Nadal dominates a year of few surprises

LONDON (AP) -Just as tennis fans were busy debating whether Roger Federer is the greatest player ever, Rafael Nadal provided further evidence that the Swiss star might not even be the best of his generation.

Fifteen months after Federer became the sixth man in history to win all four Grand Slam titles, Nadal became the seventh in 2010 when he won the U.S. Open, his third major in a row after the French Open and Wimbledon.

During a dominant season, the 24-year-old Spaniard wrested back the No. 1 ranking from Federer, and racked up seven titles, including a record-breaking 18th Masters Series win. With an Olympic singles gold and two Davis Cup titles already in the bag, Nadal is fast running out of major prizes to win.

"It has been an incredible season," Nadal said. "One of my best ever, if not the best."

In an average season by his very high standards, Federer saw his streak of 23 Grand Slam semifinals ended by Robin Soderling at the French Open. He also fell in the quarterfinals to Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon, and then lost an epic semifinal match at the U.S. Open despite holding two match points against Novak Djokovic.

Federer still managed to pick up the other two significant titles of the year at the Australian Open and ATP World Tour Finals, the latter with a series of dominant performances that hinted he is not quite ready to fade into the background.

Since 2004, Federer and Nadal have won 24 of the 28 Grand Slam titles and with the pair cleaning up again, there was a sense of familiarity - perhaps even staleness - about 2010.

Just as in 2009, Djokovic and Andy Murray lined up third and fourth in the rankings. Juan Martin del Potro, the winner of the 2009 U.S. Open and the emerging star of that season, spent most of 2010 recovering from wrist surgery and ended it ranked No. 257.

Djokovic may not lose any sleep over not adding to his lone Grand Slam win after he led Serbia to its first ever Davis Cup victory, beating France in the final. He described it as "our biggest success as individuals, as a team, as a country." Italy, meanwhile, won the Fed Cup for the third time in five years, beating the United States in the final.

In the men's year-end rankings, there were no teenagers in the top 100 and the only players to finish in the top 20 for the first time were Jurgen Melzer (age 29), Mardy Fish (29), Sam Querrey (23) and John Isner (25).

That was far from Isner's most memorable contribution to the year. That unraveled over 11 hours, 5 minutes at Wimbledon as he and French opponent Nicolas Mahut played the longest match in history over three days, with the American eventually winning 70-68 in the fifth set.

"It stinks someone had to lose," Isner said of an extraordinary match which captured the public's imagination to such an extent that it even overshadowed Queen Elizabeth II's first visit to Wimbledon in 23 years.

Isner took significantly longer in beating Mahut than Serena Williams did in defeating all seven of her opponents on the way to a fourth Wimbledon title.

But Serena, who also won the Australian Open, did not end the year as No. 1. Nor did Kim Clijsters, the U.S. Open champion and winner of the year-end championship.

That honor went to Caroline Wozniacki, a 20-year-old Dane who didn't reach a Grand Slam final in 2010 but picked up a tour-leading six titles while her rivals fell away.

Serena has not played since stepping on some broken glass at a restaurant and tearing a tendon in her foot shortly after winning Wimbledon. Justine Henin's comeback after a 16-month retirement ended at the same tournament when she hurt her elbow.

Venus Williams managed just one more tournament after Wimbledon - the U.S. Open. Clijsters continues to pick and choose her tournaments around her family life. Jelena Jankovic won a total of four matches from August onward. Elena Dementieva, a two-time Grand Slam finalist and former No. 3, retired altogether.

The state of flux in women's tennis at least allowed Francesca Schiavone to provide the feel-good story of the year by winning her first Grand Slam title at the French Open at the age of 29 - at her 39th major.

"This means that everybody has the chance to be who really you want to be, and to do everything in your life," Schiavone said. "This is what happened to me."

Next year could produce some comebacks in women's tennis: Venus, Serena and Henin should return from injuries, while Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic showed signs in 2010 that they might be regaining their lost confidence.

And while Wozniacki will be desperate to back up her top ranking with one of the sport's major titles, Nadal can hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time by winning the Australian Open in January - an achievement that has so far eluded Federer.

Nadal set for Mallorca roleNadal, Wozniacki win ITF World Champion awards

Dokic, Luczak win Australian Open wild cards

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -Jelena Dokic and Peter Luczak have been awarded wild card entries into next month's Australian Open, though both lost their finals in last week's wild card playoff.

Dokic was beaten by Olivia Rogowska in a three-set, rain-interrupted final but said she was confident of repeating her 2009 effort, when she reached the Open quarterfinals on a wild card.

She said the wild card playoff had been good practice and she was happy with her performance.

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Luczak, who lost his playoff final to Marinko Matosevic, said he now planned to play the Brisbane and Sydney International tournaments next month.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Field for Australian Open announcedDi Maria clinches Real deal

Austria to play France in aircraft hangar

SCHWECHAT, Austria (AP) -Austria will play France on a clay court in an aircraft hangar in the first round of the 2011 Davis Cup.

A 10,000-square-meter hangar at Austria's main airport - 20 kilometers east of Vienna - which is being used for maintenance of a Boeing 747, will be transformed into a 6,000-capacity tennis stadium for the March 4-6 tie, the Austrian Tennis Federation announced on Wednesday.

"It will be really cool to play there," the 11th-ranked Jurgen Melzer said. "A lot of fans can get in so we hope to put on a good show."

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The federation struggled to find an appropriate location as no suitable sporting venue in Vienna region was available for that week.

"(Melzer's manager) Ronnie Leitgeb came up with the idea. ... It's a unique project," federation vice president Helmut Dorn said. "We are glad to fulfill the players' wish to get the match staged near Vienna."

Melzer didn't expect the constant noise of airplanes to cause any significant disturbance.

"At Flushing Meadows, planes fly over your head all the time," he said. "I hope our fans will be loud enough so we won't hear any planes."

According to Melzer, clay will be "definitely the best choice" for a surface to take on France.

"They have several good clay-court players but they have even more good hard-court players to choose from," Melzer said.

Austria has not passed the first round of the Davis Cup since 1995.

Nine-time champion France lost this month's final 3-2 to Serbia.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

PL ‘must invest’ to develop youthKohlschreiber beats Falla in Vienna opener

Field for Australian Open announced

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -The top 100-ranked men in the world and top 98 women are scheduled to play at next month's Australian Open, giving the first Grand Slam of the year one of its best-ever fields.

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal will attempt to win his fourth straight major, while defending champion and No. 2 Roger Federer is chasing his fifth Australian Open title.

Women's No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki will attempt to win her first Grand Slam title, while two-time champion and 2010 winner Serena Williams is the notable omission from the top 100 due to a foot injury.

The Australian Open is scheduled for Jan. 17-30 at Melbourne Park.

The 104 direct acceptances into the men's draw include U.S. Open-winner Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina and Dmitry Tursunov of Russia, both with injury-protected rankings.

The women's draw includes 107 direct acceptances, minus Elena Dementieva of Russia, who retired at the end of the season, and No. 37 Agnes Szavay of Hungary, who is injured.

"To have the top 104 players in the world in the men's main draw is incredible and shows the high esteem with which the Australian Open is held in world tennis," tournament director Craig Tiley said in a statement Saturday.

"The women's field also has every available top player in the world. The players vote with their feet and they are doing it again."

The men's field will be completed by 16 qualifiers and eight wild cards, while the women's field has 12 qualifiers and eight wild cards to be added.

Defending champion Stakhovsky loses in St. PeteCottagers eye Miguel

Nadal, Wozniacki win ITF World Champion awards

LONDON (AP) -Rafael Nadal and Caroline Wozniacki have been named ITF World Champions for 2010.

Nadal, who won the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, won the award given by the International Tennis Federation for the second time.

Wozniacki, a Dane who won six tour titles this year to take the No. 1 ranking but failed to reach a Grand Slam final, won for the first time.

Nadal, who completed a career Grand Slam by winning in New York, says "after a difficult year in 2009, it was an amazing feeling to regain the No. 1 ranking and finally win the U.S. Open."

In doubles, Bob and Mike Bryan won the men's award while Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta won the women's.

Nadal set for Mallorca roleWozniacki defeats Dementieva in Pan Pacific final

Report: Martina Hingis marries French equestrian

PARIS (AP) -Tennis great Martina Hingis has married French equestrian Thibault Hutin during a private ceremony in Paris.

Several Swiss magazines reported that the wedding ceremony was held last Friday in the presence of the couple's close friends and family.

The 30-year-old Hingis told Schweizer Illustrierte's website that her marriage "may come as a surprise to many, but it had been planned in advance."

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Paris town hall, and officials at the posh Georges V hotel - where the wedding was reportedly celebrated - declined to comment.

