(All times Eastern)

WEEK	DATE	TIME	EVENT	NETWORK
Week 1	Fri. 7/23	12:00 – 2:00 pm	Atlanta Tennis Championships	Tennis Channel
		4:00 – 6:00 pm	Atlanta Tennis Championships	ESPN2
		7:00 – 9:00 pm	Atlanta Tennis Championships	ESPN2
	Sat. 7/24	1:30 – 3:30 pm	Atlanta Tennis Championships	ESPN2
		7:00 – 9:00 pm	Atlanta Tennis Championships	Tennis Channel
	Sun. 7/25	3:00 – 5:00 pm	Atlanta Tennis Championships	ESPN2
		8:00 – 9:30 pm	Atlanta Tennis Championships	Tennis Channel
Week 2	Fri. 7/30	3:00 – 5:00 pm	Farmers Classic	ESPN2
		5:00 – 7:00 pm	Bank of the West Classic	Tennis Channel
		7:00 – 9:00 pm	Farmers Classic	Tennis Channel
		9:00 – 11:00 pm	Bank of the West Classic	Tennis Channel
		11:00 pm – 1:00 am	Bank of the West Classic	ESPN2
	Sat. 7/31	1:00 – 3:00 am	Farmers Classic	Tennis Channel
		3:00 – 5:00 pm	Bank of the West Classic	ESPN2
		5:00 – 7:00 pm	Farmers Classic	ESPN2
		10:30 pm – 12:30 am	Farmers Classic	ESPN2
	Sun. 8/1	12:30 – 2:30 am	Bank of the West Classic	ESPN2
		3:00 – 5:00 pm	Bank of the West Classic	ESPN2
		5:00 – 7:00 pm	Farmers Classic	ESPN2
		9:00 – 10:30 pm	Farmers Classic	Tennis Channel
Week 3	Thu. 8/5	4:00 – 8:00 pm	Legg Mason Tennis Classic	Tennis Channel
	Fri. 8/6	12:00 – 2:00 pm	Legg Mason Tennis Classic	ESPN2
		3:00 – 5:00 pm	Mercury Insurance Open	Tennis Channel
		5:00 – 7:00 pm	Legg Mason Tennis Classic	Tennis Channel
		7:00 – 9:00 pm	Legg Mason Tennis Classic	ESPN2
		9:00 – 11:00 pm	Legg Mason Tennis Classic	Tennis Channel
		11:00 pm – 3:00 am	Mercury Insurance Open	ESPN2
	Sat. 8/7	1:00 – 3:00 pm	Legg Mason Tennis Classic	Tennis Channel
		4:00 – 6:00 pm	Mercury Insurance Open	Tennis Channel
		7:00 – 9:00 pm	Legg Mason Tennis Classic	ESPN2
		10:00 pm – 12:00 am	Mercury Insurance Open	ESPN2
	Sun. 8/8	3:00 – 5:00 pm	Legg Mason Tennis Classic	ESPN2
		5:00 – 7:00 pm	Mercury Insurance Open	ESPN2
		8:00 – 9:30 pm	Legg Mason Tennis Classic	Tennis Channel
		9:30 – 11:00 pm	Mercury Insurance Open	Tennis Channel
Week 4	Tue. 8/10	1:00 – 5:00 pm	Rogers Masters	Tennis Channel
		7:30 – 9:30 pm	Rogers Masters	Tennis Channel
	Wed. 8/11	1:00 – 5:00 pm	Rogers Masters	Tennis Channel
		7:30 – 9:30 pm	Rogers Masters	Tennis Channel
	Thu. 8/12	1:00 – 3:00 pm	Rogers Masters	ESPN2
		3:00 – 5:00 pm	Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open	ESPN2
		5:00 – 9:00 pm	Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open	Tennis Channel
	Fri. 8/13	1:00 – 5:00 pm	Rogers Masters	ESPN2
		5:00 – 7:00 pm	Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open	Tennis Channel
		7:00 – 9:00 pm	Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open	ESPN2
		9:00 – 11:00 pm	Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open	Tennis Channel
	Sat. 8/14	1:00 – 3:00 pm	Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open	Tennis Channel
		3:00 – 5:00 pm	Rogers Masters	ESPN2
		7:00 – 9:00 pm	Rogers Masters	ESPN2
		9:00 – 11:00 pm	Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open	ESPN2
	Sun. 8/15	3:00 – 5:00 pm	Rogers Masters	ESPN2
		5:00 – 7:00 pm	Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open	ESPN2
		8:00 – 9:30 pm	Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open	Tennis Channel
Week 5	Tues. 8/17	1:00 – 9:00 pm	Western & Southern Financial Group Masters	Tennis Channel
	Wed. 8/18	1:00 pm – 9:00 pm	Western & Southern Financial Group Masters	Tennis Channel
	Thu. 8/19	12:00 – 4:00 pm	Western & Southern Financial Group Masters	ESPN2
		7:00 – 9:00 pm	Western & Southern Financial Group Masters	ESPN2
	Fri. 8/20	12:00 – 4:00 pm	Western & Southern Financial Group Masters	ESPN2
		6:00 – 10:00 pm	Rogers Cup	Tennis Channel
		10:00 pm – 12:00 am	Western & Southern Financial Group Masters	ESPN2
	Sat. 8/21	12:00 – 2:00 am	Rogers Cup	ESPN2
		2:00 – 4:00 pm	Western & Southern Financial Group Masters	ESPN2
		4:00 – 6:00 pm	Rogers Cup	ESPN2
		7:00 – 9:00 pm	Western & Southern Financial Group Masters	ESPN2
		9:00 – 11:00 pm	Rogers Cup	Tennis Channel
	Sun. 8/22	12:00- 2:00 pm	Western & Southern Financial Group Masters	CBS
		3:00 – 5:00 pm	Rogers Cup	ESPN2
Week 6	Thu. 8/26	1:00 – 5:00 pm	Pilot Pen Tennis	ESPN2
		11:00 pm – 1:00 am	Pilot Pen Tennis	ESPN2
	Fri. 8/27	12:00 – 4:00 pm	Pilot Pen Tennis	ESPN2
		7:00 – 9:00 pm	Pilot Pen Tennis	ESPN2
	Sat. 8/28	1:00 – 3:00 pm	Pilot Pen Tennis	CBS
		7:00 – 9:00 pm	Pilot Pen Tennis	ESPN2
Weeks 7-8	8/30/10 - 9/12/10		2010 US Open	CBS, ESPN2, Tennis Channel
*Schedule and times subject to change

