Tennis News

Clijsters balancing dropshots, diapers

Former world number ones Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters of Belgium will provide some early headaches for top seeds at the WTA Indian Wells tournament which begins Wednesday.

The 4.5 million-dollar event, played in conjunction with an ATP event that starts Thursday, also could see a potential third-round rematch of last year's final between defending champion Vera Zvonareva and 24th seed Ana Ivanovic.

The defending U.S. Open champion, playing Wednesday at Indian Wells, finds a way to succeed on the tour and smell the roses as wife and mother.

Melanie Oudin was a happy girl Tuesday morning.

She was announcing her newest marketing deal, with Virgin Mobile USA cellphones, and what 18-year-old doesn't like a new cellphone?

And not to put any pressure on Oudin, but Virgin Mobile will donate $1 million to homeless youth organizations should Oudin win the U.S. Open in next September.

Former world number one Justine Henin will have the top seeds looking warily over their shoulders when she continues her fairytale comeback at the Indian Wells WTA tournament starting on Wednesday.

The Belgian has reached successive finals since returning to the circuit in January after quitting the game in 2008 and lurks as a dangerous wildcard entry at the desert venue where she won the women's title in 2004.

Kim Clijsters's first full season back in tennis is presenting new challenges: figuring out a balanced schedule, needing extra rest, travelling with a two-year-old daughter.

Nowadays after practice, the 26-year-old Belgian makes sure she picks up something at the supermarket to make lunch at home for the family. Clijsters says "it takes a lot of energy".

Her surprising victory at last year's US Open makes Clijsters a Laureus World Sports Awards nominee for Comeback of the Year.

Spain has extended its lead at the top of the ITF Davis Cup Nations Ranking following its 2010 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas first round victory over Switzerland in Logrono. The two-time defending champion now holds an advantage of over 20,000 ranking points over its nearest rival.

Russia and Czech Republic both climb one position to No. 2 and No. 3 respectively following their first round victories, while USA's defeat by Serbia sees it drop two places to No. 4.

Justine Henin has avoided drawing one of the top names in the early rounds as she prepares to play the third event of her comeback at Indian Wells

Henin, who is unseeded because she has not yet played enough tournaments to earn a ranking, would not meet a top four player until Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals. The Belgian will begin against Magdalena Rybarikova, and also has Agnieszka Radwanska and Marion Bartoli in her section of the draw. Maria Sharapova or Caroline Wozniacki could await in the semifinals.

World No. 1 Roger Federer may need to get through a pair of Andy’s – World No. 4 Andy Murray and World No. 8 Andy Roddick – to reach the final at the BNP Paribas Open, the first of nine prestigious ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tennis tournaments this season. The Swiss is seeded to meet top American Roddick in the quarter-finals and 2009 finalist Murray in the semis.

Goran Ivanisevic has extended his part-time coaching role with Australian Open semi-finalist Marin Cilic.

The former Wimbledon champion worked with world number nine Cilic at the pair's home event in Zagreb last month, which the 21-year-old won.

Ivanisevic will travel with Cilic to the Masters 1000 events in Miami this month and Madrid in May in place of regular coach Bob Brett.