Jelena Jankovic Progressed to the 2nd Round of Stuttgart WTA Tournament

Former world no. 1 Jelena Jankovic stormed past Dominika Cibulkova from Slovakia 6-1, 6-1 in the first round match of Stuttgart WTA tournament and made it to the second round. Jelena Jankovic was happy with the easy win over Dominika as she said that she had expected a tough match, considering Dominika’s previous performances against Jelena. Well, it was a one-sided match and given Jelena Jankovic’s recent poor run on the court, it was a very important win for the Serbian who is the defending champion in the tournament. Jankovic will take on Sabine Lisicki from Germany in the second round. Lisicki clinched her second round berth, having defeated Patty Schnyder 6-4, 6-3 in the first round. Stuttgart WTA tour event also features the new world no. 1 Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva.

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AFP

Maria Sharapova will not Take Part in Italian Open and Madrid Open

Maria Sharapova has decided to give a miss to Italian Open and the Madrid Open next week ahead of French Open 2009 that kicks off from May 25. The former world no. 1 returned to tennis circuit on March 12 with a doubles match in the Indian Wells tournament after a long time out injured. Maria Sharapova suffered a torn rotator cuff injury in August 2008 and then underwent a shoulder surgery in October, and thus, eventually missing the US Open 2008 tournament. The Russian beauty is now expected to be back in grand slam arena with the upcoming French Open 2009 tournament. Sharapova has been dropped to 64^th in WTA ranking. Now, let us see if Maria Sharapova can make a strong come back in the French Open 2009 tournament.

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Canadian Press

Who will protest Rafael Nadal?

Top seeded player Rafael Nadal is continuously playing well. Getting victory has become a common matter for him. So, fans of him never become surprised if they see their favorite player winning the match. Recently, they have got a triumph against his countryman David Ferrer by 6-2, 7-5. It was his fifth straight Barcelona title. However, it should be tough to find someone who can stop him. There are three best options those who can play against him and make some protest. They are - Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

Roger Federer is not in his prime form. It is said that he has lost his control over tennis court. He lost his place to Nadal. Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are young stars. So, anyone can protest Nadal between them. Who do you think will be the next top seeded player?

Rafael Nadal Clinched Fifth Straight Barcelona Open Title

Rafael Nadal has continued his success at Barcelona Open as the Spaniard clinched his 5^th straight title by defeating fellow Spanish David Ferrer 6-2, 7-5 in a two-set final. The world no. 1 dominated his opponent throughout the match. He took the first set 6-2 pretty easily, but faced stiff competition from Ferrer in the second set which was decided at 7-5 in favor of Rafael Nadal. Interestingly, Nadal defeated Ferrer in last year’s Barcelona Open final too.

Rafael Nadal has strengthened his presence at the top of the ranking, by winning the match. The Spaniard clinched fifth straight Monte Carlo Masters title last week, and now that, he has won Barcelona Open for the fifth time in a row, it seems that Rafael Nadal will be at the top of his confidence level in French Open 2009.

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bloomberg

Tennis Australia Refused to Send Davis Cup Team in India on Security Ground

Australia has a scheduled Davis Cup away match in India. Asia/Oceania Zone Group I third-round match is due to start from May 8 which will continue to May 10. However, Tennis Australia has already confirmed that it would not send its Davis Cup team to visit India due to high security concern during the time of India’s general election.

Meanwhile, International Tennis Federation (ITF) has already said that Australia must visit India to take on the home side in a Davis Cup affair. The general election of India is currently going on in India, and because of election, Indian Premier League (IPL) has also been relocated to South Africa amid the fear of inadequate security for the tournament.

Well, Davis Cup is the most prestigious team tournament in Tennis and I hope you already understand the significance of the match. It will be a mistake to compare the Davis Cup match with IPL tournament. IPL is a big tournament featuring 8 teams and 59 matches for which providing enough security for the tournament was not an easy one while the country’s general election is being taken place simultaneously. On the other hand, IPL is just a matter of one match and providing some extra security would not be a big deal for Indian tennis federation. So, I do not see any big threat for the Davis Cup match between India and Australia. However, one thing is, for sure, that Indian government must ensure a highly tight security for Australian team.

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AFP

Andy Roddick to Take Part in Queen's Club ATP Tournament to Prepare for Wimbledon 2009

Andy Roddick will play in the Queen's Club ATP tournament as part of his preparation for Wimbledon 2009 grass court gram slam tournament. Queen's Club tournament will also feature defending champion and current world no. 1 Rafael Nadal and world no. 4 Andy Murray.

