NADAL #1 BY US OPEN

After the Spaniard won the Toronto Masters trophy last Sunday, Nadal is as close as he's ever been to the Swiss — just 300 points back and with precious few of those points to defend during the next few months.

In fact, at this point, it would be surprising if Nadal didn't end Federer's seemingly endless 234-week stint at No. 1. He may not do it this week at the Cincinnati Masters, as Federer would have to lose early and Nadal would have to at least reach the final, but once Federer begins to dump major points on August 18 (due to the havoc the Olympics have played with the schedule, points are dropping off later this year), his ranking will be under siege daily.

Unless the Spaniard gets hurt or his level drops to a pre-2008 level, there should be a new No. 1 entering the U.S. Open, where Federer is the four-time defending champion.

Outside of his often-spectacular play at Wimbledon, he's been a tad mediocre. Just how many losses will it take before he admits to himself that he's in a legitimate slump?

It's one thing to lose to world No. 3 Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semis, or to Nadal at the French Open and Wimbledon, but how to explain losses to Mardy Fish, Radek Stepanek and just last week, Frenchman Gilles Simon?

Simple: He doesn't trust his shots like he used to and is therefore undergoing major bouts of sloppy play.

Federer has no choice but to stay upbeat. He's a realist and he knows that his reign couldn't have lasted uninterrupted forever. Even when Djokovic took over the first quarter of the year, winning the Australian Open and Indian Wells, Federer kept pointing to Nadal as the world's second best, well aware that when healthy and playing the right way, the Spaniard with his speed, remarkable defense and "two forehands" could face down anyone on a great day.

8 YEAR OLD GIRL LISTENS TO DAD

An eight-year-old girl was ejected from a junior tennis tournament at Christchurch on New Zealand's South Island when officials discovered she was wearing a radio earpiece to receive instructions from her father.

Tournament referee Rob Wilkinson said officials became suspicious because the match involving Ukranian-born Anastasiya Korzh featured a "heightened number of questioned calls."

Officials found the earpiece hidden under the girl's headband, linked by a cord to a receiver under her shirt, The Press newspaper reported Thursday.

Korzh's father said the earpiece was only being used to help the girl keep score in the under-10 tournament.

She was playing in her first tournament.

UNISEX TOUNAMENT

Tennis promoter Steve Bellamy envisions such matchups one day, although he'll go with less dynamic pairings for now. On Aug. 3, he'll stage what's believed to be the first tournament involving world-ranked men and women going head to head.

The one-day competition in suburban Pacific Palisades comes with several big rules changes: no overhand serve, second serves or lets. All serving is drop-hit and struck from below the waist.

"About 40 percent of the points in tennis are won on the serve or the return," said Bellamy, founder of The Tennis Channel. "Basically, half the points are over before they even start. Men dominate women in tennis mainly because of the serve, so this concept neutralizes that advantage."

Bellamy said the event will have a 32-player draw, and should be completed in about three hours. He said a committee will examine the qualifications of every entrant and choose the top 28. The other four will come from a qualifier earlier in the day that's open to the public.

The format will be similar to table tennis, with the winner being the first to reach 21 points and each player serving five points before service alternates.

DJOKOVIC BEATS DANCEVIC

Dancevic, 23, of Niagara Falls, Ont., reached the quarter-finals of last year's tournament in Montreal before losing to Spain's Rafael Nadal. On Tuesday night, it was third-seeded Serb Novak Djokovic, the defending champion, who sent Dancevic packing with a 6-4, 6-4 second-round victory before a boisterous Centre Court gathering at Rexall Centre.

Still, it was a decent showing for Dancevic, ranked No. 82 in the world, against a player who's ranked 79 spots higher. On Monday, Dancevic downed Croatian Mario Ancic, ranked 24th in the world.

Dancevic was the lone Canadian remaining in singles after Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ont., was eliminated earlier Tuesday. Dancevic remains in doubles with Canadian-born partner Jesse Levine and their first match comes Wednesday night against Australians Paul Hanley and Jordan Kerr.

DANCEVIC INTO SECOND ROUND

Dancevic, 23, of Niagara Falls, Ont., was the only Canuck to advance Monday, upsetting Croatian Mario Ancic 6-3, 6-4 before a partisan Centre Court gathering at the Rexall Centre. Frederic Niemeyer, of Deauville, Que., lost both his first-round singles and doubles matches.

