After two weeks of world class tennis in Indian Wells at the BNP PARIBAS Open, the season has some new faces to watch. JELENA JANKOVIC, who was number 1 in the world for 17 weeks at the end of 2008 and the start of 2009, has not ever won a grand slam event. She has only been in 1 grand slam final, that being the US OPEN in 2008. So this was by far her biggest win. Until her victory over CAROLINE WOZNIACKI Sunday, her big story line was the 20,000 square foot house she is building outside of San Diego. That, and her white leather Parada bags she sports instead of the traditional tennis bags as she strolls out to the court. The bags were offset beautifully by her lime green tennis dress at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden over the last 2 weeks.

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IVAN LJUBICIC, not exactly a new face on the tour at the age of 31, won the men's championship, his first Masters series event. What was new was to see him eliminate world number 3 NOVAK DJOKOVIC, world number 2 RAFAEL NADAL, and then to beat world number 7 ANDY RODDICK, 7-6(3), 7-6(5) in the final. It was a huge win for the Croat who celebrated his birthday Friday; and it was just as huge a loss for RODDICK who has not won the tournament at Indian Wells, the next biggest stop on the tour after the 4 grand slam events.

World number 1, ROGER FEDERER was eliminated by MARCOS BADHDATIS earlier in the week, which could mean the men's field this year might be ripe for some newcomers into the mix. ROBIN SODERLING was again impressive, making it to the semi-finals before losing to ANDY RODDICK for the first time in 3 meetings.

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SERENA WILLIAMS, the number 1 ranked woman in the world was again not at this tournament. Her and her sister boycott this marquee event after some unruly fan behavior in 2001. DINARA SAFINA, who was number 2 at the start of this event, but could not attend because of injuries, will fall to number 3 after a strong showing by CAROLINE WOZNIACKI, who lost to JELENA JANKOVIC in the final, 6-2, 6-4. But WOZNIACKI will climb to number 2 in the world, riding a wave of strong showings, dating back to the US OPEN, where she lost to KIM CLIJSTERS.

CLIJSTERS and JUSTIN HENIN were both here, but did not contend in the final rounds, KIM losing to ALYSA KLEYBANOVA in the 3rd round and JUSTIN losing to GISELLA DULKO of Argentina in the 2nd round. MARIA SHARAPOVA lost to JIE ZHENG, a rising Chinese woman who made it to the semi-finals in Australia. ZHENG was eliminated in the quarter-finals by WOZNIACKI.

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It was JANKOVIC'S first win at Indian Wells. She entered the tournament as the 6th seed. Number 1 seed SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA was ousted by CARLA SUAREZ NAVARRO, ranked 33rd in the world, in the 2nd round.

So the fields were both pretty shaken up in the desert, and there is much to look forward to this tennis season.

The highlight of the 2 weeks was an exhibition charity match on the first Friday night, with 2 dream doubles match-ups. LYNDSAY DAVENPORT teamed up with STEFFI GRAF to play MARTINA NAVRATILOVA and JUSTIN HENIN. The players wore microphones as they competed, allowing for the audience to listen in on the competition, as well as the trading of stories regarding raising their kids(in the case of STEFFI and LYNDSAY.) MARTINA doubled as stand-up comedienne as well as a very capable volleyer even at the age of 54.

In the men's match, PETE SAMPRAS and ROGER FEDERER battled ANDRE AGASSI and RAFAEL NADAL. In this one, it was AGASSI, fresh off a shocking scandal divulged in his recent book about his use of meth, and wigs during his time as a professional, who was the comedian. He and ROGER traded barbs and bullet shots, with ROGER conceding "we don't hit this hard anymore, everybody spins the ball" as AGASSI demonstrated his heralded return game.

But the real fireworks during the evening came as AGASSI and SAMPRAS were ribbing each other. SAMPRAS made a crack about ANDRE'S hair, or lack thereof, and ANDRE returned with a zinger, or two, about PETE'S tipping. The mood took an uncomfortable turn, as PETE was visibly shaken. "It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, right PETE?", ANDRE chided.