Hingis won five Grand Slam singles titles before retiring in 2007, when she was suspended for two years for testing positive for cocaine at Wimbledon.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Real confirm Jo interestSantana says Nadal will be sporting great

Navratilova 'just couldn't breathe'

NAIROBI, Kenya - Martina Navratilova was released from the hospital Sunday, three days after her fluid-filled lungs forced her to abandon her attempt to climb Africa's highest mountain.

The 54-year-old tennis great was carried down Mount Kilimanjaro on a stretcher Thursday night and Friday morning. Navratilova said she knew by Wednesday she wouldn't be able to reach the summit of the 19,340-foot mountain in Tanzania.

"I didn't feel badly, I just couldn't breathe. I couldn't get a full breath of air," Navratilova said shortly her release from the Nairobi hospital, where she was treated for high-altitude pulmonary edema. "Nothing hurt, and for an athlete that's weird. Nothing hurt but I (couldn't) go on."

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Navratilova, who had a bout with breast cancer this year, reached nearly 14,800 feet when a doctor with 27-person climbing team told her she needed to descend. The winner of 18 Grand Slam singles titles said quitting is not in her vocabulary, but "when the doctor said you're going down, you're going down."

Navratilova kept a diary during her four-day climb. Her last entry read:

"'I've never been so utterly exhausted. Everything is taking monumental effort, going to the bathroom, getting dressed, setting up tent. I don't want to ever ...' I can't read it. I stopped writing because I was crying, because I was so disappointed at how I felt," Navratilova said.

She wrote the entry Thursday afternoon, a few hours before descending.

Two days before beginning the climb, Navratilova told The Associated Press she was in good enough shape to get to the top but she didn't know if "the altitude will get me. That's something you can't predict."

Once down from the mountain, Navratilova's appetite returned. She said she hadn't been hungry for four days, though at first she thought it may have been an intestinal issue after eating bad fish Sunday.

Navratilova was climbing Kilimanjaro to raise money and awareness for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Kate Brewer, a Laureus representative who was on the climb, said the mountain guides told the group the weather - torrential rain, mist, cold - was the worst they had seen.

It started raining two hours after the climb began, and it was cold from the beginning, Navratilova said. By the third day it was snowing and sleeting. The binoculars Navratilova packed were never used because visibility at times was only a few yards. Only 18 of the 27 people in the group made it to the top.

"Nobody had fun. It was just survival, just pure survival," she said. "Trying to stay dry, trying to stay warm, trying to eat enough, drink enough, to survive the day. The conditions were just so unpleasant."

Navratilova said she's been in great health since mid-August and her cancer this year had nothing to do with her medical woes.

So far she has helped raise $80,000, and she noted that failing to reach the top may have generated more publicity than if she had made it to the summit.

"I always said the only failure is when you fail to try," she said. "I guess the other failure is not giving your best effort. I did both: I tried and gave my best effort."

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Agent - No Fabiano bidsYou can grunt your way to tennis win, study says

Nadal reflects on 'most emotional' year

LONDON (AP) -Roger Federer briefly thought he might have ruined Rafael Nadal's vacation by denying him victory at the end-of-season ATP World Tour Finals.

He needn't have worried.

After all, even if Sunday's 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 defeat hurts, Nadal can console himself by looking back on one of the most successful seasons ever.

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"I tried my best this afternoon," said Nadal, who became the seventh player in history to complete a career Grand Slam by winning this year's U.S. Open. "But he was better than me."

Nadal won seven titles this season, including a so-called "Clay slam" featuring wins at the Masters tournaments in Monte Carlo, Rome, Madrid and his fifth French Open. He followed that by winning Wimbledon, and topped it off at the U.S. Open.

By September, he had already qualified for the eight-player end-of-season tournament, and wrapped up the year-end No. 1 ranking. It was the kind of dominant season that used to be Federer's specialty.

"I hope ... " Federer began in his on-court speech on Sunday, before correcting himself. "I know I didn't spoil his vacation after this because he's had an amazing year, a year that any player dreams of."

Nadal described 2010 as not just his best year but also his "most emotional."

The 24-year-old Spaniard ended last year with three straight losses at the O2 Arena ion London. He began this season well, but the knee problems that have regularly interrupted his career forced him to retire from his Australian Open quarterfinal match against Andy Murray.

Victory at the Monte Carlo Masters ended an 11-month title drought, but for Nadal, it was that relative lack of success that has made the last eight months so special.

"When you spend 11 months without a victory, when you pass some difficult moments, you really know how difficult (it) is (to) win a tournament, how difficult (it) is be there, how difficult (it) is be competitive every week," Nadal said.

"So when I started to win the first time, first tournament in Monte Carlo, everything was more easier, no, because I pulled out all the pressure, all this anxiety. After that I started to play really well."

He even counts London as a success. As he hasn't hesitated to remind everyone this week, the surface at the O2 Arena is his worst nightmare - and yet he still beat a fired-up Murray in three sets on Saturday and, despite battling fatigue, pushed Federer the distance in the final.

"I lost the match because I played against a very good Roger Federer in one of his favorite surfaces," Nadal said. "Was very difficult final for me. I still won a set.

"But I am more happy about all the week. (Beating) four top-eight players in the same week on a difficult surface for me. I think never happen in the past. So that's very good news for me."

And perhaps bad news for everyone else. Nadal begins 2011 with at least one goal still remaining: to go one better this time next year.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Nadal and Federer heading back to Abu DhabiNadal set for Mallorca role

Roddick flustered by flickering advertising lights

LONDON (AP) -The advertising lights behind the baseline flashed and flickered, even while play was going on, and each time it made Andy Roddick more and more frustrated.

Finally, after being broken for the second time in the match, Roddick snapped. Or, actually, the rim of his racket snapped when he smashed it against his foot.

"I was angry with myself and there wasn't anybody else to talk to at that moment," Roddick said wryly after losing to Tomas Berdych 7-5, 6-3 Wednesday at the ATP World Tour Finals.

Roddick had been playing well through the first set, but shortly after wasting a pair of set points on Berdych's serve while leading 5-4, the eighth-ranked American was broken and eventually dropped the set.

In the second, Roddick held his first two service games relatively easily. Then, at 2-2, the neon lights on the front of the boxes where the line judges stand started to change, flickering red sometimes and then back to the light blue that they're supposed to be.

With Roddick growing increasingly frustrated, Berdych took a 15-30 lead with a forehand winner. Roddick then dumped a forehand wide on the next shot and lost his replay challenge, giving Berdych two break points.

After saving one when Berdych sent a forehand return long, Roddick tried an overhead smash from the baseline but the ball landed out, giving Berdych a 3-2 lead.

That's when he let it all out.

First, he whacked a ball high into the rafters - it eventually landed only three rows from the top of the lower section of the O2 Arena. Then, when he was walking back to his chair for the changeover, he smashed his racket against his foot and drew a code violation from the chair umpire.

"The neons in the back weren't quite to the settled position. They were still advertising fun stuff," said Roddick, who dropped to 0-2 at the round-robin tournament for the top eight players in the world. "When you're trying to track a ball, it's kind of neon lights and stuff. Then Tomas noticed it. A couple of them just went out before we played a point."

The match finished with the lights off.

Nalbandian winsBarca won’t pay £50m for Cesc

Moya honored 4 days after retirement

LONDON (AP) -Four days after announcing his retirement from tennis, former top-ranked player Carlos Moya was back on court and the center of attention.

This time, however, he was wearing a suit instead of shorts and tennis shoes.

The 34-year-old Spaniard, who retired on Wednesday after a 15-year career and one Grand Slam title, was honored Sunday on the opening day of the ATP World Tour Finals.

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"It's always great when people remember you, even when you're not at the top," Moya said after getting a round of applause from the packed crowd at the O2 Arena. "Although I didn't play great here at Wimbledon - well, I one year played fourth round - they treat me very well always."

Moya, who won the 1998 French Open and reached the Australian Open final the year before, was brought out on court shortly after Andy Murray beat Robin Soderling 6-2, 6-4 in the opening match of the season-ending tournament for the top eight players in the world.

Moya, who quit the game because of a nagging foot injury, won 20 ATP titles and played his last match in May at the Madrid Masters. He became the first Spaniard to become No. 1 in the rankings, in March 1999.

He was an early training partner of Rafael Nadal, who is also from the island of Mallorca and was present at the ceremony.

"Knowing him for so long makes it special for me because first time I met him he was just 11, 12 years old," Moya said of Nadal's success. "When he was 13, 14 years old, we were practicing together. I was near the top 10 and sometimes he was beating me during the practice.

