Magdalena Rybarikova

Nalbandian beat Del Potro, Haynes won, Mattek won, Voskoboeva won, Govortsova lost, Wozniak won, Rybarikova won, Benesova won, Blake beat Kohlschreiber, Davydenko thrashed Berdych, Tsonga beat Djokovic, Nadal beat Monfils, Murray beat Verdasco, Federer beat Cilic, Roddick beat Simon and Ana Ivanovic likes Switzerland.

Del Potro looked ordinary(!) against the surly Nalbandian, is he out of Shanghai now? Blake and Tsonga still alive. Murray now has 14 wins in a row. There's a Murray vid on the ATP site.

Watch the Paris Masters live.

Eleven Five players can still qualify for the last three two spots in Shanghai. Del Potro, Simon, Blake, Tsonga and Nalbandian. Monfils, Ferrer and Verdasco are now out according to my calculations. Roddick now qualifies joining Fed, Rafa, Djoker, Murray and Davy in the Shanghai field. Del Potro and Simon now sweating on other results to get them in.
http://www.masters-cup.com/1/news/2008/oneweektoplay.asp

Nadal to face Monfils

Nalbandian beat Kiefer, Puchkova lost, Haynes won, Czink won, Petrova won, Kohlschreiber beat Ferrer, Davydenko beat Ljubicic, Tsonga won, Nadal won, Murray won, Federer beat Soderling, Berdych beat Wawrinka, Blake beat Bolelli, Simon won, and Murray’s tired.

Rafa beat Serra and will play Gael Monfils in the third round. Can anyone stop him? I’ve picked Simon to beat Fed and make the final...

Eleven Eight players can still qualify for the last three spots in Shanghai. Roddick, Del Potro, Simon, Ferrer, Blake, Tsonga, Nalbandian, Verdasco and Monfils. Ferrer, Wawrinka and Soderling are out now according to my calculations. Fed, Rafa, Djoker, Murray and Davy have already qualified.

Sania Mirza coming back

Sania Mirza is on her way back after twice having surgery on her wrist and will return to the tour in January. Two months ago she couldn’t even use a fork before undergoing some miracle therapy the cricketers use. Be great to have her back.

Serena Williams will play Hopman with James Blake. Instant favourites I guess. Hope Safin turns up to play with sis.

Promo video for the Australian Open. Can't wait.

And Hewitt still has what it takes (to win Wimbledon). But not to win the Aus Open because he won't be seeded. He is having a second child soon though (sex unknown - though apparently baby Mia has asked for a brother and a sister...) Cheers Lleyton.

Majors and Masters will be worth even more ATP ranking points than Mickey Mouse tournements in 2009. This is because the ATP wants to use the legend "Masters 1000" in its marketing spiels and because nobody likes the small tournaments. Even Roger Federer the president of the ATP Players Council who said, "To be honest, I have heard about it, but I have not studied it. I guess it won't make a big difference." Not to you it won't Fed.

The Djoker

Puchkova won, Kohlschreiber won, Ljubicic won, Monfils won, Mokh lost, Del Potro won, Djokovic beat Tursunov, Verdasco beat Robredo, Roddick won, Voskoboeva won, Lisicki lost, Govortsova won, Olaru lost, Bremond won and Wawrinka lost his driver’s license for speeding.

Wozniak is blogging in Quebec, wonder what she’ll write on her blog if she loses to Gallovits? More sponsor plugs?

Jankovic’s official website was hacked (by terrorists?) but it’s back now www.jj-jelenajankovic.com

"Having Venus and Vera in Doha rounds out a tremendous field of accomplished players that are sure to deliver a fantastic week of tennis," said lame duck WTA CEO Larry Scott. "Venus is one of the great champions of our sport, and she has proven again in 2008 that her rewriting of the record books is not done. Vera is a wonderful competitor and it is great to see her back among the Top 10. Fans around the world will have the opportunity to watch some amazing tennis at our year-end finale." Hmm, reading between the lines it means it would be great if Venus showed up and Zvonareva is down for cannon-fodder again. Meanwhile rumours are beginning that Serena has better things to do than go to Doha...

