0-15
The floods in Australia and Brazil.
ITF to Help Flood Victims in Australia and Brazil
15-15
Rally for Relief
The “Rally for Relief ” exhibition raised almost two million dollars to aid the flood victims in the Queensland area of Australia. It was team Green consisting of Pat Rafter serving as Captain, Andy Roddick, Andy Murray, Victoria Azarenka, Vera Zvonareva, Rafael Nadal and Kim Clijsters versus team Gold captained by Lleyton Hewitt with Novak Djokovic, Ana Ivanovic, Justine Henin, Caroline Wozniacki, Roger Federer, and Sam Stosur.
Kim Clijsters and Samantha Stosur do a chest bump during "Rally for Relief" Photo from AustralianOpen.com
The highlight of the event had to be when Stosur and Clijsters teamed up and defeated Nadal and Federer near the end of the exhibition.
Contributions can be made at rallyforrelief.tennis.com.au
30 – 15
Australian Open Schedules
The first major of the year is here and there is plenty of coverage both on television and online.
30 – 30
Upset of the Week
In Sydney Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) d. (1) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 63 63
40 – 30
Ana Ivanovic
Ana Ivanovic (Photo by Julie Zhou for Tennis Panorama News)
Five Questions with Ana Ivanovic Before the Australian Open
Deuce
U.S. Open to Stay on CBS Through 2014
The U.S. Tennis Association and CBS say they have agreed in principle to a three-year deal through 2014. The US Open has been carried on CBS since 1968.
Advantage Nominees
Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Caroline Wozniacki and Wheelchair player Esther Vergeer are among the nominees for the Laureus Awards to be awarded in February.
Deuce
Beatdown of the week
Mariona Bartoli routs Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-1 in first round of Hobart.
Advantage
Match of the Week
In his first match of the 2011 season, Juan Martin Del Potro saved a match point in defeating Feliciano Lopez 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-6(3) in Auckland.
Deuce
Head and Shoulders
Fernando Verdasco does a shampoo commercial.
Advantage
“On the Call”
Jim Courier (Photo by Tennis Panorama News)
“On the Call” is a Tennis Panorama News feature which focuses on the media conference calls in which the site participates. This past week it was US Davis Cup Captain Jim Courier’s first conference call with the media.
“On The Call†with US Davis Cup Captain Jim Courier
Deuce
Ins and Outs
In – playing Davis Cup in 2011 – Andy Murray
In – Playing in the Memphis Tournaments- Melanie Oudin, Andy Roddick, Fernando Verdasco
In – Family Circle Cup- Maria Sharapova
In – Houston – Sam Querrey
Out – the Sunrise Challenger event which was a lead in to the Delray Beach ATP tournament
Out - Maria Shrapova’s coach for more than six years Micheal Joyce.
In - As Sharapova’s new coach Thomas Hogstedt
In – the pro ranks -17-year-old Lauren Davis says she’s turning pro ust ahead of her Australian Open first-round match against Sam Stosur.
In – Carlos Cuarado working Svetlana Kuznetsova
In – BMW as a title sponsor for WTA Malaysian Open tennis
In – as the WTA’s official airline partner in Asia-Pacific – Jetstar
In – playing again at the Futures and Challenger levels Wayne Odesnik fresh off his suspension for HGH possession
Advantage
Reality Show
WTA Tennis Meets Entertainment with New Show “Hot Shotsâ€
Game, Set, Match and Champions This Week:
Auckland
David Ferrer (AP Photo/NZPA, Wayne Drought)
Singles – Final
[1] D Ferrer (ESP) d [6] D Nalbandian (ARG) 63 62
Doubles – Final
[2] M Granollers (ESP) / T Robredo (ESP) d J Brunstrom (SWE) / S Huss (AUS) 64 76(6)
“It’s very special. When I won here [in 2007] it was my first hard court title and to win it for a second time four years later is special because it’s more difficult now with the pressure and expectation. I like a lot to play the second week of the season here; I like the tournament a lot, the people support me a lot.
“Of course I am with confidence after winning a tournament; the next tournament I will go in with confidence in my game and my mentality.
“I think David did not have a good day. He played a little bit badly in the second set. Maybe it was the key in the first set at 3-3 when I went a break up and won the set. He lost concentration. I thought I played very consistently and I did my job.â€
Hobart
Jarmila Groth (AP Photo/Jon Voss)
Singles – Final
(6) Jarmila Groth (AUS) d. Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) 64 63
Doubles – Final
(3) Errani/Vinci (ITA/ITA) d. K.Bondarenko/Dekmeijere (UKR/LAT) 63 75
Groth wins her second WTA singles title. Her ranking will crack the top 35 next week.
“It’s my second title and it’s a home title so is it my highest point? Probably, yeah. I think I played pretty well, and hopefully it’s not the last one and I can still improve.”
Sydney
Li Na Getty Images
(8) Li Na (CHN) d. (3) Kim Clijsters (BEL) 76(3) 63
Doubles – Final
Benesova/Zahlavova Strycova (CZE/CZE) d. (3) Peschke/Srebotnik (CZE/SLO) 46 64 107 (Match TB)
Na Li wins her fourth WTA career singles title and her first Premier level title. Li rallied from 0-5 down to take the match. She’ll move to No. 11 in the rankings on Monday.
Giles Simon (Getty Images)
G Simon (FRA) d [4] V Troicki (SRB) 75 76(4)
Doubles – Final
L Dlouhy (CZE) / P Hanley (AUS) d [1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) 67(6) 63 10-5
“It’s always good to win the tournament. I mean, you never know if you’re going to win more after, so I enjoy it every time. It’s nice also for me to win here, to win some different tournaments. It’s a tournament I like to play.
“In tennis it’s always a matter of confidence. I could see tonight I was playing very nice tennis, but I played some bad games at the beginning of the second set. I wasn’t doing it two years ago. I think it will come back with the match and with the victory. So that’s why it’s very good to win here.
“We were playing very nice tennis from the baseline, and it was a real fight. I’m just happy to win it, because Viktor is playing better and better week after week. That’s very good for me to be feeling now, because I know that he’s playing good and I know that I’m able to defeat him even when he’s playing good. So it’s good for my confidence.â€