"I realized he had something special, but could never think that he could be that good, to be honest. He's one of the greatest ever. But he's on his way to become - who knows - but maybe the greatest. I could never expect that, to be honest."

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Nadal set for Mallorca roleVerdasco eases through opener in Valencia

Federer, Djokovic advance at Paris Masters

PARIS (AP) -Roger Federer eased into the third round of the Paris Masters on Wednesday with a 6-4, 6-4 win over local favorite Richard Gasquet.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic and third-seeded Andy Murray of Britain also advanced.

Fresh off his victory at the Swiss Indoors, where he won his 65th title last week, Federer converted his first break point for a 2-1 lead with a sharp forehand volley and closed out the first set with an ace after losing only three points on his serve.

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Gasquet saved three break points in the first game of the second set to level at 40-40 but stopped playing after misjudging a shot from Federer that was in, with the Swiss being awarded the point. Gasquet then sent a backhand long and Federer held his serve to move up 2-0.

Federer sealed the win on his first match point to improve his record against Gasquet to 7-1, after losing their first meeting five years ago.

Eighth-seeded Andy Roddick took a big step toward qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals by beating Jarkko Nieminen 6-1, 6-4.

Roddick never looked in trouble against the Finn and didn't face a single break point as he broke his opponent three times.

Only the top eight players qualify for the ATP Finals in London from Nov. 21-28, with No. 1 Rafael Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, Murray and Robin Soderling having already booked their places.

"Every match I win is significant at this point," Roddick said. "Puts more pressure on the guys behind me. I have a pretty good shot no matter how I do here this week, but I think the last thing you want to do is be in that position where you're at home cheering against somebody hoping that something bad happens to them."

Roddick is in eighth place in the rankings and will be guaranteed a spot at the year-end tournament unless Fernando Verdasco reaches the final in Paris or Jurgen Melzer wins the tournament.

No. 11 Melzer progressed with a 6-3, 7-6 (6) win over Santiago Giraldo.

Roddick, who plays Ernests Gulbis of Latvia in the third round, lost only five of the 29 points played on his first serve.

The former U.S. Open champion, who reached the semifinals twice at the Paris Masters, broke Nieminen immediately to take a 3-0 lead after winning his serve at love.

Roddick then took Nieminen's serve in the sixth game with a crosscourt forehand winner and broke again in the third game of the second set when his opponent sent a backhand wide.

Nieminen saved two match points but Roddick served two consecutive winners to close out the match.

Roddick said he was happy with the speed of the court, which is faster this year and suits his offensive style of play.

"I believe it's become so monotonous as far as what you get. Grass is slow and indoors has turned slow," Roddick said. "So I think it's fair ... They have less time to return. If you actually stick a volley you get rewarded."

Djokovic overcame a slow start and an early break in the first set to beat Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-4, 6-3.

The second-seeded Serb struggled on his first serve but fended off seven of eight break points and took Monaco's serve three times. He'll next play Frenchman Michael Llodra, who beat No. 16 John Isner of the United States 6-3, 6-4.

Murray also had some problems in his 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over former No. 3 David Nalbandian and received treatment for an apparent wrist injury during the decider.

Nalbandian, who missed most of last year because of hip surgery and missed two months this season with a hamstring problem, lost only two points on his first serve in the opening set but tumbled at a crucial point when he was broken in the 10th game of the second set after two consecutive unforced errors, allowing Murray to level.

Murray called for the trainer at 2-2 in the decider and received treatment for about five minutes. He came back on court and quickly recovered, breaking for a 5-3 lead before serving out the match.

"My wrist feels OK just now," Murray said. "I have had a few problems with it in the past, and I felt quite a sharp pain. I'll just have to wait and see if it's still fine tomorrow."

Murray next plays No. 13 Marin Cilic of Croatia, who beat Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Di Maria clinches Real dealFrederico Gil into second round at Open Sud

Nalbandian wins

BASEL, Switzerland (AP) -David Nalbandian set his sights on a top 10 return after beating sixth-seeded Marin Cilic 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 Thursday to advance to the Swiss Indoors quarterfinals.

Nalbandian improved to 3-0 against Cilic, including a semifinal victory in Washington in August, which he won when ranked 117th and returning from injury. A sore left hamstring followed a 10-month absence after hip surgery.

"It was a very strange year," said Nalbandian, who turns 29 on Jan. 1 and has been out of the top 10 since February 2009. "That is one of the goals for next year. I'm just trying to play as well as I can."

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The 29th-ranked Argentine mixed accurate serving and strong groundstrokes against Cilic, clinching the win on his first match point with a powerful forehand.

Nalbandian, the 2002 Basel champion and a three-time runner-up, next faces either fourth-seeded Andy Roddick of the United States or Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan, who played later Thursday.

Czech wild card Radek Stepanek earned a quarterfinal match against Roger Federer by beating Santiago Giraldo of Colombia 3-6, 6-2, 6-0.

Richard Gasquet of France won 6-4, 7-5 against Germany's Tobias Kamke, a lucky loser in qualifying who eliminated third-seeded Tomas Berdych in the first round.

Gasquet has a last-eight match against Viktor Troicki of Serbia, who got a walkover win when Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu withdrew citing a knee injury.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Palop commits to SevillaKohlschreiber beats Falla in Vienna opener

Ivanovic, Date Krumm reach Bali semifinals

BALI, Indonesia (AP) -Former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic dispatched third-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-0, 6-1 and wild card Kimiko Date Krumm edged top-seeded Li Na 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the Tournament of Champions on Thursday.

The unseeded Ivanovic won the first 11 games against Pavlyuchenkova, a two-time winner on tour this year.

The Serb said winning the Generali Ladies in Austria three weeks ago, ending a two-year title drought, had boosted her confidence.

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In the semifinals she'll meet 40-year-old Date Krumm, who came from 3-1 down in the last set to beat China's Li, converting her fourth match point when Li double-faulted.

No. 2-seeded Aravane Rezai of France plays Alisa Kleybanova of Russia, and No. 4 Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium meets Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia to complete the semifinals lineup in the eight-woman tournament.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Peer advances at Japan Women’s OpenCottagers eye Miguel

Without injured Williams sisters, some buzz gone

DOHA, Qatar (AP) -Extended injury absences for Serena and Venus Williams are giving everyone a chance to see what women's tennis eventually will look like without them.

Other players, fans, WTA officials and TV networks all are getting a preview of a Williams-less tour. Both sisters are going to miss this weekend's Fed Cup final in San Diego between the United States and Italy. And both were no-shows at last week's WTA Championships.

Serena is sidelined after two operations on her right foot and hasn't played a competitive match anywhere since winning Wimbledon on July 3. Hobbled by a bad left knee, Venus only has played in one tournament, the U.S. Open, since losing at the All England Club on June 29.

Serena turned 29 this year, and Venus turned 30.

Knee injury sidelines Venus for rest of 2010Barca won’t pay £50m for Cesc

Retired Dementieva plans to start a family

MOSCOW - Olympic champion Elena Dementieva,who stunned the tennis world by announcing her retirement lastweek, said starting a family was one of the main reasons for herdecision to quit the sport.

"It is true that I expect changes in my private life in thenear future," the Russian, who ended her playing career at theseason-ending WTA Championships in Doha, was quoted as saying bylocal media on Wednesday.

"I don't want to give all the details because these are veryprivate, intimate things," the 29-year-old said.

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"But I have to admit I've made a decision to quit mainlybecause I want to start a family, have kids."

The Muscovite has always been reluctant to discuss herprivate life but it has been widely reported that she is engagedto Russian ice hockey player Maxim Afinogenov.

Dementieva also ruled out the possibility of one day makinga comeback like Belgium's Kim Clijsters, who returned to thegame in 2009 after more than two years off to start a family andin her third tournament back won the U.S. Open.

"It was a very difficult and emotional but if I decided toquit that was it. I'm not coming back," Dementieva said.

To query or comment on this story emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Forlan refuses to rule out moveDementieva beats Stosur at WTAs

Federer clears the air with Swiss over Davis Cup

BASEL - Roger Federer has cleared the air with the Swiss tennis federation over his last-minute decision to pull out of the Davis Cup tie in Kazakhstan in September, the 16-times grand slam champion said on Monday.

Federer received rare criticism in his homeland when he withdrew two days before the tie. Switzerland went on to lose 5-0 and were condemned to the Europe/Africa group, effectively the competition's second division.

"Criticism is okay but I think most of the people actually understood my decision," Federer told Reuters after overcoming Alexandr Dolgopolov in the Swiss Indoors on Monday when the Ukrainian retired hurt.

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"I don't read that much press but I always try to be very transparent with my thoughts.