Moody Maria’s out till January – though she has started practising – which two out of Radwanska, Petrova, Pennetta or Wozniacki will take the two alternate positions for Doha?

Marat Safin to retire?

Jidkova lost, Schultz McCarthy lost, Haynes lost, Mokh won, Bolelli won, Lopez won, Querrey won, Berdych won, Karlovic lost, Johansson lost, Radwanska the younger lost and Safin lost and is now considering his future.

“I need to enjoy my life without tennis, I will see if I continue,” said Safin after losing 6-0 7-6 to a qualifier. “I need to think it through. I will see, it was too intense these last three years. We will see. I have no pressure, nothing to show, nothing to prove. If I feel like I want to continue to play, I will. If not, it will be over. For the moment, I just need to rest.” Take a break big guy. In Miami apparently...

Boffins say that “out” calls are more likely to be overturned via player challenges than “in” calls. Apparently it’s not because line judges are idiots or bad at their job but because of a “perceptual bias in which a moving target appears to be farther along its path than it really is”. Yep, I knew that. They still talking bout that Serena – Capriati match where Serena was denied a point and “Capriati went on to win the match.” Yeah yeah, Serena held serve in the game where the error was so it didn’t change anything. Except give us all Hawkeye, that is.

Federer delivers pizza

Jidkova won, Schultz McCarthy won, Haynes won, Federer won, Ljubicic won, Bolelli won, Ivanovic won, Tursunov won, Robredo won, Murray won, Dementieva won and Pennetta withdrew from Quebec for personal reasons.

Federer eased over Nalbandian to win Basel. Ivanovic thrashed Zvonareva to make a comeback title of sorts. Wozniacki put up an awful fight before falling to Dementieva who won Luxembourg. Soderling beat Benneteau in Lyon, Murray thrashed qualifier Golubev to win St Petersburg.

I noticed Murray’s a Brit again - he must be winning. Wait till he stuffs up The Championships next year, he’ll be Scottish again before you know it.

Fed isn’t going to play anymore hit-and-giggles in 2009, after stuffing most of 2008. Not that he blames Sampras of course, and the money was good for a couple more gold bricks for the mansion he’s building in tax haven town in Switzerland, but Fed now wants Sampras’ records and he’s going to concentrate on the Slams from now on. I suspect this may have something to do with a certain wild-eyed pirate from Mallorca who’s been chewing up titles recently and taken his crown of invincibility. Once Fed was wont to look patronisingly at young Rafa and pretend that the annual loss of the French didn’t bother him, but if the young bull is going to eat into his Wimbledon titles too then the gloves are off. “Mirka, hand me my cape! In 2009 we’re going pirate hunting.”*

Signed up to play the ATP bracket challenge where you can win stuff for guessing picking every match of the Masters in Paris. Only you have to finalise picks before the qualifiers are known, including one first round match between qualifier four and qualifier five. Not too sure of the form on that pick. Hmm, I hope qualifier four wins – my trip to Indian Wells may depend on it.

*nb Roger Federer did not actually say this. What he really said was, Mirka, hand me my cardigan, let’s watch Pirates of the Caribbean.

Anna Kournikova played a hit and giggle exhibition

Dementieva thrashed Cirstea, Wozniacki beat Li Na, Murray beat Verdasco, Federer won, Simon lost, Tsonga lost, Nalbandian beat Del Potro, Ivanovic beat Radwanska, Rolle lost, Stevenson lost, Jidkova won, Ljubicic won, Bolelli won, Clement lost, and Zvonareva thrashed Batroli.

Anna Kournikova played a hit and giggle in Dallas.

Lleyton and Bec

Dementieva beat Mauresmo, Cirstea beat Hantuchova, Wozniacki won, Benesova lost, Murray won, Verdasco won, Federer beat Bolelli, Blake lost, Del Potro won, Simon won, Tsonga won, Nalbandian won, Zvonareva beat Cornet, Radwanska won, Ivanovic beat Pennetta, Bondarenko lost and Roddick served 22 aces and still lost.

