Djokovic Saves Apology for Facebook

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Novak Djokovic has taken to his Facebook page to apologise for his comments over pay in tennis. The world No1 suggested male players should be paid more than women because they attract greater interest.

However, he wrote: “I typically use this page to share my excitement with you, especially after big wins. But this time I had to take a few deep breaths before addressing you. As you may have seen, I was asked to comment on a controversy that wasn’t of my making. Euphoria and adrenalin after the win on Sunday got the best of me and I’ve made some comments that are not the best articulation of my view, and I would like to clarify them.

“As you all know, I care deeply about the future of the game and all of the players. Tennis helped me so much in my life and being where I am today, I felt the need to speak about the fairer and better distribution of funds across the board – this was meant for both men and women. We all have to fight for what we deserve.

“This was never meant to be made into a fight between genders and differences in pay, but in the way all players are rewarded for their play and effort. Tennis is a sport that I love and that gave me the opportunity to help others who still have a long way to go to achieve their dreams. This was my view all along and I want to apologise to anyone who has taken this the wrong way.”

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Moore Makes Right Call - Resigning!

Raymond Moore, the CEO of the Indian Wells tennis tournament, has resigned from his role, one day after saying that the women’s tour “rides on the coat-tails” of the men’s game.

Moore was roundly criticised after he proclaimed that women in tennis “don’t make any decisions” and are “very, very lucky”, during an interview before Victoria Azarenka beat Serena Williams in the women’s final on Sunday.

“If I was a lady player, I’d go down every night on my knees and thank god that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born because they have carried this sport. They really have.”

He went on to describe several female tennis players as “physically attractive”.

Moore later apologised, saying his comments were “in extremely poor taste” and that he was sorry. But the damage was done and members of tennis community were swift to voice their dismay on Twitter.

Serena Williams responded to Moore’s remarks, saying: “Obviously I don’t think any woman should be down on their knees thanking anybody like that.”

“I think Venus [Williams], myself, a number of players have been – if I could tell you every day how many people say they don’t watch tennis unless they’re watching myself or my sister, I couldn’t even bring up that number.

“So I don’t think that is a very accurate statement. I think there is a lot of women out there who are more – are very exciting to watch. I think there are a lot of men out there who are exciting to watch. I think it definitely goes both ways. I think those remarks are very much mistaken and very, very, very inaccurate.”

A statement from Larry Ellison, owner of the Californian tournament, on Tuesday said Moore had “decided to step down”.

“I fully understand his decision,” he said.

The statement went on to laud the progress of women’s tennis “thanks to the leadership of Bille Jean, Martina Navratilova, Venus Williams, Serena Williams and so many other great women athletes”.

“I would like to personally thank all the great women athletes who fought so hard for so many years in the pursuit of equal prize money in professional tennis. And I’d like to congratulate them on their success,” it went on.

On Sunday, Novak Djokovic, who won the men’s final at Indian Wells, sparked further controversy after saying that male players should get more prize money than their female counterparts because their game attracted more viewers.

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Djokovic Beats Nadal in Qatar

Novak Djokovic moved ahead for the first time in his long-running rivalry with Rafael Nadal when the world No1 thrashed the Spaniard to win the Qatar Open in Doha on Saturday.

The Serb – appearing in his 16th consecutive final – won 6-1, 6-2 in little more than an hour and now has 24 career victories over Nadal, compared to 23 for the former world No1.

Djokovic dominated 2015, winning three of the year’s four grand slams, and already looks in the groove in the build-up to this month’s Australian Open.

He and Nadal boast the most prolific rivalry, in terms of meetings, in the professional era of men’s tennis but the latest only emphasised how dominant Djokovic has become. The Serb has now won nine of his last 10 matches with Nadal.

This one-sided affair saw Djokovic claim a 60th career ATP title, one of only 10 players to achieve such a feat.

The 28-year-old suffered one of his few blips last year in Doha when he was surprisingly beaten by Ivo Karlovic, and failed to reach a tournament final for the only time in 2015.

But he made up for that with an immaculate week in the Arabian Gulf.

