FED IS FED UP

Roger Federer is pumped.

No doubt wanting to make a statement early in 2009, he's playing the most he ever has in January, starting with a lucrative exhibition in Abu Dhabi this week that features two of his main rivals, world No. 1 Rafael Nadal and Scottish talent Andy Murray.

The majestic Swiss then hits the Qatar Open, with Nadal and Murray resurfacing, before competing in the Kooyong Classic, another exhibition and his only form of Australian Open prep in recent years.

Federer was afflicted with mono last year at this time, though he didn't know it, and it predictably affected his 2008 season. He lost in the Australian Open semis to upstart Novak Djokovic, only salvaging his campaign by claiming a fifth straight U.S. Open and doubles gold at the Olympics in China.

"Never before have I started a tennis year as early as the one ahead," Federer told his Web site. "There is such a large number of challenges lying ahead. Facing them, working hard and giving my best to succeed is precisely why I love my job so much."

Wins over Nadal and Murray prior to Melbourne, regardless of whether they're in exhibitions or not, would do Federer good: He went a miserable 1-7 against the duo the past 12 months.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

DOUBLY GOOD

Toronto's Daniel Nestor and partner Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia were named the International Tennis Federation's top men's doubles team for 2008 on Wednesday.

Nestor and Zimonjic beat American twins Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6 (3), 6-2 in the Masters Cup doubles final to clinch the year-end No. 1 ranking. Nestor and Zimonjic also won the doubles crown at Wimbledon and reached the final of the French Open.

WET WIMBLEDON'S WROOF

The first match under the new retractable roof of Wimbledon’s Centre Court will be played in May, almost two months before the Grand Slam tournament.

Wimbledon will hold an event May 17 “to test the new roof and air conditioning system,” the All England Club said Tuesday in a statement.

The sliding roof will help alleviate Wimbledon’s perennial rain delays. Tickets will be sold to the event, but details have yet to be announced.

“We plan to recreate normal playing conditions,” Wimbledon spokesman Johnny Perkins said.

The Daily Mail newspaper reported that four-time Wimbledon semifinalist Tim Henman, who retired in 2007, may take part in the opening event.

The traditional roof overhang on Centre Court was removed after the 2006 tournament, leaving the grass surface more open to the elements in 2007. The overhang was back in 2008, along with 1,200 extra seats.

The Wimbledon tournament will be held June 22-July 5.

 

AP

WEALTH OF TALENT

Tennis star Roger Federer has just joined the select group of the 300 wealthiest residents of Switzerland, according to an annual survey published on Friday.

Federer, aged 27, is valued at SFr100-200 million ($83.2-166.4 million) by the Swiss business magazine Bilanz.

It notes that since 2005, Federer has been under the wings of the influential sport marketing and management agency IMG, which has managed to triple his annual income from advertising to $35 million.

The magazine also points out that at the beginning of this year, the world's number two player signed an eight-year deal with sportswear and equipment company Nike worth a record $130 million.

Since 1998 Federer has carried off more than $43 million in prize money.

Bilanz says the Swiss also has a third source of income – exhibition matches for which he receives about $1 million for each he attends. Federer plays about half a dozen such matches every year.

Earlier this year, Federer moved home from his native canton Basel country to live in the commune of Wollerau in central Switzerland, where taxes are lower.

NEURAL PLASTICITY

Mesmerizing CBC program on neural plasticity.

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ON HIS WAY TO THE BANK

On his way to London to play in the BlackRock Masters beginning Tuesday, Sampras played an exhibition match with Dominck Hrbaty in Bratislava.

Then he moved on to Prague where he played with Radek Stepanek on Monday evening. They played in Prague’s O2 Arena before a crowd of 11,000 people. Sampras won 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 (Super-TB). Sampras got Czech Crowns 3.000.000, which is about US$ 150.000.

In the afternoon before the match, Sampras met with Czech President Vaclav Klaus in Prague Castle (Klaus is big tennis fan and avid tennis player) and gave him a racket, which he also signed for the president.

After the match, Sampras left on his jet to London for the senior event.

DOH!

Plans by French entertainer Gael Monfils to play next month's Brisbane International are in tatters after a failure to meet the entry deadline.

Monfils, who might well have been the men's third seed in Brisbane, told organisers last month he wanted to start his Australian Open campaign at the January 4-11 tournament.

