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Murray looks to bounce back in Dubai

Britain's number 1 Andy Murray will be looking to bounce back from his disapointment in Australia and perform will in the ATP 500 event in Dubai this week.

Murray reached the final of the Australian Open for the 1st time in his career but was thrashed in straight sets by the world number 1 Roger Federer 6-3 6-4 7-6.

Murray has not played on the tour since that defeat however he will be hoping for a good showing this week in Dubai.

Murray was on course to meet Federer in the Semi Finals in Dubai but Federer pulled out on the eve of the championships with a lung infection.

The Scot reached the Quarter Finals last year but had to withdraw from his Quarter Final match with Richard Gasquet due to a virus.

World Number 2 Novak Djokovic is the defending champion in Dubai and he will be hoping to defend a title in his career for the 1st time.

Baghdtis wins 1st set against Simon

Cypriot Marcos Baghdtis has taken the 1st set on a tiebreaker against the Frenchman Giles Simon in the 1st round of the ATP 500 event in Dubai.

Baghdtis served for the set at 6-5 but was broken by Simon however he regained his composure and managed to seal the set 7-6.

Simon reached number 6 in the world in 2008, as a result he qualified for the ATP Masters Cup which was held in Shanghai and he reached the Semi Finals, earning a victory over Roger Federer along the way.

Baghdtis enjoyed the best season of his career back in 2006 when he reached the final of the Australian Open before losing to Federer in 4 sets.

The Cypriot also reached the Semi Finals at Wimbledon before losing to the World Number 2 Rafael Nadal in straight sets.

Baghdtis won the ATP title in Sydney at the start of the year but was forced to pull out in the Australian Open with an injury against the home favourite Lleyton Hewitt.

Yorkshire sign up Gibbs for Twenty20 Cup

Yorkshire have signed South Africa's star One Day batsman Herchelle Gibbs for their Twenty20 campaign this season.

Gibbs on his day can be one of the most destructive batsmen in world Cricket, in 2006 he smashed 175 in an ODI against Australia, as a result South Africa managed to chase down what was a briefly a world record total of 434.

Gibbs has played for the Deccan Chargers in the IPL and he was part of their sucessful IPL team in South Africa last season.

Gibbs was also part of the Cape Cobras team that won the South African domestic Twenty20 tournament last year, as a result Gibbs managed to compete in the Champions league at the end of last year in India.

Yorskshire will be hoping that Gibbs can give them an electric start at the top of their innings and lay a platform for their middle order.

Their ultimate aim would be to qualify for the Champions League.

Isner to play in Mexico

America's number John Isner will take part in the ATP 500 event in Acapulco Mexico, this week on Clay, Nicolas Almagro is the defending champion at the event.

Isner has been in good form so far this season, he won the 1st title of his career in Auckland at the start of the season and he backed that up by reaching the 4th round of the Australian Open before losing in straight sets to Andy Murray.

The American then reached the final of the ATP 500 event in Memphis last week before losing out to his compatriot Sam Querrey in 3 tight sets.

Isner is set to make his Davis Cup debut next week in Serbia on Clay so this tournament will no doubt help him get ready for what will no doubt be a tough assignemtn against a team which has the world number 2 Novak Djokovic in their ranks.

Almagro aims for 3 in a row in Mexico

Nicolas Almagro goes into this week's, ATP 500 tournament in Mexico aimning to win the title for the 3rd year running.

Almagro burst on the scene back in 2004 when he pushed Guillermo Coria who was back then dubbed the "king of clay" to three sets in the ATP Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo.

Almagro has also pushed  RogerFederer to 3 sets in an ATP Masters 1000 event a couple of times and he will be looking to carry that form into this week's tournament.

Almagro's best result in a Grand Slam was when he beat Andy Murray in 4 sets in the 3rd round of the French Open in 2008.

At the Australian Open this year Almagro managed to reach the 4th round before losing to the talented Frenchman Jo Wilfred Tsonga in an epic 5 set battle.

Juan Carlos Ferrero is likely to prove a strong title contender this week, Ferrero has won his last 2 events, in Brazil  and Argentina.

