Llodra fined $2,500 for racial taunting

Frenchman Michael Llodra has been fined $2,500 for racially taunting a spectator during his first-round win over Ernests Gulbis at Indian Wells. The ATP confirmed the fine for "verbal abuse."Canadian journalist Tom Tebbutt, who was at the match, reported that Llodra hit a ball out of court, threw his racket, and called fan Daniel Lee and his sister "f--king Chinese." L’Equipe will report on Tuesday that Llodra said he thought the fine was too high and that what he said should not have been considered worse than swearing.Llodra allegedly said he would call the Lees by 2 PM on Sunday, but Daniel Lee told TENNIS.com that they had not been contacted by 8 PM.Llodra withdrew from his second-round match with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Sunday because of a knee injury when trailing 4-1.

Tsonga Targets First Grass Court Title at Queens Club

Jo Wilfried Tsonga will try to go one step further than last year by winning his first grass court title at the AEGON Championships, 11-17 June, 2012. Tsonga, the World No.6, thrilled the crowds at The Queen’s Club last year with his big serve, diving volleys and extravagant celebrations, and narrowly lost out to Andy Murray in a pulsating three-set, Monday final. After agreeing to play at the AEGON Championships again, he said that the event last year was a turning point for him. He went on to reach the semifinals at The Championships, Wimbledon and reached the final of the ATP World Tour Finals at the end of the year.“I had an incredible year in 2011, and it all started there (at the AEGON Championships),” said Tsonga. “For me it is really nice, the organizers are very friendly with me, I like the crowd, and it was a really good atmosphere in the final. I beat Lleyton Hewitt there in 2007 to get into the Top 100 for the first time and that’s where I started to do my celebration like this (he demonstrates his jumping celebration with two thumbs pointing to his back).”Can he go all the way at the AEGON Championships this time, and also at Wimbledon two weeks later?“I know that I can beat everybody on grass, so why not?” he said. “I know on grass that I am a good player. I go to the net and I serve well.”Murray, who fought back to beat Tsonga 3-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 in last year’s final and has already confirmed his participation at the AEGON Championships this year, paid tribute to the Frenchman shortly after defeating him in the final. "Jo was playing a different sport to me in the first two sets, I have never seen anyone dive so much," said Murray. "He is so much fun to watch but not much fun to play against!”.

Experience Leads Federer Past Raonic

Experience won over youth on Tuesday night in Indian Wells, with 30-year-old Roger Federer coming back to defeat 21-year-old Milos Raonic 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4 for a place in the BNP Paribas Open fourth round.

“I guess my experience helped me to stay calm and just weather the storm,” said Federer. “Maybe if I would be younger I'd be more panicky about him hitting aces left and right and making me feel uncomfortable. I have been there so many times before against some of the all time great servers that it was obviously not going to happen tonight. I just hoped to stay calm.”

Raonic gained the upper hand in the first meeting between the pair, going up a mini-break 5-3 and holding his serve to clinch the tie-break, but Federer came back strong in the second set. The World No. 3 broke in the opening game and a second time to go up 4-1. “I felt at the beginning maybe I just went for a little too much, didn't play within myself,” said Raonic. “I think I caught on to that pretty early and calmed down and did the right things. I think it just came down to a few poorly executed plays as well. I think I hit the ball well. I just was picking the wrong shot, and this is what makes the difference, but with experience hopefully I catch on to that.”

Federer lost only five points on serve in the decisive set, and converted on the only break point chance with a winner past Raonic in the seventh game, going on to clinch the victory after two hours and seven minutes. “Even though I was down a set, I don't think I was playing poorly,” said Federer. “I might have missed one running forehand in the breaker, and that was about it. That cost me the set. That's just how it goes sometimes. I think my experience in this regard helped me a bit, but overall I think I just played a good match. My confidence got me through as well playing so many matches as of late. I think that was maybe the difference tonight.” Both players had entered the year’s first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament with two titles to their names in 2012, Federer winning in Rotterdam and Dubai and Raonic in Chennai and San Jose. Federer has now 11 straight matches, and 35 of his last 37 since a loss in the US Open semi-finals. He will attempt to extend his streak when he next meets unseeded Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci. The World No. 50 secured safe passage when former World No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko retired due to illness. Bellucci, 24, has reached the quarter-finals of an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament once previously, posting upset wins over Top 10 players Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych en route to the Madrid semi-finals last year (l. to Djokovic). “Obviously it's a quick turn of events to go from night session to day session, from a righty to a lefty, from a big server to a baseliner,” assessed Federer. “I'm looking forward to that kind of a challenge. It's different. I hope to feel better again tomorrow so I will be able to last through long rallies.”

