2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Before the season, Coaching changes
Defensive coordinator John Chavis interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons but chose to stay at Tennessee. This decision followed a similar decision by defensive ends coach Steve Caldwell. In December 2007 Caldwell chose to stay with Tennessee and turned down an offer to be the Defensive Coordinator at Arkansas.


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Before the season, Player news
Tennessee was bolstered by the return of safety Demetrice Morley. Morley was a five star recruit out of Miami, Florida who played for the Vols in 2005 and 2006 before being dismissed from the football team and leaving school for academic reasons. After sitting out the 2007 season, Morley was readmitted to the University in January 2008 and will rejoin the team. Morley told the media that he had been living in his car following his dismissal from the team, but that the birth of his son motivated him to return.


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Before the season, Player news
Another defensive back, Antonio Gaines, was awarded a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA in February. Gaines had missed the majority of both the 2003 and 2007 seasons due to injuries.


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Before the season, Player news
The Vols are also welcoming two major transfer student athletes. Gerald Williams, who originally signed with Tennessee in 2005 has been cleared to join the team after spending finishing up at San Francisco Junior College. Brandon Warren, a Freshman All American at Florida State has been cleared to play by the NCAA.


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Before the season, Discipline
The Volunteer football team has also seen its share of off of the field issues since the close of the 2007 season. The first incident of the offseason occurred during a recruiting weekend. Wide receivers Gerald Jones and Ahmad Paige were cited for a misdemeanor possession of marijuana while hosting a recruit. Neither were suspended, but both were required to undertake more frequent drug testing and participate in a police ride along program.


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Before the season, Discipline
Another incident involved redshirt freshman running back Daryl Vereen. Vereen was arrested and charged with public intoxication and underage consumption after an on campus fight. Vereen was required to perform community service and was under a semester-long curfew. Fulmer also required the entire team to attend 6 A.M. running as punishment for the offense.


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Before the season, Discipline
Offensive lineman Anthony Parker was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct in January. Parker's punishment included morning runs, curfew, community service and the police ride along program. Parker was charged after failing to obey the commands of a Knoxville police officer with whom he had previous run-ins. This incident was followed by the arrest of incoming walk-on Vincent Faison for DUI. Faison was suspended for two games.


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Before the season, Discipline
In February, linebacker Dorian Davis and defensive back Antonio Wardlow were dismissed from the team for a violation of team rules. The most recent incident of the offseason involved decorated punter Britton Colquitt. Colquitt was suspended for five games after being arrested and charge with both DUI and leaving the scene of an accident. Colquitt also had his scholarship revoked.


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Players, Starting lineups and coaches, Offense
Wide Receivers: Latrell ScottOffensive Line: Greg AtkinsRunning Backs: Ronald Gallant Jr.Tight Ends: Jason Michael


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Players, Starting lineups and coaches, Offensive outlook
CoachesHead Coach Phillip Fulmer hired Dave Clawson, formerly the head coach at the University of Richmond, to replace David Cutcliffe as offensive coordinator. Greg Atkins (offensive line) is the only returning coach on the offensive staff. Joining him are newly hired assistants Stan Drayton (running backs), Jason Michael, and Latrell Scott (wide receivers).


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Players, Starting lineups and coaches, Offensive outlook
QuarterbacksThe Vols must replace graduate Erik Ainge, a 5th-round selection of the New York Jets in the 2008 NFL Draft. The leading candidates are Jonathan Crompton, who started one game as an injury replacement for Ainge in 2006, redshirt freshman B. J. Coleman and redshirt sophomore Nick Stephens. After spring practices, Crompton had minor elbow surgery but should be ready for the season opener and all reports are that Crompton will be the starting quarterback.


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Players, Starting lineups and coaches, Offensive outlook
Arian Foster saw the majority of time at tailback last season, with relief appearances by LaMarcus Coker, Montario Hardesty, and Lennon Creer. Coker was eventually dismissed from the team following the South Carolina game for a violation of team rules. Foster finished the season with 1193 rushing yards and 12 TDs. Foster, Hardesty and Creer all return and look to see significant time in the backfield. Looking to work his way into the rotation will be Daryl Vereen, a highly touted redshirt freshman. The fullback position may also be used more under Clawson.


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Players, Starting lineups and coaches, Offensive outlook
The starter was supposed to be David Holbert, but he has suffered another ACL injury and is out for the year. To honor Holbert, Arian Foster will wear Holbert's #30 jersey in the season opener at UCLA. With the injury to Holbert, sophomore Kevin Cooper looks to be the starter but true freshman Austin Johnson, who just recently moved from linebacker to fullback, will also compete for playing time. Receivers


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Players, Starting lineups and coaches, Offensive outlook
The wide receivers were led by Lucas Taylor and Austin Rogers last season. Taylor had 73 receptions for 1,000 yards, while Rogers caught 56 passes for 624 yards. Both return for their senior season in 2008. Joining them will be Senior Josh Briscoe, Junior Quintin Hancock, Sophomores Gerald Jones, who many said was the star of the spring and will also see time at quarterback, Denarius Moore, and redshirt freshman Ahmad Paige.


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Players, Starting lineups and coaches, Offensive outlook
Offensive lineThe offensive line returns the entire starting group from late in the 2007 season. The line was shuffled after an injury to Eric Young. Josh McNeil will anchor the line at center, with guards Anthony Parker and Jacques McClendon. Ramon Foster and Chris Scott will be the starters at tackle. This line allowed only 4 sacks during the 2007 season. Many experts predict Anthony Parker to be a First team All-American and for this unit to be the strongest in the SEC.


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Players, Starting lineups and coaches, Offensive outlook
Tight EndsThe tight end position is up in the air following the losses of Chris Brown and Brad Cottam. Brad's brother Jeff Cottam and Luke Stocker are the leading candidates for the starting job. Because of the depth issues at tight end, offensive lineman Cody Pope was moved to play the position


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Players, Starting lineups and coaches, Defense
Defensive coordinator / linebackers / associate head coach: John Chavis (20th year)Base Defense: Multiple (4–3 and 3–2–6 "Mustang")


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Players, Starting lineups and coaches, Defense
Defensive line: Dan BrooksDefensive ends: Steve CaldwellDefensive backs: Larry Slade


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Players, Starting lineups and coaches, Defense
Coaches2008 will be the 14th season as defensive coordinator for John Chavis. The defensive staff had been together and unchanged since the 1999 Season, with Dan Brooks, Steve Caldwell and Larry Slade.


