US Open Champion del Potro Qualifies For Barclays ATP World Tour Finals

Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, who captured his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open on Monday, has become the fifth singles player to qualify for the prestigious Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, scheduled to take place at The O2 in London from 22-29 November.

The 20 year old will compete at the season climax for the second successive year, joining Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and defending champion Novak Djokovic at the elite eight-man event, the world’s biggest-ever indoor tournament.

Del Potro regained a place in the Top 5 of the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings on 14 September 2009, after beating Federer 3-6, 7-6(5) 4-6, 7-6(4) 6-2 in the US Open final on his fourth appearance in New York. He is the second Argentine, after 1977 winner Guillermo Vilas, to lift the US Open title and the fifth youngest man to lift the trophy in the Open Era.

"It's been a dream winning the US Open and beating Roger in the final and to qualify for London so early is amazing,” said del Potro, at 6’6” the tallest Grand Slam winner in history. “I played in Shanghai last year and it is such a special tournament. I look forward to playing at The O2 arena."

The Tandil native, who is the youngest player in the Top 20, has captured three tour-level titles this year including the Heineken Open in Auckland (d. Querrey) and the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington (d. Roddick). The Argentine also reached the Australian Open quarter-finals and Roland Garros semi-finals (l. to Federer both times).

Del Potro’s qualification leaves just three spots up for grabs between now and November, with the likes of Andy Roddick, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Fernando Verdasco and Nikolay Davydenko all in contention to complete the eight-man line-up.

Barclays ATP World Tour Finals - The Contenders

Rank	Player	Points		Rank	Team	Points
1.	R. Federer (SUI)	11,240		1.	Bryan/Bryan	9,010
2.	R. Nadal (ESP)	8,845		2.	Nestor/Zimonjic	8,745
3.	A. Murray (GBR)	8,390		3.	Dlouhy/Paes	5,740
4.	N. Djokovic (SRB)	7,480		4.	Bhupathi/Knowles	5,590
5.	J.M. del Potro (ARG)	6,825		5.	Mirnyi/Ram	3,550
6.	A. Roddick (USA)	5,310		6.	Moodie/Norman	3,115
7.	J-W. Tsonga (FRA)	3,950		7.	Kubot/Marach	3,050
8.	N. Davydenko (RUS)	3,535		8.	Cermak/Mertinak	2,320
	................................				..............................
9.	F. Verdasco (ESP)	3,430		9.	Soares/Ullyett	2,220
10.	G. Simon (FRA)	3,090		10.	Damm/Lindstedt	2,125

Players in bold have qualified.

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals will feature the world’s top eight singles players and eight doubles teams competing to be officially crowned 2009 ATP World Tour Champions. Each of the top eight players and doubles teams will be drawn to play three round-robin matches to determine which four players and teams advance to the knockout semi-finals.

With a capacity of 250,000, less than 20,000 tickets remain on sale to tennis fans across the group sessions at The O2, which will host the eight-day singles and doubles tournament. Tickets are available online through www.BarclaysATPWorldTourFinals.com or by calling 0844 847 2495 within the UK. Overseas customers should call +44 161 372 0025.

(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2009/09/London-Finals-del-Potro-Qualifies.aspx)

Murray Overcomes Del Potro To Win Masters 1000 Title

Andy Murray had ended Juan Martin del Potro’s exceptional summer run last year at the US Open, and stemmed the start of a similar streak this season. The No. 3 seed battled past last week’s Washington champion 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-1 on Sunday at the Rogers Cup in Montreal to capture his fourth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title, also becoming the first British winner in tournament history.

Murray, who will replace Rafael Nadal as the World No. 2 following his effort in Montreal, earned $443,500 and 1000 South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings points – further boosting his chances of qualifying for the elite Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, to be held in November at the O2 in London. He also moved up to No. 3 in the US Open Series Bonus Challenge standings, trailing del Potro at No. 1 by 40 points.

Del Potro, playing his ninth match in 13 days, looked visibly spent compared to Murray in Sunday’s final. While Murray was making his first appearance since Wimbledon and had used the last two weeks getting acclimated to North American hard courts in Miami, del Potro had come to Montreal straight from last Sunday’s successful title defence in Washington, D.C. Additionally, whereas Murray had eased through the week without the loss of a set, del Potro had needed to save one match point Saturday in his win over Andy Roddick.

In spite of a fresher set of legs, Murray came within three points of a straight-sets loss as he struggled to control del Potro’s forehand returns during the opening two sets. The sixth-seeded del Potro – playing in his maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final – took the mini-break in the first set tie-break to go up 5-4 when Murray placed a return wide, and served it out with an ace and blistering forehand winner past the Brit.

After trading early breaks of serve in the second set, del Potro made crucial saves to stay in the set but could not close out the match as Murray got back on level ground by clinching the tie-break. Del Potro said: “I felt my chance in the second set, tie-break second set, and I didn't take them. I was trying until the final, but it was so complicated for me. Andy is a good player. I think he's a very good winner of this tournament.”

After two hours and 17 minutes of evenly played tennis, Murray finally wore down the Argentine in the 27-minute third set as his opponent managed to win just nine points total – including four on serve.

"He was just making it really tough because of the way that he was playing and serving, and he was always giving himself a chance," said Murray. "I had to keep fighting and believing in myself, and that was enough in the end."

Murray, who is now 4-1 lifetime against del Potro, fired 16 aces in the match and won 67 per cent of second serve points compared to del Potro's 11 aces and 48 per cent.

The 22-year-old Scot became the first player to post 50 match wins this season (50-7), and also joined Nadal as title leaders after lifting his fifth ATP World Tour trophy in 2009. He also titled at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha (d. Roddick), the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam (d. Nadal), the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami (d. Djokovic) and the AEGON Championships in London (d. Blake). He improved to 13-6 lifetime in finals (4-1 in ATP World Tour Masters 1000) by winning five ATP World Tour titles for the second year in a row.

He said about his prospects for the remainder of the summer swing: "I feel like I've got a good chance of doing well at the US Open, but each week is a different week, and I'm not going to get too far ahead of myself. I'll just focus on Cincinnati."

Murray will be the first player other than Federer and Nadal, who both lost in the Rogers Cup quarter-finals on Friday, to rank No. 2 since Lleyton Hewitt on 18 July 2005. Already the highest-ranked Briton in ATP history, Murray will be the 12th player in the history of the ATP Rankings (since 1973) to reach No. 2 with a 585-point advantage over No. 3 Rafael Nadal’s total haul of 8,665 points.

He compared his two accomplishments in Montreal: "I've won a couple of Masters [1000 tournaments] now, so it still feels great, but the No. 2 - maybe because it's something different - that means maybe a little bit more, but winning a tournament here is still great."

World No. 6 Del Potro, who had won 10 straight matches coming into the final, was attempting to earn his third ATP World Tour title of the season and second in as many weeks after defeating Roddick last Sunday in Washington. The 20 year old fell to a 6-2 mark in ATP World Tour finals and a 42-11 season match record.

Despite the loss, del Potro was pleased with his effort in Montreal: “I never play a final in Masters, and the crowd and this tournament and everything, it's so good for me and for my future. I'm very happy to be in the final. I lost, but I'm happy. I don't have to think in the past and now see the future.”

Del Potro had emerged as a serious contender last summer, when he won his first four ATP World Tour titles in successive tournament appearances at Stuttgart, Kitzbuhel, Los Angeles and Washington. He missed the summer’s two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tennis tournaments, not ranked high enough at the time of entry, and extended his winning streak to 23 straight matches going into the US Open quarter-finals before losing to Murray.

The two players now head to next week’s Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 hard-court tournament in Cincinnati, where they are in the same quarter of the draw. Murray won the title last year in Cincinnati with victory over Novak Djokovic in the final.

(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2009/08/Montreal-Sunday-Murray-Overcomes-Del-Potro-In-Montreal.aspx)

Gonzalez Gathering Pace; Roddick Cuts Down Karlovic

Fernando Gonzalez maintained his perfect record in tour-level quarter-finals this season as he edged out the in-form Tommy Haas 7-5, 6-4 Friday to book his spot in the semi-finals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, an ATP World Tour 500 tennis tournament in Washington, D.C.

