World No. 2 Novak Djokovic opened his title defense in Dubai with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-3 win over Denis Istomin in first round action on Tuesday.

Playing in just his second event of the season, the Serb never lost serve in the win.

“It wasn’t as easy as the scoreline indicates,” said Djokovic. “I needed to work for my games. My serve worked really well in the second set, and that helped …

The Acapulco event changed surfaces from clay to hard and the move has attracted a new field to the tournament by sea. Among the new entrants are Andy Murray who continues his comeback from back surgery.

Because of missing the end of 2013, Murray has front loaded his schedule with the aim of getting more match play. And he feels that after playing Davis Cup and then Rotterdam and now Acapulco, …

It was a bad day for Juan Martin del Potro and his fans. The soft-spoken Argentine was in tears after retiring due to his left wrist in his first round match today to Somdev Devvarman.

The Indian Devvarman had won the first set in a tiebreaker when del Potro broke down on the set changeover. With his face buried in the towel and fighting the tears, del Potro consulted with a …

Budding stars Grigor Dimitrov and Genie Bouchard spent an afternoon in Acapulco playing tennis on a makeshift court in the water.

“This is definitely the best experience I’ve ever had on tour,” said Dimitrov who dates Maria Sharapova. “I was happy to be able to do something like this. It is pretty special and we definitely have something to talk about in the future. It was nice to get to do …

Roger Federer made a visit to the iconic Burj Al Arab over the weekend in Dubai. Since Federer calls Dubai his second home, he wasn’t awed by the stunning hotel, so he discussed other topics including how he deals with jet lag.

Federer says to combat the affliction the Swiss recommends you eat right and get as much sleep as possible on the plane. Then when you land he suggests you …

Roger Federer once again showed off his legendary shot-making ability with this incredible tweener which led to him winning the point and eventually the match over Benjamin Becker in the first round of Dubai on Monday.

The shot came with Federer ahead 61 and serving 30-15, 23 in the second.

Federer talked about the shot.

“I thought he was going to go to the forehand, went to the backhand,” Federer said. “I got …

Days before the start of his title defense, Novak Djokovic took to the air in Dubai. Sort of. Instead of risking it all going up in the plane, the Serb and his brother Marko stayed closer to the ground and inside for some indoor skydiving at the Crown Prince of Dubai’s very own private wind tunnel.

Only in Dubai.

Djokovic, who lost in doubles today with his partner Carlos Gomez-Herrera (also in …

Argentine giant Juan Martin del Potro met the press in Dubai yesterday and gave an update on his ailing wrist which he says is still not 100%.

“My wrist is getting better, but I am still not feeling confident to hit my backhand 100% and the injury has affected my slice and drop shots,” he told the Gulf News. “I need time to work and get muscle again on my …

Novak Djokovic is fired up for his title defense in Dubai where the former No. 1 and 4-time tournament champion met the press yesterday to discuss an array of topics including the Australian Open loss.

“It was a tough loss for me,” Djokovic told the Gulf News referring to the Stanislas Wawrinka loss. “But I wasn’t disappointed because I knew I gave it my all and fought until the …

Gulbis Wins Marseille, Says Top Pros Should Be Afraid

The outspoken Ernests Gulbis captured the title on Sunday at the Open 13 in Marseille, upsetting No. 2 seed and defending champ Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6(5), 6-4, then had a message for the top players on tour.

“I think [the top players] feel threatened by my game, because they know if I serve well and I’m aggressive, then it’s tough to play against me,” …

DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Dubai, U.A.E.; Surface: hard

Seeds: Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin Del Potro, Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Mikhail Youzhny, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Dmitry Tursunov

Floaters: Radek “The Worm” Stepanek, Igor Sijsling

Notes: The defending champ Djokovic has won four Dubai titles (four of last five years) while Federer has won five…Djokovic beat Berdych in last year’s final…Not a lot of floating talent, with potential second round matches looming in …

Outspoken Latvian Ernests Gulbis is apparently targeting the No. 1 ranking after an impressive 7-6(5), 6-4 win today over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Marseille final.

“My long-term goal in tennis isn’t to be Top 20,” Gulbis said. “It’s to be No. 1. Anything less than that wouldn’t make me fully satisfied. I don’t want to get to 30 years old, look back on my career and say I didn’t make something …

Ernests Gulbis won the Marseille title earlier today defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6, 6-4. With the win, Gulbis is now 5-0 lifetime in ATP singles finals, and he’s also 2-0 in doubles finals for a 7-0 total.

So in his ATP level career, he’s never finished second or runner-up! Just bizarre.

“It’s a really nice small record for me,” said Gulbis of his record in ATP World Tour finals. “5-0 is really good. …

Rafael Nadal showed once again why he is the King of Clay. Last night in a spirited match with heavy underdog and countryman Pablo Andujar, Nadal was pushed to the very brink before winning 26, 63, 76(10) in the Rio Open semifinals.

Nadal, who at one point led by a break in the third set, needed to save two match points during that incredible tiebreak against Andujar who was playing the …

Veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber hit out as his national media on Saturday in Dubai. The German told a press audience that in wake of the German glory years with Boris Becker, Michael Stich and Steffi Graf, it’s hard to get any credit in the country unless you are a Grand Slam champion.

“The German media is not very hard, but sometimes we wish we would get a little bit more credit for …