PHOTO OP: ATP ballers hit the pitch for Japan

Some of the top ballers on the ATP World Tour came together for a friendly football/soccer match at the Ranson Everglades School in Miami to raise funds for the relief efforts in Japan. The tennis All Stars were defeated by the Fort Lauderdale Strikers 4-2 in the 40 minute charity match.

Novak Djokovic was captain of the team that included Kei Nishikori, Feliciano Lopez, Juan Monaco, Richard Gasquet, Viktor Troicki, Andy Murray, Marcos Baghdatis, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Jurgen Melzer. Baghs scored first and was voted MVP while Muzz scored the other goal in the match.

Alexandr Dolgopolov, Potito Starace, Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, David Marrero, Fernando Verdasco, Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer were on hand as alternates.

Afterward, the ballers headed out to the gala dinner which raised $10,000 for the relief efforts. Craig Hickman, who writes Craig Hickman's Tennis Blog, has been providing coverage for Tennis Panorama and was on site for the event. He provided some great commentary, photos and videos (more to come.) Check out their Twitter timeline @GVTennisNews for last night's updates and for further Sony Ericsson Open coverage. It's been awesome!

If you'd like to contribute to the relief efforts visit the Red Cross website.

More images from last night's match below and after the jump - click the head.

PHOTO OP: "How's this for more leg?"

Let's give a big congrats to Robin Soderling. No, not for giving his best spread eagle or getting bounced from the quarterfinals of Stockholm by Florian Mayer.

The towering Swede received his official acceptance into the ATP Art School after clinching the fifth spot at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Sadly, Sod's self-portrait moment wasn't captured on video (yet) but here's a shot of his masterpiece:

His portrait along with those created by Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray will be displayed at the La Galleria Pall Mall in London from November 8-18 and will be auctioned online for charity through barclaysatpworldtourfinals.com/ArtofTennis.

If it was up to me I would've picked that uber-sexy pose from the top pic for his portrait. But I guess that's why it's not. Drats.

[Photo(s): Getty Images, ATP World Tour]

Rafa officially tops ATP rankings while Fran makes Top 10 debut

The ATP World Tour rankings were released today with Rafael Nadal officially replacing Roger Federer as the world's top baller after winning his fifth Roland Garros championship this weekend. Fed falls back to the second spot.

Robin Soderling moved up one spot to No. 6 after reaching the RG final for the second consecutive year, as did Andy Roddick who now sits at No. 7. Reigning U.S. Open champ Juan Martin del Potro, who is recovering from wrist surgery, fell two spots to No. 8. He made the semifinals of Roland Garros last year.


The WTA saw some big moves today with the Roland Garros ladies' champ Francesca Schiavone making her debut in the Top 10 after leaping 11 big spots to land at No. 6. Her compatriot Flavia Pennetta matched her best result in Paris by reaching the fourth round and jumped five spots in the rankings to the 10th position.

This weekend's finalist, Sam Stosur, remained at No. 7 while Kim Clijsters moved up one spot to the ninth position. The Belgian pulled out of RG to recover from a foot injury she sustained at FED CUP. Her compatriot, four-time champ Justine Henin, moved up five spots to re-enter the Top 20 at No. 18 after her fourth-round appearance.

Svetlana Kuznetsova + Dinara Safina took big hits after their campaigns failed miserably in the City of Lights falling out of the Top 10. The 2009 RG champ went out in the third round and fell 13 nasty spots to land at No. 19 while last year's finalist tumbled from No. 9 down to No. 20 with her first round loss in Paris. Elena Dementieva is now the only Russian lady baller left in the Top 10 - astounding.

[Photo(s): ATP + WTA]

Djokovic as new World No.2 and other ranking moves

Not that this picture I chose has ANYTHING to do with rankings but it's Monday after a major final weekend so a pick-me-up was in order...

Novak Djokovic had another disappointing end at the Aussie Open falling to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals while feeling all kinds of bad. Last season, the sexy Serb (and defending champ) retired from his match at the same hurdle due to heat-related illness.

