Del Potro better than Messi?

Lionel Messi may be winning all sorts of awards on offer in the football world, but the soccer ace is no match for Juan Martin Del Potro.

The 2009 US Open champion pipped Barcelona's Lionel Messi to the annual Argentina's athlete of the year award.

Messi, who has won Copa del Rey, La Liga, Champions League, Spanish Supercup, European Supercup, Club World Cup, Ballon d'Or, and the FIFA World Player of the Year, will wonder what he has to do to impress his home country, however the snub from the people of Argentina is not surprising as Messi's performance for the Argentina National team has been underwhelming as of late.

Del Potro, who won his first Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows this year, reached the semi finals of the ATP tour final in London last month and he will no doubt be over the moon with the support he has received from his home fans.

Indian tennis player supports anti-terrorism

Indian tennis player Sania Mirza has joined forces with fellow Indian's from the sporting, arts and civil soceity to take part in an hour long ceremony, organised by India's home ministry.

Mirza, who is the only player from her country to have won a Grand Slam title, the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open with fellow countryman Mahesh Bhupathi , joined people such as Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Kahn and Olympic gold medalist shooter Abhinav Bindra for the ceremony that comerorated 173 people that were killed and the 300 injured in the terrorist attacks on Mumbai 12 months ago.

As part of the ceremony, which took place in New Delhi, Mirza read Rabindranath Tagore's famous poem 'Where The Mind is Without Fear'

The World Number 58 is a practising Muslim who draws criticism from conservative sections of the Indian society.

In 2008 she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from a university in the city of Chennai.

Mirza is standing up for what she believes in and I for one am glad that she is backing anti-terrorism.

Britain has new World Number One

Elena Baltacha has become Britain's new number one after overtaking Katie O'Brien in the world rankings.

Baltacha was Britain's number one back in 2005 when she reached the third round of the Australian Open, but the 26-year old has not been top of the pile since then.

The Scot reached the quarter final of an event in Japan last week and this saw her reach a career high of 85th in the world, O'Brien the former British number one is currently 89th and Anne Keothavong , also a former British top seed, is 99th having been sidelined through a knee injury.

2009 has been an encouraging year for Britain's women with Baltacha, Keothavong and O'Brien all hitting career high rankings in the top 100 and with young talent like Heather Watson and Laura Robson coming through then things can only get better!!!

Heather Watson up for Sports Personality Award

Heather Watson , a star in the making in the tennis world is one of three nominees for the 2009 Young Sports Personality of the Year award.

The 17-year old, Guernsey born star faces competition from World Champion diver Tom Daley and World Champion track and field star Jodie Williams for Sunday's crown.

Watson became the first brit to win the girl's singles title at the US Open. She defeated fellow countrywoman Laura Robson and number two seed Yana Buchina en route to the final, a victory that has seen her nominated for the Young Sports Personality of the Year.



Former winners of this title are Andy Murray , so a win for Heather will give her a mass of confidence as she attempts to gain a palce on the WTA senior tour.

Good luck Heather, you've got my vote

Mixed doubles added to Olympics

The Executive Board of the Olympics Committee has announced that mixed doubles will be introduced into the 2012 games in London.

The changes come after the IOC (International Olympics Committee) announced their desire to continually refresh the Olympic programme.

The mixed doubles will not however allow more athletes to compete. The participants will be the men and women taking part in the singles, however adding the mixed doubles to the schedule gives another opportunity for men and women to compete together.

Francesco Ricci Bitti, president of the ITF (International Tennis Federation) said, “We believe that this addition will make Olympic Tennis a truly unique event, with top players having the opportunity to compete for their countries and the honour of an Olympic Medal in three distinct disciplines: singles, doubles and mixed doubles."

Nalbandian finally ready for tennis return

Former World Number three David Nalbandian has confirmed that he is finally ready to make his return to professional tennis.

The 27- year old Argentinian has been out of the sport for seven months since suffering a hip injury that forced him to pull out of the Barcelona Open and miss the rest of the ATP season.

Nalbandian's last match was a 6-2 6-2 first round defeat to Chile's Paul Capdeville at the Estoril Open in Portugal back in May.

The 2005 ATP tour champion and former Wimbledon finalist will make his return on Saturday at an exhibition event in San Juan, Argentina.

