Tenis Latest Headlines

[OnePiece]

Andy Roddick beats Andy Murray in Miami Tennis Cup

Dec. 1, 2012 8:23 PM ET

KEY BISCAYNE, Florida (AP) -Recently retired Andy Roddick beat third-ranked Andy Murray 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday in the Miami Tennis Cup exhibition event.

Roddick will play 11th-ranked Nicolas Almagro of Spain in the final Sunday. Almagro advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over 14th-ranked John Isner.

Murray, trailing 2-5 in the first set, surrendered his serve in the eighth game when he sailed a backhand crosscourt wide. In the second set, Murray saved two break points from down 0-40, but couldn't convert the third to give Roddick a 5-3 lead. At 15-0, Roddick double-faulted twice in a row, but went on to win the final three points of the match with a service winner and two forehand winners.

"If we had gone three sets I would've had a full body cramp and it would've been awkward for all of you," said Roddick, who kept a running dialogue with the crowd. "There's no comeback (to tennis for me).

"Andy was nice to me tonight."

Roddick has put on almost two kilograms (four pounds) since retiring following the U.S. Open. He says he's content in retirement and is playing a lot of golf.

"I don't miss the travel at all," Roddick said. "It's nice coming here and seeing familiar faces. I still enjoy hitting tennis balls, but I haven't lost that part of it. I haven't lost any of the innocent parts of tennis. I just do it in front of less people."

Murray, the Olympic gold medalist and U.S. Open champion, wasn't surprised that Roddick won.

"Andy hasn't hit that many balls the last few months," Murray said. "Maybe his timing was a little bit off, but he still hits the ball very well. It was only a few months ago he was making a decent run at the U.S. Open."

Roddick has beaten Almagro both times they met in straight sets and both meetings were on hard courts. They met here at Crandon Park in the 2010 Miami Masters quarterfinals and the 2011 Shanghai Masters in the round of 16.

[OnePiece]

Sharapova entertains crowd in exhibition event

Dec. 1, 2012 2:11 PM ET

MILAN (AP) -Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic won singles matches against Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci in an exhibition event Saturday before losing to the Italians in doubles.

Ivanovic delighted the crowd with an audacious shot between her legs while facing away from the net in her 7-5 tiebreak win over Vinci, who won 6-0, 6-0 against the Serb in August.

Sharapova beat Errani 6-2 in another entertaining duel. The second-ranked player high-fived a line judge after a shot from Errani was called out. She also pretended to glare at a spectator after he broke the silence with a call of "Come on, Sara."

The top-ranked duo of Errani and Vinci won 6-4 in the doubles, much to the delight of the 11,000 spectators at the sold-out event in Milan.

[OnePiece]

NU Announces November Sports Performance Athletes of the Month
Dec. 1, 2012 12:00 AM ET

Northwestern -- Dec. 1, 2012

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern's November Sports Performance Athletes of the Month are sophomore Olivia Duehr from softball and senior Spencer Wolf from men's tennis, Assistant A.D. for Sports Performance Jason Pullara announced today.

"We are excited to recognize two more of our amazing student-athletes with our November Sports Performance Athletes of the Month awards," Pullara said. "Our spring teams are in the heart of their offseason training and two athletes have stood out from among the rest. Olivia is the second softball player to be recognized this year after Mari Majam and Spencer is the second men's tennis athlete for this year following Raleigh Smith. Having two representatives from each of these teams shows the effort put forward by these two groups and culture they have created. Coach Tyler Jorgensen has done an amazing job this fall as usual and his teams are excelling in our facility. We are looking forward to them excelling on the field and court in the spring.

Spencer Wolf (Men's Tennis)

Spencer is a great worker always trying to find ways to get better. He is a very spirited competitor who provides great leadership for his teammates by pushing them to be the best they can be and encouraging them to train at a high level. Said Sports Performance coach Tyler Jorgensen: "Spencer has been a tremendous leader for this program and has help set the tone for a great work ethic in men's tennis program. Great work Spencer!"