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Players, Starting lineups and coaches, Defense
On the defensive line, the Vols must replace two starters at end. Senior Robert Ayers and Junior Wes Brown are the leading candidates at those two spots. Tackles Dan Williams and DeMonte Bolden return after starting for the majority of the 2007 season. Providing depth will be tackles Walter Fisher, Chase Nelson, Donald Langley and Victor Thomas along with ends Ben Martin, Andre Mathis, and Chris Walker.


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Players, Starting lineups and coaches, Defense
LinebackersThe Vols replace two starters in the linebacker corps. Junior Rico McCoy returns to man one of the outside spots. Ellix Wilson, who started the 2008 Outback Bowl at the middle linebacker looks to earn that job for the 2008 season. The other outside spot is up in the air, with Nevin McKenzie seeing the most time there the previous year.


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Players, Starting lineups and coaches, Defense
Defensive backsThe defensive backfield saw a slew of injuries and changes in 2007, but looks to be much more stable and seasoned in 2008. The Vols must replace departing safety Jonathan Hefney. Sophomores Eric Berry (SS), Brent Vinson and DeAngelo Willingham (Cornerbacks) should return to their spots with special teams phenom, Dennis Rogan expected to see plenty of snaps at both cornerback and safety. SS Demetrice Morley was reinstated in school after academic trouble caused him to miss the 2007 season. He is the leading candidate at the vacant free safety spot. It has also been stated during the off season that Eric Berry could see time on the offensive side of the ball, as he has lined up at quarterback multiple times during spring practice.


2008 Tennessee Volunteers football team, Players, Starting lineups and coaches, Special teams
Position outlookSophomore Daniel Lincoln (kicker) replaced departing Senior James Wilhoit in 2007 and earned All American Honors. Britton Colquitt returns as punter and will handle kickoffs. Sophomores Dennis Rogan emerged as the main kick and punt returner last, with Lennon Creer joining him as kick returner. Both players return.


2008 Tennis Channel Open
The 2008 Tennis Channel Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 21st edition of the Tennis Channel Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at The Amanda & Stacy Darling Memorial Tennis Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, from March 3 through March 9, 2008.


2008 Tennis Channel Open
The singles field featured Viña del Mar champion Fernando González, former World No. 1 and 2007 Cincinnati Masters semifinalist Lleyton Hewitt, and Marseille semifinalist Marcos Baghdatis. Other top seeds competing were 2007 Metz semifinalist Guillermo Cañas, Buenos Aires and Acapulco quarterfinalist Potito Starace, Michaël Llodra, Robin Söderling and Nicolas Kiefer.


2008 Tennis Channel Open, Finals, Doubles
Julien Benneteau /  Michaël Llodra defeated  Bob Bryan /  Mike Bryan, 6–4, 4–6, [10–8]


2008 Tennis Channel Open – Doubles
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan were the defending champions, but Julien Benneteau and Michaël Llodra defeated them 6–4, 4–6, [10–8], in the final.


2008 Tennis Channel Open – Singles
Lleyton Hewitt was the defending champion, but lost in the second round to Julien Benneteau.


2008 Tennis Channel Open – Singles
Unseeded Sam Querrey won in the final 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, against qualifier Kevin Anderson.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2008 Tennis Masters Cup was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 39th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 34th edition of the year-end doubles championships, and part of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai, China, from November 9 through November 16, 2008.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup
Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) No . 3 Novak Djokovic of Serbia won his first year-end championships title in the singles event, defeating ATP No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia in the final 6–1, 7–5. Four-time winner, two-time defending champion Roger Federer was defeated in the round robin stage of the event for the first time in seven consecutive appearances. Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjić of Serbia won the doubles event 7–6, 6–2 over Americans Bob and Mike Bryan in the final for their first year-end championships doubles title together. With the win, they clinched the year-end No. 1 spot for the first time together. Nestor successfully defended his 2007 Tennis Masters Cup title with his new partner Zimonjić, while the other defending champion, Mark Knowles, lost in the round robin, with Mahesh Bhupathi.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup
It was the last time that the singles and doubles year-end championships took place in Shanghai as the Tennis Masters Cup. Starting in 2009, the season-ending event went to London, United Kingdom, at the O2 arena, under the new name of ATP World Tour Finals. Shanghai instead received a newly created event in the 2009 season, the Shanghai Masters, which take places earlier in the ATP calendar.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification
Spots were awarded to the top seven players and the top seven doubles teams in the 2008 ATP Race, with one spot reserved for Grand Slam champions who finished within the Top 20 players or teams of the ATP Race rankings. Two more players and teams also went to Shanghai as alternates in case of withdrawals.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
On July 9 – after the 2008 Wimbledon Championships – the first three players to qualify for the 2008 year-end championships were selected: ATP No. 2 Rafael Nadal of Spain, World No. 1 Roger Federer of Switzerland and third-ranked Novak Djokovic of Serbia. These players, who held the top three spots of the ATP rankings during the whole year, secured their fourth, seventh and second appearance respectively in the season's finale.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
Rafael Nadal, who reached his first hard courts Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open (lost to Tsonga), qualified after winning the French Open for a fourth consecutive time, matching Björn Borg's record performance from 1978 to 1981. He broke Roger Federer's streak of five consecutive titles in Wimbledon as he defeated the Swiss 6–4, 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 9–7, in a four-hour-forty-eight-minute-long final – the second longest championship match in Wimbledon's history – to become the first tennis player to complete the Roland-Garros/Wimbledon double since Borg.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
In addition to the two Grand Slam titles, Nadal had also, at the time of his qualification, reached two finals in Chennai (lost to Youhzny) and Miami (lost to Davydenko), won his fourth consecutive title in Monte Carlo (def. Federer) and at Barcelona (def. Ferrer), and his first in Hamburg (def. Federer) and at London's Queen's Club (def. Djokovic), where he became, two weeks before his Wimbledon victory, the first Spaniard to win a grass court title since Andrés Gimeno in 1972.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
After his qualification, Nadal clinched a second title at the Canada Masters (def. Kiefer), a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics (def. González), and a semifinal run at the US Open (lost to Murray). On August 18, after 160 weeks at ATP No. 2, Rafael Nadal overtook Roger Federer, breaking his 237-week streak at the top spot, to become the 24th player to hold the No. 1 rank in the twenty-five years of computerised-rankings history. Nadal eventually withdrew in the run-up to the tournament, citing fatigue.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
Roger Federer started his 2008 campaign with his first exit before the final in a major event since a 2005 defeat by Rafael Nadal at the French Open, when he lost in the Australian Open semifinals to Djokovic. After announcing he had contracted mononucleosis in December 2007, Federer hired clay-court specialist José Higueras to coach him, first during the clay court season, but eventually for the rest of the year.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
Federer qualified after he reached his third consecutive French Open final (lost to Nadal), where he suffered a 6–1, 6–3, 6–0 defeat, and his sixth consecutive Wimbledon final (lost to Nadal). After failing to beat the five-consecutive-title streak at the All England Club record and losing his third Grand Slam tournament in a row for the first time since 2002, Federer described the Wimbledon final as his "hardest loss by far".