Nalbandian underwent surgery on his right hip back in May, but announced today that he will open the 2010 ATP tour at the Heineken Open in Auckland, New Zealand beginning January 11th, before returning to competative tennis at the Australian Open, a tournament where he reached the semi finals in 2006.

The Argentinian is currently ranked 64 in the world, but I am in no doubt that this will rise once he gets back on to the tour and starts winning tournaments again.

Spain confirm Davis Cup success on Day 2

Day 2 of the Davis Cup final saw the conclusion of this years competition with Spain successfully regaining the title they won last year.

Having gone into Day 2 already leading 2-0 against the Czech Republic, Spain only needed victory in the doubles to confirm a second consecutive Davis Cup.

Rafael Nadal beat Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer defeated Radek Stepanek to take a commanding two nil lead going into Saturday's play.

Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco were scheduled to face Jan Halek and the doubles expert Lukas Dlouchy , however on the morning before the match, Czech captain Jaroslav Navratil changed the line up and sent Stepanek and Berdych out to face the doubles. This was a bizarre decision considering both had played and lost the day before and Halek and Dlouchy are both doubles specialists.

In the end Navratil's decision proved to be the wrong one as the Czech pair lost 7-6 7-5 6-2.



The Czech's wasted a set point in the first set tie break and from then on it was Sapin that controlled the match. It was obvious to all that Stepanek was still exhausted from his five set thriller the night before against David Ferrer.

After coming through the tricky tie break, Spain comfortably strolled through the match and on doing so became the first nation in over ten years to retain the Davis Cup.

Amelie Mauresmo announces tennis retirement

The tennis world was rocked but not shocked yesterday by the news that Amelie Mauresmo has decided to hang up her racket and retire from tennis.

The former world number one had missed the last two tournaments of the year through injury and hadn't played competitive tennis since September's US Open.

The frenchwoman did consider retiring a couple of months ago but decided to prolong her career for a bit longer, however it appears that the training schedule has gotten the better of her and unfortunately she can no longer continue.

Mauresmo turned professional in 1993 and in a career spanning sixteen years she has won twenty five WTA tour titles. She really made a name for herself in 1999 when she reached the Australian Open final and the last four of the US Open.

The thirty year old made a repuation for herself of being a talented player who just couldn't quite win that prestigous Grand Slam title, however that changed in 2006 when she won both Wimbledon and the Australian Open.

Her Australian Open triumph however was overshadowed by the news that both her semi final and final opponants, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin would have to retire through injury or illness.

Both have since either returned to tennis or their return is pending, however I very much doubt we will see Mauresmo in a competitive environment again which will be a huge shame to the sport.

I personally would like to thank Amelie for her contribution to women's tennis and wish her all the luck in the world for whatever she decides to do next.

Good Luck Amelie

Davis Cup Final- DAY 1

This weekend sees the final of the Davis Cup World Group take place in Palau Sant Jordi, Spain where Spain take on the Czech Republic.

The opening round of singles matches take place today with World Number Two, Rafael Nadal stepping out on court first. Nadal, who didn't feature in Spain's Davis Cup winning team last year, will open preceedings against Tomas Berdych.

Berdych, who is currently twentieth in the world rankings, has only beaten Nadal three times in eight meetings and hasn't won in the last four attempts against Spain's number one.

Nadal has been on a losing streak as of late and will no doubt be bitterly disappointed with his ATP Tour Final performance, however the former world number one will be hoping to triumph for his home nation as they look to retain their Davis Cup crown against a team who haven't won the trophy since 1980.

Berdych is a strong player who in my opinion hasn't filled his full potential. He is a former world number nine who has a very strong two hyanded back hand. He is a very tall player at 6 ft 5inch and this allows him to utilise his strong serve.

Nadal won't have it all his own way especially having lost all three of his matches at at 02 arena last week. Berdych will fancy his chances against a Spaniard struggling for form but I think Nadal will win it in four sets.

Verdict: Rafael Nadal 7-5 4-6 6-2 6-3

The second singles match of the opening day sees David Ferrer take on Radek Stepanek at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain.

These two go into the tie even on the head to head with three wins each. The pair's last meeting came at this years Wimbledon where Stepanek prevailed.

Stepanek is a US Open finalist and is currently ranked twelvth in the world, but he's coming up against a former world number four in David Ferrer, who was part of Spain's winning team last year, however he was the only player to lose his match against Argentina in last years final. So that will give some extra confidence to Stepanek.

