Djokovic beats Monfils in Abu Dhabi exhibition

Djokovic will face Roger Federer in the semifinals on Friday, and Rafael Nadal will meet fellow Spaniard David Ferrer.

Ferrer earlier beat Jo Wilfried Tsonga of France 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the six-man field of the $250,000 winner-takes-all exhibition.

Djokovic said he’s not in top form and probably needs another week or two to be match ready. But he said he doesn’t plan to play any other warm-up tournaments ahead of the Australian Open, which run Jan. 16-29.

“I was working on some things throughout the match. I was trying to find a good rhythm and I think I was playing really well for this stage,” Djokovic said. “I am saying that as I am not yet 100 percent ready to perform at this level.”

Djokovic said he looked forward with his match with Federer, who received a bye to reach the semifinals.

“It is always a challenge to play Federer whether it is a tournament or exhibition,” he said. “He will always make you play well.”

Nadal plans to rest shoulder injury in February

Nadal will play the winner of a match between Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and David Ferrer in the semifinals on Friday.

He is hopeful his shoulder will hold up in Abu Dhabi where he will attempt to win the tournament for the third year in a row and in Doha, where he plans to play at the Qatar Open next week. After competing at the Australian Open beginning Jan. 16, the 25-year-old Spaniard said he would take February off to rest and practice.

While praising the dominance of No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic, who won three Grand Slams, Nadal blamed himself for allowing his play to become “too predictable” at times. But he insisted he wasn’t going to overhaul his game despite losing to Djokovic in six finals.

Nadal won the French Open, rallied Spain to victory in the Davis Cup final and finished 69-15 this season. He lost to Djokovic in the finals of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

“This is not the time to change many things. This is the time to keep playing well, to keep improving my tennis,” Nadal said. “I will just try and be competitive in all the tournaments. I was competitive in all the tournaments and was in three Grand Slam finals.”

Men's Player of the Year: Novak Djokovic

Talk about no-brainers. Let’s start with the numbers, because in this case they don’t lie: three Grand Slams, a record five Masters titles, a 41-match win streak to begin the year, a 70-6 overall record, and most impressive of all, a 10-1 mark against Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Oh, and two of those wins over Nadal were in Masters finals, on clay, in straight sets. That was something no one saw coming.

Djokovic won on all surfaces and in all ways. He won by playing percentage tennis, by making, as his most famous tormentee, Nadal, said, “one more ball.” He won by making defense as dazzling as the most high-flying offense. In fact, with his skidding backhand gets in the corners, he made defense itself seem high-flying. But he also won by taking risks, the most famous of which kept him in a U.S. Open semifinal that he eventually won. He played what he called the best grass-court match of his life, in the final at Wimbledon. But he also won when he was exhausted and didn’t have to win, in his classic semifinal with Andy Murray in Rome.

A player for all seasons and tournaments, Djokovic tamed the frustration that used to get to him, and made himself the tour’s most consistent player, from shot to shot, match to match, and tournament to tournament. Wins led to more wins, as they do for most players, but that’s not all it was for Djokovic in 2011. In the semifinals of the French Open, he took what may have been the toughest loss of his career, to Federer—“It hurts so bad to lose,” Djokovic said afterward. What did he do then? He went to Wimbledon two weeks later, and won again.

James Blake out of Australian Open

Tournament director Craig Tiley says James Blake has withdrawn from next month’s Australian Open, the first grand slam of 2012.

Tiley announced the 59th-ranked American’s withdrawal in a Twitter post on Wednesday but provided no explanation.

He said “just got word that James Blake has withdrawn from the AO and Brisbane. Sorry to hear this and we wish James all the best.”

Earlier, the Courier Mail newspaper reported Blake had pulled out of the Brisbane International tournament, which starts Monday, for “personal reasons.”

The Australian Open begins Jan. 16.

Spain captain Corretja hopeful on Nadal for Davis

New Spain captain Alex Corretja is hopeful that Rafael Nadal will be available to the Davis Cup champions despite the second-ranked Spaniard announcing he won’t compete in the event in 2012.

Corretja said Wednesday that neither Nadal nor David Ferrer have told him personally they will be unavailable for the five-time winners, so the newly appointed captain plans to speak to the pair at the Australian Open to see if they could play certain matchups.

“My obligation as captain is to speak to all of the players and the coaches. Not one player has personally told me that they will not play,” Corretja said from Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium. “If some players say they need time to rest, I can only respect that and try to put together the best team possible for each series.”

