Rich Benvin

Dmitry Tursunov beat Chris Guccione of Australia 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4) to win the Sydney International men's singles title on Saturday. Tursunov, a California-based Russian, withstood solid serving from Guccione, who only lost 10 points on his serve and had 15 aces. It was the first ATP Tour final for Guccione, who had beaten No.

Andy Roddick won his third consecutive Kooyong Classic title and said he'd happily exchange them all for one at the Australian Open. The American defeated Marcos Baghdatis 7-5, 6-3 Saturday in the warmup to the Australian Open. "Is there a three-for-one special deal -- 3 AAMIs for an Aussie Open?" Roddick joked with the crowd, excusing himself if he sounded ungrateful.

Former tennis pro Gloria Connors, who coached her son Jimmy Connors to multiple Grand Slam championships and a No. 1 world ranking, has died at the age of 82, the International Tennis Hall of Fame announced Tuesday. Gloria Connors died Monday at her Belleville home, apparently of natural causes, said Dale Kurrus, whose funeral home is handling the wake.

The best way to build confidence is usually by winning. For Andy Roddick, however, two losses to Roger Federer at the end of last year showed him that he might finally be closing the gap with tennis' top player. "Probably for the first time in two or three years after those matches I felt like the gap was maybe going my way for once," Roddick said in a conference call Monday to promote next month's...

Top-seeded Anna Chakvetadze beat fellow Russian Vasilia Bardina 6-3, 7-6 (3) to win the Hobart International Friday. The 19-year-old Chakvetadze came into the final with a pulled stomach muscle, but was able to complete the match despite showing some signs of discomfort in the first set. "I feel good, I feel OK, almost 100 percent." said Chakvetadze.

Lleyton Hewitt's former Davis Cup teammate, Scott Draper, will coach the two-time Grand Slam champion at least until the end of the Australian Open. Justin Cohen, Hewitt's manager, said Monday that Draper had been appointed to a "coaching and support role" following Roger Rasheed's sudden resignation last Friday after 3 1/2 years of coaching Hewitt.

Justine Henin won her 28th match in a row, beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the Sydney International final Friday after falling behind 3-0 in the deciding set. Henin lost her service without taking a point in the second game of the third set, but Kuznetsova did the same two games later to allow the Belgian player to pull back on serve at 3-3.

Eleni Daniilidou's first WTA Tour singles title since 2006 turned out to be her easiest when she won the Hobart International on Friday in a walkover. Vera Zvonareva of Russia rolled her left ankle during a practice session about two hours before the scheduled start of the final at The Domain Tennis Centre and could not play, giving Greece's No.

Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova pulled out of the Champions Challenge on Saturday because of bronchitis. It wasn't immediately clear if the illness would prevent her from playing in the Australian Open, which starts Jan. 15. Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open winner, appeared fatigued during the tournament and struggled with her movement.

Justine Henin-Hardenne will skip the Australian Open and a preliminary tournament because of undisclosed personal reasons. Australian Open spokesman John Lindsay confirmed Thursday that Henin-Hardenne -- the No. 1 player in the world -- withdrew from the tournament that begins Jan. 15 in Melbourne. She was the runner-up last year.

Belgium's Kim Clijsters kicked off her final season the best way she could Saturday, beating Maria Sharapova 6-3, 7-6 (8) in the final of the Champions Challenge. In a duel between the last two U.S. Open champions, Clijsters rallied from 2-3 down to win the first set with an ace. Sharapova, the world No.

Former U.S. Open and Wimbledon finalist Mark Philippoussis said Wednesday he requires right knee surgery after tearing cartilage during a Hopman Cup match. Philippoussis had to retire Tuesday while trailing 4-1 in the first set against Jerome Haehnel of France. An MRI on Wednesday showed Philippoussis has torn the lateral meniscus cartilage in his right knee.

Australia's Chris Guccione will play top-seeded Novak Djokovic in the Adelaide International final after each won in the semifinals Saturday. Guccione beat Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro 5-7, 6-3, 7-5. It was the South American's second match of the day -- Del Potro beat Igor Kunitsyn of Russia 6-2, 6-0 earlier Saturday in a quarterfinal postponed from Friday by rain.

Top-seeded Novak Djokovic beat Australian left-hander Chris Guccione 6-3, 6-7 (8), 6-4 Sunday to win the Adelaide International. Guccione upset second-seeded Richard Gasquet in Friday's quarterfinals of the tournament, which featured for the first time a round-robin format that led to the final three knockout rounds from Friday.

Seventh-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany won his second ATP Tour singles title, beating fourth-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 7-6 (4), 7-5 on Saturday in the Heineken Open. "I just can say it was a really great week for me, my second title on the tour and I'm totally happy," Kohlschreiber said.