by Kamakshi Tandon

The Indian tennis federation says Leander Paes has resigned as Davis Cup captain and will be replaced by Sumant Misra, a former player who competed in the 1960s.

Paes will continue to play on the Indian Davis Cup team. NCAA champ Somdev Devarman has been added to the singles squad.

Ivanovic is recovering from the thumb injury that kept her out of Olympic competition and expects to play the US Open, reports her official website.

Nadal on winning the Olympics: "I know in tennis, the Grand Slams are a little bit more important than here. But here you only have one chance every four years, no?

"The thing is, win[ning] here, I feel like I win for all the country.  That's more special, no?  I win for a lot of people, not only for me.

"I arrived very tired after flying directly from Cincinnati to here. And the reason probably I won this title is because I have a fantastic time here, enjoying a lot in the village.  Thank you very much all the Spanish athletes for coming every day to supporting me.

"I enjoy a lot more than a normal tournament. Is totally different experience. I love that."

Federer on losing his No. 1 ranking on August 18: "It's fine. Rafa played great to get it. That's what I expected and hoped for many years ago when I got to No. 1, that if ever somebody were to take it away from me, he would have to play an incredible tennis schedule – you know, win the biggest tournaments, dominate the game basically, and then like this he can take No. 1. 

"I didn't want it to happen that I would play completely bad and somebody would pick up No. 1 in the world. So I think Rafa totally deserves it."

Rafael Nadal defeats Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-3 to win the men's singles gold medal. Novak Djokovic secured the bronze on Saturday.

Elena Dementieva defeats Dinara Safina 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 to win the women's singles gold. Vera Zvonareva completed the Russian sweep by taking bronze.

"For me this is the best moment in my career. I’ll never forget it," said Dementieva.

Serena Williams/Venus Williams win the women's doubles gold by defeating Anabel Medina Garrigues/Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-2, 6-0. Zi Yan/Jie Zheng won the bronze.

Roger Federer/Stanislas Wawrinka defeat Simon Aspelin/Thomas Johansson 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(), 6-3 to win the men's doubles gold. Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan defeat Arnaud Clement/Michael Llodra 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to win the bronze.

Serena Williams/Venus Williams will face Anabel Medina Garrigues/Virginia Ruano Pascual for the women's doubles gold. Alona Bondarenko/Kateryna Bondarenko will face Zi Yan/Jie Zheng for the bronze.

Novak Djokovic defeats James Blake 6-3, 7-6(4) to secure the men's singles bronze medal

Russia is guaranteed to win the gold and silver medals in women's singles after Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva set up an all-Spartak Club meeting in the finals. The country also has a chance to sweep the women's singles medals, with Vera Zvonareva to face China's Na Li for the bronze.

Federer on reaching the men's doubles gold medal match: "A medal is a medal. I don't know where you get it from, right? Same in swimming, you know, athletics, where you get it. It's a gold, silver, or bronze.

"I'm already very, you know, proud of our achievements. I think it's almost more fun to win together on the court because you can celebrate it nicely and everything. Yeah, singles would be awesome for my career. But the doubles, it just proves to myself, you know, what a great doubles player I am, even though I haven't played much lately. I think now having beaten the best in the world really and going for gold, it's an incredible scenario."

Friday action in Beijing ends at past 3:30 am on Saturday, with another epic doubles closing out the session. Zi Yan/Jie Zheng defeat Svetlana Kuznetsova/Dinara Safina 6-3, 5-7, 10-8 to reach the women's doubles semifinals.

Roger Federer/Stanislas Wawrinka defeat two top doubles teams in one day to reach the men's doubles gold medal match in Beijing.

The Swiss team beat the US team of Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan 7-6(6), 6-4 in the semifinals, going back on court less than six hours after getting past India's Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes 6-2, 6-4 in a quarterfinal match held over from Thursday.

Simon Aspelin/Thomas Johansson defeat Arnaud Clement/Michael Llodra 7-6(6), 4-6, 19-17 in four hours and 46 minutes to reach the Olympic doubles final.

The match surpasses the Olympic record for most games played in a three-set match, which was set earlier in the week by the 4-6 7-6(4) 18-16 victory Lleyton Hewitt/Chris Guccione recorded over Agustin Calleri/Juan Monaco.

Jelena Jankovic will lose the No.1 ranking next week after being defeated 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 by Dinara Safina in the Olympic quarterfinals.

Jankovic needed to reach the final to keep the No. 1 spot, which she attained at the beginning of this week. Ana Ivanovic, who pulled out of the Olympics with a thumb injury, will return to No. 1 next Monday.

James Blake criticizes Fernando Gonzalez for not giving up a point at 8-9 when Blake's passing shot appeared to touch Gonzalez's racquet before going long.

"Playing in the Olympics, in what's supposed to be considered a gentleman's sport, that's a time to call it on yourself. Fernando looked me square in the eye and didn't call it," said Blake. "We know when it touches us, and he knew that. So that's where it comes into calling it on yourself. Should I expect him to do that? Maybe not.

"But he's too good of a player to do something like that and to act like that. That's why it's disappointing, because he is a great player. I can't take away anything from the fact he won the match. Came from back from three match points down, served really well, hung in the whole time. I'm not going to take anything away from the kind of tennis he can play. But there's still a level of disappointment in him."