This is the match of the weekend where I really can see an upset taking place. I fancy Stepanek to beat Ferrer and maybe history will repeat itself as Ferrer could again be the only Spanish player to lose their match.

Verdict: Stepanek 6-2 6-2 6-7 6-4

Tomorrow's play sees the doubles round take place as Fernando Gonzalez and Feliciano Lopez take on Jan Halek and doubles expert Lukas Dlouchy. See my post tommorow to see who I think will win that

ATP Tour Finals- DAY 3 PREVIEW

TODAY sees the second round of matches take place in Group A of the ATP tour finals from the O2 Arena in London.

First up on court is the world number five Juan Martin del Potro taking on world number seven Fernando Verdasco . These two have never played each other on the ATP tour, their only one previous meeting was at the Segovia Challenger in Spain in 2006 which del Potro won in a third set tie break.

Both players are having their best ever seasons on the tour with del Potro capturing his first Grand Slam title at the US Open and Verdasco reached his first Grand Slam semi final at the Australian Open, an achievement that saw the Spaniard break into the world's top ten.

These two both lost their opening round robin matches in Group A and therefore both will be looking to get points on the board.

Verdasco gave Federer a scare by taking a set from the world number one in the opening round of matches, but he is coming up against an Argentinian who has one of the most powerful serves on the tour so I can see a victory here for del Potro

Verdict: Juan Martin del Potro 6-4 6-4

The second match sees what will probably be the most intriguing gamer of Group A as world number one Roger Federer steps on court with Britain's favourite,Andy Murray .

These two have met each other on nine previous occasions and Murray has an impressive record against the fifteen time grand slam champion winning six of their nine meetings. One of those wins came in the round robin stage of the season ender last year in Shanghai.

Federer has a 7-0 winning record in second round robin matches, however after putting in a below par performance against Verdasco in the first round, I think Murray will be a very tough test for the world number one.

Murray has solid ground strokes with a low error rate. Murray is one of the best tacticians on the tour with the ability to change his game in the blink of an eye in order to surprise his opponents. He has a really strong first serve, one of the best in this tournament and because of this I think he can cause an upset and win his second match to go top of the group.

Verdict: Andy Murray 2-6 6-4 7-5

ATP Tour finals- DAY 2 PREVIEW

THE second day of the ATP tour finals sees the opening games from Group B as world number two Rafael Nadal and world number three Novak Djokovic are both in action in the 02 arena.

Nadal, one of the favourites to take the season ending crown goes up against Sweden's ,
Robin Soderling and no doubt the Spaniard will be looking for revenge against the man who is the only player to beat Nadal at Roland Garros.

Nadal had a 3-0 winning record against Soderling before their fourth round meeting at the French Open this year. This will be their fifth meeting and it comes on a stage that Nadal has played on only twice (2006 and 2007) where on both occasions he reached the semi finals.

Soderling is playing at the ATP final for the first time and has had a tremendous season thus far, although he only qualified due to Andy Roddick 's injury, he deserves to be there in my opinion and will put up a stern test for the world number two.

The Swede is known for his powerful game hitting both hard forehands and serves which makes it very difficult for opponents to break. He is one of the only players on the tour whose backhand is as strong as his forehand so with a variety of shots to select from I think Soderling will take Nadal to three sets, although in the end I think Nadal will come out on top

Verdict: Rafael Nadal 6-4 4-6 6-2

The second match from Group B sees Novak Djokovic taking on world number six, Nikolay Davydenko .

These two met most recently at last months Shanghai masters where Davydenko edged out the Serb in the semi finals. They have an even head to head record going into today's game with two wins apiece.

Djokovic is the in form player going into this tournament having won 18 of his last 19 matches since the US Open, with his only loss coming against Davydenko.

Djokovic won this tournament last year and is one of my favourites to reach the final this year, although I don't think he'll win it. However he comes up against a Russian who he hasn't had the best success against.

Davydenko employs an offensive baseline game, using hard, penetrating ground strokes on both wings. He hits the ball extremely early which generates immense power and depth resembling former World No. 1 Andre Agassi. Davydenko's best shot is his backhand which he can hit down the line, cross court or with extreme angles.

However Davydenko's main weaknesses are his serve and his inability to close out games which is why I think Djokovic will have a comfortable victory here.

Verdict: Novak Djokovic 6-2 6-3

ATP Tour Final- DAY 1 PREVIEW

THIS season’s ATP tour final in London begins on Sunday and Britain's Andy Murray will open the event as he takes on Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro .

