Djokovic wins Abu Dhabi; Nadal takes out Federer

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic ended a stellar weekend of tennis in Abu Dhabi by outclassing David Ferrer in the final, 6-2, 6-1. Djokovic, who ended 2011 with three grand slam titles, picked up $250,000 for his efforts.

In a match featuring two heavy weights, Rafael Nadal overcame a sore shoulder to defeat Roger Federer, 6-1, 7-5. Both Nadal and Federer will now head to Doha, Qatar for the first official event of 2012.

Murray hires Lendl as new coach

World No. 4 Andy Murray has announced a new player/coach partnership with eight time grand slam winner Ivan Lendl.

Failing to win a Major title in his career, Murray will look to gain great perspective from his new mentor.

“Very happy to announce that Ivan Lendl is my new full time coach,” said Murray. His impact on the game is unquestionable and he brings experience and knowledge that few others have, particularly in major tournaments.

Murray will begin his 2012 season as the top seed in Brisbane. The Scot has reached the finals of the Australian Open the last two years.

ATP singles draws for Doha, Brisbane, Chennai

The ATP World Tour kicks off its regular season with three tournaments in Doha, Brisbane and Chennai. Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray will all be in action.

Doha draw.

Brisbane draw.

Chennai draw.

Nadal, Federer lose early in Abu Dhabi

Friday’s semifinal results at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi saw Novak Djokovic defeat Roger Federer 6-2, 6-1, and David Ferrer defeat Rafael Nadal, 6-3, 6-2.

Nadal was the two-time defending champ of the six man exhibition. The first place winner of the event will receive $250,000.

Sweden’s Lucas Renard Disciplined After Admitting Tennis Corruption Offense

Swedish tennis player Lucas Renard has been suspended for six months and fined US$5,000 after admitting an offense under Article D of the 2011 Uniform Tennis Anti-Corruption Program.

Four of the six months period of ineligibility will be suspended on the basis that the player commits no future violation of the Program, that he exhibits continuous good conduct and that he attends anti-corruption education training.

The case against 19-year old Mr Renard was based on the findings of a Tennis Integrity Unit investigation, which was then considered by an independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer.

The sanction applies with immediate effect and means that the player is not eligible to participate in any tournament or competition organised or authorised by the governing bodies of professional tennis.

Mr Renard’s offense contravened Article D.1.d of the Uniform Tennis Anti-Corruption Program – ‘No Covered Person shall, directly or indirectly, contrive or attempt to contrive the outcome or any other aspect of any Event.’

Consistent with the confidentiality of the anti-corruption disciplinary process, no further details of the case will be made public.

The Tennis Integrity Unit is an initiative of the Grand Slam Committee, the International Tennis Federation, the ATP World Tour and the WTA as part of the Uniform Tennis Anti-Corruption Program.

Brad Drewett Appointed ATP Executive Chairman And President

LONDON - Brad Drewett, former player and current ATP senior executive, has been named as the organisation’s new Executive Chairman and President, it was announced today. He begins his role on January 1, 2012, and will be based in the ATP’s London office.

The 53-year-old Australian’s 3-year appointment was voted unanimously by the ATP Board of Directors with Drewett considered to be ideally qualified to take on the multi-faceted role with his extensive experience at the ATP. Drewett currently serves as CEO of the ATP International Group, where he has overseen operations in the Middle East, Asia and Pacific regions since 1999. Prior to that, Drewett served as an elected member of the Player Council and an ATP Player Board Representative (1993-1999). He has also been Tournament Director of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and formerly the Tennis Masters Cup since 2001, and has been instrumental in the event’s tremendous success.

During his 12-year professional playing career, Drewett reached a career-high ranking of 34 in singles, winning two ATP World Tour titles, and represented Australia in Davis Cup competition. The Australian Open Junior champion (1975, 1977) reached the quarter-finals in his first Grand Slam in Melbourne in 1976.

“I am honoured to have this opportunity to lead the ATP, an organisation that I am proud to have been a part of since the beginning of my professional playing career,” Drewett said. “The ATP World Tour and men’s tennis are stronger than ever and it is my intention to continue to lead the organisation on this successful path, working hand in hand with our players and tournaments. I am very excited about the opportunities ahead.”

ATP Player Council President Roger Federer said, “Brad is a very experienced executive and has been an effective leader within the ATP for many years. He understands the global nature of the business as well as the complexities of dealing with all of the Tour’s stakeholders. I am confident that Brad’s work ethic and leadership will help contribute to the continued success of the ATP World Tour.”

ATP Board Representative Gavin Forbes said, “Brad has the perfect combination of proven business abilities and understanding of player and tournament perspectives to oversee the continued growth of the ATP World Tour. He has been an integral part of the Tour’s success over the last decade, and will be able to get straight to work in January thanks to his deep relationships within the sport.”

Podcast: Reviewing the 2011 Tennis Season

In this week’s PodCast, Nima and Parsa are back in action with a year-end review of the 2011 tennis season.

Was Novak Djokovic’s grand slam form the talk of the year? How about Rafael Nadal’s mental slump after losing in six straight finals to the Serbian No. 1? How impressed were we with Serena’s Williams comeback after being sidelined for nearly a year?

As always, you can alternatively listen to the #1 tennis PodCast via iTunes and never miss another episode. It is very easy and completely free.