Gonzalez said he hadn't felt the ball touch his racquet and was not asked directly by the umpire. "Nobody ask me anything. We was on the court like two hours and a half. I was really tired. I didn't feel anything," said Gonzalez. "I mean, it's just one point. There is an umpire. If I'm 100% sure about it, I will give it. But I'm not sure."

Blake, who had three match points at 5-6, 0-40, lost the Olympic quarterfinal match 6-4, 7-5, 11-9. "I've spoken all week about how much I've enjoyed the Olympic experience, how much I love the spirit of it... It's a disappointing way to exit the tournament, when you not only lose the match, but you lose a little faith in your fellow competitor."

Roger Federer/Stanislas Wawrinka defeat Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes 6-2, 6-4 in an Olympic doubles quarterfinal held over from Thursday.

US Open men's wildcards go to Scoville Jenkins, Amer Delic, Brendan Evans, Austin Krajicek, Jesse Levine, Sam Warburg, Carsten Ball (Australian reciprocal wildcard) and Laurent Recourderc (French reciprocal wildcard).

Na Li defeats Venus Williams 7-5, 7-5

Elena Dementieva defeats Serena Williams 3-6, 6-4, 6-3

James Blake defeats Roger Federer 6-4, 7-6(2)

Marat Safin retires down 7-5 against Fabio Fognini in Washington with a neck injury. "The two players were set for a normal changeover after Fognini won the first set 7-5, but Safin smashed his racquet and promptly left the court," reported the Washington Times.

"I pulled a muscle in the first game, and it was just getting worse and worse and worse," said Safin.

Marion Bartoli retires down 6-7(5), 2-2 to Jamea Jackson in Cincinnati with an abdominal injury. "Even if I tried, I couldn't serve," said Bartoli.

US Open women's wildcards go to Jamea Jackson, Asha Rolle, Gail Brodsky, Asia Muhammad, Melanie Oudin, Coco Vandeweghe and Severine Bremond (French reciprocal wildcard), with the Australian reciprocal wildcard still to be announced.

Robby Ginepri has taken a wildcard into New Haven. Nicole Vaidisova, Patty Schnyder and Daniela Hantuchova are also late entries into the event.

The WTA event in Amelia Island has finalized its move to Ponte Vedra Beach, reports Play Tennis Florida.

After his latest match win, Rafael Nadal cannot lose the No. 1 ranking at the US Open, reports Daily Tennis. Having reached at least the quarterfinals in Beijing, the Spaniard will move too far ahead for Roger Federer to overtake him at the US Open.

Federer is defending the US Open title while Nadal reached only the fourth round there last year.

After winning his third-round revenge match against Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer says the Olympic tournament is too compressed. "I don’t understand why we don’t play such a big tournament over 10 days maybe. I think this is asking just a little bit too much."

A player competing in both singles and doubles at Beijing could potentially have to play 11 matches over the course of a week. However, the packed summer tennis schedule limits the amount of time available for Olympic competition.

Roger Federer on why he plays the Olympics: "In some ways it's such a nice change to the regular tour we play in, first of all... being part of the biggest sports event in the world. Now that tennis is finally accepted by the Olympic Committee, it's something I wish to sort of, move it forward in a way.

"When I speak to some players now who didn't used to play the Olympics back in maybe '96, 2000...  I know that some of them have regrets that they didn't play it, seeing how big the Olympics has become in tennis, and how important tennis has become to the Olympics really. I hope that with my presence, and also Rafa's presence, Roddick's presence, Hewitt's presence in the past years – I think that's only gonna make it more important for the future generation as well.

"Also, having the chance to represent my country is the second one.

"Third, just sort of living the dream as well, being part of the Olympic Village, the Olympic spirit. Just being here is something that is quite unique, especially after spending an incredible couple of weeks in Sydney, which for me will always stay in my memories as one of the greatest sports experiences I ever had. It was for me clear that I would never want to miss an Olympic Games ever again if I would have the chance to compete in them."

Jelena Jankovic on her thigh injury after winning her first match in Beijing: "It was quite swollen during the match and I tried my best out there. You know, it was my first match of this event. It's quite special to be playing first day as the No. 1 officially, so I was quite excited about that... I had some problems, but I managed to finish the match."

Paul-Henri Mathieu defeats Nikolay Davydenko 7-6(4), 6-2 

Lleyton Hewitt and Chris Guccione (AUS) have defeated Agustin Calleri and Juan Monaco (ARG) 4-6 7-6(4) 18-16 in Beijing. The 3 hour, 17 minute match ended past midnight and set a record for the most games played in a three-set Olympic match. Earlier in the day, Hewitt defeated Jonas Bjorkman 7-5, 7-6(2) to set up a match with Rafael Nadal in the second round.

Serena Williams on not attending the Olympic ceremony: "I am probably one of the few people that didn't go because I get sleepy at 7pm... And then, you know, I've been to opening ceremonies in Sydney. I was in a foul mood by the time 5pm came around, so it just wasn't worth it."

Boris Becker confirms that he's engaged to Sandy Meyer-Woelden, the daughter of his late manager Axel Meyer-Woelden.

Svetlana Kuznetsova loses 7-6(5), 6-4 to Chinese hope Na Li.

Andy Murray exits 7-6(5), 6-4 to Yen-Hsun Lu in his first-round Olympics match.

Sania Mirza retires with continuing wrist trouble against Iveta Benesova in her first match at the Olympics.

