HENIN TAKES STAR POWER TO BELGIAN TELEVISION — Former No. 1-ranked Justine Henin will be hosting two television shows in Belgium according to the Belgian newspaper Le Soir: one, titled “De twaalf werken van Justine Henin” (The Twelve Works of Justine Henin) will feature her taking on sports, cooking, fashion, etc., challenges. The other will be a music-themed show…

“I don’t feel like I’m that disappointed just now with how the week went, because I wasn’t expecting to do that well,” said Murray, who was coming off an illness. “I obviously had some very good wins. I got a lot of the matches that I wasn’t necessarily expecting, so going into Miami I’m going to be better prepared than I thought…I’m guessing I’m not going to play in those conditions each week.”

The loss was another jolt to the confidence of Ivanovic, who achieved the No. 1 ranking last year but then fell down the rankings with a combination of injuries and failing confidence.

“He’s a great counterpuncher and reads the game really well,” Federer said of Murray. “He has great feel. So he’s very confident at the moment. You can tell, the way he plays. He knows he doesn’t have to play close to the lines because he can cover the court really well. I think that calms him down mentally. I think that is why he’s playing so well.”

“I don’t think he had his best day by any means,” Roddick told reporters. “I mixed up the pace pretty well and the chip was a pretty good neutralizing shot for me. I was hitting it pretty firm and I didn’t really miss any returns. I thought I played pretty well.”

“I’m aware he has beaten me more than I’ve beaten him but, on big occasions, I think I came through,” Federer told reporters. “I have to build on that and make sure I play a tough and good match against him. Anything else is not going to do the job.”

After losing the replay point, Ljubicic lost the next point to lose his serve, walking to his chair for the changeover while the Indian Wells crowd booed the electronic line call. Ljubicic had argued to no avail with the chair umpire that the make the electronic line-calling system had made was “ridiculous.”

Ljubicic is more fit after his rededication to tennis, but this should be a walk-through for Murray.

Safina saved a set point in winning the opening set on the tiebreak, but then sat back as Azarenka became the aggressor. Safina was up a break 3-1 in the third before dropping the last five games.

In their opening round, Roddick-Fish beat the French squad of Chardy-Simon. Next up: the imposing Argentine squad of David Nalbandian and Juan Martin del Potro, a surprising partnership after their lockeroom blowout last year in the Davis Cup final.

When Andy Roddick let out a “Yeah!” followed by a “F**k you!” in the direction of opponent Daniel Koellerer during the second-set tiebreak (in full view of Tennis Channel viewers), it was apparent the Austrian agitator had gotten under the American’s skin. ADHEREL Roddick went on to defeat Koellerer 6-1, 7-6 on Sunday night to […]

“I’m just playing tennis for myself and I always have put my health as a priority to everything. Tennis is probably my life at this moment, but it’s not the only thing in my life.”