ABU DHABI

Negotiations are understood to be at an advanced stage between prominent events organisers in Abu Dhabi and the world’s top-six men’s players to bring a three-day, unsanctioned tournament to the capital to kick off the sporting new year.

The plan is to secure contracts for that six to compete in Abu Dhabi just before the 2009 Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) season opens in neighbouring Qatar on Jan 5.

Others on the Abu Dhabi list are the world No 1 Rafael Nadal, the Spaniard who earlier this year swapped places with Switzerland’s Roger Federer, a man who has a residence in Dubai and has won the popular tournament at the Aviation Club there on four occasions, Novak Djokovic, the outstanding young Serb, Spain’s David Ferrer and Nikolay Davydenko, of Russia.

The unsanctioned showpiece involving the world’s top six would undoubtedly assist in any future initiative to present an official men’s draw of 32 players.

HOLIDAY IN DUBAI

Jesse Levine of Boca Raton, Fl., ranked No. 99 and just six days past his 21st birthday, has been invited for a second extended practice session with Federer.

The former University of Florida star had been invited a year and a half ago to work two weeks with Federer during the middle of summer. This time the weather will be cooler and, since Levine is no longer an NCAA player, he won't have to worry about taking a free first-class plane ticket to Dubai or staying in a five-star hotel at Federer's expense.

Levine is only 8-17 this season, but he's used the Challengers and a few key regular ATP wins to reach at career best No. 95 in September. Since the U.S. Open, he's gone three sets with both David Ferrer and Sam Querrey, but lost each time.

Federer likes the energy Levine brings to his practice sessions and also possibly the fact that he's left-handed, like his No. 1 rival, top-ranked Rafael Nadal.

YEAR END TOURNAMENTS

PILGRIM'S PROGRESS

After Andy Murray overcame Roger Federer in the semifinals of the Madrid Masters, the talk amongst the British press was not how the 21-year-old Scot had already surpassed Tim Henman in stature, but that he has now clearly upped his level to the point where he might equal Fred Perry, the last British male to win a Grand Slam title some 73 long years ago.

Murray then backed up that accolade in the final, dismissing the steady game of Gilles Simon 6-4, 7-6 (6) after the rising Frenchman had upset world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the other semifinal.

The irascible Scot was brilliant most of the week, combing his usual sleight-of-hand tactics from the baseline with blowtorch serves and deep returns. He's always been a scrappy, confident sort, but physically, it has taken the gangly Murray a few years to grow into his body. He's added a lot of muscle to his thin frame and is happy to show it off, taking to flexing his biceps after wins.

But it takes more than just increased muscle to be able to best the likes of the world's top 3. It takes guile and technical proficiency. Murray now has a fair amount of both, and in the past three months, has scored a win over Djokovic in the Cincinnati final (his first Masters Series shield), hit through Nadal in the U.S. Open semis and then last weekend, avenged his tired-looking loss to Federer in the U.S. Open final by adeptly taking care of the big points.

"I always knew from the first moment I saw him in Bangkok (in 2005) that if he didn't screw it up, he'd be top 10 pretty soon," said Federer. "He's improved at his own pace. First he had to grow up a little bit, become a man; he's taken that step well and he seems much more relaxed on the court."

Murray is very much a perfectionist on court, a quality he shares with many other top players, but the three other elite players do not curse themselves at the top of their lungs when they miss an easy shot. They try not to show their vulnerability to their opponents. Murray has shown his dark side way too often in the past three years, but is learning that keeping his chin up and his temper at a medium boil — like Federer was talking about — is more beneficial. Former racket-tosser Federer learned that lesson himself.

"I didn't see Roger play a whole lot as a junior when he was coming up, when he was 18-19 and I heard that he was pretty temperamental," Murray said. "I'm not comparing myself to him and anything that he has achieved, but the way that we play the game is a little bit easier than how some of the players make it look. It's nice to see someone who was similar at the start of their career.