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
When he qualified, Federer had lost two more finals to Nadal in Monte Carlo and Hamburg, and won only two ATP International Series titles in Estoril (def. Davydenko) and Halle (def. Kohlschreiber). Despite losing his number 1 spot to Nadal in August, the rest of Federer's season featured better results with a third consecutive title in Basel (def. Nalbandian), and a fifth straight victory at the US Open (def. Murray) which brought him one Grand Slam title short of Pete Sampras's record of fourteen.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
Novak Djokovic had the best start of the season, as the Serb reached his second straight Grand Slam final after the 2007 US Open, and won his first major title at the Australian Open (def. Tsonga), becoming the first man other that Federer or Nadal to win a Grand Slam since Marat Safin in Melbourne three years before.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
Djokovic reached his fifth straight Grand Slam semifinal at the French Open (lost to Nadal), but suffered his earliest exit in a major since a first round loss at the 2006 Australian Open, in the second round of the Wimbledon Championships (lost to Safin). In the first part of the year, Djokovic also reached the London's Queen's Club final (lost to Nadal), and won two ATP Masters Series titles in Indian Wells (def. Fish) and Rome (def. Wawrinka).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
After qualifying for the year-end event, Djokovic lost to Nadal in the semifinals of the Beijing Olympics tennis event, but defeated James Blake in the third place match to win a Bronze Medal for Serbia. Despite this run, Djokovic failed to win another title in 2008 until the Tennis Masters Cup. He could not defend his 2007 final appearance at the US Open (lost to Federer), reaching only two tournaments finals in Cincinnati (lost to Murray) and Bangkok (lost to Tsonga).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
The fourth qualifier, announced after the US Open on September 9, was Andy Murray of Great Britain, who secured his first Tennis Masters Cup ticket – the first for a Briton since Tim Henman in the 2004 edition.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
Andy Murray, who started the year just outside the Top Ten, qualified after improving his Grand Slam performances throughout the season. After defeats in the first round of the Australian Open (lost to Tsonga), and in the third round of the French Open (lost to Almagro), Murray reached his first quarterfinals in a major at the Wimbledon Championships (lost to Nadal), after coming back from a two-sets-to-love deficit to beat 2007 Wimbledon semifinalist Richard Gasquet in the fourth round.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
Murray capped his season in majors with his first Grand Slam final – the first for a Briton since Greg Rusedski lost in the 1997 US Open final – at the US Open (lost to Federer), after defeating Nadal, in his first tournament as World No. 1, in the semifinals. By that time in the season, Murray had already won two International Series titles in Doha (def. Wawrinka), Marseille (def. Ančić) and his first Masters Series shield in Cincinnati (def. Djokovic). Murray consolidated his fourth place in the rankings after the US Open by winning two more titles at the Madrid Masters (def. Simon) and in Saint Petersburg (def. Golubev), where he was the defending champion.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
The fifth player to be selected, on October 19, was Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, who obtained his fourth consecutive qualification for the year-end championships.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
Nikolay Davydenko, a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist in 2007, never went into second week at a major in 2008. He had early exits in the fourth round at the Australian Open (lost to Youzhny), in the third round at the French Open (lost to Ljubičić), in the first round at the Wimbledon Championships (lost to Becker), and in the fourth round at the US Open (lost to Müller).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
Though he did not defend his 2007 title in Moscow, Davydenko performed better in smaller events in 2008, reaching an International Series final in Estoril (lost to Federer), and winning two International Series titles in Pörtschach (def. Mónaco) and Warsaw (def. Robredo), and his second career Masters shield in Miami (def. Nadal).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
The last three qualifiers, who locked their spots during the final event before the year-end championships, at the Paris Masters, were Andy Roddick of the United States, qualified for the sixth straight year (withdrew in 2005) on October 30, Juan Martín del Potro of Argentina, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, who both qualified in the last two days of the event and ended in the Top Eight for the first time.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
Andy Roddick did not perform as well as in previous seasons in Grand Slam tournaments, exiting in the third round of the Australian Open (lost to Kohlschreiber), withdrawing from the 2008 French Open (due to a right shoulder injury contracted in the semifinals of the Rome Masters), crashing in a four-setter in the second round of Wimbledon (lost to Tipsarević), and matching his 2007 US Open performance with a quarterfinal in New York (lost to Djokovic). During the rest of the season, Roddick lost one final in Los Angeles (lost to del Potro), and captured three titles in San Jose (def. Štěpánek), Dubai (def. López), and Beijing (def. Sela), clinching the qualification when he reached the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
Juan Martín del Potro lost in the second round of all first three majors; at the Australian Open (lost to Ferrer), the French Open (lost to Bolelli), and Wimbledon (lost to Wawrinka). After Wimbledon, del Potro went on to win his first four titles in as many tournaments in Stuttgart (def. Gasquet), Kitzbühel (def Melzer), Los Angeles (def. Roddick) and Washington (def. Troicki), becoming the first player ever to do so.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
In the rest of the year, del Potro extended his 23-match streak to the quarterfinals of the US Open (lost to Murray), and reached another final in Tokyo (lost to Berdych). Del Potro's qualification came during the Paris Masters, when Tsonga defeated other Masters Cup hopeful James Blake, the only other contender for del Potro's place, in the semifinals.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, ranked 38 on January 1, defeated Murray, Gasquet and Nadal en route to his first final in the ATP Tour at the Australian Open (lost to Djokovic). Sidelined during three months of the season due to a right knee injury, Tsonga missed both the French Open and Wimbledon, coming back to competition at the US Open where he was defeated in the third round (lost to Robredo). Tsonga won his first career title in a rematch of the Australian Open final in the International Series event of Bangkok (def. Djokovic), and earned his Tennis Masters Cup qualification with his second career title (his first Masters Series shield) at the Paris Masters (def. Nalbandian).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