"Kazakhstan was unfortunately not one I could do at the very end, I tried to keep it open as long as possible, but I always think of the long term.

"I had a good conversation with the president of Swiss Tennis and all is under control."

Federer has played 37 Davis Cup rubbers, although from 2005 to last year he only represented his country in the playoff round which decides whether they stay in the World Group.

KAZAKHSTAN TRIP

The Kazakhstan tie came shortly after the U.S. Open, where Federer lost to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, but Swiss media said he should not have waited until the last minute before deciding.

Federer lost only four points on his serve as he won 6-4 5-2 in 51 minutes on Monday, the match prematurely ending after Dolgopolov hurt his ankle.

World number two Federer said the Ukrainian appeared more interested in shaking his hand than worrying about the injury.

"I ask him if he needed water, a towel, if I could help him out.

"He wanted to shake my hand while he was lying down on the floor, I was saying 'put on your shoe, let's hope you're okay, you can maybe walk out and then let's shake hands, don't rush yourself.'"

Federer, once a ball boy at his hometown tournament, is aiming to win it for the fourth time, having lost to Djokovic in last year's final.

"For me, it's always one of the nicest parts of the season," he said.

"In terms of importance, everybody talks about the slams and everything but in terms of emotions, this is obviously very high up there, if not number one.

"I love this tournament, more than any other almost, and it's always wonderful for me to come back here. I try to get good at not getting injury before because it's happened twice before."

Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Nadal’s earning power may not match Federer’s

Verdasco eases through opener in Valencia

VALENCIA, Spain (AP) -Spain's Fernando Verdasco delighted the home crowd at the Valencia Open with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Michael Russell in the first round.

Verdasco, who won the tournament in 2004 when it was played on clay, broke the American qualifier five times on the hard indoor court at the City of Arts and Sciences.

The third-seeded Spaniard snapped a four-match losing streak and got his bid to qualify for the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals back on track in the process.

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Verdasco will play Giles Simon next after the Frenchman got past Ukrainian player Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-3, 6-3.

Stanislas Wawrinka came through a tough match with Andreas Seppi, winning 7-6 (2), 7-5 to join Verdasco in the second round, while Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia also progressed with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Arnaud Clement.

Clement hit 20 unforced errors in the first set alone to trail before Gabashvili broke early in the second. The sluggish Frenchman couldn't answer Gabashvili's backhand and was broken again in the seventh game.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Frederico Gil into second round at Open SudCottagers eye Miguel

Nadal and Federer heading back to Abu Dhabi

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -Top-ranked Rafael Nadal and No. 2 Roger Federer are headed back to Abu Dhabi.

Organizers of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship say Nadal and Federer will compete at the tournament scheduled to run over New Year's.

Also on the lineup are Robin Soderling, Tomas Berdych, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Marcos Baghdatis.

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Nadal won his first title of 2010 in Abu Dhabi earlier this year. He says the Emirati capital "holds great memories" for him and provides good preparation heading into the Australian Open.

The tournament runs from Dec. 30 to Jan. 1.

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Nadal’s earning power may not match Federer’sNadal set for Mallorca role

Montanes upsets Davydenko at Open Sud

MONTPELLIER, France (AP) - Sixth-seeded Albert Montanes of Spain rallied from a set and break down to beat top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko 3-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4) in the quarterfinals of the Open Sud de France on Friday.

Montanes won on his third match point when Davydenko's weak backhand return hit the net. The Spaniard will play either fourth-seeded Ivan Ljubicic or Jarkko Nieminen in his first career indoor semifinal.

Davydenko's seventh ace gave him the opening set and he looked in total control when he broke for a 2-0 lead in the second with a superb crosscourt winner.

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But a sloppy sixth game ended with Davydenko's two-handed backhand into the net, allowing Montanes to pull even at 3-3. Davydenko then missed another chance in the 11th game when Montanes saved a break point with a net volley.

Montanes wasted his first match point, serving at 5-4 in the third set, as Davydenko pressured him into unforced errors on his backhand.

But Montanes broke straight back for another chance to close out on serve at 6-5, then missed his second match point when Davydenko's crisp forehand bounced inside the line.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Nadal set for Mallorca roleFrederico Gil into second round at Open Sud

Dementieva beats Stosur at WTAs

DOHA, Qatar (AP) -Elena Dementieva of Russia rallied to beat Samantha Stosur 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) Thursday for her first group-stage win at the WTA Championships.

Stosur earned a place in the semifinals despite the loss, having won her first two singles matches at the tournament. Dementieva has a 1-1 record after losing to Caroline Wozniacki in her first round-robin match.

Dementieva took a 3-1 lead in the second set before leveling the match with a blistering backhand down the line. Dementieva saved both break points she faced in the third, which went with serve until the tiebreaker.

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Wozniacki played Francesca Schiavone of Italy later Thursday.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Wozniacki defeats Dementieva in Pan Pacific finalDi Maria clinches Real deal

Defending champion Stakhovsky loses in St. Pete

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) -Defending champion Sergiy Stakhovsky was eliminated from the St. Petersburg Open on Wednesday, losing to Benjamin Becker of Germany 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in the first round.

The tournament later also lost fifth-seeded Viktor Troicki of Serbia, who went down 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to German veteran Rainer Schuettler.

Stakhovsky saved a match point and broke Becker in the 12th game of the second set to stay in the match. But Becker never gave the second-seeded Ukrainian a chance in the third set, losing only six points on his serve.

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"It's always difficult to come and defend your title," said Stakhovsky. "I could have won the match, but the chances I had, I didn't use them properly and the match was over. I cannot say that I played badly but he left me no chances after a break in the third set."

After trading sets with 33rd-ranked Troicki, who won his maiden title at the Kremlin Cup on Sunday, Schuettler turned the match his way in the third set. The former top-five player, currently ranked 103rd, saved five break points in the sixth game which lasted 8 minutes and 53 seconds. The 34-year-old German then won three more games to wrap up the win after 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Troicki said he felt tired after playing in singles and doubles finals in Moscow.

"I had some chances in the match but I didn't play good," said Troicki. "My game was defensive. I tried to be focused on my game but it didn't work at some moments, while Schuettler played good, especially in the end of the match."

Also on Wednesday, fourth-seeded Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan beat Potito Starace of Italy 6-2, 6-2, while Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov, who ousted Stakhovsky in the second round of the Kremlin Cup last week, defeated Fabio Fognini of Italy 7-6 (5), 6-4.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Pavlyuchenkova upset at Kremlin Cup

Kohlschreiber beats Falla in Vienna opener

VIENNA (AP) -Seventh-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber eased past Alejandro Falla of Colombia 6-0, 6-3 on Monday in the first round of the Bank Austria Trophy.

The German hit five aces but lost his serve once in the second set on the only break point he faced.

Also, Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic downed Pere Riba of Spain 6-0, 6-2 and will next play second-seeded Marin Cilic, who has a bye in the opening round.

Italy's Andreas Seppi defeated Martin Fischer of Austria 6-3, 6-3 to set up a second-round match against either Anreas Haider-Maurer or the former top-ranked Thomas Muster, who makes his comeback on the ATP tour at age 43.

Wawrinka cruises into 2nd round in StockholmPalop commits to Sevilla

Frederico Gil into second round at Open Sud

MONTPELLIER, France (AP) -Seventh-seeded Richard Gasquet of France rallied from a set and a break down Monday to beat Julian Reister of Germany 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-3 in the first round of Open Sud de France.

Gasquet struggled to return serves in the first set but recovered to wrap up the match with a backhand winner after 2 hours, 6 minutes. Gasquet will next face either Jarkko Nieminen or Florent Serra.

Gasquet served 11 aces and broke his opponent four times while Reister converted only one of his five break chances.

In the first-set tiebreaker, Gasquet had set point at 8-7 up on Reister's serve, but the German won the next three points.

Gasquet then lost his serve right at the start of the second set - having not faced a single break point in the first set. But he broke straight back and then held easily to make it 2-1.

Gasquet had two break points for a 4-2 lead but Reister saved both before faltering in his next service game, where he was broken to love.

Frederico Gil of Portugal beat Edouard-Roger Vasselin of France 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 to advance.

Both players struggled for consistency and lost serve four times each on the indoor hard court. Gil also saved a further nine break points.

The 100th-ranked Gil, who lost his only career final this year to Albert Montanes of Spain on clay on home soil at Estoril, next plays France's second seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who had a bye to the second round.

Later Monday, the sixth-seeded Montanes was to play Arnaud Clement of France.

Chygrynskiy exits BarcaNadal, Roddick into Japan Open quarters

Santana says Nadal will be sporting great

MADRID (AP) -Spanish tennis great Manuel Santana believes Rafael Nadal is not just the best athlete to come out of Spain but is on his way to being the greatest sportsman of his generation.