The flamboyant world No. 14, who has recently changed agents, and missed the entry deadline. His current agent and his former agent are blaming each other and Gael would still very much like to play our tournament.

Wildcards have already been promised to crowd-pleasing Marcos Baghdatis, the 2006 Australian Open runner-up who has dropped to No. 99 in an injury-hit year, and Tennis Australia is committed to giving the remaining two to Australian men.

FED DEVALUES FRENCH

Federer will play only two clay-court tournaments before the 2009 French Open, the only Grand Slam tournament he has never won.

Federer will head to Paris on May 24 after playing Masters series events in Rome and Madrid on his least favorite surface.

Federer played four clay-court events ahead of the 2008 French Open -- Estoril, Portugal; Monte Carlo; Rome; and Hamburg, Germany.

Federer had a tough 2008 season marred by illness and a back injury. He surrendered his Wimbledon title and No. 1 ranking to Nadal, but won the U.S. Open for his 13th Grand Slam title.

Federer has won five U.S. Opens, five Wimbledons and three Australian Opens but never captured the French, where he has lost to Nadal in the final three straight years.

Federer will start the year on hard courts at an invitation tournament in Abu Dhabi, then play events in Doha, Qatar, and Kooyong, Australia, before the Australian Open starts Jan. 19 in Melbourne.

His grass-court schedule is unchanged, with a single warmup for Wimbledon in Halle, Germany.

Federer will defend his U.S. Open title after playing Masters events on hard courts in Montreal and Cincinnati.

AP

HARBINGERS OF OZ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will open the 2009 ATP season by playing at the Qatar Open.

Qatar tennis federation president Nasser al-Kholiafi says Andy Murray and Andy Roddick will also take part in the hard-court tournament, which begins Jan. 5.

The tournament in Doha is one of three to start the 2009 tennis season, along with the Brisbane International in Australia, and the Chennai Open in India.

AP

MONEY AND BRAINS

In his prime, Johnny Unitas was the guy you wanted quarterbacking a football team. The Hall of Famer set seven lifetime NFL passing records during his storied career. But he might not be your pick to run a circuit-board maker.

In 1984, Unitas and partners bought National Circuits for $3.5 million. The company foundered, and six years later they could only sell it for $1 million. Unitas declared bankruptcy in 1991 after he couldn't pay back loans he took to purchase National.

"The No. 1 reason athletes lose money is they invest in areas they don't really understand and not related to their expertise," says Alan Lancz, a wealth manager who works with a number of professional athletes.

Björn Borg's another good example. When he retired from tennis at the age of 27 in 1983, the Swede had won 11 Grand Slam championships. He tried to replicate his on-court success in the world of fashion with the Björn Borg Design Group; it didn't work.

The company quickly ran into liquidity problems and shut down in 1989. Borg refused to take outside financing for fear of losing control of the company. Creditors later sued Borg, but he claimed he couldn't pay because he was "more or less bankrupt."

While failed business ventures often take a wrecking ball to an athlete's net worth, they are hardly the only source of money woes. There's also the expensive cars, the jewelry, the lavish parties, the mansions. The cost of the lifestyle adds up.

In a Prince & Associates survey of sports agents, 69.1% said their athlete clients live a luxurious lifestyle. The Rothstein Kass-sponsored survey also found only 26.4% of those athletes worried about paying for the lifestyle. More should be so concerned.

"I want all the money I can spend and, brother, that's a lot," the two-time Cy Young winner Denny McClain once said. The last MLB pitcher to win 30 games in a single season would later file for bankruptcy twice.

One estimate pegs Mike Tyson's career earnings at $400 million. But the hard-punching heavyweight, who earned up to $30 million for some of his fights, declared bankruptcy in 2003. Documents from Tyson's divorces said he spent $400,000 a month on care for his pet tigers, legal fees, limos and plenty more.

''He spent enormous amounts of money that were inappropriate at best,'' a lawyer for Tyson's ex-wife told The New York Times after the bankruptcy filing. ''Part of it can be attributed to a lack of willpower."

Jack Clark was in the middle of a three-year $8.7 million contract with the Boston Red Sox in 1992. The power-hitting designated hitter was also filing for bankruptcy. In a filing, Clark revealed debts of $11.4 million. His assets only totaled $4.8 million.

