Venus will make her debut in Miami, and Gonzo will bid farewell.

Venus Williams plans to make her 2012 debut in Miami, hoping to regain the form that saw her claim three Sony Ericsson Open titles (2001, 1999, 1998). The seven-time Grand Slam champion last appeared on the purple courts in 2010 where she played her way into the final. She has battled through injuries and illnesses this past year, and has not played since the US Open in August. “I am looking forward to my return to competitive tennis at the Sony Ericsson Open,” said Williams. “I have spent most of my life in Southern Florida and view the Sony Ericsson Open as a hometown event. I have had many great experiences playing there and look forward to returning in the coming weeks.”

Gonzalez, a winner of 11 career ATP World Tour Titles, made his professional debut in 1999. In 2007, Gonzalez attained a career high No. 5 ranking after reaching the Australian Open final, in which he posted wins over Lleyton Hewitt and Rafael Nadal. He has also had success on the Olympic stage, receiving a bronze medal in singles and gold in doubles with Nicolas Massu at the 2004 Athens games, and a silver medal during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Gonzalez has announced his plans to retire at the conclusion of this year’s Sony Ericsson Open.

Gonzo starts along the long road back to top 10 form.

Fernando Gonzalez won his first match in 11 months Tuesday evening, defeating Martin Klizan 6-2, 6-4 in the first round of the Serbia Open. Gonzalez had been sidelined since last October after having right hip surgery, and last tasted victory in a first round win at the 2010 French Open. “I haven’t played for a long time but my shots are already in my game,” said the former World No. 5 after the match. “I’m moving better every day but I need to play more matches, more points and I need to compete. Maybe the conditions today weren’t really good for a great match but it was good for tough competition.”

Though he was pleased with the win, the outcome was not the Chilean’s primary focus in today’s match. “Obviously I’m really happy for that, but I was scared at what was going to happen, and I felt good [out there]. The conditions were tough and you have to move really quickly and that’s the thing needed most in the past. That’s why I lost a lot of my power, I couldn’t move very well before the surgery.”

 

Have we seen the end of Gonzo?

Fernando Gonzalez is to have hip surgery that will keep him out of action for up to nine months.

The 30-year-old confirmed  that he will go under the knife in New York on October 4 for a procedure on his right hip and is also set to have a minor operation on his right knee.

Gonzalez reached number five in the world after losing to Roger Federer in the final in Melbourne in 2007 but has had a disappointing 2010 and has dropped to 44th in the world rankings, his lowest position since 2002.

The Chilean, who will be operated on by renowned orthopaedic surgeon Dr Brian Kelly, has won only four of his last 10 matches and retired midway through his first-round clash with Ivan Dodig at the US Open.

Hewitt and Gonzalez losses raise questions about their futures.

Lleyton Hewitt crashed out of the US Open on the opening day as he suffered a five-set defeat against France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu.

The Australian 32nd seed, who had never previously lost in the first round at Flushing Meadows, battled bravely as he fought back from two sets down to level the match but his opponent eventually prevailed 6-3 6-4 5-7 4-6 6-1. 

Afterwards Hewitt, the 2001 winner, dismissed talk of retirement and insists he can still compete at the highest level.

The 29-year-old said: “I still believe I can improve as a player.

“When I play my best tennis, like in Halle (in June, when he beat Federer to win the title), I still feel like I can match it with anyone.”

Fernando Gonzalez has admitted fears over his long-term future in the game after injury forced him out in the first round of the US Open.

The 30-year-old Chilean, playing only his second match since the French Open, retired when 7-6 1-6 0-1 down against Croatian qualifier Ivan Dodig.

The persistent knee injury that has been troubling for the past few months was once again the nemesis of Gonzalez who acknowledged afterwards that he was concerned for his career.

“I’m worried and I’ll have to see what will happen,” he declared.

“I’m not thinking about retirement quite yet but I’ve had a really bad six months and, if this was to go on for longer, maybe two years, then I would have to see.”

Federer wins while Roddick, Gonzo withdraw in Toronto.

