In the ATP’s latest “favorite things” video, Djokovic, Federer, Nalbandian and other top players ponder their favorite rides. Once again, Ljubicic comes off as the professor of the group, going deep into the Mercedes vs. Aston Martin. debate. Roddick keeps it real and Nadal shows his giggly side for Kia.

Also, so funny that the Murray brothers don’t drive – I picture them as two little old men being shuttled around a la Driving Miss Daisy.

Argentine clay-courter, Roland Garros finalist and one-time World No. 3, Guillermo Coria, announced his retirement on Monday, CBS Sports reports. Here’s the scoop (click here for more):

“I didn’t feel like competing anymore,” Coria said in statements published on the Argentine Tennis Association’s website. “I’ve made the decision I will not play again.”

Coria won nine titles during his career, reaching his peak in 2004, when he lost in the final of Roland Garros to Gaston Gaudio, catapulting him to third in the world rankings.

Coria’s decline began a year later after he won the Umag tournament — his last title.

“In 2005 I began to feel less and less like competing,” he said. “My passion just wasn’t the same and it’s impossible to do things well when it’s like that. In this sport, you have to be at 100 percent,” added Coria, who is currently ranked 672.

Argentine super-blog, Fue Buena, has an interesting post (click here – in Spanish), describing how Coria stunned everyone by announcing his retirement plans on the radio, after the surprised interviewer asked him how he was planning to pull himself out of the tennis doldrums. Guess this is one way to do it.

I wasn’t a close follower of the Argentine, though I will always remember the 2004 Roland Garros final he choked away against the ultimate one-slam wonder and fellow Argie, Gaston Gaudio. This match doomed both of these fine players: Gaudio is now ranked 762 – exactly 100 ranking points behind Coria. (Just look at the above photo  from the final – why is Vilas the only guy smiling?)

On the upside, Gaudio did win his first ATP level match in almost two years last week, in the first round of Barcelona (he went out to Tommy Robredo in his next match.) And he’s seeking wild cards into various tournaments, including Roland Garros. When asked, recently, about his future plans, Gaudio said: “Tennis is bad business for me, but being away from it is even worse.” (via Tennis-x)

This isn’t the case for Coria.

One of Coria’s most celebrated matches (and losses) took place at the 2005 Rome Masters, where he extended Rafael Nadal to 5 sets and over 5 hours on court. Here are some of the highlights:

Coria’s only 27-years-old – it’s crazy to think how quickly things can slip away in tennis. It’s too bad he never could be  Rafael Nadal’s great clay court rival.

In other bad business for Argentine tennis – the AP reports that David Nalbandian may require hip surgery, leaving him in question for much of the rest of the season, including July’s Davis Cup tie against the Czech Republic

I guess it’s up to my favorite Argentine player, Juan Monaco, to finally fulfill his potential, and fill in the holes in his country’s tennis line-up!

Photo of Argentina’s crossed stars: AP Photo/Christophe Ena via ESPN

Spaniards Rafael Nadal, Fernando Verdasco and Tommy Robredo all won their third round match ups Thursday at the Barcelona Open. Take a look at the highlights, above.

All four of the top seeds will advance, with Friday’s quarterfinals as follows:

Nikolay Davydenko (3) vs. Radek Stepanek (Czech leads head-to-head 4-3), David Ferrer (4) vs. Tommy Robredo (Ferrer leads 3-2), and Fernando Verdasco (2) vs. Fernando Gonzalez (tied 2-2 with last meeting 3 years ago). Rafa advances automatically to the semis, since David Nalbandian withdrew from the tournament due to a hip injury after beating Nicolas Almagro in the third round. So sad we won’t be getting that Nalby/Nadal match.

It is fun seeing the Spanish guys succeed on thier home turf. Vamos!

Click here to visit the Barcelona Open website.

When I first heard that Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were involved in a new exhibition just before Roland Garros, I thought “whatever, I hate exos.” But I learned a little more about it, and now I’m intrigued. . .

The Guinot Mary Cohr Masters, as it’s called, is scheduled for May 20-22 at the Paris Golf & Country Club, using the same clay and balls as Roland Garros. It’s a team competition, with two teams of six players competing against each other, led by “internationally renowned captains.”

According to early info, the roster includes Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Gael Monfils (now doubtful because of knee injury), David Nalbandian, Marat Safin, James Blake, Tommy Haas, Stanislas Wawrinka, Julien Benneteau and Arnaud Clement. Don’t know who the twelfth player is, but I’m hoping it’s like a bonus character in a video game and will be, say, Richard Simmons or a guy in a Shrek costume. Or maybe Martina Hingis!

Here’s more on the exo’s funky format from rogerfederer.com:

The players will meet as teammates and opponents in a unique new event that will be staged on red clay in Paris providing ideal preparation for the French Open. The team competition will feature the same balls and court conditions as Roland Garros. The 12 players will be divided up into two teams of six, Guinot vs. Mary Cohr, coached by internationally renowned captains. Two best-of-three set matches a day from 1:30 p.m. onwards will commence. Each player will play once only during the three-day tournament and the two captains will challenge one another on the Friday just before the presentation of the trophy. Because the stands are nearer the courts than anywhere else, the spectators will get a close-up of the stars in competition.