Nadal and fifth-ranked Ferrer indicated after beating Argentina in the final earlier this month that they would be unavailable with 2012 being an Olympic year, which has compressed the calendar. Doubles players Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco also said they may not be ready to step in so regularly, either.

Led by Nadal, the four players have been regulars in Spain’s squad and helped it win three titles in the last four years.

Corretja signed a two-year deal on Tuesday to replace Albert Costa, who led Spain to a second title in three years in charge earlier this month. Corretja’s first tie will be against Kazakhstan on home clay in Ovideo from Feb. 10-12.

Tenth-ranked Nicolas Almagro and Marcel Granollers are expected to step in to lead the team after playing supporting roles over recent seasons.

“The team will depend on how the players look and how motivated they are,” Corretja said. “What I want to see is a lot of desire, that every player wants to be part of this team and be motivated about being part of the best generation in the history of Spanish tennis.”

Corretja helped Spain to its first Davis Cup title in 2000 as a player, and the country has gone on to dominate the competition after also winning in 2004.

The 37-year-old Corretja was ranked as high as No. 2 as a player and reached the final at Roland Garros in 1998 and 2001. He worked as a part-time coaching consultant for fourth-ranked Andy Murray until March.

“This is a wonderful moment for me personally and professionally,” Corretja said. “And I want to bring all of my experience from Spanish tennis, from what I lived as a player and afterward when I worked as a TV commentator and coach to Andy Murray, an experience from which I learned a lot and helped me take this decision.”

Sanchez-Vicario selected Spain Fed Cup captain

Former No. 1 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario has been selected captain of Spain’s Fed Cup team.

Sanchez-Vicario agreed a two-year deal. Her first match will be against Russia in the first round of the World Group on Feb. 4-5.

Sanchez-Vicario won a U.S. Open title and three French Open trophies during her career. She guided Spain to all five of its Fed Cup triumphs during the 1990s.

The 40-year-old holds Spanish records for overall wins (72), singles wins (50) and—partnering Conchita Martinez—doubles victories (18) in a Fed Cup career that spanned 16 years until 2002.

Sanchez-Vicario’s appointment comes a day after the Spanish tennis federation selected Alex Corretja as captain for the Davis Cup team.

NADAL, LOOK BACK 2011

Best of 2011

It’s pretty simple for Nadal. Whatever the winds of fate blow his way and whatever anyone else does, there will always be Roland Garros. Nadal won it for the sixth time this year.

Worst of 2011

With an ever-growing amount of ground to make up on Novak Djokovic, Nadal traveled to North America for the summer hard-court season—and promptly lost to Ivan Dodig. His only consolation was that the final two sets both were crap-shoot tiebreakers.

The Last Word

There’s nothing wrong with Nadal that a slight drop in Djokovic’s level of play could not cure. Rafa took a serious psychological beating this year (and he’d be the first to tell you that), so the real question for 2012 is how he’ll respond. This year, he expressed an eyebrow-raising degree of disillusion and, basically, professional fatigue. They may be as big an enemy for him as Djokovic is, although this time around the pressure will all be on the new No. 1.

CAN ROGER REACH NO. 1 AGAIN?

Roger Federer came oh-so-close to matching Pete Sampras’ record of 286 weeks at No. 1, ultimately coming up one win and one week short with his loss to Robin Soderling in the 2010 Roland Garros quarter-finals. Rafael Nadal went on to strip the Swiss of the top spot, and Novak Djokovic prevented Federer’s return to No. 1 in 2011.

Will 2012 be Federer’s year to return to No. 1 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings and finally overtake Sampras?

Though he starts an ATP World Tour season outside the Top 2 for the first time since 2003, Federer finished 2011 as the in-form player.  Following the US Open, he won 17 straight matches with titles at Basel, Paris and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals to collect 3,000 rankings points and move ahead of Andy Murray to No. 3 in the year-end rankings.

Entering 2012, he trails No. 1 Djokovic by 5,460 rankings points, No. 2 Nadal by 1,425 and holds a slim 780-point lead over No. 4 Murray. But of the players in the Top 4, Federer stands to gain the most ground through the conclusion of the US Open. Djokovic has 13,070 rankings points to defend, including three Grand Slam titles and five ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles, while Nadal has 8,985 and Murray 5,450. Federer, who managed to win just one title in Doha until the final month of the season, has 5,170 points to defend.