Olivia Duehr (Softball)

Olivia is an extremely hardnosed competitor who brings her "A" game every day. She rises to the occasion in every difficult situation presented to her in the sports performance facility or on the field. Olivia is very passionate about putting in the extra time and doing to whatever it takes to become a better athlete to help her team and in doing so, she provides a great example for her teammates, who feed off of her great work ethic. Said Jorgensen: "Olivia is somebody who you want to have on your side when you go into battle because in tough situations you are going to get a great attitude and an enormous amount of energy to help win games."

[OnePiece]

Isner beats Ferrero in Miami Tennis Cup

Nov. 30, 2012 10:41 PM ET

KEY BISCAYNE, Florida (AP) -John Isner beat recently retired Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-6 (2), 6-3 on Friday in the six-player Miami Tennis Cup exhibition event.

Isner won seven straight points in the first-set tiebreaker after dropping the first two.

"It probably wasn't the best match as I know he hasn't played in forever and I'm just getting going again," said Isner, ranked 14th in the world. "The best way to prepare yourself for a new year is to get out there and play a match like that. I know there wasn't much riding on the match, but it had that match feel that you can't emulate in practice."

Ferrero, the 2003 French Open champion, surrendered his serve in the eighth game of the second set to enable Isner to serve for the match.

Nicolas Almagro beat Alejandro Falla 6-4, 6-1. Almagro won the final two games of the first set and easily finished off Falla in the second.

On Saturday, recently retired Andy Roddick will face third-ranked Andy Murray.

Roddick is playing his second exhibition since retiring from competitive tennis at the U.S. Open in September.

"I enjoy playing in these things because you still play a little bit, see old friends, not something you're training for weeks at a time," Roddick said. "It's a nice way to stay connected without all the commitments and pressure of the normal tour."

[OnePiece]

Tennis referee murder case dismissed in California

Nov. 30, 2012 10:13 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (AP) -The arrest of a tennis referee before a match at the U.S. Open in connection with her husband's death was a shocker last summer. On Friday, the case took another surprise twist when prosecutors dropped the murder case against Lois Goodman.

The case was dismissed by Superior Court Judge Jessica Silvers after prosecutors said they received additional information and were unable to proceed because of insufficient evidence.

"I feel I'm being treated fairly now. It was just a terrible accident," Goodman, 70, said outside court.

Goodman has refereed matches between some of the greatest tennis players in the world. She was arrested by Los Angeles police in New York in August as she arrived to be a line judge at the U.S. Open and made her first court appearance wearing her uniform.

District attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons declined to elaborate on the new information that led to the dismissal.

However, defense attorney Alison Triessl said she believed private polygraph tests conducted by a former FBI polygraph examiner were pivotal in proving that Goodman did not kill her husband

The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled. But Triessl believes it's over.

"We're elated," Triessl said. "This has been a living hell for her. Justice has been served. She did not do this."

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said in a statement that the case remains open and detectives were continuing the investigation.

Goodman had been accused of bludgeoning her 80-year-old husband to death with a coffee cup. She said she was innocent, and her lawyers suggested Alan Goodman died in an accidental fall.

They said he fell down stairs then managed to get himself upstairs to the bedroom and was found dead in bed. Blood was spattered throughout the house, police said.

Defense private investigator Scott Ross told The Associated Press that famed pathologist Dr. Michael Baden examined the coroner's evidence in the case and found that Alan Goodman died of a heart attack, not from any injuries.

"His heart was four times the normal size," Ross said.

The couple had been married 50 years and had three grown daughters. They lived in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles their entire lives.

Alan Goodman died in April. Authorities initially believed he fell down the stairs while his wife was away, but they later said it was a homicide after a mortuary reported suspicious injuries on his head.

Authorities then alleged he had been clobbered on the head with a mug, and they began to treat Lois Goodman as a suspect.

Defense lawyers said there was little forensic evidence in the case because of the delay in the investigation. They recently disclosed Lois Goodman had passed polygraph tests supporting her claim of innocence.

