Fernando Verdasco poses for Hola! Magazine. Let’s hope all the topless action helps him prepare for the US Open Series. (Socialite Life)

Karlovic is a Croatian MC and has the song to prove it. While his single is magnificent -- for all the wrong reasons -- on its own, Djokovic may team up with the tennis ace to make a hip-hop single. It could be double the magnificence (Blic)

Rafael Nadal maybe iffy for Montreal (Open Court)

Mario Ancic’s mononucleosis continues to sideline the Croat. He and Nalbandian (hip) will miss the US Open this year (Tennis)

Rafael Nadal regrets playing in the Madrid Masters Series because it led to a lack of preparation for the French Open (Rafael Nadal)

Richard Gasquet wins a spot in the 10 Best Bad Excuses. The tennis genius has now been slapped with a defamation lawsuit (Fox Sports, TimesOnline)

Marat Safin thinks tennis has become too professional (Tennistalk)

Andre Agassi will replace Novak Djokovic in an exhibition with Marat Safin on Aug 28 (WSJ)

Tipsarevic is upset over allegations about his integrity. Curious betting patterns caused scrutiny after a Tipsarevic-Hernandez match in Stuttgart on July 15 (Blic)

Rafael Nadal purchased a house in DR. From the press release, it looks more like the Spaniard lent his name to a development project (Daily Commercial News)

City: S-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands
Surface: Outdoor Grass
Championship Points: 250
2008 Singles Champion: David Ferrer
2008 Doubles Champions: Mario Ancic and Jurgen Melzer

David Ferrer will defend his title. The Spaniard will have his hands full this year, as Fernando Verdasco and Tommy Robredo will also be in attendance. The three Spaniards should keep the tournament interesting.

Tournament Draw
Singles / Doubles

Watch Live

(Image: Ordina Open)

Yesterday would have been Fred Perry's 100th birthday. This is a great profile of the British champion (The Independent)
In addition to Fred Perry, May 18th is a great day for tennis birthdays (Open Court)
Like Serena, Nadal is Dinara's idol (Guardian)
An interview with Djokovic's manager (Blic)
Murray has gotten smart and is starting to manage expectations (ESPN Star)
Gaston Gaudio, who is the former French Open champion, received a wildcard from the tournament (TSN)
Kei Nishikori, Japan's best player, has pulled out of the French Open (Yahoo via AP)
Super Mario can forgive anything but adultery (Croatian Times)
Mr. and Mrs. Agassi inaugurated the new Wimbledon roof (Times Online)
Dubai agrees to pay WTA fine (Guardian)
Nalbandian will be sidelined for four months after hip surgery (TSN)
In a smart move, the USTA hires Jose Higueras to overhaul the American coaching corps (ESPN)
Speaking of American tennis -- remember Americans used to win on clay (NBC Sports)
Nadal and McEnroe will appear in Wii's newest game, Grand Slam Tennis (Blast Magazine)

(Image: fredperry.com)

The Juans put Argentina up 2-0.


Mario and Marin celebrate Croatia's 2-0 lead.

Croatia vs. Chile
R1 – Mario Ancic (CRO) def. Nicolas Massu (CHI) 6-3 6-3 7-6(4)
R2 – Marin Cilic (CRO) def. Paul Capdeville (CHI) 6-1 6-2 6-1
Argentina vs. Netherlands
R1 - Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) def. Jesse Huta Galung (NED) 6-2 2-6 6-2 6-7(4) 6-2
R2 – Juan Monaco (ARG) def. Thiemo De Bakker (NED) 6-1 6-2 7-6(1)
Germany vs. Austria
R1 –. Stefan Koubek (AUT) def. Rainer Schuettler (GER) 6-4 7-5 5-7 6-2
R2 – Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) def. Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 6-7(4) 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-3
Czech Republic vs. France
R1 – Tomas Berdych (CZE) def. Gilles Simon (FRA) 7-6(3) 4-6 7-6(2) 6-3
R2 – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) def. Radek Stepanek (CZE) 7-5 6-2 7-6(1)
Romania vs. Russia
R1 – Marat Safin (RUS) def. Victor Crivoi (ROU) 7-6(5) 6-4 6-4
R2 – Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) def. Victor Hanescu (ROU) 6-4 6-2 6-4
U.S.A vs. Switzerland
R1 – Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) def. James Blake (USA)3-6 6-4 6-3 7-6(3)
R2 – Andy Roddick (USA) def. Marco Chiudinelli (SUI) 6-1 6-3 7-6(5)
Sweden vs. Isreal
R1 – Thomas Johansson (SWE) def. Harel Levy (ISR) 6-7(3) 6-4 7-5 4-6 8-6
R2 – Dudi Sela (ISR) def. Andreas Vinciguerra (SWE) 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-3 11-9
(images: Sergio Llamera, Paul Zimmer)

ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament

Rafael Nadal beat Gael Monfils in straight sets. The match took 102 minutes. Monfils had an illness and was sluggish throughout the match. He tried to mount a sort of comeback in the middle of the second set. Unfazed with the Frenchmen's perdicament, Nadal stayed focused and cruised to a routine victory.


AP


AP

Second-seed Andy Murray beat Mario Ancic. Ancic, who had two impressive prior wins in the earlier rounds, proved to be no match for Murray. The Brit won in straight sets and only dropped three games in the 61 minute match. Towards the end of the match, Murray was noticeably limping but pulled through in convincing fashion.


ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament

Murray will meet the Nadal in the final. Nadal leads the head-to-head 5-1. Though the last time these two played, Murray beat Nadal in at the US Open. Murray's injury may also prove to be a factor tomorrow, as the Brit has already pulled out of next week's tournament in Marseille.