After his first-round win at Beijing, Davydenko says he's lacking motivation. "If I don't play tennis for a few days I don't care really. I don't know how many days I can hold the racket just feeling so tired playing tennis. I don't do anything, no fitness, no running, no anything. For me as a professional player it's not so good, I hope I can come back and find some concentration," he said in comments reported by Reuters.

Ivanovic pulls out of the Olympics and is replaced by Tzipora Obziler.

Order of play for the opening day of Olympics tennis (play began at 1:00 pm after a  2 1/2 hour rain delay):

Centre Court

GUCCIONE Chris (AUS) vs (8) BLAKE James (USA)
 (4) WILLIAMS Serena (USA) vs GOVORTSOVA Olga (BLR)
[Not before 5:00 pm]
LI Na (CHN) vs (3) KUZNETSOVA Svetlana (RUS)
FEDERER Roger (SUI) vs TURSUNOV Dmitry (RU
BLACK Cara (ZIM) vs (2) JANKOVIC Jelena (SRB)

Court 1

(12) GONZALEZ Fernando (CHI) vs (IP) SUN Peng (CHN)
PENG Shuai (CHN) vs SUAREZ NAVARRO Carla (ESP)
[Not before 5:00 pm]
TIPSAREVIC Janko (SRB) vs (5) FERRER David (ESP)
(9) ZVONAREVA Vera (RUS) vs YAN Zi (CHN)
BJORKMAN/SODERLING (SWE) vs (6) NADAL/ROBREDO (ESP)

Court 2

(4) DAVYDENKO Nikolay (RUS) vs GULBIS Ernests (LAT)
(10) HANTUCHOVA Daniela (SVK) vs SUGIYAMA Ai (JPN)
[Not before 5:00 pm]
CHAN Yung-Jan (TPE) vs (8) RADWANSKA Agnieszka (POL)
BENESOVA/VAIDISOVA (CZE) vs (2) WILLIAMS/WILLIAMS (USA)
(1) BRYAN/BRYAN (USA) vs KNOWLES/MULLINGS (BAH)

Andy Roddick after defeating Marc Giquel to reach the LA semifinals: "That was the first good set in four months. I was moving well and not thinking of every shot... I was flowing and that was a good feeling. I'll look back to it as a turning point."

Ana Ivanovic is seeing some improvement in her right thumb and will make a decision  on Sunday about whether to play her opening match, says her official website: "Ana reacted well to osteopathic treatment on Saturday. The strength has been restored in her right thumb and much of the pain has been alleviated. A decision as to her participation will be made after practice on Sunday."

The ITF says it it is willing to invoke the extreme heat rule if the oppressive weather in Beijing continues. The rule allows for a 10-minute break before a deciding set if the heat stress index goes above a pre-determined threshold. In certain conditions, matches are also prevented from starting.

Reuters reports that temperatures in Beijing on Saturday topped 90°F which, combined with humidity and smog, forced 53 riders out of the men's cycling road race.

Jelena Jankovic says she is not sure whether she will play her opening singles at the Olympics because of a thigh injury. "I will see Sunday how everything will go. If I will not be able to do my best on the court, I will not go. I will not risk that," she said.

Changes to the Olympics singles since the draw was made:

Ivo Karlovic (CRO) is replaced by Xinyuan Yu (CHN). Tomas Berdych (CZE) will take Karlovic's place in the draw. Yu is ranked N. 785 in the world.

Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) is replaced by Devin Mullings (BAH). Mullings is ranked No. 1025 in the world.

Linday Davenport (USA) is replaced by Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP) 

Tatiana Golovin (FRA) is replaced by Maret Ani (EST)

Rafael Nadal was both moved and drained by the opening ceremony at the Beijing Olympics. "Yesterday was very emotional, but at the same time a tough moment as we had to wait a lot of time there and I finished very tired," he said. "But when we went in it was special."

Mathieu Moncourt has been suspended for two months and fined $12,000 by the ATP for betting on tennis matches between June and September 2005. Moncourt was not found to have been on any of his own matches nor of having any intent to fix matches.

Lindsay Davenport has pulled out of the singles event at the Olympics with an ongoing knee injury. She still plans to play the doubles.

The ITF has responded to criticism from Rainer Schüttler and Michael Berrer over entry procedures for the Olympics.

Schüttler's entry was disputed by the ITF because he was nominated by the German Olympic committee despite being ranked lower than compatriots Denis Gremelmyr and Berrer at the time of the entry cut-off. However, a CAS tribunal ruled that Schüttler was eligible to compete.

Berrer and Gremelmayr were not nominated by the German Olympic committee despite being ranked high enough to get into the main draw (given subsequent withdrawals by other players, in Berrer's case). Athletes must be nominated by their national Olympic committees in order to compete at the Games. Only four players from one nation can compete in any one event.

Berrer had criticized the ITF for not doing enough to ensure his entry.

The ITF said it has "worked very hard" to ensure that all players eligible to be nominated would be allowed to compete. "Unfortunately a few National Olympic Committees [NOC] including the [German  Olympic committee] DOSB decided not to honour our criteria and, in the case of Germany, that meant that Denis Gremelmayr, a direct acceptance on the ITF list, and Michael Berrer, on the alternate list, were not entered by their NOC.

"Contrary to Mr. Schuettler's claims, Mr. Berrer was always included on the alternate list and no player ranked lower than Mr. Berrer was entered into the Olympic Tennis Event until after the CAS hearing.

