As we get closer to the U.S. Open finals, the grande finale of the 2011 tennis season, we here at Total Pro Sport thought it would be fun to have a look at who the world’s highest-paid tennis players. As you probably realize, the athletes getting the most money aren’t always the ones playing the best at the moment, which is bad news for indomitable tennis funny man Novak Djokovic but good news for guys like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. But don’t you go worrying about poor Novak. The world #1 did okay for himself this year and definitely will be able to pay next month’s phone bill.

Anyway, here’s a rundown of the top 9 earners from the world of tennis over the past 12 months. The people on the list probably won’t surprise you (if you follow tennis), but the order in which they appear just might.

9. Kim Clijsters

Clijsters may #3 among women in the world tennis rankings, but she’s currently #4 in earnings over the last 12 months. The 28-year-old had to pull out of the 2011 U.S. Open, so at the end of the calendar year she may slip a little further down the list, but so far she’s raked in $11 million in winnings and endorsement money. That’s pretty good for someone who retired in 2007 (at the age of 24), sat out two years, and came back in 2009. (I retired from writing 3 years ago, sat out for two years, and have made about $6,700 since returning.)

8. Venus Williams

Venus Williams is 31-years-old. In women’s tennis years, that’s about 93. Yet even at her “advanced age” and low rank (currently she’s #36)—and despite the fact that she’s played fewer than 15 matches all year—the former world #1 and seven-time grand slam winner can still pull in the bucks. Thanks to her endorsement deals with Wilson, EA, Kraft, Ralph Lauren, and Tide, Venus has netted $11.5 million since last September.

7. Caroline Wozniacki

Our third straight woman on the list, beautiful Belgian Caroline Wozniacki is currently ranked #1 in the world. But that don’t mean the 21-year-old is the top earning woman in the sport. No, that title currently belongs to someone else. Fortunately, Caroline still has the $12.5 million she’s earned in the last year to comfort her. She compiled that mound of dough by playing great tennis and negotiating fantastic incentive-driven endorsement deals with racket-maker Yonex and clothing giant Adidas.

6. Andy Roddick

Andy Roddick, 28, used to date American sweetheart Mandy Moore. Then she dumped him and married alt-rocker Ryan Adams. But Roddick should take heart, because he’s got one thing Adams does not: a ginormous…yearly income. Well, Ryan Adams’ income is probably pretty good too, but I seriously doubt the niche musical performer made $13 million last year like Roddick. Even though old Andy is only ranked #21 in the world right now, he’s got sweet deals with high-end brands like Lacoste and SAP to keep him afloat financially.

5. Andy Murray

Andy Murray is the fourth-best men’s tennis player at the moment, as well as the fourth highest-paid player on the men’s side. Still, on this list, the 24-year-old Brit weighs in at #5 thanks to a certain blonde bombshell. But to be honest, I wouldn’t have thought he would even be that high. Yes, he’s played some pretty great tennis of late, and yes, he gets about $4 million a year from Adidas. But why? The man has yet to win a grand slam tournament, and has only made the finals of a grand slam three times. Until he breaks through, he definitely has no business making any more than he has this year—$13.5 million.

4. Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic has earned a cool $18 million over the last 12 months, so the guy isn’t strapped for cash. Still, in a perfect world, you’d like to see a guy who’s been so dominant and so likable come in at #1 on a list like this. Then again, if things keep going the way they are (coming into the U.S. Open Novak was 57-2 this year), it won’t be long before the 24-year-old becomes the richest tennis player in the world.

3. Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova is a fantastic tennis player. She’s won 3 of the 4 grand slam events, has been ranked as high as #1 in the past, and is currently #4 again after working her way back from injuries. So it’s clear she has earned a lot of her money through playing tennis. It’s also clear that there is no way she could have made $25 million in the last year simply by playing tennis. Being really hot helps. A lot.

2. Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal has been so freaking good over the last 6 seasons that it’s almost impossible to believe the man is only 25. But hey, the internets don’t lie. Anyway, by winning the U.S. Open last year, he became the youngest player ever to achieve the career Grand Slam (and only the 7th overall). Oh, and that brought his grand slam win total up to an impressive 10—truly elite territory. Hell, six of those are French Open titles. That’s dominance, folks. So if anybody deserves to have made $31 million last year, it’s Rafa.