Gasquet to face Moya in Mexico

Frenchman Richard Gasquet will face the Former World Number 1 Carlos Moya, in the 1st round of the ATP 500 Event in Acapulco, Mexico.

Moya is a former champion in Acapulco, he won the title in 2004 when he defeated compatriot Fernando Verdasco in the championship match.

Gasquet is widely regarded as one of the most talented players on the world stage however as yet he has not been able to take his game to the next level.

The Frenchman beat Federer in the Quarter Final of the ATP Masters Series event in Monte Carlo in 2005.

Gasquet also reached the Semi Finals of Wimbledon in 2007 before losing in straight sets to the World Number 1 and eventual champion Federer.

The Frenchman did however lose to Andy Murray int he Quarter Finals at Wimbledon in 2008 having been 2 sets to love up and in a position to serve for a straight sets victory.

Collingwood made England Vice Captain

Paul Collingwood was yesterday named as England's Vice Captain for their tour of Bangladesh. Collingwood has a lot of experience leading England as a One Day Captain and he also is England's current Twenty20 skipper.

Collingwood led England to the Super 8 stages of the Twenty20 World Cup in England last summer.

Meanwhile England managed to draw a 2 match Twenty20 series with Pakistan in Dubai this weekend with Collingwood at the helm.

England's regular captain Andrew Strauss opted not to tour Bangladesh instead Strauss has chosen to take some rest before a tough 12 months of Cricket ahead.

Alastair Cook has been named as England's Captain in Strauss's absence.

England will have to play well in Bangladesh to ensure that the home side do not inflict what would be a huge upset.

England will then go to the Caribbean to competeting in the World Twenty20 tournament before hosting Pakistan and Bangladesh in a Test and One Day Series.

Fish looks to defend in Delray Beach

Mardy Fish will go into to the ATP Event in Delray Beach, Florida looking to defend the title that he sensationally won last year.

Fish was the top seed in the tournament last year and cruised through the draw.

Fish has not bene in the best singles form in recent times however, he was hammered in the 1st round of the ATP Event in Memhpis last week by the Argentine Leonardo Mayer 6-4 6-0.

The American has however been in good form in doubles in recent times, he won the ATP Event in San Jose alongside Sam Querrey.

Fish enjoyed the best year of his career in 2003, when he reached the final of the Cincinnati Masters Series event before losing an epic 3 set match to Andy Roddick.

Fish also reached the final of the Olympic singles in 2004 before losing out in 5 sets to Nicolas Massu of Chilie.

Simon to take on Baghdtis in Dubai

Frenchman Gilles Simon will take on Cypriot Marcos Baghdtis in the 1st round of the ATP 500 event in Dubai.

Simon enjoyed his best season in 2008 when he enjoyed victories over the world's best 3 players, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Simon indeed managed to beat Federer twice in 2008, in the ATP Masters 1000 event in Toronto and at the ATP Masters Cup at the O2 Arena in London.

Baghdtis on the other hand enjoyed the best year of his career back in 2006 when he reached the final of the Australian Open before losing to Federer in 4 sets.

The Cypriot then reached the Wimbledon Semi Finals for the 1st time in his career, before falling short against the World Number 2 Rafael Nadal in the Semi Finals in straight sets.

5 out of the world's top 10 are competeting in Dubai this week in what is without doubt the toughest ATP 500 to win.

Ferrero makes its 10 in a row in Buenos Aires

Former World Number 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero took his winning streak to 10 by beating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in the final of the ATP Event in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Ferrer who went into the match with a 5-1 record against Ferrero managed to edge a very tight 1st set 7-5 to take a 1 set to love lead in the contest.

Ferrero however picked up his game and started to play with the flair and guile that he was known for back in 2003 when he won the French Open, Ferrero was rewarded by winning the 2nd set 6-3 to level the match at 1 set all.

One break in the 3rd set was then enough to hand Ferrero the match and the title with a 5-7 6-3 6-4 victory.

It is Ferrero's 2nd title in as many weeks after he managed to win the ATP Event in Brazil last week.

