Estoril Open - Ljubicic Adds Name To 2010 Field

World No. 13 Ivan Ljubicic, who captured his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells in March, will join World No. 1 Roger Federer and another former champion Nikolay Davydenko at the Estoril Open from 1-9 May 2010.

Seven players in the Top 50 in the South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings have agreed to play at the Estadio Nacional, venue of the ATP World Tour 250 clay-court tennis tournament.

Ljubicic, 31, competed at the tournament in 2001, losing in the first round to Nicolas Lapentti. Federer captured the 2008 title, while Davydenko lifted the 2003 title and reached two other finals in 2006 and 2008.

Defending champion Albert Montanes, with a 9-4 overall tournament record, and last year’s runner-up James Blake will also return to the scene of their memorable final.

Djoker masters the smash

Just over a year ago, Serbian legend and world number two Novak Djokovic was having a nightmarish time with his new racquet.
Having just changed from Wilson to Head, he was struggling to get used to the new equipment and blamed it for a run of poor form.
He got the hang of it soon enough though, and though he was Grand Slam-free in 2009 he enjoyed an otherwise superb season to establish himself even more firmly - not that he needed to - as one of the very best in the business.
It seems, however, that the pesky racquet has started to play up once again, because he thrashed it to within an inch of its life and beyond as he muddled past Mikhail Youzhny to secure victory at the Dubai Championships.
Incredibly, though, his hot-headed tactic worked: the remainder of the racquets in the Djoker's bag, clearly fearing for their lives, began to behave much better as the Serb finished up a comfortable final set victory.
Sport is littered with examples of ridiculous, illogical tactics that shouldn't work - yet do.
Football club presidents look ridiculous when they fire their managers on the back of a brief run of bad results; yet the shot up the backside for the players invariably turns things round.
And how often do you see a golfer shouting at his ball in mid-air to get over the lake, then smile in gratitude as the under-hit shot does exactly what it's told.
Smashing a racquet is in exactly the same category, and not for a second should anybody grumble about it.
It adds to the spectacle, gives the crowd some pantomime-villain action to enjoy booing at, and increases the level of play from the player.
In fact, we'd rather see the ATP and WTA fine players for NOT losing their tempers when they clearly ought to have done.

Q&A With 'Jersey Girl' Clijsters - Interesting article from Tennnis.com

Q&A With 'Jersey Girl' Clijsters
By Bill Gray
Monday, March 1, 2010
Clijsters and Kuznetsova were the only two players to defeat Serena Williams in Grand Slam competition in 2009.

Availiable here:

http://www.tennis.com/articles/templates/features.aspx?articleid=4399&zoneid=9

To hear Kim Clijsters tell it, her weekend wasn’t much different than that of any other high-powered New Jersey working mom trying to balance family duties with work life. “It’s taken some time to get the right balance, but I’m getting the hang of it,” Clijsters said Sunday after a 60-mile commute from Wall, New Jersey, to New York City for a work obligation.
The start of the weekend was all about her mother role, as Clijsters was celebrating the second birthday of Jada, her daughter with her Jersey-born husband Brian Lynch. After baking a birthday cake and preparing and hosting a brunch for 24 of her husband’s relatives on Saturday, Clijsters changed into her work clothes—a Fila warm-up from its new Center Court Collection—to fulfill some promotional obligations for her apparel sponsor on Sunday. The tour culminated at Madison Square Garden, where Clijsters squared off with fellow Fila endorser Svetlana Kuznetsova in a Wii racquet sports contest and then took photos with disadvantaged kids as part of MSG’s Garden of Dreams Foundation program.
Clijsters is in town for the Billie Jean King Cup/BNP Paribas Showdown at the Garden, where she, Kuznetsova, Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic will really get down to business, competing in a single-elimination exhibition event for $1.2 million in prize money.

TENNIS.com caught up with the reigning U.S. Open champ for a few minutes on Sunday.