Nadal was powerless to stop Djokovic as he watched 16 winners fly past him in the opening set. The world No5 Nadal, competing in his 99th final, fared little better thereafter and has now lost 11 consecutive sets against Djokovic since the 2014 French Open final.

“I played pretty much perfect tennis today. From the very beginning I managed to get every shot the way I wanted,” said Djokovic. “The way I played today gives me great satisfaction.”

Djokovic will aim to retain the Australian Open crown in Melbourne where he has won half of his 10 major titles.

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Kyrgios and Wawrinka Mend Fences

Four months after Nick Kyrgios served up his infamous sledge to Stan Wawrinka, the Australian says they have mended their relationship to the point “it’s almost like nothing happened”.

French Open champion Wawrinka was fuming at the Montreal Masters in August when Kyrgios, mid-match, took a spiteful swipe at the Swiss by claiming fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis slept with his girlfriend.

“So disappointing to see a fellow athlete and colleague be so disrespectful in a way I could never even imagine,” Wawrinka tweeted.

Kyrgios was fined $US10,000 by the ITF and the 20-year-old – not for the first time – received a barrage of criticism for his brash antics.

It seems the end of another arduous season and the camaraderie of a teams event have healed the wounds – at least according to Kyrgios.

The pair spent the last few weeks together as Singapore Slammers team-mates competing in the International Premier Tennis League throughout Asia and the Middle East.

“It’s been really good actually,” Kyrgios told Fox Sports in Singapore after the Slammers beat the Indian Aces in the final on Sunday.

“We’ve all been chatting. I feel we’re much more comfortable with each other now. It’s almost like nothing happened. We’re out there competing, we’re playing for the same team, we want to win.

“That’s been the main thing – is me just getting up and giving him all the energy I give everyone else, and he’s appreciated that and he’s been playing some really good tennis as well.”

Kyrgios appeared to relish the team aspect of the IPTL but, even with the Australian Open looming next month, the world No30 wasn’t about to declare he had rediscovered love for the sport.

“I wouldn’t say I love the sport to be honest,” said Kyrgios. “I love winning that’s the main thing. I love competing. Tennis is my life. I wouldn’t know what to do without it that’s for sure. But to say I love it is a pretty strong word.”

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Federer Edberg Partnership Ends

Roger Federer’s successful partnership with Stefan Edberg is over, with the Swiss master adding Croat Ivan Ljubicic to his 2016 coaching team. Edberg has been credited with revitalising the former world No.1 and adding an innovative attacking edge to his game since the pair joined forces in late 2013.

But Federer says while his childhood idol will forever remain welcome on his team, Edberg will no longer travel with the 17-times grand slam champion. 

“After two very successful years, I would like to thank Stefan Edberg, my childhood idol, for agreeing to join my team,” Federer posted on his website on Wednesday. “It was a dream come true. Although it was supposed to only be for 2014, Stefan was great and agreed to extend the partnership through this year which I really appreciated.”

“He taught me so much and his influence on my game will remain. He will always be a part of my team.”

Federer said Swiss Davis Cup captain Severin Luthi, who has been working with the 34-year-old since 2008, will continue to serve as his main coach, with Ljubicic to assist. “Both Daniel Troxler, my physiotherapist and Pierre Paganini, my long-time fitness trainer, will remain part of my technical team,” he said.

Although he failed to add to his record 17 grand slam titles during his stint with Edberg, Federer accrued 11 trophies while honing his silky game with the Swede, including six in 2015. Edberg also guided Federer to the 2014 and 2015 Wimbledon finals, as well as this year’s US Open decider, with the Swiss losing all three championship matches to world No.1 Novak Djokovic. Edberg released a statement to the ATP thanking Federer for what he described as a “wonderful two years”.

“It became very clear from the start that this was going to be a special partnership, working with the greatest ambassador tennis has ever seen,” the six-times grand slam champion said. 

“It was exciting for me to be back out on tour and to see that the sport has made so much progress. After an amazing 2014, I decided to continue on for another year, but with a clear understanding that it would be my last year given the time commitment.”