“Well, that’s a long way to go, but who knows? One day maybe I’ll get there,” Federer told The New York Times earlier this month. “I had to just kind of ignore it at the moment because I know that Novak with his unbelievable year has kind of put that very far from me, but then again, all of a sudden you play well and you win 17 matches in a row and you’re back where you at least feel if you win a Slam or something, you’re right in the conversation again, so that’s interesting and that excites me.”

Federer will be attempting to become just the fifth player aged 30 and over to hold down the ATP’s top ranking. John Newcombe, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl were 30 during their last reign at No. 1, while Andre Agassi was 33 during his final stint for 14 weeks in 2003.

Agassi had endured a 137-week wait to get back to No. 1, after being overtaken by Sampras following the 2000 US Open. That occasion also marked the last time that Sampras, 29 at the time, would regain the No. 1 spot.

By the time the 2012 season starts, it will have been 83 weeks since Federer last held top dog status on the ATP World Tour. He enjoyed a 48-week run at World No. 1 the last time, taking the top ranking back from Nadal following his 2009 Wimbledon triumph. He first ascended to No. 1 on February 2004 and held the position for a record 237 consecutive weeks.

Federer already has a vote of confidence from Tim Henman, who believes the Swiss still has the drive and skill to return to the top. “He is just short of Sampras' record for most weeks at World No. 1;  I know Roger will really want to break that record, so I think it’s possible,” said the former British No. 1. “I think he will win more Slams, I really do. If the conditions favour him then Roger at his best is still better than anyone else.”

Federer’s first test of the 2012 season will come as the defending champion at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, with competitors at the season opener including Nadal and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He will then aim to win his first Grand Slam title in two years at the Australian Open.

Spain hires Corretja as new Davis Cup captain

Defending champion Spain has hired former French Open finalist Alex Corretja as its new Davis Cup captain.

The Spanish tennis federation said Tuesday that Corretja has a two-year contract. He replaces Albert Costa, who left this month after leading Spain to two Davis Cup titles in three years.

Corretja will be presented as the new captain Wednesday. He calls his appointment an “honor and huge responsibility.”

Corretja was ranked as high as No. 2 as a player and reached the final at Roland Garros in 1998 and 2001. He worked as a part-time coaching consultant for Andy Murray until this past March

2011 Awards

As a public service -- consider this an early holiday gift -- here's a look back at some of our favorite things from this WTA season:

Player of the Year: Petra Kvitova. Previously, her best major finish was reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon a year ago. This year the 21-year-old lefty from the Czech Republic broke through at the All England Club, beating Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova in the last two matches.

Kvitova later banked $1.75 million in winning the year-end WTA Championships and helped win the Fed Cup. She was ranked No. 34 when the season began, which is why she also won the WTA award for Most Improved Player. She is long -- 6 feet tall -- and has one of the best serves in the game. Kvitova employs a rare combination of brute power and finesse. And she's getting better.

Comeback Player of the Year: Serena Williams. The WTA version of this award went to Sabine Lisicki, who started the year outside the top 200 and overcame an ankle injury to finish at No. 23. Fair enough, Lisicki was terrific.

But … Serena overcame some serious health issues and, after missing nearly a year of tennis, came back to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon and win Stanford and Toronto, plus six matches at the U.S. Open -- beating Azarenka and No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets.

Lost in the hysteria of her second straight temper tantrum in New York was the fact she competed well before falling to Stosur in the final. Serena won 22 of 25 matches and, although she turned 30 before the end of the season, promises to be a major player in 2012.

The last time Serena failed to win a major in a calendar year? She came back to win the Australian Open in 2007.

Freshest personality: Andrea Petkovic. She speaks a handful of languages, but can also dance. In a sport that historically encourages homogeneity, the Petko Dance constitutes a cultural revolution of sorts.

The 24-year-old German by way of Bosnia reached three major quarterfinals, went 54-17 and finished at No. 10.

Most well-received victory: Li reached her first major final in Australia, then broke through at the French Open, defeating defending champion Francesca Schiavone in the final. At the age of 29, she became the first Asian-born player -- man or woman -- to win a Grand Slam singles title. The fact that she lost two of her three remaining major matches did nothing to diminish that sublime win in Paris.

