Pete Sampras has dismissed suggestions Roger Federer has gone into decline and has backed the Swiss star to beat his record of 14 grand slam titles.

Novak Djokovic has ended 2008 the way he began it. Last Sunday, the Serbian world number three added the prestigious season ending Masters Cup to the Australian Open trophy he collected in January with an emphatic victory over Nikolay Davydenko in the final.

World number three Novak Djokovic thrashed Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko 6-1 7-5 in the Masters Cup final on Sunday to lift his second major trophy this year.

Britain’s Andy Murray sent defending champion Roger Federer crashing out of the Masters Cup in a classic encounter on Friday.

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

I was in a pub the other day, watching the cricket from India where some of the faithful were giving Ricky Ponting’s side such a forceful ear bashing, they probably heard it all the way in Mohali. Fast forward a few days and Kangaroos coach Ricky Stuart says: “You get a feeling that there are [...]

Marat Safin, a former top-ranked player and a two time Grand Slam champion, wants a long break after his 6-0, 7-6 first round loss against Argentine Juan Monaco at the Paris Masters. Judging by his most recent performance, he should take it and possibly never look back.

Lleyton Hewitt says the layoff following hip surgery has revitalised him for the last phase of his tennis career and he still hopes to claim an Australian Open title.

Andy Murray muscled further into the ranks of the tennis elite today when he lifted his second major title in three months by winning the Madrid Masters with a 6-4 7-6 (8-6) victory over France’s Gilles Simon.

Heavyweights Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer both crashed out of the Madrid Masters today leaving unheralded Frenchman Gilles Simon to face British world number four Andy Murray in the final.

Serena Williams is the diamond in a $250 million collection of tennis talent being assembled for the Sydney International in January.

Roger Federer has become the world’s richest tennis player, with career prize money earnings listed as a staggering $US43.29 million ($AUS66.56 million).
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Tennis superstars to descend on Sydney

Rafael Nadal’s reign at No.1 is still young and the Spaniard heads into the Madrid Masters expecting a fight to hold on to the prestigious title.

For sports fans, this is the calm after the storm, a quiet spell until the cricket gets serious, which this year is in late November. The last six weeks were pretty good to us. The regular seasons of the football finished and then ramped it up a few notches with a month of finals football. [...]

Few athletes have dominated their sports, enthralled fans worldwide, and attained cult status like Valentino Rossi. Having sown up his eighth world title a week ago in Japan, his sixth premier class crown, there are few within the sport that question his right to the title of world’s greatest ever rider.

It’s all about creating a dynasty. For reasons that lie deep within my sub-conscious (the underdog status of being the son of a fish-and chip shop owner, perhaps?), I’ve always loved sports dynasties and sportsmen who have been unrivalled for years in their particular sport.

Two great things happened in sport this week. One was Benji Marshall laying on the try of the season against the Titans (inexplicably disallowed by Chris Ward). The second was the Return of the King: Roger Federer. But first a warning: this article contains few jokes and much man love!

Roger Federer maintains he can still win a calendar-year grand slam. Although Federer’s rivals weren’t exactly writing him off - not publicly, anyway - plenty of other people were, and he heard them.

Andy Murray’s runner-up finish at the US Open served as a fitting exclamation point to a superb season that saw him win three of his six career titles and climb to a career-best fourth in the ATP rankings.
Britain hails mighty Murray

British newspapers and former players insisted today that Andy Murray was destined for Grand Slam success despite losing in straight sets to Roger Federer in the US Open final.