Murray is the ATP tour titles leader with six trophies this season and having won sixty four of his seventy four matches this season, the Brit will no doubt me the favourite against this seasons’ US Open Champion.

These two have played each other on five previous occasions with Murray winning four, the last meeting was in the final of the Montreal Masters, one of Murray’s six tournament triumphs.

Del Potro, despite being six foot six inches tall, is one of the best movers on the tour. He is an offensive base-liner with a powerful serve and flat ground stroke. His main strength is his forehand but also has a very consistent two handed backhand. I think Del Potro will put up a good fight against Murray, I can see this match going the distance with a couple of tie breaks, but Murray will come out on top.

Verdict: Andy Murray 7-6 6-7 6-4

The second match on the opening day also comes from Group A as Roger Federer takes on Fernando Verdasco , a player Federer has never lost to.
Federer has won this tournament four times and is facing a Spaniard who he has a 3-0 winning record against.

Verdasco, who reached the Australian Open semi final in January has had a pretty impressive season with a 52-22 winning record in 2009, however he is up against a player who has won a record fifteen Grand Slam titles.

I expect nothing other than a Federer win. I can’t see Verdasco winning a set but with the hard court being his best surface he won’t lie down without a fight. Verdasco is a left handed player whose serve shows the characteristics of a left hander with the majority being sliced with a lot of spin. This type of serve will help him win a few games but Federer should come through pretty comfortably

Verdict: Roger Federer 6-4 6-3

Serena wins all Williams final

SUNDAY saw the final of the Sony Ericsson Championships take place in Doha. The match saw Venus Williams , last year's Doha champion, taking on her sister Serena Williams who, having done better in the competition than Dinara Safina , was the new world number one.

Serena went into the final having not lost a game yet. She comfortably beat Elena Dementieva and Svetlana Kuznetsova and saved a match point against her sister in the round robin stage. Venus on the other hand did struggle a little in the group stages. She suffered a shock defeat in her opening game losing to Dementieva and when she lost to Serena, it looked as though the reigning champion might not qualify for the semi finals.

Venus beat Kuznetsova in her final group game, but she had to rely on other results to determine whether or not she would advance in the tournament.

Venus can have Kuznetsova to thank for her place in the semi as the French Open champion defeated her compatriot Elena Dementieva to deny the Russian a place in the semis and send Williams through along with her sister.

The semi finals turned out to be comfortable for the Williams sisters, more so for Serena as she raced to a one set lead against the 19- year old Dane, Caroline Wozniacki . Wozniacki broke Serena in the first game of the second set, but was then forced to retire with an abdominal injury, her retirement handed Serena a place in the year end final.

Venus, although advanced, struggled a little against long term rival Jelena Jankovic losing the first set. The match went to three sets but the American came out on top, just as she did against Jankovic at this stage last year.

The match between these two in the final, was their twenty third meeting. Serena led the head to head 12-10 and had won the last three encounters.

The match didn't turn out to be the classic we all expected as both women practically hobbled on to court both with their legs heavily strapped. Serena got off to the better start of the two racing into a 6-2 lead in only thirty minutes. The new world number one only dropped four points in her four service games and managed to break Venus' serve twice in what was a one sided first set.

The second set was a serving masterclass as two of the most powerful women in tennis history produced a serving display that will not be matched on the WTA tour for years to come. As a result of the quality serving, the second set saw no breaks and barely any deuces and went to a tie break.

Serena took control of that tie break as she rushed to a 5-1 lead. Venus managed to fight back a little reducing the deficit to 5-4 but with Serena serving Venus looked in a lot of trouble. The world number one served a powerful ace and hit a huge forehand winner to record the points she needed to confirm victory taking the tie break 7-4.



This victory was her second Sony Ericsson Championship, as she won the title back in 2001. Venus, who was the reigning champion now loses the head to head record between the two 13-10.

No doubt Venus will look to exact revenge against her sister in January's Australian Open. A tournament where her sister is the current champion. I don't see an all Williams final in Melbourne, but should they meet in the semis I think Venus can upset Serena.

Final Score:
Serena def Venus 6-2 7-6

Defending champion defeated in Doha

Only hours after Azarenka caused an upset in the white group, the same thing happened in the opening match in the maroon group.

