AAMI Classic This is an exhibition held in the few days leading up to the Australian Open. This year, eight men participated: Tsonga, Berdych, Fish, Roddick, Monfils, Raonic, Melzer, and Tomic. Tsonga said he was a bit fatigued after his travel from Doha, but finished two matches before exiting (the exhibition allows for two matches
It's always struck me as peculiar how that period just after the year-end championship seems to lead to quicker healing than any other time of the year. Djokovic took 5 weeks off, but still looked flat, bothered by shoulder issues and lost in the semis of Basel, retired in Paris, and didn't get past the
Much like Roger Federer, who has often bowed out from playing Davis Cup because of the additional demands it places on his schedule, Rafael Nadal informed the media that he would not play Davis Cup in 2012. 2012 is an Olympic year and Nadal wants to focus on defending the Olympic gold that he won
The last time these Argentina and Spain faced each other was in the finals of 2008 in Argentina. The Argentinians had to be feeling good. They played on a hardcourt instead of clay because they had no idea whether Nadal would play or not. Then Nadal didn't play, so Argentina was hoping to pull a
During the Asian swing, Andy Murray made a bold proclamation. He said he wanted to finish the year as the world number 3. Some would say that's a wimpy statement. However, Djokovic had paced the field with 3 Slam wins and 5 Masters 1000. It was out of the question for Murray to accumulate enough
Out of the 12 matches played in the round robin matches, six were upsets, which is a fair bit considering who they were. In particular, All three matches David Ferrer played were upsets. Murray and Djokovic were favored to win over Ferrer, though in hindsight, neither Murray nor Djokovic were 100%. Ferrer was expected to
In 2007, David Ferrer burst on the scene at the year-end championship. Then, it was held in Shanghai and still called the Tennis Masters Cup. Ferrer went undefeated in round robin play as the 6th seed beating Nadal, Djokovic, and Gasquet. He crushed Roddick in the semifinals, but lost rather tamely to Federer in the
Everyone says David Ferrer is a tough out. He doesn't have the weapons to blow anyone off the court. He is quick enough to chase most shows down. His forehand is good enough to pressure all but the fastest players. His serve is adequate, but he doesn't get a lot of free points. If Ferrer
The ATP World Tour Finals is a bit unusual. Almost every tournament is a single-elimination draw with possible bye for the top seeds. The WTF (World Tour Finals) is a round-robin. The event's name has changed over the years. It started as the Masters Grand Prix or the Masters. For years, it was held at
It looks like only one favorite emerged unscathed. Andy Murray was the first to go losing to the powerful Czech, Tomas Berdych. Novak Djokovic had already withdrawn at the start of the day giving Jo-Wilfried Tsonga the day off and a relaxed route into the semifinals. Then, in the last match of the day, David
