As the leaves change color, tennis players head indoors. The fall season culminates with big year-end events on both the men’s and women’s tours—the ATP Tennis Masters Cup, in Shanghai, and the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships, in Madrid.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have already locked up their spots in the Masters Cup, as have Justine Henin-Hardenne, Amelie Mauresmo and Maria Sharapova for the women (both championships will field eight-player round-robin draws). You can get a full breakdown of where the rest of the ATP and WTA contenders stand at TENNIS.com:

              ATP Tennis Masters Cup                      Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships


The Rivalry Resumed?

Federer and Nadal will have a chance to face off in the fall’s two Masters Series events, in Madrid and Paris. Though the quick indoor surface will give Federer’s game the edge, Nadal will have the support of the home crowds in Madrid.

But don’t feel too sorry for Federer—he’ll have the fans rooting madly for him the following week, when he plays in his own hometown, Basel. The nine-time Grand Slam winner has yet to win his home event, however, losing in the finals in 2002 and 2003 and missing the last two years with injury. He’ll be hoping to break the jinx this year and show the locals what the rest of the world has been raving about.

Also in the mix are Andy Roddick, Ivan Ljubicic, Nikolay Davydenko, and James Blake, who lead the rest of the pack in the hunt for a berth in Shanghai. Young guns like Tomas Berdych, the defending champion in Paris, and Andy Murray will be trying to make an impact as well.

And what of David Nalbandian? The Argentine played—and trash-talked—effectively enough to lead his team to victory in the Davis Cup semifinals, but has had a mediocre season in individual events this year. Can he spring a few surprises with his all-surface game over the next month?

The Walking Wounded

Expect even more surprises on the women’s side, as several top stars make their returns from injury. Last week’s field in Stuttgart exemplified this year’s trend: Pullouts included Amelie Mauresmo, Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Maria Sharapova, Lindsay Davenport, Ana Ivanovic, Venus Williams, and Serena Williams.

Henin-Hardenne is not planning to play any events before Madrid after suffering a knee injury during the Fed Cup final last month. Kim Clijsters, who hurt her left wrist in Montreal this summer, was originally scheduled to return the week before Madrid but says her comeback has been going well and she might return a week earlier.

Maria Sharapova will be back in her native land when she plays Moscow next week, and tournament organizers are saying Serena Williams might also take a wild card into the event. Lindsay Davenport won’t be crossing the Atlantic—she’s only scheduled to play in the small Quebec City tournament for the rest of the year. Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic, who both got hurt a couple of weeks ago, aren’t sure when they’ll be back—and neither is Amelie Mauresmo, who was all set to play but had to pull out at the last minute with a shoulder problem.

Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva, and Martina Hingis are three top players who have been relatively free from aches and pains—look for them to show up at the year-end Championships if they can continue to stay healthy.

---

On Newsstands Now

TENNIS Magazine
- Serena Strikes Back (How Serious is She ?)
- Get Better Now! -- 47 Tips from the Game's Top Teachers
- Tennis in Baghdad's Green Zone
- The 50 Best U.S. Tennis Resorts
View Table of Contents | Click Here to Subscribe


On Newsstands

The Month that Was

Tennis’ premier team competitions moved to the fore after the U.S. Open, with Italy winning its first Fed Cup in unexpected fashion when Henin-Hardenne retired in the deciding doubles match with a sudden knee injury. But whatever the circumstances, it was an impressive team effort from the Italians, who had to bench their injured second singles player, Flavia Penetta, on the final day.

Her substitute, Mara Santangelo, toughed out a three-set win over Kirsten Flipkens to send the tie into the fifth and deciding match. Flipkens, who had to go out and play doubles immediately after that tough singles loss, shed a quiet tear when it all ended so suddenly two and a half sets later.

The Belgians had an expected supporter on the second day of the tie—Kim Clijsters, who had previously said she would stay home and watch on TV so as not to distract the team, showed up with a bandaged arm on the second day and rooted vociferously for her side.

The Italians also had a Grand Slam winner in their corner—Penetta’s boyfriend, Carlos Moya, who was there throughout the weekend. Francesca Schiavone, who had a hand in all three points won by the Italian team, has yet to win a WTA Tour title but can now put the title of Fed Cup champion on her résumé.

There was plenty of drama in Davis Cup as well, with Dmitry Tursunov becoming Russia’s latest Davis Cup hero by winning a marathon match 17-15 in the fifth set against Andy Roddick, which gave Russia an insurmountable 3-1 lead in the tie against the Americans. Russia will host Argentina in December’s final after the South American nation drubbed archrivals Australia 5-0 in Buenos Aires. For more on the semifinals and the world group playoffs, see TENNIS.com’s 10 questions on Davis Cup and Photo Gallery.

Next year’s Davis Cup draw is already out—a potential showdown between Federer and Nadal is again in the offing, with Switzerland and Spain slated to face each other in the first round. The winner could meet the United States in the second round.

---

Don’t Miss…

• TENNIS Magazines’ Tactical Tennis with
  Paul Annacone DVD Series
  Click here to view clips from the four-part instructional DVD series.
  
  
• The New TENNIS.com
  With headline news, exclusive online features, staff columns and blogs, video and article instruction, gear reviews, live scores, statistics, message boards, sports psychology, and much more, the new TENNIS.com is the most comprehensive tennis site on the web.

With a Tennis magazine top 10 ranking, 17 Har-tru courts and pro instruction, Wild Dunes Resort in Charleston is the perfect island getaway.

Enjoy the Sunday Night Special. Arrive on Sundays through November and receive a $25 Resort credit for each night of your stay! Limited availability - book now!

www.wilddunes.com