Wimbledon

Wimbledon organizers will pay $83 million to regain total control of the All England Club, buying back the 50 percent it gave away in 1934.

The amount will be paid to Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association in installments over a likely five-year period from 2013, after the existing agreement expires, All England Club chairman Tim Phillips told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

 Britain's Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) plans to sell back its 50 percent stake in the site of the Wimbledon championships to The All England Club (AELTC), the organisations said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

The deal, subject to approval by both parties, is part of the extension of their co-operation agreement until 2053.

The AELTC originally gave the 50 percent shareholding to the LTA in 1934 and the new arrangement will release capital for the LTA to invest in the development of British tennis.

Swiss tennis star Roger Federer says winning Wimbledon is more important to him than regaining his No 1 ranking.

Federer has told reporters Monday "Wimbledon is something special. There is no substitute for it." He was speaking on the eve of an exhibition match in Kuala Lumpur, billed as the "Showdown of Champions."

Others playing Tuesday night are James Blake, ranked tenth, and two former Wimbledon champions, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg. The quartet will play two singles matches and one doubles.

With the ATP taking on a new look in 2009, many questions have come up.

From marketing changes, to revamped naming conventions of elite events, to stiffer penalties rendered, the tour is hoping for a more fan-friendly, healthier and streamlined structure. Here are 10 salient questions that will provide some clarity for the upcoming season.

1. How does the new tournament structure work?

By design, very simply:

Grand Slams (4): Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, U.S. Open

Most players would love to have a 'year to forget' such as the one Roger Federer has experienced in 2008.

Knocked off your perch as world number one after almost five years at the summit, usurped by a young Spaniard nicknamed the 'King of Clay' but seemingly not destined to be master of your all-weather, all surface tennis universe up until a final to surpass all finals at Wimbledon.

Add Rafael Nadal's Olympic success and suddenly the 'Fed Express' looked like he was running out of track.

Rafael Nadal says he has no intention of letting go the top ranking he fought so hard to wrest from Roger Federer, even if he insists his ascension to the summit of the men's game hasn't changed him.

But in a wide-ranging interview with Tuesday's French sports daily L'Equipe the muscular Spaniard insisted new goals had to be set and met - starting with expanding his Grand Slam portfolio beyond Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

"Nowadays, when I go on court, I don't say I am number one, number two - or number 50. I am there to win," Nadal insisted.

Roger Federer has confirmed he will compete in this week's Paris Masters Series tournament, erasing doubts over his participation.

Federer won his hometown tournament in Basel for the third time in a row on Sunday and indicated afterward that he might revise his plans to save energy for the season-ending Masters finals in Shanghai next month.

But the director of the Paris tournament, Jean-Francois Caujolle, confirmed on Monday that the Swiss star would be present as he attempts to land his first Mastrs Series title of the season after two final losses.

His Wimbledon reign and No. 1 ranking surrendered, Roger Federer has one trump card left in his competition with Rafael Nadal: four straight U.S. Open titles.

He figures that counts for something heading into the start Monday of the year’s final Grand Slam.

“I still believe it’s an advantage if you know how to win a U.S. Open,” said Federer, shut out so far this year on the game’s biggest stages. “It’s a tough tournament to win.”

Rafael Nadal has set his sights on ending 2008 in the world number one spot he claimed on Monday from Roger Federer.

Swiss ace Federer had held top spot in the sport for a record 237 consecutive weeks, with Nadal spending 160 weeks in second.

However, following a stunning 2008 in which Nadal has won eight ATP singles titles, including the French Open and Wimbledon, plus gold at the Olympic Games, the 22-year-old Spaniard has became the top-ranked player for the first time in his career.

He was a 15-year-old kid playing in his first ATP-level tournament, but already you could see the power -- that left arm was freakishly muscular, reminiscent of another lefty, Rod Laver -- the quickness, the ball-striking ability. Oh, and the hunger. It burned in his brown eyes with a startling intensity.