BORIS SYMPATHISES

Former tennis champion Boris Becker says he sympathises with Tiger Woods, whose life is in turmoil after he admitted cheating on his wife.

Becker, 42, who fathered a child with a Russian model after a brief sexual encounter in a cupboard at a London restaurant while his wife was pregnant, said he could identify with the golf star.

"I experienced exactly the same and I can sympathise with him," the German newspaper Bild quoted Becker, winner of six grand slam titles, as telling a TV show to be aired later on Monday.

Becker, who had a messy divorce and became the butt of jokes for his flings, said he believed it would be "damned hard" for father-of-two Woods to save his marriage to Swede Elin Nordegren.

NALBANDIAN COMEBACK

Argentina's former world number three David Nalbandian has targeted the Davis Cup as a main objective as he steps up his return from a seven-month injury layoff at an exhibition tournament in Buenos Aires this weekend.

The 2002 Wimbledon runner-up, who made a winning return to action at an exhibition tournament last week, has been sidelined with a hip injury since May and has been recovering from surgery in August.

"The first issue is to make it through these first four months," the 27-year-old told a news conference. "I have to be careful and time will tell what goals I can set. But obviously the Davis Cup is still a clear objective; after that, the big tournaments."

Nalbandian is set to return to the ATP Tour at the Jan 11-16 Auckland Open to complete his preparations for the Australian Open, starting in Melbourne the following weekend.

REUTERS

WATCHING LESS TV

What happens when people start watching less television? Do they eat less? Exercise more? Sleep better?

To the researchers’ surprise, cutting back television time didn’t have an effect on calorie consumption, nor did it change sleep habits. The group that watched less television did, however, move more, burning an average of 120 calories more a day than the control group.

Although some participants did report getting more exercise by walking their dogs more often or signing up for a yoga class, most of the people didn’t use their television-free time for scheduled physical exercise. One person used the extra time to organize photo albums, others reported reading more or playing board games with their children. Many said they spent the time doing more household chores or paying bills.

But even those minor changes in activity level counted a lot. While the group that reduced television viewing burned off an additional 120 calories a day compared with the previous three weeks, the control group became even more sedentary, moving about 100 calories less than before. The additional activity that resulted from less television time is the equivalent of walking about eight miles a week.

NYTIMES

MURRY'S 'CALL OF DUTY'

Tennis star Andy Murray has been dumped by his girlfriend for spending too much time playing “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2”, at least according to an article in that most trusted and intellectual of ‘newspapers’, The Sun.

Twenty one year old Kim Sears dumped the twenty two year old sportsman because he apparently spends up to seven hours a day playing the recently released shooter on the PlayStation 3, something which “drove her mad”, according to the tabloid. “He would spend all his time glued (to the game),” according to a “source”. “In the end she just got fed up with it. She wanted more out of the relationship.”

The young student has apparently abandoned Murray’s five million pound Surrey mansion to return home to live with her parents, due to his “obsession” with the game. Murray’s addiction to gaming has been well documented in the past, with his former coach Brad Gilbert, apparently confirming “He plays video games seven hours a day.”

STRETCHING: THE TRUTH

For years, flexibility has been widely considered a cornerstone of health and fitness. Many of us stretch before or after every workout and fret if we can’t lean over and touch our toes. We gape enviously at yogis wrapping their legs around their ears.

In fact, the latest science suggests that extremely loose muscles and tendons are generally unnecessary (unless you aspire to join a gymnastics squad), may be undesirable and are, for the most part, unachievable, anyway. “To a large degree, flexibility is genetic,” says Dr. Malachy McHugh, the director of research for the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York and an expert on flexibility. You’re born stretchy or not. “Some small portion” of each person’s flexibility “is adaptable,” McHugh adds, “but it takes a long time and a lot of work to get even that small adaptation. It’s a bit depressing, really.”

FULL ARTICLE: NYTIMES

WHAT A JOKE!!!!

Serena Williams was fined $175,000 and may be suspended from future U.S. Opens after yelling at a lineswoman at the New York tennis Grand Slam this year.

Williams’s fine will be reduced to $82,500 if the American doesn’t have any more major offenses through 2011, the International Tennis Federation’s Grand Slam committee said today in an e-mailed statement. She would also be suspended from the U.S. Open if found guilty of a major offense in any Grand Slam, the committee said.