The fourth seed, who is now undefeated in five tour-level quarter-finals this year, was made to work hard for his 27th victory of the season against a resilient Haas, who was bidding to reach his fourth tour-level semi-final in a row.

Dominant serving from both Gonzalez and Haas in the first set – they surrendered just two and three points respectively behind their first serves – led to a lack of break point chances. But Gonzalez was quick to pounce with the one chance he created in the 11th game, breaking to lead 6-5 before closing out the one-set lead after 45 minutes.

Watch live web streaming of Saturday's semi-finals (not available U.S.A or Brazil)

Gonzalez looked to be on his way to a more comfortable second-set score line as he broke twice to race out to a 5-2 lead. The No. 23-ranked Haas gave the Chilean food for thought as he recouped one of the breaks, but Gonzalez held strong to close out victory at the second time of asking, after 83 minutes.

The 29-year-old Gonzalez is one win away from reaching his second final in Washington, D.C., having defeated then World No. 1 Andre Agassi in the 2003 semi-finals before falling to Great Britain’s Tim Henman in the title match. He captured his 11th ATP World Tour title earlier in the season as he successfully defended his trophy in Vina del Mar (d. Acasuso).

Haas, 31, suffered his third quarter-final exit in Washington, D.C. as he dropped to a 26-12 mark on the season. The former World No. 2 has been rejuvenated of late, clinching his 12th ATP World Tour title in Halle (d. Djokovic) and reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals (l. to Federer) before opening his Olympus US Open Series campaign with a semi-final showing in LA (l. to Querrey) last week.

In the semi-finals Gonzalez will face defending champion Juan Martin del Potro, who advanced with a walkover over Robin Soderling when the Swede was forced to withdraw with a right elbow injury. The Roland Garros finalist will have an MRI today to determine the extent of the injury and whether he will play in the Rogers Masters, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Montreal, beginning Monday.

Looking ahead to his clash with del Potro, Gonzalez said, “We are really good friends. We have a few years in age difference, but we are really good friends.”

Gonzalez revealed that he took an extended break from the practice court immediately after Wimbledon to rest his right knee, which is affected by tendinitis.

Del Potro said of his walkover from Soderling: “It is very unfortunate Robin couldn’t play today. I was looking forward to this match against Robin as he has been playing incredibly well in the past months. I am sure it would have been a close match.”

Gonzalez takes a 3-0 career lead into the clash with the second-seeded Argentine, although the pair has not met since the 2007 Australian Open. The 20-year-old del Potro has since risen to No. 6 in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings after a major breakthrough last summer, when he went on a 23-match winning streak that included four successive ATP World Tour titles and finished in a quarter-final loss to Andy Murray at the US Open.

“I played a very long match against Hewitt yesterday so this day off will help me to recover better for my semi-final match tomorrow against Gonzalez. I’ve lost to him three times in my career and I hope I can get my first win tomorrow,” said del Potro.

(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2009/08/Washington-Friday-Gonzalez-Edges-Haas.aspx)

Tursunov Launches Indianapolis Title Campaign

Top seed Dmitry Tursunov of Russia began his quest to reach the final for a third straight year at the Indianapolis Tennis Championships presented by Lilly, defeating German Michael Berrer 6-3, 2-6, 6-0 on Tuesday to reach the second round at the ATP World Tour 250 tennis tournament.

Tursunov was up a set and a break, but conceded the lead as he lost all three break points faced on serve in the second set. He decisively recovered in the third set, however, limiting the German to just 10 points total as he clinched the win in one hour and 36 minutes.

Tursunov won the Indianapolis title in 2007 with victory over Canadian Frank Dancevic in the final, and finished runner-up to Frenchman Gilles Simon last year. The 27 year old recently won his sixth ATP World Tour title at the grass-court tournament in Eastbourne, once again defeating Dancevic in the title match. His other five titles have all come on hard courts.

Fifth-seeded German Benjamin Becker posted his 10th tour-level win of the season, easing past Japanese qualifier Go Soeda 6-2, 6-3 in 56 minutes. The 28-year-old Becker won his first ATP World Tour title last month as a qualifier in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (d. Sluiter), capping off an impressive six-tournament stretch that began in April with four straight Challenger finals (3-1 record) and a quarter-final appearance at the ATP World Tour 250 tennis tournament in Halle (l. to O. Rochus). He has risen from a No. 131 ranking on 6 April, 2009, to his current position of No. 45.

Israeli Davis Cup hero Dudi Sela, the No. 2 seed, had no problems getting though his opening match as he beat American Vince Spadea 7-5, 6-1. Sela had led his country into the Davis Cup semi-finals for the first time with a home victory over Russia two weeks ago, and entered the week ranked a career-high No. 29. Spadea, the oldest player in the draw at 35 years of age, had reached the Indianapolis final in 1999 (d. Sampras in QF, l. to Lapentti).

American qualifiers Jesse Levine and Alex Bogomolov Jr. had better luck than their countryman, advancing to the second round with respective straight-sets wins over Thailand’s Danai Udomchoke and Italian Flavio Cipolla. The 21-year-old Levine is coming off a third round showing at Wimbledon (d. Safin) and quarter-final effort in Newport (l. to Ram), while Bogomolov Jr. defeated Arnaud Clement two weeks ago in Newport to win his first tour-level match since March 2006.

Argentine Eduardo Schwank snapped an 11-match losing streak beginning with a quarter-final exit in February at Costa do Sauipe as he ousted No. 6 seed Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours and six minutes. Schwank will next confront 2005 Indianapolis champion Robby Ginepri, who advanced with a 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 win over French qualifier Sebastien de Chaunac.

Meanwhile, Russian No. 4 seed Igor Kunitsyn converted four of his six break point chances to defeat Argentine Brian Dablu 6-4, 6-1 in 71 minutes. He will face American Wayne Odesnik for a place in the quarter-finals.

(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2009/07/Indianapolis-Tuesday-Tursunov-Opens-Title-Campaign.aspx)

Past Indianapolis Finalist Dancevic Avenges Loss; Isner Returns

Canadian Frank Dancevic returned to the site of his first tour-level breakthrough, the Indianapolis Tennis Championships presented by Lilly, and successfully avenged last year’s loss to Bobby Reynolds at the ATP World Tour 250 tennis tournament. Reynolds had knocked out the returning finalist in three sets in the 2008 first round, but Dancevic prevailed 6-2, 7-6(5) on Monday to post his first win in three matches against the American.

Dancevic made a surprise run to the Indianapolis final in 2007, upsetting top-seeded Andy Roddick in the semi-finals to become the first Canadian to reach an ATP final in 12 years (l. to Tursunov). The 24 year old recently faced a re-match with Russian Dmitry Tursunov in the grass-court final at Eastbourne, but once again fell short of his first ATP World Tour title.

Third-seeded American Sam Querrey, making his first appearance since a runner-up finish in Newport two weeks ago (l. to R. Ram), opened his title campaign with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Frenchman Arnaud Clement in one hour and 13 minutes. The 21-year-old Querrey is a two-time Indianapolis semi-finalist, falling to eventual champion Tursunov in 2007 and Gilles Simon in '08.

French No. 7 seed Marc Gicquel made a strong debut at the Indianapolis Tennis Championships, dismissing Latvian Ernests Gulbis 6-2, 6-3. The 32 year old won 85 per cent of his first serve points, and broke his opponent twice in each set to comfortably close out the match in one hour. Gicquel, who entered the tournament ranked No. 82, achieved his best hard-court showing this season as a qualifier in Rotterdam, where he split sets with then-World No. 4 Andy Murray before retiring in the third set with a groin injury.

Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin also posted a win in his first Indianapolis appearance, edging past American Kevin Kim 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 47 minutes. Istomin had also defeated Kim in their opening match at Eastbourne last month, going on to reach the quarter-finals before falling to Tursunov. Istomin next faces 6'9" American John Isner, who fired 15 aces in a 6-1, 7-6(6) win over Frenchman Josselin Ouanna.

Isner is making his first tour-level appearance since a quarter-final run in April at Houston (l. to Odesnik), having been sidelined with mononucleosis the past two months. He has a 10-6 season record, also reaching the quarter-finals in Auckland (l. to Soderling) and the fourth round at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l. to del Potro).