Santana was quoted by Spanish media saying that Nadal is "without a doubt the best Spanish athlete but being so young he'll finish by being the best world athlete."

The 24-year-old Nadal became the seventh player to complete a career Grand Slam in September with his U.S. Open victory. That came after French Open and Wimbledon triumphs earlier in the summer.

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Santana was previously Spain's most successful player with four Grand Slam titles. Nadal has won nine.

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Del Potro comeback ends in defeatВ inВ ThailandNadal set for Mallorca role

Wawrinka cruises into 2nd round in Stockholm

STOCKHOLM (AP) -Fifth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland cruised through to the second round of the Stockholm Open on Monday by beating Italy's Andreas Seppi 6-2, 6-2.

Wawrinka broke Seppi three times to take the first set. He started the second with two consecutive aces and broke Seppi twice more for a comfortable victory at the Royal Tennis Hall in the Swedish capital.

"It was almost a perfect match for me," Wawrinka said.

Wawrinka will next face the winner of Swedish qualifier Filip Prpic and Robin Haase of the Netherlands.

Swedish wild card Michael Ryderstedt - ranked 392nd - also advanced after beating Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain 7-6 (3), 6-3. Gimeno-Traver's eight aces weren't enough to overcome an opponent ranked 331 spots below him.

Finland's Jarkko Nieminen overcame a poor start to beat Michael Berrer of Germany 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Top-seeded Roger Federer and Swedish favorite Robin Soderling enter the indoor hard-court tournament in the second round later this week, as do third-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic and fourth-seeded Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia.

Soderling, Berdych ousted in Malaysian OpenNadal set for Mallorca role

Pavlyuchenkova upset at Kremlin Cup

MOSCOW (AP) -Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova made a surprise exit from the Kremlin Cup on Monday after the fourth seeded Russian lost 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-0 to Dominika Cibulkova in the first round.

Pavlyuchenkova, who won her first two tournament titles earlier this season, served for the first set at 6-5, only to be broken and then defeated in the tiebreaker.

Her Slovak opponent called for a trainer to have her back treated as she trailed 2-1 in the second set and Pavlyuchenkova, who reached a career-high 19th in the rankings on Oct. 4, went on to level the match. However, she failed to win a single service game in the final set.

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"It was absolutely my fault," Pavlyuchenkova said. "I was disappointed after the first set but it looks like I relaxed after a relatively easy second set. I have no explanations. I beat her in straight sets in Tokyo a couple of weeks ago."

Pavlyuchenkova failed to make it to the second round at her hometown event for the fourth time.

Elsewehere, eighth-seeded Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain advanced to the second round by beating Russian wild card entrant Alla Kudryavtseva 6-1, 5-7, 6-1.

The 28th-ranked doubles specialist Martinez Sanchez, who is looking for her fourth singles title, easily won the first set. Kudryavtseva, who won her first WTA Tour title in Tashkent in September, leveled the match at 1-1, but could not keep the pace and was broken twice in the decisive set to lose the match.

In the other completed match, Kateryna Bondarenko of the Ukraine defeated Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in three sets.

In men's action, seventh-seeded Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine rallied in the third set to beat Michael Russell of the United States, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5.

Three-time champion Nikolay Davydenko tops the men's draw of the 21st edition of the event. Jelena Jankovic, who won in 2008, leads the women's draw.

Jankovic is among the eight players who have qualified for next week's season-ending WTA Tour championships in Doha.

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, seeded second at the Kremlin Cup, and third-seeded Li Na of China will go to Doha as substitutes. Li is just five points ahead of Azarenka in the championship rankings and whoever fares better in Moscow may be required to replace Serena Williams in Doha.

Williams, who had been sidelined since July after cutting her foot on broken glass, was planning a comeback in Linz, Austria, last week, but withdrew after restraining her injured foot. She has announced that she might be out for the rest of the season, but is yet to confirm that.

"That's why I have chosen Moscow," said Li, who entered the event on a wild card. "This is my last chance to be at Doha and I do not want to lose this chance."

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Jankovic loses in China OpenZaragoza want Pennant stay

Peer advances at Japan Women's Open

OSAKA, Japan (AP) -Israel's Shahar Peer overcame a slow start Thursday to defeat Japan's Ryoko Fuda 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 and advance to the quarterfinal of the Japan Women's Open.

The third-seeded Peer saved six of eight break points to beat the Japanese wild card.

In other matches, seventh-seeded Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic defeated Alberta Brianti of Italy 6-1, 7-5 and American Jill Craybas overpowered Olga Savchuk of Ukraine 6-1, 6-1.

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Kimiko Date Krumm routed Japanese compatriot Aiko Nakamura 6-2, 6-0 to set up a quarterfinal against defending champion and top-seeded Samantha Stosur of Australia.

The 40-year-old Date Krumm converted six of seven break chances and needed just 52 minutes to oust Nakamura.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Barca won’t break bank for FabNadal, Roddick into Japan Open quarters

Knee injury sidelines Venus for rest of 2010

NEW YORK - A nagging knee injury has forced Venus Williams to skip the rest of the 2010 tennis season, including next month's Fed Cup final between the United States and Italy.

Williams, a seven-time grand slam winner, has been troubled by the problem since July when she was knocked out of the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

The world number three has not played since last month's U.S. Open, where she lost in the semi-finals to the eventual champion Kim Clijsters.

She was to due to play this week's China Open but withdrew because of her knee problems, raising doubts about her chances of playing in the Fed Cup final and the WTA Championships.

"I am very disappointed to announce that I will be unable to play in the season-ending WTA Championships and Fed Cup Final," she said in a statement on Wednesday.

"I have been getting treatment and therapy on my knee and have been making progress but unfortunately must continue to keep weight off my knee for the short term and won't be ready to return to competition in 2010."

Henin angling for spectacular return to ParisAtletico suffer Asenjo blow

Nadal's earning power may not match Federer's

MADRID - Rafa Nadal has toppled Roger Federer from the summit of the tennis world rankings but overtaking his arch rival as the sport's number one in off-court earnings is likely to prove a much stiffer challenge.

Nadal, 24, joined the 29-year-old Federer and five other players on an elite list when he swept to victory at last month's U.S. Open and completed a career grand slam of all four major tournaments.

The Spaniard, who now has nine grand slam singles titles, has shrugged off the niggling injuries that had plagued him over the past couple of seasons and his career is very much on the up, while the Swiss, who has a record 16 major singles titles, is closer to the end of his.

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However, Federer's annual earnings of $35 million from sponsorship and appearance fees are still more than double those of Nadal, who makes around $15 million, according to an estimate by Forbes Magazine.

Both players had lucrative sponsorship deals with Nike, with Federer's worth around $10 million a year and Nadal's $7 million, Kurt Badenhausen, a senior Forbes editor who compiles annual rankings of athletes' earnings, told Reuters.

Federer, who is sixth on the latest Forbes list of the world's best-paid athletes, has sponsors including Credit Suisse, Gillette, Mercedes Benz and Rolex. Nadal, who does not make the top 50, has deals with Kia Motors and Spanish financial firms Banesto and Mapfre, among others.

Nadal's victory in New York last month was likely to dramatically raise his profile among corporate sponsors and widen his earnings potential beyond the tennis industry and regional deals in Spain, Badenhausen told Reuters by telephone.

However, the difficult economic climate and the fallout from the revelations about the private life of golfer Tiger Woods, previously the darling of corporate sponsors, had made companies wary of committing large sums to endorsement deals, he added.

HARD PRESSED

"If you look around the endorsement landscape almost nothing is getting done," Badenhausen said.

"Nadal's already a pretty established player and I don't think we're going to see five or six companies rushing to give him new deals."

"He's going to be hard pressed to surpass Federer in off-court income but I can see his earnings going up to $20 or $25 million over the next year or two."

Like Federer, Mallorca-born Nadal has many of the attributes that corporate sponsors look for in an athlete, according to Antonio Martin, director of the Masters program in sports management at the IE Business School in Madrid.

These included sporting success, an attractive character and physique, hunger to keep winning, a desire to improve and continue learning, humility, respect for opponents and accessibility to fans, Martin told Reuters.

In addition, Martin said, Nadal had a highly competent team of advisers at IMG, who also manage Federer and Russian Maria Sharapova, the top earner in women's tennis who recently signed a new deal with Nike that could be worth as much as $70 million.

Nadal's chances of overtaking Federer in off-court earnings would depend on how long he was able to maintain his current level of form, Martin added.

"His U.S. Open victory will certainly boost his brand value but I don't think as much as when he won the French Open or Wimbledon for the first time," he said.