After Nadal's withdrawal on November 3, the ninth player of the ATP Race, Gilles Simon of France, was elevated to the playing field, for his first career qualification.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Singles
Gilles Simon, one of fifteen Frenchmen of the ATP Top 100 at the beginning of the year, did not perform well in Grand Slam events, losing in the third round of the Australian Open (lost to Nadal), the first round of the French Open (lost to Štěpánek), the third round of Wimbledon (lost to Gasquet), and the third round of the US Open (lost to del Potro). His ninth place at the race resulted from three titles in Casablanca (def. Benneteau), Indianapolis (def. Tursunov), and Bucharest (def. Moyá), a semifinals run at the Canada Masters, and a final at the Madrid Masters (lost to Murray).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Doubles
The first two teams to qualify for the year-end doubles tournament were selected on July 9. They were World No. 1 duo Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan from the United States, and then-ATP Race-leaders Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjić of Serbia. The Bryan brothers qualified for their sixth straight Tennis Masters Cup appearance (withdrew in 2007), while Nestor qualified for the tenth time, the first with another partner than Mark Knowles, and Zimonjić qualified for the third time.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Doubles
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan started their 2008 season with an unsuccessful defense of their 2007 Australian Open title, where they were upset in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open (lost to Bhupathi/Knowles). The Bryans matched their 2007 French Open performance with a quarterfinal appearance in Paris (lost to Cuevas/Horna), but were again upset before the final in Wimbledon (lost to Björkman/Ullyett), leaving the tournament without ever dropping serve.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Doubles
When they qualified, the Bryan brothers had already reached eight finals, losing five – in Sydney (lost to Gasquet/Tsonga), Delray Beach (lost to Mirnyi/Murray), San Jose (lost to Lipsky/Martin), Las Vegas (lost to Benneteau/Llodra), and Hamburg (lost to Nestor/Zimonjić) – and winning the other three in Miami (def. Bhupathi/Knowles), Barcelona (def. Fyrstenberg/Matkowski), and Rome (def. Nestor/Zimonjić). After Wimbledon, the Bryans entered the US Open without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2005. They ended their title drought in majors by winning their second final in New York (def. Dlouhý/Paes), their sixth Grand Slam crown overall. The Bryans also won the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, defeating Clément/Llodra, after they were upset in the semifinals by Federer/Wawrinka, and reached two more finals, losing in Toronto (lost to Nestor/Zimonjić), and winning in Cincinnati (def. Erlich/Ram).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Doubles
Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić, who had previously partnered for four events in 2007, started their first full season together with an appearance in the Australian Open quarterfinals (lost to Clément/Llodra), and the final of the French Open, which Nestor had won the previous year with Knowles (lost to Cuevas/Horna). The pair qualified after winning their first Grand Slam title together at the Wimbledon Championships (def. Björkman/Ullyett).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Doubles
The title was Zimonjić's first in a major after three lost finals, and completed Nestor's career Golden Slam, having previously won the three other majors and the Gold Medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Nestor and Zimonjić's partnership also led them to three ATP Masters Series finals in Indian Wells (lost to Erlich/Ram), Rome (lost to Bryan/Bryan), and Hamburg (def. Bryan/Bryan), and a final at London's Queen's Club (def. Melo/Sá). After clinching their first ticket as a team for the Tennis Masters Cup, Nestor and Zimonjić, who held the top spot of the ATP Race for several weeks, lost early in the third round of the US Open (lost to Nieminen/Lindstedt), and win one more title in Toronto (def. Bryan/Bryan).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Doubles
The third team to qualify, announced on September 9, was the pairing of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram from Israel, who participated in the 2006 and 2007 editions of the event, losing each time in the round robin.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Doubles
Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram kicked off their season with their first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open (def. Clément/Llodra), becoming the first Israeli players to capture a major title in tennis history. Erlich and Ram did not match that performance in the remaining majors of the year, exiting in the third round at the French Open, in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon (lost to Dlouhý/Paes), and in the second round at the US Open (lost to Robredo/Roitman).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Doubles
Upset in the first round of the Olympic doubles event by Clément/Llodra, Erlich and Ram reached two other tournaments finals in the season, in Masters Series events of Indian Wells (def. Nestor/Zimonjić) and Cincinnati (lost to Bryan/Bryan). Sidelined by a recurring elbow injury since the Davis Cup World Group Play-offs against Peru, Erlich did not participate in any event after the US Open. Partnering with different other players in the rest of the season, Ram won two more titles; partnering with Max Mirnyi in Vienna (def. Petzschner/Peya) and in Lyon, and partnering with Michaël Llodra (def. Huss/Hutchins).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Doubles
The fourth and fifth teams selected for the Tennis Masters Cup, on October 19, were the pairing of Mahesh Bhupathi from India and Mark Knowles – one of the two defending champions – from The Bahamas, who secured respectively their eighth and eleventh spots for the season championships, and the then-13th-ranked duo of Pablo Cuevas from Uruguay and Luis Horna from Peru, who qualified as Grand Slam champions certain to finish the year within the Top 20 of the ATP Race rankings, and reached the year-end event for the first time.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Doubles
Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles started competing together in 2008 with a deep run at the Australian Open, in which they defeated defending champions Bryan/Bryan, before losing in the semifinals (lost to Erlich/Ram). Bhupathi and Knowles exited in the first round of the French Open, where Knowles was the defending champion (lost to Huss/Hutchins), and in Wimbledon (lost to Petzschner/Peya). At the US Open, the pair did not get past the third round (lost to González/Mónaco). Despite the poor season in majors, Bhupathi and Knowles reached five finals in Vienna (lost to Mirnyi/Ram), Madrid (lost to Fyrstenberg/Matkowski), Memphis (def. Ratiwatana/Ratiwatana), Dubai (def. Damm/Vízner), Basel (def. Kas/Kohlschreiber).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Doubles
