RODDICK OUT

Andy Roddick has withdrawn from the Masters Cup after spraining his right ankle during practice - an injury that he said did not appear to be serious.

Roddick made the announcement Wednesday, hours before he was to play Roger Federer in a Red Group match. He was replaced in the tournament by 26th-ranked Radek Stepanek, the first alternate here.

Stepanek, of the Czech Republic, could qualify for the semifinals but would have to win both of his matches and hope no more than one of the other players in his group finish with two victories.

"I called him this morning at about 10:00 or 10:30 and said, 'You should prepare like you're going to play. I'm probably 50/50 to play tonight, and I'll let you know as soon as I try to warm up," Roddick said.

Federer has defeated Stepanek 7 - 6, 6 -4.

MURRY IN SEMIS

Britain's Andy Murray reached the Masters Cup semifinals with a 6-4, 6-2 victory Wednesday over Gilles Simon of France. Murray was at his best on the key points, breaking Simon twice in each set and fending off seven of the Frenchman's eight break opportunities. "It was one of my best matches in recent months," Murray said - quite a statement for a player who recently ran off a 14-match winning streak.

AP

DEL POTRO BEATS TSONGA

Juan Martin del Potro kept alive his chances of qualifying for the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai semifinals after beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 7-6(4), 7-6(5) for his first victory in the Gold Group on Tuesday.

NADAL OUT OF DAVIS CUP

Injured world number one Rafael Nadal may not recover in time for Spain's Davis Cup final away to Argentina later this month, his trainer and uncle was quoted as saying on Monday.

Nadal has tendinitis in his right knee and was forced to pull out of the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai which began on Sunday. He also had to retire from his Paris Masters quarter-final against Nikolay Davydenko last month.

SHANGHAI BEGINS

SHANGHAI ON TSN

STRETCHING: THE TRUTH

Researchers now believe that some of the more entrenched elements of many athletes’ warm-up regimens are not only a waste of time but actually bad for you. The old presumption that holding a stretch for 20 to 30 seconds — known as static stretching — primes muscles for a workout is dead wrong. It actually weakens them.

The straining muscle becomes less responsive and stays weakened for up to 30 minutes after stretching, which is not how an athlete wants to begin a workout.

A well-designed warm-up starts by increasing body heat and blood flow. Warm muscles and dilated blood vessels pull oxygen from the bloodstream more efficiently and use stored muscle fuel more effectively. They also withstand loads better.

To raise the body’s temperature, a warm-up must begin with aerobic activity, usually light jogging.

The aerobic warm-up should take only 5 to 10 minutes, with a 5-minute recovery. (Sprinters require longer warm-ups, because the loads exerted on their muscles are so extreme.) Then it’s time for the most important and unorthodox part of a proper warm-up regimen, the Spider-Man and its counterparts.

Stretching muscles while moving, a technique known as dynamic stretching or dynamic warm-ups, increases power, flexibility and range of motion.

Dynamic stretching is at its most effective when it’s relatively sports specific.For runners, an ideal warm-up might include squats, lunges and “form drills” like kicking your buttocks with your heels. Athletes who need to move rapidly in different directions, like soccer, tennis or basketball players, should do dynamic stretches that involve many parts of the body. “Spider-Man” is a particularly good drill: drop onto all fours and crawl the width of the court, as if you were climbing a wall.

STRAIGHT-LEG MARCH (for the hamstrings and gluteus muscles)Kick one leg straight out in front of you, with your toes flexed toward the sky. Reach your opposite arm to the upturned toes. Drop the leg and repeat with the opposite limbs. Continue the sequence for at least six or seven repetitions.

SCORPION (for the lower back, hip flexors and gluteus muscles) Lie on your stomach, with your arms outstretched and your feet flexed so that only your toes are touching the ground. Kick your right foot toward your left arm, then kick your left foot toward your right arm. Since this is an advanced exercise, begin slowly, and repeat up to 12 times.

HANDWALKS (for the shoulders, core muscles and hamstrings) Stand straight, with your legs together. Bend over until both hands are flat on the ground. ‘‘Walk’’ your hands forward until your back is almost extended. Keeping your legs straight, inch your feet toward your hands, then walk your hands forward again. Repeat five or six times.

Stretching muscles while moving, known as dynamic stretching or dynamic warm-ups, increases power, flexibility and range of motion.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL NY TIMES ARTICLE.

SHANGHAI ROUND-ROBIN GROUPS

SHANGHAI PRIZE MONEY

This does not include appearance  money [which may be more than the prizes].

NEEDS REST

Rafael Nadal pledged to do everything in his power to rehabilitate his ailing right knee in time for Spain's Davis Cup final against Argentina in less than three weeks.

Nadal has tendinitis in his knee and was forced to pull out of the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai, which begins Sunday. The world's top-ranked player also had to retire from his Paris Masters quarterfinal against Nikolay Davydenko last week.

The Spanish tennis federation said Tuesday that Nadal needed a week of rest and treatment. Nadal said he would have a final test at the start of next week to determine whether he can represent Spain in Mar del Plata beginning Nov. 21.