A criminal law expert said such a serious charge is "very very rarely" dismissed this quickly.

"It sounds like they have little doubt that she was not responsible for the crime or they would not have acted this quickly," said law professor James A. Cohen, director of the trial advocacy program at Fordham University School of Law in New York.

He said Baden's analysis of the case may have played a significant role.

"When you have a well-respected medical examiner saying there is no foul play, that has to be considered," he said.

Goodman pleaded not guilty after her arrest. After a brief stay in jail, she was released on electronic monitoring and subsequently came to court for pretrial hearings with friends and family present to support her.

"I definitely want to get back to refereeing," Goodman said after the dismissal. "But first I want to call my close friends that supported me and thank them again and again."

U.S. Tennis Association spokesman Chris Widmaier said Goodman's bi-annual certification as a referee expires at the end of December and she can apply for renewal.

If re-certified, she will have the right to apply for an official's position at the 2013 U.S. Open, he said.

[OnePiece]

Roddick loses exhibition final to Almagro

Dec. 2, 2012 9:45 PM ET

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) - Nicolas Almagro of Spain beat Andy Roddick 6-4, 7-5 in the Miami Tennis Cup exhibition final on Sunday.

Roddick, who retired at the U.S. Open, was broken once in each set. He dropped the ninth game of the first set at 30-40 on a netted backhand. Roddick saved a break point in the ninth game of the second set but had no answer for an Almagro forehand crosscourt passing shot at 30-40 in the 11th game.

Almagro lost both times he played Roddick in tour matches. One of those losses came here in Key Biscayne in the 2010 Sony Open quarterfinals.

[OnePiece]

Almagro beats Roddick in Miami exhibition final

Dec. 2, 2012 9:57 PM ET

KEY BISCAYNE, Florida (AP) -Nicolas Almagro beat Andy Roddick 6-4, 7-5 in the Miami Tennis Cup exhibition final on Sunday.
Roddick, who retired at the U.S. Open, was broken once in each set. He dropped the ninth game of the first set at 30-40 on a netted backhand. Roddick saved a break point in the ninth game of the second set but had no answer for an Almagro forehand crosscourt passing shot at 30-40 in the 11th game.
Almagro lost both times he played Roddick in tour matches. One of those losses came here in Key Biscayne in the 2010 Sony Open quarterfinals.
Almagro beats Roddick in Miami final to

[OnePiece]

