Frenchman Jeremy Chardy won his first career ATP Tour title on Sunday, beating Victor Hanescu 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Mercedes Cup final in Stuttgart, Germany.
Chardy swigged down a bottle of champagne at the victory ceremony and then took a brief spin behind the wheel of a new Mercedes E350, a prize given by the sponsor.
It was Chardy’s second career final. He finished as runner-up in Johannesburg in February.
In Bastad, Sweden, Robin Soderling beat Juan Monaco 6-3, 7-6 (4) to win the Swedish Open for his fourth ATP Tour title and first on clay.
The second-seeded Soderling became the first Swedish winner of the tournament since 2000 when his coach, Magnus Norman, won the title.
Austrian Sybille Bammer has beaten top-seeded Francesca Schiavone 7-6 (4), 6-2 to win the Prague Open in Czech Republic.
Flavia Pennetta routed Sara Errani 6-1, 6-2 to win the Palermo Open in an all-Italian final.
It was Pennetta’s seventh career title, with six of the seven having come on clay.
On Friday, I had the opportunity to attend a media launch organised by IMG at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.
I did not know it was the launch of an ATP 250 event as the invitation only stated 'a major annual sports and entertainment event for Malaysia'.
But I sort of know that it was a tennis event - or else why would they want to invite me.
As soon as I registered myself as a tennis blogger (the Media Director was a bit surprised), I took my 'goodie bag' (still not knowing it was the launch of the Malaysian Open) and searched for a place to check out the 'freebies' in the bag.
In the 'goodie bag' - An official guide to pro tennis 2009, ATP World Tour 2009 season book and a ATP 250 Malaysian Open notebook.
Now I bet you can imagine how happy I was when I finally saw the ATP 250 and Malaysian Open logos on the bag!
Then I met up with loose cannon who introduced to me the reporters and people from the press like the Malay Mail and NST.
Being kiasu, I quickly went into the conference room and grabbed the front seat so that I can get a good view to record some footage.
While most people from the media were still outside, I wassitting inside enjoying the slide show - I couldn't believe my eyes that Kei Nishikori, Fernando Verdasco, Fernando Gonzalez, David Ferrer, Gael Monfils and Nikolay Davydenko were some of the players who will be here in September!
With a James Blunt's song in the background, I got goosebumps and a chill running down my spine. I can't remember how many tweets and text messages I've sent out sharing the great news.
So, Kuala Lumpur won the right to host the prestigious ATP World Tour 250 for a period of five years from this year until 2013.
The Malaysian Open, to be organised by IMG, a world leader in sports and lifestyle marketing, will carry a total prize money of USD947,750, more than the amount offered at Thailand Open which is to be held on the same week.
This event will be held at the 16,000-capacity indoor Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from Sept 26 till Oct 4. Very, very near to my house indeed!
The Malaysian Open joins the Thailand Open, China Open, Japan Open and Shanghai Masters as Asian events on the ATP Tour schedule.
"There is great demand for cities to host ATP World Tour events and in particular within the Asian region," said Brad Drewett, CEO of ATP International.
"Kuala Lumpur presented a very strong application to become part of the ATP World Tour."
Here's the launch video which I want to share with you.
Tournament director Nick Freyer, who is also IMG Senior Vice-President and Head of Tennis for Asia, confirmed the participation of the 6 players mentioned earlier in this post.
If you haven't watch the welcome messages in my previous blog post, here we go again:
Freyer who received a 'special phone call' in the middle of his speech, later invited the Prime Minister to announce the participation of another player, who turned out to be 2009 French Open runner-up Robin Soderling.
Initially I thought that gimmick 'phone call' came from Roger Federer!
Now during the Q&A session, I managed to ask a question. I was glad when the tournament director assured that wildcards will be given based on merits. I'll be disappointed if wildcards will be given to local players whom I believe not ready to play at this level yet.
The event ended on high note when the Prime Minister officially launched the event and the official website (www.MalaysianOpenTennis.com).
Right after the event, I quickly dashed to the registration counter, got myself the press kit and an extra 'goodie bag' for Esther.
Before I end this post, let me share with you some information which I've got regarding the Malaysian Open. I bet you want to know things like the schedule of event, ticket price, venue and facilities, etc.
The 2009 Wimbledon Grand Slam Tennis doesn't belong to Roger Federer alone. There are many other players in the tournament too.