"He had some expensive hobbies, and I think they got ahead of him," Clark's lawyer told a reporter. Clark's bankruptcy filing revealed he owned 18 cars, one a 1990 Ferrari that cost $717,000. He still owed money on 17 of them.

Another potential financial pitfall for pro players: Their big paychecks make them a target. The agents in the Prince survey say they've seen 77.5% of their athletes exploited by friends and family. They've seen 71.9% exploited by advisers.

When NHL great Bobby Orr retired in 1978, one accountant estimated the defenseman owed more money than he had. A few years later, Orr accused his agent Alan Eagleson of mismanaging his finances. The former Boston Bruin sat in the courtroom when Eagleson pleaded guilty to schemes to defraud National Hockey League Players. Justice was served, but it didn't bring the money back.

RODDICK'S NEW COACH: LARRY STEFANKI

Roddick announced on his Web site that Stefanki will begin working with him during the offseason and travel with him in 2009. Jimmy Connors resigned as Roddick's coach early in the 2008 season.

Stefanki, a former player who reached a career-high ranking of No. 35, has coached John McEnroe, Marcelo Rios, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Tim Henman. Stefanki most recently coached 2007 Australian Open runner-up Fernando Gonzalez.

Roddick won the 2003 U.S. Open under Brad Gilbert and finished that year at No. 1 in the rankings. He ended the 2008 season at No. 8.

The American has gone through a series of coaches during his career, including working with Patrick McEnroe during this year's U.S. Open. Roddick has also been coached by his brother, John

JIMMY CONNORS ARRESTED

Tennis star Jimmy Connors has been arrested at a college basketball game in California, the Associated Press reported on Saturday.

The eight-time grand slam champion was taken into custody after refusing to leave an area near the entrance to the Thunderdome arena in Santa Barbara, campus police said.

A police official told AP that Connors was taken into custody before the start of the men's game between University College Santa Barbara and North Carolina.

No other details of the arrest were made available, but an employee at Santa Barbara County jail said that Connors had not been charged with an offense as of Saturday morning local time.

Connors is one of the all-time tennis greats, having been ranked as world number one for five consecutive years in the 1970s.

He was also renowned for his fiery temperament on the court as he battled his way to 109 career titles.

The 56-year-old returned to the mainstream tennis fold by acting as coach to American number one Andy Roddick, but their near two-year relationship ended earlier this year.

LET JOY FILL YOUR HEART [Turn on your speakers]

DAVIS CUP

The story of Argentine tennis dates to the late 19th century, and what runs through this rich tale of overcoming long odds and longer distances is red clay.

The Argentines call it polvo de ladrillo (literally, brick dust), and it is the only surface available at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, the venerable institution that dates to 1892 and lies at the epicenter of the sport in a leafy quarter of the Argentine capital.

On a breezy day this week, the dust swirled through the spring air, leaving a gritty ocher coating on the grass and the table tops.

The next morning, in an airplane flying low over the Buenos Aires outskirts, there were scores of red rectangles visible below among the tile roofs and broad patches of desiccated plain.

But 400 kilometers, or 250 miles, to the south, in the coastal resort of Mar del Plata, the site this weekend of the most significant tennis event ever staged in Argentina, the red rectangles and brick dust are suddenly nowhere to be seen.

Inside the Estadio Polideportivo, the modest arena where, beginning on Friday, David Nalbandian, Juan Martin del Potro and Argentina will play host to Spain in this year's Davis Cup final, the surface is a luminous blue indoor carpet. Even the nearby grounds are clay-free, with three hard courts being resurfaced in order to make this hard-scrabble section of the city look worthier of one of the game's seminal competitions.

"I'm sure it is strange for you," said Guillermo Salatino, the former Argentine player who, at 63, remains one of the leading voices of the game here on radio and television. "For me, too, it seems strange being in my country and seeing a Davis Cup final played on an indoor carpet, but in reality, it reflects the natural evolution of tennis in Argentina."

Argentine players have indeed become more complete. Nalbandian, the moody longtime leader of this team, and Del Potro, the towering 20-year-old prodigy, both profess to be more at ease on faster surfaces than the clay that has long defined their nation's tennis landscape.

Now Nalbandian and Del Potro have been granted at least part of their wish: an indoor court. It will be the first time since Argentina joined tennis's premier team competition in 1923 that the country has staged a home match on anything but outdoor clay. But then perhaps it was time for a new tack, considering that Argentina has never won the Davis Cup.