"Perhaps if Mr. Schuettler and Mr. Berrer had been more supportive over the last six weeks when the ITF was trying to convince the DOSB to enter their colleague Mr Gremelmayr, our work on behalf of the players would have been much easier."

Ana Ivanovic is a question mark for the Olympics after experiencing pain in her injured thumb during practice in Beijing, reports her official website. "Unfortunately my thumb is still painful and I cannot practice. I am still having laser treatment on it, but it’s very frustrating, not being able to prepare as I would like," she said.

"We hope it's just the tendon, but the fact that it hasn't responded to laser therapy suggests that it could be a bone fracture, although the last MRI didn't illustrate that," adds her agent.

Michael Berrer has issued a statement criticizing the ITF for not being able to secure his participation in the Games. Berrer was the fourth-highest ranked German during the June 9 rankings cut-off. A nation is allowed up to four players in each of the tennis events. The full text is as follows:

"Dear Mr. [Francesco] Ricci Bitti [president of the ITF],

Indeed I have been very surprised and disappointed by the way and procedure the high profile organisation ITF has dealt with the Olympic Tennis event.

In particular I never understood why the ITF didn´t support me entering the tournament with my good ranking despite the fact that the ITF had the chance to do so. Instead the ITF simply stopped the alternative list with Jiri Vanek being ranked no. 82.

The main point I am raising here is that the ITF with its long term experience in managing tennis tournaments and Olympic tennis events should have all the information about the cut off situation, especially that the chances were very high that the cut off would be much below the ATP ranking 82.

Of course you may argue that the German DOSB didn´t show particular huge interest in entering myself for the Olympic tennis tournament but this not relevant for myself and for the matter itself. At least I would have expected that the ITF – representing the interest of the tennis – would have entered my name on the official list of eligible tennis players for the Olympic event. How on earth could I have argued otherwise with the German National Olympic Committee, if not being on this list?

Perhaps the ITF or you thought it would be better to protect yourself against any claims from any player that have been put on such a list but later would have needed to be removed due to specific Olympic rulings. Wouldn´t you agree that I should be entitled to receive the compensation that has been agreed with the ATP for players that were rejected by the National Olympic Committee´s but according to the ITF rules should have been allowed to participate? I would like to emphasize here that it never has been my intention to receive any money or compensation for not being able to participate in the Olympic tournament due to the reasons mentioned.

Indeed I did work very hard to get into this tournament and to be part of the biggest sports event this year. The way the ITF and you have handled this case just didn´t allow me to do so at all!

Having reviewed the situation carefully I will highly recommend to my colleagues of the ATP council and board members not to enter into any kind of such agreements related to the Olympic tennis tournament and not to allocate ATP points to the Olympic tennis tournament at all! It has been one of the key elements and founding principles of the ATP to represent the interest of the players and not to get caught in such unacceptable procedures. Therefore, I truly believe that the ITF has violated these core principles of fair treatment and competition in an awful way.

Finally a last word regarding the statement of the ITF in relation to the decision of the CAS in favour of the nomination of my friend, Rainer Schuettler, whom I wish a lot of success at this tournament. Your statement went to[o] far! It was really annoying, unfair and disgusting with wrong facts which indeed shows me that you do not show much respect for the players at all.

Therefore, I do expect that you will not misuse my name in this matter and regarding the Olympic tennis event. Further more, I do expect that you will correct your previous statement accordingly and immediat[el]y."

Rainer Schüttler has issued a response to the ITF, which criticized him and the German Olympic committee for Schüttler's inclusion in the German team ahead of compatriots who were ranked higher than him at the time of the June 9 rankings cut-off. The full text is as follows:

"Dear Francesco [Ricci-Bitti, president of the ITF],

I am very disappointed with the press statement issued by the ITF regarding the CAS Ad Hoc Division in Beijing decision. I find the mentioned statement shocking, harming and damaging to my reputation due to the inaccuracy of its content. It is for this reason why I have asked myself to send you this letter, in a open way, so that all tennis fans around the World are aware of the situation.

We all know, you as a former player and me as an active one that our great sport teaches certain values. Among others I feel there are 3 very important:

Respect. For the competitors and people

Fairness. If you lose you do it with a fair attitude.

Acceptance. Acceptance of own mistakes and learn to handle the situation.

On this regard it looks like the sport is not reflected on your statement. The ITF lost at the highest olympic court and it seems you don't accept it.

The ITF has proven not to be able to set up clear rules for the Olympic event and instead you blame other sport organizations for this fact. This is the third consecutive Olympic tournament where problems occur and you were unable to manage the tournament in a professional way.

I have been President of ATP's Player Council during the past olympics in Athens and I was involved on these annoying points. I personally mentioned to you in Athens to pay attention in the future events so that they don't occur again in the future. Where are we now?

I believe we all make mistakes and as a tennis player you have to learn from them. On this case the ITF didn't do the homework for the third consecutive time. But the worst is that instead of trying to solve the problem, you tried to hide it and blame other Sports organizations.

The facts speak for themselves: My appeal to CAS in Beijing never tried to prevent the participation of any of my colleagues ranked higher than me.  The ITF intentionally or unintentionally had nominated John Isner before than Michael Berrer. Having said this, ITF's official statement is false, includes wrong facts and this shows lack of respect for me as for my colleagues, the DOSP and the Olympic court. In my opinion this is not the way a sports federation should act and I demand an apology from the ITF to all people and organizations affected by this statement.