American Wayne Odesnik earned his first tour-level match win since April in Houston by ousting 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-4 in two hours and 15 minutes. The 100th-ranked Odesnik reached his first ATP World Tour final in Houston (l. to Hewitt), but then lost in the first round on his next three main draw appearances.

Qualifying rounds also concluded Monday with the top four seeds - Jesse Levine, Alex Bogomolov Jr., Go Soeda and Sebastien De Chaunac – all securing their places in the Indianapolis main draw.

In doubles action, Gulbis and Tursunov upset No. 3 seeds Eric Butorac and Scott Lipsky 6-3, 3-6, 11-9, while James Cerretani and Travis Rettenmaier accounted for Jeff Coetzee and Jonathan Erlich 6-1, 6-3.

(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2009/07/Indianapolis-Monday-Dancevic-Avenges-Loss.aspx)

Robredo Advances; Soderling, Vinciguerra To Meet In All-Swedish SF

Third seed Tommy Robredo closed on a third final appearance at the Catella Swedish Open by dismissing Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-4, 6-0 in the quarter-finals of the ATP World Tour 250 tennis tournament in Bastad on Friday.

The No. 16-ranked Robredo won 31 of 40 points on serve and converted five of 12 break point chances to wrap up victory in the pair’s first meeting after 77 minutes. The Spaniard improved to a 23-6 tournament record after reaching the semi-finals for the sixth time. He went on to capture the title in 2006 (d. Davydenko) and reclaimed the trophy last year with victory over Tomas Berdych.

The 27-year-old Robredo has enjoyed strong results on clay this season and lit up the South American clay-court season in February with back-to-back titles at Costa do Sauipe (d. Bellucci) and Buenos Aires (d. Monaco) to mark the second time he has won two titles in a year (also 2006). The right-hander was also a quarter-finalist at Roland Garros (l. to del Potro) and has compiled a 36-14 match record in 2009.

For a place in his 17th ATP World Tour final, Robredo will meet Juan Monaco after the Argentine advanced when top-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco retired with a right calf injury trailing 1-6, 1-3.

"In the first game of the match I pulled a muscle in my calf. It was really hard to play after that. I had real pain when serving, especially since the injury was in my my right leg," explained World No. 9 Verdasco. "Monaco played well and didn't make any mistakes. It was not easy for me, I tried to continue playing but when I saw that I had no chance to win I retired before injuring myself further. Bastad is one of my special tournaments of the year. It's hard for me to retire here."

Robredo and Monaco have split their previous four meetings, with Monaco winning their most recent clash in straight sets at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo.

World No. 61 Monaco is bidding to reach his second ATP World Tour clay-court final of the season after finishing runner-up to Robredo in Buenos Aires in February. The 25 year old, who has also reached the quarter-finals at two further clay-court tournaments in 2009, improved to a 24-16 match record on the season after reaching the Bastad semi-finals for the first time in four appearances.

Swedish No. 2 seed Robin Soderling advanced to the Bastad semi-finals for the first time since 2004 after defeating fifth-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 7-5, 6-3. Despite losing an early lead in the first set, Soderling hit back to take the one-set lead as he broke the Spaniard to love in the 12th. The top Swede broke through once more in the eighth game of the second set before closing out victory after 74 minutes. Soderling also defeated Almagro recently in the third round at Wimbledon.

The 24-year-old Soderling, currently a career-high No. 12 in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings after reaching his first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros (l. to Federer), improved to 23-12 mark on the season.

The Tibro native, who is coached by two-time former Bastad champion Magnus Norman, captured the doubles title last year with Jonas Bjorkman, but is yet to reach the singles final in seven previous appearances. He has twice before reached an ATP World Tour final on home soil, finishing runner-up in Stockholm in 2003 (l. to Fish) and 2008 (l. to Nalbandian).

In an all-Swedish semi-final, Soderling will take on wild card Andreas Vinciguerra, who recovered from a set down to defeat Austrian doubles partner Jurgen Melzer 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. After being broken twice to surrender the first set, the No. 460-ranked Vinciguerra hit back to break once in the third game of the second set to level the match at one-set-all. The left-hander then won the final three games of the match from 3-3 in the third set to seal victory after one hour and 45 minutes.

Vinciguerra Makes Fairytale Comeback

The 28-year-old Vinciguerra, who has been plagued by a succession of injuries since 2001 – when he reached a career-high of No. 33 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, is through to his first ATP World Tour semi-final since October ’01 at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Paris (l. to Kafelnikov).

Vinciguerra will look to reach the Bastad final for a third time when he takes on Soderling in the pair’s first meeting on Saturday. He finished runner-up in the 1999 and 2000 title matches.

(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2009/07/Bastad-Friday-Robredo-Closes-On-Third-Final.aspx)

Swedish Wild Card Surprises No. 6 Seed Serra

ATP World Tour No. 460 Andreas Vinciguerra surprised sixth seed Florent Serra by rallying from a set down to defeat the Frenchman 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 to reach the second round of the Catella Swedish Open – an ATP World Tour 250 tennis tournament in Bastad.

The Swede saved 15 of 16 break points and fired nine aces to wrap up the win in two hours and 25 minutes. The 28 year old is playing in an ATP World Tour main draw for the first time since reaching the Stockholm second round in October 2006, although he represented Sweden in Davis Cup action and at the ARAG ATP World Team Championship earlier this season.

The wild card is a two-time former finalist in Bastad, finishing runner-up to Juan Antonio Marin in 1999 and Magnus Norman in 2000. On his last appearance in 2006, the former World No. 33 lost in the first round to Lukas Dlouhy.

The No. 50-ranked Serra suffered his third successive first-round tour-level loss, after making early exits at ‘s-Hertogenbosch (l. to Becker) and Wimbledon (l. to Kohlschreiber). The 28 year old dropped to a 15-19 match record on the season.

Belgian Christophe Rochus became the second seeded player to fall in first-round action, bowing out to Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili 4-6, 6-1, 6-0. After breaking his opponent three times in the opening set, the seventh-seeded Rochus failed to convert on his eight break points in the following sets as he lost his fifth straight tour-level match.

Gabashvili, who had also entered the match looking to snap a four-match losing streak on the ATP World Tour, improved to a 9-16 season record. Two weeks ago, he finished runner-up at the clay-court Challenger tournament in Braunschweig (l. to Hernandez).

Victor Crivoi, currently a career-high No. 85 in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings, booked his place in the second round with a resounding 6-0, 6-4 victory over Denis Istomin in 76 minutes.

In the only doubles match Monday, top seeds Simon Aspelin and Paul Hanley fought for a 3-6, 7-6(6), 15-13 win over the Russian-German team of Michail Elgin and Frank Moser. Elgin and Moser had saved all nine break points faced on serve.

Aspelin and Hanley made their team's debut in April at the clay-court tournament in Casablanca, and reached the final (l. to Kubot-Marach). Aspelin is a two-time champion at his home country tournament, winning in 2003 (w/Bertolini) and in '07 (w/Knowle). Hanley reached the final in his only previous event appearance seven years ago with fellow Aussie Michael Hill.

(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2009/07/Bastad-Monday-Serra-Rochus-Upset.aspx)

Federer & Top Doubles Teams Qualifies For Barclays ATP World Tour Finals

Qualifiers set to renew rivalries, battle for No. 1 Ranking at season finale

Arch rivals Nestor-Zimonjic & Bryan Brothers clinch berths

London, United Kingdom – Roger Federer has qualified for the prestigious Barclays ATP World Tour Finals after winning a record-breaking 15th Grand Slam title on Sunday at Wimbledon. Starting 22 November at The O2 in London, the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals is the climax of the men’s professional tennis season and will feature the world’s top eight singles players and eight doubles teams competing to be officially crowned as the 2009 ATP World Tour Champions.

Federer joins reigning ATP World Tour Champion Rafael Nadal as the singles players to have clinched their Barclays ATP World Tour Finals berths, and the two are expected to renew their rivalry and the battle for the year-end No. 1 South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking. With his triumph at Wimbledon, the 27-year-old Federer reclaimed the No. 1 Ranking – a position he had surrendered to Nadal for 46 weeks on 18 August, 2008.

“I think it's great to have the event in London in a massive city like this,” Federer said. “I think it's very fitting; this is one of the great tennis cities around the world. People in this country love sports and they love tennis. It's great to be already qualified so I'm happy to be part of that elite group again, and challenging the other players in the round robin. It's going to be fabulous I'm sure, and I've only heard good things about the arena.”