Venus and Zvonareva took the last two spots for Doha, assuming Venus wants to go… Pennetta served seven double faults to lose to the beatable Ivanovic. Benesova choked in the third against Li Na; with points for a double break at 2:0 she went on to lose every game after to lose 2:6. Not a great end to the year for Iveta but she has improved out of sight after last year and if she can only master her mental fragility she could be headed for the top twenty. At least she gets into next year’s Oz Open, unlike last year when she lost in qualifying.

Lleyton Hewitt and his hot wife Bec are supporting children with cancer via a fundraising auction. “Roger Federer gave us the shirt off his own back” Hope he washed it first.

Amelie Mauresmo's Luxembourg Blog – and actually answers reader questions!

James Blake

Nalbandian won, Blake won, Gasquet lost, Bolelli won, Federer won, Del Potro won, Zvonareva won, Ivanovic won, Bondarenko won, Safin lost, Murray beat Gulbis, Pennetta beat Cibulkova, AMG won, Mauresmo won, Dementieva won, Simon won, Tsonga won, Ferrero won, Roddick won and Amber Liu married Michael Chang.

Safin got beat by who? Pennetta’s still rolling, this time flattening Cibulkova in Linz while Zvonareva managed to lose her serve but still crush Llagostera Vives 2 and bagel. Alona Bondarenko had a good win against Schnyder and will play Bartoli.

Gasquet had a whinge after losing to Darcis, “I didn’t play very well. The end of the season is long and tough, and I’m struggling to move about the court,” Gasquet said. “My knee and my elbow are hurting.” Nurse!

Nadal is on the most influential list. He’s number 30 on Ask Men’s list (why does Ask Men have a most influential list?). No sign of Fed but Obama and Steve Jobs are on top. C’mon, how many Majors does Obama have?

Caroline Wozniacki

Caro Wozniacki won’t make the End of Year Championships this year it seems. Either Vera Zvonareva, Agnieszka Radwanska will make it for the last spot assuming Venus goes, or take a spot each otherwise. Still it’s been a great year for the Polish-born Danish starlet. She took three titles, a tier 2, 3 and a 4. At 18 she seems well-placed for a run to the top-ten next year and beyond.

Caroline Wozniacki biography

Caroline Wozniacki official website

Caroline Wozniacki fansite

Caroline Wozniacki Videos

Marat Safin

Safin won, Andreev won, Baghdatis lost, Murray won, Verdasco won, Blake beat Kiefer, Lopez beat Fish, Radwanska won, Pennetta won, Cornet beat Kirilenko, AMG won, Li Na won, Cirstea beat Errani, Simon won, Matthieu beat Canas, Wozniacki won, Hantuchova won, Mauresmo won, Benesova beat Chakvetadze and Davydenko’s out till Shanghai.

Chaky got toned by Iveta Benesova. She should take Agnes Szavay and Nicole Vaidisaova and go on a shopping holiday or something. Anything except play more tennis this year. I’d tell Dani Hantuchova to go along too but she managed a win yesterday, a thrashing of upcoming tiger Sabine Lisicki. Can she repeat it against Cirstea? Mauresmo took three sets to beat 269th ranked Stephanie Gehrlein.

Brisbane's new $82 million dollar tennis centre has been named after two-time US Open champion Pat Rafter. Hmm Pat Court or Rafter Court? Rafter Arena

Apparently Jelena Dokic is still coming back. She’s at 187 now, what the chances of an Aus Open wildcard? Will she play the playoff (again)?

Benesova sends Robson back to school

Bolelli beat Berdych, Nalbandian won, Del Potro won, Federer won, Bondarenko won, Stosur lost, Kirilenko won, Cibulkova won, Wozniacki won, Dementieva won, Pironkova lost, Roddick won, Karlovic lost, Tsonga won, Davy’s sick and Benesova beat Robson.