Dancevic said his win brought back memories of his play in last year's event when the Canadian thrilled tennis fans in Montreal by reaching the quarter-final round before losing to Spain's Rafael Nadal.

A big reason for Dancevic's apprehension was missing 3 1/2 months earlier this year with a back injury suffered at the Australian Open. But on Monday night, Dancevic was dominant on Ancic's second serve, winning stellar 71 per cent of the return points.

Dancevic also won a whopping 81 per cent of points on his first serve.

Dancevic, Canada's top singles player with a No. 82 world ranking, fell behind 2-0 in the second set before rallying to tie it 2-2. Dancevic broke Ancic, ranked No. 24, to take a 5-4 lead before serving out the match.

Dancevic doesn't have much time to savour his victory. He faces third-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic on Tuesday night. Djokovic won this title last year in Montreal.

TENNIS ON TSN- TORONTO- MONTREAL- CINCINNATI

NESTOR WINS WIMBLEDON

Daniel Nestor has his career Grand Slam.

The Toronto native [who has played at Mayfair Lakeshore] and Serbian partner Nenad Zimonjic defeated Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe 7-6 (12), 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-3 in the doubles final at Wimbledon.

"Being the only Canadian to win it is very special," said Nestor. "I feel like I've achieved a lot in tennis. I feel very fortunate to have won today, and we feel like we had to play our best to do it. That makes it more satisfying."

The tournament at the All England Club had been the only Grand Slam missing from Nestor's resume.

He played in one other Wimbledon final, losing to Bjorkman and Todd Woodbridge of Australia 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (7), 7-5 in 2002.

"It's a great feeling," said Nestor. "Wimbledon has the most history and tradition of any tournament.

"We focused really hard. It's one of those matches where you don't want to give an inch. Every game and point is tough."

Nestor, 35, won the 2002 Australian Open, 2004 U.S. Open and 2007 French Open with previous partner Mark Knowles.

The win was the 10th in a row for Nestor's team, who tuned up for Wimbledon by claiming the Queens' club crown on grass, and made up for disappointment in the French Open final a month ago, when they lost to South Americans Pablo Cuevas and Luis Horna.

Zimonjic clinched the victory despite playing with his left wrist heavily braced after a semifinal fall, with the newly married Serb slamming a backhand return winner to the far corner out of reach on first match point.

The well-balanced final was contested by a quarter of seasoned over-30 veterans with a combined total of 14 Grand Slam doubles titles. Playing his 11th Grand Slam doubles final, Nestor now owns 53 career honours, 40 earned with Knowles.

The trophy was the first at a Grand Slam for Zimonjic, who came up short at Wimbledon in 2004 and 2006.

The match was the last at Wimbledon for the 36-year-old Bjorkman, retiring after the Olympics.

Nestor and Zimonjic have now lifted three trophies this season, the first two Hamburg and Queen's. They placed runners-up at Indian Wells, Rome and Roland Garros.

"Now I think we're the No. 1 team so far for the year, which is very exciting, too," said Nestor.

"Hopefully we can relax and carry this through the rest of the season and play a little more relaxed and enjoy things a little more."

The marathon opening set, which stretched close to an hour, stayed on serve and into a tiebreak, with Nestor and Zimonjic finally taking a welcome lead on their fifth set point after saving three for their opponents. After a duel at the net, Nestor's team earned the set when Bjorkman blinked first with a shovelled reaction return into tape.

The second set was equally draining as it also went into tiebreakers. But the experienced Bjorkman and Ullyett killed any unnecessary drama as they quickly reached three set points. Ullyett poached perfectly cross-court with a volley winner to square the match in a flash at one set apiece.

The second seeds earned the first break of the grinding match as Bjorkman went down 3-1 through a backhand long, with Nestor quickly consolidating with a hold for 4-1 in the third.

"It was a little bit of nerves out there, and finally we broke through," said Nestor.  "They kept up their level in the second, and we were fortunate to get a break.

"I thought we started playing better in the third and forth, especially returning. The whole match we served really well."

Two unforced errors from Bjorkman handed over a two-set-to-love lead as Zimonjic put the set away with a precision volley.

Because of the match's length, television viewers were denied the final's ending as NBC cut from their Wimbledon coverage to regularly-scheduled programming.