Roger Federer opened his ATP Rogers Cup campaign with a straight-sets second-round victory over Juan Ignacio Chela in Toronto on Tuesday night – and set another record in the process.

The 29-year-old Swiss, who is seeded third and received a first-round bye, saw off his Argentinian opponent 7-6 (9/7) 6-3 in his first match since his quarter-final exit at Wimbledon.

It was Federer’s 210th career victory at Masters 1000 level, taking him past Andre Agassi’s tally achieved between 1990 and 2006.

American Andy Roddick, seeded eighth at the Rogers Cup and ranked No. 11 in the world, withdrew late Tuesday afternoon, citing an unspecified illness.

Roddick, who was to begin play Wednesday, said after a quarter-final loss at a tournament in Washington last week that he thought he would need a break from the season.

As well, Fernando Gonzalez of Chile pulled out because of a left calf injury.

Paul-Henri Mathieu of France will replace Roddick in the draw while India’s Somdev Devvarman will replace Gonzalez.

Gonzo and Hewitt ousted in Barcelona.

Lleyton Hewitt, the 12th seed, was sent crashing out as the Australian lost 7-6 (7/3) 6-4 to world number 59 Eduardo Schwank.

Fourth seed Fernando Gonzalez made a shock second-round exit at the Barcelona Open after losing to unheralded Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

The world 166 had claimed his first ATP Tour win when he beat Michael Russell in the first round, but usurped that with a dramatic 6-4 6-7 (8/10) 6-3 success against Gonzalez.

Third seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga enjoyed an easy afternoon on his Barcelona debut, beating Jan Hajek 6-3 6-2.

Tsonga, who turned 25 last Saturday, will next meet Spanish 15th seed Nicolas Almagro who he beat in the second round at Monte Carlo last week.

“Almagro is a great player and it will be difficult to get a win against him,” the Frenchman said.

“I beat him last week, but I was playing at home. This time it is him who is at home, and he’s going to get a lot of support, so I’m going to have to play a very solid match.”

Fifth seed Fernando Verdasco swept past another Frenchman, Richard Gasquet, 7-5 6-3 while former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero improved his impressive clay-court record this year after Sergiy Stakhovsky retired from their match when trailing 6-3 4-2.

Ferrero, the 2001 champion, now has an 18-2 win-loss record on clay this season, which includes title victories at Costa do Sauipe and Buenos Aires.

Other seeds to progress where David Ferrer (eight), Jurgen Melzer (11), Thomasz Bellucci (13) and Feliciano Lopez (16).

Spanish duo Ferrer and Lopez were straight-sets winners against wildcard Marcel Granollers and Denis Istomin respectively.

Melzer struggled to end the run of Barcelona-born Oscar Hernandez, who fired 11 aces, 6-7 (4/7) 7-5 7-5 while Bellucci also took three sets to beat Victor Hanescu 6-2 1-6 7-5.

Elsewhere, Italian qualifier Simone Bolelli beat wildcard Alberto Martin and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez saw off lucky loser Teimuraz Gabashvili.

Ernests Gulbis and Thiemo de Bakker were straight-sets winners against Jeremy Chardy and Daniel Gimeno-Traver respectively.

‘Champions for Chile’ is today at 5pm.

Andy Roddick and Fernando Gonzalez along with tennis legends Jim Courier and Gustavo Kuerten will take to the court in what should be wonderful evening of tennis to raise money for a great cause.

On February 27 a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck the Maule Region of Chile with the epicenter roughly 200 miles southwest of Santiago. The devastation was enormous causing an estimated $30 billion in damage, killing more than 400 and leaving about 800,000 homeless.

Fernando Gonzalez, a native of Santiago and winner of 11 career ATP World Tour singles titles, recently skipped the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells earlier this month to return home, view the damage, and lend support.

When Andy Roddick heard that his friend was thinking about doing a fundraising event in Miami he jumped at the opportunity. The two then reached out to their friends Jim Courier and Gustavo Kuerten, both of whom are former world No. 1’s and have won a combined seven Grand Slam singles titles.