Pablo Cuevas and Luis Horna did not start their partnership until the French Open, in which they upset four seeded teams (Clément/Llodra; Dlouhý/Paes; Bryan/Bryan; Nestor/Zimonjić) to win their first Grand Slam title, the first ever claimed by a South American team. Cuevas and Horna entered two more tournaments together in the rest of the season, losing in the second round of the US Open (lost to de Voest/Fisher), and the first in Washington (lost to Gicquel/Lindstedt). The pair had more success separately, as Cuevas reached the final in Houston, partnering with Marcel Granollers (lost to Gulbis/Schüttler), and Horna won two titles in Auckland, partnering with Juan Mónaco (def. Malisse/Melzer), and Buenos Aires, partnering with Agustín Calleri (def. Eschauer/Luczak).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Doubles
The sixth and seventh teams to enter the field on October 26 were the duo of Jonas Björkman of Sweden and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe, who qualified for their seventh and fifth year-end finale (their first together), and the pair of Lukáš Dlouhý of the Czech Republic and Leander Paes of India, who qualified for their second and ninth year-end finale (their first together).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Doubles
Jonas Björkman and Kevin Ullyett reached the quarterfinals at the French Open (lost to Soares/Vemic), the first major of their season, and were defeated in the Wimbledon final (lost to Nestor/Zimonjić). Set to retire at the end of 2008, Björkman entered the US Open and was knocked out in the second round (lost to Kas/Petzschner). Björkman and Ullyett had won one title together in Stockholm (def. Brunström/Ryderstedt) by October, then clinched one more after they qualified, in Paris (def. Coetzee/Moodie). Björkman also won in Båstad (def. Brunstrom/Rojer), partnering with Robin Söderling. Ullyett reached two finals with Bruno Soares in Nottingham (def. Coetzee/Murray) and Washington (lost to Gicquel/Lindstedt), and one with Jamie Murray in Estoril (lost to Coetzee/Moodie).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Doubles
Lukáš Dlouhý and Leander Paes, who started the season with different partners, František Čermák and Paul Hanley respectively, debuted their partnership at the French Open, where they reached the third round (lost to Cuevas/Horna), and found success in Wimbledon, where they reached the semifinals (lost to Nestor/Zimonjić), and the US Open, where they reached their first Grand Slam final together (lost to Bryan/Bryan). Aside from the majors, Dlouhý and Paes reached three other finals together: in Bangkok (def. Lipsky/Martin), Halle (lost to Youhzny/Zverev), and Tokyo (lost to Youzhny/Zverev).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Doubles
At the Paris Masters, several teams competed for the last spot of the Tennis Masters Cup doubles event. Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie from South Africa eventually finished runners-up, gathering enough points to reach their first year-end event together – the first ever for Coetzee, the second for Moodie (after 2005).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Doubles
Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie climbed to the eighth place of the Race starting with a semifinal at the Australian Open (lost to Clément/Llodra), followed by early losses in the second round of the French Open (lost to Tipsarević/Troicki), and of Wimbledon (lost to López/Verdasco). Coetzee partnered with Rogier Wassen at the US Open, where they were beaten in the first round (lost to González/Mónaco). Coetzee and Moodie reached three tournaments finals together during the season: in Doha (lost to Kohlschreiber/Škoch), Estoril (def. Murray/Ullyett), and Paris (lost to Björkman/Ullyett). Individually, Coetzee also reached two finals in Marseille, partnering with Yves Allegro (lost to Damm/Vizner), and Nottingham, partnering with Jamie Murray (lost to Soares/Ullyett).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Doubles
After Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram's withdrawal on November 3, the eighth team of the ATP Doubles Race, Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski of Poland, were selected as replacements.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Qualification, Doubles
Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski never got further than the third round in majors in 2008, exiting in the third at the Australian Open (lost to Bhupathi/Knowles), the second at the French Open (lost to Mertiňák/Scherrer), and the first in Wimbledon (lost to Bopanna/Qureshi) and at the US Open (lost to Andreev/Zverev). Despite the poor runs in majors, Fyrstenberg and Matkowski reached five finals in Barcelona (lost to Bryan/Bryan), Warsaw (def. Davydenko/Schukin), Bucharest (lost to Devilder/Mathieu), Metz (lost to Clément/Llodra), and Madrid (def. Bhupathi/Knowles).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Withdrawals
Four days after retiring from his quarterfinal against Nikolay Davydenko at the Paris Masters due to a recurring right knee injury, ATP Race-leader Rafael Nadal announced on November 3 that he would withdraw from the year-end championships, for the second time in four qualifications. Nadal had already pulled out of the 2005 Tennis Masters Cup due to a left foot injury before his opening match against Gastón Gaudio, and was replaced by alternate Mariano Puerta.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Withdrawals
Nadal's withdrawal in 2008 happened as the Spaniard was scheduled to lead his country's Davis Cup team in the event's final, to be played five days after the Tennis Masters Cup in Mar del Plata, Argentina, on indoor hard courts, against an Argentinian team led by Stockholm titlist, Basel and Paris runner-up David Nalbandian, and other year-end event qualifier Juan Martín del Potro.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Withdrawals
Nadal cited the Davis Cup final necessary preparation as another reason to withdraw from the event, saying: "I want to recover and be ready for the important Davis Cup final with my country that will be played in Mar del Plata, Argentina". He eventually announced, on November 10, his withdrawal from the Davis Cup final (set to be played November 21–23), due to his knee injury.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Withdrawals
Nadal's withdrawal elevated the first alternate, Gilles Simon, into the draw, making him the second Frenchman of the eight-men field, alongside Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and marking the first time that two Frenchmen participated in the year-end event since the Masters Grand Prix event of 1986, in which Yannick Noah and Henri Leconte competed.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Withdrawals
Simon was ranked eighth in the ATP Race entering the Paris Masters thanks to his final in Madrid and his semifinal at the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, where he lost to eventual champion Robin Söderling, but was knocked out of the Top Eight when he lost to Andy Roddick in the third round, and Tsonga qualified by winning the title. Simon, who flew to Shanghai with countryman and friend Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on November 5, commented on Nadal's withdrawal and his first selection for the year-end event: "I was unhappy that he had to pull out. I would really have preferred to qualify directly by finishing eighth. It's not in my nature to wish that another player can't play. [ ...] I'm really happy to be going there and I really want to experience this."