Yuri Schukin d. No. 1 seed Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 2-6, 7-5; No. 2 seed Nicolas Almagro d. Jeremy Chardy 6-2, 7-6 (5), No. 7 seed Richard Gasquet d. No. 4 seed Albert Montanes 7-6 (5), 6-4, and Daniel Gimeno-Traver d. Igor Andreev 6-2, 6-4.

ATP Studena Croatia Open—Umag

No. 8 seed Juan Ignacio Chela d. No. 1 seed Nikolay Davydenko 6-2, 6-1; Andreas Seppi d. No. 2 seed Jurgen Melzer 6-1, 6-4; Potito Starace d. No. 3 seed Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 7-6 (6), and No. 4 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero d. No. 6 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-1, 6-2.

Farmers Classic—Los Angeles, California

No. 2 seed Sam Querrey d. Rainer Schuettler 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(4), and No. 6 seed Janko Tipsarevic d. No. 3 seed Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 7-5.

The third week of the Olympus US Open Series will bring the ATP World Tour to the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington D.C.

Beginning six weeks of intense hard-court action, the Washington event will set the platform for the upcoming Masters 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati. The hot and humid conditions in D.C. have never been easy for the ATP players to deal with (especially during the day), but there is no doubt that the fitness and mental fortitude of every main draw player will be pushed to the limit.

Two-time defending champion Juan Martin del Potro remains sidelined with a wrist injury and will not be able to compete for a third straight title. The Tandil native has set a comeback date for the end of September, and will be sadly missed during the current and forthcoming marquee events on the circuit.

With three of the top 10 players in the world present in Washington this year, let’s now take a look at the top and bottom halves of the draw, and who the potential winners and surprises could be.

Top Half:

Wimbledon finalist, Tomas Berdych will lead the way in Washington this year. Fresh off of his first Grand Slam final in London, which was followed by a semifinal performance at the French Open, Berdych will occupy the unlikely role of the being the favorite this week. Receiving a bye in the first-round, Berdych will face either Dmitry Tursunov or Teymuraz Gabasvili in second-round action.

Looking ahead at other potential winners in the top half of the draw, No. 3 seed Fernando Verdasco, No. 5 seed John Isner, and No. 9 seed Ernests Gulbis can’t be overlooked.

Verdasco, who spent last week training in Las Vegas in order to better prepare for his hard-court march, took a late wildcard into the event. Originally slated to make his first hard-court appearance in Toronto, Verdasco will make his debut in Washington this year. Losing four of his last five matches on Tour, Verdasco will be adamant on changing his fortunes on the hard-courts of North America.