RACE APART

Mario Oliveto, managing director for Spain and Latin America at Sport+Markt, a consulting firm, said that Nadal's hunger for success and his desire to keep improving set him apart from his rivals and made him a big catch for corporate sponsors.

He agreed with Martin that Nadal's victory at the U.S. Open would boost his earning power but probably not as much as after his first triumphs at the French Open or Wimbledon.

"His desire to keep winning is really that of a race apart," Oliveto told Reuters.

"If we add to that his humility, his always respectful attitude and his youth we have a player who has the capacity to carry on developing and winning for several more years, with all that implies for the value of his brand," he added.

Banesto chief executive Jose Garcia Cantera, speaking to Reuters in Madrid on Thursday, explained why the Spanish bank picked Nadal to front its advertising campaign. "We chose Rafael Nadal when he was not yet world number one," Garcia Cantera said. "We saw in him the skills we identify Banesto with, the same principles; always striving for more."

Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Nadal set for Mallorca roleFederer hopes Madrid will provide turning point

Hantuchova wins Generali Ladies opener

LINZ, Austria (AP) -Second-seeded Daniela Hantuchova eased past Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-1, 6-2 Wednesday to reach the second round of the Generali Ladies.

The Slovak, who won the event in 2007, is the highest-ranked player in the tournament after top-seeded Serena Williams withdrew with a foot injury. Hantuchova converted six of eight break points to set up a match with Carla Suarez Navarro.

In second-round play, Sara Errani of Italy and Andrea Petkovic of Germany both won in straight sets to advance to the quarterfinals.

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Errani saved nine of 11 break points in defeating Czech qualifier Renata Voracova 6-2, 6-2, while Petkovic routed Britain's Anne Keothavong 6-0, 6-3.

Errani will next face fellow Italian Roberta Vinci, who eased past Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden, 6-4, 6-2.

The 36th-ranked Petkovic won the first 11 games before Keothavong, who was out for three weeks with a hip injury prior to the event, avoided a whitewash.

In first-round play, former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic beat Sorana Cirstea of Romania 6-2, 6-0. The seventh-seeded Serb entered the event on a late wild card after Williams pulled out.

The fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic beat Anastasia Rodionova after the Australian pulled out with a muscle strain in her left leg while trailing 6-2, 1-0.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Primera Liga round-upVenus wins again at French, talks about вЂskin’

Nadal, Roddick into Japan Open quarters

TOKYO (AP) -Top-ranked Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick cruised into the quarterfinals of the Japan Open with straight-set victories on Thursday.

Nadal, who has won three Grand Slam titles this year, beat Canada's Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-4. Second-seeded Roddick downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 7-6 (4).

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Nadal's reward is to face Dmitry Tursunov of Russia in Friday's quarterfinals.

"For me, I did the things that I needed to do with the serve and return," Nadal said. "He is still very young. His serve is unbelievable, and there are things he can improve."

Roddick, ranked 10th in the world, is playing his first ATP tournament since losing in the second round of the U.S. Open. He served only five aces - to six for Chardy - but won 83 percent of his first serve points.

Roddick will play fifth-seeded Gael Monfils of France, who beat Italy's Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-4. Monfils reached the semifinals here last year.

Viktor Troicki beat fifth-seeded Jurgen Melzer 7-6 (7), 3-6, 7-6 (3) for his first win over the Austrian, ranked 13th in the world. He now faces Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain.

The fourth quarterfinal pits Finland's Jarkko Nieminen against Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Nadal set for Mallorca roleUnseeded Lu upsets Roddick in 5-set marathon

Jankovic loses in China Open

BEIJING (AP) - Third-seeded Jelena Jankovic has been upset by fellow Serb Bojana Jovanovski in the second round of the China Open.

Jovanovski won 6-2, 2-6, 2-6, while unseeded Angelique Kerber upset last year's runner-up, Agnieszka Radwanska, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 7-5 in a first-round match Monday.

In men's first-round play, German qualifier Michael Berrer beat fifth seed Tomas Berdych 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, while Americans John Isner and Mardy Fish each advanced in straight sets and Sam Querry was beaten by Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

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Jose sets sights on EuropeWimbledon marathon man loses in 75 minutes

Soderling, Berdych ousted in Malaysian Open

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -Top-seeded Robin Soderling of Sweden was eliminated in the Malaysian Open quarterfinals Friday, losing 6-3, 6-2 to Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan's in just 71 minutes.

Golubev broke the hard-serving Soderling four times while saving all four break points he faced. The fifth-ranked Swede struggled with his consistency, mixing five aces with six double faults.

Golubev will next face David Ferrer of Spain, who outlasted third-seeded Thomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, after the Wimbledon-runner up double-faulted on match point.

Fourth-seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia also rallied from a set down to beat No. 6 Marco Baghdatis of Cyprus 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-1. He will play fellow Russian Igor Andreev, who defeated Canada's Milos Raonic 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

Golubev won his first tour title in Hamburg three months ago, and looks set to quickly climb the rankings from his current spot at No. 41.

"I just tried my best but didn't expect to register a straight-set victory," said the 23-year-old Golubev, who lives in Italy. "I believe I can break into the top 20 soon and my performance here in Malaysia will give me some extra confidence."

The 11th-ranked Ferrer registered his fourth consecutive victory and fifth in seven meetings against Berdych.

Ferrer broke Berdych in the 12th game of the second set to even the match, but then lost his serve to trail 4-3 in the decider. But the Spaniard broke right back and clinched the match on Berdych's double fault.

Soderling beats Berdych in French semisSerra Ferrer buys Mallorca

You can grunt your way to tennis win, study says

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Tennis players who grunt loudly when they hit the ball appear to have a competitive edge over their opponents, according to a study published on Friday.

The noise accompanying a hard shot makes an opponent slower to respond and more likely to misjudge exactly where the ball is going -- so it is tougher to hit it back, said Canadian and American researchers.

"Conservatively, our findings suggest that a tennis ball traveling 50 miles per hour could appear 24 inches 2 feet closer to the opponent than it actually is," said Scott Sinnett, an assistant at the University of Hawaii.

The researchers tested their theory on students in a laboratory at the University of British Columbia, using sounds that were comparable in volume to grunts of tennis stars Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal.

The results were published in the online issue of Public Library of Science ONE.

Sinnett and his colleagues say there are several possible explanations for why grunting has an effect.

Some professional tennis players try to judge the spin and velocity of a ball from the sound it makes hitting a racket, so a loud grunt would mask those clues, while also serving as a general distraction, the researchers suggested.

Grunting is a controversial subject in tennis circles, with nine-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova having called it "cheating pure and simple."

"The study raises a number of interesting questions for tennis. For example, if Rafael Nadal is grunting and Roger Federer is not, is that fair?" Sinnett said.

A Wimbledon match this year between Serena Williams and Portuguese teenager Michelle Larcher de Brito was described as a "decibel Derby" for all the noise the players were making.

Sinnett said the researchers now planned to look at whether the world's top tennis players had developed strategies to mitigate the effects of their opponents' grunts.

Nadal masterful in winning Wimbledon crownNadal set for Mallorca role

Del Potro comeback ends in defeatВ inВ Thailand

NONTHABURI, Thailand (AP) -Jarkko Nieminen of Finland reached his first final of the year with a 6-3, 6-2 win Saturday over Germany's Benjamin Becker at the Thailand Open.

The unseeded Nieminen, ranked 60th, took charge against his 65th-ranked opponent and cruised through their match in just 1 hour and 5 minutes.

Seeking his second career ATP Tour title, the 29-year-old Nieminen dominated with sharp groundstrokes and fired 76 percent of his first serves in.

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"I feel great," Nieminen said. "I haven't been in (a) final for awhile, the last time was in Sydney 2009."

The Finn has not dropped a set in his run to the final, including wins over No. 7-seed Viktor Troicki in the second round and No. 3-seed Jurgen Melzer in the quarterfinals.

"I've played great tennis. Just looking forward to the final," he said.

His likely opponent in the final is world No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who will play Spanish compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in Saturdays' later semifinal.

Nadal is fresh from winning the U.S. Open and completing a career Grand Slam.

"Nadal, he's obviously the best player this year. He has won the last three Grand Slams everybody knows that," Nieminen said. "It will be a big challenge. I hope I can challenge him in the final."

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Nadal rallies after losing two of first three setsNadal set for Mallorca role

Wozniacki defeats Dementieva in Pan Pacific final

TOKYO (AP) -Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki recovered from a slow start to beat Elena Dementieva 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 in Saturday's final of the Pan Pacific Open.