The closest it has come were finals in 1981 against John McEnroe and the United States and in 2006 against Marat Safin and Russia. Both those defeats came on the road and indoors.

Now, for the first time, Argentina will be the host. Its chances are only increased because it does not have to host Rafael Nadal, the world's No. 1 player, who withdrew from Spain's team last week because of tendinitis in his knee.

Nadal's buff right [sic] bicep features prominently on the official poster for the final. But the Spaniards genuinely present are the slumping David Ferrer, two talented but erratic left-handers, Feliciano López and Fernando Verdasco, and a newcomer, Marcel Granollers.

The rub is that the Argentines would probably not have bothered to play indoors or in Mar del Plata if they had known that Nadal, the king of clay and four-time French Open champion, was not going to join them. Instead, they would likely have chosen an outdoor hardcourt, or even clay, in Buenos Aires at the new stadium at Parque Roca. But it is too late to play in the sunshine now.

"I believe Argentina is going to win," said José Luis Clerc, who along with Guillermo Vilas was the star of the 1981 team. "What happened this year is what we all needed before: a good schedule. It never happened for us, and it never happened for these kids until now."

For the first time, through the luck of the draw, Argentina has been able to play all four of the rounds at home, where it has not lost in Davis Cup play since 1998. And just when it appeared that this historic opportunity might be squandered by a lack of in-form players, Del Potro burst to prominence by winning four consecutive tournaments in the northern hemisphere summer at age 19 on his way into a year-end world ranking of nine, two spots ahead of Nalbandian.

"This is our big chance," Clerc said. "Soccer is, of course, the number one sport here, but this is the first time that people are getting really crazy here about Davis Cup. Everywhere I'm going, the question is, 'José, will you be in Mar del Plata?' People in the street, people in the bank, people everywhere."

Among other Argentine luminaries expected to attend is the new national soccer team coach, Diego Maradona, who planned to return home quickly after his debut at the helm on Wednesday in Scotland. Maradona has become one of the Davis Cup team's most visible and audible supporters, also making the trip to Moscow for the 2006 final.

Vilas, with whom Clerc has long had a chilly relationship, is also expected to make a rare appearance. That seems appropriate considering that he was born in Mar del Plata, later polishing his game as a teenager in Buenos Aires at the Lawn Tennis Club.

Vilas memorabilia is a constant presence in Argentine clubs. The trophy case at the Lawn Tennis Club contains one of the open-throated wooden rackets he used to win the United States Open at Forest Hills in 1977 as well as a yellow tennis ball he hit on his way to beating the United States in the Davis Cup in Buenos Aires in 1977 in the club's main, 4,000-seat stadium with its Wimbledon-inspired green walls and creeping ivy.

The final is in Mar del Plata because Buenos Aires does not possess an indoor arena of the requisite size and quality despite its population of about 14 million.

The Argentines' first choice was Córdoba, Nalbandian's home city, but the International Tennis Federation surprised the Argentines by choosing the alternate site of Mar del Plata instead.

Mar del Plata authorities, unlike those in Córdoba, had agreed to make their arena available immediately after the decision to prepare it for the final. There was also - this being 21st-century sport - a sponsorship concern, with Córdoba's bid being backed by a local bank, which might have been viewed as a conflict by the Davis Cup's title sponsor, the French bank BNP Paribas.

Nalbandian was not amused by the choice and initially made rumblings about boycotting the final. But he quickly thought better of it, well aware that, with his 27th birthday looming in January, he will probably never have a better opportunity to win something transcendent.

The only Argentine man to win a Grand Slam singles title since Vilas remains Gastón Gaudio at the French Open in 2004. Nalbandian reached the Wimbledon final in 2002 and won the season-ending Masters Cup after making it in as an alternate in 2005. But those achievements would pale in the collective Argentine consciousness compared with finally securing La Copa Davis.

Argentina is particularly passionate about its national teams and has had much to savor over the years, with two World Cup soccer titles, Olympic gold medals in men's basketball and soccer, and a third-place finish by the Pumas, at last year's Rugby World Cup in France.

As with Spain in 2000, the year it finally won its first Davis Cup, the long wait has only increased the pre-final buzz in Argentina. The cup, one of the grander trophies in world sport, has been making the promotional rounds and was on display at Vilas Club in Buenos Aires last week for two days.