Marathon man Isner will be looking to add to his recent finals appearance in Atlanta. Reaching four finals this season, Isner continues to prove that his will and serving prowess are more than adequate weapons to sustain a top 20 position. One wonders if fatigue and injury will catch up with the 6′9″ American, considering that most of his matches this year have gone to the limit—see his Wimbledon first-round against Nicolas Mahut, and more recently the finals of Atlanta against Mardy Fish.

Nevertheless, Isner is currently surrounded by an aura of confidence and hype, and those variables are often more valuable than a put-away forehand.

The dangerous groundstrokes of Latvian Gulbis will be interesting to monitor in Washington. Returning from injury last week in Los Angeles, the 21-year-old was bounced from the event in the second-round, but not before receiving multiple code violations and saving four match points. Gulbis has exhibited the type of form that has challenged and defeated the top players in the world, but remains an enigma considering the frequent early round losses that he’s encountered in the past.

Gulbis does though, remain one of the purest ball strikers on the circuit, and could become a nightmare for anyone to face if his timing and confidence returns.

Other dangerous floaters that lurk in this half include: Richard Gasquet, James Blake, and Marcos Baghdatis.

Although Berdych provides the most bang for the buck in this half, something tells me that Verdasco’s week of heavy duty training in Las Vegas will aid him towards a first time final.

Pick: Verdasco

Bottom Half:

Is it time for Andy Roddick fans to push the parachute button on their backpacks, or will the three time champ and two time finalist turnaround his slumping form in Washington?

Roddick’s year has been filled with quite a few notable momentum changes. His season began with a flourish by taking home two tournament titles in Brisbane and Miami, while reaching two other finals in San Jose and Indian Wells (all on hard-courts). However, a hiatus from the clay-court season derailed Roddick’s level of play, and saw him encounter earlier-than-expected losses at the French Open and Wimbledon. Observing his matches in Atlanta two weeks ago, Roddick was far from his hard-court best. The American struggled with his returns, and lost a set in each of his first two matches before falling in straight sets to Fish in the semifinals. Roddick’s Washington record does speak for itself, and I think it’s safe to say that if he’s hoping for a successful summer season, than a deep charge in Washington must be achieved.

Roddick was handed a generous draw up until the semifinals, with the exception of giant killer and former top three player David Nalbandian as a potential quarterfinal foe.

Nalbandian pulled off an epic performance in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup against Russia, and his silky smooth backhand has always excelled on hard-courts.

The top quarter of this half contains four players who could all advance to the semifinals. No. 4 seed Marin Cilic, No. 6 seed Sam Querrey, No. 11 seed Lleyton Hewitt, and No. 15 seed Fish have all shown flashes of brilliance on the asphalt this season.

Cilic, who has been in a slump as of late, returns to action after an early exit from Wimbledon. The lanky Croat blazed to the semifinals of the Australian Open earlier this year, but has cooled off considerably after signs of reaching the top 10. Querrey has always thrived during the North American events, but has struggled to sustain respectable results in tournaments of larger stature. He does remain a menacing force on hard-courts, and appears like a good pick to reach the semifinals considering Hewitt’s recent hip injury.

Fish, who remains the man of the moment, will enter Washington on a two tournament winning streak. Making the veteran decision to skip the Los Angeles event last week, Fish’s stock would gain further value if he could bag his third title in a row. Entering the meat of the summer circuit with Toronto and Cincinnati on the horizon, Fish would send a clear message to Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer that he’s the player to beat with a victory in D.C.

Although Fish has shown nothing short of the desire to achieve the most out of his game during his final year’s of his career, I still feel that his forehand can be exposed by the right caliber player.

All in all, the bottom half of the draw appears far less predictable than the top half. In saying that, one has to think that Roddick will be licking his chops with del Potro not defending his crown. Five final appearances will definitely spur Roddick’s chances at victory. Although the Toronto and Cincinnati events provide more points and prize money, Roddick’s US Open chances—in my eyes anyway—will rest on how he performs in Washington.

Pick: Roddick

Champion: Roddick

Fernando Gonzalez and Juan Monaco will make their returns to Tour action at the Toronto Masters 1000 event in early August.

Gonzalez will be returning from a knee injury, while Monaco will be making his way back from a left wrist injury. Gonzalez is currently ranked No. 25 in the world, while Monaco is ranked No. 31.

The Toronto Masters 1000 will take place between Aug. 7-15 at the Rexall Center.

Tomas Berdych, Andy Roddick, and Fernando Verdasco will be the featured players.

For the complete Legg Mason Classic draw, click the link below.

Legg Mason Classic main draw.

There must be something about the month of July that brings forth a need to change one’s coach on the ATP World Tour.