Andy Roddick has some sweet memory regarding this grass court tournament as he has 4 Queen's Club titles to his credit. From 2003 to 2005, he won the tournament in succession before retaining the title once again in 2007. Rafael Nadal won the Queen's Club title last year before clinching his first ever Wimbledon title. No doubt, Nadal will start the tournament as the top favorite, but it will be interesting to see if Any Roddick can give a tough competition for the title, being inspired by his previous successes in the tournament.

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earthtimes

Dinara Safina: New World No. 1 in WTA Ranking

Russian tennis star Dinara Safina has become the no. 1 ranking player of women’s tennis yesterday (20 April 2009), repeating the feat her elder brother Marat Safin achieved in men’s tennis in November 2000. Dinara Safina could not win any grand slam title yet in her career, but the Russian has played at her best over the last 12 months during which she clinched four WTA tour titles at Berlin, Los Angeles, Montreal and Tokyo, and also reached five tour finals. Dinara Safina has become the second Russian to top the world ranking after Maria Sharapova.

Dinara Safina may not have won any grand slam title yet, but the 22-year-old has been pretty much consistent over the last few years in tennis circuit. The top spot of WTA ranking is guaranteed for Safina at least for two weeks. Dinara Safina has said that she would celebrate her achievement with brother Safin when they will meet in Madrid in May. Safina has also expressed her delight stating that she was known as the sister of Marat Safin so far, but from now on, she will be known by her name.

Well, Dinara Safina should also keep it in mind that she could not win any grand slam title yet in her short career and if she is to hold on to the no. 1 spot, Safina must start winning grand slam title. Now, let us see if Dinara Safina can start getting success from the upcoming French Open 2009.

Rafael Nadal Reaches Monte Carlo Masters Final to Face Novak Djokovic

World no. 1 Rafael Nadal saw off British star Andy Murray with a straight set victory at the semi final of Monte Carlo Masters where Nadal is now eyeing for his fifth straight title in the tournament. In the final, Nadal will face world no.3 Novak Djokovic who made it to the final after defeating Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6 6-1 6-3.

Rafael Nadal dominated in the first set against Murray as the Spaniard took it 6-2, but the Briton posed huge challenge for Nadal in the second set which was decided in tie breaker as Nadal clinched it 7-6 (4). Rafael Nadal has been in excellent form over the last one year and he would definitely start as a favorite against Djokovic in the final of Monte Carlo Masters. Djokovic, however, lacks consistency, though there is no doubt about his class and talent. So, tennis fans could experience a highly-fought final in the tournament.

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nydailynews

Rafael Nadal: An All Time Tennis Great of Clay Court

Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal has already become one of the greatest ever clay court players in tennis. In fact, Nadal’s four out of six grand slam titles came in French Open, the only clay court grand slam tournament. Nadal has been the French Open champion for the last four years since French Open 2005. Moreover, the Spaniard clinched 8 out of his 17 ATP tour titles on clay court.

The way Nadal has improved his game, it seems that the Spaniard is going to become one of the greatest ever players not only clay court, but also for all courts. You know that Nadal won Wimbledon title last year as well as Australian Open this year, besides his continuous dominance in French Open. Another great Roger Federer has much of his dominance over the last one year to Nadal. Federer is still a threat for Nadal on tennis circuit, but I think, Andy Murray from Britain has emerged as another big threat to Rafael Nadal’s dominance in world tennis.

Venus Williams Defeated Sania Mirza in the 2nd Round of Family Circle Cup

American star Venus Williams edged past Indian opponent Sania Mirza after winning a three-set affair in the second round of Family Circle Cup in Charleston. Winning a doubles title prior to coming into this tournament, and then winning the first round match pretty easily, Sania Mirza appeared full of confidence against tournament’s second seed Venus Williams. However, Venus took it 6-1 3-6 6-2 to progress into the next round of the tournament.

Venus cruised through the first set during which Sania could not put up any resistance, but the Indian star bounce back to win the second set, coming back from 3-1 down to win five-games in a row. It seemed that Sania was going to cause an upset against Venus when she broke her high profile opponent twice earlier in the deciding set and took a 2-1 lead when Venus found her momentum back and rallied to win five consecutive sets to win the match. However, overall Sania Mirza’s performance was impressive against Venus Williams.