Brit teen hype WC Robson lost to Benesova in Luxembourg as expected but she did take the first set as Benesova’s serve imploded and then she probably tanked the set. The 14 year old had no answer thereafter as the Czech took control. It appears Robson’s a baseline basher with no B plan to use if things go awry. Still that could describe 80% of tour players... There was drama late in the match when Benesova apparently won the point at Advantage up and the umpire called deuce instead of game. An angry Benesova confronted the umpire and argued for five minutes before smashing her racquet and going on to win the game anyway. Robson aimlessly milled around at the end of the court and didn’t say anything.

Ivanovic and Radwanska have joined Safina in complaining about the 2009 Calender. Ivanovic because she wasn’t consulted and Radwanska because she can’t play in more than 2 Mickey Mouse tournaments that she likes so much. That’s an easy one, just lose a few matches then you’ll be out of the top ten and free to play wherever you want.

Dominika Cibulkova is now going out with Juergen Melzer. Apparently their mixed doubles team at the US Open is an ongoing event.

Wozniacki is playing in Auckland in January.

Alize Cornet

Fedak won, Tursunov lost, Fish won, Wawrinka lost, Makarova beat Vesnina, Strycova lost, Rybarikova lost, Errani won, Ljubicic lost, Lisicki won, Chakvetadze beat Johansson, Li Na won, Hantuchova won, Ferrero won, Stepanek lost, Schuettler won and Cornet beat Zheng.

Another Forbes article on which rich tennis players drive fancy cars. Hint, it’s all of ‘em.

Wawrinka shooting himself in the foot for Shanghai losing in the first round in Basel, which I’m pretty sure is still in der Schweiz. Then again Fed took a while to get going in Basel and he grew up there. Wawrinka’s still close but Blake or Del Potro now look better for a spot in Shanghai.

Ljubicic on a downward streak losing to a wild card (read nobody). Wasn’t he top ten last year? It’s funny how the length of the season varies depending on how you’re going. If you’re Ljubicic then the season is clearly too long but if you’re Pennetta it’s just fine.

Forzia Flavia Pennetta

Gushing article on upcoming teen Bernard Tomic in the Australian. Who’d have thought that rising players have to play small tournaments in faraway places before they make it to the big stage. Wonder how he’ll go in Brisbane and whether they make him play in the Wild Card playoff or just gift him the WC because he’s not good enough to win one.

Meanwhile 14 yr old Laura Robson is ready for her close-up as she hits the tour in Luxembourg. Can we assume that Benesova dines out on her inexperience? At least Robson has a chance with one of the game’s great headcases, but when Benesova turns up to play she can be awesome. And she certainly won’t want to lose against a 14 year old.

Flavia Pennetta is playing her best tennis at 26 and should enter the top ten by Australia (in early 2009). She lost last night to Venus in the Zurich final but she’s been in great form recently and playing with a newfound vigour and aggression. Probably has nothing to do with dumping her cheating boyfriend Moya last year but she’s certainly playing harder and competing better. Her serve is much better too. Forza Flavia!

Murray and the Ballgirls

Murray beat Simon, Venus beat Pennetta, Fedak won, Makarova won, Vesnina won, Rybarikova won, Strycova won, Dokic lost, Luczak won, Bubka lost and Pat Rafter is playing oldies doubles at the Oz Open.

Venus Williams beat the resurgent Flavia Pennetta in Zurich for her umpteenth title. A close first set saw Pennetta take the game to Williams seemingly unconcerned by her power and replying in kind but she fell away in the tiebreak and the second set. Seems the key to playing Venus is to make her run (and possibly expose her fitness) and not let her dominate the points the way she likes. Easier said than done.

Andy Murray controlled the Anticlimactic FInal in Madrid against an exhausted Gilles Simon. “I didn’t feel like I was on my game particularly,” said Murray, “but I served great and came to the net a couple of times and took the ball on.” Next year Ion Tiriac will ensure a magical final for Madrid by moving the tournament to the Magic Box (Caja Magica). Can we request Fed and Rafa for the final as well?

Fed was getting €700,000 to play in Stockholm - until he pulled out that is. Apparently it’s worth it to no longer be taken for granted. And although he’s not No 1 he is Nadal’s superior as President of the Player’s Council. How’s that search for a new CEO going then?