In the hope that the Olympic tennis event will show how great our sport is, I would be happy if you can handle this situation with respect and fairness just in the same way as the Olympic ideal reads."

Links to Olympics draws:

        Men's singles – Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have been drawn together in the bottom half, with Nadal and Murray scheduled to face in the quarterfinals. Nadal also has a potential match-up with Lleyton Hewitt in the second round. Roger Federer faces Dmitry Tursunov in the first round and could meet either Ivo Karlovic (who defeated him in Cincinnati) or Tomas Berdych (who beat him in Athens four years ago) in the third round.

     Women's singles – Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina are in the same quarter, with Lindsay Davenport a possible second-round opponent for Safina. Svetlana Kuznetsova meets home hope Na Li in the first round.

     Men's doubles – Mike Bryan/Bob Bryan meet Mark Knowles/Devin Mullings in the first round, while Nadal/Tommy Robredo face Jonas Bjorkman/Robin Soderling. Andy Murray/Jamie Murray meet Daniel Nestor/Frederic Niemeyer

      Women's doubles – Venus Williams/Serena Williams meet Nicole Vaidisova/Iveta Benesova in the first round, with Casey Dellaqua/Alicia Molik facing Flavia Pennetta/Francesca Schiavone.

The doubles team of Yoni Erlich and Andy Ram were stranded in Hong Kong on their way to Beijing because of a typhoon in the area, report Israeli press.

Pacific Life will no longer be the title sponsor of Indian Wells, reports the Desert Sun. The tournament, which must raise its purse by over $3 million next year as prize money increases come into effect on both the ATP and WTA tours, had been sponsored by Pacific Life since 2002.

Kohlschrieber has made a late withdrawal from the Olympics because of a right thigh injury.

Olympic substitutions since July 28:

Men’s Singles:
Jiri Vanek (CZE) has replaced Marcos Baghdatis (CYP)
Rainer Schuettler (GER) has replaced Dudi Sela (ISR)
Frank Dancevic (CAN) has replaced Denis Gremelmayr (GER)
Frederic Niemeyer (CAN) has replaced Mario Ancic (CRO)

Men’s Doubles:
Kevin Anderson (RSA) has replaced Wesley Moodie (RSA)
Marin Cilic (CRO) has replaced Mario Ancic (CRO)

Women’s Singles:
Vera Zvonareva (RUS) has replaced Maria Sharapova (RUS)
Jill Craybas (USA) has replaced Tamira Paszek (AUT)

Tamira Paszek confirms that she is considering changing her nationality after being left off the Austrian Olympic team. "It was always my dream to represent my country at the Olympics," she said. "But in the future that could be not Austria, but Brazil."

Paszek trains in Brazil at the academy of coach Larri Passos.

The jury in the ATP-Hamburg case has dismissed the antitrust claims brought by Hamburg organizers against the ATP, leaving the way open for the ATP to implement its planned calendar reforms for next year.

Hamburg is scheduled to be downgraded from its current status as a Masters Series event next year. An ATP statement on the court's decision said, "The ATP has reserved a 500 level tournament position [one level below a Masters] on the 2009 ATP World Tour calendar in week 30 (week commencing 20 July 2009) for Hamburg should they wish it."

Hamburg organizers have not yet announced whether they plan to appeal.

After initially being in doubt because of an arm injury, David Nalbandian confirms he will be taking part in the Olympics.

Mario Ancic will miss the US Open as well as the Olympics with a recurrence of mononucleosis

Wesley Moodie has pulled out of the Olympic doubles with a knee injury. His partner Jeff Coetzee will instead play with Kevin Anderson, a singles wildcard entry.

Australian field hockey player Hope Munro reports that Roger Federer was mobbed in the Olympic cafeteria during a meal on Tuesday. "All he wanted to do was eat his lunch and star athletes from all over the world kept lining up to get his autograph or their photo taken with him," she told Australian press. "You kind of feel sorry for the poor guy... I don't know if he actually got his lunch."

Similar experiences in Athens prompted Federer to try to cut down on such distractions this time by not staying in the Olympic village.

Nadal has arrived in Beijing and is staying at the Olympic village. "I only got here yesterday and I'm jet-lagged," he told reporters. "I'm more tired than normal. Physically, I've had a lot of matches this summer but in three or four days I will feel different."

The Australian reports that Nadal was "ribbed by Spanish team-mates when he failed to take his food tray with him as he left the table at the communal dining hall. 'You are not a star here,' one Spanish athlete said."

A US bankruptcy court has ruled that Steve & Barry can pay Venus Williams $250,000 under the terms of their contract.

The retailer, which manufactures Williams 'EleVen' clothing line, filed for bankruptcy protection last month and said earlier this week that Habor Bay Management had offered to buy it for $163 million.

The judge presiding over the ATP-Hamburg lawsuit has expressed doubts about the merits of Hamburg's case against the ATP, reports Sportsbusiness Journal.

"The plaintiffs describe the alleged violations in this case as classic per se violations. In this Court's judgment, that label does not fit so neatly as they would like. The complexity of these particular arrangements, the peculiar industry of sports, and the ambiguity of the bounds of the relevant market, all counsel against treating the business practices in dispute here as per se violations of antitrust law," judge Gregory Sleet was quoted as saying.