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Withdrawals
On the same day, Israeli Jonathan Erlich, who had been suffering from an elbow injury since September, also announced he was pulling out from the doubles field, alongside his partner Andy Ram, with whom he had won the Australian Open in January. Hoping that Erlich would be fit to play the year-end event, Ram had continued to compete with different players between September and the last ATP Tour event before the Masters Cup.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Withdrawals
During that period, he won a Davis Cup World Group Play-off match against Peru with Harel Levy, an ATP International Series Gold title in Vienna against Philipp Petzschner and Alexander Peya with Max Mirnyi, lost to Pablo Andújar and Marcel Granollers in the first round of the Madrid Masters with Mikhail Youzhny, won another title in Lyon against Stephen Huss and Ross Hutchins with Michaël Llodra, and eventually lost in the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters to Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra, with Bruno Soares.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Withdrawals
Erlich and Ram's exit allowed the first alternates, Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski, to join the eight-team field days after they lost a chance to qualify regularly during the Paris Masters. Fyrstenberg and Matkowski, who had boosted their chances to qualify by winning the Madrid Masters, met Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie in the semifinals of Paris, as both teams were vying for the seventh spot of the Race. Fyrstenberg and Matkowski were then beaten in straight sets, and denied a guaranteed spot in Shanghai. Their qualification as alternates marked their second appearance at the Masters Cup after a previous run in 2006, where they lost all of their round robin matches.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Alternates
Although the ATP Rulebook states that the two players immediately ranked after the last qualifier at the Masters Cup should be selected as singles alternates, and be present at the event's location, only two players ranked in the Top 35 of the ATP Race, after Gilles Simon, accepted the invitation to come to Shanghai : 26th-ranked Radek Štěpánek of the Czech Republic, and 35th-ranked Nicolas Kiefer of Germany.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Alternates
Among the twenty-four players who declined to come – because they needed to prepare for the Davis Cup final, for reasons of injury, or to preserve themselves for the next season – were James Blake, David Nalbandian, 2007 Tennis Masters Cup finalist David Ferrer, Stanislas Wawrinka, 2007 qualifier Fernando González, Fernando Verdasco, Gaël Monfils, Robin Söderling, Igor Andreev, Nicolás Almagro, Tomáš Berdych, Tommy Robredo, Marin Čilić, Mardy Fish, 2007 qualifier Richard Gasquet, Ivo Karlović, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Dmitry Tursunov, Marat Safin, Feliciano López, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Mikhail Youzhny, Andreas Seppi, Rainer Schüttler and Mario Ančić.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Alternates
Czech Radek Štěpánek, who started the year as No. 30 and ranked as high as No. 12 on July 7, had his best Grand Slam performance at the French Open, where he reached the fourth round, losing to David Ferrer in five sets on the score of 4–6, 6–2, 1–6, 6–3, 6–3. Štěpánek reached one final in the season in San Jose (lost to Roddick), and reached the semifinals at four events, in Sydney (lost to Guccione), Memphis (lost to Söderling), Rome (retired due to illness against Djokovic), and Metz (lost to Tursunov).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Alternates
Former World No. 4 Nicolas Kiefer, who qualified once for the year-end event at the 1999 ATP Tour World Championships, where he reached the semifinals (lost to Sampras), did not get past the third round at a Grand Slam event in 2008 but reached his first tournament final since Saint Petersburg in 2005, his first career ATP Masters Series final – and his only final of the season – at the Toronto Masters (lost to Nadal). His other best results included a semifinal in Halle (lost to Federer), and a quarterfinal at the Hamburg Masters (lost to Seppi).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Alternates
The substitutes for the doubles event, ranked in the ninth position of the ATP Doubles Race, directly after Fyrstenberg and Matkowski, were Marcelo Melo and André Sá from Brazil.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Alternates
Partnering together since 2006, Marcelo Melo and André Sá advanced the third round in Grand Slam events in 2008, having been knocked out in the first round of the Australian Open (lost to Arnold Ker/López), the second at the French Open (lost to Ram/Reynolds), the third in Wimbledon (withdrew against Anderson/Lindstedt), and the first at the US Open (lost to Robredo/Roitman). The pair lost one final at London's Queen's Club (lost to Nestor/Zimonjić), but won three titles in Costa do Sauípe (def. Montañés/Ventura), Pörtschach (def. Knowle/Melzer), and New Haven (def. Bhupathi/Knowles).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Groupings
The draw ceremony, which divided the eight competing players/teams in the two round robin groups, took place on November 5, in Shanghai's Hilton hotel, in attendance by ATP No. 4 Andy Murray. With Rafael Nadal withdrawn due to a knee injury, Roger Federer took the top seed and the heading of the Red Group; Novak Djokovic took the second seed, headlining the Gold Group. Federer was drawn alongside Murray, Andy Roddick and Nadal's replacement Gilles Simon, while Djokovic was joined in his group by Nikolay Davydenko, Juan Martín del Potro and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Groupings
The Red Group's composition set several rematches of the year's encounters, confronting Federer with three players against which he lost in their last meeting – having been defeated by Roddick in the quarterfinals of the Miami Masters, losing to him for the second time in their seventeen matches against each other; by Simon in their only meeting in the second round of the Toronto Masters; and by Murray in the semifinals of the Madrid Masters.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Groupings
Federer and Murray's match was their fourth encounter of the year, after a first round match in Dubai (won by Murray), the US Open final (won by Federer), and a Madrid semifinal (won by Murray), which brought their head-to-head record to 2–3 in Murray's favor. The announced meeting of Murray and Simon was also a rematch, that of Madrid Masters' final, which Murray won in straight sets, defeating the Frenchman for the second time in the year, after a second round at the Hamburg Masters, to lead their head-to-head 2–1.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Groupings