Gilles Simon

Murray beat Federer, Simon beat Nadal, Pennetta beat AMG, Venus beat Ivanovic, Dokic won, Young won, Fedak won, Vesnina won, Hofmanova lost, Strycova won, Rybarikova won, Bubka won and Karatantcheva crashed out in qualifying again.

Venus vs Flavia part II in Zurich. Revenge for Venus for Moscow or another opportunity for the rampant Pennetta? Cronin has a good appreciation of the Italian at TennisReporters.

Seems Murray and Simon didn’t read the script in Madrid and will face off for the title. Bet this wasn’t in Ion Tiriac’s plans. Murray for his second Master title this year?

So Davydenko’s not going to sue the ATP, he just wants his old life back. Face it Davy, you’re never going to be under-the-radar again.

Venus playing in heels

Murray beat Monfils, Federer beat Del Potro. Goerges lost, Nadal won, Simon beat Karlovic, Pennetta won, Venus won, Ivanovic won, AMG beat Azarenka, Dokic got a Linz quali WC and the Djoker thinks that if he can stop getting tired and taking medical timeouts he’ll be a better player.

Venus to play Ivanovic in the tough Zurich semi, Pennetta and AMG in the other. Venus vs Flavia part II anyone? Fed against Murray in Madrid and Rafa the Pirate King versus Simon. Heading for another classic nemesis-bashing final?

For a highly opinionated list of the hottest women in tennis go to Popcrunch.

Fed breaks the bank.

Perez Hilton gets all excited about Andy Roddick.

Venus and Serena looking good and playing in high heels.

Wertheim props Jankovic.

Top Ten Rankings

Jelena Jankovic is the top ranked woman in the world. The fact that she still hasn’t won a Slam Major, has only nine titles and a losing record against most of the top players is a major source of embarrassment for the tour. She has won the last three titles to give herself some sort of credibility but really she’s only at the top because she overplays. Her record against the other top players is not good.

Of the current top ten only Serena, Maria, Venus, Ana and Dinara (in that order) have winning records against the rest of the top ten. Jelena Jankovic is just a pretender, her record against the current top ten is 27-31 which means four more losses then wins against the current top ten. If we ranked the current top ten by winning records against each other then they would look like this:

Serena Williams (Usa) 38 18 20
Maria Sharapova (Rus) 34 23 11
Venus Williams (Usa) 34 25 9
Ana Ivanovic (Ser) 22 17 5
Dinara Safina (Rus) 25 24 1
Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) 34 35 -1
Jelena Jankovic (Ser) 27 31 -4
Agnieszka Radwanska (Pol) 6 14 -8
Elena Dementieva (Rus) 25 37 -12
Vera Zvonareva (Rus) 19 40 -21

And Jankovic would be seventh not first. Which sounds about right to me.

Down and Out

Simon beat Ginepri, Del Potro beat Nalbandian, Murray won, Monfils beat Roddick, Nadal won, Federer won, Azarenka double bageled Niculescu (but she did have five break points), Radwanska lost, Ivanovic won, Karlovic beat Djokovic won and Pennetta outlasted Jankovic.

There are reports Galina Voskoboeva has now switched to Kazakhstan from Russia following the example of Yaroslava Shvedova who switched allegiances in August.

Pennetta is having a good run again, this time dismantling the overplaying drama-queen Jankovic who was uncertain whether she hurt her wrist or her knee but good-naturedly settled for both. “I feel like I have been in the war, when I come off the court with bruises and cuts,” Jankovic said. Maybe you should take a break then.

“Why do people always take pictures of my A$$??? Ughhh” http://serenawilliams.com/home/

Madrid Model Ball Girls

The photographers at the ATP Masters in Madrid just love taking photos of the ball girls. Is it because they're models?

Agassi Grand Slam for Children

Federer won, Tsonga won, Venus beat Alona Bondarenko, Davydenko lost, Kirilenko lost, Karlovic won, Monfils beat Gonzalez, Djokovic won, Del Potro won, Roddick won, Pennetta slashed Petrova and Djokovic bought the Dutch Open.

Pete Bodo dissects Amelie Mauresmo’s problems ie. her talent is not enough – she has to “want it” too.