Dementieva, who won here in 2006, raced to a 4-0 lead and won the first set when Wozniacki double faulted. But the World No. 2 found her game in the second set and won the match when the Russian double faulted in the final game.

"Elena was playing well in the first set, getting a lot of first shots in," Wozniacki said. "In the second set I really didn't have anything to lose so I just tried to get some more depth on the balls and make her run a little more."

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The seventh-seeded Dementieva had a chance to keep the momentum in the second set when she was up 40-love in the third game but Wozniacki fought back to break and take a 2-1 lead.

"That was an opportunity I didn't use," Dementieva said. "I had a chance on my serve at 40-love. I couldn't finish the game and she got back in the match."

Wozniacki can overtake Serena Williams as No. 1 in the world rankings if she reaches the quarterfinals or better in at the China Open in Beijing next week.

"Being No. 1 has always been a goal of mine but right now I am just focusing on winning the next tournament," Wozniacki said.

Wozniacki, who has won five WTA titles this year, improved to 4-3 against Dementieva, who is 11th in the world rankings.

The 20year-old Dane said her level of fitness has helped her improve her game.

"A few things have happened," Wozniacki said. "I've grown a bit. Not only physically but mentally as well and I feel I can beat anyone now."

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Higuain salutes Real fansFrench Open Show Court Schedules

Del Potro comeback ends in defeat at Thailand Open

NONTHABURI, Thailand (AP) -Juan Martin del Potro's highly-anticipated return to the tour ended in a 7-6 (7), 6-4 defeat by Belgium's Olivier Rochus at the Thailand Open on Tuesday.

The 2009 US Open champion was playing his first match since a January loss to Marin Cilic in the fourth round of the Australian Open. He has since been sidelined with a wrist injury that required surgery.

"I played a good match," Del Potro said. "I had my chances in the first-set tiebreak and he played some great points. I'm just happy to be back on the circuit and I hope I get better and better. He played very well today."

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Rochus took 1 hour, 44 minutes to knock out the former world No. 4.

Top-seeded Rafael Nadal will play his first match since winning the US Open and completing a career Grand Slam when he faces Belgian qualifier Ruben Bemelmans on Thursday.

Bemelmans won the first ATP match of his career on Tuesday when he beat fellow qualifier Federikson Nielsen of Denmark.

"Winning my first ATP match is a great thing, and to get to play against Rafael Nadal in the second round is just an extra," said Bemelmans. "I will just go on court, enjoy the match and see what happens.

"It's not going to be easy against him, he's the No.1 player and already a legend, and he's only 24. I'll give everything I have on court and let's see what it will bring."

Rochus, who stands 1.68 meters (5-foot-6) tall to Del Potro's 1.98 (6-foot-6), was solid from the baseline and relied on strong counterattacking against an erratic opponent.

Del Potro faced set point at 6-5, 30-40, but he escaped by blasting three successive aces to force the tiebreak. The Argentine then fought back from 0-3 down to earn a set point of his own following a backhand winner, but Rochus replied with his own sharp backhand to level at 6-6 before a powerful forehand wrapped up the first set in 55 minutes.

Del Potro surged into a 2-0 lead in the second set but unforced errors cost him the next three games to fall down a break at 2-3. At 3-5, Del Potro took risks with big shots to save two match points, but his resistance did not last long and Rochus sealed victory in the next game when the Argentine's backhand sailed wide.

In other first round play, eighth- seeded Michael Berrer of Germany also suffered a first round exit, when Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain stunned him 6-4, 7-6(4) in 1 hour, 33 minutes.

Germany's Rainer Schuettler beat Ricardo Mello of Brazil 6-4, 6-2, Dudi Sela of Israel defeated Konstantin Kravchuck of Russia 6-3, 6-4, and Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan battled to a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-4 victory over Ryler DeHeart of the U.S.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Baghdatis strolls into 2nd round of Malaysian Open

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -Marcos Baghdatis thrashed Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-1, 6-1 in his first match after a month's layoff to reach the second round of the Malaysian Open Tuesday.

The 24-year-old Cypriot said the match was actually harder than it looked.

"I had to stay focused and concentrate on the game as I have not played for four weeks," the 2006 Australian Open finalist said. "I'm happy with the way I responded to Kei's challenge and even happier that I didn't give him a chance to find a way into the match. I'm still finding my feet out there and to have won in straight sets is good for me."

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Baghdatis, who took part in a photo call at the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park earlier Tuesday to help promote the tournament, joked that facing the birds helped him prepare for the match.

"I'm afraid of birds ... maybe that experience made it easier to face Kei as I had lost all my (nerves)," he quipped.

He will meet Colombia's Santiago Giraldo in the second round.

Also Tuesday, two qualifiers - Russia's Igor Andreev and Canada's Milos Raonic - won through to the second round with comprehensive victories. Andreev thrashed Japan's Go Soeda 6-1, 6-4 while Raonic defeated Russia's Igor Kunitsyn 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.

Wednesday's matches will see defending champion and second seed Nikolay Davydenko of Russia in action for the first time. The world No. 6 had a first round bye and will open his campaign against Andreev.

Also in action will be fourth seed and world No. 9 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, who faces Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov.

Top seed and world No. 5 Robin Soderling of Sweden and third seed Tomas Berdych will play their second-round matches on Thursday.

Although only 250 ranking points are at stake for the winner, the players are desperate to earn as many as possible as the race to qualify for the World Tour Finals in London in November hots up.

Qualifying for the end-of-season tournament is based on points collected in Grand Slams, eight ATP 1000 and two of the best ATP 500 and ATP 250 tournaments throughout the year. The top eight players make the grade.

After Malaysia, the players will play in next week's Shanghai Masters which offers 1,000 ranking points to the winner.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Date Krumm beats Sharapova at Pan Pacific

TOKYO (AP) -Japanese veteran Kimiko Date Krumm rallied to beat defending champion Maria Sharapova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 on Monday in the first round of the Pan Pacific Open.

Date Krumm, who is one day short of her 40th birthday, broke the 23-year-old Russian to go up 5-3 in the third set and won the final game when Sharapova's backhand went wide.

"To play against a former World No. 1 and defending champion, I knew I had to play to the best of my ability," said Date Krumm, who returned to competitive tennis in 2008 after a 12-year layoff.

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Sharapova, who is the tournament's 12th seeded player, had 11 double faults in the match that lasted 2 hours and 9 minutes at Ariake Colosseum.

Sharapova broke Date to go up 3-2 in the final set and was leading 40-love in the sixth game when she double faulted twice before being broken by Date Krumm.

"Momentum is so big in tennis," Sharapova said. "If you give your opponent a chance they can get confident and take the momentum away."

It was the first meeting between the two players. Sharapova said she was impressed with Date Krumm's ability and fitness after such a long layoff.

"It's incredible," Sharapova said. "It just shows you how she has stayed in such great shape while away from the game. She is incredibly fit."

Date Krumm had just returned from Seoul where she lost in the quarterfinals of the Korea Open on Friday. She said the quick turnaround was not easy.

"I just came back from Korea yesterday and was really tired," she said. "My body felt a little better today but this surface was a lot faster that the one in Korea."

In second-round matches, third-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia defeated Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-4, 6-1, and sixth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland coasted to a 6-2, 6-3 win over Olga Govortsova of Belarus.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Kudryavtseva wins Tashkent Open title

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AP) -Alla Kudryavtseva has won her first WTA Tour title, beating Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-4 in an all-Russian final at the Tashkent Open.

Seventh-seeded Kudryavtseva, beaten finalist in Guangzhou, China, last Sunday, broke fourth-seeded Vesnina in the seventh game of the first set.

After an exchange of breaks midway through the second set, Kudryavtseva broke again in the seventh game and closed the match, firing an ace on the first of her two match points.

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It was Vesnina's second defeat in a final this season. She was beaten by another compatriot, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, in Istanbul in July.

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Simon, Zverev reach Open de Moselle final

METZ, France (AP) -Eighth-seeded Gilles Simon of France beat No. 6 Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday to line up an Open de Moselle final against German qualifier Mischa Zverev.

Zverev advanced to his first career final when No. 4 Richard Gasquet of France withdrew because of a fever.

Simon broke Kohlschreiber three times to reach his first final since winning on hard courts at Bangkok last year for his sixth career title.

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Simon needed five sets to put away Kohlschreiber at the U.S. Open last month, but won this time without conceding a break chance in just 54 minutes.

The 23-year-old Zverev is the first qualifier to reach an ATP Tour final this season and the lowest-ranked finalist at 155.

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Petrova reaches 2nd round of Korea Open

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -Top-seeded Nadia Petrova easily advanced to the second round of the Korea Open on Wednesday with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Jarmila Groth of Australia.

