Tennis News and Tour Tidbits

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 19th December 2013

Tennis News and Tour Tidbits

epa03749901 Xavier Malisse from Belgium reacts during his first round match against David Ferrer of Spain at the Topshelf Open tennis tournament in Rosmalen, Netherlands, 18 June 2013. EPA/GUUS SCHOONEWILLE |

The recently retired Xavier Malisse has been named as the new coach of fellow Belgian Ruben Bemelmans. Or that if The X Man gets a bit fitter like the other 30 plus year old players that he will still play singles and doubles as well. After all he and Ruben make a great doubles team. They won Los Angeles together the last year there was a tourney there. . . . The Anchorage, Alaska Assembly has approved a plan to spend $4.4 million in state funds on a multi-use, indoor sports facility in West Anchorage that will include tennis courts after heated debate. . . For only the fifth time since the ATP rankings were introduced, the ITF choice of world champion, No. 2 Novak Djokovic is not reflected in rankings. Rafael Nadal is No. 1. . . Tommy Haas, Marin Cilic and Jurgen Melzer will play the ATP tournament in Zagreb in February, along with up and comer Borna Coric who was given a wild card. . . Former No. 1 Kim Clijsters says that she doesn’t talk that much to current players. “Not that many,” she told the WTA. “There are some players I keep in touch with just through e-mail or SMS. I’m actually closer to other retired players than to players still on the tour, because they’re probably very busy!” Clijsters husband, Brian Lynch, who played college basketball at Villanova and the pros in Belgium where she met him, is now the assistant coach of the Antwerp team. . .

We Hear —

–That Nadia Petrova, the world’s eighth ranked doubles player has withdrawn from the upcoming Australian Open on compassionate grounds after the recent death of her mother in a road accident. Petrova’s place in the singles draw now goes to Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova.

Topics: 10sballs, Australian Open, Kim Clijsters, Marin Cilic, Nadia Petrova, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Ruben Bemelmans, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News, Tommy Haas, Xavier Malisse