Ion Tiriac’s plans for world domination include the Madrid tournament becoming bigger than the Slams, having a best of five set final and everybody using a larger ball to help the serve and volleyers and be easier to see on TV. Oh and he doesn’t care particularly whether his tournament is in May or not. This is interesting because the ATP forcibly shifted the Hamburg tournament to make way for Madrid in May resulting in a court case. Turns out it didn’t matter much after all. But the Germans are still shafted.

Andre Agassi Grand Slam for Children benefit concert.

The Djokovic family bought themselves the Dutch Open and plan to move it to Belgrade. Novak won his first title there as a 19 year old two years ago. Now he’s back for the whole thing.

Ernests Gulbis

photo credit: PEDRO ARMESTRE/AFP/Getty Images

Monfils won, Simon beat Blake, Verdasco lost, Tursunov lost, Wozniacki lost, Gasquet beat Fish, Bolelli retired against Murray, Nadal beat Gulbis, Radwanska won, AMG won, Kvitova beat Schnyder and Chaky bombed again.

The Woz played injured it seems but what’s Chakvetadze’s excuse?

Is 18 yr old Kvitova the real deal? She did beat Venus a while ago. Looks like Patty is just counting the days till the season ends and then she can enjoy Australia again. Don’t tell her that her fav Gold Coast tournament has moved up the road to Brisbane though...

Seems the Oz Open will stay in Melbourne so the locals can bore the rest of Australia with their claim to be “the Sporting Capital of Australia”.

Alona Bondarenko

Lucky loser Bolelli beat Almagro, Simon won, Arvidsson flayed Benesova, Robredo won, Alona Bondarenko won (but Kateryna lost), Fish won, Kirilenko beat Hantuchova, Azarenka wasted Mauresmo and Safin’s out injured.

Danielle Hantuchova’s horror run continues. Unfortunately she has a lot of points to defend before the end of the year when she should be resting and trying to recover. Looks like a disaster.

Four spots left for Shanghai and three for Doha.

Basel in Switzerland is Fed’s home and he loves the place. Just maybe not enough to play tennis there next week.

Brit teen hype Laura Robson has been given a main draw wildcard into Luxembourg and will play her first tournament thanks to her pals at Octagon. Meanwhile fellow 14 year old Liam Broady won some clay tournament but nobody cares about that. Probably because the Broady family are still feuding with the British LTA over sister Naomi’s public flogging.

Jankovic flays the Russians

Canas lost, Ginepri won, Benesova won, Young won, Stepanek won, Gulbis won, Srebotnik won, Cirstea lost and it’s Madrid model ball-girl time again.

Safin capped off a good week in Moscow by losing to a guy who had only prepared a runners-up speech. “I was hoping to win a couple of games and that’s it,” Igor Kunitsyn said. “I still don’t understand how I won.” Hello Marat, how do you feel?

Jankovic flayed the Russians to win the Kremlin Cup and (almost) justify her ranking. Three tournaments in three weeks is hard to argue with but it is the end of the season when no one cares and the real top players (ie Serena and Sharapova) aren’t playing. Still it’s a good effort by Jankovic and Vera Zvonareva must be sick of the sight of her. What’s the bet they line up again this week in Zurich as Jankovic insists on playing every week.

Nalbandian beat Soderling for the Stockholm title just to remind everyone that he’s still around and qualifier Petzschner beat Monfils in Vienna.

The women are now off to Zurich and the men to Madrid where Nadal and Federer lead the field and Safin has a wild-card. If ever a wild-card definition was needed Marat Safin would be it. Nadal has now confirmed his season ending No 1 ranking and received a trophy to bite for it.

2009 Women’s boycott?

Jankovic beat Dementieva in a 0-6 6-1 6-0 mess in Moscow. Zvonareva beat Safina and her brother Marat had a walkover against Zverev and Kunitsyn beat Santoro. In Stockholm Nalbandian will play Soderling in the final. In Vienna it’s Monfils and Petzschner.