Starting with his first title of the 2009 season in mid-May at the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, Federer has been invincible – winning 19 straight matches and three successive tour-level titles. He became the sixth man in history to achieve a career Grand Slam with victory over Robin Soderling in the Roland Garros final, and then prevailed against Andy Roddick at Wimbledon in the longest men’s Grand Slam singles final (16-14 fifth set) to break his and Pete Sampras’ record of 14 majors won.

The 27-year-old Swiss will be making his eighth straight appearance in the season finale, where he is a four-time champion. He won successive titles in 2003-04 when the tournament was held in Houston and reclaimed the title in 2006-07 in Shanghai.

Defending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals doubles champions Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic, who on Sunday won their second consecutive Wimbledon title, have become the first doubles team to qualify. They will be joined in London by the team they beat in Sunday’s final, two-time finale champions Bob and Mike Bryan. In Shanghai last year Nestor and Zimonjic defeated the Bryans in the final in a match that also determined which team finished ATP World Tour Doubles Champions.

The Bryans, who won the finale in Houston in 2003 and 2004, have won four titles this year, including their seventh Grand Slam title, in January at the Australian Open. “Qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals is always one of our key goals each year as it’s a reflection of consistent success throughout the season,” said Mike Bryan. “It was an amazing finish last year when the No. 1 Ranking came down to the final match of the year when we played Nestor and Zimonjic. I wouldn’t be surprised if the No. 1 Ranking was again decided in London.”

The tournament will be the world’s biggest-ever indoor tennis event, where each of the top eight players will be drawn to play a minimum of three round-robin matches to determine which four players advance to the knockout semi-finals. Tickets are available online through www.BarclaysATPWorldTourFinals.com or by calling 0844 847 2495 within the UK. Overseas customers should call +44 161 372 0025.

(From Website : http://www.barclaysatpworldtourfinals.com/en/news/federerqualifies.asp)

Murray Bursts Into Semi-finals

Roger Taylor and Tim Henman will know how Andy Murray feels right now. They will hope Murray can become the first British man since Henry “Bunny” Austin in 1938 to reach The Championships final.

Both Taylor and Henman reached the semi-finals but could not reach the 'Holy Land', which for British tennis fans is a shot at snapping a 73-year men’s singles title drought. Taylor fell in the 1967, 1970 and 1973 semi-finals, while Henman’s four duels with Pete Sampras, Lleyton Hewitt and Goran Ivanisevic in recent years have been well-chronicled. Mike Sangster, who died in 1985, reached the 1961 semi-finals.

Now two wins away from emulating Fred Perry, who won the last of his three titles at the All England Club in 1936, Murray is riding a 10-match winning streak after defeating Spanish wild card Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 43 minutes on Centre Court Wednesday. It was his 200th match win.

Murray, who has a long-standing clothing agreement to wear Perry’s laurel wreath logo in his 1950s retro kit, lifted the AEGON Championships trophy three weeks ago to become the first Briton since Austin in 1938 to win at The Queen’s Club. On Friday, against sixth seed and two-time runner-up Andy Roddick, he will attempt to match Austin again.

‘Henman Hill’, officially known as Aorangi Terrace, was a sea of fans with Union Jacks and Scottish flags. Many have begun queuing, camping out, 36 hours before the start of his matches at The Championships. With each win the expectations of the British public increase, just as tickets sold by touts along Somerset Road are priced in the thousands.

After Murray’s tense five-set epic victory over Stanislas Wawrinka on Monday, his quarter-final victory over 29-year-old Ferrero – appearing in his second Wimbledon quarter-final – was comprehensive. "I felt fine," said Murray. "I slipped once on the court, but apart from that I was not stiff at all from the match before. The court today was playing very quick, so not that many long rallies, which was nice."

Ferrero recovered from 0/30 in his first service game and faced his first break point in the second game, but was given a reprieve as Murray sliced a forehand long of the baseline. Forceful throughout, Murray was able to break serve with his third break point opportunity in the 11th game, when Ferrero hit his first double fault.

Ferrero capitalised on a lapse in concentration from Murray to break the Scot’s serve in the first game of the second set. Murray went on to win 20 of 21 points, which included two service breaks to love. “In 10 minutes, he beat me,” admitted Ferrero. “He won the second set very fast. [At] two sets to love, [it] was a little difficult to come back. Physically I felt a little bit tired at the end.”

Ferrero saved a break point in the third game of the third set, but Murray earned another three break point opportunities in the fifth game – winning the last of the points with a forehand winner. He secured another service break before wrapping up victory to stand one win away from reaching the final.

“He has two matches to play, so we cannot say he’s the winner yet,” Ferrero warned. “Of course, he’s playing very well. He’s moving well in this court. He’s serving very well. But he has two matches left. He will suffer, for sure.”

(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2009/06/Wimbledon-Wednesday2-Murray-Beats-Ferrero.aspx)

Federer Negates Dangerman, Closes On History

Roger Federer was at his championship best Wednesday. Tactically astute and mentally ready, the Swiss superstar negated dangerman Ivo Karlovic in a 6-3, 7-5, 7-6(3) win to reach his seventh straight semi-final at The Championships.

The second seed, riding a 17-match winning streak on the back of ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid and Roland Garros titles, withstood 23 aces from Karlovic’s racquet in a one-hour and 42-minute victory.

"I don't play him every week, so it's okay," smiled Federer, after facing a player who has hit 170 aces in five matches. "Otherwise, if all the guys would be serving like that, that would be tough."

Federer, a five-time former champion and runner-up to Rafael Nadal in a memorable final last year, hit 38 winners and converted the two break point opportunities he created against No. 22 seed Karlovic.

After 80 games unbeaten on serve at The Championships, Karlovic had his serve broken by Federer in the fifth game with two fabulous winning returns. In a move reminiscent of Andre Agassi, the 1992 champion, Karlovic began to wear sunglasses at 2-5 down in the opening set. Federer committed just three unforced errors in the 23-minute first set.

Federer sensed a chance to break again at 5-5 in the second set, hitting a smash, backhand return and forehand winner from 15/15.

The third set was totally dominated by serve, which was inevitably decided on a tie-break. Federer created a mini-break when Karlovic floated a backhand long and a backhand pass helped him reach his 21st consecutive Grand Slam championship semi-final. The 27 year old improved to 9-1 lifetime against 6’10” Karlovic.

Federer will meet 24th seed Tommy Haas of Germany in the semi-finals on Friday. "Against Tommy I have to play a good match from the start," said Federer. "As we saw [at Roland Garros] in Paris, it was brutal. Yes, it's gonna be tough. But I'm happy to be back into another semi-finals. [The] 21st in a row - it's amazing. Let's see what happens now."

At Grand Slam level, Federer is now 117-0 against players ranked outside the Top 5. His last loss to a player outside the Top 5 at a Grand Slam championship was to No. 30 Gustavo Kuerten at 2004 Roland Garros.

(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2009/06/Wimbledon-Wednesday2-Federer-Beats-Karlovic.aspx)

Haas Ready To Seize His Opportunity

Once upon a time Steffi Graf and Boris Becker, a German wunderkind who captured The Championships title aged 17, ruled the tennis world. Graf won the last of her seven women’s singles title in 1996, while Becker was a charismatic superhero who hurled himself across the lawns of the All England Club. Michael Stich, who lifted the 1991 Wimbledon title, joined the fans’ favourites to keep tennis at the forefront in the minds of the German public.

Tommy Haas, like Nicolas Kiefer and Rainer Schuettler, had the misfortune to begin their careers just as the powers of the triumvirate were beginning to wane. The press has often made unfavourable comparisons.

Haas was a boyhood prodigy at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida, who rose to a career-high No. 2 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings.

Three semi-final exits at the Australian Open and an Olympic silver medal at Sydney in 2000 have thus far been the pinnacles of a career blighted by injuries. He has been written off as a spent force after a series of ankle, wrist, hip, shoulder and back injuries over the course of his 14-season pro career. But has fought back to become an inspiration.

Now, at 31 years old, a tour veteran, he finds himself in the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time in 11 visits. It is his first Grand Slam championship quarter-final since the 2007 US Open.