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Sky Sports

Andy Roddick to Marry Sports Illustrated Model Brooklyn Decker

Former world no. 1 of men’s tennis, Andy Roddick, is going to marry Brooklyn Decker, a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model next weekend. The marriage ceremony will take place in Austin, Texas in the presence of some close friends and family members and the couple is very happy now. 2003 US Open winner Andy Roddick is one of the popular tennis stars today. Though he could not live up to the expectation of many American tennis fans, he still remains to be the leading men’s tennis player from his country. Andy Roddick fell for Brooklyn Decker, having seen the 21-year-old Brooklyn in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition in 2007. We wish all the best for the couple.

Maria Sharapova Dropped to No. 53 in WTA Ranking

Former world no. 1 Maria Sharapova has been dropped by 23 positions to 53 in the WTA ranking. The Russian star has been out of professional circuit with a torn rotator cuff since Rogers Cup 2008. Sharapova even also underwent an arthroscopic surgery in October 2008 which eventually forced her to pull out of Beijing Olympics and US Open 2008.

Maria Sharapova has also missed a number of tournaments this year including Open GDF SUEZ in Paris, the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami and the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. She made a return to doubles circuit last month when she partnering with fellow Russian Elena Vesnina competed at the Indian Wells tournament. However, the Russian pair crushed out of the tournament from the first round.

Now, Maria Sharapova is ranked at 53 in WTA ranking. No doubt, Sharapova fansa re disappointed with her injury and is hoping that their favorite star would make a strong come back in French Open 2009, getting over her injury.

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Jelena Jankovic Wins First Title of 2009 at Andalucia Tennis Experience

Jelena Jankovic has won the title of WTA Andalucia Tennis Experience tournament as she defeated Spanish opponent Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3 3-6 6-3 in a three-set final. This has been the first title of the year for the Serbian who started the year at no. 1 in WTA rankling, but a series of poor performances saw her sliding down to no. 4 now. This has also become the 10^th tour title for Jelena Jankovic and she is now hoping a successful clay season ahead of French Open 2009 tournament.

Jankovic did not find it easy to win the tournament final against Navarro who got all the supports of the local fans in her first tour final in her career. Well, Jelena Jankovic clinched the first set 6-3 pretty easily, breaking her opponent twice. However, Carla Suarez Navarro bounced back in the second set to take it 6-3, displaying a number of aces. Jankovic took 5-1 lead in the third set, breaking Navarro on two occasions, but the Spaniard then broke Jankovic once to make it 5-3 before Jankovic winning the deciding set 6-3.

Jelena Jankovic put some optimism in her future while talking to media after the match. The Serbian said that she had not started off well to the year, but the victory in Andalucia had given her back the confidence. She is hopeful that she would be able to continue her success in the rest of the clay season too and she is willing to come back to this tournament again next year.

Jelena Jankovic knows it very well that it would not be very easy for her to retain the no. 1 rank, but it is true that winning the title of Andalucia was badly needed for the Serbian who is now full of confident to do well in the months to come.

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Jelena Jankovic vs Carla Suarez Navarro: Andalucia Tennis Experience Final 2009

Jelena Jankovic is going to face Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro in the final of Andalucia Tennis Experience tournament. This is going to be first final for Jelena Jankovic this year which has so far been unimpressive for the Serbian star. En route to final, Jankovic defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues 7-5, 6-2 in Saturday’s semi-final showdown which took 2 hours, 15 minutes to decide one of the finalists. The Serbian star Jankovic faced tough challenge from Garrigues in the first set, before clinching the second one pretty easily. In the whole match, Jankovic broke Garrigues on seven occasions, as opposed to four breaks for Garrigues’ favor.

Carla Suarez Navarro got past seventh seed Romanian Sorana Cirstea in a three-set semi final. Navarro met Jankovic twice so far on professional circuit, and lost on both occasions. Jelena Jankovic defeated Carla Suarez Navarro in the quarter final of last year’s French Open. Now, let us see if Jankovic can hold on to her 100 percent winning record against Navarro and clinch the first title of the year. However, one thing is for sure that Jankovic would go into the match as clear favorite.