MEN'S QUARTERS

BRIT CHRIS EATON

Last month, Chris Eaton, Britain's newest tennis hero, was making long-distance journeys across Uzbekistan in a taxi to travel to his latest tournament on the no-frills Futures Circuit.

"There's no glamour. There's nothing. There's no atmosphere," said the 20-year-old.

But it was all a little different for the world number 661 on Tuesday.

With a throng of 40,000 spectators - some in wacky hats, some drinking champagne, some even watching tennis - Wimbledon cannot be accused of lacking in ambiance.

And on Court Three on a balmy evening, Eaton experienced the spine-tingling aura of the world's greatest tennis tournament for the first time in his career, and added a bit of sparkle to the event himself.

Hundreds had gathered around the court to watch the qualifier from Surrey; the stand was full to capacity and they queued to get into the walkway.

As the players entered the court not everyone could confidently identify which one was the Brit.

But after he despatched Serbia's Boris Pashanski with such panache, winning 6-3 7-6 6-4 and landing 26 aces, children gathered excitedly around him to get his autograph. A little recognition at last.

Indeed, the big-serving right-hander, the lowest-ranked player in the men's draw, made such an impression that everyone is wondering why he has not made an impact before now.

During his teenage years, Eaton was compared with Tim Henman, a fellow former student of Reed's School in Surrey.

Eaton may lack the former British number one's all-round game but he has a serve that would be the envy of the perennial Wimbledon semi-finalist, winning 74% of the points when his first serve landed against Pashanski.

Eaton, who was also a talented cricketer, started playing tennis aged six and, as a junior, was once ranked second in Britain.

Adrian Blackman, head of tennis at Reed's, remembers a straight-A student who took to the game a little later than the other pupils.

"He was always a big boy and very strong," Blackman, who used to play doubles with Henman, told BBC Sport.

"He was a late developer, had a great work ethic and by the time he was 16 he felt he was going to be a professional.

"His victory against Pashanski will be a massive boost and he can go on and beat a lot of players. His serve is his real weapon."

At a time when Britain's young tennis stars are being accused of being mollycoddled, Eaton, who had to beat six opponents just to make the main draw at Wimbledon, has shown a dogged determination to succeed.

He lives with his parents, Mike and Sue, in the village of East Horsley near Guilford, and drives a Vauxhall Astra with duct tape on one mirror.

His career earnings so far total £13,500, which will be eclipsed by the minimum of £17,000 - a fee which Eaton admits will help "fund his life" - he will receive for reaching the second round at Wimbledon.

Not that life will change all that much for the Englishman. He strung his own rackets ahead of the match against Pashanski and will continue to do so.

"We have a stringing machine at the National Tennis Centre. I always string my racquets there," he said.

"I know exactly how the racquet's going to come out. I thought I may as well do it myself, then I know exactly what I'm getting.

"For the next tournament I play, I'll just try to do exactly the same thing I'm doing here - focusing, working hard in the gym, working hard on the court. Hopefully it will continue."

Before he contemplates his next tournament, however, Eaton will face 25th seed Dmitry Tursunov, who beat Henman in five sets at Wimbledon in 2005.

Eaton will be third on Court One on Thursday and should he beat the Russian then a certain hill at SW19 might need renaming.

SECOND WEEK SKED

CHRIS EVERT AND GREG NORMAN WED

Ex-golfer Greg Norman and tennis legend Chris Evert were married on Saturday in a seaside ceremony held under a veil of tight security on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.

Officers from the Royal Bahamas Police Force and local security staff kept reporters, photographers and television crews from straying beyond checkpoints set up well around the perimeter of the One & Only Ocean Club resort where the celebrity couple tied the knot at sunset.

But People magazine said Evert and Norman, both 53, exchanged vows in front of 140 family and friends, including U.S. television personality Matt Lauer and singer-songwriter Corey Hart.

Evert's youngest son Colton, 12, served as ring bearer, and sons Nicky, 14, and Alex, 16, walked her down the aisle. Also present were Norman's daughter Morgan, 23, and son Gregory Jr., 21, who served as best man, the magazine said.

Media reports have said the couple, who arrived in the Bahamas on Norman's private jet on Thursday, shelled out up to $2 million for their lavish weekend nuptials.

Evert, who won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, divorced former husband Andy Mill, a World Cup and Olympic skier from Colorado, last December after 18 years of marriage.