Being recognized for legitimate wins over Federer is not easy to do, but Murray's third win in Madrid was completely above board, as Federer came into the tournament healthy [Right! Federer still has mono.] and well rested. Two years ago when he scored his first upset of Federer In Cincinnati, the Swiss was tapped after having won Canada the week prior. Earlier this year in Dubai when Murray scored win No. 2, Federer was still suffering the after-effects of mononucleosis. But in Spain, there were no excuses on either side and the British No. 1 didn't allow the Swiss to attack his second serve or expose his forehand on the run. Amazingly, the teenager who used to kick in first serves consistently hit big-boy territory, nailing 14 aces, with two struck at 141 miles per hour.

Murray is already assured of his place at the year-end Tennis Masters Cup. With his title run in Madrid, he became the first British player in the Open Era to win four titles in a season.

He is still Slam-less, but has played better than Djokovic and Nadal (who with Federer's loss clinched the year-end top spot) since Wimbledon and now heads into the home stretch of the season with a chance to send up a couple of more warning shots to the other primetime Grand Slam contenders that he could be ready to make serious noise at the Australian Open in January.

SCRAMBLING FOR SHANGHAI

MURRY WINS MADRID

Fourth-ranked Andy Murray beat Gilles Simon of France 6-4, 7-6 (6) Sunday to win the Madrid Masters.

The U.S. Open finalist became the first Briton to win four titles in a season. He will be the first Briton in the Open era since Fred Perry in 1936 to finish the year at No. 4 after winning four titles and playing in a Grand Slam final.

Greg Rusedski and Tim Henman both reached No. 4 but never finished the year there and never won four titles and played in a Grand Slam final in one season.

Murray won in Doha, Marseille and Cincinnati. Mark Cox of Britain captured three titles in 1975.

MURRY AS A JUNIOR

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

SIMON INTO MADRID FINALS

Frenchman Gilles Simon advanced to his first ATP Masters Series final after an exhilarating 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(6) victory over World No. 1 and home favorite Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid on Saturday.

Simon, who will become the No. 1 Frenchman on Monday, strengthened his bid for one of the remaining four berths at Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai. Currently 10th in the ATP 2008 Race, he now moves to within just six points of No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro, in the process leapfrogging James Blake. If he were to win the final on Sunday, he would move to No. 7 in the ATP 2008 Race with 361 points.

ROGER'S APPEARANCE MONEY

........ his decision to pull out of the Stockholm Open recently, thereby forfeiting €700,000 in appearance money........

MURRY BEATS ROGER

Andy Murray reached the Madrid Masters final on Saturday after rallying to beat Roger Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a rematch of last month's U.S. Open championship match. The fourth-seeded Briton broke the second-ranked Federer in the final set on his seventh breakpoint chance to reach his second Masters Series final this season

MARIO AND MONO

When Mario Ancic sustained a serious case of mono that nearly ended his career last year, he knew he'd never be the same physically. Unfortunately for the Croat with the thunderous serve, imposing wingspan and tireless work ethic, a relapse came at the wrong time.

Ancic just reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, where a few grueling encounters didn't help, and was about to embark on one of the biggest events of the season, for him and a few others -- the Beijing Olympics.

Having felt sluggish in an opening-round loss at the Toronto Masters and having skipped the Cincinnati Masters in the summer as the fatigue intensified and the weight loss mounted, to about 15 pounds in total, the 24-year-old knew he couldn't go. 

Ancic, who teamed with veteran Ivan Ljubicic to win doubles bronze at the Athens Games four years ago, has missed six of the past nine Grand Slams, including three straight at the U.S. Open. The main culprit was mono, which first surfaced in January 2007, though knee and shoulder injuries also arose.

That semifinal showing at the All England Club (in 2004), downing Roger Federer on grass (in '02), clinching Croatia's maiden Davis Cup title in hostile surroundings (in '05) and rising to seventh in the rankings a year later all seem like a distant memory.

Ancic, down to No. 136 in January and back up to 31st now as the pendulum continues to swing, knows that, too.