So, let's take a look at some of the happenings on Day 1 yesterday. First of all, I was really, really upset with ESPN Star Sports yesterday because they failed to show Federer making his Centre Court appearance.
Don't they already know all the hype about Federer's Wimbledon jacket? Instead they showed Sania Mirza's match!
Besides, as an Asian-based sports broadcaster, how can Star Sports not show Asia's no.1 men's player, Rendy Lu Yen-hsun against the unofficial-GOAT from the beginning?
I supposed Star Sports worried that Rendy may be bageled thrice by Federer? You know what, they only start to show the match after convinced that Rendy can actually play!
And by the way I have nothing against Sania. Just like Vijay Amritraj, I admire Sania too. I'm just as happy when I saw Sania beat Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-2, 2-6, 6-2.
No.4 seed Novak Djokovic came from a set down to defeat Julien Benneteau 6-7(8-10), 7-6(7-1), 6-2, 6-4.
During the match, Benneteau had a couple of painful moments. First, he slipped and hurt his knee earlier in the match before inflicting further damage to himself when he crashed into the screen at the back of the court trying to reach a Djokovic lob! Ouchh!
Robin Soderling continues his Grand Slam run to the second round after rallying to beat Gilles Muller 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-1, 6-2.
Thai Danai Udomchoke received a late call-up to the tournament on Monday as a 'lucky loser' after Ivan Ljubicic pulled out with an ankle injury.
Danai could hardly have been any less prepared for the demands of a Grand Slam clash and he never threatened to spring a surprise as American Sam Querrey cruised through with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win.
Another American James Blake however suffered a setback when he was beaten 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (5) by 50th-ranked Andreas Seppi. I'm speechless... disappointed.
British wildcard entrant Jamie Ward suffered a straight-sets defeat on his Grand Slam debut against Fernando "Mohawk-No-More" Verdasco.
Verdasco who spotted a new hairdo wrapped up a comfortable 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 victory in a little over an hour and a half.
Pretty boy Feliciano Lopez joined Blake to become another seeded player to lose on Day 1. Feliciano lost to Slovakian Karol Beck 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 10-8 in nearly four hours on Court 18.
Marin Cilic became the last man through to the second round before bad light halted play. Cilic defeated Spaniard Alberto Martin 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
Maria Sharapova, who also paraded her military-themed jacket earlier, had a tough Day 1 at Wimbledon on Monday, rallying from 4-1 down in the first set to overcome Ukrainian Viktoriya Kutuzova, the top seed in qualifying, 7-5, 6-4.
Serena Williams decided to go 'all English' this year.
And despite the warm weather the American insisted on wearing her coat as she practised with Neuza Silva before the match began.
Serena easily cruised to the next round after winning 6-1, 7-5.
Michelle Larcher de Brito toned down her grunts yesterday but still able to win against Klara Zakapalova 6-2, 7-5.
Last year's semifinalist, Zheng Jie reached the second round after beating Kristina Barrois of 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4). Zheng, the 16th seed, will take on Daniela Hantuchova in the second round.
On his fourth try at Roland Garros, Federer finally won the French Open to become the sixth man to win all four Grand Slam championships.
Federer beat surprise finalist Robin Soderling 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-4 on Sunday to complete a career Grand Slam and win his 14th major title, matching Pete Sampras’ record.
Something bizarre happened during the match when a spectator waving a flag climbed through the photographer’s pit and onto Federer’s side of the court.
That crazy fan caught up with Federer and tried to put a hat on Federer’s head.
The security was just as poor as the Australian Open. Security personnel reaction was too slow before they chased the man to the other side of the court and brought him down and out of the court.
Coming back to Federer, after hitting a service winner on championship point, he fell on his knees to the clay that had vexed him for so long, screamed and briefly buried his face in his hands.
He was teary by the time he met Soderling at the net, and the crowd gave Federer a standing ovation as he raised his arms in triumph.
From left to right: Wimbledon 2003, Australian Open 2004, Wimbledon 2004, US Open 2004, Wimbledon 2005, US Open 2005, Australian Open 2006, Wimbledon 2006, US Open 2006, Australian Open 2007, Wimbledon 2007, US Open 2007, 2008 and French Open 2009.
Federer won his 14th Grand Slam championship at age 27.