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The Canadian Press

Jelena Jankovic Reaches Semi Final of Andalucia Tennis Tournament

World no. 4 Jelena Jankovic has reached the semi final of the Andalucia Tennis Experience in Spain as the Serbian defeated unseeded Roberta Vinci 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) in a hard-fought quarter final. Jankovic was not at her best during the match, but the former world no. 1 could bounce back after losing the first set 6-3, having been broken on three occasions. However, Jankovic bounced back in the second set by taking it 6-3, before clinching the third one in a tie-breaker. No doubt, the third set was really exciting, and when it went into the tie-breaker there were many who through Jankovic might be facing a shocking elimination from the tournament. However, the Serbian could hold on to her confidence and clinched the nerve-wrecking tie-breaker, ensuring her place in the semi final where she will face Anabel Medina Garrigues who also won a three-set affair against sixth seeded Sara Errani. Garrigues defeated Sara 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 7-5 en route to tournament semi final.

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UPI.com

Jelena Jankovic Progressed into the Quarter Final of Andalucia Tennis Championships

Serbian star Jelena Jankovic defeated Selima Sfar from Tunisia 6-3 6-0 on Tuesday to reach the quarter final of Andalucia Tennis Championships. The score line suggests how convincingly Jankovic saw off Sfar and made it to the last eight of the tournament. Following Serena Williams’ surprise elimination at the hands of Klara Zakopalova, Jankovic is now the highest ranking player left in the tournament.

Jankovic did not have any success since the turn of the year. However, the world no. 4 of WTA ranking now seems to be in the right track to come back in her prime form in the tournament. She will face Italian Roberta Vinci in the quarter final, in her bid to reach the semi final of tournament.

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Reuters

Serena Williams Becomes 2008 WTA Tour Player of the Year

Serena Williams has won the 2008 WTA Tour Player of the Year award. This award is determined by the professional tennis players on the tour. Serena Williams had an excellent year in 2008, winning U.S. Open title and doubles gold medal in Olympics along with sister Venus Williams and eventually finished the year at no. 1 ranking in what making an excellent year. Serena Williams is very much delighted with this award and hopes to win such awards in the years to come too. There are some other awards announced too. These are given here:

Doubles Team of the Year 2008: Cara Black and Liezel Huber

Most Improved Player 2008: Dinara Safina

Comeback Player of the Year 2008: Zheng Jie

Newcomer of the Year Award 2008: Caroline Wozniacki

Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award 2008: Elena Dementieva

Madison Keys at 14 Debuts in WTA on Winning Note

Madison Keys is just 14-year-old hailing from Florida and has already made his debut in WTA circuit, pulling off a remarkable victory over 21-year-old Russian Alla Kudryavtseva in straight sets 7-5, 6-4 on Monday. This was the first round match of MPS Group Championships where Florida’s wonder girl Madison Keys has made a dream debut. The most important thing is that Keys had to bounce back from a 5-2 down in the first set to clinch the first set in tie-breaker. The way she played the game proves her mental strength too, alongside her technical and physical skill. Her powerful groundstrokes very often proved to be too hard for Kudryavtseva to defend, breaking her Russian opponent twice in the first set.

After losing the first set, Madison Keys rallied to 4-1 lead, but Kudryavtseva tried to bounce back making it 4-5 before Keys took the second set 6-4 with an ace. No doubt, Madison Keys could not have asked for a better start to his WTA career. Now, let us see if the American teenage star could live up to the expectations in future.

Andy Murray Wins Sony Ericsson Open in Miami

Andy Murray clinched the Sony Ericsson Open title in Miami, defeating Serbian star Novak Djokovic in straight set 6-2, 7-5 in the tournament final on Sunday. Besides Djokovic, Murray also had to defeat a scorching heat which was one of the reasons behind the loss of Djokovic as he failed to hold on to his top form avoid the heat. With this victory, Murray has become the first Briton to win this tournament and bagged $605,000 as prize money. Moreover, Murray also gained 1,000 ranking points to move within 173 points of world no. 3 Novak Djokovic. Murray won the first set pretty easily, but Djokovic fought back in the second, but still he could not stand up against his British opponent.

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Victoria Azarenka Defeated Serena Williams to Win Key Biscayne Tournament

World no. 1 Serena Williams failed to win the WTA Tier One tournament at Key Biscayne in Florida being defeated by Belarus southpaw Victoria Azarenka who continued his excellent form of recent. However, Serena Williams can make an excuse of the straight set 6-3 6-1 loss in the final as she was injured which was apparent in her movement. Williams went into the match with strapping on her left thigh. However, she did not go for making any excuse; rather she expressed that the best player won the title.