Norman reached a divorce settlement with his wife of 26 years, Laura Andrassy, in September. The Australian won the British Open in 1986 and 1993.

COLD STEEL

So why does everyone hate Maria?

Even among tennis fans as a whole, it's been clear for some time that Sharapova is not a beloved champion. There's a lot of interest in her, but not a lot of affection. She was booed off the court by the finicky French fans after losing to Dinara Safina at the French Open. It inspired an interesting discussion in the IHT's pre-Wimbledon forum, and the range of possibilities given was wide -- her entourage, her grunting, her uninspiring game, her toughness on court, her looks.

The thing is, what's she to do? Sharapova isn't by nature warm or sweet, nor is she pleasantly dumb, either of which would make her less threatening. She's sharp and assertive, presenting a steely edge to the world .

Sharapova Inc. The Tiffany's earrings, the talking point dresses, the endorsements, the money, the attention ... Sharapova's commercial success would make it tough for her to be one of the girls even if she wanted to be, but she shows no sign that she does.

It's not too surprising that Sharapova's level of comfort around fellow players isn't great, given some unfriendly experiences at Bollettieri's and the silent resentment that greets any attractive young player on tour who receives a lot of hype.saying hello business is clearly a big deal in the locker room, with Anna Kournikova (the original unloved Russian) and the Williams sisters all infamous for a tendency not to greet players. Ahead of the French Open, Alize Cornet listed Anna Chakvetadze as her least liked player -- Chakvetadze's failure to say hello factoring heavily in the explanation.

GIVE US TENNIS

 

 

DEAR ESPN,

Up at 6, dispatched coffee and cryptic.

Tuned in and settled in to watch Big W tennis.

NOT!!!

7am - talking heads

7:15 - talking heads

7:30 - talking heads

8am - more ........

Except for a few minutes of women's tennis [Dellacqua vs Vaidasova which was, as usual, hit-miss or mis-hit or miss-hits].

Druther have the talking heads.

Please!

Give us tennis!

Your obedient servant,

Grumpy

SHARAPOVA, RODDICK, BLAKE - ALL GONE

Andy Roddick and James Blake both suffered early exits at the hands of unseeded opponents, leaving unheralded Bobby Reynolds as the lone American remaining in the men's draw.

For all the accolades his serve usually receives, Roddick's failure to break Janko Tipsarevic cost him dearly in a 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (4) loss to the 40th-ranked Serbian, who has never gone past the fourth round at a major.

The ninth-seeded Blake's woes in five-set matches continued as he fell to Rainer Schuettler 6-3, 6-7 (8), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in their second-round match.

Blake made 37 unforcred errors to Schuettler's 28 and lost for the 11th time in 14 career five-set matches.

Second-ranked Rafael Nadal fared better, advancing to the third round with a 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (2), 6-3 win over Ernests Gulbis.

Former champion Maria Sharapova was knocked out of Wimbledon in a stunning second-round upset Thursday by a 154th-ranked Russian, marking her earliest exit from a Grand Slam tournament since her first full season on tour in 2003.

Her game littered by double faults and ugly unforced errors, the third-seeded Sharapova slumped to a 6-2, 6-4 loss to 20-year-old Alla Kudryavtseva.

DJOKOVIC, C'EST FIN

 

Marat Safin's resurrection has claimed his first major upset -- Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-6, 6-2.

No doubt Roger enjoyed the match!

DAMN RACQUET!

Fourth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko has been ousted in first round of Wimbledon for the fifth time.

Davydenko lost 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to Germany’s Benjamin Becker on Tuesday, extending his woeful run on grass at the All England Club.

The 27-year-old Russian has advanced past the first round at Wimbledon only twice in seven trips, including a fourth-round exit last year.

FED ADVANCES

The great Roger Federer extended his amazing grass-court winning streak to 60 matches with an easy opening-round victory Monday at Wimbledon 2008. Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic also moved into the second round at the storied All England Club.

The reigning five-time champion here pasted Slovakian Dominik Hrbaty 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 amid sun-drenched conditions on the famed Centre Court.

Federer rolled with the help of 10 aces and five service breaks, while a rusty 30-year-old Hrbaty was unable to break Federer on the Swiss' preferred surface. The former top-20 performer Hrbaty was appearing in only his fourth ATP-level tournament this year.