Djokovic Clinches Year-End No. 1 For First Time

YEAR-END NO. 1 Djokovic Clinches Year-End No. 1 For First Time
Novak Djokovic
by ATP Staff
13.10.2011

Novak Djokovic will finish as the No. 1 player in the year-end South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings. He is the 16th different player to finish No. 1 in the history of the ATP Rankings (since 1973).
World No.2 Rafael Nadal’s third-round loss at the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Thursday assured the Serb of the top ranking come the end of the season.
The 24-year-old Belgrade native is the first Serbian man to finish No. 1 in the history of the ATP Rankings (since 1973). It also marks a record eighth straight year a European is the No. 1 player on the ATP World Tour. For seven years from 1985-91, Europeans finished No. 1.
Djokovic is the first player other than Roger Federer (2004-07, ‘09) or Rafael Nadal (2008, ’10) to finish No. 1 since American Andy Roddick in 2003.
Djokovic will be officially crowned as the year-end No. 1 at a special trophy presentation at the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London where he will be competing for a fifth straight year. The tournament takes place Nov. 20-27.
On July 4, Djokovic became No. 1 in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings for the first time after winning his first Wimbledon title. He began his outstanding season with a 41-match winning streak (43 overall back to last year). He has won a career-high 10 titles in 11 finals, including his second Australian Open and first US Open crowns.
En route to a 64-3 match record, he has captured a record five ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles in a season, in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Rome and Montreal. He has also compiled a 20-2 mark vs. Top 10 opponents, defeating rivals Nadal six times and Federer four times so far in 2011.
Between now and the end of the season, the Serb is due to play at the Basel Swiss Indoors, the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, and the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 in London.

ATP WORLD TOUR YEAR-END NO. 1 (since 1973)
Year
Player
2011
Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
2010
Rafael Nadal (Spain)
2009
Roger Federer (Switzerland)
2008
Rafael Nadal (Spain)
2007
Roger Federer (Switzerland)
2006
Roger Federer (Switzerland)
2005
Roger Federer (Switzerland)
2004
Roger Federer (Switzerland)

2003
Andy Roddick (U.S.)
2002
Lleyton Hewitt (Australia)
2001
Lleyton Hewitt (Australia)
2000
Gustavo Kuerten (Brazil)
1999
Andre Agassi (U.S.)
1998
Pete Sampras (U.S.)
1997
Pete Sampras (U.S.)
1996
Pete Sampras (U.S.)
1995
Pete Sampras (U.S.)
1994
Pete Sampras (U.S.)
1993
Pete Sampras (U.S.)
1992
Jim Courier (U.S.)
1991
Stefan Edberg (Sweden)
1990
Stefan Edberg (Sweden)
1989
Ivan Lendl (Czech Republic)
1988
Mats Wilander (Sweden)
1987
Ivan Lendl (Czech Republic)
1986
Ivan Lendl (Czech Republic)
1985
Ivan Lendl (Czech Republic)
1984
John McEnroe (U.S.)
1983
John McEnroe (U.S.)
1982
John McEnroe (U.S.)
1981
John McEnroe (U.S.)
1980
Bjorn Borg (Sweden)
1979
Bjorn Borg (Sweden)
1978
Jimmy Connors (U.S.)
1977
Jimmy Connors (U.S.)
1976
Jimmy Connors (U.S.)
1975
Jimmy Connors (U.S.)
1974
Jimmy Connors (U.S.)
1973
Ilie Nastase (Romania)

Nishikori Reaches First ATP World Tour Masters 1000 SF

SHANGHAI ROLEX MASTERS 2011
Shanghai, China
by ATP Staff
14.10.2011

Kei Nishikori, already projected to become the highest-ranked Japanese player in the Open Era, advanced to his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final on Friday.
The 21-year-old Nishikori withstood nine aces from the racquet of 12th seed Alexandr Dolgopolov of the Ukraine and saved six of seven break points for a 6-4, 6-3 victory at the Shanghai Rolex Masters.
DEUCE Flashback: Project 45 No Longer A Secret (November 2008)
"I feel like home here," said Nishikori, who was the Houston runner-up in April. "It means a lot to play semis here. I'm really excited now. I think I started well today. I knew he [was] going to hit a lot of slice and I have to be careful. I was trying to not go for too much, just try to [be] steady on the court, and that worked."
Nishikori is set to rise from his current mark of No. 47 in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings to around No. 32 on Monday. Nishikori previously equalled Shuzo Matsuoka's (6 July 1992) career-high of World No. 46 on 2 May.
Asked about his status in Japan, Nishikori admitted, "It is special feeling when I go back to Japan. The people sometimes [recognise] me when I walk in the street. I really enjoying how the life is going on.
"I think baseball and soccer is one of biggest sports in Japan. But I think tennis is getting better in the [past] two, three years. A lot of kids playing [have] started playing. Me and Kimiko Date came back. Tennis is getting more popular now."
Dolgopolov, 22, is one of the most improved players on the ATP World Tour this season. He was appearing in his ninth quarter-final (or better) and has a 37-25 match record. He lifted his first title on 31 July at the ATP Studena Croatia Open in Umag (d. Cilic) and was runner-up at the Brasil Open in Costa do Sauipe (l. to Almagro).