Venus Williams, last year's winner and my second favourite to win this year, was sensationally beaten in three sets by Russia's Elena Dementieva 3-6 7-6 6-2 in the first match of the maroon group.

Williams, the defending champion had beaten Dementieva in nine of their previous eleven meetings and a tenth victory over the Russian looked likely after Venus took a 6-3 3-1 lead but a spirited fightback from the world number five took the match to a third and deciding set.

Dementieva then showed her class and demolished Williams, who made 27 unforced errors, with some powerful baseline shots to take the match and lead the group going into day 2.

Venus's sister, Serena had better fortune in the maroon group after beating French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in their first meeting since the final at Roland Garros.

Serena edged this tight two setter 7-6 7-5. Williams fought hard in the first set by twice coming back from a break down, and winning four straight points in the tie break.

Williams improved in the second set and broke Kuznetsova's serve to take it 7-5 and overtake Dementieva at the top of the group going into day 2.

Day 2 of the round robin stage will no doubt see the clash of the competition with an all William's encounter on the cards and with Serena leading their head to head 11-10, Venus will be looking to even the score and avoid slumping to her second consecutive defeat in the competition.

Shock defeat in Doha

The opening match of the white group saw a shock victory for Victoria Azarenka on her debut at the Sony Ericsson Championships.

The 20 year old number six seed hit hard, deep groundstrokes to beat former world number one Jelena Jankovic in straight sets 6-2 6-3.

Azarenka outplayed Jankovic who was erratic with her shot selection and made thirty three unforced errors in the match compared to Azarenka's fifteen. The Belarussian raced to a 6-3 3-1 lead before allowing Jankovic to get back into the match at 3-3.

However, a mixture of hard groundstrokes and Jankovic errors, help Azarenka to close out the match winning the next three games.

Azarenka, making her debut at these championships, now takes a commanding lead at the top of the group, at least until tomorrow's play where current world number one Dinara Safina takes on another young lady making her debut in Doha, Caroline Wozniacki. The top two in the group will then advance to the semi final stage and if Azarenka continues to play in this fashion, she may shock everyone and qualify for the semi finals.

Preview to Doha

Tomorrow sees the start of the Doha Championships which pits the eight best female players of the season against each other to be crowned WTA Sony Ericsson Champion.


Each tour event has points up for grabs. The better a player does in the event the more ranking points they receive. This year sees probably the eight most consistent female players this season qualifying for the tournament. Below is the list of players, when and how they qualified and my predictions for the tournament.

The first to qualify was former World number 1, Dinara Safina. Safina appeared at last years championships and qualified for this years tournament thanks to a fantastic start to the season. She won titles in Rome, Madrid and Portoroz. From winning Rome and finishing as runner up at the French Open, Safina went on a 16 match unbeaten run which helped her rack up enough points to qualify.

Safina's confidence has rocked a little since being replaced as World number 1, but the hard court is one of her favourite surfaces with five of her twelve titles coming in hard court tournaments. She has experienced this tournament before having played last year but I don't think she'll have enough to win it, although I think she will better her third round finish last year

Verdict: Semi Final

Next to qualify was current World number 1, Serena Williams who qualified on August 19th thanks to her semi-final appearance in the Rodgers Cup and her impressive results at the Grand Slams winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon. She finally overtook Safina as world number 1 after bettering Safina's perforamance at the China Open.

Serena is probably the most impressive performer going into the tournament and is definately the most successful with eleven singles and ten doubles grand slam titles under her belt. She is playing really well at the moment and although she doesn't play all the tournaments on the WTA tour she certainly deserves her place in Doha. She won the WTA tour championship in 2001 and because she is playing even better tennis now than she did then, I think she will win it for the second time.

Verdict: Winner

Elena Dementieva enjoyed an impressive start to the season by winning fifteen consecutive matches, this unbeaten streak was followed by semi final appearances at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, where she lost to Serena Williams on both ocassions. Dementieva has impressed on the hard court this season winning the Rogers Cup in Toronto and it is this victory that helped her qualify for this tournament.

The Russian hasn't impressed as much as she would have liked to this season and I don't think she has the ability to compete with some of the other women in this tournament. She has appeared in the French and US open finals and won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Her best surface is the hard court winning ten of her fourteen career singles titles on this surface but think she'll struggle here. She is in a tough group and I can't see her winning a match

Verdict: Round robin stage (o wins)

Caroline Wozniacki was next to qualify and this will be the 19 year old's first year-end championship. The Dane won three titles on the tour this year but what was significant was that they came on three different surfaces. She won Ponte Vedra Beach which was a clay event, Eastbourne, a grass event and New Haven a hard court event. Her biggest achievement was reaching the final of the US Open where she lost to Kim Clijsters. This final appearance helped her qualify for Doha and also boost her up to a career high fifth in the world.