Tennis legend ROD LAVER watched with LARRY ELLISON, CEO of Oracel who bought the tournament and kept it in Indian Wells, watched from the first row. TONY BENNETT was also in the stadium, and closed the night with an acoustic version of "Smile." It was priceless, and $1,000,000 was raised for Haiti relief.

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If only players wore mics during every match.

And, wouldn't it be special if ANDRE, and that 22 time grand slam champion wife of his, STEFFI, could be lured out of retirement.

Now that would be a season with something to look forward to...

The BNP Paribas Open is in full swing down in Indian Wells, with the men's action getting underway Thursday. Number 2 seed NVAL DJOKOVIC, number 4 seed ANDY MURRAY and number 5 seed NICOLAY DAVIDENKO met the media, with introductory press conferences.

The big story of the day was the elimination of 19-year old American sensation MELANIE OUDIN by 27-year old ROBERTA VINCI of Italy in her very first match. It was OUDIN'S debut Southern California appearance after a remarkable and exciting showing at Wimbledon and the Us Open last year. She opened strong with 2 breaks in the first set, but VINCI was persistent and won the next 2 as OUDIN fell apart.

In the evening the stars turned out for the players party at the IW CLUB in Indian Wells, with JUSTIN HENIN, ANA IVANOVIC, ELENA DEMENTIEVA, JELENA JANKOVIC, AGNIESZKA & URUSLA RADWANSKA, DANIELA HANTUCHOVA, TOMMY ROBREDO, FERNANDO VERDASCO, JO-WILFRED TSONGAS, DAVID FERRER & JUAN CARLOS FERRERO, ANDY MURRAY among others attending the soiree.

3.4.10 - The BNP PARIBAS Tennis Tournament kicks off next week in Indian Wells, California. Just announced, Friday March 11th. will be a fundraising evening for the victims of the Haiti earthquake, with an amazing lineup of Grand Slam Champions. In the first match of the evening STEFFI GRAF and LYNDSAY DAVENPORT will play doubles against MARTINA NAVRATILOVA and JUSTIN HENIN. HENIN was announced yesterday as a wild card entry into the main tournament, in this her comeback year.

Following that, ROGER FEDERER and PETE SAMPRAS will play RAFAEL NADAL and ANDRE AGASSI in a once in a lifetime matchup of past and present legends. ORACLE has signed on to help sponsor the night, with a goal of raising $1 million for the victims of the Haiti disaster through the American Red Cross.

“Oracle is proud to participate in fundraising efforts to benefit the relief efforts in Haiti,” said Oracle CEO Larry Ellison. “It is
impressive to see this remarkable line up of athletes work together to raise much-needed funds for Haiti. Our hope is to hold an event that supports relief efforts and continues to raise the visibility for howHaiti needs the world’s help.”

Tickets for this tennis extravaganza can be purchased at www.bnpparibasopen.com or by calling 800.999.1585. The tennis garden in Indian Wells is a fantastic place to view these world champion tennis players, and the BNP PARIBAS OPEN is the fifth largest tournament on the tennis tour, behind only the 4 Grand Slam events, so if you love tennis, you've got to get out to Indian Wells. The tournament, with nearly all of the world's best competitors, runs from March 8th through the 20th.

NIKOLAY DAVYDENKO has been hanging around the best tennis players in the world for several years now. He finished 2009 number 6 in the world, after finishing 2008 as number 5, 2007 as number 4, and 2006 as the 3rd best player in the world. He's been in or around the top 5 since 2005 when he climber from 27th into the 5th spot, and has remained one of the most consistent men on the tour.

Yet, the Russian is nearly invisible. Most people, even tennis fans, would be hard pressed to pick him out of a lineup, but that may change in 2010.

DAVYDENKO is the hottest man on the tour now, coming off a win at the London World Tour to end the 2009 season in November. At that round robin tournament NIKOLAY beat RAFAEL NADAL and ROGER FEDERER to win in a surprise result. It was the first time the Russian had beaten ROGER.

