It was the fifth title of the year for Murray, who with the win ascends to the world No. 2 ranking for the first time, bumping down Rafael Nadal who has had to sit out much of the 2009 season with knee problems.

As I was watching the mano y mano between Spaniard countrymen Juan Carlos Ferrero and Tommy Robredo in the grandstand yesterday, I overheard someone nearby say, “The stadium’s got the names, but out here, we got the games!”

Speaking of tickets. For grins, I stopped by the Lacoste store on M St. to check out how the Roddick ticket give-away was going. There was a healthy and well organized line, with a few people also walking out with shopping bags to boot. Well done all around.

Is Blake done? Hope not but the outlook is not rosy since Blake turns 30 later this year. don’t get in a habit of turning down six-figure checks James.

There is a buzz on the grounds as it is time to get down to crowning a champion.

Notes: Openers of interest include (1) S.Williams vs. Li, (6) Cibulkova vs. Stosur, (8) Bartoli vs. Peng, (5) Petrova vs. Mattek-Sands (winner to potentially face Sharapova); five of Top 10 players entered; wildcards to American Hilary Barte and Canadian Stephanie Dubois; Canadian defending champ Aleksandra Wozniak unseeded.

Robby Ginepri’s backhand was superb in his 6-4, 6-3 victory over John Isner. I was particularly looking forward to this match in order to see and hear how hard John Isner serves. What impressed me more than sheer pace was how well Isner mixes up his service pace and placement.

This is not a column about the color of tennis courts despite clay courts looking like the terrain of Mars and most hard courts at professional tennis events no longer being green. While covering the 2008 Indianapolis Tennis Championships, members of what looked to be a local scouting troop wearing hats saying “Environmental Team” were [...]

“We couldn’t meet his expectations (financially),” Martin said. “It just wasn’t going to happen. I couldn’t do it. James is a great person and a great supporter of this event.”

Richard Gasquet claims a dosed drink or a contaminated kiss in a Miami nightclub caused his positive test for cocaine.