Wozniacki has been a real surprise package this season with some really big results, none bigger than her victory over Melanie Oudin to reach the US Open final. Think she is one to watch for the future and at only 19 years old I think she will become a very successful player on the women's circuit, however I really think she will struggle in this tournament. She doesn't have a particularly good record against the seven other ladies in the tournament, think she'll definately pick up one win, maybe two if someone has an off day but won't do better than that.

Verdict: Round robin stage (1 Win)

Fifth to qualify was Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova. She won the China Open in early October to book her place in Doha. This year also saw her pick up her first grand slam title in four years after she won the French Open. She has had a very impressive season on Clay winning at Roland Garros and in Stuttgart and reaching the final Rome where she lost to Safina.

Kuznetsova is an impressive player and is improving all the time. She hasn't been as sucessful as I would have expected at the Grand Slams, but she has had some sucess in the tour events. I expect her to play well in Doha but she is in a group with the William's sisters and I just can't see her beating them. I do expect her to beat Dementieva but that's it.

Verdict: Round Robin Stage (1 Win)

Venus Williams qualified on the 9th October thanks to wins in Dubai and Acapulco. She also racked up some ranking points for her Wimbledon final appearance where she lost to her sister Serena. She has also reached the final in Stanford where she lost to Marion Bartoli.

Venus has had some good results on the tour in the past, but hasn't had a lot of success this season. She has seven grand slam titles to her name and I do expect her to add to that tally over the next couple of years. Venus is the reigning champion in this competition and I think she will do well in the group stage against Kuznetsova and Dementieva. I expect her to reach the final but she won't beat Serena.

Verdict: Runner Up

Victoria Azarenka was the seventh women to qualify and did so on the same day as Venus. The 20 year old from Belarus has had her best season on the tour by far reaching a career high eighth in the world. She began the season with her first career title in Brisbane and then followed that up with titles in Memphis and in Miami, where she beat five time Memphis champion Serena Williams. She also had her best year at the grand slams reaching the quarter finals of the French Open and Wimbledon.

Although she's had her best season, I think this stage will be too big for her. She has a superb two handed backhand and if the other ladies want to beat her then they must keep her on her forehand where she sometimes struggles and comes up with a lot of unforced errors. Like Wozniacki this is her first year end championship and I think she'll be the weakest of the eight ladies and I really can't see her beating anyone.

Verdict: Round Robin stage 1 (0 Wins)

Jelena Jankovic was the eighth and final lady to qualify for the tournament. She qualified not because of her own result but because of Zvonareva's defeat in the second round of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, she will now travel to the tournament but only as an alternate. Jankovic has had a disappointing season by her own standards. She did manage to win in Marbella and in Cincinnati and had Zvonareva done better in Moscow she may not be appearing in this tournament.

Jankovic has a strong forehand which some players find difficult to deal with. She also has a decent net game, however her main weakness is her serve. Although it can be powerful, it is very predictable and easy to read for her opponents, especially those with strong baseline games. I do think she'll pick up a couple of wins in her group that will take her through to the semi finals but I think that's the best she can hope for.

Verdict: Semi Final

Round Robin Predictions:

Maroon Group:

Serena Williams vs Venus Williams
Winner: Serena

Elena Dementieva vs Svetlana Kuznetsova
Winner: Kuznetsova

Serena Williams vs Elena Dementieva
Winner: Serena

Venus Williams vs Svetlana Kuznetsova
Winner: Venus

Serena Williams vs Svetlana Kuznetsova
Winner: Serena

Venus Williams vs Elena Dementieva
Winner: Venus

Serena and Venus will advance to Semi Finals

White Group:

Dinara Safina vs Caroline Wozniacki
Winner: Safina

Jelena Jankovic vs Victoria Azarenka
Winner: Jankovic

Dinara Safina vs Jelena Jankovic
Winner: Safina

Caroline Wozniacki vs Victoria Azarenka
Winner: Wozniacki

Dinara Safina vs Victoria Azarenka
Winner: Safina

Jelena Jankovic vs Caroline Wozniacki
Winner: Jankovic

Safina and Jankovic to progress to semi final stage.