• ATP
  

ATP Rankings

Rank	Player	Country	ATP	Money
1	Novak Djokovic	SRB	12920
2	Roger Federer	SUI	10265
3	Andy Murray	GBR	8000
4	Rafael Nadal	ESP	6795
5	David Ferrer	ESP	6505
6	Tomas Berdych	CZE	4680
7	Juan Martin Del Potro	ARG	4480
8	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	FRA	3490
9	Janko Tipsarevic	SRB	2990
10	Richard Gasquet	FRA	2515
11	Nicolas Almagro	ESP	2515
12	Juan Monaco	ARG	2430
13	Milos Raonic	CAN	2380
14	John Isner	USA	2215
15	Marin Cilic	CRO	2210
16	Gilles Simon	FRA	2165
17	Stanislas Wawrinka	SUI	1900
18	Alexandr Dolgopolov	UKR	1855
19	Kei Nishikori	JPN	1830
20	Philipp Kohlschreiber	GER	1770
21	Tommy Haas	GER	1695
22	Sam Querrey	USA	1650
23	Andreas Seppi	ITA	1560
24	Fernando Verdasco	ESP	1490
25	Mikhail Youzhny	RUS	1335
26	Jerzy Janowicz		1299
27	Mardy Fish	USA	1255
28	Florian Mayer	GER	1215
29	Jurgen Melzer	AUT	1177
30	Martin Klizan	SVK	1175
31	Radek Stepanek	CZE	1135
32	Jeremy Chardy	FRA	1131
33	Thomaz Bellucci	BRA	1112
34	Marcel Granollers	ESP	1100
35	Julien Benneteau	FRA	1075
36	Marcos Baghdatis	CYP	1070
37	Kevin Anderson	RSA	1065
38	Viktor Troicki	SRB	1055
39	Andy Roddick	USA	1015
40	Feliciano Lopez	ESP	1005
41	Jarkko Nieminen	FIN	927
42	Pablo Andujar	ESP	915
43	Denis Istomin	UZB	897
44	Nikolay Davydenko	RUS	885
45	Fabio Fognini	ITA	880
46	David Goffin	BEL	868
47	Benoit Paire	FRA	867
48	Grigor Dimitrov	BUL	866
49	Marinko Matosevic	AUS	845
50	ALBERT RAMOS		830
51	Lukas Lacko	SVK	827
52	Bernard Tomic	AUS	825
53	Michael Llodra	FRA	823
54	Alejandro Falla	COL	809
55	Grega Zemlja	SLO	782
56	Robin Haase	NED	780
57	Santiago Giraldo	COL	778
58	Paul-Henri Mathieu	FRA	763
59	Yen-Hsun Lu	TPE	759
60	Go Soeda	JPN	758
61	Brian Baker	USA	756
62	Xavier Malisse	BEL	746
63	Paolo Lorenzi	ITA	744
64	Victor Hanescu	ROM	743
65	Benjamin Becker	GER	741
66	Carlos Berlocq	ARG	720
67	Gilles Muller	LUX	719
68	Igor Sijsling	NED	712
69	Ryan Harrison	USA	710
70	Daniel Gimeno-Traver	ESP	704
71	Leonardo Mayer	ARG	702
72	Ivan Dodig	CRO	695
73	Lukas Rosol	CZE	679
74	Lukasz Kubot	POL	675
75	Bjorn Phau	GER	668
76	Guillermo Garcia-Lopez	ESP	667
77	Gael Monfils	FRA	660
78	Andrey Kuznetsov	RUS	660
79	Tatsuma Ito	JPN	655
80	Roberto Bautista-Agut	ESP	648
81	Evgeny Donskoy	RUS	637
82	David Nalbandian	ARG	635
83	Lleyton Hewitt	AUS	625
84	Simone Bolelli	ITA	623
85	Horacio Zeballos	ARG	615
86	Michael Russell	USA	582
87	Filippo Volandri	ITA	582
88	Jurgen Zopp	EST	579
89	Olivier Rochus	BEL	577
90	Guillaume Rufin	FRA	574
91	Steve Darcis	BEL	571
92	Blaz Kavcic	SLO	569
93	Flavio Cipolla	ITA	568
94	Albert Montanes	ESP	565
95	Tobias Kamke	GER	563
96	Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo	ESP	562
97	Ivo Karlovic	CRO	556
98	ALJAZ BEDENE		553
99	JOAO SOUSA		546
100	Edouard Roger-Vasselin	FRA	545

[OnePiece]