Can Roger and Rafa take turns choosing players for their teams, like in gym class kickball? Stan getting teary when Roger picks Nalbandian first, Rafa trying to decide between Benneteau and Shrek – I’d fly to Paris just to see that!

And what is the captain challenge all about? Is it like Shamil Tarpischev and Patrick McEnroe playing a super tiebreak? Or does Bud Collins ask trivia questions? This is all very confusing. . .please clue me in, someone!

I’m providing this link to the Guinot Mary Cohr Masters website as a formality – it provides no actual information.

This video makes me hungry for everything from Congolese Saka-Saka to McDonalds (but only if Gilles Simon is buying my Big Mac!) Check it out:

After watching that, who do you want to eat with? Tsonga’s dreamy, Simon’s hilarious and Verdasco’s the obvious foodie of the group. But I’m staying the hell away from Mardy and his Rice-a-Roni. . .

Happy Friday!

It was rough out on the courts this weekend at the Sony Ericsson Open. Maybe it’s good that Fox Sports Network aired BMX world, instead. Yikes!

The wreckage on the WTA side was especially graphic:

Jelena Jankovic crashed out to Gisela Dulko (who then went out to Benesova)
Dinara Safina was crushed 6-1, 6-4 by Sam Stosur in what she memorably called a “disaster match.” (And due to WTA insanity – or is is inanity – Dinara could still make it to No. 1 at the end of the tournament! Don’t ask me to do the math, but it’s true.)
9th seed Nadia Petrova out to Makarova
Cibulkova out to Medina Garrigues (Dominika retired with muscle cramps)
Cornet destroyed by Jie Zheng, 6-4, 6-0
Dokic out to Wozniacki (not quite an upset, but too bad.)

The Indian Wells hangover:

Ana Ivanovic (IW runner up) went out in three to Agnes Szavay, 6-4,4-6,6-1.
Vera Zvonareva (IW champ) was ousted to Na Li
Victoria Azarenka (IW semifinalist) was the lone survivor of the four IW semifinalists after beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (IW semifinalist) and then Chakvetadze (not really an upset, but impressive considering the fate of her desert cohorts.)

Joining Azarenka in the second week are both Williams sisters, Dementieva, Kuznetsova and Amelie Mauresmo (over Pennetta!) So not all is lost.

On the ATP side it was the B and C list Americans who suffered en masse:

Blake is not really B list, but went out to Berdych
Kendrick out to Tsonga (Allez!!)
Isner out to Ferrer
Delic out to Cilic
Reynolds out to Stepanek
Fish out to Massu
Querrey out to Feliciano Lopez
The good news for team USA: Qualifier Taylor Dent made up for his countrymen’s disappointing results by defeating two seeded players this weekend: Robredo (15) and Almagro (19). But can he keep the upset mojo going against Federer in the fourth round?

And some minor issues on the men’s side:

Richard Gasquet withdrew from the tournament – blahhhhh – I’m so over him, anyway.
Andy Murray almost got upset by hottie Juan Monaco – hope we see more of Juan on clay
As a Safin fan, I’m sad he didn’t get past Monfils, especially considering he had two match points. It’s also too bad (but typical) that Nalbandian went out Troicki 6-3, 6-1.
Hewitt’s gotta be “this” much closer to retirement after going out 6-1, 6-2 to Simon

When you see the results laid out like this in one big, bloody pile, you realize how brutal our sport really is. MMA has nothing on tennis!

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

The ATP tour is in Miami this week for the Sony Ericsson Open, which means that the tennis player/dolphin photo ops are pretty much inevitable. As is great tennis. And our down and dirty preview of the draw. So here’s the run down of what to expect (or not) from the men this week in Miami, including the juiciest potential match-ups.

TOP HALF vs. BOTTOM HALF:

TOP HALF Top Seeds: Nadal and Murray
TOP HALF Quarterfinals: Nadal vs. Del Potro and Murray vs. Verdasco
TOP HALF spoiler: Nalbandian in Murray’s Rd. of  16.
BOTTOM HALF Top Seeds: Federer and Djokovic
BOTTOM HALF Quarterfinals: Federer vs. Roddick and Djokovic vs. Simon
BOTTOM HALF Spoiler: Tsonga in Simon’s Rd. of 16 (and Djokovic’s Quarterfinal)

JUICY MATCHES:

Taylor Dent and John Isner both through qualifying!
Gulbis vs. Baghdatis in Rd. 1
Hewitt vs. Simon in Rd. 2
Federer vs. Llodra in Rd. 2
Djokovic vs. Baghdatis in the Rd. of 16
Murray vs. Nalbandian in the Rd. of 16
Roddick vs. Marat Safin OR Gael Monfils in the Rd. of 16
Federer vs. Roddick in the quarterfinals
Verdasco vs. Murray OR Nalbandian in the quarterfinals (or substitute F-Lo, Gonzo, or Stepanek for Verdasco)
Tsonga vs. Djokovic in the quarterfinals
Nadal vs. Murray OR Verdasco OR Nalbandian redeux, in the semis (which would be your favorite match-up?)

