Tennis Talking Points

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Oct 3, 2009

Tennis Talking Points

Andy Murray

<i>Our weekly Friday look at newsmakers in the tennis world.</i><br> <br>The most important left wrist in Great Britain remains a problem for Murray. The third-ranked Scot announced his withdrawal from next week's Japan Open on Thursday, citing more recovery time as a reason. Murray struggled with the injury in his loss to Marin Cilic in the fourth round of the U.S. Open last month, bringing an anticlimactic ending to what had been a strong summer on the hard courts. No timetable has been set for his return.

Sam Querrey

Querrey's ascendant season came to a crashing halt in Bangkok. In town for the Thailand Open, the 21-year-old Californian sat on a glass table while putting on sneakers and fell through, cutting his arm during the collapse. Emergency surgery was necessary to repair his right forearm. The right-hander is expected to be able to compete in 4-6 weeks.

Rafael Nadal

Spaniards upset about Madrid's failed Olympics bid can take heart in the fact that Nadal's recovery from an abdominal injury has gone so well that he's expected to be back for the upcoming China Open. The quick healing also means that the world's No. 2 player will compete in December's Davis Cup final when Spain takes on the Czech Republic.

Yanina Wickmayer

Where have you been, Yanina Wickmayer? The U.S. Open semifinalist came under drug-testing scrutiny when Belgian media reports revealed that she allegedly failed to report her whereabouts to testers three times in the last 18 months. World Anti-Doping Association rules state that players must make their location known at all times.

Dinara Safina

There was a seedless feeling to the Toray Pan Pacific Open. No. 1 Safina won the event last year, but fell to Taiwanese qualifier Chang Kai-chen in her first match. No. 3 Venus Williams fared no better as she exited quickly to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova added to the upset pile when she lost to Andrea Petkovic.

Martina Hingis

Remember her? Hingis turned 29 Wednesday, but that was not the biggest reason to celebrate. Her two-year ban for a positive cocaine test lapsed, and the former No. 1 is eligible to play again. In an interview with SI.com, though, she did not sound like she was ready for a comeback: "I'll leave it Justine [Henin]! It's not so easy. You need to commit. You can't just do it when you want to."