But he's feeling pretty good today after waking up as the new World No. 2, his highest career ranking, in the ATP World Tour rankings according to his website:

"I am happy to go one more step in my career and get even closer to one of my life time goals which is to become #1. This career high ranking is important for the moment since I had been close before. It was unfortunate for me this Australian Open, a tournament that really got me to one of my peaks so far, but that's how the competition is. I am now back at home and soon resuming practice so I can compete."

Other Top Ten movers this week include Andy Murray climbing back up to the third spot on the heels of his finals appearance in Oz; Rafael Nadal falling two spots to fourth after retiring in the quarters due to injury (his first time out of the Top 3 since June 2005); Jo-Wilfried Tsonga inching up one to grab the 9th spot; and Marin Cilic making his debut in the Top Ten based on his first appearance in a Grand Slam semifinal.

Fernando Verdasco took a big hit falling out of the Top Ten to No. 12 after getting knocked out of the Aussie Open in the fourth round. Last year the Spanish chorizo made a surprise run to the semifinals losing to Rafa in an epic 5-set marathon.

1 Federer, Roger (SUI) 11,350
2 Djokovic, Novak (SRB) 8,310
3 Murray, Andy (GBR) 7,800
4 Nadal, Rafael (ESP) 7,670
5 Del Potro, Juan Martin (ARG) 6,400
6 Davydenko, Nikolay (RUS) 5,290
7 Roddick, Andy (USA) 4,150
8 Soderling, Robin (SWE) 3,375
9 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried (FRA) 3,235
10 Cilic, Marin (CRO) 2,970


[Photo(s): Clive Brunskill/Getty Images]

VIDEO VAULT: I will be your father figure...

The ATP World Tour sits down with Novak Djokovic, who defeated Andrea Beck 6-3, 7-5 in the Basel first round, as he discusses his relationship with coach Marian Vajda, who he calls his "second father." I guess having a dad like Srdjan is not enough. Right.

Anyway, remember Nole's side of sex moment in Montreal? Well, check out what else we missed:


Ah HELL NO. His Serbian arse is lucky I wasn't in that audience. I would've bitten off more than I could chew. And liked it. Lots.

(video via atp world tour)

VIDEO VAULT: Some boys dream of being a gladiator while one likes to dirty dance

Thanks to an anonymous DtL reader and Miri at Nadal News for tipping me off to this video of the ATP baller boys discussing their fave films of all time.

So what was tops on the lists? Gladiator. No, seriously. I'm thinking it must be all that sweaty man-on-man action...at least that's why I love it. Oh, and a swarthy Russell Crowe working the Caesar cut. Hawtness.

Another shockeratti? Roger Federer loves the Rambo series and Dirty Dancing. I know, I know.

And what does Rafael Nadal like? Apparently he has too many faves - another typical non-answer, no?

(via TennisTV)

WEEKEND WINNERS: Jo-Willy, Gonzo, Marin

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - Johannesburg

As Van predicted, Jo-Willy defeated his compatriot and first-time finalist Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 7-6 (5) to win in Johannesburg and earn his third ATP World Tour title (Bangkok, Paris Masters). He also raced through the draw without dropping a set all week - nice.

Fernando Gonzalez - Vina del Mar

Gonzo grabbed his fourth title at his home tourney, crushing good friend Jose Acasuso 6-1, 6-3 to win at Vina del Mar. The Chilean baller earned his 11th career ATP World Tour title and, like Jo-Willy, blew through his draw without dropping a single set.

Marin Cilic - Zagreb

In a battle of Croats, rising start Marin Cilic beat Mario Ancic 6-3, 6-4 at their home tourney in Zagreb earning his third ATP World Tour title (New Haven, Chennai).

(image via Getty)

THE LOW DOWN: Ex-Nike exec Helfant rumored to be new ATP CEO

Is this the face of the new ATP CEO? Rumor has it ex-Nike global sports marketing VP Adam Helfant, 44, will become the next head of the men's professional tennis tour.

