Juan Martin del Potro recalled being awakened by the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile in the wee hours of Saturday morning.
Such great force was felt in the neighbouring city of Buenos Aires, Argentina where he is currently recovering from a right wrist injury.“I was sleeping when at approximately 3:30am I started feeling dizzy and also hearing loud noises. The first thing I thought was that I had left the windows open and the wind was making the noise when it hit against the walls. I live on a high floor of an apartment building so I didn't think this was out of the ordinary."
"The noise was quite loud and it woke me up, so I decided to see what was happening. I was feeling very dizzy and soon realised it wasn't the wind making all the noise. Everything in my apartment was shaking and when I walked into my living room, the curtains and the decorations on the walls were shaking as well. This went on for 5-6 minutes."
"I am very saddened that the second natural disaster has taken place in such a short amount of time in the Americas, affecting so many people. I have traveled to Chile many times in my life and love the people and the country.
"My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Chile today and I pray that as many people as possible will escape this terrible disaster safely.”
(Via ATP website; Image via menstennisforums.com)
Smooth sailing for Djokovic in Dubai... maybe not...
Novak Djokovic successfully defended his Dubai Championships title after defeating Mikhail Youzhny 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 in a rain-affected final.
Leading 7-5, 2-0 before rain suspended play, Djokovic was made to work hard to win his 17th career title in a match that lasted 3 hours, 21 minutes at the Aviation Club.
Djokovic is now $383,000 richer and he gains 500 ranking points for his victory.
(Image via Yahoo! Sports)
David Ferrer gets the pear.
David Ferrer defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero to end his fellow Spaniard's 14-match winning streak yesterday.Ferrer who lost to Ferrero at the Copa Telmex last week in Buenos Aires got a sweet revenge with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory in Acapulco.
Ferrero's winning streak had included ATP titles in his last two tournaments, in Brazil and Argentina.
Venus Williams gets the hat.
Alisa Kleybanova won her first WTA title at the Malaysian Open today after beating favourite Elena Dementieva 6-3, 6-2 in an all-Russian final.“It has been a tough week with many tough sets and matches. I’m just so happy to finally claim my first title,” the fourth-seeded Kleybanova said.
“I’ve been waiting so long for this moment, training hard and playing in many tournaments. Everything came together in the final and I would like to thank Elena for the good match.”
Meanwhile, Zheng Jie and Chan Yung-jan defeated sisters Anastasia and Arina Rodionova 6-7(4), 6-2, 10-7 to win the doubles title.This is their first title in just their second event together and earned $11,000 each for the victory.
Personally, I had a blast through the entire week at the WTA Malaysian Open. Hope to see more players in action again next year!
(Images via Yahoo! Sports)
Juan Martin del Potro recalled being awakened by the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile in the wee hours of Saturday morning. 