Sampras, who never reached a French Open final, was 31 when he won his last major title. Federer will try for no.15 beginning in two weeks at Wimbledon, which he has won five times. (Via AP; Images by AFP/AFP/Getty Images)
Can he become the greatest player in the Open era?
Roger Federer stayed on course for a first French Open title, and a 14th Grand Slam trophy, with a thrilling recovery to beat Juan Martin Del Potro 3-6, 7-6 (2), 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the semifinals.
JMDP was frustrated with the outcome but he also told Roger, "Everybody wants you to lift the trophy.”
Roger will now face Roland Garros sensation Robin Soderling in Sunday's final. Victory there will take Federer level with Pete Sampras's mark of 14 majors and make him only the sixth man to complete a career Grand Slam.
Federer will go into his fourth Roland Garros final with an advantage of 9-0 career record over Soderling.
Soderling is aiming for a Swede success.
Soderling, the shock conqueror of four-time champion Rafael Nadal, also needed five sets to reach his maiden Grand Slam final with a 6-3, 7-5, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Fernando Gonzalez.
Gonzalez was down and out of the French Open.
Federer however will not underestimate Soderling in the final.
"Soderling deserves to be there because he also beat Nadal and he was the man to beat in this tournament."
I'm kind of bored (not sick yet though) with all these talks about Roger Federer achieving a career Grand Slam, tying Pete Sampras all-time record of 14 major titles and being the people's choice.
"I feel it since a few years now, to be honest with you," Federer said.
"But this year even more extreme."
"When I walk on the streets or drive in the transportation or I go for dinner, everybody is like, 'This is your year. You've got to do it.' They're screaming from their scooters and out of the car. They even get out at the red lights and want me to sign an autograph or take a picture."
"It's quite incredible this last couple of weeks."
Alright maybe I'm saying that because I'm a Rafatard.
Or maybe I just want people to stop talking about it.
We all know very well that Federer has his best ever chance of winning the French Open, the only Grand Slam which is missing from his resume.
Hopefully Juan Martin del Potro will surprise us tomorrow, or at least put up a good fight against his idol.
In another semifinal, Fernando Gonzalez will face off with Robin Soderling,
I'm glad that Gonzalez is confident about his chance in the final.
He said, "This is a big moment in my career and I want to make the most of it. I want to think I'm a favourite because I feel fit to win my next match, and that is what I want to focus on."
First, defending women's champion Ana Ivanovic went down 6-2, 6-3 to Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round.
Not long after that, it was four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal turn, who was stunned 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-6(2) by Robin Soderling.
Labelled as one of the major upsets in French Open history, this is Nadal's first loss ever at the French Open, and his first ever loss in a best-of-five match on clay.
I guess the only person who saw this coming is Elena Dementieva, who predicted the loss earlier. Now the French Open will have a new men's champion this year.
The pressure is on Roger Federer... or perhaps he should breathe sigh of relief now that his two main competitors on this surface are gone.
Yesterday, Novak Djokovic, a semifinalist in the last two years, bowed out in the third round after losing to no. 29 Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Now I need to root for someone in order to keep my interest in this year's Grand Slam.
I hope Federer or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will win.
At least Federer will get his 14th Grand Slam or Tsonga will be the first Frenchman to win at Roland Garros since Yannick Noah since 1983.
For the women's singles, I think Dinara Safina has shown enough so far that she dominates the other ladies.
Unless Maria Sharapova managed to pull off miraculous wins to the final, I'm not so keen on the women's tennis as much as I like men's tennis.
Now I need to take some time off to mourn Nadal's defeat. See you guys tomorrow. (Images via Yahoo! Sports)
First of all, wishing all Indian friends Happy Diwali.
Kinda miss a lot after taking a few days break from the blogosphere. However I'm glad I did spend the weekend holiday with bro and sis and the new addition to our family, Pepper who is just 7-week old.
So here are the weekend winners in brief:
Roger Federer conquers Basel
Roger Federer won his hometown tournament for the third straight year on Sunday, beating second-seeded David Nalbandian of Argentina 6-3, 6-4 in the Swiss Indoors final.
“Things are back into a groove the way I like it. I’m happy with the way I’m playing,” Federer said.
“It feels great to win at home. Once you had it you want more of it and you want to do it over and over again.”