The top-seeded/world No. 1 Federer is now riding a 35-match winning streak at Wimbledon, where Bjorn Borg holds the record by nailing down 41 straight victories here before losing to John McEnroe in the 1981 men's finale.

Up next for Federer will be dangerous Swede Robin Soderling.

DANCEVIC BEATS NALBANDIAN

Canada's Frank Dancevic upset seventh-seeded David Nalbandian in the first round at Wimbledon on Monday.

Dancevic, who was broken just once in the match, cruised over the Argentine in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in just one hour and 36 minutes. It is the earliest exit for Nalbandian, who reached the final in 2002.

The Niagara Falls, Ontario native used his first serve and net presence to frustrate Nalbandian throughout the match.

Dancevic made good on 64% of his first serves which translated into winners on 76% of those points. He also broke Nalbandian on five occasions.

And he forced the action at the net, winning 71% of those points.

TENNIS LOVE

It was love-all for Jamie Murray and Jelena Jankovic last year as the Scot and the Serb flirted their way to the mixed doubles title. Like giggly teenagers, they held hands, made suggestive comments and had such on-court chemistry that onlookers suspected that they were witnessing the start of a beautiful relationship.

Jankovic even announced that she had bribed Murray with “many kisses” if he made a good return, saying that she was trying “to pump him up a little”. It clearly worked.

Off court, however, love did not blossom in the way that everyone hoped and they will not be reuniting this year because Jankovic wants to concentrate on her singles. But tennis loves a good romance, as the following examples show.

Five that didn’t last

Chris Evert and Jimmy Connors

It was the summer of love for Wimbledon in 1974, when Connors and Evert, who were engaged, won the singles titles, but they split by the year’s end.

Evert and John Lloyd

Five years after breaking up with Connors, Evert married Lloyd. They divorced in 1987.

Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters

The Australian started dating the Belgian after they met at the 2000 Australian Open. Engaged in 2003, they split a year later.

Martina Hingis and Radek Stepanek

Hingis had previously dated Magnus Norman, Ivo Heuberger and Justin Gimelstob before getting engaged to Stepanek in 2006, breaking up nine months later. When asked why she dated only tennis players, she snapped: “Who else am I going to meet? A journalist?”

Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova Regularly seen together but denied that they were more than friends, although Sharapova practised with the American at the 2006 US Open, wearing a T-shirt saying: “Love is in the air”.

And three that succeeded

Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf

Agassi and Graf danced together at the champions party after the French Open in 1999. They were married in 2001 and have two children.

Roger Federer and Mirka Vavrinec

Vavrinec was a former tour player who reached No 76 in the world. She retired in 2002 to become Federer’s manager, having become his girlfriend in 2000.

Stepanek and Nicole Vaidisova

There must be something special about Stepanek because he is now seeing Vaidisova, 19, ranked No 18.

FED vs DJOKER and NADAL vs RODDICK

Roger Federer could face No. 3-ranked Novak Djokovic in the semifinals as he bids for a sixth straight Wimbledon title.

Djokovic, the Australian Open champion, was drawn into Federer's half of the bracket Friday for the grass-court Grand Slam tournament opening Monday.

Earlier this week, Djokovic said he thinks Federer is vulnerable after his lopsided loss in the French Open final -- and that he is one of several players who could end the Swiss star's five-year reign at Wimbledon. 

Second-ranked Rafael Nadal, who routed Federer in Paris but lost to him in the past two Wimbledon finals, is in the other half of the draw. He could face two-time runner-up Andy Roddick in the semifinals.

Federer, who has won 59 straight matches on grass, will open play on Centre Court on Monday against Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia. Hrbaty, who reached a world ranking of No. 12 in 2004, has dropped to No. 272.

Federer could play French Open semifinalist Gael Monfils in the third round and either 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt or Fernando Gonzalez in the fourth. His projected quarterfinal opponent is Spain's fifth-seeded David Ferrer.

Nadal, coming off his fourth straight French Open victory and first grass-court title at Queen's Club, will open against German qualifier Andreas Beck. Nadal could face Mikhail Youzhny in the fourth round, Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals and either No. 4 Nikolay Davydekno or No. 8 Roddick in the semis.

Djokovic, who lost to Nadal in the Queen's final, has a first-round match against Michael Berrer of Germany and could face a tough second-round matchup with Russia's Marat Safin, a former No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam winner. Djokovic could meet David Nalbandian in the quarterfinals before a potential showdown with Federer.