“We will try to win to create some happiness for our country.”

Chile is not a happy country right now. The 8.8 Richter-scale earthquake that struck central and southern Chile last weekend left in its wake a lot of grief, and a desire to find some joy and light in the middle of the darkness.

Davis Cup by BNP Paribas has become an unexpected way of finding a little happiness for this ravaged country. The earthquake struck from Santiago, the capital, to the south, but Coquimbo is 500 km north of Santiago – it was felt here, but only as a soft tremor.

There were no damages to the city or the venue facilities, so there is a weird feeling of tranquility in the streets, mixed with the relief of seeing how large parts of the country were struck while their own city was spared from any harm.

Things are fine in Coquimbo, a seaside port with a twin city called La Serena, which make up a conurbation close to 600,000 inhabitants. With a 17-km wide beachfront, and lots of night life, this traditional summer retreat for Chileans features a spectacular clay-court outdoor venue, as usual in South America.

However, the natural good feeling of this place has been hurt by the suffering of their fellow nationals that have been affected. Both Fernando Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu, the leading local stars, acknowledge it but also know that sport is part of the road to recovery.

“I am saddened for what we are living as a country, but I am hopeful because we are a supportive, strong country,” said Gonzalez.

“I am fully aware of what happened in Concepción, in Talca, and I am sending a message of hope: what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. Even Roger Federer messaged me, very worried. We are all very sensitive about this.

“We will play to try to win to create some happiness for our country, for our people, in these difficult times”.

Massu had similar ideas.

“It is hard to put yourself in place of the people who have lost relatives, or are having a rough time, but I think Chile is a wonderful country,” said the former Olympic gold medalist.

“When natural disasters strike, Chileans always lend a hand to your fellow man in trouble. It does not seem easy to focus on the match, but at the same time we will do our part to give our country a morale boost by winning this tie.”

In the classic two sides of the coin, the local icons have chosen to acknowledge the suffering but commit, in full body and spirit, to win their matches for their country, in order to return some of the love and pride they have always felt from their fans. In a perhaps bittersweet way, that is what Davis Cup is all about.

Chile/Israel Davis Cup tie in doubt after the earthquake.

Gonzalez and the Chilean Davis Cup squad are scheduled to host Israel in first round World Group action beginning Friday in Coquimbo. The port town, located 500 km north of Santiago, has suffered little damage from the earthquake and the Chilean tennis federation would like the tie to go ahead as planned.

Gonzalez, who played a semi-final match Friday night at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, flew from Mexico to Lima, Peru, on Sunday night and took a domestic flight Monday to Tacna, located on the Peruvian-Chilean border. He will travel by car to the northern Chilean city of Arica, where he will attempt to book a flight to Santiago.

He posted the following message Sunday on his official web site:

“Hello friends:

“I was watching TV and I found out about the earthquake. I’m so sad for the victims and families. I’m at Mexico City. This night I’ll fly to Lima to try to get a new flight to Santiago.

“Thank God I could talk with my family after the earthquake. I watched TV all the time and I’m so sad with the news. It’s tough I can’t be in Chile. I’m praying. I would like to help with the reconstruction of my country.

“I hope to see them again as soon as possible.

“A big hug for everyone and ¡Fuerza Chile!”

The 29 year old added on his Twitter account Monday: “I only want to come back to Santiago to stay with my family again”.

Bellucci upsets Gonzalez to reach final.

Third seed Thomaz Bellucci ended hometown favourite Fernando Gonzalez’s run at the Movistar Open in Santiago and will face Juan Monaco in the final.

The Brazilian, ranked 35th in the world, lost the first set 6-3 but came back to take the second with a decisive break in the 10th game.

And he pushed on to complete a 3-6 6-4 6-3 victory in one hour and 54 minutes.

Second seed Monaco, from Argentina, had a much easier passage to the final with a 6-1 6-4 rout of Brazilian qualifier Joao Souza.

Monaco broke twice in each set and won 68 per cent of points on his serve to seal a routine 73-minute win.