ATP Rankings 24.02.14

1 Nadal, Rafael (ESP)	14,580
2 Djokovic, Novak (SRB)	10,580
3 Wawrinka, Stanislas (SUI)	5,560
4 Ferrer, David (ESP)	5,370
5 Del Potro, Juan Martin (ARG)	4,960
6 Berdych, Tomas (CZE)	4,890
7 Murray, Andy (GBR)	4,795
8 Federer, Roger (SUI)	4,305
9 Gasquet, Richard (FRA)	2,950
10 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried (FRA)	2,785
11 Raonic, Milos (CAN)	2,485
12 Haas, Tommy (GER)	2,435
13 Isner, John (USA)	2,320
14 Fognini, Fabio (ITA)	2,260
15 Youzhny, Mikhail (RUS)	2,100
16 Robredo, Tommy (ESP)	2,050
17 Almagro, Nicolas (ESP)	1,930
18 Gulbis, Ernests (LAT)	1,788
19 Janowicz, Jerzy (POL)	1,750
20 Nishikori, Kei (JPN)	1,715

Rafa Wins No. 62 & Cilic is on Fire

Two titles were won yesterday.

First was Rafael Nadal winning his 62nd career title in the Rio Open defeating Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets.

The Spaniard, who survived two match points in the semi-final against Pablo Andujar, never looked under any threat as he cruised to a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory.

It was Nadal's 43rd clay title and stretches his record on the surface to 298-21, the best of the Open era.

Dolgopolov hit several exquisite winners, especially from the backhand wing, but struggled to find a consistent enough game to trouble Nadal, who made only a handful of unforced errors in the whole match.

In the USA, an in-form Cilic won his 2nd title in 3 weeks. The Croat is certainly playing his best tennis ever as he defeated 4th seed Kevin Anderson 7-6(6), 6-7(7), 6-4.

"These three weeks have been very long for me," said Cilic, the winner in Zagreb and runner-up last week in Rotterdam. "I'm going to enjoy it for a while and have a little rest."

Venus Wins Dubai

Venus Williams beat Alize Cornet in straight sets to win the Dubai Championships title for a third time.

Venus had to avenge her sisters straight set defeat to Cornet in the semis.

Venus used all of her experience to record a 6-3 6-0 victory against the world number 26 in Saturday's final.

This was her first WTA Tour title since she won in Luxembourg  in October 2012.

Cornet's impressive victory over Serena in the last four means the Williams sisters have still not met in a final since 2009.

Venus was not in a mood to join her sister in defeat, however, and beat the 24-year-old Frenchwoman in a match lasting 91 minutes.

Key to the victory - her 45th on the WTA Tour - was the fact she converted five of eight break points against the Cornet serve, while her French opponent only took advantage of one out of six such opportunities to come her way.

In the rest of the draw, Venus had to fight past incredibly good players in the shape of Ana Ivanovic, Flavia Pennetta, Caroline Wozniaki and Alize Cornet. Remarkably, Venus did not drop a single set.

ATP Rankings 17.02.14

Rank, Name & Nationality	Points
1 Nadal, Rafael (ESP)	14,085
2 Djokovic, Novak (SRB)	10,580
3 Wawrinka, Stanislas (SUI)	5,620
4 Ferrer, David (ESP)	5,440
5 Del Potro, Juan Martin (ARG)	4,960
6 Berdych, Tomas (CZE)	4,950
7 Murray, Andy (GBR)	4,795
8 Federer, Roger (SUI)	4,305
9 Gasquet, Richard (FRA)	2,950
10 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried (FRA)	2,885
11 Raonic, Milos (CAN)	2,440
12 Haas, Tommy (GER)	2,435
13 Isner, John (USA)	2,320
14 Fognini, Fabio (ITA)	2,260
15 Nishikori, Kei (JPN)	2,170
16 Youzhny, Mikhail (RUS)	2,100
17 Robredo, Tommy (ESP)	2,050
18 Almagro, Nicolas (ESP)	1,930
19 Janowicz, Jerzy (POL)	1,785
20 Dimitrov, Grigor (BUL)	1,675

Ferrer Wins 3 Straight Titles in Argentina

Top seed David Ferrer became the first player to win three straight Copa Claro titles, defeating second seed Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-3 in the final on Sunday in Buenos Aires.

World No. 5 Ferrer ended a seven-match losing streak in ATP finals, winning his first title since last year's Copa Claro and his 21st overall.

Ferrer said, "I’m happy for my new title. The last seven finals I lost, and this time I can change my luck so I’m happy for that. I try to always do my best and finally I can win again another title."

The 31-year-old will climb to fourth in the world rankings on Monday, displacing Argentine Juan Martin del Porto who played in Rotterdam this week.

