+ WEDNESDAY NETCORDS: Lindsay, Kim, Nole vs. Andy, Lleyton bags season...Mario returns, Roger dreams of gold and more

(image courtesy of The Red Joke)

- Boneheaded or brilliant? Former tennis player and coach Ion Tiriac is pushing to make Madrid the location of a 5th Grand Slam tournament.

- Super Mario: Croatia's Mario Ancic is finally making strides on the ATP Tour again after sitting out 6 months with mononucleosis and then recently with a shoulder injury. "Playing matches, waiting for matches to start, warming up for matches, it's new for me this year," said the former top-10 player. "I haven't done much of that at all. You can work as much as you want, but when you come to a tournament, it's a new world."

- Closing shop: Aussie hothead Lleyton Hewitt has ended his '07 campaign early. The former World No. 1 is nursing a chronic ankle issue which he re-injured while preparing for Davis Cup duty last month. Lleyton's manager, David Drysdale, said, "It's not something that we think is going to be an issue in the future. The advice we were given by the specialists was to give him three or four weeks off and then allow another three or four weeks to recuperate, so that's pretty much what we're doing."

- Speaking of the Hewitts, sister Jaslyn has traded in her tennis racquets for dumbells and competitive bodybuilding. According to a recent interview she didn't want to "bulk up like a she-man. I like the athletic feminine look," said Jaslyn. Check out her new look here. We're thinking she's a card-carrying dude now, but that's just our humble opinion. (via TSF)

- Another former World No. 1 Lindsay Davenport is singing a different tune than Lleyton and discussing the beginning of her full assault on the tennis world. In an interviw with RadioTennis.com, Lindsay discussed her initial 2008 plans saying, "Right now the plan is to leave for Australia after the first of the year, play a warm-up tournament prior to the Australian Open, then play the Australian Open and then possibly play Fed Cup."

- Novak Djokovic & Andy Murray: how do the old friends stack up against each other?

- The currently retired, but very pregnant, Kim Clijsters can still hit a big ball - baby bump and all. No, seriously....check it out here!

- Roger Federer likes his chances to win the Australian and French Opens next year, but what about the "Golden Slam"? "The Olympic Games is a special year and honestly I don't envision the Golden Slam, but if it's there to take I'll try, but it's a tough schedule," [...] "It's hard to do, almost impossible."

- Sign o' the times: Which astrological sign is the most populated by tennis players? Tennis Diary knows...and they're telling.

+ WEDNESDAY NETCORDS: Justine, Andy, Lindsay, Billie and Elton...Pete vs. Andre, match-fixing update and more

(image courtesy of J R E Y)

- On top of the world: A huge "congrats!" to World No. 1 Justine Henin for clinching the year-end No. 1 ranking (for the third time in her illustrious career) and winning the United States Sports Academy’s Female Athlete of the Month for September. Plus, she's an astonishing 54-4 this season.

- All bets are off? The tennis gods are gathering in London this Friday to hash out all this match-fixing business. In addition Tennis Diary has reported that players' cell phones may be banned from the locker rooms to avoid inside information from leaking to betters. And, Hall-of-Famer Pam Shriver has some choice words for those prone to betting. Can it be stopped? Stay tuned...

- New chief in town: Arlen Kantarian has been newly named CEO, Professional Tennis for the USTA. What does this mean exactly? As part of his new duties, Arlen will oversee the development of a new USTA elite player development program, focused on identifying and developing the next generation of American champions. He will still lead the USTA's Professional Tennis operations, and serve as the lead executive overseeing the USTA's involvement in the professional sport, including the US Open, US Open Series, USTA Pro Tour events, U.S. Davis Cup, Fed Cup, and Olympic teams, and the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

- Music superstar Sir Elton John and long-time friend Billie Jean King will host the 15th annual Advanta WTT Smash Hits, a special night of tennis featuring superstars including Andy Roddick, Lindsay Davenport and Anna Kournikova. The event, which benefits the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the local charity ActionAIDS, will be held in Philadelphia on Oct. 10. Visit Ticketmaster to purchase tickets to this event and to support AIDS research and charities.

- Getting to know: Stefan Koubek

- If it ain't broke...: In the "What were they thinking?" file, the ATP announced it's 2009 schedule to include the new format of giving tournaments ranking points to determine they're importance (1000 = Master Series level, 500 = Tier II). Is that even correct? We're confused just writing about it...oy...

- Think pink: Daily Racquet has been supporting October's Breast Cancer Awareness month by posting on all things pink and tennis. Check it out!

- Wanna know more about the history of the Lacoste brand? Click here.

- Video vault: Reminisce about the good ol' days of tennis with this great, classic Nike commercial featuring legends Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi playing an improptu set of tennis in a New York City intersection.

+ WEDNESDAY NETCORDS: Rafa, Andy, Pete vs. Roger...ATP gets dumped, Serbia's rise and more

(image courtesy of Jezzer Johnson)

- The Tennis Channel pulls another coup by securing the rights to feature the 3 exhibition matches between living legends Pete Sampras and Roger Federer. The matches scheduled to air are the meetings in Seoul, Korea . Up next is the Nov. 22 match in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, then the Nov. 23 meeting in Macao, China.

- Tennis Diary states their case for why Rafael Nadal has yet to play well at the US Open. Our guess: he's worn his body to shreads by the Open - period.

- Mercedes will be ending its 11-year sponsorship of the ATP tour to broaden its portfolio to include golf, football, and get this, equestrian activities. Tennis, you're losing out to horses - get a grip.

- Talking Federer: Talk show host Charlie Rose discusses all things Roger Federer with commentary by Rod Laver, John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Rafael Nadal, Bud Collins, and of course Fed himself. Good stuff.

- Prince is entering the gaming world by producing Wii Tennis racquets

- An Olympic gold medal vs. a Grand Slam championship: the players weigh in

- Andy Roddick launched the Andy Roddick Youth Tennis program this week. About 60 students receive two hours of tennis instruction and one hour of the "Living Smart/Living Strong" Development and Guidance Program, led by OLLU Education faculty. Learn more about the program by visiting OLLU.edu.

- Peter Bodo asks: how DID Serbia become a tennis superpower?

+ THURSDAY NETCORDS: James talks, Vince raps, Serena eats...Acura bids adieu, player dopes and more

(image courtesy of alex whittaker)

- Fact or Fiction: Tennis blog Racqonteur is claiming to be following a story about a power player on the WTA Tour known for using performance-enhancing drugs. This player had a good end of year in 2006, and slow start to 2007, and is looking to hit the 'roids again to defend her ranking points...

- Taking a break: American James Blake, whose book "Breaking Back" is No. 22 on The New York Times Best Seller list, took a rest from the US Open Series and visited Good Morning America as part of his promotional tour. Tennis Week is hosting a link to the interview.

- Serena Party Watch: No, not another party this time, phew. Just video of ReRe leaving Mr. Chow's in LA, followed by paparazzi and fans, before hitting Common's album release party this week. Not that we needed proof.

- Get a grip: Why the Washington Post gives any ink or paper to Vince Spadea's "rap" and ramblings is beyond us.

- We've been watching tennis articles this week wax nostalgic about the ending of the Acura Classic. Add Tennis Diary to the mix with this thought to ponder: does Acura's fate symbolize the future of American tennis tournaments?