She was found guilty of aggravated behavior after the outburst, which came after she was called for a foot fault. Her fine, which includes $10,000 she has already paid, will be donated to the Grand Slam Development Fund, the ITF said.

FINAL FOUR

Nikolay Davydenko grabbed the last semifinal spot at the ATP World Tour Finals by beating Robin Soderling 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3 Friday, knocking defending champion Novak Djokovic out of the tournament.

Davydenko, Djokovic and Soderling all finished with two wins in the round-robin phase, but the third-ranked Serb was eliminated on sets. Soderling had already secured advancement and finished at the top of Group B.

Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 7-6 (5), 6-3 earlier Friday, handing the Spaniard his third straight loss at the tournament.

Davydenko will face top-ranked Roger Federer in Saturday's first semifinal match. Soderling will take on US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro later in the day.

SEEING IS BELIEVING - 1M FINE - SERENA

SERENA Williams may cop the largest fine in tennis history when the world champion is penalised for her US Open meltdown.

Industry sources last night indicated the International Tennis Federation's grand slam committee was close to consensus on the Williams case, almost 12 weeks after the US Open incident.

Williams was cited for committing a major offence, an infraction which carries possible suspension from January's Australian Open.

Williams allegedly threatened to kill a lineswoman in New York, saying: "If I could, I would take this f ... ing ball and shove it down your f ... ing throat".

The winner of 11 majors, Williams almost certainly will contest the 2010 Australian Open, where she is the defending champion.

But she is likely to receive a fine which far outstrips the $US100,000 Lleyton Hewitt was docked in 2002 for missing a Cincinnati interview.

ITF grand slam administrator Bill Babcock has finished his inquiries, taking evidence and submissions from Williams and the officials involved on the day.

His findings will be discussed at the ATP World Tour finals at O2 Arena tomorrow by the four members of the grand slam committee.

Geoff Pollard (Australian Open), Jean Gachassin (French), Tim Phillips (Wimbledon) and Lucy Garvin (US), who will consider Babcock's recommendations, can overturn, or vary, his verdict.

One option for officials in the Williams case is to ban her from next season's US Open or strip her of the $US342,825 prizemoney and the 900 rankings points.

There is talk of a $1 million fine, and a good behaviour bond.

Williams was fined the maximum on-site penalty of $US10,000 in New York for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Her outburst was triggered by a suspect foot fault call in a tense semi-final against Belgian Kim Clijsters.

Williams tardy apologies were not burdened with sincerity.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

FRIDAY SKED

ROGER'S GRIP

What can we learn from this pic:

1. His grip size is probably 4 2/8.

2. His pinky is almost off the butt.

3. He's switched to an Continental because he

will be hitting the ball late.

SODERLING RIPS DJOKOVIC

Sweden’s Robin Soderling backed up his impressive opening win over World No. 2 Rafael Nadal by defeating defending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals champion Novak Djokovic 7-6(5), 6-1 in Group B action Wednesday at The O2 in south-east London.

Soderling, making his debut at the season finale as a late replacement for the injured Andy Roddick, is the first singles player through to the semi-finals at the season climax. The Tibro native is the first Swede to reach the semi-finals since Jonas Bjorkman at Hannover in 1997. It is the second year in a row, and the fourth time in the past five years, that the No. 8 seed has reached the semi-finals or better.

In a 29-minute second set, Soderling won the final six games of the match with controlled aggression and few errors. Djokovic was unable to move around the court to the best of his ability and, in attempting to end the points quickly, more often than not made the error.

ROGER HOLDS ONTO #1

Roger Federer ensured he would end the year as world number one after he beat Andy Murray 3-6 6-3 6-1 in a round-robin match at the ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday.

The Swiss could have been usurped by Rafael Nadal but the Spaniard's defeat on Monday coupled with Federer's two victories in London meant he could no longer be overtaken this year.

ACTIVE BODY - CALM MIND

Researchers at Princeton University recently made a remarkable discovery about the brains of rats that exercise. Some of their neurons respond differently to stress than the neurons of slothful rats. Scientists have known for some time that exercise stimulates the creation of new brain cells (neurons) but not how, precisely, these neurons might be functionally different from other brain cells.