TENNIS.com: So when did you become a Jersey Girl?

Kim Clijsters: Just before the [2009] U.S. Open. We feel it’s important that Jada knows both of the worlds her parents come from. So we bought our first house together [a 2,700-square-foot three-bedroom house in southern New Jersey]. Brian already had a house in New Jersey that was really nice because it was close to the [Jersey Shore] beaches, but it had a really small garden. So we went inland a little bit more to get a bigger garden for Jada to play in.

Will New Jersey be your new home base?

For now, just a few weeks here and there. I still have a house in Belgium for when the tour is in Europe, but we’ll come back to New Jersey for the American hardcourt season, at least for a while after the Miami tournament [in March], then a few weeks before Cincinnati [in August], and, of course, the Open and probably a week or so after it’s over.

Did Jada get the Kim Clijsters Barbie Doll for her birthday?

No, she already has that one, along with the little one they made of her. But my mother-in-law gave her a regular Barbie, and Brian and I got her some paints for coloring because she’s starting to get pretty creative now.

Speaking of Barbies, which is more special to you:

The role-model Barbie created in your likeness [others so honored by Mattel Toys are Oprah Winfrey, J.K. Rowlings and German Chancellor Angela Merkel], or being nominated for this year’s Laureus Comeback of the Year award [along with Lance Armstrong and Brett Favre]?

Oh wow, that’s really hard. Laureus is like the Oscars of sports and to be nominated so soon after I started back in tennis is really special. But if I had to choose it would be the Barbie, because Jada can play with it now and she’ll realize how special it is when she’s older.

Are you getting a lot of endorsement offers after the U.S. Open win for family-oriented products? Seems like you would be a natural pick for a mom-mobile brand like Volvo or some kind of mini-van soccer-mom thing.

There’s a lot more sponsor interest now than when I won the U.S. Open the first time [in 2005]. But not really the family kind of sponsors. Nothing from Volvo or other auto companies. At least they haven’t contacted us so far.

Are your tattoos—Jada’s name on your left wrist and Brian’s first initial on your ring finger—there for inspiration during tight matches?

Once in a while when I’m waiting to return serve I look down at them. But there’s a more practical reason for the “B” on my finger. I used to wear my engagement and wedding rings, but Jada would get scratches from the diamond when I was changing her diaper. So Brian and I went to the tattoo store.

How do you feel about Serena Williams pulling out of the exhibition here in New York?

Disappointed. It would have been nice. We’ve had some great charity matches. I just like her a lot. She’s a fun girl to hang out with.

Bill Gray is TENNIS magazine’s gear editor. Read his blog, The Pro Shop.

Gulbis, in 1st ATP final, to face Karlovic

DELRAY BEACH - Ernests Gulbis could be only one match away from wrapping his arms around his first ATP Tour winner's trophy.