The Russian was broken in her first service game but recovered to win in just 63 minutes.

Play was suspended on Tuesday because of torrential rain, meaning 12 matches had to be completed Wednesday. Petrova will next play Vania King of the United States, who beat Alberta Brianti of Italy 6-4, 7-5.

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Second-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia overcame Australia's Anastasia Rodionova 7-6 (6), 6-1 while third-seeded Maria Kirilenko ousted Urszula Radwanska of Poland 6-3, 6-1.

No. 4 Maria-Jose Martinez of Spain, No. 6 Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan and No. 8 Agnes Szavay of Hungary also advanced.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Volandri defeats Kubot at BCR Open Romania

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) -Filippo Volandri of Italy easily beat Lukasz Kubot of Poland 6-3, 6-0 Monday in the first round of the BCR Open Romania.

Volandri will next meet either sixth-seeded Victor Hanescu of Romania or Marcel Granollers of Spain.

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Czechs and Serbs tied, France wins in Davis Cup

LONDON (AP) -France led Argentina 2-0 while the Czech Republic was tied 1-1 with Serbia after Friday's singles in the Davis Cup semifinals.

Michael Llodra put the French ahead against Argentina in Lyon with a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win over Juan Monaco. There was more for the home fans to cheer in the second singles match when Gael Monfils followed up with 27 aces in a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over David Nalbandian.

Another French victory in Saturday's doubles, when Llodra and veteran Arnaud Clement are likely to face Argentine pair Eduardo Schwank and Horacio Zeballos, would qualify the hosts for the Dec. 3-5 final with an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series

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No.2-ranked Novak Djokovic was a late withdrawal from Serbia's team for the first day's play, saying he was still tired after his run to the U.S. Open final, and his replacement Viktor Troicki lost the opener 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 to Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic in Belgrade.

But Janko Tipsarevic hauled Serbia back into contention by beating Tomas Berdych 7-5, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (5).

Monfils, who is undefeated in the Davis Cup this year, won six consecutive games in the last set as he moved France closer to shot at a 10th Davis Cup title and its first since 2001.

"This is a fabulous experience," Monfils said. "I started to play with the France team when I was a 12 or 13-year-old boy and I dreamt about the Davis Cup. Now, doing this in a semifinal... Today I played one of my best three matches this year."

Friday's results were a vindication for France captain Guy Forget, who snubbed former French No. 1 Richard Gasquet to give doubles specialist Llodra his chance.

Nalbandian struggled with Monfils' attacking game and his team now has an uphill task on Saturday.

"Gael served better than I did and it made the difference," Nalbandian said. "I didn't serve well. What disturbs me in his game is mainly his serve. And he is also very sharp when he is attacking."

Tipsarevic's win over Berdych, on the Wimbledon runner-up's 25th birthday, had the 15,000 spectators in the Belgrade Arena on their feet and preserved Serbia's hopes of reaching its first Davis Cup final.

"We are still a very good team even if Djokovic needs to take a day off," Tipsarevic said after his victory. "We are one of the best teams in the world."

Tipsarevic's good returns took the edge from one of Berdych's best weapons, his big serve. The Serb had Berdych in trouble in many of the Czech's service games and broke twice to go two sets up.

A netcord ball gave the No. 7-ranked Berdych a 3-1 lead in the third set. Tipsarevic fired the ball into the roof of the arena and never regained his rhythm, losing the set.

Another netcord made it 3-1 for the Czech in the fourth after Tipsarevic had saved two break points. But this time Tipsarevic stayed focused and broke right back with a tremendous low forehand into the approaching Berdych and went to win the tiebreaker.

"I gave him a lot of easy points and a lot of opportunities on my serve," Berdych said.

Djokovic, who watched the action from Serbia's box, added that he might yet play in the doubles.

"I decided to keep my strength for the last two days," the second-ranked Djokovic said. "If the result after the first day requires it, I might play the doubles on Saturday too.

"But I will surely be ready for Sunday."

There was plenty of Davis Cup action too in the playoffs to stay in the World Group, with the United States tied 1-1 with Colombia, Australia also level 1-1 with Belgium and Israel leading Austria 2-1, having already played the doubles match.

The United States made a good start in Bogota with Mardy Fish defeating Alejandro Falla 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

However, Santiago Giraldo defeated Sam Querrey 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 to make it all-square after the first day.

Colombia is expected to field the doubles team of Robert Farah and Carlos Salamanca on Saturday. The Americans have announced they will counter with Ryan Harrison and John Isner, although Fish said after his singles victory that he would be ready to step in.

The United States has dropped out of the World Group only once since it began in 1981 and has won the Davis Cup 32 times, more than any other nation. Colombia is trying to reach the World Group for the first time.

Elsewhere in the World Group playoffs, it was Germany 2, South Africa 0; Sweden 1, Italy 1; India 0, Brazil 2; Kazakhstan 2, Switzerland 0; and Romania 2, Ecuador 0.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Gunners make Squillaci bidSerena Williams, Isner to combine for Hopman Cup

Nadal: 'Don't know if I'm going to win another 1'

NEW YORK (AP) -Rafael Nadal doesn't yet consider himself among the best tennis players in history.

No matter that he is only the seventh man to win each Grand Slam title. Or that only six men finished with higher totals of major championships.

A day after achieving his first U.S. Open championship, here is as far as he was willing to go on Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press: "I know I am a little bit in the history of tennis now, winning this last tournament. But I'm still 24, so we will see where I am when I finish my career."

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Indeed, Nadal insisted he can't be sure he will add to the Grand Slam singles trophies he already has earned - five at the French Open, two at Wimbledon, and one each at the Australian Open and U.S. Open - let alone challenge Roger Federer's record of 16.

"I don't know if I'm going to win another one," Nadal said, earnest as can be.

He paused, then explained: "You never know when this will start, and when this will stop."

After playing in Federer's shadow for years, Nadal is now the one to watch.

As ATP chief executive Adam Helfant put it during the U.S. Open: "Rafa is a rock star when he comes out to play here."

It's Nadal who is ranked No. 1.

It's Nadal who has established his bona fides on all of tennis' surfaces.

It's Nadal who has a chance to finish off a Rafa Slam by winning the Australian Open in January. He would be the first man with four major titles in a row since Rod Laver pulled off a true Grand Slam by claiming all four in 1969.

A little more than 12 hours after finishing his four-set victory over Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open final for a third consecutive major title, Nadal was still coming to grips with the significance of the result.

"It's difficult to stop and think," Nadal said. "Maybe on the plane and after, when I get home, it will be easier."

He threw his head back and laughed when asked whether he is the type to think back to this year's Australian Open - he retired from his quarterfinal with a knee injury, the lone blemish on his 25-1 Grand Slam record in 2010 - or forward to next year's.

"No. I am very happy now (with) what I did. I know how difficult it is to win every tournament," he said. "For sure, I'm going to try my best to be ready for Australia. But my first goal is to try to finish this season playing better than ... other years at the end of the season."

Give Nadal credit for consistency. He's always talking about how important it is to him that he keeps improving.

Asked which of his many accomplishments makes him proudest, Nadal began by mentioning his first French Open title, in 2005; then his second, the next year; his first Wimbledon championship, earned with a victory over Federer in 2008's "dramatic final," as Nadal called it; his gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics; his 2009 Australian Open title; Spain's 2004 Davis Cup title. Then, right when it seemed Nadal might very well keep going until he'd named every single thing he's won, he turned more contemplative.

Referring to the "very difficult" second half of 2009 - which included knee and abdominal injuries, the only French Open loss of his career, his withdrawal from Wimbledon, and his parents' separation - Nadal spoke about rebounding so strongly.

"I wanted a lot to be back," he said. "And now, I am better. I did better than before. That's very huge."

And yet, as well as Nadal has played since April - 43-3 with six titles - and for two weeks at Flushing Meadows - coming within a second-set lapse against Djokovic of becoming the first man in a half-century to win the tournament without dropping a set - he is hardly satisfied.

One example: He thinks he played only "so-so" at the start of the Open.

What still needs work, then?

Nadal sighed, then rattled off a serious "To Do" list:

-make sure his serve gets even better, even though he won 106 of 111 service games en route to the title, tying the tournament record for fewest lost;

-fine-tune his court positioning;

-improve his slice backhand and volleys;

-and, he said, his backhand and forehand winners "can improve a little bit more."

"That's what's so frustrating, a little bit: He's getting better each time you play him," said Djokovic, the 2008 Australian Open champion and twice a runner-up in New York.

After jetting home to Spain on Tuesday, Nadal plans to take a break for two days, then return to the practice court on Friday.

It barely gives the guy any time to think about his place in history.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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