winner likely reaching the quarterfinals.

The good news for Federer is that he holds a 9-1 head-to-head lead over Blake, losing to the American during the 2008 summer Olympics.

Federer and Chardy have never met on Tour, with the young French star needing to become more consistent in order to scare the top seed.

Federer's semifinal opponent could very well be either No. 3 seed Fernando Gonzalez, No. 8 seed Philipp Kohlscrieber, Richard Gasquet or John Inser.

The Swiss holds a commanding 22-2 head-to-head lead over Gonzalez, Kohlscrieber and Gasquet combined, while ousting Isner during their lone battle at the 2007 US Open.

All in all, this week will marks Federer's return home for the first time since breaking the all time Grand Slam record at Wimbledon. A former ball boy at the event, Federer will be the odds on favorite to take home his fourth straight title and fifth of the season.

Pick: Federer

Bottom half:

No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic, who will be making his first appearance in Basel, will attempt to add to his recent good form on Tour, which saw him win the Beijing title and reach the semifinals at the Shanghai Masters 1000.

Djokovic will begin his Basel campaign against German Andreas Beck. Beck, who possesses a dangerous left-handed first serve, will provide a significant challenge for Djokovic in round one. The pair have never faced on tour, but with indoor courts being Beck's preferred surface, an early scare for Djokovic may be in order.

The quarterfinals could bring forth the challenge of No. 6 seed Stan Wawrinka or resurgent Croat Ivan Ljubicic. Wawrinka will be eager to put on a fine display for his hometown fans, while Ljubicic, who recently won in Lyon should be one to watch this week. Djokovic holds a combined 10-3 head-to-head lead over Wawrinka and Ljubicic.

In the semifinals, Djokovic could face either No. 4 seed Marin Cilic, No. 5 seed Radek Stepanek, or ace machine Ivo Karlovic.

All three of this players possess great indoor games, with Cilic providing the overall arsenal to give Djokovic a run to the finals.

All in all, a No. 1 vs. No.2 clash in Basel seems to work out just fine this week. A potential prelude to the tour finale in London? Don't bet against it.

Pick: Djokovic

Valencia Open 500—Spain

Top half:

First time attendee Andy Murray will head a star-studded 32-man draw in the inaugural fall Valencia Open. The Spanish tournament has traded places with its previous calender slot, which was held in the springtime.

Murray, who will be returning to action after a left wrist injury, will begin his Valencia journey against Daniel Gimeno-Traver. Gimeno-Traver, who is one of 11 Spaniards entered in the main draw, has increased his ranking from No. 90 in the world at the beginning of the year to its current position of No. 75.

Murray could face a formidable foe in round two, with either Igor Andreev or Leonardo Mayer on deck. Andreev was forced to retire last week in St. Petersburg to Marat Safin, while Mayer, who has been recognized as another future star from Argentina, prefers fast hard-courts.

In light of Murray's injured wrist and suspect form, it's certainly plausible that either Andreev or Mayer could knock him out.

The quarterfinal round could see No. 8 seed David Ferrer, a Valencia native, lock horns with the top seed.

Ferrer has endured a turbulent season, which has been full of minimal success. Ferrer, who lives near event, will be full of vigor as he attempts to reach his second Tour final of the season in Spain (Barcelona).

Murray and Ferrer have split their two career meetings.

It seems that Murray will have to dispose of the entire Spanish Armada if he is to concur the Valencia event. The semifinals could bring forth the likes of, No. 4 seed Fernando Verdasdco, No. 7 seed Tommy Robredo, or rejuvenated Feliciano Lopez.

Regardless of his seeding, Verdasco may be the sternest test for Murray in this section. The Madrid native remains one of a hand full of players with a realistic chance of qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour finals in London. Verdasco has minimal points to defend until the end of the season, and will fight to the finish in order to qualify for the Tour finale.

Lopez has been in form as of late, reaching the semifinals of Shanghai and the quarterfinals of Vienna. Robredo is certainly a wildcard pick in this section, historically struggling indoors.

All in all, Murray is the man to beat in his section, but with his wrist in doubt, and a top eight spot already secured in London, look for a player with much more to lose, and gain to prevail.

Pick: Verdasco

Bottom half:

This half of the draw should provide many close encounters, considering that four players, No. 2 seed Davydenko, No. 3 seed Tsonga, No. 5 seed Simon and No. 6 Gael Monfils all remain in hot pursuit of qualifying for London.

Davydenko, who is literally in arms length of reaching the London finale, faces a qualifier in round one, with one of two Argentines, Juan Monaco or Martin Vassallo Arguello in round two.

Davydenko should face relative adversity in defeating either South American.

Davydenko's quarterfinal round could bring forth a ground-stroking affair against Monfils. Monfils has been in respectable form as of late, holding the tools to upset Davydenko.

With the Russian splitting his four previous encounters with Monfils, the potential battle remains a toss up.

Another Frenchman may be lurking in the semifinals for Davydenko, with hard-serving Tsonga remaining a primary threat to the Russian's London hopes.

Tsonga will be looking for redemption after losing to countryman Arnaud Clement in Lyon, a loss that cost Tsonga valuable points towards the Tour finale.

Simon and Berdych, two dangerous indoor players also reside in this section, with Simon rounding out the cast of London hopefuls.

Simon also suffered an upset loss last week in Lyon, and will have to defeat the like of Berdych, Ferrero, or Tsonga to reach the final four.

Ferrero, who was born and raised in Valencia, has been training at the site for the past week, taking part in promotional events. Ferrero will be prepared for a deep run in Valencia.

All in all, this half appears to offer the strongest competition of the week. With the stakes high, look for Davydenko or Tsonga to continue their determined marches to the culminating Tour finale.

With no margin for error, the ice veins of the second seed should prevail.

Pick: Davydenko

Please check back throughout the week for continuing daily coverage from Basel and Valencia. The remaining two spot for London will likely be determined through the week. Stay tuned.