1. Roger Federer

Roger Federer is probably the greatest tennis player who ever lived. He seems like kind of a prick, but you can’t deny his achievements: 16 grand slams titles, a career Grand Slam (like Pistol Pete Samprass, Roger has had trouble on clay over the years, but he managed to get over the hump in 2009), and $64 million earned in winnings alone. But obviously Roger doesn’t sit at the top of this list because of that $64 million. Nope, the 30-year-old (90 in tennis years) Swiss superstar earns the majority of his cash through endorsements. That’s how he cleared $47 million last year.

Source

Sampras defeated two tennis greats in the quarterfinals and semi-finals to reach the finals.  In the quarters, he beat out third-ranked Ivan Lendl in five sets to break Lendl’s streak of eight consecutive U.S. Open finals appearances.  Up next was John McEnroe, who Sampras beat quite easily in four sets, setting up a final match against fourth-ranked Andre Agassi.  This was a dream matchup, as both Sampras and Agassi were young, up-and-coming superstars in the world of tennis.

The finals turned out to be anti-climactic as Sampras thoroughly dominated Agassi, winning in straight sets 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.  The win gave Pete his first career Grand Slam title and he would go on to win 13 more for the all-time record of 14 career Grand Slam titles.  However, in 2009 he was surpassed by Roger Federer who currently owns 16 career Grand Slam titles.

Here is a post-match interview with Sampras.

Notable Birthdays

Joe Theismann, NFL – Born September 9th 1949 (age 62) in New Brunswick, New Jersey

Edwin Jackson, MLB – Born September 9th 1983 (age 28) in Bavaria, West Germany

J.R. Smith, NBA – Born September 9th 1985 (age 26) in Freehold, New Jersey

Roddick was at it once again earlier today.  After his fourth-round match against David Ferrer was postponed for 40 hours due to continuous rainfall at Flushing Meadows, the two took to Louis Armstrong Stadium today in an attempt to finally complete their match, only to realize that the court had been damaged during the rain delay.

Upon taking the court, Roddick noticed that there was a bubble caused by seeping water near the baseline.  After the two players were sent to the locker room for 40 minutes while stadium workers attempted to fix the problem, Roddick and Ferrer returned to the court, only to realize that the problem had yet to be fixed.  This caused Roddick to voice his displeasure with tournament referee Brian Earley.

The match was eventually moved to court 13, which has a seating capacity of only 584, and Roddick would win the match, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Here is a look at Roddick giving Earley and earful.  No pun intended.

Hat Tip – [Busted Racquet]

Now that we know it was only a cramp Nadal had suffered, it is nice to see that some of his fellow tennis mates are getting a good laugh from the incident.  Caroline Wozniacki, the top-ranked female player, was among those poking fun at Nadal, as she decided to provide reporters with her best imitation of the second-seeded Spaniard following her fourth round victory at the US Open.

Perhaps next time Wozniacki decides to immitate Nadal, she should do so by winning a Grand Slam title, something she hasn’t been able to do during her WTA career…Sorry Caroline, but it had to be said.

Here is a look at Wozniacki imitating Nadal.

And for those of you who haven’t seen Nadal’s epic press conference cramp, here it is.

It included a total of 24 shots, and plenty of running around from Berlocq, but in the end, much like most of the other points from this match, it was Djokovic coming out on top.

Here is a look at the exciting rally between Djokovic and Berlocq.

The U.S. Open kicked off earlier this week. This is great news for me, and for two reasons: because (1) I am a big fan of tennis, and because (2) I am an even bigger fan of beautiful talented women. Now, my needs as a tennis fan planning to watch matches on television were taken care of by the U.S. Open selection committee. They seeded the top 16 players so that the tennis fan part of me would have an idea of what matches might be exciting. But what my needs as a fan of hot ladies? Well, I had to take care of that myself. Here, for my own benefit as well as yours, is a list of the 9 hottest women playing in the 2011 U.S. Open. Set your Tivo accordingly.

9. Jelena Dokić

Age: 28
Home Country: Australia (born in Serbia and Montenegro)
Current Ranking: 73
Highest Career Ranking: 4 (2002)
U.S. Open Seed: n/a
Status: will face Jelena Jankovic in round 2 (battle of the Jelenas)

Okay, so I know this photo is a little scary. Jelena is in the process of pulverizing a tennis ball, and is making the typical facial expression that accompanies the tennis-grunt. But if you will just kind of block that facial expression out for a moment, you’ll see that Ms. Dokic is blessed with one seriously impressive physique.