Djokovic the defending champion in Dubai

World Number 2 Novak Djokovic will go into the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai desperate to defend his title and win his 1st tournament of 2010.

The Serb is now the highest ranked player in the tournament after world number 1 Roger Federer withdrew with a lung infection.

Djokovic reached the Quarter Finals at the Australian Open last month before losing out in 5 sets to the talented Frenchman Jo Wilfred Tsonga.

Djokovic won the Australian Open back in 2008 where he ironically beat Tsonga in 4 sets, to date that is the Serb's only Grand Slam triumph.

The Serb also won a Masters Series event last year, in Paris defeating home favourite Gael Monflis in an epic 3 set final.

In addition to that Djokovic also finished runner up in 4 Masters events last year, in Miami to Andy Murray, in Monte Carlo and Rome both to Rafael Nadal and in Cincinnati to Roger Federer.

Federer ruled out of Dubai

World Number 1 Roger Federer has been ruled out of the ATP 500 event in Dubai with a lung effection, the news will be a great dissapointment to fans around the world who would have been looking forward to the possibility of a Federer v Andy Murray Semi Final, which would have been a repeat of the Australian Open final from 2 weeks ago which Federer won in straight sets.

Federer's victory in Melbourne a fortnight ago was the 16th Grand Slam title of

his illustrious career.

The Swiss maestro will hope to be fit for the US Masters 1000 events which take place in Indian Wells, California and Miami.

Federer is a former champion at both Indian Wells and Miami but he has not won at either venue since 2006.

World Number 3 Rafael Nadal hopes to make his comeback at Indian Wells, Nadal is the defending champion at the prestigious event.

Querrey battles back to beat Isner and win title

America's Sam Querrey was 2 points from defeat before battling back to win the ATP 500 title in Memhpis against compatriot and good friend  John Isner.

Both men held serve with ease in the 1st set, and the set had to be decided on a tiebreaker, Isner managed to play some very attacking tennis and he was rewarded as he won the set 7-6.

The second set followed a very similar pattern and once again it had to be decided on a tiebreaker, at 5-2 up in the shoot out, Isner appeared to be on course to win his 2nd title of the year, but Querrey won the next five points to win the tiebreaker and level the match at one set all.

Querrey then took his game up another level against a clearly deflated Isner, and the Californian broke Isner twice in the 3rd set to win it 6-3 and take the title, with a 6-7 7-6 6-3 victory, it is the 3rd ATP title of Querrey's career.

Isner and Querrey will later team up in the doubles final.

Isner to face Gulbis in Memphis final

World number 25 John Isner will face fellow American Sam Querrey in the final of the ATP 500 event in Memphis in a few hours time.

Isner has been one of the form players on the tour this year having won the title in Auckland, the 1st ATP title of his career and then reaching the 4th round of the Australian Open before losing to the British Number 1 Andy Murray.

Querrey himself has been in good form having beaten Andy Roddick for the 2nd time in his career, and following that up with a straight sets victory over the talented Latvian Ernest Gulbis in the Semi Finals.

Roddick and James Blake have made themselves unavailable fot the USA'S Davis Cup campaign this year and as a result it will be Querrey and Isner who lead, America's charge.

Ironically Querrey and Isner have teamed up to reach the doubles final in Memphis and that will take place shortly after their singles encounter.

India hold on to edge out South Africa

India held on to seal an epic 1 run victory against South Africa in the 1st of 3 ODIS in Jaipur. South Africa's stand in captain Jacques Kallis won the toss and elected to field 1st and despite a superb start with the bat the hosts, India, kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

Kallis himself managed to pick up 3 wickets with his medium pace.

Suresh Raina however scored a brilliant half century which enabled India to post a very handy total of 298 from their 50 overs.

India appeared to be well on top as they removed Bootsman and Herchelle Gibbs early on in South Africa's reply.

Jacques Kallis did make a defiant 89 but once he was dismissed India appeared to be in control again, however a flurry of 6's from tailenders Dale Steyn and Wayne Parnell took the tourists to the brink of an upset before they lost by 1 run.

