A fast court, plenty of fast serves and a straight-sets win. It was all vintage Pete Sampras. The seven-time Wimbledon champion played tennis in England on Wednesday for the first time since 2002, beating John McEnroe 6-3, 6-4 in a seniors match at the Royal Albert Hall. "To be retired six years and still play in front of good crowds is an honor," the 37-year-old Sampras said. more...

Roger Federer will play only two clay-court tournaments before the French Open, the only Grand Slam tournament he has never won. Federer will head to Paris on May 24 after playing Masters series events on his least favorite surface in Rome and Madrid, according to a schedule published on his Web site. more...

Novak Djokovic will host Serbia's first ATP tournament, which will offer $500,000 in prize money. The third-ranked Serb confirmed Wednesday that Belgrade will host the event in May. His family bought the licence of the ABN Amro Open previously held in the Netherlands. "After all the success of our players, we have managed to bring Serbia to the world map of tennis," Djokovic said. more...

The city of Surprise, Ariz., will host the 2009 Fed Cup quarterfinal between the United States and Argentina on Feb. 7-8. The U.S. Tennis Association picked the site. The five matches will be played in a temporary stadium at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex. Tickets will go on sale this month. The United States leads Argentina 2-1 in Fed Cup play. more...

Tennis great Jimmy Connors has been charged with a misdemeanor for an altercation last week before a basketball game between UC Santa Barbara and top-ranked North Carolina. Connors, an eight-time Grand Slam champion, was charged Wednesday in Santa Barbara Superior Court with disrupting campus activities and refusing to leave a university facility. more...

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will open the 2009 ATP season by playing at the Qatar Open. Qatar tennis federation president Nasser al-Kholiafi says Andy Murray and Andy Roddick will also take part in the hard-court tournament, which begins Jan. 5. The tournament in Doha is one of three to start the 2009 tennis season, along with the Brisbane International in Australia, and the Chennai Open in... more...

Maria Sharapova expects to be back on the tennis tour at the start of 2009 and defend her Australian Open title after being sidelined since July with an injured right shoulder. Sharapova's agent, Max Eisenbud, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that she is "on track" to return to action at the Jan. more...