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Top Three WTF Moments of 2011

by: Lyra Pappin

As we continue to look back at the 2011 tennis season, let’s indulge in a few of the craziest things to happen this year. There are bound to be more, so share your favourite freak outs, weird happenings and general tennis nonsense below. Caveat: a certain slam-less Dane and her puppy love were intentionally left out. We’ve all had enough, haven’t we? Though maybe I’d be won back with the right Brangelina-esque nickname…

#3 WTF – Rafael Nadal and The Curious Case of the Chinese Hot Plate
Seriously? It’s so ridiculous it has to be true. The only thing that’s better than the fact that this actually happened, is his charmingly straight to the point explanation: “It was an accident. The plate was very, very hot and I got burned”.

Maybe Shakira said the same thing about the abs he showed off in her video.

Nadal WTF runner up:
Check him out with some gum outside a Late Show writer’s window.

#2 WTF – Andy Murray Likes Mary Jo’s Hair

This is my personal favourite moment of the whole year. Andy Murray, you melt my cold, cold heart.

Murray WTF runner up: his entire US Open tournament. Someone needs to be hired to close caption that stream of self-berating expletives he threw at himself for every match. Hope things are going okay over there. The First Son of Scotland is rather wound up.

#1 WTF – Daniel Koellerer, Banned For Life

Controversial and combative Daniel Koellerer, also known as “Crazy Dani”, gets banned for life for allegedly fixing matches. He was also fined $100,000, which seems about right, because who’s putting a ton of money on the 385th-ranked Koellerer? His mom?

Anyway, here’s a tribute to the antics that …no one is going to miss.

Awww!

More honourable mentions:

- Roger Federer’s birthday picture (His calendar’s pretty solid, too).

- Andy Roddick only dances when there’s music’s playing (Amazing, really. Meltdown’s at the 8:12 mark).

- Serena Williams Tweet-quotes Britney Spears’ “Lucky” (Sad, really).

What else? Share your favourites below or with me on Twitter at @allthatracquet.

Ebden Awarded Brisbane, Sydney Wild Cards

Australian Matthew Ebden has been awarded wild cards for the Brisbane International and Apia International Sydney.

The World No. 86, who will line up in Brisbane alongside Gilles Simon, Philipp Petzschner and Ryan Harrison, said he was looking forward to the ATP World Tour 250 tournament and hopes to be able to better his performance from last year.

“Brisbane is easily one of my favourite tournaments of the year,” said Ebden, who lost to eventual champion Robin Soderling in the 2011 Brisbane quarter-finals.

“I have had some promising results there in the last two years and in a way that has helped be a springboard for me into the rest of the summer and the 2012 tennis season.

“I hope that it may be the place where I win my first singles title! I would like to thank everyone at the Brisbane International and Tennis Australia for the opportunity.”

Ebden, who lost to Richard Gasquet in the 2011 Sydney first round, will take his place in the main draw alongside Grand Slam championship winners Juan Martin del Potro and Lleyton Hewitt.

“The Apia International Sydney is a top class event and there is always a really strong field,” Ebden said. “I am really thankful to Tennis Australia and the event organisers for showing such great faith in my abilities and granting me a wildcard.

“I’ve had some great results this year and I am confident that I can produce some of my best tennis there in a few weeks time. One of my main goals in the coming year is to win my first title and it would be fantastic to do that in Sydney.”

Ebden started 2011 at No. 196 in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings and rose to a career-high No. 79 on the back of reaching the Shanghai Rolex Masters quarter-finals.

Indian Wells To Award Singles Champions $1 Million Each

The BNP Paribas Open, to be held March 5-18, 2012 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, will become the first ATP World Tour and WTA combined tennis tournament to award its men’s and women’s singles champions each $1 Million in prize money, it was announced today by Tournament Director Steve Simon.

The BNP Paribas Open, in its continued effort to be the largest event on the WTA and ATP World Tour, will increase its total prize money commitment for the 2012 tournament to more than $11 Million. In addition to the $1 Million being awarded to both the men’s and women’s singles champions, the singles finalists, semi-finalists and quarterfinalists will now earn $500,000, $200,000 and $100,000 respectively, and prize money has been increased for all rounds of the tournament.

“The BNP Paribas Open has been raising the bar for the sport over the course of the past four decades, and today’s $1 million winners’ prize money announcement represents yet another historic milestone,” said Stacey Allaster, WTA Chairman and CEO. “The BNP Paribas Open is one of the cornerstone events in professional tennis exactly because of this attention to players and willingness to innovate and push the boundaries of success.”

Adam Helfant, ATP Executive Chairman and President, said: “The ATP World Tour is stronger than ever — both on the court and in terms of our business. It’s fantastic that the BNP Paribas Open, one of the biggest and most important events on the Tour, is taking the lead in recognizing the players in this way for the tremendous interest and value they continue to drive into the sport.”

“Becoming the first combined ATP World Tour and WTA event to award $1 Million to each singles champion and reach these overall prize money levels is a testament to the growth and success of the event for more than 35 years,” said Simon.

Just three years ago, for the 2009 tournament, the BNP Paribas Open granted equal prize money to both men and women while increasing the total prize money purse by more than $3 Million. In less than five years the tournament has nearly doubled the total prize money offered to players (2008 – $5.835 Million, 2012 – $11.073 Million).

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