According to ESPN.com,

Helfant's marketing experience at Nike, where he was involved in some tennis deals, and reputation as a skilled, fair-minded negotiator is said to have resonated positively with players and administrators concerned about the tour's ability to weather the current volatile economic conditions.

Helfant headed up some of the biggest deals for Nike including those involving NBA stars Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and Carmelo Anthony.

With all the current issues on the ATP World Tour that need to be addressed - scheduling, tour sponsorship, match-fixing - it'll be interesting to see if another tennis outsider can come in and effect real change. We all saw what happened with former Disney chief Etienne de Villiers.

No official announcement has been made yet. Stay tuned.

(image via sportsbusinessjournal.com)

VIDEO VAULT: More Rafa + Fed at ATP World Tour promo launch

Here's video of Rafael Nadal + Roger Federer arriving for the promo launch of the ATP World Tour 2009 that took place on a vessel off the Doha shore.

The video shows the two top ballers in the world being interviewed about their prospects at the Qatar Open and for the season.

But word to the wise: the background music is horrific. Proceed with caution.

CHECK IT:

MEDIA MASHUP: The ATP World Tour revamps site for 2009 - love it or leave it?

The newly-named ATP World Tour, which recently debuted the next evolution in their "FEEL IT" global marketing campaign, has also revamped their website to match the the campaign's other worldly, celestial theme. The Tour also released the following video promoting their new campaign:



So the gods of tennis are hitting into the heavens? Interesting, if not reaching a bit. I'll definitely be watching to see how the ATP World Tour continues to infuse this theme and messaging throughout the 2009 season - remember, consistency is the key here.

What do you guys think of the new website - love it or leave it??

DO TELL!

(image via atpworldtour.com)

THE LOW DOWN: The ATP + WTA Tours move closer together - will a commissioner be far behind?

Could a commissioner or an umbrella organization overseeing both the ATP + WTA Tours come to fruition in the very near future?

Douglas Robson's article for USA Today investigates the possibilities of the two tours moving closer together as more events, particularly when the 2009 season rolls around, see the men and women playing in the same tourney or in back-to-back weeks including Madrid, Cincinnati, and Beijing.

Robson highlights a number of areas where the tours are already leveraging each other:

•Some 35% of the ATP's 63 events and 40% of WTA 50 tournaments will be combined or played in consecutive weeks in 2009, among them events at Madrid, Cincinnati and Beijing.

•Staffs have been consolidating in London in recent years, and both human resources and IT functions are now shared. A number of media functions, such as the production of the annual media guide and the two tour websites, also are shared.

•This year the ATP and WTA teamed up in conjunction with the International Tennis Federation and the four majors to form a so-called integrity unit to combat gambling. That followed the formation of a joint anti-doping program overseen by the ITF in 2006.

•Next year the tours will embark on their first commercial joint venture by pooling digital rights for video streaming of content though a single portal called tennistv.com. They will split revenues evenly.

WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott has been talked about as someone who could potentially oversee both tours and has publicly expressed interest in the role. He already sees an evolution towards the two tours working in tandem possibly in five years:

We have done some things together already. It is happening organically.

The challenges to this idea include legal issues such as TV rights, title sponsorships (the ATP has no interest in a Sony Ericsson-type sponsorship for the tour), and the always thorny issue of the Grand Slams which aren't controlled by either tour.

From a business and branding perspective, having the two tours live under one organization seems a like a no brainer and would encourage consistency across the board. It becomes confusing for the casual fan when one tour experiments with, say, on-court coaching while the other doesn't. However, the umbrella organization would need to ensure the unique identity, characteristics, and marketing of each tour remained intact.

As I mentioned previously, leveraging the star power off both tours would give the executives more weight to sell sponsorships and tickets, not to mention buying TV time (another area where consistency in scheduling is crucial for the growth of tennis.) Moreover, it would seem organizing the tours would get easier from a logistical standpoint - where the top ballers go the rest follow.

(image via Getty)

BREAKING: Perry Rogers removed from ATP Board of Directors

Tennis Week is reporting that Perry Rogers, who managed Andre Agassi throughout his career, was voted off the ATP Board of Directors by the players council.