An last week in Doha, he beat number 1 again, as well as NADAL to win the Qatar Open. He has now beaten ROGER FEDERER twice in a row, and RAFAEL NADAL 3 times straight. He is 5-4 against NADAL overall, after winning his 2nd consecutive tournament.

Despite the impressive run, DAVYDENKO still finds himself significantly behind ANDY MURRAY, who fell from 4th to 5th this week, DEL POTRO, DJOKOVIC, NADAL and FEDERER in the ATP rankings.

ANDY RODDICK, who is 7th, behind DAVYDENKO, won his first tournament in 2010, beating RADEL STEPANEK in the BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL final, in straight sets 7-6(2), 7-6(7).

RODDICK and DAVYDENKO will next suit up for the AUSTRALIAN OPEN which starts January 18th.

One usually has to wait until the Australian Open for a classic must see tennis match to officially "start" the tennis season. The intense heat in Melbourne, along with the congruence of the world's best players wanting to start the year out on the right foot in the first grand slam tournament usually conspires to bring tennis fans a remarkable match or two. SERENA'S run the last couple of years, MARAT SAFIN'S stretch in 2004 and 2005, SAMPRAS and AGASSI in 2000.

This year, tennis fans didn't have to wait for the Open to kick off the season with a match for the ages. In Brisbane, the BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL is usually just a warmup for the big event 2 weeks later. But this year the women's final was as good as any grand slam final, with comeback kids KIM CLIJSTERS and JUSTIN HENIN squaring off, both fresh off coming out of "retirement." The "Dutch" speaking Belgians are the talk of the tennis world.

HENIN in her first competitive play since leaving the tennis world as the number 1 woman, easily got through her draw beating the numbe 2 seed, NADIA PETROVA in the first round, and eliminating former number 1 in the world, ANA IVANOVIC in the semi0finals to set up her 23rd match against KIM CLIJSTERS.

CLIJSTERS, in her 5th tournament of her comeback, defeated ALICIA MOLIK, LUCIE SAFAROVA and ANDREA PETKOVIC to get to the finals. She ended the season ranked 15th, but certainly on a rise back into the top 5 with the form she showed winning the US OPEN in September. She didn't qualify for the season ending championships in Doha in November, won by SEWRENA WILLIAMS over VENUS WILLIAMS, but there is little doubt that given a full year of play, CLIJSTERS can challenge for the top spot in 2010.

And this weekend in Brisbane only solidified that view.

CLIJSTERS jumped out on HENIN 6-3 and 4-1 in the second set, and it looked to be over. She was hitting steady, powerful deep shots, running JUSTIN side to side in controlling the match. HENIN had won 12 of their previous 22 matches, dating back to when the girls were 14.

But the 7-time grand slam champion predicted she had the skills and the knowledge to be an even better player in a press conference in December, and she woke up in this match, showing precisely that. HENIN, with her distinctive one-handed backhand, won 8 straight games to even the match at a set apiece, and take a commanding lead in the decisive set, 3-0.

CLIJSTERS looked defeated.

But she kept hitting her deep, strong shots, and got back into the set, evening the score at 3-3 with a scintillating point that brought both women to the net with impossible drop shot angles in the point of the tournament, won by CLIJSTERS when HENIN hit a volley wide. It was classic tennis, and was the first time either woman flashed a smile, both acknowledging just how impossible the point was, and confirming just how much fun they were having competing on such a high level again.

It was amazing!

And that was just the beginning of the drama.

HENIN kept the pressure on winning the next 2 games, once again, leaving CLIJSTERS looking finished. KIM broke serve to stay in the match at 4-5, but face 2 match points on her serve, which she somehow saved. HENIN, in her heyday at number 1 rarely missed out on those opportunities. Perhaps her killer instinct needs some dusting off, but not much else. She looked like she never missed a day from the tour. She is a lean, mean, fighting machine. The HENIN we all remember.