It’s either an interesting match or a dire mess when both players get bagel sets in the same match. Poor Elena the (almost) Great. Will Jankovic take care of Zvonareva as usual or has the Russian learned something from her two close losses to the Serb in the last two tournaments? One suspects Zvonareva is playing well to down Safina.

According to Safina the top women players could boycott the 2009 season. "No one seems to understand which tournaments you can play and which you can't." and Kuznetsova and Zvonareva admitted they didn’t understand next year’s structure either. Safina said the top players would get together in Doha to discuss it.

Andre Agassi will use a Barbie kids racquet to play an exhibition in Las Vegas. Is Martina Hingis eyeing yet another comeback?

Pennetta the Venus Slayer

Dementieva beat Petrova and will play Jankovic. Zvonareva beat Cibulkova and will play Safina. Jankovic beat Pennetta the Venus Slayer and Safina beat the Kuz. Safin beat Davydenko and will play Zverev, Santoro beat Mathieu and will play Kunitsyn. In Stockholm Nieminen, Nishikori, Nalbandian and Soderling all won. In Vienna Kohlschreiber, Lopez and Petzschner won and Monfils beat Gonzalez.

So it looks like a Russian woman will win Moscow but which one?

Seems Fed will play Madrid after all.

Max Mirnyi now has a Law Degree.

Pennetta and Starace

Zvonareva beat Kirilenko, Bondarenko lost, Makarova beat Vesnina, Errani won, Kuznetsova beat Li Na, Hantuchova won, Tipsarevic won, Schuettler won and Yevgeny Kafelnikov is on a diet.

The Brits have a go at the Oz Open.

Tennishead’s top ten tennis WAGs

Pennetta and Starace at the Moscow player's party.

Sorana Cirstea

Mauresmo beat Cornet, Errani won, Srebotnik won, Voskoboeva lost and Chardy won, Cibulkova won, Verdasco won, Moya won and Vaidisova crashed again.

Good win for Mauresmo to come back again the solid Cornet it will be harder against Safina though...

Fed pulled out of Stockholm to show that he no longer cares about the season ending No 1 ranking. Rafa can snooze through most weeks now. It’s two in a row for Davy in Moscow, will he care enough to make it three? The Russian has had motivation problems this year but you have to think this is the tournament he cares about the most.

Sorana Cirstea in traditional dress in Tashkent.

Tursunov’s radioactive egg

Wozniacki won, Jankovic won, Tursunov won, Berdych won and Cirstea won.

Jankovic won a Porsche for her title in Stuttgart as she demolished Petrova and is now (again) officially number 1. The fact that she still hasn’t won a Slam, has only eight titles and a losing record against most of the top players is a major source of embarrassment for the tour. At least she won the title to give herself some sort of credibility but really she’s only at the top because a) Henin retired, b) Sharapova’s injured, c) neither Serena nor Venus play enough and possibly d) Ivanovic is injured/in a dire form slump. Of the current top ten only Serena, Maria, Venus, Ana and Dinara (in that order) have winning records against the rest of the top ten. Jelena Jankovic is just a pretender, although a pretender who did beat Venus this week, but she still has some way to go.

Berdych beat Del Potro surprisingly easily to win Tokyo although the Argentine did have an upset stomach. Good week for the sometimes shaky Berdych who also beat Roddick. Wozniacki won the women’s for her third title in what has become a breakout season.

Tursunov won Metz against Mathieu and received an attractive radioactive egg trophy.
Cirstea won Tashkent over Lisicki for her first title. You’ll be hearing more for both of them in the future.

In quali news Errani won, Shvedova lost, Voskoboeva won and Pivovarova lost.

Danish Delight – Wozniacki wins in Tokyo

Wozniacki to play Kanepi in Tokyo. Whoops she’s already won. Third title for the year for the Danish Delight. Del Potro beat Gasquet and plays Berdych the Roddick conqueror. The Argentine winning machine rolls on.

Tursunov beat Radek Stepanek and plays Mathieu in Metz. Maybe the Russian needs the prize money to pay his web hosting bills as his website is suspended http://www.dmitrytursunov.com/ .