Wardrobe malfunction: Venus Williams was wearing a modest little black dress for an exhibition in Milan, when -- whaaaap! -- her left strap broke as she hit a running forehand. Venus slowed down, covered her top and watched Flavia Pennetta hit a winner. Venus laughed and the sellout crowd of 11,000 did, too. After a quick change -- Pennetta hit with a ball boy while Venus changed into a more functional outfit -- they continued and Pennetta won in straight sets.

The longest match: Schiavone, ever the scrapper, prevailed over Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 1-6, 16-14 in the fourth round of the Australian Open. The match ran 4 hours, 44 minutes.

Here's to the victors:

Most titles: Kvitova, Wozniacki (6).

WTA main-draw wins: Wozniacki (63).

Hard-court wins: Vera Zvonareva (44)

Clay wins: Anabel Medina Garrigues (23)

Grass wins: Kvitova, Sabine Lisicki (11)

Most aces: Marion Bartoli (270)

Forward spin: Kim Clijsters, 28, faces a narrowing competition window; it looks like 2012 might be her last season before she retires to have a second child. The four-time Grand Slam singles champion won Down Under, but didn't play an official match after August.

Unofficially, though, she met No. 1 Wozniacki in an exhibition earlier this month and won, 6-2, 7-6 (5). For good measure, Clijsters and her younger sister, Elke, beat Wozniacki and Yanina Wickmayer in doubles.

Biggest Men's Disappointment: Fernando Verdasco

It didn’t appear that Fernando Verdasco enjoyed playing tennis in 2011. He had finished the previous year at No. 9, and it seemed that his star might still be on the rise, a rise that had begun with his first Grand Slam semifinal appearance, at the 2009 Australian Open. Over the next two seasons, Verdasco had established himself as one of the the ATP’s solid second tier of stars, and one of the tour’s most popular players.

This year was a long slide back down the hill. Verdasco started decently, with a fourth-round appearance in Melbourne and a runner-up finish in San Jose. But by Indian Wells, where he lost to Sam Querrey, signs of implosion were surfacing. Verdasco lost in the first round at the Masters events in Key Biscayne, Monte Carlo, and Madrid. He went out early at the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. By the fall, his ranking was down to No. 24, and he generally looked like he’d rather be anywhere else than on a court. Verdasco lost what may have been the ugliest match of the year, to fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal in Cincinnati. Even in his one triumph, as a member of the winning Davis Cup team, he played horribly. In the semis and final, Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez, once a reliable team, suffered badly lopsided defeats in doubles. Let’s hope his teammates’ victories put him in a better frame of mind for the new year.

CHARDY, LEVINE EARN AUSTRALIAN OPEN WILD CARDS; MATOSEVIC GETS BRISBANE NOD

Chardy was selected, under a reciprocal agreement between the French Tennis Federation and Tennis Australia. Two Australian players will be invited to compete at Roland Garros in May.

Levine won the United States Tennis Association play-off over Robby Ginepri 6-0, 6-2, 6-1 and will take his place at Melbourne Park for the first Grand Slam championship of the year starting on 16 January.

Meanwhile, another Australian Openwildcard winner, Marinko Matosevic, has earned a wild card into the Brisbane International starting on Sunday.

"It is obviously fantastic news to receive a Brisbane International wild card," said Matosevic.  "It means a lot after a tough year and it is a great opportunity for me.

"Last year I drew Andy Roddick, the No. 2 seed, in the draw, so I didn’t get past the first round. This year I want to win that first match and then see what happens.

"I also read on the ATPWorldTour.com, the other day, about the redevelopment that has happened up there since the floods. It is supposed to be better than ever so I am really looking forward to getting up there in January. I am so thankful to the selectors for the wild card, the Brisbane International and Tennis Australia."

ROGER FEDERER - LOOK BACK

Best of 2011

By winning the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals, Federer channeled Mark Twain and declared, as so many have so often in the past, that, “rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.” That performance included a savage beatdown of career rival Rafael Nadal, and it earned back the No. 3 ranking Federer had surrendered a few weeks earlier to Andy Murray.

Worst of 2011

Going into the Miami tournament, Federer had lost to just one man all year—Novak Djokovic, against whom the Mighty Fed was 0-3. And while Djokovic was developing into the story of the year, the Federer/Nadal rivalry was still a major narrative in men’s tennis. Thus their semifinal night match at Crandon Park was a highly anticipated event. But Federer barely showed up and played one of his worst matches ever against a top player at an important tournament, bowing to Nadal, 6-3, 6-2.

