Del Potro wins first title since 2009 U.S. Open

Delray Beach - Former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro won his first title since 2009 by defeating Janko Tipsarevic 6-4 6-4 on Sunday to clinch the Delray Beach International Championships.

Argentine Del Potro, who played just three tournaments in 2010 because of an injury to his right wrist, needed just under two hours to claim his eighth career title.

“It's amazing for me, this comeback,” Del Potro said in a courtside interview. “I'm trying to improve my game day-by-day and today Janko played better than me but I had a little luck in the important moments.”

Del Potro, once ranked fourth in the world but now 166 because of his injury, appeared out of gas in the opening set but got stronger as the match progressed.

Dubai: Djokovic d. Federer

Novak Djokovic once again won a straight set victory over Federer, 6-3 6-3 in 71 minutes, winning the Dubai Championships for the 3rd consecutive year. Djokovic earns his 2nd title of the year, his 20th title overall and has not lost a match yet in 2011. With all due respect to Rafael Nadal, Novak looks like the best player in the world. The question is, can he possibly keep this level of play up over an entire season. Of course, he will lose matches. Everybody does. But when they are dominant, both Nadal and Federer can maintain this level of play over multiple seasons. We now know Djokovic has the talent and game to be #1. What remains to be seen is if he has the endurance to do so.

Federer, Djokovic heading for tennis showdown

Federer of Switzerland and third-ranked Serbian Novak Djokovic renew their rivalry this week at the Dubai Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates. The top-seeded Federer will be looking for revenge against Djokovic, who beat him in the semifinals of the Australian Open on his way to winning the title at the opening Grand Slam event of the 2011 season.
Federer leads Djokovic, 23, 13-7 in their all-time head-to-head meetings. But the Serbian comes into Dubai with the momentum and confidence that his career will continue its upward climb.
In semifinal matches Friday, Federer beat Richard Gasquet of France 6-2, 7-5 and Djokovic beat a hobbling Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, whose thigh injury caused him to retire while trailing 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 4-2.

Caroline Wozniacki earned her first singles title of 2011

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Caroline Wozniacki earned her first singles title of 2011, beating an error-prone Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 6-1, 6-3 in the Dubai Championships final Sunday.

The Dane, who will retake the No. 1 ranking from Kim Clijsters on Monday, was never seriously threatened by the 23rd-ranked Kuznetsova. The Russian still moves up to 11th in the rankings.

Wozniacki, who didn't drop a set during the week on her way to winning her 13th career title, showed off a more aggressive style that included repeated forays to the net in the first set that helped her race to a 2-0 lead. She closed out the set by winning the final four games as Kuznetsova was hurt by missed volleys and erratic shots sent long and wide.

Memphis: Roddick d. Raonic

Raonic Wins First ATP Title Beats Verdasco

SAN JOSE, Calif.  — Milos Raonic became the first Canadian to win an ATP Tour title since 1995 by beating defending-champion Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) Sunday to win the SAP Open.
The 20-year-old Raonic came through in his first career final, becoming the youngest winner on tour since Marin Cilic won in New Haven in 2008 at age 19. The last Canadian to win on tour was Greg Rusedski, who won in Seoul in April 1995.
Raonic fought off four set points in the first-set tiebreaker and then took advantage of the only minibreak in the second-set tiebreaker to win the match. The ending was controversial as Verdasco hit a service return into the net as a fan yelled out.
Verdasco complained but to no avail. He was seeking to become the seventh player to repeat at this tournament and first since Andy Murray in 2006-07.

Robin Soderling wins the 2011 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament

World No. 5 Robin Soderling defended his ATP World Tour title for the very first time as he won the 2011 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, an ATP World Tour 500 Event, being played here in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Soderling defeated the feisty Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final in three sets with a 6-3 3-6 6-3 scoreline and surged through.

Soderling won the match in 1 hour and 23 minutes, as he fired 12 aces, mustered 80% points on his first serve and convered 3 out of 3 break points to make it an easy task for him in the end against Tsonga, who served really well throughout the match, but failed to keep a check on his unforced errors, during crucial moments of the match.

Sampras, Agassi, McEnroe and Lendl To Play BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison Square Garden

Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl are getting ready to play the BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison Square Garden on February 28, 2011.

The 2011 BNP Paribas Showdown will renew classic rivalries of the 80’s and 90’s, John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl will compete in a one set pro match (first player to win eight games), followed by a best of three set match between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.

Agassi will face Sampras in the featured match. He recently played against Marat Safin in 2 exhibitions in Taiwan, which he won in third-set match tie-breaks.

Sampras is preparing for a grudge match against Agassi. To get ready to face his long time rival, Pistol Pete will play in a featured exhibition against Gael Monfils on February 7 in San Jose, CA.

John McEnroe is no stranger to Madison Square Garden where he captured the Masters title three times, twice beating his rival Ivan Lendl.
Before their match, McEnroe will face Jimmy Arias on Feb. 19, Todd Martin on Feb. 20 and Aaron Krickstein on Feb. 21.

The BNP Paribas Showdown is produced by StarGames and MSG Sports. Tickets can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden box office and all Ticketmaster outlets.

The BNP Paribas Showdown, in partnership with the United States Tennis Association, will continue their efforts to grow youth participation in the sport of tennis through “Tennis Night in America”, a national program which is among the largest grass roots initiatives the sport has ever seen. To find a sign-up location please go to www.tennisnight.com.