Nadal hammers Federer to win French Open, 2008

World Number 2 crushed Roger Federer to win his 4th French Open title in as many years in 2008, Nadal went into the event as a strong faovurite having won the Masters titles in Monte Carlo and Hamburg, beating Federer in both events in the final.

Nadal broke Federer 3 times up front and went on to seal the 1st set 6-1 and at this stage the Spaniard appeared to be in total control of the match.

The 2nd set was marginally tighter but Nadal still came through winning it 6-3.

The 3rd set proved to be something of a procession as Nadal came through and won it 6-1 6-3 6-0 to win his 4th French Open title in 4 years and to maintain his unbeaten record at Roland Garros.

Nadal went on to win at Wimbledon for the 1st time in his career 3 weeks later where once again he managed to beat Federer in the title match.

Razzaq guides Pakistan to victory

Star Pakistani all rounder hit a breath taking 46 not out form just 18 balls to help his team defeat England in the 2nd Twenty20 International in Dubai.

Pakistan who are the reigning Twenty20 World Champions won the toss and elected to field first, however a superb innings of 62 from 40 balls helped England post a competetive total of 149 from their 20 overs.

Pakistan appeared to be in trouble when their star batsman Shahid Afridi was caught on the boundary and they slumped to 78-5.

However Razzaq then came in and smashed 5 sixes as Pakistan clawed their way back into the contest and then managed to win the match with an over to spare.

Pakistan won the Twenty20 World Cup in England last year when they defeated Sri Lanka in the final at Lord's

This year's Twenty20 world cup tournament will be in the Caribbean in May, England are in the same group as Ireland and hosts the West Indies.

Isner comes through against Karlovic

America's John Isner continued his good form this season with a victory over Croatia's Ivo Karlovic in the Quarter Finals of the ATP Event in Memhpis.

Isner won the 1st title of his career, in Auckland earlier this year and he backed that up by reaching the 4th round at the Australian Open where he lost to the British Number 1 Andy Murray.

Isner played some sparkling tennis in the 1st set and was able to attack Karlovic's 2nd serve at will the American was rewarded as he won the 1st set, 6-1.

The 2nd set went with serve with neither player getting much of a chance to break before Isner eventually sealed the set on the tiebreaker to win the match 6-1 7-6.

Karlovic at 6ft 10 and Isner at 6ft 9 are the 2 tallest players on the ATP tour.

Defending champions Andy Roddick suffered a shock 3 set loss to fellow American Sam Querrey.

Querrey holds on to beat Roddick

Sam Querrey produced a superb display of attacking tennis to stun his fellow American Andy Roddick in the Quarter Finals of the ATP 500 Event in Memphis.

Roddick who came into the event as defending champion, knew that it would be a hard fought match against Querrey, Querrey had beaten Roddick in the Cincinnati Masters last year, while Roddick got his revenge last week in San Jose, beatin Querrey 2-6 7-6 7-6 in the last 8.

There was nothing to chose between the two men in the 1st set before Querrey broke Roddick in the 11th game of the match and he held on to win the 1st set 7-5.

Roddick however battled back to win the 2nd set 6-3 and level the match at one set all. Querrey however raised his game in the final set hitting winners at will especially off his forehand wing as he managed to win the final set 6-1.

Nadal rallies to beat Federer

World Number 1 Rafael Nadal went into the 2008 Australian Open looking for the 1st hard court major title of his career, the Spaniard however held the French Open Open and Wimbledon titles.

Nadal was severly tested in the Semi Finals in Melbourne by compatriot Fernando Verdaso before eventually coming through a match which lasted nearly 5 hours, 6-4 in the 5th set.

In the final Nadal was to face arch rival the World Number 2 Roger Federer, Nadal came through a very tense 1st set winning it 7-5.

Federer to his credit hit back in dramatic style winning the 2nd set 6-3 to level the match at one set all. The 3rd set had to be decided on a tiebreaker, which Nadal managed to win to take a 2 sets to love lead.

Federer once again managed to draw level however by winning the 4th set 6-3. Nadal however held his nerve and stormed through the 5th set 6-2 to win his 1st Australian Open title.