Sony Ericsson to end sponsorship of WTA tour

Sony Ericsson is ending its sponsorship of the WTA tour at the end of the 2012 season.

Sony Ericsson became the title sponsor of the women’s tennis tour in 2005 tour under a six-year, $88 million deal. Although the contract was extended through the end of 2012, the mobile phone company’s name was dropped from the tour’s title in 2011.

The WTA said in a statement Friday that “2012 will be the eighth and final year of the partnership. They have been a great partner and we will miss them.”

Sony Ericsson PR manager Graciela Pineda says “this was a strategic decision based on the evolution of the business and the brand.”

LM Ericsson announced in October it would sell its 50 percent stake in Sony Ericsson to Sony for $1.46 billion.

Sharapova out of Brisbane event with ankle injury

Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from the Brisbane International because of her continuing recovery from a left ankle injury.

Sharapova was hurt at the Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo in September.

Sharapova told Brisbane tournament officials in a statement released Saturday that “unfortunately my ankle is not 100 percent and I won’t be able to make it this year.”

It would have been her first appearance at the Brisbane event, which begins Jan. 1.

She said the injury, which also forced her to withdraw from the China Open and later the WTA Championships in Istanbul after two losses, should not affect her chances of competing at the Australian Open, which she won in 2008 and which begins Jan. 16 in Melbourne.

Federer set for Indian summer

The resurgent Roger Federer is primed to serve up a treat as the world’s premier players jostle for a record $30 million in riches over the Australian summer.

The Australian Open starting in Melbourne on January 16 boasts the biggest purse in tennis history, a total prize pool of $26 million, including a whopping $2.3 million each for the men’s and women’s singles champions.

And recent form and revealing statistics suggest the sport’s all-time top earner is about to get a whole lot richer.

Having already banked $68.38 million in on-court earnings, Federer will arrive at Melbourne Park oozing confidence after ending 2011 on a 17-match winning streak.

The great Swiss hasn’t lost since blowing two match points against Novak Djokovic in the US Open semi-finals in September.

He added his 68th, 69th and 70th career trophies to his collection with a fifth success in his home city of Basel, a maiden indoor title in Paris and an unprecedented sixth season-ending triumph at the World Tour Finals in London.

The secret, it appears, is all in the delivery.

Despite having failed to land a grand slam crown for the first year since 2002, Federer, according to ATP number crunchers, is serving better than at any time in his remarkable career.

Since his most recent defeat, Federer is winning 83.2 per cent of first-serve points, a stunning strike rate that’s made him almost impossible to beat.

Just ask Rafael Nadal, his Spanish nemesis humbled 6-3 6-0 at the World Tour finals in his worst-ever loss to Federer.

“For me, it was the strongest finish I’ve ever had in my career. I’m looking forward to next year,” Federer ominously said.

Now 30, Federer’s 16th slam came in Melbourne in 2010, but fellow four-times Australian Open champion Ken Rosewall says it’d be foolish to back against the father of two breaking his two-year drought next month.

“He’s got to have a lot of good things going for him, but I think he’s going to be close,” Rosewall told AAP ahead of the 40th anniversary celebration of his 1972 Open triumph.

“I think he’s still got a lot of desire. I guess with his family he’s happy and he’s enjoying the competition, enjoying the tennis and, while he stays fit and healthy, he’s going to always be a force.”

In fact, far from expecting an Indian summer from Federer, Rosewall is tipping the most successful player in history to keep on keeping on for three or four more years.

“The game seems to come pretty easy to him,” said Rosewall, who famously played into his 40s.

“He moves well and, as far as I know, he’s never really had any physical problems.

“He just floats around the court. He’s always in position. I think his game is good.

“He’s always going to be dangerous. He hasn’t lost many matches to players he maybe should lose to. He’s always in there with a chance.”

Federer is the Open’s second favourite behind only world No.1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic.

But after compiling a ridiculous 64-2 win-loss record and threatening to complete the best season since John McEnroe’s magical 82-3 effort in 1984, Djokovic suffered four defeats in his last 10 matches of 2011.

Rosewall is unsure if the Serb can repeat his special three-from-four slam season.

“You never know with those things,” he said.

“Sometimes like the golfers, they have a great year and then all of a sudden something happens and they don’t perform well the next year.

“But he’s improved a lot. He’s hitting the ball harder – it’s just the way the game has progressed.

