The Orange Bowl

by Savannah

I've been one of the people whining about the state of American tennis so I feel it my duty to report when American juniors do well at a major junior tennis tournament.

The Orange Bowl followed hard on the heels of the Eddie Herr tournament and saw many of the players who won there fall. Yuki Bhambri of India prevented an American sweep of the finals. Maybe things aren't as bad as I thought and in a couple of years these young men and women will be moving up the pro ranks.

For complete coverage please visit Zoo Tennis Colette Lewis site for everything junior in tennis.


Julia Boserup


Yuki Bhambri


Asia Muhammad and Laura Embree


Devin Britton and Jarmere Jenkins

Exhibitions and Wild Card Playoffs

• The Australian Open Wild Card Playoff has begun. A few things to note about it. It's free. F-R-E-E. 
  

It is also a true tournament. It has a round robin format and draws from the junior and professional ranks. So far the highly touted juniors Jessica Moore and Bernard Tomic have been shown the door. Moore may have a wild card into the main draw. Tomic was defeated by a twenty four year old who plays mostly Futures. After his father showed his ass a week or so ago Tennis Australia is still debating what if anything should be done, especially since the elder Tomic issued an apology.

The United States Australian Open Wild Card playoff features four men. Just sayin'.

Exhibitions 

• Juan Monaco won the Copa Argentina over Gaston Gaudio. Gaudio played pretty good tennis on his way to the final overcoming Feliciano Lopez, one of Spain's Davis Cup heroes. He is said to be looking at a comeback in 2009.
  

• Florian Mayer won the German Masters event. 
  

• A much anticipated showcase match between Marat Safin and Novak Djokovic at St Anton did not take place. Marat withdrew with a ligament injury. Janko Tipsarevic played in his place and won. Philipp Kohlschreiber won the mens final. Patricia Mayr won the women's event.
  

• The Paris Masters event starts this Thursday December 18. Tsonga has withdrawn but the field is still pretty strong. It features a round robin format.
  

Davis Cup and Fed Cup 2009

Tickets are on sale for the Fed Cup tie between the United States and Argentina as of December 15. The tie will be held in Surprise, Arizona at the club run by John Austin, brother of Tracey.

Spain will play it's tie against Serbia in the Valencian city of Benidorm. It's a resort town featuring nice beaches and is of course at sea level. No news yet on where the Davis Cup tie between the United States and Switzerland will take place. If Andy Roddick has any say it'll be in Texas, probably in San Antonio.