After saving two match points against Marin Cilic in the third round at The Championships this year, followed by a straight-forward victory over Igor Andreev, Haas and the German nation are starting to dream again.

Haas has never felt fitter or happier. “Age is really just a number in many ways”, he said. “I know that I am 31. I have a little bit more miles in my legs than maybe some other players that are younger than me. Once you’re out there, I think you leave that all behind and just go out there and compete and try to win.”

Under the guidance of coach Thomas Hogstedt and physio Alex Stober, Haas is a man in form. He is on a nine-match winning streak, which includes a 12th ATP World Tour title at Halle, since losing a closely-fought encounter against Roger Federer at Roland Garros earlier this month.

On Wednesday, Haas, the oldest player left in the singles draw, meets fourth seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia, the youngest player, in a repeat of this month’s Gerry Weber Open final.

“This is so far a fantastic run no matter what happens from here on out,” admitted Haas. “[I’m] really happy and pleased to make it to the Last Eight club. So that's really nice.

“In Halle, everything just kind of came together really well. I couldn’t have asked for anything more during that week on home turf, which was great. I obviously took that high with me here. Every match [I’m] trying to keep doing the things that have been working for me.”

For the first time since the 2000 US Open, Germany has two representatives in the singles quarter-finals. On Wednesday Haas will hope not to repeat the fate of compatriot Sabine Lisicki, who lost to top seed Dinara Safina in the women’s quarter-finals on Tuesday.

(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2009/06/Wimbledon-Wednesday2-Haas-Preview.aspx)

Roddick Passes Melzer Test; Hewitt Maintains Smooth Progress

Two-time former finalist Andy Roddick passed a tricky test from Austrian Jurgen Melzer 7-6(2), 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-3 Saturday to progress to the Wimbledon fourth round for the fifth time.

The American, who finished runner-up to Roger Federer in back-to-back Wimbledon finals in 2004-05, has looked fallible on occasions this week and was extended to four sets for the third time this tournament – having also dropped the third set in his opening two wins against Jeremy Chardy and Igor Kunitsyn.

Roddick had only dropped two sets in eight previous wins over Melzer, but Centre Court fans who expected the appetiser to the feast of the day to be a straightforward encounter were left gripped as the Austrian pushed Roddick to the last ball prior to home hope Andy Murray taking centre stage.

After Roddick had clinched the first two sets on consecutive tie-breaks, Melzer broke serve for the first time in the match midway through the third set and gave Roddick more food for thought as he cut the deficit to two-sets-to-one. The American looked to have regained control of the match when he earned a break advantage in the fourth set, but Melzer refused to concede and frustrated Roddick as he broke back in the seventh game. Roddick was quickly reprieved though, immediately regaining his break of serve before serving out victory after two hours and 53 minutes.

Assessing his performance, Roddick said: "Considering the way he served the first two sets, I was glad to get through with a two-set lead. I was having trouble getting a read on it. I played him a lot of times. That's the best he's served against me. Like the other two matches, I wish I could have converted on a chance in the third set. But probably hit the ball my best in the fourth again."

The 26-year-old Roddick is looking to win his second major singles title after claiming the 2003 US Open with victory over Juan Carlos Ferrero. The former World No. 1 added to his illustrious trophy cabinet with a title at Memphis (d. Stepanek) earlier in the season and has a 36-8 match record on the season.

In the fourth round Roddick will meet Czech Tomas Berdych, against whom he has a 2-2 head-to-head record - with Berdych winning their most recent encounter on hard court in Tokyo last year. "Berdych is streaky. It's rarely middle of the road. He's either really good or not so good," said Roddick. "Right now you expect to get the best of him with the way he's been rolling through the tournament so far."

Another former World No. 1, Lleyton Hewitt, continued his impressive run through the draw with a 7-5, 7-6(3), 6-3 victory over German Philipp Petzschner to set up a fourth-round clash with Czech Radek Stepanek. The Australian, who ousted No. 5-ranked Juan Martin del Potro in the previous round, was cheered on by raucous Fanatics on Court 2 as he saved all three break points he faced – while converting three of 12 opportunities on Petzschner’s serve – to wrap up victory in two hours and 27 minutes.

It was Hewitt’s second win over Petzschner, whom he beat on clay in Munich in April to clinch his 500th tour-level singles victory.

The 28-year-old Hewitt, who underwent surgery on his left hip last August, won the second of his two Grand Slam singles titles at Wimbledon in 2002 – with victory over David Nalbandian in the final. The right-hander, who also has five further grass-court titles to his name, is through to the Wimbledon fourth round for the sixth straight year; he lost to Roger Federer at that stage last year.

“I guess when you're at the top of your game and you're No. 1 in the world, you kind of take it for granted, round of 16s of slams,” said Hewitt. “When you're unseeded, it's not always that easy to get the easy draw to come through the round of 16 and make the second week of these kind of majors. That's what's pleasing this week, is to come through and do it against worthy opponents. To not drop a set so far is nice, as well.”

Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero will take on eighth-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon for a place in the quarter-finals after both advanced in contrasting circumstances on Saturday.

Ferrero, one of five Grand Slam champions remaining in the singles draw, battled past 10th-seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon for the fourth time. The former World No. 1, who was a semi-finalist at the Queen’s Club (l. to Murray) two weeks ago, posted his best result at SW19 in 2007 - when he reached the quarter-finals (l. to Federer).

The 29-year-old Ferrero will take on Simon for the first time after the Frenchman cruised past Romanian No. 31 seed Victor Hanescu 6-2, 7-5, 6-2. The 24-year-old Simon, who fell in his first third-round effort at Wimbledon last year, struck 45 winners to just 15 unforced errors and saved all five break points he faced to seal victory in only 87 minutes.

(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2009/06/Wimbledon-Saturday-Roddick-Passes-Melzer-Test.aspx)

Vintage Hewitt Rips Past del Potro

Lleyton Hewitt might not be the quickest of servers, but the Australian showcased tremendous variation in speed and placement to out-wit fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina at The Championships on Thursday.

The 2002 champion kept the Australian flag flying in the singles draw, where he is the nation’s sole representative, with a vintage performance for 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 second-round win in two hours and 32 minutes.

“I executed perfectly,” said Hewitt. “[I] hit the ball great. Served unbelievable for most of the match [and I] took it to him right from the start. It was a big win. I wanted to beat a top five guy. These are the places you want to do it, too.”

It was Hewitt’s first win over a Top 15 opponent since May 2007 and also his first Top 10 win at a Grand Slam championship since beating No. 2-ranked Andy Roddick in the 2005 Australian Open semi-finals, breaking a streak of 12 consecutive losses.

Hewitt fought off four break points in a lengthy fifth game, before moving into a 4-2 lead when del Potro hit a backhand and forehand into the net. The former World No. 1 was forced to save another two break points en route to winning the first set, in which he hit six aces and committed just three unforced errors.

The 20-year-old del Potro, who had his right knee taped up before the start of the second set, hit a double fault and a forehand into the net in the 10th game to gift Hewitt a service break that he duly converted for a two sets to love lead.

Cheered on by a large Australian contingent on Centre Court, World No. 56 Hewitt immediately broke del Potro’s serve at the start of the third set. The Tandil resident fired a second-serve return over the baseline on break point in the eighth game, before enjoying the briefest of resurgences to level the scoreline at 5-5. But Hewitt responded with a service break of his own and closed out a famous win minutes later.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for del Potro," Hewitt said. "He’s a great player, and he's only going to get better. He’s a future Grand Slam champion on possibly any surface. I knew it was going to be a tough match today, but I was up for it from the start.”

Del Potro, who has followed Hewitt's career since the age of 11, said, "I played good [from] the baseline, but I did miss with my serve, especially [on] the break points. Two breaks, three breaks, and that's it. The match, it's over."

Hewitt, who has reached the fourth round (or better) for the past five years, will next face Philipp Petzschner - the winner of an all-German clash over Mischa Zverev 4-6, 7-6(13), 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-0.

For the first time in 70 years at The Championships, Australia has one man in the singles draw. It is also the first time in the Open Era, at any of the four Grand Slam championships that only one Australian man is competing in the main draw.