A nagging hip injury will not prevent Lleyton Hewitt from competing at the Olympics. He is staying at the Olympic village, sharing a room with Chris Guccione.

Jurgen Melzer and teenage brother Gerald won the doubles title at the Graz challenger over the weekend.

Gremelmayr reacts to being overlooked for Olympic nomination by the German Olympic Committee after his first-round win in Los Angeles, saying, "You are working every day, trying to play your best tennis, you get the ranking and then at the end they say no, you have to be much better to do that. In my opinion, it's not fair...  I think if you have the ranking, you [should be able to] go there. It is a big goal for everyone to play, but what can I do?"

"It's not Rainer's fault. He played very well at Wimbledon," Gremelmayr added. "He did play the [Wimbledon] semis, even if it was after the Olympic deadline... It's not the fault of the German tennis federation but the Olympic committee.

"It's unlucky for me. I was playing well this year, but now it's over, and I'll concentrate on the hardcourts. I cannot change anything"

The judge in the ATP-Hamburg trial has thrown out all the charges made against the ATP except the main antitrust element ofthe lawsuit, a source tells Sportsbusiness Journal.

All individual charges against ATP board members have also been thrown out, reports the publication. The organizers of the Hamburg event are suing to stop their event from being downgraded and moved in next year's ATP calendar.

Rainer Schüttler has won his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to compete in the Olympics.

The German Olympic Committee choose to nominate Schüttler instead of the higher-ranked Denis Gremelmayr as one of its men's singles competitors, though at No. 89, Schüttler was ranked too low for direct entry at the June 9 cut-off date. (He jumped into the Top 40 in July after his Wimbledon semifinal.)

The top 56 eligible players are entered in the singles draw, though any one nation can only have a maximum of four competitors. As a result, the last direct entry before withdrawals was No. 79 Marcos Daniel of Brazil.

CAS ruled that the Germans' nomination effectively made Schüttler 56th on the list of competitors eligible to compete.

The tribunal determined that the rules set out by the ITF allow enough flexibility for national Olympic committees to nominate at their discretion rather than just based on the rankings. The German committee says it requires players to be either Top 20 or Grand Slam quarterfinals/Masters Series semifinalists.

The ITF disagreed with the CAS decision in a statement. "The German Olympic Committee used their criteria to refuse the entry of Denis Gremelmayr who should have received direct acceptance under the ITF qualification system. The next German in the list was Michael Berrer who was six places ahead of Mr. Schuettler at the entry deadline. Mr. Schuettler did not fulfil the entry criteria set by the German NOC until well after the 9 June deadline and, therefore, should not have been considered for entry," said the statement. "However, while recognising that the German NOC may not understand how professional tennis works, there is no excuse for Mr. Schuettler who is prepared to take a place that was earned by his compatriot Denis Gremelmayr and of next alternate Michael Berrer. The ITF wishes him the best of luck even if he was not eligible for Beijing."

Like Gremelmayr, Dudi Sela of Israel -- ranked No. 65 at the time of the cut-off -- has not been nominated by his Olympic committee despite being eligible for direct entry.

The USTA plans to buy a majority stake in the Cincinnati Masters event and would like to turn it into a combined men's and women's event.

The current Tier III women's event in Cincinnati, which takes place two weeks before the US Open, is already scheduled to be upgraded in next year's WTA calendar.

Sam Stosur on the conditions at Beijing: "It's very hot, very humid and the sun's not even out yet so it can only get worse from here... It's unpredictable and probably the hottest conditions we are going to play in all year."

Andy Murray during his on-court victory speech, talking about his history with finalist Novak Djokovic: "We've [ known each other since we were 13, 14 and to think six or seven years ago we'd have been playing in finals like this would have been unbelievable."

Marion Bartoli objected to the mid-match court change during her Montreal semifinal against Dominika Cibulkova, saying the decision made "no sense."

The match, which began in the afternoon on the stadium court before being delayed by rain, was moved to the grandstand in the evening when play resumed so the second semifinal between Dinara Safina and Victoria Azarenka could take place on the stadium.

There will be two new No. 1s in tennis over the next two and a half weeks.

By winning his quarterfinal match in Cincinnati, Rafael Nadal is guaranteed to become the ATP No. 1 by at least August 18. If he reaches the final, he will become No. 1 on August 11. If he wins the title, he will be No. 1 on Monday.

Losing in the Montreal quarterfinals cost Jelena Jankovic her chance at becoming the WTA No. 1 on Monday, but she will become No. 1 on August 11 when Ivanovic loses her ranking points from winning in Los Angeles last year.

Fernando Gonzalez will carry the Chilean flag at the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.

Wildcards for Los Angeles go to second seed Fernando Verdasco, Xavier Malisse and area native Zack Fleishman.

Sharapova confirms that she will be missing the US Open. "I met with Dr. David Altchek who is the premier shoulder doctor in the world. He looked at all my tests from April and today and informed me that I have been playing with a moderate tear in my rotator cuff tendon since April," she wrote on her website. "He actually couldn't believe that I've been playing this long with this injury. You can imagine that I was not very thrilled to hear that my medical team did not see this tear in my shoulder back in April.

"He does not believe that I need surgery and is sending me to work with a specialist in Arizona next week to do extensive rehab and strength work and he believes that I should be ready to play in 2-3 months."

