The Last Champion. The Life of Fred Perry
Tennis story by sport.co.uk, Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:06:28GMT

During the 40 years since he first covered Wimbledon, Observer tennis correspondent Jon Henderson has followed more closely than most the cycles of fevered anticipation and bitter disappointment that characterise the British quest for a modern-day grand slam champion. It is understandable then that Henderson has turned his attention to the story of our ldquo;last championrdquo;, the man with the statue at Wimbledon and the laurel logo, Fred Perry. The front cover of Hendersonrsquo;s book shows an elegant Perry, decked out in...

Murray wins on comeback
Tennis story by sport.co.uk, Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:06:24GMT

British number one Andy Murray got off to a winning start at the Dubai Tennis Championships after seeing off Russian Igor Kunitsyn.The match marked his return to action after a spell away from the game following his Australian Open final defeat to Roger Federer at the end of January.Third-seeded Murray took an hour and 41 minutes to down the world ranked number 90.He was untroubled throughout as he waltzed through 6-2, 6-3, but he had to negotiate a marathon second game...

Laura Robson: The savior of British tennis?
Tennis story by sport.co.uk, Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:06:23GMT

Us Brits being what we are, there is only one thing that matches our hunger for success on the tennis court ndash; our foot-stamping impatience for it. So since sweeping her way to the junior Wimbledon title in 2008, Laura Robsonrsquo;s every move has been subject to the closest scrutiny. With a glittering appearance alongside Andy Murray at Januaryrsquo;s Hopman Cup and a second successive finals defeat at the Australian Open juniors, Robson is nothing if not high profile. But does...

Davydenko injured in Dubai
Tennis story by sport.co.uk, Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:06:21GMT

Nikolay Davydenko has pulled out of the Dubai Championships with a wrist injury.The Russian struggled through Tuesdays first-round win over Florent Serra before quitting in his next match against German Michael Berrer.Berrer cruised to a 6-3 opening set lead and Davydenko, in obvious discomfort, soon retired.He had shown his concern after his first-round win on Tuesday and although he felt strong enough to continue as he prepared to face Berrer, it soon became apparent that his concern was more problematic."I thought...

Murray crashes out in Dubai
Tennis story by sport.co.uk, Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:06:19GMT

Andy Murray slipped to a disappointing second-round defeat at the hands of Janko Tipsarevic at the Dubai Championships. Britains number one cut a frustrated figure throughout the contest as he failed to get the better of his Serbian opponent, who grabbed a place in the last-eight with a 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 victory.Murray recovered from a break down to tie up at 5-5 in the first before going down to a dominant display by Tipsarevic.The big-serving world-ranked number 39 kept Murray at...

Blake wins in rapid time
Tennis story by sport.co.uk, Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:06:17GMT

It took James Blake just one minute to complete a win over Taylor Dent at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships on Wednesday.The American was cruising to victory over his compatriot on Tuesday when he led 6-1, 3-6, 5-3 and was at deuce on his own service game.But the contest was halted after a period of rain forced the players off for the day.When play continued, the seventh seed struck two winners to secure the win and move into the second...

Baltacha takes Michigan title
Tennis story by sport.co.uk, Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:10:02GMT

Great Britains Elena Baltacha took the title at the Dow Corning Classic in Michigan with a three-set victory over top seed Lucie Hradecka.The Czech Republic player took the first set 7-5, before Baltacha rallied superbly to take the next two 6-2, 6-3.Meanwhile, Spains Fernando Verdasco emerged victorious at the San Jose Open by securing a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 final home win over home favourite Andy Roddick.Left-hander Verdasco had last his previous seven meetings with the American, as well as his last...

Murrays absence irks Caujolle
Tennis story by sport.co.uk, Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:10:00GMT

Marseille Open director Jean-Francois Caujolle is disappointed that Andy Murray has withdrawn from the tournament as the Scot continues to recover from last months Australian Open exertions.Murray lost in the Melbourne final to Roger Federer and was due to be top seed in France and his omission has annoyed Caujolle.The Frenchman was quoted as saying Murray should be suspended from the ATP Tour for not respecting his commitments but he has since attempted to quash those reports.He said: "I never said...

Baltachas good form continues
Tennis story by sport.co.uk, Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:09:58GMT

Britains Elena Baltacha has followed up her weekend success at the Dow Corning Classic by securing an opening round victory in the Cellular South Cup.Baltacha moved up to a career-best 70th world ranking position following her title win in Michigan and got off to a fine start in Memphis with a 7-5 6-1 victory over the Czech player Renata Voracova.She won six games on the spin to see off her world-ranked 115th opponent, wrapping up the contest in style.Next up for...

Baltacha sets up Sharapova clash
Tennis story by sport.co.uk, Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:09:57GMT

British number one Elena Baltacha set up a quarter-final clash against Maria Sharapova in the Cellular South Cup in Memphis by beating Canadas Valerie Tetreault 6-4 6-4.The top-seeded Sharapova thrashed Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-1 6-1 but will not find it easy to reach the last four as Baltacha is in fine form.After her impressive performances in last months Australian Open, Baltacha has moved up to a career-best world ranking of 70 and won the ITF Dow Corning Classic in Michigan at the...