“I believe Roger still has a lot left to give to the sport of tennis and is capable of winning the big events.”

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Parisien Defeat for Murray

Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray for the 10th time in their last 11 meetings to lift the Paris Masters title once again.

A 6-2, 6-4 victory for the world No1 gave him his third successive trophy in Paris and earned him a 10th title of a season that just continues to get better.

Novak Djokovic beats Andy Murray to win the Paris Masters – as it happened!

Novak Djokovic was simply too strong for Andy Murray as he won 6-2, 6-4 to claim his fourth Paris Masters crown, and seal a new record with six Masters titles in one calendar year

Djokovic was playing in his 14th consecutive final – a record for a single season – and now has 22 straight wins having not lost since the final in Cincinnati in August.

Murray ended a run of eight consecutive losses to Djokovic in Montreal this summer but was comprehensively beaten in the semi-finals in Shanghai last month. Djokovic did not even drop a set in winning titles in Beijing and Shanghai, and it was not until Saturday’s semi-final in Paris that Stan Wawrinka finally broke that streak. But the Serbian responded by winning the deciding set to love and was in similarly ruthless form in the opening set against Murray.

The world No2 tried to take the challenge to his opponent but too often he could not land the final shot. Djokovic broke serve for 2-1 and, although Murray fought for all he was worth to hold in a lengthy fifth game, a second break soon followed.

When Djokovic forged ahead again in the third game of the second set, Murray was in huge trouble, but for once the champion’s level slipped from stratospheric and he was pegged back. At 3-2 and 0-30 on the Djokovic serve, there was a glimmer of hope for Murray, but he could not take advantage and soon found himself a game away from another defeat. He forced Djokovic to serve it out but the 28-year-old is well accustomed to such demands and clinched victory when Murray hooked a return wide.

The victory brought Djokovic a record sixth Masters title of the season, and he will be the hot favourite to successfully defend his title at the ATP World Tour Finals in London starting next week.

Murray hit twice as many winners as Djokovic but 34 unforced errors was simply too many and the Scot did not serve consistently well enough to apply the necessary pressure.

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Dkojovic Focuses on Finals

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Having seen his hopes of finishing the year as world number one go up in smoke, Novak Djokovic will turn his attention to trying to secure his place in the semi-finals of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

It was a heroic effort from Djokovic to stay on Rafael Nadal's coattails for so long, the Serbian winning 18 straight matches to keep his chances alive.

But Nadal knew when he arrived at London's O2 Arena that two victories would be enough and he clinched his second on Wednesday with a 7-6 (7/5) 7-6 (8/6) victory over Stanislas Wawrinka that also put him through to the last four.

Djokovic will try to match that on Thursday when he takes on Juan Martin del Potro.

Victory for the defending champion coupled with a win for Roger Federer over Richard Gasquet would see Djokovic qualify for the semi-finals with a match to spare.

Speaking before the tournament, Djokovic insisted he would not be getting caught up in the year-end ranking race.

He said: "It doesn't make sense for me to get into the calculations.

"What is important for me is that I know winning three tournaments in a row gives me a lot of confidence coming into this week and the closing weeks of the season and opening up the next season also.

"I'm building something for what's coming up and, if I finish No 1, that would be an incredible achievement and I would be very happy but of course it's not at the top of my priority list right now.

"I know the rankings will follow if I have good results."

Sealing the number one spot is a remarkable achievement for Nadal given he did not play a tournament until February after seven months out with knee problems and lost in the first round at Wimbledon.

He had played down the importance of the number one position prior to Wednesday's win but afterwards he was happy to admit what it meant to him and how much he felt he deserved it.

The Spaniard said: "During all my season I said it's not my goal, but the real thing is after all the success I had during the season, I think that after all what happened last year, I felt I deserved to be there at the end of the season. And I did it.

"It was one of the best things that I did in my career, to come back to the number one after three seasons."

The second semi-final qualifier in Group A will be decided on Friday between Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych, who beat David Ferrer 6-4 6-4 to eliminate the third seed.

Victory for Berdych over Nadal would be enough, but he has lost their last 15 meetings.

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