In the News:
The International Tennis Federation named its 2011 World Champions:
Singles -Novak Djokovic and Petra Kvitova
Doubles – Bob and Mike Bryan, Kveta Peschke and Katarina SrebotnikÂ
Juniors - Jiri Vesely, Irina KhromachevaÂ
Wheelchair – Esther Vergeer, Maikel Scheffers
The Bryan Brothers (©Ben Solomon, Tennis Australia)
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan have set a new record as of  December 12, 2011, for the most weeks atop the individual doubles rankings. The twins are now tied with 271 weeks each, passing John McEnroe who had the record with 270.
“To achieve this record and surpass McEnroe, who we’ve always looked up to, is awesome,” Mike Bryan told ATPWorldTour.com. “This ranks up with our record of most team titles. It shows we were consistent throughout our whole career and we didn’t want to relinquish the top spot.”
Bob Bryan noted: “It is number two, right below getting married, and will soon be number three, after my wife gives birth to our daughter in January.”
Marin Cilic
Two-time winner Marin Cilic of Croatia has been pulled out of the 2012 Chennai Open, due to a patella tendon injury.
“Having started the previous five seasons at the Chennai Open, the city is a home away from home for me. Only an injury could have kept me away from the Chennai Open,” said Cilic.
“Thankfully, I am recovering well from the patella tendon injury and I’ll surely be back next year. I wish all the participants the best for the tournament. I’ll be following it closely.” The Soweto Open, the last major tournament in South Africa has been canceled due to the main sponsor the City of Johannesburg withdrawing citing financial constraints.
The Sunday Star-Times reported that the New Zealand Fed Cup team has been banned from playing in 2012 by the ITF because of a last-minute withdrawal by Tennis New Zealand last February when top players Marina Erakovic and Sacha Jones were unavailable due to injury. Tennis New Zealand didn’t want to pay the $50,000 fee to send an inexperienced team.
Tennis New Zealand’s CEO Steve Johns told the newspaper. “We have been stood down for a year. That is the penalty for pulling out at the late stage we did this year,” Johns said. “We could have received a reasonably hefty fine for doing that, or been stood down. So we won’t be competing in 2012 and will come back into the program in 2013.”
The New Zealand Herald reports that the New Zealand Olympic Committee are set to deny New Zealand No. 1 Marina Erakovic a spot in the Olympics. Her world ranking of 61 is high enough to qualify her for a spot, but the country has a policy of not allowing athletes to complete if they are not in the top 16 of their sport.
Australian media reports that Wimbledon quarterfinalist 19-year-old Australian Bernard Tomic is under investigation by police for complaints of dangerous driving. Police sources stated that his distinctive bright orange BMW M3 was reported for “hooning offenses.”
Tomic has denied the hooning accusations, claiming that he is the victim of a vendetta by a Gold Coast police officer.
Tomic has a restricted “P-plate†license due to his age, but has an exemption to drive his BMW M3 sports car to and from training and other activities directly related to his tennis.
Casey Dellacqua and James Duckworth have been given wildcards for the main draw of the Australian Open. Dellacqua has also received wildcards for the Brisbane International and Moorilla Hobart International.
“After missing most of 2010 with a foot injury I have spent this year building on my confidence and match practice. I now finally feel like I am playing some good tennis and with six Pro Tour event wins under my belt I have the confidence I needed going into the summer,†Dellacqua said.
“I’m really happy with where I am at. I’m hitting the ball well, serving great and doing all the things I should be doing. I feel good and I am looking forward to some tough competition in January.â€
“It is an amazing opportunity to be able to play the Australian Open, Brisbane and Hobart without having to worry about qualifying and it is really going to set me up for the year ahead.
“It’s nice to know my summer is set and hopefully I will get a few more wins and gain even more confidence coming into the Australian Open.”
The Sydney International has announced that 9 of the top 10 women will be in the draw. They include No 1 Caroline Wozniacki, Petra Kvitova, Li Na, and Samantha Stosur. Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic will also participate in the tournament. Juan Martin Del Potro, Marcus Baghdatis and Lleyton Hewitt will be in the men’s draw.
Mardy Fish and Milos Raonic have been added to the field of eight-man AAMI Classic in Kooyong from January 11-14. The rest of the playing roster – Andy Roddick, Gael Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Bernard Tomic, Jurgen Melzer, and Tomas Berdych.