Nadal reiterated his criticism of the packed ATP tennis calendar, saying it was "very badly organized."

"It's very hard to always be at the highest level with a calendar like that," he said. "I didn't say no to Shanghai, it was my knee. Going there would have been a very big effort."

Nadal will be replaced at the Masters Cup by Frenchman Gilles Simon, who will play world No. 2 Roger Federer in the Swiss top seed's opening match.

NADAL MAY MISS DAVIS CUP

Rafael Nadal has tendinitis in his right knee and could be in doubt for Spain's Davis Cup final against Argentina.

Medical tests Tuesday confirmed the tendinitis, and Spain team doctor Angel Ruiz-Cotorro said the top-ranked player would undergo treatment through Saturday.

Nadal will have more tests Monday to assess the injury. Spain plays Argentina in the final on indoor hard court at Mar del Plata from Nov. 21-23.

Spanish Davis Cup captain Emilio Sanchez Vicario will not pick Nadal if he is unfit, Nadal's uncle and coach Toni said Tuesday.

On Monday, Nadal pulled out of the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai citing fatigue after a season in which he's played in 111 matches.

SWEDISH GREAT DEAD

Lennart Bergelin, Sweden's first grand slam winner and coach to Bjorn Borg, has died at the age 83 following a short illness.

Bergelin was known most famously in recent years as Borg's personal coach during which time his young protege won 11 Grand Slam singles titles at Wimbledon and the French Open.

Before his career as a trainer, Bergelin was considered one of Sweden's best players, repeatedly figuring on International lists of the world's best players between 1946 and 1955. He also played in 90 Davis Cup tournaments and reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon four times.

Between 1946 and 1951, he won four international tournaments and in 1948 became the first Swede to win the Paris Grand Slam doubles competition, partnered with Jaroslav Drobny. He finished his career with 20 national championships - 9 single and 11 doubles and was given the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal, awarded for the most significant Swedish sports achievement of the year, in 1950 at the height of his playing career.

Bergelin also led Sweden's Davis Cup team to its first ever Davis Cup victory in 1975 against Czechoslovakia, while taking on the duties of Borg's personal coach from 1971 until retiring in 1983.

WHAT'S NEWS IN SHANGHAI

NADAL OUT - SIMON IN

World number one Rafael Nadal of Spain said on Monday that he had pulled out of the Shanghai Masters and his place would be taken by France's Gilles Simon.

"I have decided not to compete in the Masters Cup in Shanghai. As I say this is one of the most difficult decisions in my career due to the importance of the event," he said in a statement posted on his official web site.

The 22-year-old had had to pull out of his Paris Masters quarter-final on Friday with a right knee injury.

BRAIN LAG

Researchers have confirmed what many tennis players have long complained that professional referees misjudge the balls which bounce off the line or close to it.

But they say it is not mere incompetence as some would allege but the result of programming of brain.

Researchers at UC Davis University in California found it is the result of brain's perception of the world lags a few milliseconds behind reality.

To compensate, brain estimates where the object should go next, based on its speed and direction of travel. Mostly those guesses work very well, but if the object is moving very fast and making sudden changes of direction -- like a bouncing tennis ball -- they can give the wrong answer.

While the brain is processing the image of a moving object received from the eyes, the object has already moved on, researchers led by David Whitney, associate professor at Center for Mind and Body and the Department of Psychology, found.

The common flaw in the visual system -- also known as a "perceptual bias"-- has rarely been documented in sports, the researchers say.

Whitney and his team reviewed a random set of 4,457 points from the 2007 Wimbledon tournament. All instances when the tennis ball landed close to or on the line were recorded, and three trained observers individually watched each play. They also examined instant replays.

SHANGHAI FIELD

Simon and Blake will be alternates if a top player withdraws.

TSONGA TAKES PARIS

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat defending champion David Nalbandian 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to win the Paris Masters on Sunday and qualify for the season-ending Masters Cup.

The 13th-seeded Tsonga clinched his second career title and became the first Frenchman since Sebastien Grosjean in 2001 to win the indoor tournament in Bercy.

MASTERS CUP: SUNDAY SHOWDOWN!

 

James Blake's defeat means that Juan Martin Del Potro has qualified for Shanghai. The eighth and final spot will go to the winner of Sunday's final here between Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and David Nalbandian.

If Tsonga wins,he will be the 8th player and  then Gilles Simon will be the 9th [injured reserve] player. If he loses, Tsonga himself will occupy that spot.

For Nalbandian, it is all or nothing.

LAST TANGO IN PARIS

Defending champion David Nalbandian beat Nikolay Davydenko 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 Saturday to set up a Paris Masters final against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

 

 

 

 

 

Tsonga defeated 11th-seeded James Blake 6-4, 6-3 and could become the first Frenchman to win this event since Sebastien Grosjean in 2001.

The wins also kept the eighth-seeded Nalbandian and 13th-seeded Tsonga on course for a place in the season-ending Masters Cup.

The winner of Sunday's final will go to Shanghai with Juan Martin del Potro, who clinched a spot because of Blake's loss.

AP

SHANGHAI ON TSN