“If he stays healthy and doesn’t have any physical problems, he’s always going to be hard to beat.”

Djokovic thinks as much too, declaring himself refreshed and ready to go after a desperately needed fortnight’s rest.

“I’ve had enough time to recover physically and mentally and to get back into shape,” the 24-year-old said this week.

Federer, Djokovic and world No.2 Rafael Nadal won’t play competitively in Australia until the Melbourne Park grand slam, but the finest women’s players on earth will flock down under for lead-up events in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Hobart.

World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki and the second-ranked Petra Kvitova, the official 2011 player of the year, will launch their summer assaults at the Hopman Cup from December 31.

Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Open titleholder Kim Clijsters and US Open champion Samantha Stosur will all kick-start 2012 at the Brisbane International starting on New Year’s Day.

Nine of the world’s top 10 women, including Stosur, will complete their Open preparations at the Sydney International from January 6-14 and Rosewall said there was no reason why Australia’s big home hope couldn’t clinch back-to-back majors in Melbourne.

“It depends how she goes in either Brisbane or Sydney,” he said.

“I think she’s got the type of game that needs a bit of tennis. So those two events, it would be good for her to do well.

“The men, I don’t think you can look past the top four. (Andy) Murray, Nadal and Djokovic and Federer – these guys seem to have the wood on most of the other players.”

Of the top 100, only men’s world No.13 Robin Soderling and women’s No.69 Alisa Kleybanova, both battling illness, have failed to enter the 2012 Open draw.

Greatest point: Djokovic and Murray’s 39-point Aussie rally

It's tough to remember now, but there was a time not so long ago when Novak Djokovic's ascension to the top of the tennis world hardly seemed inevitable. Entering the 2011 season, Djokovic figured to contend in Grand Slams as he had for the previous three years. Winning three in a single year and finishing the year as a clear-cut No. 1? Not even the most ardent Djokovic fans had that in their sights.

When Djokovic stepped onto the court in the finals of the Australian Open, he did it as No. 3 player in the world. He defeated Roger Federer in a Slam semifinal for the second consecutive major and faced world No. 4 Andy Murray in the final. The pair traded holds for the first nine games of the match before Djokovic got out to an early 30-15 lead on Murray's serve at 4-5. The two exchanged a 39-shot rally that highlighted Djokovic's sterling defense.

It's tough to remember now, but there was a time not so long ago when Novak Djokovic's ascension to the top of the tennis world hardly seemed inevitable. Entering the 2011 season, Djokovic figured to contend in Grand Slams as he had for the previous three years. Winning three in a single year and finishing the year as a clear-cut No. 1? Not even the most ardent Djokovic fans had that in their sights.

When Djokovic stepped onto the court in the finals of the Australian Open, he did it as No. 3 player in the world. He defeated Roger Federer in a Slam semifinal for the second consecutive major and faced world No. 4 Andy Murray in the final. The pair traded holds for the first nine games of the match before Djokovic got out to an early 30-15 lead on Murray's serve at 4-5. The two exchanged a 39-shot rally that highlighted Djokovic's sterling defense.

ATP WORD TOUR HOT SHOT

RIVALRIES 2011 - DJOKOVIC VS. FEDERER

Djokovic vs. Federer: 2011 Meetings

Tournament	Winner	Score
Australian Open SF	Djokovic	76(3) 75 64
Dubai Final	Djokovic	63 63
Indian Wells SF	Djokovic	63 36 62
Roland Garros SF	Federer	76(5) 63 36 76(5)
US Open SF	Djokovic	67(7) 46 63 62 75

DJOKOVIC NAMED BBC OVERSEAS SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic won the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year award on Thursday night. He beat Barcelona and Argentina footballer Lionel Messi and German Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel to the prestigious award.

"Thank you for this beautiful award," Djokovic told BBC Sport in a recorded interview. "I am very honoured and privileged to be on the list of great champions who have won this award in the past.

"Looking back on 2011, it has been the best season of my career. I won three Grand Slams and, who knows, next year, one of my goals is to go for all four." 

The 24-year-old Serbian compiled a 70-6 match record in 2011, which included winning his first 41 matches. He won the Australian Open,Wimbledon, US Open and seven other singles titles.

First awarded in 1960, Djokovic follows in the footsteps of Rod Laver, who won in 1969, Arthur Ashe (1975), Bjorn Borg (1979), Jimmy Connors(1982), Boris Becker (1985), Andre Agassi (1992), Goran Ivanisevic(2001), Roger Federer (2004, 2006-07) and Rafael Nadal (2010).