Vilas Club opened in 1993 with Vilas as a part owner. Vilas's success generated a boom in tennis participation, increasing the number of Argentine players from less than 100,000 to close to three million.

He, like his successors, was much more than a clay-court specialist, winning the Australian Open twice on grass. But the Davis Cup exceeded his left-handed grasp. Now, 27 years later, in the absence of another great and bullish left-hander, his compatriots' chances of laying their hands on it look very good indeed.

CHRISTOPHER CLAREY

MAR DEL PLATA - DAVIS CUP

Spain's David Ferrer returns the ball as team captain Emilio Sanchez Vicario, back left, talks to an unidentified member of the team during a training session ahead the Davis Cup final in Mar del Plata, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008. Argentina will host the Davis Cup final against Spain on Nov. 21-23 in Mar del Plata.

DJOKOVIC WINS SHANGHAI

Serbia's Novak Djokovic crushed Nikolay Davydenko 6-1 7-5 to win the Masters Cup on Sunday, underlining his credentials as a major challenger to Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer at the top of men's tennis.

The Australian Open champion, who lost all his matches without winning a set on his debut at the season-ending shootout last year, earned $1.24 million to move to within 10 ranking points of world number two Federer.

NESTOR #l IN DOUBLES

Canada's Daniel Nestor and Serbia's Nenad Zimonjic beat American twins Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6 (3), 6-2 on Sunday in the Masters Cup doubles final to clinch the year-end No. 1 ranking.

The Bryans, seeking their third straight title in the event, had held the top ranking and won the Olympic bronze medal in August.

But Nestor and Zimonjic have beaten the Americans three straight times and went through the tournament undefeated, taking all three of their round-robin matches and the semifinals. Zimonjic also won the mixed doubles in the Australian Open with Tiantian Sun.

AP

BRYANS AND NESTOR IN DUB FINALS

At the moment, Bob and Mike Bryan have a slim 31 point lead over Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic for the top honors in 2008. The winning team scores 40 points so the bottom line is whichever team wins today will go down in the record books as the season-ending No. 1 team.

For Bob and Mike Bryan there is much at stake as they would like to finish as the No. 1 team for a fourth consecutive year, which would also mean that they’ve ended five overall seasons in the top spot. The Bryans picked up their sixth Grand Slam trophy at the U.S. Open in September and kept their record of winning at least five titles a year going for a seventh straight year.

Nestor and Zimonjic, playing together as a regular team for the first time this season, have been in great form this week, dropping one set in four matches played. Their best stretch during the season was winning three consecutive titles at Queen’s Club, Wimbledon and the AMS Toronto tournament.

Nestor had played in nine year-end events in the past with former partner, Mark Knowles, winning the title in 2007. Zimonjic reached the year-end final in 2005 with Leander Paes and also qualified in 2006 as a pairing with Fabrice Santoro.

It’s likely to be a thrilling final encounter between these two talented teams who are tied at two matches apiece in previous meetings. They played three times this year and the Bryans won the AMS Rome final, but Nestor and Zimonjic won the AMS Hamburg and AMS Toronto finals.

JOKER AND NIKOLAY IN FINAL

Russia's Nikolay Davydenko shocked in-form Andy Murray to set up a surprise Masters Cup final against world number three Novak Djokovic on Saturday.

Davydenko took advantage of Murray's late finish against Roger Federer on Friday to win 7-5, 6-2, reaching his first final in four straight visits to the year-end showpiece.

He faces a daunting task against Australian Open champion Djokovic, who roared into the title match 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 against Gilles Simon and beat the Russian in the group stages.

"I was supposed to be flying tomorrow -- I'll have to change my flight!" said Davydenko.

"Maybe I have a chance in the final. I lost when we played before but it's a different situation tomorrow."

Davydenko, the world number five, is in line for the biggest pay day of his career if he wins the 4.45 million dollar tournament, while Djokovic can move within 10 points of Federer's second spot in the rankings.

ONLY MONEY

NOVAK Djokovic's Masters Cup loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is the most expensive of the Serb's career, costing him more than $1 million.

In control midway through the second set, the Australian Open champion stumbled to a puzzling 1-6 7-5 6-1 defeat on Thursday night.

Undefeated and assured of contesting tonight's semi-finals, Djokovic was on track for a $1,072,403 bonus to remain unbeaten if he won his last round-robin match.