(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2009/06/Wimbledon-Thursday-Vintage-Hewitt-Rips-Past-del-Potro.aspx)

Nadal Pulls Out With Knee Injury

Defending champion Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from The Championships at Wimbledon after failing to sufficiently recover from knee tendinitis, which has plagued the Spaniard since his shock fourth-round exit to Robin Soderling at Roland Garros earlier this month.

Nadal made the announcement after he lost to Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 7-6(6), 10-3 in a grass-court exhibition tournament at the Hurlingham Club, in west London, on Friday afternoon.

"Unfortunately this year I won't be able to play at Wimbledon," admitted Nadal. “To not play Wimbledon is one of the toughest decisions of my career. I've played with some problems with my knees for some months.

"I don't feel like I'm ready to play in a tournament that is as important as Wimbledon. I tried everything. I tried hard in the last week to get in the best condition and today was my last test.

"I have some time now to recover and will work very hard to return as soon as possible."

The 23 year old joins John Newcombe (1972), Stan Smith (1973) and Goran Ivanisevic (2002) as the only players who were unable to defend their Wimbledon titles in the Open Era.

(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2009/06/Nadal-Pulls-Out-Of-Wimbledon-With-Knee-Injury.aspx)

Tursunov Survives Early Scare; Santoro Advances

Russian Dmitry Tursunov, the No. 2 seed, overcame a challenging first-round test against Italian Fabio Fognini 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 on Monday at the AEGON International, a combined ATP World Tour 250 and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event contested on grass in Eastbourne.

Fognini, looking for his first match win on grass, levelled the score as he capitalised on all three of his break points in the second set, but Tursunov broke to go up 5-4 in the third set and served out the win in just under two hours.

Tursunov is making his fifth event appearance, and reached the semi-finals in 2007 when the tournament was held in Nottingham (l. to eventual champion Karlovic). The 26-year-old is looking to win conseuctive tour-level matches for the first time since winning the Metz title last October (d. Mathieu).

Fourth-seeded Frenchman Fabrice Santoro, who turned pro in 1989, improved to 37-30 lifetime on grass courts after defeating American Robert Kendrick 6-3, 6-2 to set up a second round meeting against Robby Ginepri at the AEGON International. Santoro recorded his first ATP World Tour win since March at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami with victory in 53 minutes. The 36 year old has a 6-8 mark on the year.

Sixth-seeded American Sam Querrey, buoyed by confidence from a third round exit at The Queen’s Club last week to compatriot James Blake, hit 19 aces and beat Paul Capdeville of Chile 6-2, 7-5 in just 52 minutes. Querrey, who improved to 18-14 on the 2009 ATP World Tour season – highlighted by one runner-up finish at Auckland (l. to del Potro), will next face Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan.

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, the eighth seed from Spain, was equally as dominant on serve in his first match. The World No. 50 hit 13 aces and broke Evgeny Korolev of Russia six times in a 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-2 victory in just over two hours. Garcia-Lopez, who won 43 of 54 points on first serve, captured his first ATP World Tour title at Kitzbuhel (d. Benneteau) last month.

Three British players, who have received wild cards for The Championships at Wimbledon next week, Alex Bogdanovic (pictured), James Ward and Josh Goodall all won their opening matches at Devonshire Park, the venue of the ATP World Tour 250 tournament.

The 25-year-old Bogdanovic, who won three matches in the qualifying competition, recorded the ninth grass-court victory of his career over Ivo Minar 6-4, 7-6(3) in 75 minutes. It was his first ATP World Tour level win since June 2008 at Nottingham. Minar, currently No. 77 in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings – 112 places above Bogdanovic – hit nine aces and saved five of seven break breaks.

Ward, a wild card entry, who lost to Marcos Baghdatis in The Queen’s Club first round last week, recorded his first ATP World Tour win. The World No. 224 struck nine aces and won 72 per cent of service points to beat Romanian Victor Crivoi 6-1, 6-3 in 53 minutes. Ward, 22, trained at Juan Carlos Ferrero’s Academy in Villena, Alicante until recently.

Wild card Goodall, snapped a 10-match losing streak at tour-level to record his first ATP World Tour win with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Japanese qualifier Tatsuma Ito in 62 minutes.

Also on Monday, four of Sussex’s best young tennis players were treated to a rare master class when Ivan Ljubicic and Jelena Jankovic took time out of their schedule to pass on world-class advice. Abbi Melrose, Sam Cissell, Sam Rice and Kyria Dunsford, four of the best 420 players for their age in the UK, are a part of the AEGON FutureStars program.

(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/TENNIS/1/EN/NEWS/NEWSARTICLE_3995.ASP)

Murray Sets Up Ferrero Clash; Roddick Edges 50-Ace Match, Meets Blake Next

British hope Andy Murray (pictured) was dominant on serve as he booked his spot in the AEGON Championships semi-finals with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Mardy Fish on Friday at the ATP World Tour 250 tennis tournament, staged at the Queen’s Club in London.

The World No. 3 fired 11 aces as he surrendered just five points on serve – including winning 30 of 31 first-service points – in the 70-minute match. At the close of a tight first set, Murray gained a crucial break of serve in the 11th game and sealed the one-set lead as Fish miscued a smash. Murray then broke through twice in the seventh and ninth games of the second set to wrap up his 38th victory of the season and improve to a 3-1 career lead over Fish.

"I did serve very well today," commented Murray. "I changed direction of my serve on the second serve very well. Even when I did miss my first serve, I didn't feel like I was letting him into a rhythm on the return, and the rest of my game was solid. He's got a big serve. He comes to the net a lot and makes it tough for you and I managed to get the break through right at the end of the first set."

The top-seeded Scot is bidding to become the first British champion at the Queen’s Club since Bunny Austin triumphed in 1938. Tim Henman was the last Briton to reach the final, finishing runner-up in 1999 (l. to Sampras), 2000 (l. to Hewitt) and 2002 (l. to Hewitt).

The 22-year-old Murray, who is through to the Queen’s Club semi-finals for the first time, is bidding to clinch his first grass-court ATP World Tour title. The Dunblane native has won three ATP World Tour titles from four finals this season and is well on course to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, which will be held at the O2 arena in London in November.

It is a month filled with expectation for Murray as this week he fine tunes his grass-court game ahead of The Championships at Wimbledon – where he will carry the hopes of a nation as he bids to end Britain’s 73-year wait for a men’s singles champion. Last year, the Scot made a Grand Slam breakthrough as he reached his first major quarter-final after thrilling the Centre Court crown by recovering from a two-set deficit against Richard Gasquet in the fourth round.

In the semi-finals, Murray will face a first-time meeting with Former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero - who reached his first grass-court semi-final with a hard-fought 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Belgian Steve Darcis.

Looking ahead to the clash, Murray said: "If I serve well, I've got a chance like anybody does on grass. I need to make sure that the rest of my game is solid tomorrow. There will be a lot more rallies. Ferrero has a very good return. The rest of my game will have to be on, not just the serve and the return."

The 29-year-old Spaniard had previously reached the quarter-finals at three grass-court tournaments at 2007 Wimbledon (l. to Federer), 2006 ‘s-Hertogenbosch (l. to Serra) and 2005 Halle (l. to Haas). He improved his record on grass to 26-14.

"After the first two matches I felt very well on the court, and I believed that I could make good results with the first semi-final (on grass) for me," said Ferrero. "Of course, I don't want to stop right now with good feeling to try to win the tournament."

World No. 73 Darcis, appearing in his first ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season, broke Ferrero's serve in the seventh game of the match before closing out a one-set lead with a love service game – featuring two aces. Ferrero was quick to hit back in the pair’s first meeting, breaking to lead 3-1 in the second set and going on to level the match. The 2003 Roland Garros champion then earned a crucial break in the seventh game of the final set to seal victory after one hour and 47 minutes.

Ferrero, currently No. 90 in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings, won his 400th tour-level singles match in his first-round win over Sebastien Grosjean. The right-hander is chasing his second ATP World Tour title of the season, after snapping a title drought of nearly six years in April with victory in Casablanca (d. Serra).

World No. 6 Andy Roddick came through a testing encounter with Ivo Karlovic in a repeat of the Queen's Club 2005 final. The American edged the Croatian 7-6(4), 7-6(5) in a match featuring 50 aces and no service breaks.

In the 82-minute match, Karlovic fired 26 aces to take his total for the week to 106 - breaking the tournament record of 96 aces that he himself had set on his route through to the final in 2005. The 6’10’’ Zagreb native was not broken in 49 service games during the tournament.