The winner was decided by a panel of sports editors from British national and regional newspapers and magazines.

Djokovic was recently nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award. The awards ceremony will be held on 6 February in London.

Novak Djokovic eager to practise some revenge on upstart Bernard Tomic

THE close bond between Bernard Tomic and Novak Djokovic is set to strengthen, with the young Australian expecting to work with the world No 1 in coming weeks as he embarks on a journey to crack the world's top 10.

Tomic took a set off the Serbian in a memorable quarter-final appearance at Wimbledon last July. The world No 1 was impressed by the teenager's emerging talent, and the pair practised together several times at the All England Club.

The two also met two years ago at the 2010 Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament in a hastily organised match. Djokovic had played no lead-up tournaments that year, so wanted some match practice on the Plexicushion courts. Tomic agreed to play him - and won in three sets.

He was just 17 and Djokovic was world No 3 and a grand slam champion, having claimed the 2008 Australian Open. He now holds four major titles.

"He knows how I beat him, so he's looking forward to getting one back," said Tomic, who turns 20 next October.

Tomic expects bigger things of himself this year, not only on the ATP circuit but at the Olympics where, as one of the Australia's top-two men, he will qualify for the men's singles.It also means he will be seeded for events, starting with the Brisbane International (January 1-8).

"That's my focus as well next year. I think I'll be a part of that, so that's one of my next steps to get ready for that," he said.

Another focus will have to be his image. But Tomic, who has recently been in trouble with police for allegedly hooning around in his bright-orange BMW M3 sports car, is adamant he is no "junior Scud", or Mark Philippoussis, who attracted headlines for his women, hot cars and high times.

"No, I don't think I am, not even close to that," Tomic said. "I'm a different person. A whole lot of people are watching me. But I think I've done a good job, I've been playing some good tennis the last few years."

We'll be at the Open, claim Williams sisters

THE Williams sisters are coming to Melbourne. Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley has been in touch with Venus and Serena to check on their schedules after Venus's withdrawal from the WTA event in Auckland.

The five-time Wimbledon champion has had a rotten season, playing just four tournaments, with her best result a quarter-final at Eastbourne.

First her right hip kept her out for four months, and then a viral illness that was finally diagnosed as the immune deficiency Sjogren's Syndrome, which causes joint soreness and fatigue.

The sisters have played exhibition matches, but Venus decided to have an extra two weeks' preparation for Melbourne (January 16-29) and miss Auckland (January 2-9).

Tiley said he rang the 31-year-old's agent to find out if Venus was in doubt for Melbourne Park.

"I wanted to touch base but there's no change for her. She's coming," Tiley said.

Serena, who missed the last Australian Open but is a five-time champion in Melbourne, has also had a bad run this year. She was hit with a heel injury and then a pulmonary embolism, missing 12 months in total, not returning until June.

She then withdrew from Tokyo and Beijing in October with illness and finished the year at No 12.

"For sure, she's definitely coming. I've talked to her and her agent just last week and they both told me her schedule hasn't changed," Tiley said.

Venus's ranking has slipped to 102, the lowest the former No 1 has been in 15 years.

Meanwhile, 15-year-old Queenslander Ashleigh Barty was granted a wild card yesterday to the qualifying rounds of the Brisbane International (January 1-8) rather than the main draw.

"Ash had a plan all summer put together by her coaches. It's about what's best for her tennis, as she has a long journey ahead of her," said Tiley, who is Tennis Australia's director of tennis.

"There's no need to rush into a situation right now where her coaches believe won't maximise her tennis further down the track.

"I think it's a great decision because it means Ash is not after the glory. She knows she has to improve her game, and the coaches are doing a great job in reinforcing that development."

Barty is under the guidance of Lleyton Hewitt's former coach Jason Stoltenberg, and the women's program manager at the Australian Institute of Sport, Nicole Pratt.

Playing qualifying should give Barty more match practice rather than facing someone like Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova or Sam Stosur in the first round.

RIVALRIES 2011 - DJOKOVIC VS. MURRAY

Djokovic vs. Murray: 2011 Meetings

Tournament	Winner	Score
Australian Open Final	Djokovic	64 62 63
Rome SF	Djokovic	61 36 76(2)
Cincinnati Final	Murray	64 30 ret.