First off, I would like to wish you all an Happy New Year! I wish you all the best for 2011.

And now, a few tennis news:

After Dementieva, Moya, Hrbaty and Dent, Nicolas Kiefer announced his retirement.
A gifted player, Kiefer -like Haas- was expected to be the next Boris Becker, and even though he reached the semifinals at the 2006 Australian Open and the top 4 ranking in 2000, he never was a major threat. Turned pro in 1995, he captured 6 singles titles, the last one ten years ago in Hong Kong, beating Mark Philippoussis in final.
He played for Germany in the Davis Cup and teamed with Rainer Schuettler for a doubles silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics (lost to Gonzalez/Massu).
Honestly, I won’t miss this player but I wish him good luck for his new life.

Speaking of Dementieva, she was named Vice-President of the Russian Tennis Federation, after retiring from playing two months ago.

Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer in the final of the Abu Dhabi exhibition, and Kim Clijsters beat Caroline Wozniacki in Hua Hin, Thailand.
Well, I must say that I don’t get why players can’t stop complaining about the length of the season, and then keep playing those stupid exhibitions. Would it not be better to rest a bit or spend some time with the family?
That being said, here’s a nice pic of Kim Clijsters and Caroline Wozniacki .

Maria Sharapova is featured in a new Nike shoe commercial for their Nike Free technology. Other athletes in the video: Allyson Felix, Joey Duck and Leah Kim.

Tournaments to follow this week:
- the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, Aircel Chennai Open in Chennai, Brisbane International (ATP)
- the Brisbane International and ASB Classic in Hobart (WTA)
You can find the complete 2011 calendar here.

And to begin this new year in style, Tennis Buzz will feature Tennis Buzz Marathon. From Monday til Friday, I will watch and comment a match from the past:
- on Monday: Graf-Hingis, Roland Garros, 1999
- on Tuesday: Laver-Newcombe, Wimbledon, 1969
- on Wednesday: Borg-Nastase, Wimbledon, 1976
- on Thursday: Nadal-Gonzalez, Olympic Games, 2008
- on Friday: Edberg-Courier, US Open, 1991

Finally, just for the pleasure, an old Panasonic commercial with the one and only Stefan Edberg:

Have a good tennis week on Tennis Buzz!

From now on, a new series of posts: Tennis Buzz, the week in review, with all the latest tennis news and a preview of next week action.

This week’s biggest news was of course Elena Dementieva‘s retirement.
She announced her retirement following a 6-4, 6-2 loss to French Open champion Francesca Schiavone at the WTA Championships in Doha.
The 29-year-old Russian reached two Grand Slam finals, won the singles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 16 WTA singles titles.

An offensive baseline player with powerful groundstrokes, she was able to play well on any surface. Her biggest weaknesses were her serve and her inability to win big matches. She will now and forever be a candidate for the title of Best Player Never to Win a Major.
She will be truly missed for her class, her work ethic and also her smile. Thanks Elena and all the best for the future.
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- Upset of the day: Stanislas Wawrinka defeats Andy Murray
Wawrinka pulled out the biggest upset of this year’s US Open so far: he bounced 2008 US Open runner-up in 4 sets. Murray still can’t win when it really counts.

- Match of the day: Sam Stosur defeats Elena Dementieva
Without a doubt one of the best matches of the tournament so far. They battled until 1:37 am, they both had match points, but in the end, the Australian prevailed 6-3 2-6 7-6.

- Quote of the day: Tracy Austin about Sam Stosur and Elena Dementieva:

I think they’re hitting harder than the the guys in the first match.

- US player of the day: Venus Williams
Venus beat 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 and qualified for her 10th US Open quarterfinal (in 12 trips to Flushing Meadows). Her next opponent: 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone.

- Stat of the day: 1
There will be at least one spanish player in semifinals as only Spaniards remain in the top quarter of the men’s singles draw: Rafael Nadal, Feliciano Lopez, David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco. Tommy Robredo and Albert Montanes also qualified for fourth round.

- Pic of the day: Kim Clijsters
Just impressive: Kim won her 18th straight match at the US Open Sunday, defeating Ana Ivanovic, 6-2, 6-1, to advance to the quarterfinals. Ivanovic never looked like a former number one and was completely outplayed.

- Matches to follow on day 8
Fish vs Djokovic
Wozniacki vs Sharapova

- Kim Clijsters, Venus Williams, Sam Stosur and Elena Dementieva storm into fourth round.

- On the men’s side, Gilles Simon beat 29th seed Kohlschreiber in 5 sets and will meet world number one Rafael Nadal in the third round. Andy Murray, John Isner, Sam Querrey and David Nalbandian also advanced to round 3.

- US player of the day: Ryan Harrison
He wasted 3 match points in the the fifth of his second round match against Stakhovsky, but for many experts, Harrison is hope for future of U.S. tennis.

- Stat of the day: 9
For those who still think that Spanish players are only clay court specialists, 9 men players from Spain qualified for the third round: Nadal, Lopez, Ferrer, Gimeno-Traver, Verdasco, Almagro, Robredo, Montanes, Ferrero.

- Player of the day: Venus Williams
With her 6-2 6-1 win over Mandy Minella, Venus reached the fourth round for the 12th time in 12 trips to Flushing Meadows. She won the tournament in 2000 and 2001 and was the runner-up in 1997 and 2002.

- Matches to follow on day 6:
Paul-Henri Mathieu(FRA) vs. Roger Federer(SUI)[2]
James Blake(USA) vs. Novak Djokovic(SRB)[3]
Svetlana Kuznetsova(RUS)[11] vs. Maria Kirilenko(RUS)[23]

Only one semi-surprise today: Tomas Berdych’ victory over 4th seed Andy Murray.

- Schiavone, Wozniacki, Dementieva and Petrova are through to quarters. Henin finished off her match against Sharapova, she will meet Sam Stosur in round 4.

- Federer, Soderling, Berdych defeated their opponent in straight sets. It was even more easier for Youzhny: Tsonga retired after the loss of the first set due to injury.

More on today’s matches.

Quote of the day: Maria Sharapova “I gave the French fans what they wanted, a Justine win. Merry Christmas!”

Tomorrow’s matches:
Serena Williams (1) – Shahar Peer ISR (18)
Justine Henin (22) – Samantha Stosur (7)
Jelena Jankovic (4) – Daniela Hantuchova (23)
Jarmila Groth – Yaroslava Shvedova
Teimuraz Gabashvili – Jurgen Melzer (22)
Robby Ginepri – Novak Djokovic (3)
Fernando Verdasco (7) - Nicolas Almagro (19)
Thomaz Bellucci (24) – Rafael Nadal ESP (2)

Join us tomorrow on Tennis Buzz for our French Open live coverage.

Elena Dementieva is the first to qualify for the quarterfinals after her victory over qualifier Chanelle Scheepers 6-1 6-3. Her next opponent: the winner of the match Nadia Petrova-Venus Williams.
Other player qualified for the quarterfinals: Francesca Schiavone, winner over Maria Kirilenko 6-4 6-4.

14.45: break for Venus in the second set 2-0. First set: 6-4 Petrova

14.48: big battle on the Suzannne Lenglen court between Caroline Wozniacki and Flavia Pennetta 7-6 1-0 for the Dane.

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