Roddick's encounter with Simon was to be their third career meeting, the second in 2008 after a Paris Masters third round (won by Roddick), which helped the American clinch his spot at the Tennis Masters Cup, and prevented Simon to gather enough points to qualify directly for the event. Finally, Roddick and Murray's meeting, their seventh overall, in a head-to-head led by Murray 4–2, was to be their first real match of the year, as Murray withdrew due to a thumb injury before what could have been their previous 2008 encounter, in the Queen's Club Championships quarterfinals.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Groupings
Gold Group leader Novak Djokovic, who lost all three of his round robin matches at the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup to Nadal, Richard Gasquet and David Ferrer, was set to meet Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the fourth time of the year, having lost their last two meetings in Bangkok's final and Paris Masters' third round, after their first encounter in the Australian Open's final (won by Djokovic).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Groupings
Djokovic's eventual meetings with Davydenko and del Potro were also uncertain for the Serb, as Djokovic had to retire in his only encounter with Davydenko, in a deciding match of the Davis Cup's first round, and had not met del Potro since a third round at the 2007 US Open, before the Argentinian elevated his level of play in the end of 2008 to enter the Top Ten.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Groupings
Del Potro's meeting with Davydenko was to be their third overall, their second that year, and give an advantage in their head-to-head record to either player, who had previously won one match against each other, with Davydenko defeating del Potro in the second round of the 2007 Paris Masters –when del Potro, a qualifier, had a ranking of only 51–, and the Argentinian avenging this loss by crushing the Russian in the Davis Cup semifinals 6–1, 6–4, 6–2. Tsonga entered the competition with a 0–1 record against both del Potro and Davydenko, but with each meeting (versus del Potro in New Haven, versus Davydenko in Moscow) coming in the 2007 season, before the Frenchman's rise in the rankings.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Groupings
The repartition of the doubles teams also took place, with Bob and Mike Bryan holding the top seed, and headlining the Red Group, and defending champion Daniel Nestor and new partner Nenad Zimonjić taking upon the second seed and the head of the Gold Group. With the Bryans landed Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles, Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie, and Pablo Cuevas and Luis Horna, while Nestor and Zimonjić were joined by Jonas Björkman and Kevin Ullyett, Lukáš Dlouhý and Leander Paes, and Erlich and Ram's replacements Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Groupings
Red Group top duo Bob and Mike Bryan, who had withdrawn from the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup due to an elbow injury for Mike Bryan, were set to face Mark Knowles, one of the two separated defending champions, and new partner Mahesh Bhupathi, for the fourth time in 2008, after meetings in the Australian Open quarterfinals (won by Bhupathi/Knowles), in the Miami Masters final (won by Bryan/Bryan), and in the Cincinnati Masters semifinals (won by Bryan/Bryan).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Groupings
The Bryans had also defeated Knowles, partnering fellow Bahamian Devin Mullings –then ranked 1017 in singles, not ranked in doubles– in the first round of the Beijing Olympics doubles tournament. The Bryan/Bryan-Coetzee/Moodie encounter was also a repeat of a matchup having already occurred three times in the season, at the Indian Wells Masters (won by Bryan/Bryan), the Miami Masters (won by Bryan/Bryan), and the Monte Carlo Masters (won by Coetzee/Moodie).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Groupings
Coetzee and Moodie, after defeating the Bryans in Monte Carlo Masters' quarterfinals, went on to lose in the semifinals to Bhupathi and Knowles, in their only meeting before the Masters Cup. Occasional doubles team of Cuevas and Horna, who competed in only three tournaments in the year, had a head-to-head record against only one of the three other teams, having upset the Bryan brothers in the French Open quarterfinals, en route to their Roland Garros title.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Groupings
In the Gold Group were set rematches of the Wimbledon final, between champions Nestor and Zimonjić and Björkman and Ullyett, whose encounter at Wimbledon (won by Nestor/Zimonjić) was the only one in their career, as well as of a Wimbledon semifinal between Nestor and Zimonjić, and Dlouhý and Paes (won by Nestor/Zimonjić). Nestor and Zimonjić, and Dlouhý and Paes had met three times in the year before the Masters Cup, in the Wimbledon semifinal first, then in a Toronto Masters semifinal (won by Nestor/Zimonjić), and a Cincinnati Masters quarterfinal (won by Nestor/Zimonjić).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Groupings
The second seeds' perfect record in 2008 against Dlouhý and Paes also included a victory of the pair over Paes and Tommy Robredo in the Hamburg Masters semifinal, and of Nestor and Frédéric Niemeyer over Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi in the first round of Indianapolis, where both players were preparing for the Beijing Olympics.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Build-up, Groupings
Previous matchups between the group's teams also included a 2–2 head-to-head record between Nestor and Zimonjić, and Fyrstenberg and Matkowski, with three meetings in 2008 in Sydney (won by Fyrstenberg/Matkowski), Rome (won by Nestor/Zimonjić), and Madrid (won by Fyrstenberg/Matkowski), and a second round in Monte Carlo between Fyrstenberg and Matkowski, and Björkman and Ullyett (won by Björkman/Ullyett). Finally, two encounters were to be first matchups in Shanghai, as neither Fyrstenberg and Matkowski nor Björkman and Ullyett entered the Tennis Masters Cup having played against the pairing of Dlouhý and Paes during the season.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 1
The first match of the competition to take place, on November 9, was the second career confrontation, in the doubles' Red Group, of Bob and Mike Bryan, and Pablo Cuevas and Luis Horna, since the South Americans upset the American duo at the French Open.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 1
The top seeded pair, which entered the tournament in a race with Gold Group leaders Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić to clinch the year-end No. 1 spot, overwhelmed Cuevas and Horna, in their fourth career hard court match together (with previously one win and two losses), racing to a 6–1 win in the first set, before their opponents fought back in the second, breaking to eventually lead 5–2, when the Americans rallied back to serve for the match at 6–5.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 1
Cuevas and Horna took the Bryans' serve once more to reach a tie-break, in which the Americans eventually prevailed to win the match 6–1, 7–6. The other match taking place on the first day opposed Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles to Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie, and left the Indian-Bahamian pair victorious for the second time in two career meetings. Bhupathi and Knowles faced little resistance, breaking their adversaries three times to score a 6–2, 6–3 victory.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 1