Sharapova has sent a message to US Open officials telling them she will not play, reports AP.

Mario Ancic has pulled out of Olympics with the illness that caused him to miss Cincinnati this week.

Florian Mayer has undergone surgery for a broken finger in his left hand. His date of return to the tour is not yet known.

Roger Federer will carry the flag for Switzerland at the Olympics opening ceremonies, which falls on the same day as his birthday.

"It's wonderful that I can carry the flag for the Swiss delegation on my birthday," he said. "It's well known that I still have a score to settle with the Olympics and being handed this honour for a second time will give me extra motivation."

Vera Zvonareva will take Maria Sharapova's place at the Olympics. Anna Chakvetadze is the next-highest ranked Russian (No. 8 to Zvonareva's No. 11), but has struggled this season and decided not to play in Beijing.

Maria Sharapova has confirmed that she will miss the Olympics. "There's no chance of me competing in Beijing. The timing is so unfortunate and this makes me more sad than anything," she said on her official website. "After yesterday's match I knew there was something seriously wrong with my shoulder. After taking a few different exams and MRIs this morning, the doctors found two small tears in the tendons of my shoulder.

"There are so many mixed feelings because last night they were almost positive there was something wrong with my nerve, which could have ultimately been much more serious. But after the tests this morning, for the first time in a while, they were able to give me a different answer and a different problem. But on the other hand this is something that needs a lot of time to heal."

Marcos Baghdatis has pulled out of the Olympics with a right wrist injury.

Ana Ivanovic has been hampered by inflammation in her right thumb that has forced her to curb her practice time, she said after winning her opening match in Montreal.

Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic have officially clinched spots in the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships, announces the WTA.

Maria Sharapova has pulled out of Montreal after receiving treatment on her shoulder and hitting 17 double faults during a 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 opening-match win over Marta Domachowska. "Coming into this tournament, I wasn't quite sure if I was going to be able to compete. In the last few weeks, I've been struggling with trying to find a solution to the aggravation I did to the shoulder back in Indian Wells in one of the matches," she said. "I just spoke to a couple doctors that are here. They advised me to really try to find the cause of the problem, what's causing my bursitis, because they think there's something else behind it rather than just that."

Sharapova said she was not sure if she would play the Olympics. "At the end of the day, it's tough to go on court and not be close to even, I mean, 50%.  I'm too good of a player to go out there and try to fight through something that I think can eventually become something serious."

Alisa Kleybanona also pulled out on Wednesday with a back injury, giving Marion Bartoli a walkover into the third round, and there were three pullouts in doubles:

Peschke/Stubbs d. Czink/Savchuk W/O(Czink: left shoulder injury)
Pelletier/Tanasugarn d. Azarenka/Peer W/O (Azarenka: abdominal strain)
Kirilenko/Pennetta d. Chan/Mattek W/O (Mattek: low back injury)

Roger Federer on potentially losing the No. 1 ranking to Rafael Nadal: "If Rafa were to get it, look what he had to achieve to get it, you know. That's what I like to see. I would have been disappointed if I would have lost first round in Paris and Wimbledon. Then I wouldn't be sitting here being so nonchalant about it.

If he gets it he deserves it. He's been No. 2 for a long, long time. Let's not forget about that. He had his chances in the past and now he's closer than ever just because he could really get Wimbledon. I think that was a big one for him, you know, and he's been on an incredible roll.

He hasn't made it yet, you know. I'm still hanging in there, and I hope I can now get on a roll after this match today."

John Isner won 100% of his first serve points in his first-round match in Cincinnati, going 39 for 39in a 7-6(2), 6-3win over Andrea Stoppini.

Andy Roddick says his withdrawal in Cincinnati is not related to the shoulder problem that sidelined him earlier this year, but a neck injury probably caused by sleeping in an awkward position. "The shoulder has not been brought up... this is a neck spasm something," he said. "I fell asleep and woke up and I still had the lights on in my room... we're guessing it was in had the wrong position or whatnot. I woke up this morning and had something in my neck and kind of any activity is causing it to flare up.

"I thought I might be able to give it a go if it didn't get any worse. My second or third serve in warm up out there just got infinitely worse, kind of just to the point where it's tough to move my head right now."

Andy Roddick has withdrawn from Cincinnati with a neck and shoulder problem, pulling out during the warm-up of his match against Phillip Kohlschreiber.

Officials had to find a lucky loser to replace the sixth seed, telling an irritated Kohlschreiber that he still had to play because Roddick had withdrawn before the first ball was struck.

Roddick took the microphone to explain his withdrawal to the surprised crowd, saying he wanted to "give someone else a chance" to play because he felt he would not be competitive in the match with his injury.

Woon-Sun Jun, ranked No. 252 who has played just five ATP matches this year, took Roddick's place, losing 6-2, 6-2.

Other late withdrawals in Cincinnati included Stanislas Wawrinka (knee) and Mario Ancic (illness), as well as Toronto finalist Nicholas Kiefer (ankle), who was scheduled to play a rematch of the Toronto semifinals against Gilles Simon in the first round. They were replaced by Arnaud Clement, Paul Capdeville and Rajeev Ram, respectively.

Organizers of the WTA event in Strasbourg say the event will no longer be held because of low attendance and an increase in prize money required next year from $175,000 to $225,000.