Sharapova hammers Baltacha

Former World Number 1 Maria Sharapova has hammered Britain's Elena Baltacha to reach the Semi Finals of the WTA event in Memphis.

Baltacha has been in good form recently, she reached the 3rd round at the Australian Open last month before losing out to the number 2 seed Dinara Safina.

Sharapova broke Baltacha a couple of times early on in the match as she cruised through the 1st set 6-2. Sharapova then went a break up in the 3rd set but Baltacha broke her when she was serving for the match, Sharapova held her nerve however and took the set 7-5 to claim a 6-2 7-5 victory.

Shrapova burst on the scence back in 2004 when she beat Serena Williams in the Wimbledon final as a 17 year old back in 2004.

The Russian has since won 2 further Grand Slam titles, at the US Open in 2006 and at the Australian Open in 2008.

Pakistan win the toss and bat 1st

Pakistan have won the toss and decided to bat 1st in the 1st Twenty20 International against England in Dubai.

Pakistan stunned the Cricket world last year when they broke through and won the World Twenty20 tournament when it was held in England in the finals they beat Sri Lanka at Lord's.

Ironically England managed to beat Pakistan in their opening group game at the Oval but the hosts faield to reach the Semi Finals after a defeat to the West Indies in the Super 8's.

The previous Twenty20 World Cup was held in South Africa and Pakistan also reached the final of the event but lost in the championship match to their arch rivals India.

England also failed to make it out of the group stages in 2007.

These two teams will play one more game tomorrow in what is a highly anticipated 2 match series in Dubai.

The Twenty20 World Cup is in the Caribbean in May.

Roddick to face Querrey in Memphis last 8

America's number 1 Andy Roddick will take on compatriot Sam Querrey in the Quarter Finals in the ATP Event in Memphis later today.

Roddick is the defending champion in Memphis and he will be looking to go deep in the tournament once again this year but he is likely to be sternly tested by the young Californian.

Querrey beat Roddick in the 3rd round of the Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati last year 7-6 7-6.

Roddick however won their last match in the last 8 in San Jose last week, 2-6 7-6 7-6. Roddick went on to reach the final in San Jose before being beaten in 3 sets by the Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.

Roddick also won his 1st tournament of the year in Brisbane in January when he defeated Radek Stepanek 7-6 7-6.

However the American was beaten in the last 8 of the Australian Open by Marin Cilic of Croatia in 5 sets.

Battle of the giants coming up in Memphis

John Isner will take on Ivo Karlovic in Memphis, in a match between two of the tallest players on the ATP Tour.

Isner sealed his place in the Quarter Finals after he earned a hard fought 3 set victory over Jarko Niemenen of Finland, while Karlovic eased past Belgium's Xavier Malisse 6-4 6-4.

Isner who is 6ft 9 has been in good form this season, having won the 1st title of his career in Auckland he then reached the 4th round of the Australian Open before losing out to Andy Murray in straight sets.

Karlovic also reached the 3rd round in Melbourne but was beaten in 4 sets by Rafael Nadal.

Both men have had some superb results in Grand Slams, Karlovic beat Lleyton in the 1st round at Wimbledon in 2003 when the Australian was the defending champion while Isner beat America's number 1 Andy Roddick in the 3rd round at last year's US Open.

Henman pulls off Roddick upset, Paris 2003

British Number 1 Tim Henman want into his Semi Final match at the ATP Masters series event in Paris with a lot of confidence having just beaten former World Number 1 GUstavo Kuerten and Wimbledon Champion Roger Federer.

In the last 4 Henman would face the talented American Andy Roddick, Roddick himself was full of confidence having just won the 1st Grand Slam title of his career at the US Open.

On the way to winning that title in Flushing Meadows Roddick managed to beat him in the 1st round in straight sets, 6-3 7-6 6-3.

There was nothing to chose between the 2 men in the 1st set before Henman managed to edge it on a tiebreaker.

Henman then went a break up in the 2nd only for Roddick to hir right back and the 2nd set also had to be decided in a tiebreaker, Henman won it again and sealed a 7-6 7-6 victory over the American.

Henman went on to win the title when he beat Andrei Pavel in the final.