Tournament Winner: Serena Williams
Runner Up: Venus Williams

So there it is, Doha 2009 has the makings of a really exciting tournament because of the quality that will be on show. I dare anyone to predict against an all Williams final but stranger things have happened. I am going to make another prediction now though, I think the winner of this tournament will meet Justine Henin in the Australian Open final in January. You heard it here first folks!!!!!

Top seeds to compete for charity

Two of the worlds highest ranking tennis players will take part in an all star event to raise money for AIDS charity.

Serena Williams ranked number one in the women's singles and Leizel Huber ranked number one in the women's doubles will compete alongside the likes of Andy Roddick, Ana Kournikova Lindsay Davenport and Former world number 2, Tommy Haas in an all star tennis event in Louisiana during the WTA off season.

The event is sponsored by Elton John AIDS foundation (EJAF) and will be co-hosted by Elton John and Billie Jean King. The evenmt is scheduled to take place on the Louisiana State University campus in Baton Rouge.

The event will be opened by a celebrity doubles match that will feature Elton John himself.

The players involved will form two teams and will compete under the World Team Tennis format which will see six sets in all. One set of men's and women's singles, one set of men's and women's doubles and two sets of mixed doubles. The team with the most games won will win the event.

Aswell as raising money for EJAF, the event will also raise funds for Baton Rouge area AIDS charities.

Jankovic loses in Moscow

Number two seed Jelena Jankovic has been knocked out at the quarter final stage of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

Jankovic qualified for the WTA season ending championships in Doha thanks to Vera Zvonareva's defeat. Zvonareva was ranked number one for the tournament but was defeated in the second round by Tsvetana Pironkova and she was soon followed out of Moscow by number two seed Jankovic.

Jankovic was defeated 6-4 6-3 by Russia's Alisa Kleybanova in the quarter final in Moscow and the 20 year old will now face either Olga Govortsova of Belarus or her compatriot Vera Dushevina, who meet in their quarter final match later today, for a place in the semi final.

Tennis match investigated for match fixing

The WTA tennis authority are looking into the first round match at the Luxembourg Open between U.S Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki and Anne Kremer.

The 19 year old Dane, ranked sixth in the world retired hurt with a hamstring injury in the first round tie leading 7-5 5-0. The WTA are investigating after betters piled significant sums of money on Kremer even though she was on the verge of losing in straight sets.

Wozniacki's father Piotr was picked up on court microphones telling his daughter at 3-0 up in the second set, to retire before winning becasue the injury would prevent her from playing in the second round and the conversation was heard by television audiences. Thus causing numbers of online bets to be made.

Betfair have said it did not have any concerns about the match at this stage, and that the money won or lost was not unusual.

Women's top seed follows Davydenko out of Moscow

Women's number one seed Vera Zvonareva was smashed 6-0 6-2 in the second round of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

The Russian might as well not have turned up on Centre Court as she only managed to win two games in the entire match against Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova.

The towering 5 foot 11 inch 22 year old already has five wins against top 20 players this year and with a mixture of strong forehand and backhand winners comfortably made Zvonareva her sixth victim.

Pironkova will now face Alona Bondareko of the Ukraine in the third round, an opponent she hasn't beaten or taken a set from in two previous meetings.

The defeat for Zvonareva means that Jelena Jankovic will travel to the season ending tournament in Doha. Jankovic defeated Lucie Safarova 7-6 6-3 in Thursday's second round match and is five points ahead of Zvonareva in the rankings. This means that Jankovic fills the final spot in Doha.

Seena and Venus Williams, Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kusznetsova, Elena Dementieva, Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka have already qualified for Doha and all elected to sit out the tournament in Moscow. Zvonareva and Radwanska will travel to Doha as alternates.

Seeds continue to topple in Moscow

Fifth seed Nadia Petrova and fourth seed Flavia Pennetta have become the latest women to suffer shock defeats in the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

The day started bad for the seeded ladies with Vesnina and Radwanska suffering defeats in the first round in Russia, they were soon joined by Italy's Pennetta who had to retire hurt having taken the first set 6-4 against Hungary's Agnes Szavay.

Szavay then led the second set 3-0 until Pennetta was forced to retire with a knee injury handing the Hungarian a place in the second round. The defeat for the Italian means that she is no longer in with a shot of being an alternate in next weeks tournament in Doha.

