Nadal's Return in Question

Just when it started to look like Rafael Nadal was going to come off his knee injury and play in Montreal, there is still high concern for his health. In an interview that was posted on his website, Nadal said he would like to play but it all depends on his health and how his knees hold up.

In other injury news, Andy Roddick is expected to come back from his hip injury on Tuesday when he plays in the Legg Mason Classic in Washington DC. Roddick hurt his hip in the Wimbledon final against Roger Federer and was forced to pull out of the Davis Cup quarterfinal as well as the Indianapolis Championships.

The week leading up to the Rogers Masters is expected to be filled with excitement. The hopeful return of Rafael Nadal, the return of Andy Roddick, and the return of Roger Federer coming off his record setting 15th career grand slam. With the birth of his twin daughters, Federer is still expected to play in Montreal.

Ginepri Wins All-American Final in Indy

Robby Ginperi defeated fellow American, Sam Querry in the finals of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships by a score of 6-2 6-4. It was the second time Ginepri won the tournament as the victory gives him the early lead in the US Open Series. Ginepri has struggled in the past year or so and played poorly in his first round loss to Lleyton Hewitt in Wimbledon. However, on his best surface, Ginepri played solid tennis throughout the week.

Federer A Father of Twins

Last night in Switzerland, Roger Federer's wife, Mirka, gave birth to twin girls. Federer posted on his website about the 'exciting' news. “We named them Myla Rose and Charlene Riva and they are both healthy and along with their mother they are doing great. This is the best day of our lives.”

Already, people are talking about the two girls potentially dominating women's tennis in another 20 years or so. Andy Roddick posted on his twitter page, "wimbledon womens champs in 2029-2040 .... the federer girls. congrats to the new parents!"

Looking ahead, Federer is scheduled to play in the Rogers Masters in Montreal which starts on August 10.

Nadal Practices in Mallorca

Rafael Nadal practiced for the first time in weeks in his hometown of Mallorca. Nadal hit with his uncle and coach Toni Nadal and expressed his optimism for the Rogers Masters. Nadal emphasized, however, that it was a light hit and that he did not put too much pressure on his ailing knees.

This is a small, but important step for Nadal in getting back to top form for the upcoming US Open Series.

In other news, Andy Roddick pulled out of the RCA Championships in Indianapolis because of his hip injury that he suffered in the Wimbledon final. Roddick is expected to take a couple weeks off and come back to play in the Legg Mason Classic in Washington DC.

picture courtesy of zimbio.com

Nadal Plans Return in Montreal

Rafael Nadal is aiming to return from his slow healing knee injury on August 10 when the Rogers Masters in Montreal starts. His publicist said that Nadal is slowly recovering from his knee injury but is expected to start practicing. The last time Nadal played a match, he lost to Robin Soderling in the 4th round of the French Open. During his time away from tennis, Nadal has lost his number 1 ranking to Roger Federer.

Nadal is expected to come back in about another month and we can only hope that he will return back to his normal self. Because quite frankly, the game is tennis is much more exciting when Rafael Nadal is playing. As exciting as Wimbledon was, everyone missed Nadal.

Davis Cup News

Croatia 3 United States 2: Marin Cilic clinched a spot in the semifinals for Croatia with a four set win over James Blake. On Saturday, the Bryan brothers kept the team alive with a straight set victory in doubles but the U.S. team was not able to come back from the 2-0 hole.

Czech Republic 3 Argentina 2: Radek Stepanek defeated Juan Monaco in the deciding match with a straight set victory. Tomas Berdych had a chance to put the Argentines away but Juan Martin del Potro defeated him to take it into the last singles match.

Israel 4 Russia 1: The biggest upset came when Israel took a 2-0 lead on the first day of singles play. The Israelis wasted no time in putting the Russians away when they won their third match on Saturday with a doubles victory. Jon Erlich and Andy Ram defeated Igor Kunitsyn and Marat Safin in five sets. On Sunday, the two countries split the reverse singles matches.

Spain 3 Germany 2: This tie also came down to the rubber match in which Juan Carlos Ferrero defeated Andreas Beck in straight sets. After taking a 2-1 lead after the doubles match, Fernando Verdasco had a chance to clinch it for Spain. However, Philip Kohlschreiber defeated Verdasco 8-6 in the fifth set.

U.S. Davis Cup Team in Early Hole

The US Davis Cup team is in a 2-0 hole against Croatia as James Blake and Mardy Fish lost five set matches. A depleted US team without their number 1 singles player, Andy Roddick will have to find a way to win the last three matches of the weekend if they want to advance to the semifinals.

The Bryan brothers are expected to win tomorrow in their doubles match but winning both matches in the reverse singles on Sunday will be a tough task for the Americans. The absence of Andy Roddick is really effecting the team. With him, things would be a lot different but if they want a chance to repeat their Davis Cup title, Fish and Blake will both have to find a way to get past Karlovic and Cilic in the reverse singles on Sunday.

picture courtesy of cnnsi.com

Mathieu Montcourt Found Dead

French tennis player, Mathieu Montcourt was found dead on Tuesday at the young age of 24. The cause of death is unknown but initial reports lead to a pulminary embolism. An autopsy will be performed to confirm the cause of death. Rafael Nadal expressed shock and disbelief on his personal website and fellow Frenchmen, Sebastian Grojean and Frabice Santoro expressed their feelings.

Justin Gimelstob said, "The tennis community is a tight group and to lose one of our players at such a young age is really difficult for everyone."

Rest in Peace Mathieu Montcourt.

Picture of the Week

Roger Federer poses with Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, and Rod Laver with his Wimbledon trophy. By winning his 15th career grand slam, Federer is considered by many to have surpassed these legends as the greatest player of all time.

picture courtesy of wimbledon.org

Ailing Roddick Pulls out of Davis Cup

After his devastating loss to Roger Federer yesterday in the Wimbledon final, Andy Roddick announced that he will not play in the Davis Cup Quarterfinal against Croatia citing a hip injury. His replacement will be Mardy Fish who is currently ranked number 23 in the world. In the match yesterday, Roddick took a tumble late in the fourth set. He took his time getting up and grimaced as he walked around the baseline but looked pretty good playing the rest of the match. Also, when asked if he got hurt, he said he was fine. However, with the length of the match and the emotional toll it took on both Federer and Roddick, pulling out of the Davis Cup tie was probably the best decision for Roddick. Being on the losing end of that type of match will take some time to get over and to play a match in four days is almost impossible.

Now, with some time off before the start of the summer hard court season, Roddick will be able to mentally and physically prepare to make a run for his second US Open title.