8. Vitalia Diatchenko

Age: 21
Home Country: Russia
Current Ranking: 139
Highest Career Ranking: 105 (2009)
U.S. Open Seed: n/a
Status: eliminated in round 1 by Zheng Jie

Sadly for fans of beautiful women, poor Vitalia Diatchenko has already been eliminated from the 2011 U.S. Open. Have a good long look at her photo here, then cue up Sarah McLachlan’s “I Will Remember You” in your head and imagine a slow-motion montage of this beautiful Russian. Whether or not you employ the Ken Burns effect for your imaginary slideshow is up to you.

7. Petra Cetkovská

Age: 26
Home Country: Czech Republic
Current Ranking: 32
Highest Career Ranking: 32 (2011)
U.S. Open Seed: n/a
Status: will face #16 Ana Ivanovic in round 2

The good news about this Czech hottie is that, despite her advanced age (for women’s tennis she’s kind of old), she is currently on the rise in the world rankings, with her current position being her best to date. So, if all goes well, we may be seeing a lot more of her at future tennis tournaments. Unfortunately, there is also some bad news. Have you figured out what that is yet? If not, keep reading.

6. Gisella Dulko

Age: 26
Home Country: Argentina
Current Ranking: 51
Highest Career Ranking: 26 (2005)
U.S. Open Seed: n/a
Status: will face #4 Victoria Azarenka in round 2

You’re probably thinking, “hey, look, finally a hot female tennis player not from Eastern Europe.” Well, while Latin women are often some of the sexiest on the planet, I must tell you that Dulko here is of—drumroll—Hungarian descent. Dulko didn’t sound Spanish to you, did it? So if you are keeping score at home, so far that’s Eastern Europe 4, Rest of the World 0.

5. Caroline Wozniacki

Age: 21
Home Country: Denmark
Current Ranking: 1
Highest Career Ranking: 1 (2010)
U.S. Open Seed: 1
Status: will face Arantxa Rus in round 2

Now it’s Eastern Europe 5, Rest of the World 0. Yes, although Wozniacki was born and raised in Denmark, her parents are from Poland originally. They relocated when Caroline’s father, a pro soccer player, signed with a Danish team. Of course, in this photo the tennis superstar is looking an awful lot like the all-American girl next door.

4. Alona Bondarenko

Age: 27
Home Country: Ukraine
Current Ranking: n/a
Highest Career Ranking: 19 (2008)
U.S. Open Seed: n/a
Status: eliminated in round 1 by Sabine Lisicki

After a prolonged injury, Alona Bondarenko was able to get into the 2011 U.S. Open thanks to what is known as a “protected ranking.” Basically, what this means is that a player with a significant injury is allowed to return to action at the rank she (or he) held before the injury. That way, the player won’t have to start all over by having to qualify for every single tournament. Unfortunately for Alona Bondarenko—and tragically for the rest of us—a “protected ranking” status doesn’t help you shake off the rust. She lost in the first round.

3. Maria Sharapova

Age: 24
Home Country: Russia
Current Ranking: 4
Highest Career Ranking: 1 (2005)
U.S. Open Seed: 3
Status: will face Anastasiya Yakimova in round 2

Sharapova became etched in the hearts of tennis fans and sexy female-loving men around the world when she won Winbledon at the age of 17 back in 2004. Back then, if you talked about how hot Sharapova was you were a total pervert. Today the gorgeous Russian is 24, so it’s totally cool.

2. Dominika Cibulková

Age: 22
Home Country: Slovakia
Current Ranking: 15
Highest Career Ranking: 12 (2009)
U.S. Open Seed: 14
Status: will face Irina Falconi in round 2

I don’t know about you, but it makes me feel better knowing that the hottest women’s tennis players at this year’s Open are also some of the best. That’s because I can follow their progress closely without feeling shallow. If anyone asks why I care so much, I can honestly say “because ‘so-and-so’ is a phenomenal talent.”