The 21-year-old Latvian has been whacking tennis balls on the ATP Tour since 2006, but it took him beating Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships on Saturday to journey to a final.
Unfortunately for Gulbis, he's going to have to tame birthday boy Ivo Karlovic - the Delray Beach second seed turns 31 on Sunday - and that's one tall order. At 6-10 and the tallest player ranked in the top 100, Karlovic's supersonic serve is most often an untouchable weapon.
The 33rd-ranked Karlovic, who led the tour with 890 aces in 43 matches last year, ended defending champion Mardy Fish's shot of a second consecutive title courtesy of a 6-2, 6-3 semifinal win.
Gulbis might take some encouragement from the fact that Karlovic only served seven aces against Fish. In his previous matches this week he was serving aces in the double digits.
"It was a bad day for my serve," Karlovic said. "It was cold which is why it [my serve] was not so fast as other days."
Gulbis' win took patience, a trait that he used to not possess. He was about to serve for the match at 6-4, 5-4 when he was forced to wait out a three-hour rain delay before taking care of unfinished business.
Then, skies cleared and court dried, Gulbis needed all of two minutes to serve out the match, unleashing a 125 mph ace on the final point.
The rain interruption didn't disturb the 72nd-ranked Gulbis. He enjoyed the downtime, switching from tennis balls to basketball while killing time.
"I scored 18 free throws in a row during the break," Gulbis said, then jokingly adding, "Usually I do a couple of hundred."
The hype was huge around Gulbis when he first arrived on tour. He had game; that was easy to see.
But it took him until recently to show signs of consistency and an ability to perform to expectations. In the past two weeks he reached the Memphis semifinal, following that result with at least a final appearance at Delray Beach.
What was missing? Focus.
"Basically, I used to win or lose matches by myself," Gulbis said. "I was the one guy on the court. The other guy just put the ball in, that's all he had to do if I had a bad day."
Practicing was tedious, whereas just playing matches, win or lose, was fun. Friends were out-and-about having good times, while he was supposed to be seriously working as a high-end athlete.
"I'm getting a little bit older," he said. "A couple of years ago I was playing tennis but I still had dozens of other interests in my head, which were even more important than tennis."
Gulbis' poise in the final set was evidence of a new maturity. He didn't panic after surrendering a 3-2 lead with a service break in the final set, nor did he lose his composure after initially going down 0-15 in the final game.
"I think the players have long felt that Gulbis is one of the most talented players," said the 109th-ranked Nieminen after the match. "He's found something to help him play with more courage, at least the last two weeks."

Kim: 'I'd prefer a Grand Slam to number 1'

For 2010 Kim aims to take part in a few top tournaments only. The brand new Sportswoman of the Year will still be spending a lot of time with her family, Kim told at a press conference. Kim kicks off her season in Brisbane on 3 January.

Take a look at the video on Sport.be TV

During her last press conference on Belgian soil before leaving for Australia Kim announced her schedule for the coming season. She currently has a rather limited 2010 schedule with only 14 official tournaments (so far). With her schedule Kim clearly chooses for a combined professional and family life. "We carefully looked at how we could combine the important tournaments of the year with sufficient quality time for ourselves," Kim said. In a few days Kim heads for Australia. After a week of getting accustomed to the time difference she kicks off her season on 3 January in Brisbane. 14 days later Kim has her first Grand Slam with the Australian Open. SPRING AND SUMMER IN AMERICAAfter the Australian 'summer' (January in Europe) and a brief stay in Belgium an American spring follows with the tournaments of Indian Wells and Miami. Kim will participate in the Billie Jean King Cup, a kind of an exhibition tournament in Madison Square, quite the location where she won the Masters for the first time.In the European spring Kim will take on the Stuttgart and Madrid tournaments, preparing for the French Open. After Wimbledon she will travel back to America for a brief summer break and the run-up to the US Open.

Kim: 'I'd prefer a Grand Slam to number one'

Answering the question whether she would prefer to become the world's number one again or win another Grand Slam, Kim opted for the second possibility. "I have always had a special relationship with the Australian Open. I'd love to win that wonderful trophy and take the toy kangaroo home as well", Kim said. "I have a slight preference for Wimbledon, which is also the tournament my dad cherished most."OLYMPIC GAMES IN 2012? Kim also added she aims to continue until 2012. "Currently I can't look ahead too much, but if it would be possible I'd love to take part in the London Olympics. The main factor here is my family though."Earlier this month Kim signed a sponsor agreement with Telenet, also until 2012. From now on she will be representing Telenet as its sportive ambassador and used as one of the main faces of the company in advertising campaigns, customer events and corporate events for Telenet employees.

Telenet-CEO Duco Sickinghe: 'Kim answers perfectly to the family values Telenet adheres to.

'"Im happy Kim has become ambassador for Telenet"

Duco Sickinghe, Telenet's CEO, confirms. "Kim answers perfectly to the family values Telenet adheres to. Like Kim Telenet is dynamic and we aim to improve ourselves all the time in an enthusiastic and fair manner." At the same time Telenet announced that the Australian Open will be broadcast in High Definition for the first time and this via Eurosport HD.