Serena Williams had been struggling with injury for the last few matches, but still, she could make it to the final defeating elder sister Venus Williams in a three-set semi final affair. Serena started off well taking a 3-2 lead in the first set, but Victoria Azarenka bounced back and claimed the first set 6-3, and the Belarusian found it easier to clinch the second set 6-1, breaking Serena Williams twice. Winning the title of this tournament, Victoria Azarenka is now going to move to the 8^th in WTA ranking.

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CNN

Monica Seles: A Tragic Hero of World Tennis

Most teenagers perhaps do not know now who Monica Seles was. Well, 20 years ago, she was a star and she was the player who could challenge Steffi Graf and almost demolished her but then a tragic accident happened and Seles was out of action. What happened was a lunatic fan of Steffi Graf felt frustrated that his idol Graf was losing and losing to Monica Seles and this way, at one stage, he became mad and attacked Seles while she playing in an event. This injury destroyed her career while she was at the prime. She could never recover both physically and emotionally. That is why I feel that she is a tragic hero in World Tennis. 

Novak Djokovic Facing Andy Murray at Miami ATP Masters Final

World no. 3 Novak Djokovic is going to take on world no. 4 Andy Murray in the final of Miami ATP Masters 2009. Serbian star Djokovic edged past world no. 2 Roger Federer 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the semi final in a 1 hour and 46 minutes affair. Federer looked pretty much comfortable in the first set and it seemed he was confident enough to clinch his first title this year. However, the former world no. 1 failed to capitalize on the momentum gained early in the match, making 35 unforced errors. Djokovic bounced back in the match winning the second set 6-2 which was followed up with 6-3 win in the final set.

Andy Murray defeated Juan Martin del Potro 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, and thus, he has become the first British player to make it to the final of the tournament. del Potro came into the semi final against Andy Murray on the back of a quarter final victory over world no. 1 Rafael Nadal, but the Argentine failed to carry on his momentum in the semi final. Though Murray could easily take the first set 6-1, Juan Martin del Potro bounced back in the second, winning the set 5-7 in tie-breaker. Murray then ensured his entry into the final, winning the final set 6-2. Now, let us see if Andy Murray can become the first British to win the title of Miami ATP Masters.

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AFP

Sania Mirza: Beauty vs Tennis?

Do not get me wrong, I like it Sania Mirza a lot and I feel that that Sania Mirza is perhaps the best female tennis player in Asia. However, I am sad that she never tried hard enough to become one of the top ten players in the world and in it is bad that she gave a lot of time on nonsense things like making herself more beautiful or dating with a famous celebrity or even doing advertisements for television. I have no doubt that Sania Mirza is one of the top ten most beautiful tennis players of all time and there has been very few tennis players who are as beautiful as she is even in the past.

Being beautiful is not a crime or not even a negative thing but focusing too much on beauty is bad if you are playing Tennis. That is why if you search about Sania Mirza in Google search engine then you will find many hot and sexy pictures of this famous female tennis player but you will not see a very few big pictures which she is celebrating the winning of the championship of any Tennis tournament. This is really a tragedy and perhaps a big tragedy and I feel that it is the media and her fans that are more to be responsible than Sania Mirza herself. They made her a demigod and she got a lot of money at a very early age with hardly any effort.

Just because Sania Mirza is very beautiful, she got some great opportunities to do television advertisements and she got a lot of money from a sponsorship and advertisements. That is why her prize money (US$ 1,294,340) from Tennis is not that significant but she earned a lot of money from other sources.

Williams sisters 20th appearance in the semifinal of Sony Ericsson Open

It is really interesting to see a fight between two sisters in the tennis court. Tennis beloved fans passionately wait to see their match against each other. Fans among the whole world passionately wait to see that who will win the match. However, I think you already understand that I am talking abut Williams. I have to admit that fight between two sisters is really something special for the fans. No one can predict of this match until it will end. You will be pleased to hear that these two sisters are going to face each other in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open. Venus Williams got an easy win against Iveta Benesova. She beat Iveta Benesova by 6-1, 6-4. On the other hand, Serena Williams had to struggle hard to snatch the win and made sure her place in the semifinal. This will be their 20^th appearance in the tennis court together. Venus Williams is in ahead with 10-9 lead.

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