The youngest brain cells in the running rats, the cells that the scientists assumed were created by running  generally remained quiet. The “cells born from running,” the researchers concluded, appeared to have been “specifically buffered from exposure to a stressful experience.” The rats had created, through running, a brain that seemed biochemically, molecularly, calm.

Full NYTIMES article.

SWEDE KILLER?

Rafael Nadal lost to Robin Soderling for the second straight time, falling 6-4, 6-4 Monday in their opening round-robin match at the ATP World Tour Finals.

Soderling, who handed the Spaniard his first loss on clay at the French Open this year, powered his way through the Group B match by keeping Nadal on the move on the hard court at O2 Arena.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/tennis/11/23/atp.finals.ap/index.html?

THE ARTFUL DODGER

Four-time Barclays ATP World Tour Finals champion Roger Federer survived a scare on Sunday evening against Spain’s Fernando Verdasco before prevailing 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 in the second Group A match at The O2 arena in London.

MURRY BEATS DELPO

Andy Murray marked the start of London's five-year hosting of the ATP Tour Finals with a 6-3 3-6 6-2 win over U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in front of 17,500 fans inside the spectacular O2 Arena on Sunday.

The Briton withstood a ferocious comeback by the Argentine, who lost the opening five games, to open his account in Group A which also contains world number one Roger Federer and Fernando Verdasco who play later.

London

Eight top tennis stars including Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will participate in the ATP World Tour Finals beginning today.

Success in this event may get Nadal number one rank back while Federer after his recent failures may remain on topfor further some time if he wins the tournament.

There is a difference of 945 points between Nadal and Federer and if Nadal does not lose any match in this tournament then he will become world number one gaining 1500 points.

All players have been divided into two groups in the tournament.

Federer will contest Andy Murray of Britain in Group A while US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro and Fernando Verdasco of Spain are also included in this group.

In Group B, Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Nikolay Davydenko and Robin Soderling will face each other.

ATP FINALS' DRAW

Draw for the round-robin stage of the ATP Tour finals which begin on Sunday at the O2 Arena in London (prefix denotes seeding).

Group A (1) Roger Federer (Switzerland) (4) Andy Murray (Britain) (5) Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) (7) Fernando Verdasco (Spain)

Group B (2) Rafael Nadal (Spain) (3) Novak Djokovic (Serbia) (6) Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) (8) Robin Soderling (Sweden).

REUTERS

RODDICK OUT OF BARCLAY'S

Andy Roddick is withdrawing from the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals because of a left knee injury.

The No. 6-ranked Roddick hurt his knee at last month's Shanghai Masters.

The ATP said Tuesday that French Open runner-up Robin Soderling, No. 9 in the rankings, will take Roddick's spot in the eight-man field.

The draw for the tournament is Wednesday, and play starts Sunday. The other participants: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro, Nikolay Davydenko and Fernando Verdasco.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/tennis/11/17/roddick.withdraws.ap/index.html?eref=si_tennis&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fsi_tennis+%28SI.com+-+Tennis%29&utm_content=Google+Reader#ixzz0X9sRVLQU

BARCLAY'S

Next week's ATP World Tour finals at London's O2 Centre will be the biggest indoor tennis event ever staged.

World number one Roger Federer heads the cast of the top eight singles players and eight doubles pairs who have qualified for the lucrative year-ending tournament that begins a five-year stay on the banks of the River Thames in Greenwich.

On the eve of Wednesday's draw which will be performed inside a pod of the London Eye -- the largest Ferris wheel in Europe -- more than 250,000 seats had been sold for the round-robin tournament which begins on Sunday.

A practice court has been constructed in the foyer of the venue so that the public, even those just visiting the cinema or restaurants, will have a chance to see top players in action.

After the traffic problems in Shanghai, London's organisers have also come up with a novel way to get the players from their central London hotel out to the venue -- they will go by boat.

"We have two 62-seater boats, they are smoother than a car and they will have the players door to door in 30 minutes. It's a really nice way for the players to see London.

With Federer joined by Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro, Andy Roddick, Nikolay Davydenko and Fernando Verdasco the quality of the tennis on offer is matched by the prize money at stake.

Should a player win all his round-robin matches on the way to the title he would pocket $1.63 million, more than the 850,000 pounds ($1.43 million) Federer took from winning Wimbledon this year.

REUTERS