The council is comprised of 10 current players, one former player and a coach and includes President Ivan Ljubicic, vice president James Blake, Thomas Johansson, Olivier Rochus, Paul Goldstein, Davide Sanguinetti, Bob Bryan, Kevin Ullyett, Paradorn Srichaphan, Martin Garcia, alumni David Adams and coach Ricardo Piatti. The vote required at least 7 of the 12 members for it to pass.

An ATP spokesperson confirmed the change on the board saying,

We can confirm that there has been a change to the composition of the ATP Board by action of the Player Council and look forward to working with the new Player Board Representative. We thank Perry Rogers for his dedicated service on the ATP Board.

Rogers was seen as a strong supporter of ATP CEO Etienne de Villiers, who has come under heavy fire by top ballers recently for a number of issues including the heavily packed schedule and the downgrading of Hamburg from Master Series status.

Expect more news to come.

(image via tennisweek.com)

A newfound hairy situation grows, facial fuzz takes over the ATP Tour

Feeling the fuzz: So, I touched on (or is it up?) Fabio Fognini's "Best 'Brows" moment last week and now I've stumbled upon a new kind of hairy situation on the ATP Tour - facial hair. Maybe I'm noticing the trend because I grew out my own facial fuzz recently, but there seems to be an affinity towards furry faces on our tennis ballers - goatees, beards, and everything in between.

The perpetrators include, beginning at left, previous hairy situation offender Jose Acasuso (still working the mullet) Dmitry Tursunov and Rotterdam titlist Michael Llodra.

Dmitry pulls off the sexy + masculine facial fuzz the best while Michael goes the clean-cut route. But, don't ask what's going on with Jose's - at least he's consistently bad, though.

(images via AP + Getty)

+ 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.

THE LOW DOWN: Andy Murray enters Madrid Masters with tail between his legs

Call me 'stupid': Andy Murray is trying to calm the waters after being severely criticized for his match-fixing comments by numerous top players on the ATP Tour, most notably Rafael Nadal. As a result, the Scot retracted his remarks via his website saying they "were taken out of context."

Both players are competing at this week's Madrid Masters, and this provided an opportunity for Andy to speak with Rafa directly. Here's what he had to say:

"I spoke to Rafa," [...] We were joking about it. I explained the whole situation. He understands. He has been around the press a long time and it's easy for them to change words and not report the questions that have been put to you and just put the answers in. He thought that maybe I was annoyed with him because he had called me 'stupid', but it's fine."

Really? It's fine?? We suppose Andy has that British stiff upper lip down pat - because letting someone call you stupid is, uh, stupid.

HOT or NOT: Rafael vs. Novak

Here we have 2 of the hottest players on the ATP tour, and we're not talking about their games. Spain's Rafael Nadal has an incredible body - those arms are sick. Plus, the Spaniard has some serious "junk in the trunk." We think he looks good best when he's giving it his all on the tennis court - and not bad off it either.

Serb Novak Djokovic has powered his way to No. 3 in the world and is pushing for the top. We know he packs some serious heat in his game and otherwise. But the best part: the Djoker has this tendency to always want to take his clothes off - something Down the Line! and some others can truly appreciate!

HOT or NOT: Rafa vs. the Djoker. Tell us!

The ATP's hairy situation hits epidemic proportions

The hairy situation on the ATP tour has now reached epidemic proportions. Latest offender: Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina.

Jonathan Antin, if you're reading this, please help...

(image via Peter Bodo's Tennisworld)

FASHION FIX: Off the tennis court, on to the runway

Some of the ATP tour's finest dropped their tennis racquets and hit the runway in Montreal this week. A number of the top men's players took part in a fashion show during The Rogers Cup at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel on August 5.

Players who worked the runway included Jamie Murray, Marcos Baghdatis, Novak Djokovic, and James Blake.

Though all the guys look great dolled up, we really are speechless about the clothes the Djoker was forced to wear...a true fashion DON'T.

(images courtesy of Getty Images)