Month of November , 2007

Top seed Nicole Vaidisova was forced to withdraw from her first round meeting with Czech compatriot Renata Voracova at the Bell Challenge on Wednesday with a wrist injury.
 
The world number 12 won the first set 6-2 but after losing the second 6-3, the 18-year-old retired with a right wrist problem.
 

When the season-ending WTA Championships begin next week, the chief question will be: Can anyone beat Justine Henin? The little Belgian that could has put a crimp in the seasons of nearly all the players she'll be facing in Madrid. Here's how they might expect to fare against her:
 

Former world number one Martina Hingis is expected to announce her retirement from professional tennis for a second time, after struggling to recover from a string of injuries and health problems.
 
Hingis, 27, called an early end to her season last month following difficulties with her hip, saying she would take "as much time as it needs to get fully fit again".
 
The Swiss media has subsequently been full of reports that the five-time Grand Slam champion is set to hang up her racket for good.

Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis knocked out holder Nikolay Davydenko with an impressive 6-2 6-2 win in the third round of the Paris Masters Series on Thursday.
 
Baghdatis offered a near faultless display to set up a quarter-final against Spain's Tommy Robredo or Argentine Guillermo Canas and keep alive his slender hopes of making the season-finale Masters Cup featuring the world's top eight.
 

World number four Nikolay Davydenko was involved in yet more controversy on Thursday at the Paris Masters as he collapsed to defeat to Marcos Baghdatis.
 
During the second set of his 6-2 6-2 defeat, the Russian became engaged in a conversation with umpire Cedric Mourier during which he was told he had served "too many" double faults; he ended with 10.
 

Andy Murray hopes of qualifying for the Masters Cup in Shanghai were kept very much alive with a comfortable 6-4 6-2 win over flamboyant Frenchman Fabrice Santoro at Bercy on Thursday.
 
The victory saw the Scot move into the fourth round of the Paris Masters, where he will now meet either James Blake or another Parisian favourite Richard Gasquet.
 
Murray looked relaxed on centre court as outplayed one of his personal favourite players who, at 34, is in his last year on the tour.
 

No matter of his finish in Paris, Nalbandian can't qualify for Masters Cup

Former world number one Martina Hingis retired from professional tennis, but declared her innocence after announcing that she tested positive for cocaine during this year's Wimbledon tournament.

"I have tested positive but I have never taken drugs and I feel one hundred percent innocent," Hingis said.

"The reason I have come out with this is because I do not want to have a fight with anti-doping authorities.

"Because of my age and my health problems I have also decided to retire from professional tennis."

LONDON (AP) - The head of men's tennis would ban players for life if they are caught match-fixing.

ATP president Etienne de Villiers told a sports business conference in London on Thursday that tennis was being seriously threatened by match fixing and gambling syndicates. Some players have said they turned down money to lose matches.

"It's definitely a threat and we take it very, very seriously and the more you can do to tackle it the better it will be," he said.

Rafael Nadal again overcame an early stumble to advance at the Paris Masters, coming from a break down in the opening set to beat Stanislas Warinka 6-4 6-3 and reach the quarter-finals at Bercy.
 
The second seeded Spaniard, who has now won all 23 of the matches he has played in the French capital including 21 victories at Roland Garros and the two in his Bercy debut, also came back from a set down to beat Filippo Volandri in the second round.
 

Dubai Lifestyle City, ETA Star Group’s AED 2.4 billion lifestyle project in Dubailand, has announced that Maria Sharapova the celebrated tennis player and style icon would grace the formal launch of the multi-dimensional project to VIP’s on November 13, 2007.

Russia's Nikolay Davydenko said he had feared receiving a warning during a sluggish display in a 6-2 6-2 third-round defeat by Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis at the Paris Masters.
 
World number four Davydenko, who was fined $2,000 (£976) for not trying hard enough during his defeat by Croatian qualifier Marin Cilic at the St Petersburg Open last week, was seen arguing with the umpire during Thursday's match.
 

Svetlana Kuznetsova has been one of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's most consistent performers in 2007, enjoying a title run in New Haven and five runner-up finishes – most notably at the US Open. These successes have seen the Russian rewarded not only with a place in the prestigious Sony Ericsson Championships, but also a career-high ranking of No.2.
 

This year has seen Anna Chakvetadze emerge as the latest Russian superstar to establish herself in the world's Top 10 and last week she was rewarded for a wonderful season with qualification for the prestigious Sony Ericsson Championships. The elegant young Russian's intelligent game has seen her score wins over several of her Madrid rivals en route to capturing four titles in 2007 and reaching a career-high ranking of No.5.
 

BERNE, Switzerland, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The WTA tour said on Thursday it had received no official information about a positive dope test by former world number one Martina Hingis but paid tribute to her achievements as a player.

Hingis told a media conference in Zurich she had tested positive for cocaine during this year's Wimbledon tournament and announced her retirement but insisted she had no knowledge of how the substance had entered her body.

Paris, France (Sports Network) - Rafael Nadal was a third-round winner Thursday at the Paris Masters, but American star James Blake was eliminated by France's Richard Gasquet and saw his chances of reaching the Tennis Masters Cup come to an end.

The second-seeded Nadal rolled to a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka and will face the winner between Tommy Haas and Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinals.

Martina Hingis statement announcing her retirement from professional tennis:
 
"Throughout my career, I have always been open and honest with you. I have been accused by an outsource testing company of taking cocaine during the Championships at Wimbledon. I find this accusation so horrendous, so monstrous, that I have decided to confront it head-on by talking to the press.
 

Argentine David Nalbandian shocked Roger Federer for the second time in three weeks, beating the world number one 6-4 7-6 (3) to reach the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters.
 
Nalbandian, who has been eliminated from contention for the season-ending Masters Cup despite a brilliant recent run of form, now has an 8-8 lifetime record against the Swiss superstar after winning in Paris and beating Federer just two weeks ago in the Madrid Masters final.
 

QUEBEC CITY (AP) -Vania King set up a quarterfinal match against fellow American Julie Ditty in the Bell Challenge, beating Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 on Thursday at Club Avantage Multi-Sports de Quebec.

Ditty defeated Maret Ani of Estonia 6-3, 6-3.

Eighth-seeded Olga Poutchkova of Russia also advanced, beating American Jill Craybas 6-2, 6-3. Poutchkova will face second-seeded Vera Zvonareva of Russia, winner over France's Severine Bermond on Wednesday night.

LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The career of Martina Hingis ended in disgrace and tears on Thursday when she retired after testing positive for cocaine, an inglorious finale to a story that captivated world tennis for more than a decade.

From the moment her parents named her after the great Martina Navratilova she appeared destined for a journey that would change the face of women's tennis and make her rich beyond her wildest dreams, but also provide plenty of heartache.

Born in Slovakia, Hingis moved to Switzerland after her parents divorced and began ripping up the record books.