"You kind of have to hold your nerve a little bit on your own service games," commented Roddick. "It gets to 30/30 if you miss one ball that could be a set. You're not going to get any looks to get back into it.

"You kind of have to go from not doing a whole lot in the points, kind of just walking back and forth, and then you have to be ready to be sharp when you do get the opportunity or when you do have to play a point. So mentally it's a little tricky."

The 26-year-old Roddick is two wins away from becoming the first player in the Open Era to win five titles at the Queen’s Club. The Austin, Texas resident has a 29-3 match record at the event, clinching three successive titles from 2003-05 before reclaiming the trophy in 2007 (d. Mahut). The two-time Wimbledon finalist is chasing his second ATP World Tour title of the season to join the trophy he won on hard court in Memphis (d. Stepanek) in February.

Roddick next will face countryman James Blake after his Davis Cup teammate ousted Russian Mikhail Youzhny 7-6(5), 6-3 in 76 minutes. The sixth-seeded Blake converted all three of the break points he created and won 73 per cent of points on serve to improve to a 2-1 career lead over Youzhny.

Despite trailing their head-to-head 2-6, Blake has won his past two meetings with Roddick – including in the Queen’s Club semi-finals three years ago.

World No. 16 Blake reached the Queen’s Club final in 2006, when he finished runner-up to Lleyton Hewitt in his second appearance in a grass-court final (also 2002 Newport – l. to Dent). The 29 year old is looking to reach his second final on the ATP World Tour this season after finishing runner-up to Albert Montanes on clay in Estoril – a match in which he held two match points.

(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/TENNIS/1/EN/NEWS/NEWSARTICLE_3949.ASP)

Djokovic Cruises Through; Kohlschreiber Closes On Second Halle Final

ATP World Tour No. 4 Novak Djokovic booked his place in the semi-finals of the Gerry Weber Open after a much more straightforward victory than his second-round win. The Serbian No. 2 seed, who saved five match points to defeat Florent Serra on Thursday, made light work of No. 7 seed Jurgen Melzer 6-1, 6-4 on Friday at the ATP World Tour 250 tennis tournament in Halle.

Two breaks of serve in the fourth and sixth games sufficed to secure the opening set for Djokovic and he immediately capitalised on his momentum by breaking to lead 3-1 in the second set. The No. 28-ranked Melzer took advantage of a loose service game from Djokovic to break back and lead 4-3, but Djokovic quickly regrouped and hit back to win the final three games of the match and seal victory after 66 minutes.

The 22-year-old Djokovic has bounced back strongly from the surprise third-round defeat he suffered at Roland Garros at the hands of Philipp Kohlschreiber and is through to his ninth ATP World Tour semi-final or better of the season. The right-hander has clinched titles at Dubai (d. Ferrer) and at his inaugural home-town tournament in Belgrade (d. Kubot) and finished runner-up at three successive ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments.

Next up for Djokovic is Belgian qualifier Olivier Rochus, who continued his good run with a battling 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3 victory over German wild card Benjamin Becker. The diminutive Rochus withstood 17 aces from Becker to convert three of eight break point chances, while facing no break points himself, in the two-hour and four-minute match.

Playing in just his second ATP World Tour event of the season, the No. 136-ranked Rochus is through to his first semi-final at this level since September 2007 – when he reached his sixth ATP World Tour final at Mumbai (l. to Gasquet). The 28 year old passed the Halle quarter-finals for the first time in three attempts, having previously fallen at that stage in 2005 (l. to Safin) and 2006 (l. to Federer in 3rd set tie-break).

German No. 1 Philipp Kohlschreiber (pictured) took one step closer to reaching the final at the Gerry Weber Open for the second straight year after defeating compatriot Andreas Beck 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 Friday to reach the semi-finals at the ATP World Tour 250 tennis tournament in Halle.

The 25 year old fired 17 aces and converted three of five break point chances, while saving eight of the nine threats on his own serve, to rally from a set down and clinch victory in the pair’s first meeting after one hour and 57 minutes.

"I am very relieved," confessed Kohlschreiber. "It didn’t look as if I was going to win during the first hour. I didn’t really find my rhythm. He just started hitting the balls, served very strongly, played fast balls from the baseline and gave me a hard time. If you are trying to find your way into the match and then start playing better and better, then, of course, the relief is even bigger."

Kohlschreiber, currently a career-high No. 24 in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings, reached his third ATP World Tour final – and his second on German soil – in Halle last year, finishing runner-up to Roger Federer.

The right-hander is through to his first ATP World Tour semi-final since Vienna (d. Verdasco, l. to Monfils) in October 2008 and is bidding to win his first grass-court title. He is coming off a personal-best fourth-round showing at Roland Garros, where he beat World No. 4 Novak Djokovic before losing to No. 16 seed Tommy Robredo. He improved to a 24-11 mark on the season.

For a place in the final, Kohlschreiber will take on Tommy Haas – who knocked out fellow German wild card Mischa Zverev 7-6(5), 6-2. The 31-year-old Haas hit nine aces and capitalised on three of six break point chances he created to prevail after 75 minutes. Kohlschreiber won their one previous encounter in a third set tie-break in the second round at Halle last year.

Former World No. 2 Haas will contest the Halle semi-finals for the third time (also 2005-06) and will look to reach a final on home soil for the fourth time. His lone title in Germany came at Stuttgart in 2001 (d. Mirnyi).

(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/TENNIS/1/EN/NEWS/NEWSARTICLE_3948.ASP)

Murray Eases Through; Hewitt Sets Up Roddick Clash

World No. 3 Andy Murray made a confident start to his AEGON Championships campaign with a 6-1, 6-4 dismissal of Italian Andreas Seppi in the second round of the ATP World Tour 250 tennis tournament at the Queen’s Club on Wednesday.

After the No. 48-ranked Seppi had held serve in the first game, Murray reeled off eight straight games to lead 6-1, 2-0. A dip in concentration from the Scot allowed Seppi back into the match as the Italian levelled at 2-2, but Murray was able to get a fifth break of serve in the 10th game to close out victory after 59 minutes.

“I started the match very well. I played maybe one not so great game on my serve, and apart from that, it was very good,” said Murray. “I returned well. My serve could have been a little bit better, but I was happy with the way I moved and didn't make too many errors.”

British No. 1 Murray enters the AEGON Championships after a career-best quarter-final showing at Roland Garros and is bidding to become the first home-grown champion at the Queen’s Club since Bunny Austin triumphed in 1938. The Dunblane native has won three ATP World Tour titles this year at Doha (d. Roddick), Rotterdam (d. Nadal) and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (d. Djokovic) and improves to a 36-6 season match record.

The 22-year-old Murray next will face No. 16 seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez after the Spaniard knocked out Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 7-6(3), 6-3 in 87 minutes.

Australian Lleyton Hewitt set up a blockbuster third-round confrontation with No. 2 seed Andy Roddick after rallying to defeat Portugal’s Frederico Gil 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Hewitt and Roddick, both former ATP World Tour champions, accounted for eight straight Queen’s Club titles before Rafael Nadal broke through to win the title last year. The 49th-ranked Hewitt has a 36-7 record at the Queen’s Club, winning successive titles from 2000-02 and reclaiming the top prize in ‘06.

Hewitt leads the head-to-head series against Roddick 6-4, but has lost his past three matches against the American. He last defeated Roddick four years ago in the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells semi-finals.

“[It’s] a good challenge against one of the best grass court players in the world,” said Hewitt. “He's obviously got a big weapon with his serve. He's got a big forehand. He moves well for his size. Just playing grass court tennis, to come up against a guy like that is going to be a big step up from my first two matches here.”

Another former World No. 1, Juan Carlos Ferrero, also booked his place in the third round by ousting French No. 11 seed Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-4. He will next play Belgian qualifier Xavier Malisse, a 7-6(6), 7-6(8) winner over South African lucky loser Rik de Voest – a late replacement for No. 7 seed Marat Safin, who withdrew with a back injury.

World No. 146 Nicolas Mahut rediscovered the grass-court form that took him to the final of the AEGON Championships in 2007 to edge out No. 5 seed Marin Cilic 7-6(1), 7-6(4). In a match without any service breaks, the French qualifier withstood 11 aces from Cilic’s racquet – while firing nine of his own – and saved all four break points he faced to defeat the No. 13-ranked Cilic of Croatia in one hour and 48 minutes.