FINAL PREDICTIONS:

The plot has thickened  considerably since last week (or since 2007, depending on who you talk to), making it damn hard to pick a Federer vs. Nadal final.  Nadal vs. Tsonga would be awesome, but in my dreams, Federer gets his revenge over Andy Murray or Rafa and everybody STFU for a while.

YOUR CALL:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Photo: Gonzo, Tsonga, Zimonjic (dubs player) feed the dolphins at the Miami Seaquarium prior to the Sony Ericsson Open (by Marc Serota/Getty Images for Sony Ericsson)

After watching this, I feel bad for calling Nalbadian an underachiever last week. Obviously, tennis is just a hobby for him and Nadal is about as scary as a daffodil. David’s got a lot on his mind, okay?

Nice backhand, Nalby! (Sorry if everyone’s already seen this, but I couldn’t resist!)

WOW! This year’s Indian Wells tournament packed in as much drama and excitement as a Major. Before we get all worked up over Miami (yep, play begins on Wednesday), let’s take a look at our baker’s dozen of top Indian Wells happenings.

1. Eventual IW champ, Rafael Nadal, scored a miraculous victory over sneaky/scary underachiever David Nalbandian in the Round of 16, saving 5 match points in yet another impressive performance of mental domination. Here’s part of Rafa’s grand escape act:

2. Maria Sharapova streaked through the tournament like a blond comet, pulling from the singles draw, entering doubles with Elena Vesnina and losing in the first round. Afterwards, Maria told reporters that she’s through setting any timetables for her return to the tour, and she has since pulled from the Mimi tournament. Perhaps she’s too busy working on her MTV pilot (click here)?

3. Baby Fed: After Roger and Mirka dropped the Baby Bomb, photographers took the necessary photos of Mirka with snacks and other people’s children.

4. The WTA imploded as Jelena Jankovic, Elena Dementieva and Svetlana Kuznetsova all got beat in the second round. No. 1 seed Dinara Safina wimpered her way out of the quarterfinals. Defending champ Ana Ivanovic folded to Vera Zvonareva – a player who’d never won a Premier level tournament before – in the final match. But it wasn’t all  gloom and doom – young stars like Victoria Azarenka and Ana Pavlyuchenkova look ready to pounce.

5. We watched Rafael Nadal work his ass off on the practice courts (don’t worry, not literally!) while still keeping his sense of humor. When we cheered a rare point won by his practice and doubles partner, Marc Lopez, Rafa pretended that his feeling were hurt. Then he won the rest of the points.

6. The player-on-player action never stopped on the  “grassy patch”:

7. Personally, I was happy to see Ivan Ljubicic do well again – making it to the quarters and giving Andy Murray a run for his money in two tight sets. Too bad about that freakish HawkEye malfunction.

8. Random moment, observed: Federer walks onto a practice court and gets yelled at by one of the doubles players who are finishing up there: “Hey, we were in the middle of a POINT!” Federer smiles, the doubles player doesn’t. Yet another sign that Roger’s aura of intimidation is fading?

9. Potito Starace, no longer a U.H.O. (Unidentified Hunky Object):

10. Darren Cahill dumped Roger Federer in Dubai and showed up in Indian Wells with boy-toy Fernando Verdasco. But Fed got sweet revenge when he beat Verdasco and the Spaniard’s Adidas Player Development gurus in the quarter final. In straights. Bench press that, Gil Reyes!

11. Doubles the pleasure: 8 of the ATP’s Top 10 singles players entered the doubles draw this tournament, including Federer, Nadal, Murray and Roddick. For the lucky fans who saw it, Nadal/(Marc) Lopez vs. the Bryan Bros. was one of the highlights of the tournament. Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish won the title, beating teams like Chardy/Simon, Llodra/Stepanek, Del Potro/Nalbandian, Gasquet/Wawrinka, and, finally, Mirnyi/Ram on the way. Impressive.

12. Reports poured in of FSN network’s shabby, shoddy and sh*tty treatment of tennis fans. It sounds like no one in the States saw the Nadal/Nalbandian match on t.v. and some of us didn’t get any of Saturday’s semifinals, either. Why does Tennis sell its tournaments short by giving broadcasting rights to networks that won’t broadcast tennis? Click here for ways to vent.

13. And then there was my chance of a lifetime (click here). . .I’ll never travel without a Sharpie again!

Mirka photos: AP Photo/Matt Slocum

I’m posting highlights from Wednesday night’s “classic” Nadal vs. Nalbandian night match at Indian Wells, since so many of us had FSN issues and couldn’t watch it live (or even on tape delay.)

After watching this can someone please tell me: 1. Why Nalbandian is so sneaky-good? and 2. Why he’s never won a major?

The guy can beat Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic with ease (at least most/part of the time), but it’s doubtful he’ll ever win a major at this point. He’s made a deal with the devil and the devil found the loophole: “When you told me you wanted to be the best player in the world, David, you forgot to mention that you also wanted to win a Major – sorry about that!”