But CLIJSTERS wasn't intimidated. She powered on, evening the match at 5-5, only to see HENIN win her service game easily. KIM forced the match into a tiebreak, where she quickly went up 3-0, and had 3 match points at 6-3.

HENIN won all 3 points evening the match. Unbelievable! And this is the first tournament of the year!

It was then that reality set in. JUSTIN double faulted. If she had a weakness when she was the leader of the women's tour, you could say it was her serve. You couldn't say it very loud, but it wasn't the strongest part of her game. And it's still not. That may change in the weeks to come, but for now it was her downfall. KIM won the next point, giving her the BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL Championship, in a thoroughly enjoyable match, and an indication of just how entertaining the women's tour might be with these two in the mix.

In a gesture befitting her perfectly delightful character, KIM CLIJSTERS donated her winnings, $37,000 to Brisbane's Royal Children's Hospital. KIM CLIJSTERS, just one of the fascinating women to watch, on this year's tennis circuit, now playing, and coming to a tournament near you.

JUSTIN HENIN made a triumphant return to the tennis world, with her first victory in more than 18 months, winning 7-5, 7-5 over NADIA PETROVA in the first round of the Brisbane International. The tournament is a warmup for the AUSTRALIAN OPEN which begins January 18th. HENIN last won that tournament in 2004, and was granted a wildcard into the tournament this year.

HENIN announced her return to the tour in September, no doubt after watching KIM CLIJSTERS win the US OPEN in her comeback to the tour after having a daughter. In December JUSTIN told the media in a press conference in Belgium that she has her sights set even higher than her first go-round on the tour, a time which saw her win 7 grand slam titles, and inhabit the top spot in the world for 100 weeks.

"I believe I can be a better player; I believe I can use my experience more than in the past...I know myself much better and that's the most important thing. I'm 27 now. I just want to live my second career differently to how I did in the past. I feel I grew up."

If HENIN is more mature, and better, then the women's tour has got a problem. CLIJSTERS is back strong; SERENA WILLIAMS is hungry again; VENUS doesn't look ready to retire; and there is a group of girls that want their turn at the top, including CAROLINE WOZNIACKI, VICTORIA AZARENKA and AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA who finished the year 4th, 7th and 10th respectively.

Of course there is number 2 DINARA SAFINA who is scratching at the door of her first slam, and Russians SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA and ELENA DEMENTIEVA who finished 3rd and 5th respectively.

On the men's side, 2009 saw the unthinkable, the fall of the king, ROGER FEDERER, losing the year's first major to RAFAEL NADAL in a tearful display of just how hard the fall from number 1 was.
NADAL continued his run in Australia with a win in Indian Wells over NOVAK DJOKOVIC, with FEDERER left to spectate. In Miami FEDERER threw a tantrum, breaking and throwing a racket, on his rapid descent into the middle ground of the men's field.

But FEDERER would not stay down long. He suffered another defeat to NADAL in the final of the Masters in Monte Carlo before rising dramatically at the French Open. NADAL was ousted from his signature tournament by Swedish upstart ROBEIN SODERLING, taking out the world's number 1 in the 4th round. That left the door open for ROGER to win his first ever French Open, and he followed that up with perhaps the year's best match, a 5-set 16-14 win over ANDY RODDICK.

With the stage set for RODDICK to exact revenge on ROGER on his home turf in New York, JAUN MARTIN DEL POTRO stepped up to break FEDERER'S 40-match winning streak, gaining his first grand slam championship, after his startling rise to the world's stage just the year before during hard court season.

To put a fitting touch on a topsy-turvy year, NICKOLAY DAVYDENKO bested FEDERER, NADAL and DEL POTRO to win the ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS from London, leaving him 6th for the year, behind DEL POTRO, ANDY MURRAY who is poised for a breakthrough, DJOKOVIC, steady at number 3, NADAL and the king back in his throne, ROGER FEDERER.

Bring on 2010, the storylines couldn't be better.