The loss snapped Fognini's 10-match winning streak and marked just his second in his past 25 clay-court matches.

Simona Halep Triumphs in Qatar

Seventh seed Simona Halep of Romania won her first title of the year with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over sixth-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany in the Qatar Open final on Sunday.

It's the seventh career title for Halep, with the other six all won last year.

"I think it's the best, because it's the biggest tournament which I won," Halep said.

For the first time Halep defeated three top-10 players at the same event -- No. 7 Sara Errani in the quarterfinals, No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska in the semi finals, and the ninth-ranked Kerber.

Kerber was unable to break Halep's serve despite four break point opportunities in the match. Simona played great aggressive tennis and ended up winning 6-2, 6-3.

In the updated rankings, Halep will move from a current career-high 10th to ninth. Kerber will go from ninth to eighth.

Berdych Wins First Title in 16 Months!

World #7 Tomas Berdych won his first title since his triumph in Stockholm in October 2012! The Czech defeated Marin Cilic who was in hot form knocking out both Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga. The Croat was looking for his second title in as many weeks as he was on a 9 match win streak.

As a result of clinching his 9th career title, Tomas Berdych  will move ahead of Andy Murray to number 6 in the ATP Rankings.

"It feels absolutely amazing," Berdych said. "It's been a while, actually 16 months since I won a title. To win a title in Rotterdam it's a nice bonus. I'm extremely happy with the way I handled it throughout the week. I've been serving pretty well, which has been the strong part of my game."

In the entire match, Tomas only faced 3 break points and he saved all of them. He fired 20 winners and benefitted from 22 unforced errors by Cilic to claim the victory in 75 minutes.

Murray targeting World #1

World #6 Andy Murray is admitting that he wants the #1 ranking although it is not his main goal. The Scot was a late entry in Rotterdam and Murray says his main goal is getting back to full fitness by entering the event.

Andy said:
"The number one thing for me this year though is to get myself healthy again, get my body ready to compete in the grand slams. Yes if I have an opportunity to do it then I'll definitely go for it but right now that's not an immediate goal"

The no.2 seed is definitely the favourite to retain the title he won in 2009 (with a win over Rafael Nadal) although he has got a tough draw ahead of him. He may have to face Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, Richard Gasquet and defending champion Juan Martin del Potro.

Andy Murray starts his campaign today with a first round match against Édouard Roger-Vasselin.

ATP Rankings 10.02.14

Rank, Name & Nationality	Points
1 Nadal, Rafael (ESP)	14,330	0
2 Djokovic, Novak (SRB)	10,580	0
3 Wawrinka, Stanislas (SUI)	5,710
4 Del Potro, Juan Martin (ARG)	5,370
5 Ferrer, David (ESP)	5,280
6 Murray, Andy (GBR)	4,795
7 Berdych, Tomas (CZE)	4,540
8 Federer, Roger (SUI)	4,355
9 Gasquet, Richard (FRA)	2,950
10 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried (FRA)	2,885
11 Raonic, Milos (CAN)	2,690
12 Haas, Tommy (GER)	2,495
13 Isner, John (USA)	2,320
14 Fognini, Fabio (ITA)	2,260
15 Youzhny, Mikhail (RUS)	2,100
16 Nishikori, Kei (JPN)	1,965
17 Robredo, Tommy (ESP)	1,960
18 Almagro, Nicolas (ESP)	1,930
19 Dimitrov, Grigor (BUL)	1,810
20 Janowicz, Jerzy (POL)	1,705

Titles for Monfils, Fognini & Cilic

Monfils, Fognini & Cilic all won their first titles of 2014 yesterday.

Gael Monfils or La Monf outclassed defending champion and world #9 Richard Gasquet in the Open Sud de France event in Montpellier 6-4, 6-4. The fans loved to see an all French Final as the top seed Gasquet took on 5th seed Monfils. La Monf dominated the entire match getting one crucial break in each set. Monfils' serve was a real weapon and he did not face a single break point and he served up 9 aces as Gasquet hit 0. Gael also hit 34 winners, much more to Richard's 17. Monfils won his 5th ATP title with a service winner.

At the Chile Open, Fabio Fognini easily dispatched Leonardo Mayer of Argentina in the final to collect his 3rd ATP title. Fabio defeated the Argentine 6-2, 6-4 eventually converting his 5th match point. Fognini has won all his titles in the past year all on outdoor clay and the Italian will be looking forward to the clay court season.

Marin Cilic won a native tournament at the Zagreb indoors winning his 4th title at the event. The Croatian defeated top seed Tommy Haas of Germany with a comfortable score of 6-3, 6-4. Marin is making a fierce run back to the top 20 after dropping out because of a ban set from the ATP after Cilic failed a drug test.