• WTA
  

WTA Rankings

Rank	Player	Country	Race	WTA	Money
1	Victoria Azarenka	BLR		10595
2	Maria Sharapova	RUS		10045
3	Serena Williams	USA		9400
4	Agnieszka Radwanska	POL		7425
5	Angelique Kerber	GER		5550
6	Sara Errani	ITA		5100
7	Li Na	CHN		5095
8	Petra Kvitova	CZE		5085
9	Samantha Stosur	AUS		4135
10	Caroline Wozniacki	DEN		3765
11	Marion Bartoli	FRA		3740
12	Nadia Petrova	RUS		3040
13	Ana Ivanovic	SRB		2900
14	Maria Kirilenko	RUS		2540
15	Dominika Cibulkova	SVK		2495
16	Roberta Vinci	ITA		2475
17	Lucie Safarova	CZE		2125
18	Julia Goerges	GER		1965
19	Kaia Kanepi	EST		1905
20	Ekaterina Makarova	RUS		1841
21	Varvara Lepchenko	USA		1835
22	Jelena Jankovic	SRB		1751
23	Yanina Wickmayer	BEL		1680
24	Venus Williams	USA		1650
25	Su-Wei Hsieh	TPE		1636
26	Jie Zheng	CHN		1585
27	Sorana Cirstea	ROM		1565
28	Klara Zakopalova	CZE		1535
29	Yaroslava Shvedova	KAZ		1526
30	Tamira Paszek	AUT		1523
31	Urszula Radwanska	POL		1490
32	Daniela Hantuchova	SVK		1470
33	Christina McHale	USA		1451
34	Carla Suarez Navarro	ESP		1450
35	Francesca Schiavone	ITA		1436
36	Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova	RUS		1430
37	Sabine Lisicki	GER		1424
38	Sloane Stephens	USA		1418
39	Mona Barthel	2R		1416
40	Peng Shuai	CHN		1380
41	Sofia Arvidsson	SWE		1380
42	Tszvetana Pironkova	BUL		1365
43	Aleksandra Wozniak	CAN		1320
44	Alize Cornet	FRA		1320
45	Flavia Pennetta	ITA		1240
46	Lucie Hradecka	CZE		1224
47	Simona Halep	ROM		1220
48	Lourdes Dominguez Lino	ESP		1181
49	Heather Watson	GBR		1161
50	Anabel Medina Garrigues	ESP		1160
51	Anna Tatishvili	GEO		1140
52	Irina Begu	ROM		1140
53	Laura Robson	GBR		1131
54	Kirsten Flipkens	BEL		1096
55	Petra Cetkovska	CZE		1089
56	Bojana Jovanovski	SRB		1075
57	Olga Govortsova	BLR		1050
58	Monica Niculescu	ROM		1035
59	Petra Martic	CRO		1016
60	Chanelle Scheepers	RSA		1015
61	Romina Oprandi	ITA		1012
62	Magdalena Rybarikova	SVK		1002
63	Kiki Bertens	NED		987
64	Andrea Hlavackova	CZE		950
65	Pauline Parmentier	FRA		950
66	Marina Erakovic	NZL		940
67	Timea Babos	HUN		916
68	Elena Vesnina	RUS		902
69	Vania King	USA		892
70	Jamie Hampton	USA		884
71	Svetlana Kuznetsova	RUS		882
72	Arantxa Rus	NED		871
73	Johanna Larsson	SWE		860
74	Shahar Peer	ISR		851
75	Camila Giorgi	ITA		842
76	Polona Hercog	SLO		816
77	Mandy Minella	LUX		815
78	ANNIKA BECK			810
79	Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino			805
80	Nina Bratchikova	RUS		804
81	Iveta Benesova	CZE		786
82	Galina Voskoboeva	KAZ		776
83	Silvia Soler Espinosa	ESP		775
84	Melanie Oudin	USA		770
85	Kristina Mladenovic	FRA		763
86	Ayumi Morita	JPN		745
87	Kai-Chen Chang	TPE		737
88	Mathilde Johansson	FRA		733
89	Alexandra Panova	RUS		730
90	Barbora Zahlavova Strycova	CZE		724
91	Alexandra Cadantu	ROM		718
92	Lauren Davis	USA		714
93	Stefanie Voegele	SUI		712
94	Misaki Doi	JPN		711
95	Melinda Czink	HUN		699
96	Vera Zvonareva	RUS		697
97	Coco Vandeweghe	USA		688
98	Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor	ESP		688
99	Kimiko Date Krumm	JPN		685
100	Eleni Daniilidou	GRE		683
Last Updated: Mon Dec 3 09:30:07 EST 2012

[OnePiece]