1. Ana Ivanović

Age: 23
Home Country: Serbia and Montenegro
Current Ranking: 19
Highest Career Ranking: 1 (2008)
U.S. Open Seed: 16
Status: will face Petra Cetkovska in round 2

I doubt anyone will have any real objection with my putting Ana Ivanović at #1. But just in case, my logic was as follows: while there may be (and almost certainly are) women’s tennis players that are hotter than Ivanović off the court, there is no one in the world who is hotter than her on the court. So as far as watching this year’s U.S. Open is concerned, that makes Ana Ivanović the cream of the crop. Sadly, either Ana or #7 Petra Cetkovská will be heading home after the next round, because they are facing off against each other.

Oh, and in case you lost track…

Final Score: Eastern Europe 9, Rest of the World 0.

Simona Halep made headlines a few years ago when she announced that she would be reducing her giant 34DD breasts to much more manageable 34C’s.  That loss has finally begun to translate into some gains for the 19-year-old Romanian, as she has advanced past the first round in each of this year’s Grand Slam tournaments, including the US Open, where she beat sixth-seed Li Na in straight sets yesterday, 6-2, 7-5.

Li wasn’t the only one on the court having a tough time dealing with Halep’s forehand.  The chair umpire also didn’t have an answer for it when Halep sent a shot her way during the eleventh game of the second set.

Here’s a look at the incident.

The 2011 U.S. Open is under way this week in New York. As always, the crowds that fill the stands at the USTA National Tennis Center over the next couple weeks will be looking for an underdog they can get behind. Of course, they won’t know who their underdog is until he or she is on the verge of an upset, since you never can predict these sorts of things. But there’s always at least one good upset, and some years there are several. Here, as proof, is a list of the 9 greatest upsets in the modern history of the U.S. Open. It won’t do you any good in making predictions about this year, but it will encourage you to expect the unexpected.

9. John Isner defeats #5 Andy Roddick (Round 3, 2009)

Poor Andy is lucky I’m doing the top 9 biggest U.S. Open upsets instead of the top 10, or else he would probably take up two of the infamous spots on this list. As it is, we’re letting his upset as the #8 seed in 2010 fall by the wayside and focusing only on the more painful 2009 upset. You see, in 2009, it looked like Roddick was finally getting his act together again. He took Roger Federer to five sets in the Wimbledon final, losing the heartbreaking fifth set 14-16. Unfortunately, Roddick couldn’t maintain this momentum, and he lost in the third round to the unknown John Isner 3-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2.

8. #6 Juan Martin Del Potro defeats #1 Roger Federer (Finals, 2009)

Normally a #6 defeating a #1 in the finals of a grand slam wouldn’t be considered a huge upset. But when the #1 in question is Roger Federer? Yeah, it’s a big deal. Coming into the 2009 tournament, Federer had won the previous five U.S. Opens and six of the last seven Wimbledons, including the 2009 final against Andy Roddick. So the Swiss tennis superstud was considered a mortal lock to walk away with his 6th straight U.S. Open title. Then, somehow, he didn’t, losing in the finals to the sixth seeded Argentinian Juan Martin Del Potro 3-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2.

7. Melanie Oudin defeats “The Russians” (Rounds 1-4, 2009)

Before the 2009 U.S. Open, Georgia native Melanie Oudin hardly made a splash on the world tennis scene. Heck, she hasn’t made a splash since the 2009 Open. But during that 2009 tournament, every tennis fan on earth knew all about her. That’s because she upset four good Russian tennis players in a row in the first four rounds of the tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to non-Russian Caroline Wozniacki. It was one of the most memorable cinderella runs in recent memory. Oudin defeated (current world #16) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in round 1, #4 Elena Dementieva in round 2, #23 Maria Sharapova in round 3, and #13 Nadia Petrova in round 4. That’s a pretty strong track record against Russians for a girl who was born after the Berlin wall came down (1991).

6. #15 Petr Korda defeats #1 Pete Sampras (Round 4, 1997)

Hey, remember Petr Korda? No? Well, he did win one grand slam title (the 1998 Australian Open) and was ranked #2 in the world back on February 2, 1998. But Korda’s magical run actually began at the U.S. Open in September of 1997, when he defeated the #1 player in the world in the fourth round 6-7, 7-5, 7-6, 3-6, 7-6. (Should I mention that later in 2008 Korda tested positive for steroids? Oops, I just did.)