In Stuttgart Azarenka lost to Petrova – is she finally the real deal? Jankovic had usual dramas but outlasted Venus. Now can she drag her wounded body past Petrova for the title or will she succumb?

Rybarikova pulled out due to fatigue in Tashkent whilst down one set to Cirstea. Who gets fatigue in a semi-final? Lisicki beat Peng and the final with Cirstea ought to be of interest to those wondering where the next generation of top tenners are coming from.

Sloviakian sensation Magdalena Rybarikova

Wozniacki continues her irresistible run towards another title, next up Gajdosova who beat Zakopalova. Kanepi will play Wozniak in the other Semi in Tokyo. Is anyone else hanging out for a double Woz final? Del Potro took down Ferrer in the men’s and will face Gasquet. Berdych against Roddick. Is this Roddick’s chance for some revenge against the Argentine winning machine?

Tursunov vs Stepanek in Metz and Mathieu vs Mannarino (who?). Can anyone stop the Russian?

In Stuttgart Dementieva wilted to lose to Azarenka the grunter, who will face Petrova (who beat Li Na). Venus to defend family honour (if not the top ranking) against Jankovic. Since Serena’s now pulling out of tournaments is this the last either sister will play for the year? Safina proved she still has some way to go in losing to Venus and Jankovic beat Zvonareva in two tiebreaks.

It’s Sloviakian sensation Rybarikova’s tournament to lose in Tashkent as she thrashed Olaru, who’s supposed to be an up-and-coming star. Rybarikova is now headed into the top fifty from outside the top 200 at the beginning of the year. Lisicki might stop her in the final. She plays Peng next, Rybarikova plays Cirstea in the other semi. (it's Magda's 20th birthday too)

Amer Delic

Wozniacki won, Venus won, Roddick won, Gonzalez won, Del Petro won, Radek won, Delic lost, Rus lost, Nishikori lost, Stosur won, Santoro won, Zakopalova won, Ferrer won, Shvedova won, Safina won, Shvedova and Tsonga retired and Jankovic thrashed Alona Bondarenko.

Croatia was fined Davis Cup points (who knew there were Davis Cup points?) for supplying a court that was too fast against Brazil recently. That’ll teach them! Oh wait, they still won and still go through to the top group. Guess cheating does pay.

I thought Alona was supposed to be the better Bondarenko? Or is Jelena taking tennis seriously again now that she is provisional No1? Maybe Safina can catch her before the end of the season.

Rafa’s butt is of interest to the paparazzi.

Serena crashes

Zvonareva beat Hantuchova, Li Na beat Serena, Roddick won, Gonzalez won, Radwanska lost, AMG won, Dementieva won, Tursunov won, Rybarikova won, Rus won, Olaru won, Nishikori won, Tsonga won, Moya won, Stosur won, Santoro won, Tipsarevic won and Gajdosova beat the slumping Peer.

Serena lost her No 1 ranking to Jankovic after losing to Li Na in a lopsided match. “I started making a lot of errors and I just gave it to her,” she said, after rolling through the first set and then falling apart. Looks like Li Na was intimidated early and when she got going Serena wasn’t really interested in playing tennis. Who can blame her? She’s got her one slam for the year and can go back to partying acting. Meanwhile we are now stuck with no-Slam Jelena at the top.

Masters Cup spots for the men: four gone, four up for grabs...

You too can smell like Nadal!

Sharapova auctioned off for $10,000.

More Maria.

Safina to give her coach a Porsche but he gets a Mercedes if she wins a Slam.

Henin’s old coach Rodriguez dumps on all female players bar Moody Maria and the Williams sisters and especially disses “no charisma” Jankovic.

Ballgirls in Toyko

Benesova lost, Cornet lost, Zahlavova lost, Wozniacki won, Tursunov won, Venus won, Karlovic won, Cibulkova lost, Zakopalova won, Shvedova won, Young lost, Baghdatis retired while leading and Gajdosova returned as a lucky loser and beat Santangelo to finally win a main draw match again.

Baghdatis was ahead of Karlovic when he collapsed with back pain and had to be carried off in a stretcher. Sounds very bad.