Following the news earlier this week that Roger Federer had hired Paul Annacone on a “trial basis,” and Andy Murray had fired Miles Maclagan in search of better results, Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis and Australian Bernard Tomic also announced coaching changes.

Baghdatis will no longer work with Eduardo Infantino and trainer Horacio Anselmi, while Tomic ditched trainer Yutaka Nakamura.

Frenchman Julien Benneteau also hired Thierry Champion.

Allianz Suisse Open Gstaad—Switzerland

Top seed Mikhail Youzhny was bounced from the quarterfinal stage of the Allianz Suisse Open on Friday by qualifier Yuri Schukin, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5.

Needing two hours and 13 minutes to advance, Schukin continued his dream march this week by winning 70 percent of his first serve points, while breaking Youzhny’s serve on 3 of 12 occasions. Entering Gstaad with a 1-1 record on the season, Schukin recorded the biggest win of his career, while reaching his first career semifinal.

Ranked No. 147 in the world, Schukin also upset recent Hamburg champ and countryman Andrey Golubev in the first-round. Schukin will next face either No. 4 seed Albert Montanes or No. 7 seed Richard Gasquet.

Elsewhere, Daniel Gimeno-Traver needed two clean cut sets to defeat Igor Andreev 6-2, 6-4. Reaching his second Tour semifinal post-Wimbledon, Gimeno-Traver needed a mere one hour and 13 minutes to advance to the final four, and will next face either No. 2 seed Nicolas Almagro or struggling Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.

ATP Studena Croatia Open—Umag

A complete whip out of Thursday’s action in Umag meant that Friday’s order of play would include double duty for many of the main draw players.

Wasting little time in reaching the quarterfinals, No. 2 seed Jurgen Melzer, and unseeded Italians Andreas Seppi and Potito Starace all won their second-round matches in straight sets. Melzer blitzed past Jan Hajek 6-1, 6-0, Seppi plowed through Oliver Rochus 6-4, 6-2, and Starace was far too good for Bjorn Phau, defeating the German 6-4, 6-0.

The lone competitive second-round contest featured Ivan Ljubicic defeating fellow Croat Ivan Dodig 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Needing two hours and 31 minutes to advance, Ljubicic pounded six aces while using his backhand down-the-line to dominate the third-set.

Advancing to his fifth career semifinal in Umag, Ljubicic will next face Starace for a place in the final four.

The day’s remaining two quarterfinal matches will feature:

No. 1 seed Nikolay Davydenko vs. No. 8 seed Juan Ignacio Chela, and No. 6 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov vs. No. 4 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Farmers Classic—Los Angeles, California

Friday’s action on the campus of UCLA will be highlighted by the top four seeds at the event.

Struggling through his first match post-Wimbledon, Andy Murray will be adamant on putting aside a “stiff back” and moving onto the semifinals with a victory over Alejandro Falla. Subsequent to Murray’s struggles in defeating Tim Smyczek during Thursday’s action, Falla was also tested during his second-round match against Ernests Gulbis. Prevailing in a third-set tiebreak after needing five match points to advance, Falla continued to display the form that almost saw him defeat Roger Federer during the first-round at Wimbledon.

Murary and Falla have never played on the ATP World Tour.

Elsewhere, No. 2 seed and defending champ Sam Querrey will face former Australian Open finalist Rainer Schuettler, No. 3 seed Marcos Baghdatis will battle No. 6 seed Janko Tipsarevic, and No. 4 seed Feliciano Lopez will take on former finalist James Blake.

For updated scores from all of today’s matches, click the live-scores section at the top of the page, or for live streaming of today’s action, click here.

The story, which originally aired last year prior to the start of the US Open on ABC, continues to turn heads because of the extra racket in play. For those of you that missed the footage last year, the video below promises to keep you up to speed—or at the very least, forehand inspired.

Frenchman Julien Benneteau has announced that he will begin working with high-profile French coach Thierry Champion.

Previously coached by Loic Courteau, Benneteau has enjoyed a productive season which has included reaching the finals of Marseille, and the fourth-round of Wimbledon.

Benneteau is currently ranked No. 32 in the world.

Former world No. 1 and 14-time Grand Slam winner Pete Sampras will join a star-studded cast for the October 21-24th Chengdu Open, which will take place at the Sichuan International Tennis Center in Chengdu, China.

Sampras will join Pat Rafter, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Michael Stich in the eight man field. Sampras will compete in Group A action against Pat Cash, Guy Forget, and Paradorn Srichaphan.

The Chengdu Open is a featured event on the ATP Champions Tour.