The shocks kept coming on a lively day in Moscow as fifth seed Nadia Petrova lost her second round match to Alona Bondarenko of the Ukraine 7-6 6-3, the Russian who beat Yana Buchina comfortably 6-2 6-0 in the first round couldn't handle the power of Bondarenko who won in straight sets.

Shock in Moscow number one seed out

Nikolay Davydenko ranked number one for the Kremlin Cup in Moscow was defeated in three sets to fellow Russian Marat Safin in the first round of the tournament in Moscow.

Safin, who is a two time runner up in this competition will retire at the end of the ATP World Tour season, but started his 12th and final Kremlin Cup campaign with a well fought victory over Davydenko, the man who beat Safin in the 2006 Kremlin Cup final.

The 6-4 4-6 2-6 defeat to Safin means that Davydenko will not receive any additional South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking points which would help him book his place at the ATP tour final in London.

Davydenko, who recently won the Shanghai Masters title looked tired as the match progressed into the second set and was undone by a stunning performance from the 29 year old former world number one.

Safin will now face world number 51 Evgeny Korolev who defeated fellow Russian and last year's champion Igor Kunitsyn 7-6 6-3

Jankovic enters Guiness Book of Records

Serbian tennis star Jelena Jankovic has been entered into the Guiness Book of World Records, along with Wrigley's chewing gum, Orbit.

A mosaic of 137,264 photos of smiling faces was placed in the Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia. The mosaic measures over 930 square metres. Jankovic, renowned for her smile is the brand embassador for Wrigley's most popular gum and helped promote the event.

The previous record was set in the UK, however this record beat the one set in the UK by 23,271 smiles.

Clement breaks winless streak

French qualifier Arnaud Clement has broken his five month winless run on the ATP tour. Clement, who hasn't won a tour level match since May dispatched fifth seed Andreas Beck in the first round of the Stockholm Open in Sweden.

Clement, a former World number 10 and Australian Open finalist beat the 23 year old German in straight sets 6-4 6-2. Clement saved both break points he faced and won the match in 76 minutes to record only his eighth tour level win of the year.

Beck, who reached his first ATP final back in July was totally outplayed by Clement who will now face fellow qualifier Michael Berrer also from Germany, in the second round in Stockholm.

Seeds sent crashing in Moscow

Third seed Agnieszka Radwanska and sixth seed Elena Vesnina have both been sent crashing out of the first round of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

Radwanska, the 20 year old former Wimbledon junior champion lost in straight sets to world number 61 Maria Kirilenko who is from Moscow 6-3 6-3

Kirilenko, who beat Radwanska in this year's US Open, dominated from the outset and booked her place in the second round with a display that could not be matched by Radwanska.

Radwanska had five break points, but couldn't take any of them and was outplayed and outclassed by the Russian who is yet to win a tournament this year.

The defeat for Radwanska came not long after sixth seed Vesnina was subject to a shock defeat to Russian qualifier Evgeniya Rodina, the match was a close encounter between two relatively young ladies.

The qualifier from Moscow came out on top with a well fought 6-1 3-6 6-2 victory over the world number twenty two Vesnina.

Henin confirms tennis return at Brisbane

Former world number one, Justine Henin has confirmed that she will make her return to competitive tennis at the Brisbane International tournament held in Australia, which starts on January 3rd. The tournament will be an ideal warm up event for January's Australian Open.

The 27 year old Belgian retired from tennis in May last year, but announced her return in September. Henin, who won the Australian Open in 2004 has already been given a wildcard to appear in next year's tournament, but will make her competitive return in Brisbane a tournament that will also feature former French Open Champion, Ana Ivanovic and home favourite Jelena Dokic.

Henin won the Brisbane tournament back in 2001 and will no doubt be looking to record her first win back as a professional.

Henin's compatriot Kim Clijsters beat newly crowned world number one Serena Williams in controversial circumstances in the US Open semi-final before beating Caroline Wozniacki in the final of Clijsters grand slam return from retirement and if Henin wants to follow in her footsteps she may also have to beat Serena who is the current Australian Open Champion.

Welcome

Well thanks folks for stumbling across my blog about the wonderful world of tennis. Here I will post match reports, general tennis news from the WTA and ATP tours and any interesting stats and facts I think you will enjoy.

I hope you enjoy the site!!!!