From: www.kimclijsters.be

Near Misses Of The Decade

Take a look back at the Top 5 most dramatic near misses of the past decade.

1. Guillermo Coria Misses 2 Match Points in the 2004 Roland Garros Final
Guillermo Coria came into an all-Argentine final against Gaston Gaudio at 2004 Roland Garros as favourite to win his first Grand Slam title. The 22 year old had won 37 of his past 38 matches on clay and had dropped just one set (against Tim Henman in the semi-finals) en route to the final. With Gaudio crippled by nerves, Coria looked on course for a crushing victory as he raced to a 6-0, 6-3 lead. Gaudio fought back to force a fifth set, but was still forced to save two match points before sealing victory 0-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 8-6 to become the first Argentine to win Roland Garros since Guillermo Vilas in 1977. It was a heart-wrenching loss for Coria and his first defeat in 19 matches against Argentine opponents.

2. Andy Roddick Loses to Roger Federer in the 2009 Wimbledon Final
Andy Roddick came the closest yet to capturing the coveted Wimbledon crown in 2009 when he pushed Roger Federer to 16-14 in the longest fifth set in a final in Grand Slam history. The American had been thwarted by Federer in the 2004-05 Wimbledon finals, but looked set to lay his demons to rest with a devastating serving display for which Federer had no answer until the final game of the four-hour, 16-minute match.
Attempting to overturn his 2-18 record against Federer, Roddick was on the verge of taking a two-set lead against the Swiss when he muffed a backhand volley at 6-2 in the tie-break. Federer won the last six points of the tie-break to level the match. Undeterred, Roddick maintained his impenetrable serving to keep Federer at bay and was within touching point of victory as he held two break points at 8-8 in the final set. But that was to be his last chance for victory as Federer held on and finally made his break through in the 30th game of the fifth set, after 37 straight service holds from Roddick, to break the American’s heart and claim his record-breaking 15th Grand Slam crown. The final score: 5-7, 7-6(6), 7-6(5), 3-6, 16-14.

3. Mathieu, France 2 Points From 2002 Davis Cup Title
Playing in his first Davis Cup tie, Paul-Henri Mathieu was on the brink of becoming a national hero in France when he led Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny in the decisive fifth rubber of the 2002 Davis Cup final. Playing in front of a raucous partisan crowd at the Palais Omnisports Paris Bercy, Mathieu had powered to a commanding two-set lead and looked set to bring home France’s 10th Davis Cup title.
Youzhny refused to yield, though, and exposed Mathieu’s vulnerabilities with changes of pace to claw his way back into the match. Mathieu led by a service break in the fourth set, and was two points from victory when leading 5-4 with deuce on Youzhny’s serve, but his fellow 20 year old – a late replacement for Yevgeny Kafelnikov - held his nerve and hit back to clinch a dramatic victory in four hours and 27 minutes. Youzhny, who was playing just his second live rubber, became the first player in the 102-year history of the competition to rally from a two-set deficit in a fifth and decisive match in a Davis Cup final. Final score: 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.

4. Michael Russell’s 4th Rd. loss to Gustavo Kuerten at Roland Garros, 2001
Tennis, like life, is full of ‘what ifs?’. And one can only wonder if Michael Russell’s career would have taken a different trajectory had Gustavo Kuerten’s forehand landed long – instead of catching the baseline – when the young American held match point in the fourth round of Roland Garros in 2001.

Having become the first player in history to qualify at four consecutive Grand Slam events, then-23-year-old Russell took out former champion Sergi Bruguera in the second round and looked like dismissing defending champion Kuerten in straight sets when he held a match point at 5-3 in the third set. But Kuerten’s shot caught the baseline and the Brazilian went on to take the set in a tie-break and finish strongly to close out a 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-3, 6-1 win.
Kuerten, who was the reigning ATP World Tour Champion, would go on to win his third Roland Garros crown and cement his place in tennis history. Russell jumped to No. 88 after Roland Garros but soon fell out of the Top 100 and it was not until February 2007 that he topped his career-high ranking, eventually rising as high as No. 60.