Like the singles side, the two top-seeds will face off in the doubles final. Dlouhy/Paes had a routine win out the fourth-seeds Knowle/Ram. Earlier in the day, Nestor/Zimonjic comfortably defeated Berdych/Melzer. Berdych/Melzer had a good run in the tournament, but the top seeds proved to too much for the Austro-Czech pair.

Singles Semifinals:
1 Rafael Nadal def. 5 Gael Monfils 6-4 6-4
2 Andrew Murray def. Mario Ancic 6-1 6-2

Doubles Semifinals:
1 D. Nestor /N. Zimonjic def. T. Berdych /J. Melzer 6-3 6-2
2 L. Dlouhy /L. Paes def. 4 J. Knowle /A. Ram 6-2 7-6(4)

Tomorrow's Matches
Singles Final:
1 Rafael Nadal vs. 2 Andrew Murray

Doubles Final:
1 D. Nestor/N. Zimonjic vs. 2 L. Dlouhy/L. Paes

AP

Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria tested Rafeal Nadal in a three set match that lasted 145 minutes. Of course, Nadal would prevail in the end. The match was pretty much even until Nadal wore down the Bulgarian teen. It was a good test for Nadal and a good showing for Dimitrov. Nadal will play Jo-Wilfried Tsongas in the quarterfinals, who beat Dmitry Tursunov in straight sets today.


AP


ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament

Gael Monfils had a routine win over countrymen, Micheal Llodra. Monfils sent the defending champion packing in two sets. He served well and played an all-around solid match. Monfils will play another Frenchmen, Julien Benneteau in the next round.


ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament

Poor Michael Llodra would also lose his doubles match with his partner Arnaud Clement to the fourth-seeds Knowle/Ram.


AP

Croat Mario Ancic upset fourth-seed Gilles Simon of France in three sets. Ancic played a solid game while Simon play particularly well. It is good to see Ancic in good shape and playing well. He will go on to play Russian Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinals.


AP

Singles Round of 16:
1 Rafael Nadal def. wc Grigor Dimitrov 7-5 3-6 6-2
2 Andrew Murray def. Andreas Seppi 7-6(4) 7-5
Mario Ancic def. 4 Gilles Simon 6-4 3-6 6-3
5 Gael Monfils def. Michael Llodra 6-4 6-4
7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Dmitry Tursunov 7-6(6) 6-2
LL Marc Gicquel def. Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4 6-3

Doubles Quarterfinals:
1 D. Nestor/N. Zimonjic def. S. Bolelli/A. Seppi 7-6(2) 6-4
4 J. Knowle/A. Ram def. A. Clement /M. Llodra 6(9)-7 7-5 10-5

Gilles Simon of France was back in action after his quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open. Simon took on German player, Phillipp Kohlschreiber and beat the German 7-5 7-6(1) in 109 minute match. The Frenchman will meet Mario Ancic in the second round, who enjoyed a routine win over German Rainer Schuettler 7-5 6-2.

AP

Mario Ancic of Croatia overcame losing the first set and three match points to beat Czech Jan Hernych in three sets. Ancic rallied in the second set and managed to eke out a win in the third set after fighting off three match points.The match took a little over three hours to complete. Meanwhile another Croatian, Marin Cilic had a much easier time dismissing Serb Viktor Troiki. This two-set match lasted an hour and 25 minutes.

These wins set up an all Croatian final, which will be a treat for the hometown fans. The two players have never met before, but Cilic is currently the top-ranked player of Croatia and already has one singles title this year from the Chennai Open.

Singles Semifinals:
2 Marin Cilic def. Viktor Troicki 6-2 7-5
7 Mario Ancic def. Jan Hernych 6(4)-7 6-3 7-6(9)

Doubles Semifinals:
1 M. Damm /R. Lindstedt def. P. Petzschner /A. Peya


PBZ Zagreb Indoors

Mario Ancic beat Antonio Veic in an all Croatian quarterfinal. It took him one hour and 22 minutes to advance to the semifinal, where he will face Jan Hernych. Hernych beat Zverev, who retired in the first set. In the last four meetings with Hernych, Ancic currently leads 4-0.

It took Serbian Viktor Troicki a little over an hour to dispense the defending champion Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine. Troicki will face another Croat, Marin Cilic in the semifinal. Cilic leads the head to head 2-0.

Singles Quarterfinals:
2 Marin Cilic def. wc Antonio Veic 6-2 7-6(6)
7 Mario Ancic def. Q Ivan Dodig 6-1 6-3
Jan Hernych def. Mischa Zverev 5-4 Ret'd
Viktor Troicki def. Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-3 -2

Doubles Semifinals:
4 C. Kas /R. Wassen def. 2 S. Aspelin /P. Vizner 6-2 2-6 10-7

Doubles Quarterfinals:
P. Petzschner /A. Peya def. P. Hanley /J. Kerr 6-4 7-6(5)


PBZ Zagreb Indoors

Singles:
Sergiy Stakhovsky def. 3 Ivo Karlovic 6-4 3-6 6-3
Jan Hernych def 4 Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6(7) 6-4 6-2 7
Mario Ancic def. Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-1 6-1
Q Ivan Dodig def. Ernest Gulbis 7-6(3) 6-4
Mischa Zverev def. Victor Hanescu 6-4 5-7 7-6(7)

Doubles:
2 S. Aspelin /P. Vizner def. M. Youzhny /M. Zverev 6-4 6-2
P. Hanley /J. Kerr def. I. Andreev /V. Troicki 6-4 3-6 10-5

PBZ Zagreb Indoors