The 27-year-old Mahut enjoyed the best week of his career two years ago at the Queen’s Club when he stunned World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals en route to reaching his maiden ATP World Tour final, which he lost to Roddick in a third set tie-break after holding one match point. He is playing in his first tour-level event since losing in the first round at Lyon in October 2008 and missed the first two months of 2009 with a right shoulder injury.

“Here is my favourite tournament. Even if I lost in final with match points two years ago, it's so many good memories. The crowd was just fantastic with me, and I have fun. I really love play here,” said Mahut. “I played two good matches, and the road is really long, but I know the way to go farther.”

The 20-year-old Cilic, who is at a career-high in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings, dropped to a 27-10 mark on the season. The right-hander, who reached the AEGON Championships quarter-finals two years ago, has won two ATP World Tour titles this season at Chennai (d. Devvarman) and Zagreb (d. Ancic).

Mahut goes on to face 2005 Queen’s Club finalist, Ivo Karlovic, for a place in the quarter-finals. The 6’10” Croat fired 33 aces and did not face a single break point on serve as he defeated Frenchman Julien Benneteau 7-6(7), 6-7(4), 6-2 in just over two hours. Like Mahut, Karlovic made his first appearance in an ATP World Tour final at the Queen’s Club – only to be denied by Roddick.

Russian No. 14 seed Mikhail Youzhny booked his place in the third round after rallying from a 2-4 deficit in the second set to beat Cypriot wild card Marcos Baghdatis 6-4, 7-6(3). World No. 44 Youzhny posted solid results on clay in the past month, reaching his ninth ATP World Tour final at Munich (l. to Berdych) and making the semi-finals at Kitzbuhel (l. to Garcia-Lopez).

Youzhny takes a 2-0 head-to-head record into his next match against World No. 7 Gilles Simon, including a five-sets win two years ago at Wimbledon. Simon advanced with a 7-6(7), 7-6(5) victory over Bulgarian wild card Grigor Dimitrov.

Belgian Steve Darcis defeated Spaniard Alberto Martin 6-2, 6-4 in his second-round match, and then received a walkover into the quarter-finals when fourth-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils withdrew with a left wrist injury. Coming into London, Darcis had won just one match (1-9) on the ATP World Tour this season although he was a runner-up at the clay-court Challenger tournament in Prostejov last week.

(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/TENNIS/1/EN/NEWS/NEWSARTICLE_3936.ASP)

Zverev Saves 2 M.P. To Oust Berdych

ATP World Tour No. 45 Mischa Zverev was one of four Germans to reach the quarter-finals Wednesday at the Gerry Weber Open, holding his nerve to save two match points and oust 2007 champion Tomas Berdych 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(8) at the ATP World Tour 250 grass-court tennis tournament in Halle.

The German wild card delighted home fans as he saved two match points at 6-7 and 7-8 in the tie-break – having initially held a 6-3 advantage himself – before winning the final three points of the match to prevail after two hours and 32 minutes. Zverev had led 4-2 in the final set, after rallying from a one-set deficit. He converted five of eight break point chances, and saved 10 of the 14 that he faced on serve.

“I felt that he would start to get anxious at some point,” said Zverev, who defeated Berdych last month in Rome. “For instance at 3-3 he missed a forehand and I thought that in Rome he had match points against me and missed with his backhand. Then, he only played cross court like now, five, six, seven times cross then he tried to play longline and missed. I knew my chance would come.”

The 21-year-old Zverev, who won the Halle doubles title in 2008 with Mikhail Youzhny, is through to his fourth ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season and improved to an 11-10 match record. The Hamburg resident is currently a career-high No. 45 in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings – one of five Germans ranked inside the Top 50.

The No. 21-ranked Berdych was chasing a third final appearance at Halle. He finished runner-up to Roger Federer on his debut in 2006 and captured the title the following year with victory over Marcos Baghdatis. The 23 year old was also looking for his second title on German soil this season, having won his fifth ATP World Tour title at Munich last month (d. Youzhny).

Zverev next will meet German compatriot and wild card Tommy Haas, who knocked out fourth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 7-6(3). By defeating the World No. 9, Haas snapped a seven-match losing streak against Top 10 players that began in July 2008 at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Toronto (l. to No. 4 Davydenko).

"We both played extremely well, served well," said Haas. "I didn’t look at the statistics but I’m sure there were more winners than unforced errors from both sides. It was a great match. Obviously, I think I played at the level as good as I can play at times, especially when it came to the big points. I think that is the only reason why I won today. So, that was nice."

The 31-year-old German has a 16-9 lifetime record in Halle, reaching the semi-finals in 2005-06 and the quarter-finals in 2004. He advances to his third quarter-final of the 2009 tennis season, having reached this stage previously on hard court at San Jose (l. to Roddick) and on clay at Houston (l. to Phau).

A third German wild card, Benjamin Becker, also upset a seeded opponent – knocking out eighth-seeded compatriot Rainer Schuettler 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. The No. 83-ranked Becker fired 12 aces as both players broke serve six times from 14 opportunities in the two-hour and one-minute match.

Becker, who will celebrate his 28th birthday on Tuesday, is through to his first ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season. The right-hander has posted strong results on the ATP Challenger Tour this season, capturing four titles and reaching a fifth final. He had never advanced past the second round in Halle in three previous appearances.

Philipp Kohlschreiber joined his countrymen in the quarter-finals after defeating No. 6 seed Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 7-6(6) as he fired 10 aces and converted two of his nine break points.

Kohlschreiber, the top German at a career-high No. 24 in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings, has now reached the quarter-finals in four of his five Halle appearances. Last year, he finished runner-up to Roger Federer.

Lucky loser Lukas Lacko, a replacement for scheduled top seed Roger Federer, took full advantage of his opportunity by winning his first ATP World Tour match of the season with a 7-6(6), 6-2 victory over Israeli qualifier Harel Levy.

(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/TENNIS/1/EN/NEWS/NEWSARTICLE_3935.ASP)

Federer Clinches Roland Garros Title To Seal Career Slam

ATP World Tour No. 2 Roger Federer became the sixth man in history to win all four Grand Slam singles titles when he produced an exceptional performance to defeat Swede Robin Soderling 6-1, 7-6(1), 6-4 in the Roland Garros final on Sunday.

"This is the most satisfying win of my life, along with my first Wimbledon," Federer said. “I have tried for so many years, so there was much pressure involved... I always believed in it but it becomes harder with time.”

Federer said that he felt extra pressure after Soderling’s surprise fourth-round win over Rafael Nadal. “You never want anyone to lose, but I was relieved [when Nadal was knocked out] as I knew he would be the hardest win to beat. Bu then the press said if you don’t come through this year you are a bad player. It feels like I have played three or four finals.”

Federer was presented with the Coupe des Mousquetaires by Andre Agassi, who was the last man to complete the career Grand Slam - when he rallied from a two-set deficit against Andrei Medvedev in the 1999 Roland Garros final. The American was, like Federer, playing at Roland Garros for the 11th time and came into the clay-court major with an almost identical record to Federer – having compiled a 31-10 record at Roland Garros, while Federer entered with a 32-10 mark.

Victory for Federer also saw him tie Pete Sampras’ all-time record of 14 major singles titles. The 27 year old was playing in just his 40th Grand Slam tournament, while Sampras achieved the feat at his 52nd major. Sampras has held the record since the 2002 US Open, when he defeated Agassi in an all-American final before immediately retiring from professional tennis, aged 31.

Upon receiving 2000 South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking points Federer is now virtually assured of his place at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, where he is a four-time former champion. World No. 1 Rafael Nadal has already booked his place at the elite eight-man event, to be held for the first time at London’s O2 Arena.

It was Federer’s fourth successive appearance in the Roland Garros final, having finished runner-up to rival Rafael Nadal in the past three championship matches. Coming into the match, only Jimmy Connors, in the Open Era, had won more matches at Roland Garros (40-13 record) without going on to win the title. Federer had compiled a 38-10 record prior to Sunday’s final.

(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/TENNIS/1/EN/NEWS/NEWSARTICLE_3894.ASP)