Ancic is an intelligent character, earning his law degree in the spring, and thus is well aware another mono-induced setback might be around the corner.

KARLOVIC ACES DJOKOVIC

Ivo Karlovic hammered 21 aces and won 89 percent of first-serve points in a 7-6(4), 7-6(5) upset win over ATP World No. 3 Novak Djokovic. Djokovic failed to convert three break point chances in the match.

In addition to his overwhelming serve Karlovic was often brilliant at net and on match point, with Djokovic serving, he charged the net after a brief baseline exchange and forced a forehand error.

The 6' 10" Croatian is currently 27th in the ATP 200 Race, but should he win the tournament he would rise close to the Top 10 of the Race and be within reach of a Tennis Masters Cup berth.

FED OVER TSONGA

                                                                                                                            Roger Federer became the ATP Tour’s career leader in prize money Thursday, topping $43.3 million to overtake Pete Sampras.

Federer, a 13-time Grand Slam champion, set the earnings total with his 6-4, 6-1 win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga that put him in the Madrid Masters quarterfinals.

“It’s not very special,” Federer said. “It’s very nice to have records. Sure, money is important in life but it’s not everything.”

The five-time Wimbledon champion’s total is now $43,317,870. Sampras, who won a record 14 Grand Slams, held the mark at $43,280,489.

Federer, who turned pro 10 years ago, paid homage to the tennis stars before him.

FED PLAIN' IN SPAIN

World No. 2 Roger Federer began his bid to reclaim the title at the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid by defeating Czech Radek Stepanek 6-3, 7-6(6) on Wednesday.

In doing so, Federer surpassed Pete Sampras as the all-time leader in career prize money in men's tennis. The Swiss, who earned 24,200 Euros ($32,428) for reaching the third round in Madrid, increased his career total to $43,300,847. Sampras earned $43,280,489 during his outstanding career.

Federer made a confident start to his second round opener, dropping just two points on serve in the first set. Stepanek saved the one break point chance of the ensuing set to force a tie-break, where the No. 2 seed delivered on his second match point to secure the straight-sets win in under 90 minutes.

OZ OPEN STAYS IN MELBOURNE

Australian Open organizers have no intention of moving the tennis major from Melbourne despite overtures from other cities in the Asia-Pacific region wanting to bid for the tournament.

Melbourne Park, adjacent to the city's downtown area, has a contract to host the tournament until 2016, although backers of a new facility in Sydney have publicly stated they'll try to poach the event from the southern city.

Other reports suggest that Shanghai, China, among other Asian cities, wants to host one of the sport's four Grand Slam events.

Melbourne Park has hosted the Australian Open since 1988, when the tournament switched to a hardcourt event and moved across town from the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, where it had been held since 1972.

The Australian championship, or Australasian Championship as it began in 1905, has been held predominantly in Melbourne but also in Australia's other mainland state capitals of Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, and twice in New Zealand.

AP

RACE TO SHANGHAI

MADRID ON TSN

 

TWO-HANDLED RACKET

 

 

TWO-HANDLED RACKET VIDEO

 

ROGER IN MADRID

Roger Federer will play at the Madrid Masters next week, ending a three-week layoff and setting up a possible meeting with top-ranked Rafael Nadal.

“Without a doubt it’s a wonderful thing knowing we can count on Roger Federer being here for another year,” tournament director Manolo Santana said on Thursday.

The second-ranked Federer won the tournament in 2006 and was runner-up last year. The Swiss star skipped this week’s Stockholm Open saying he needed rest as he continues to rebound from a bout of mononucleosis at the start of the year.

AP

OZ OPEN INCREASES PRIZE MONEY

The 2009 Australian Open will offer 22 million Australian dollars (US$15.6 million) in prize money, with the men's and women's singles winners receiving an 18 percent increase.

Tournament officials said at the event launch Wednesday that the singles winners will receive A$1.62 million each, or about US$1.15 million each based on current exchange rates.

The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of next year, will be held from Jan. 19-Feb. 1.

AP