ATP Rankings

Rank	Player	Country	ATP	Money
1	Novak Djokovic	SRB	12920
2	Roger Federer	SUI	10265
3	Andy Murray	GBR	8000
4	Rafael Nadal	ESP	6690
5	David Ferrer	ESP	6505
6	Tomas Berdych	CZE	4680
7	Juan Martin Del Potro	ARG	4480
8	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	FRA	3490
9	Janko Tipsarevic	SRB	2990
10	Richard Gasquet	FRA	2515
11	Nicolas Almagro	ESP	2515
12	Juan Monaco	ARG	2430
13	Milos Raonic	CAN	2380
14	John Isner	USA	2215
15	Marin Cilic	CRO	2210
16	Gilles Simon	FRA	2165
17	Stanislas Wawrinka	SUI	1900
18	Alexandr Dolgopolov	UKR	1855
19	Kei Nishikori	JPN	1830
20	Philipp Kohlschreiber	GER	1770
21	Tommy Haas	GER	1695
22	Sam Querrey	USA	1650
23	Andreas Seppi	ITA	1560
24	Fernando Verdasco	ESP	1490
25	Mikhail Youzhny	RUS	1335
26	Jerzy Janowicz		1299
27	Mardy Fish	USA	1255
28	Florian Mayer	GER	1215
29	Jurgen Melzer	AUT	1177
30	Martin Klizan	SVK	1175
31	Radek Stepanek	CZE	1135
32	Jeremy Chardy	FRA	1131
33	Thomaz Bellucci	BRA	1112
34	Marcel Granollers	ESP	1100
35	Julien Benneteau	FRA	1075
36	Marcos Baghdatis	CYP	1070
37	Kevin Anderson	RSA	1065
38	Viktor Troicki	SRB	1055
39	Andy Roddick	USA	1015
40	Feliciano Lopez	ESP	1005
41	Jarkko Nieminen	FIN	927
42	Pablo Andujar	ESP	915
43	Denis Istomin	UZB	897
44	Nikolay Davydenko	RUS	885
45	Fabio Fognini	ITA	880
46	David Goffin	BEL	868
47	Benoit Paire	FRA	867
48	Grigor Dimitrov	BUL	866
49	Marinko Matosevic	AUS	845
50	ALBERT RAMOS		830
51	Lukas Lacko	SVK	827
52	Bernard Tomic	AUS	825
53	Michael Llodra	FRA	823
54	Alejandro Falla	COL	809
55	Grega Zemlja	SLO	782
56	Robin Haase	NED	780
57	Santiago Giraldo	COL	778
58	Paul-Henri Mathieu	FRA	763
59	Yen-Hsun Lu	TPE	759
60	Go Soeda	JPN	758
61	Brian Baker	USA	756
62	Victor Hanescu	ROM	753
63	Xavier Malisse	BEL	746
64	Paolo Lorenzi	ITA	744
65	Benjamin Becker	GER	741
66	Carlos Berlocq	ARG	720
67	Gilles Muller	LUX	719
68	Igor Sijsling	NED	712
69	Ryan Harrison	USA	710
70	Daniel Gimeno-Traver	ESP	704
71	Leonardo Mayer	ARG	702
72	Ivan Dodig	CRO	695
73	Lukas Rosol	CZE	679
74	Lukasz Kubot	POL	675
75	Bjorn Phau	GER	668
76	Guillermo Garcia-Lopez	ESP	667
77	Gael Monfils	FRA	660
78	Andrey Kuznetsov	RUS	660
79	Tatsuma Ito	JPN	655
80	Roberto Bautista-Agut	ESP	648
81	Evgeny Donskoy	RUS	637
82	David Nalbandian	ARG	635
83	Lleyton Hewitt	AUS	625
84	Simone Bolelli	ITA	623
85	Horacio Zeballos	ARG	615
86	ALJAZ BEDENE		583
87	Michael Russell	USA	582
88	Filippo Volandri	ITA	582
89	Jurgen Zopp	EST	579
90	Olivier Rochus	BEL	577
91	Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo	ESP	577
92	Guillaume Rufin	FRA	574
93	Steve Darcis	BEL	571
94	Blaz Kavcic	SLO	569
95	Flavio Cipolla	ITA	568
96	Albert Montanes	ESP	565
97	Guido Pella	ARG	564
98	Tobias Kamke	GER	563
99	Adrian Unger	ROM	557
100	Ivo Karlovic	CRO	556
Last Updated: Mon Dec 10 09:30:07 EST 2012