Mayer beats Nadal at Shanghai Masters

© 2011 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


SHANGHAI, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Florian Mayer defeated top-seeded Rafael Nadal in straight sets Thursday in third-round play of the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament.
Mayer ousted Nadal 7-6 (7-5), 6-3. He missed out on a pair of break points when leading 5-4 in the first set but took the tiebreaker with an ace after a Nadal error put Mayer ahead.
Mayer had the match's first break to go up 4-3 in the second set and finished the win with another break. Nadal did win 75 percent of the points on serve but failed to generate a single break-point opportunity Thursday.
Second-seed Andy Murray, the defending Shanghai champion, got by Stanislas Wawrinka in a tight 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Murray won only four more points (84-80) over the course of the match but was able to hang on after building a 5-1 lead in the third set.
No. 3-seeded David Ferrer was also taken to three sets before claiming a 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 decision over Juan Carlos Ferrero.
But Feliciano Lopez upset sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-4; 10th-seeded Andy Roddick ousted seventh-seeded Nicolas Almagro in straight sets; and Matthew Ebden eliminated No. 8-seeded Gilles Simon 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (10-8).
No. 12th-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov rebounded for a 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 win over Bernard Tomic, and Kei Nishikori beat Santiago Giraldo 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 6-3 in a match that involved a pair of unseeded players.

© 2011 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Gulbis tops Fish to win Farmers Classic

Updated Jul 31, 2011 11:46 PM ET
LOS ANGELES (AP)

Ernests Gulbis of Latvia won the Farmers Classic on Sunday, rallying past top-seeded Mardy Fish 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 for his second career ATP tour title.
Gulbis entered the tournament on a five-match losing streak, but the inconsistent 22-year-old with a ferocious serve outlasted Fish, the top-ranked American and world No. 9, in a 2-hour, 43-minute final.
''It's just a huge boost in confidence,'' said Gulbis, who entered the tournament on a five-match losing streak. ''I lost trust in myself that I can compete with the best guys. I knew it, but I was up and down. Mardy is a great player, and to beat him, now I've got my confidence back.''

Gulbis went ahead 5-1 in the third set, but nearly blew it. Fish broke Gulbis' serve and rallied to 5-4 before Gulbis won three straight points in the final game, culminating in a forehand winner down the line.

Gulbis, the scion of a wealthy Latvian investment banker, acknowledges his penchant for partying when he isn't breaking rackets. He was just 14 of 28 matches this season and hadn't won in more than two months before dominating the Farmers Classic, beating Xavier Malisse and former champ Juan Martin del Potro while losing just two sets in five matches.

After surviving that late stumble, Gulbis pumped his fist and flashed the peace sign to a loud group of his fans in the corner of Straus Stadium.

''I wasn't nervous when it was 5-2, and that's why I lost (that game),'' Gulbis said. ''It's good to be a little nervous.'' With new coach Guillermo Canas and a renewed focus on his sport, Gulbis kept his concentration throughout the week in Westwood. Along with his $113,000 winner's check, he will move from No. 84 to No. 57 in the world rankings with his first victory since winning at Delray Beach last year.

''I knew he had not been in this situation since Delray Beach last year,'' said Fish, who's still likely to move up to No. 8 next week. ''I know how that feels. Guys get nervous and tight. I tried to exploit that a little bit.''

He had never beaten a top-10 player after the quarterfinals of any tournament before holding off Fish, who has been in the top 10 for the past 11 weeks of his remarkable year.

Fish, who won the Atlanta Tennis Championships last week, actually had more aces than Gulbis (14-10) and fewer unforced errors, but tired in the third set on a fairly hot day, losing pace on his serve and allowing Gulbis to take charge with back-to-back breaks. Fish also limped noticeably, favoring his right heel.

Fish seemed headed for back-to-back tournament titles after Gulbis double-faulted on set point in the first set. Gulbis finally broke Fish's serve midway through the second set before serving it out.

''Middle of the second set, I thought I had no chance winning the match,'' Gulbis said. ''He was returning everything, and I wasn't returning. Just two or three returns in, two or three points there, that's what turned it around.''

Fish saved two match points during his win over John Isner last week in Atlanta, but couldn't match that feat against Gulbis, who used back-to-back drop shots to erase a break point and to get to match point. After his winner landed, Gulbis pumped his fist and flashed the peace sign to a loud group of his fans in the corner of the stadium.