In the doubles title, Mark Knowles became the 21st player in ATP history (since 1973) to capture 50 career doubles titles after partnering Indian Mahesh Bhupathi to the Davidoff Swiss Indoors champion Sunday with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Germans Christopher Kas and Philipp Kohlschreiber.
The final lasted 61 minutes.
“I’m elated,” said Knowles.
“It’s a big number and I’d be a liar if I said I hadn’t been thinking about it, as I’ve lost in a couple of finals lately. I’m really happy to win my 50th title and get past the milestone."
Andy Murray retains St. Petersburg Open title
Top-seeded Andy Murray won the St. Petersburg Open for the second straight year by beating qualifier Andrey Golubev 6-1, 6-1.
“I played well today, I really enjoyed myself this week,” Murray said.
“At the start of both sets it was quite close, but once I got ahead I started to feel much more comfortable. In terms of the score it was easy, but it wasn’t the easiest match I’ve played on the tour.”
In the doubles title, American Travis Parrott and Filip Polasek of the Slovak Republic earned a hard-fought 3-6, 7-6(4) 10-8 win over first-time pairing Indian Rohan Bopanna and Max Mirnyi of Belarus at the St. Petersburg Open.
“We are really happy to have won our first ATP title as a team. We started playing together in February. It is fun to have worked our way up from the Challenger circuit and get the chance to win an ATP title," said Parrott.
Robin Soderling wins at Lyon
Seventh-seeded Robin Soderling of Sweden beat Julien Benneteau 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1 to claim his third career title and first since 2005.
Soderling is set to break into the top 20 for the first time on Monday at either No. 18 or 19.
“As a player you always have the goal of reaching the top 100. Once you get there, you want to get to the top 50,” he said.
“Reaching the top 20 feels great. It has been my goal for two or three years.”
Second seeds Michael Llodra of France and Israeli Andy Ram, playing together for the first time this week, captured the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon title on Sunday after beating Australian Stephen Huss and Ross Hutchins of Great Britain 6-3, 5-7, 10-8 in 80 minutes.
“I'm very happy to win this title together with Andy,” said Llodra.
“Winning with him in Lyon makes it even more special since this place means a lot to me. I usually play with French partners, most of the time with Arnaud Clement and I'm happy that I won this title together with my friend Andy."
Elena Dementieva takes 3rd title of year in Luxembourg
Elena Dementieva won her third title of the year on Sunday, outlasting Caroline Wozniacki 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the Fortis Championships.
"I feel like I just won a Grand Slam," Dementieva said.
"I think it was the most difficult final I've ever played. Caroline was playing so well - she has such a good defensive game, but was also hitting really good drop shots and passing shots. I had to stay positive and aggressive and I'm so happy I was able to win today."
In the doubles titile, Sorana Cristea and Marina Erakovic took the title with defeat of no. 3 seeds Vera Dushevina and Mariya Koryttseva in a match tie-break 2-6, 6-3, 10-8.
"We clicked," said Erakovic after the 4th seeds' Tier III win.
"Sorana plays very well off the baseline, and has a great serve, and I can do a lot of things at the net. I think that combination helped us this week."
Ana Ivanovic ends title drought at Linz
Top-seeded Ana Ivanovic routed No. 2-seeded Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-1 in the final of the Generali Ladies to win her first title since the French Open.
"Every final is a new experience and winning a title is always special," Ivanovic said.
"Especially after coming back from an injury and putting in a lot of hard work, it's great to see the results. It's a very good feeling to win another title. I played better and better in every match and really enjoyed my week in Linz."
In the doubles final, second seeds Katarina Srebotnik and Ai Sugiyama upset top seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber 6-4, 7-5, to capture the Tier II Generali Ladies Linz title.
Chardy swigged down a bottle of champagne at the victory ceremony and then took a brief spin behind the wheel of a new Mercedes E350, a prize given by the sponsor. 
In Bastad, Sweden, Robin Soderling beat Juan Monaco 6-3, 7-6 (4) to win the Swedish Open for his fourth ATP Tour title and first on clay. 
Austrian Sybille Bammer has beaten top-seeded Francesca Schiavone 7-6 (4), 6-2 to win the Prague Open in Czech Republic.
Flavia Pennetta routed Sara Errani 6-1, 6-2 to win the Palermo Open in an all-Italian final.