Spanish tennis federation president Pedro Munoz has announced that will not stand for re-election. Munoz was involved ina bitter dispute over Davis Cup site selection with the top male Spanish players, including Rafael Nadal, Carlos Moya and Juan Carlos Ferrero, who have called for him to leave because of unprofessional conduct.

The players objected to the federation's decision to host September's semifinal against the US in Madrid, saying they wanted a location with lower altitude and had been told they would have final say over where the tie was played.

During the spring, most of the top Spanish players signed a letter saying they would not take part in promotional acitivies for the federation as long as Munoz remained president. Shortly afterwards, they also made public insulting text messages about Moya and Ferrero sent by Munoz. "There are things that have happened that are not acceptable, and for the majority of players they should be unacceptable for Spanish tennis," said Nadal at the French Open. "We will see what we can do with him [Munoz]."

Munoz did not give an exact date of departure.

Robby Ginepri has won his first-round match at Cincinnati 6-0, 7-6(5) over Jonas Bjorkman, setting up a second-round encounter with Roger Federer.

Federer and Ginepri both have the same coach, Jose Higueras.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has pulled out of New Haven, putting him in doubt for the US Open the following week and the fall season. He has not played since pulling out of the French Open and undergoing knee surgery during the tournament.

Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina has pulled out of the Olympics with injury and will be replaced by compatriot Agustin Calleri. Stephanie Vogt of Lichenstein has also pulled out and will be replaced with Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn.

Montreal draw here. Jelena Jankovic and Maria Sharapova are in the same half.

Maria Sharapova says she has been struggling with her shoulder since March and will be playing with a new racquet in Montreal.

"Ever since Indian Wells and that backhand incident, I haven't been able to get my arm up and close to my head without some sort of impingement and grinding, so I've been trying different rackets with different weight balances that are a bit more flexible and the strings looser to get as much tension away from my arm as possible," she said on her official website. "So for the last week I have been playing with a new frame."

Sharapova struggled with a shoulder injury last year as well.

Cincinnati draw here. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are once again in the same half, and Roger Federer and Andy Roddick are also in the same quarter again.

In one quirky development, the Toronto semifinal of Gilles Simon vs. Nicolas Kiefer has been drawn as a first-round match in Cincinnati, with the winner to meet James Blake, whom Kiefer defeated in the Toronto quarterfinals.

Richard Gasquet and Michael Llodra, who met in the first round of Toronto, will also meet in the first round of Cincinnati.

The WTA has ended its period of experimentation with on-court coaching, reports Reuters. A decision about whether the feature will be adopted in regular competition will be made at some point in the future.

Maria Sharapova ($26 million), Serena Williams ($14 million), Venus Williams ($13 million) and Justine Henin ($12.5 million) are the top four highest-earning female athletes, according to Forbes.

Serena Williams pulls out of Los Angeles with a knee injury sustained in Stanford last week.

Frantisek Cermak has been suspended for 10 weeks and fined $15,000 for betting on tennis matches between September 2006 and February 2007. Michal Mertinak has been suspended for two weeks and fined $3,000or betting on tennis matches in October 2007. Neither player was found to have bet on his own matches, said the ATP, which received information on the players' gambling in November 2007 through the European Sports Security Association.

AP reports that Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf have ended their deal to invest in  building a luxury hotel at Tamarack Resort, Idaho, because a lawsuit against the development project and current market conditions.

Robin Haase and Michaella Krajicek pull out of the Olympics and will be replaced by Jurgen Melzer and Alona Bondarenko, respectively. Mary Pierce also officially pulled out.

Siblings Marat Safin and Dinara Safina will play together at the Hopman Cup in January. "For the first time she feels as if she's worthy to play with her brother, and why not?" said tournament director Paul McNamee.

Kuznetsova pulls out of Los Angeles with a leg injury. Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport have already pulled out of the event, with Serena Williams also in doubt iwth a knee problem.

Toronto draw here.

Serena Williams retires with a knee injury down 6-2, 3-1 against Aleksandra Wozniak

Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport have pulled out of LA with knee problems.

"I have been receiving treatment for tendinitis in my right knee over the last several days and my medical advisers have encouraged me to allow myself an additional week to completely recover," said Venus.

Davenport has now withdrawn before or partway through her last four scheduled tournaments.

Guillermo Coria looks set to retire, saying his first-round loss in Kitzbuehel was "almost certain" to be his last event.

Gael Monfils is now working with coach Roger Rasheed, reports L'Equipe. Rasheed is Monfils' fifth coach in the past two years.

Federer has moved his official Swiss residence from Basel to Wollerau, which has one of the lowest tax rates in the country. Federer's lawyer told Swiss press the move was not for tax reasons, as Federer could otherwise have moved to a tax-free country.

Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton, whose home victory at the British Grand Prix was overshadowed by Rafael Nadal's Wimbledon win later that same day, says he relates to the intensity of the Spaniard.

I thought Federer would win [and the beginning but] towards the end I thought that Nadal would win," said Hamilton. "He was so hungry for it. He had something new.

"Federer had shown incredible hunger of his own to go there and win it again and again but it was impossible to match what Nadal has after he had done it so many times. I can associate with that. I haven't won the formula one world championship but it's something I want to do so passionately."

Ljubicic pulls out of Umag with a back injury, with AP reporting that he was taken for treatment in a wheelchair.

Ljubicic had earlier decided to skip next week's event in Toronto and Cincinnati the following week to prepare for the Olympics.