5. Pat Rafter’s Consecutive Wimbledon Finals Defeats, 2000 & 2001
Pat Rafter arguably boasted the best net game of his generation, yet he never won Wimbledon even when it was still the domain of serve/volleyers. But the Australian came awfully close two times at the start of the decade. In the 2000 final, after holding out Andre Agassi in five pulsating sets in the semi-finals, he led Pete Sampras by a set and 4-1 on Rafter’s serve in the second-set tie-break. But Sampras stormed back to win 6-7(10), 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-2 in near darkness at 8.57 p.m. and claim his seventh and final Wimbledon crown - and a then-record 13th Grand Slam title.

The following year Rafter also took out Agassi in another five-set semi-final thriller for a place in the final against Goran Ivanisevic. Unlike Sampras’ unbeaten record in Wimbledon finals, Ivanisevic was 0-3 in Wimbledon deciders and needed a wildcard to play in the 2001 tournament. In a rain-delayed final played on Monday, Rafter led two sets to one and in the fifth set was within two points of victory when the Croatian served at 6-7, 15-30 before Ivanisevic rallied to win 9-7 in the fifth set, which at the time was the longest fifth set in Wimbledon finals history. The match was Rafter’s last at The All England Club.

Spain clear Davis Cup favorites despite Nadal doubts (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idUSTRE5B11RF20091202

By Kevin Fylan
LONDON (Reuters) - Spain playing Davis Cup tennis on clay in front of a home crowd is about as close to a sure thing as sport provides, and just because Rafael Nadal suddenly looks vulnerable the Czech Republic are not about to forget it.
Spain go into this weekend's final as defending champions and with every reason to relish the prospect of a return to Barcelona's Palau Sant Jordi, the indoor arena that played host to their first Davis Cup final win in 2000.
Nadal has been struggling of late, failing to win so much as a set in the ATP finals last week, but he and the rest of the Spanish team are such consummate performers on clay that to underestimate them would be unwise to say the least.
"We are outsiders in Barcelona," Czech number one Radek Stepanek told newspaper Mlada Fronta Dnes.
"To take into consideration Nadal's failure in London? That doesn't work. The moment he steps on to the Barcelona clay, he will be a totally different player."
Nadal, four times French Open champion, heads a formidable line-up that also includes world number nine Fernando Verdasco, David Ferrer (ranked 18th) and Feliciano Lopez (47).
Captain Albert Costa was part of the team that overcame Australia in a memorable tussle at the Palau in 2000, when huge crowds screamed themselves hoarse in support of their team.
IRRESISTIBLE FORCE
It was clear watching Nadal in London that he has not yet recovered the magic formula of strength, skill and utter self-belief that made him such an irresistible force before tendonitis struck this season, keeping him out of Wimbledon and wrecking his chances of ending the year as world number one.
His uncle and coach Toni Nadal sparked further concerns when he said the world number two's morale had slipped but the player himself is having none of that.
"My uncle has his opinion (but) my morale is fine, absolutely normal," Nadal told reporters in Spain this week. "I'm delighted to be here going into this final with the intention of winning it."
Along with Stepanek, the world number 12, the Czechs will pin their hopes on 20th-ranked Tomas Berdych, with Jan Hajek and Lukas Dlouhy also in the squad but unlikely to get on court.
As always in Davis Cup, the final will be decided on a best-of-five basis, with two singles rubbers on Friday followed by doubles on Saturday and the reverse singles on Sunday. Thursday's draw will decide the order of the individual matches.
If Spain win they will become the first team to successfully defend the Davis Cup since Sweden in 1998.