5. Julie Coin defeats #1 Ana Ivanovic (Round 2, 2008)

Ana Ivanovic was ranked #1 the world for about 15 minutes back in 2008. Okay, it was about 4 months, but my point was, it wasn’t long. She won the French Open that year, which got her to #1, but she then lost at Wimbledon to a player ranked #133. Then Ivanovic lost a few more hard court matches later in the summer, dropping her out of the #1 ranking for a few weeks before she climbed back up just in time for the U.S. Open…where she lost to an unknown French player named Julie Coin in the second round 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Today Ivanovic ranks a respectable #17 and holds the distinction of being perhaps the hottest player to ever be at the losing end of a major upset.

4. Tracy Austin defeats #4 Sue Barker (Round 1, 1977)

To say Tracy Austin was an unknown coming into the 1977 U.S. Open would be a boldfaced lie. As you can see from this photo, she made the cover of Sports Illustrated back in 1976 as a 13-year-old phenom. Still, Austin was unranked entering the ’77 tournament, and she was only 14, so it was still rather shocking that she defeated #4 Sue Barker in the first round by the score of 6-1, 6-4.

3. Jan Kodeš defeats #1 John Newcombe (Round 1, 1971)

Australian tennis great John Newcombe won seven grand slam titles in his career, including the 1967 U.S. Open, as well as both the Aussie Open and Wimbledon in 1971. So coming into the 1971 U.S. Open, Newcombe was ranked #1 in the world and a favorite to come away with the title. Obviously, he didn’t. He lost in the first round to the 1971 French Open champion Jan Kodeš, who was widely considered to be a clay courts specialist. I’m guessing, after his 2-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-3 defeat, Newcombe didn’t share this assessment of Mr. Kodeš’s game. For his part, Kodeš only had one major upset in him, as he went on to lose in the finals to #2 Stan Smith.

2. #16 Bill Scanlon defeats #1 John McEnroe (Round 4, 1983)

Everyone thought John McEnroe was unstoppable in 1983. He had won Wimbledon in 1981 and 1983, plus the U.S. Open in 1979, 1980, and 1981. He was on fire, as they say. But sixteenth seed Bill Scanlon apparently had a fire extinguisher on hand for the 1983 U.S. Open, because he beat McEnroe in the fourth round 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3. This would turn out to be Scanlon’s greatest claim to fame—an upset of McEnroe in the U.S. Open. McEnroe rebounded the next year, winning the 1984 U.S. Open Final against Ivan Lendl in straight sets.

1. Alexander Volkov defeats #1 Stefan Edberg (Round 1, 1990)

The greatest upset in the modern history of the U.S. Open is unseeded Alexander Volkov’s 6-3, 7-6, 6-2 defeat of world #1 Stefan Edberg in the first round of the 1990 tournament. Edberg has already won 4 grand slam titles by that point in his career: the Australian Open in 1985 and 1987, plus Wimbledon in 1988 and 1990. He was an obvious favorite to win his first U.S. Open that year. But Volkov pulled off the unlikeliest of upsets, defeating the best tennis player in the world (at the time) handily in straight sets. Edberg wasn’t scarred by the event, however, as he rebounded by winning the U.S. Open in 1991 and 1992.

The United States National Championship had been taking place since 1881, with separate events taking place in the men’s, women’s, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles competitions.  However, 1968 marked the first year that all five events were merged into a single event called “the US Open.”  It also marked the first year that the event was open to professionals, with a total of 96 men and 63 women entering the event.

The US Open is currently the fourth Grand Slam event on the professional tennis circuit, with the prize money having increased from $100,000 USD in 1968 to $23,718,000 USD for the upcoming 2011 tournament, which is set to begin today.

Here is a look at the highlights from last year’s US Open Men’s Final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

Notable Birthdays

Roy Oswalt, MLB – Born on August 29, 1977 (age 34) in Weir, Mississippi

David West, NBA -Born on August 29, 1980 (age 31) in Teaneck, New Jersey

Chris Simms, NFL – Born on August 29, 1980 (age 31) in Ridgewood, New Jersey

Luckily, they all look incredible sexy when worn by one of the hottest females on tour.  Here is a look at what you can expect to see Wozniacki in when she takes the court at Flushing Meadows at the end of August.  You can check out the full Stella McCartney tennis collection at the Adidas website.

Hat Tip – [Busted Racquet]