The singles event kicked off later in the day, first opposing ATP No. 3 Novak Djokovic to seventh seed Juan Martín del Potro. No upset was produced, as Djokovic scored his first career victory at the year-end championships, after losing all his matches at the 2007 edition, and increased his head-to-head against del Potro to 2–0, beating the Argentinian in straight sets. Djokovic had broken early in the first set, and was serving for the set at 5–3, when del Potro broke, and reached 5–5, before Djokovic took back the advantage, to win the set 7–5.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 1
In the second set, del Potro broke to lead 2–1, but Djokovic immediately levelled the score to 2–2, breaking again later in the set, and keeping his lead to a 7–5, 6–3 victory, in little less than two hours. In the second Gold Group match of the day, Nikolay Davydenko faced recent Paris Masters champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, in their second career meeting.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 1
Both players held their serve in the first set, to a tie-break the Russian eventually lost 6–8, on an unforced error, and the second set was just as tight, until Davydenko made one break at 5–4, levelling the match to one-set-all. The Russian broke early in the final set, and was serving for the match at 5–2, when Tsonga started a comeback, taking the match to a crucial tie-break.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 1
Davydenko then proved too solid for Tsonga, repeating his own performance from their only previous meeting, in Moscow, where he had won 7–0 in a first set tie break, and scored again a perfect tie-break in Shanghai to win the match 6–7, 6–4, 7–6 after more than two hours and a half of play.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 2
In the doubles event, on November 10, second-seeded Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić faced Erlich and Ram's replacements Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski in the first doubles match of the day. The Canadian-Serbian pair edged a close win over the Poles to improve their head-to-head against them to 3–2 (2–2 in 2008).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 2
Nestor and Zimonjić faced strong competition in the first set, snatching a 7–4 victory in the tie-break, before Fyrstenberg and Matkowski levelled the score to one-set-all winning the second set 7–5, forcing the encounter into a match tie-break, in which Nestor and Zimonjić proved stronger, eventually claiming a 7–6, 5–7, [10–4] victory, in little less than two hours.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 2
The second match of the day, a first career meeting between Jonas Björkman, in his last appearance on the tour –his seventh at the year-end event, having won in 1994 and 2006– and Kevin Ullyett, and Lukáš Dlouhý and Leander Paes, turned out an easier task for the veteran Björkman and partner Ullyett, as they lost merely ten points on their serve, and converted all their break opportunities, to win 6–3, 7–5, in just more than one hour.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 2
The first of the two singles matches, both from the Red Group, saw Nadal's replacement Gilles Simon take on top seed Roger Federer, to record his second straight win against the Swiss in two career meetings. Federer took the first opportunity, breaking the Frenchman to lead 3–2 and win the set 6–4. The Swiss continued his domination early in the second set, breaking to 2–1, before Simon broke back to even the score. Both players held their serve until the last game, when the Frenchman, taking advantage of Federer's repeated forehand errors, broke to a 6–4 victory.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 2
Federer's errors kept on going, as Simon tightened his game, breaking the Swiss one more time, and clinching a 4–6, 6–4, 6–3 comeback victory, repeat of his first Toronto Masters win over Federer. The loss was Federer's fourth in his seven-year, thirty-matches Masters Cup history, and marked the second time he started the tournament with a round robin loss, after his defeat by Fernando González in 2007.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 2
The second match was set to be the first complete encounter of Andy Murray and Andy Roddick since a Memphis semifinal (won by Roddick), after a Miami Masters quarterfinal (Roddick retired) and a Queen's Club quarterfinal (Murray withdrew). In Shanghai, Murray converted his first break opportunities to win the first set 6–4. Roddick struck back in the second set, dominating the game to a 5–0 lead, closing on the set 6–1. The final set followed exactly the same pattern, with Murray taking the lead this time, to claim victory on the score of 6–4, 1–6, 6–1.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 3
In the doubles' Red Group matches, on November 11, Pablo Cuevas and Luis Horna recorded their first Masters Cup win, and their second hard court win together, against South Africans Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie, in the two teams' first ever meeting. Despite being broken once, the South American French Open champions dominated the first set, breaking three times themselves to win it 6–2. Both pairs held their serve in the second set, with Coetzee and Moodie taking the tie-break 7–2.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 3
The eighth seeds eventually claimed victory after clinching a close match tie-break, on the final score of 6–2, 6–7, [11–9], eliminating Coetzee and Moodie from the tournament. In the other encounter of the day, Bob and Mike Bryan scored their second victory in the round robin, defeating Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles for the third straight time in four meetings in 2008. The Americans snatched the first set 7–5 with a late break, before their opponents took the second set, breaking the Bryans twice to a 6–3 victory. As they did in their first round robin match, Bob and Mike Bryan edged out in the match tie-break, to finally score a 5–7, 6–4, [10–4] victory, and qualify for the semifinals.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 3
The second series of two Gold Group matches took place, with Juan Martín del Potro coming out on top for the second time in two meetings with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7–6, 7–6. Both players broke their opponent's serve several times, despite the tie-breaks finishes, with del Potro taking the advantage in the first game, and Tsonga immediately breaking back to 2–2, to see the set end in a deciding tie-break the Argentinian took, on an unforced error by his adversary.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 3
The second set took the same start as the first, with a break by del Potro, this time held to a 5–4 advantage, when Tsonga once again broke back, forcing another tie-break. Del Potro was once more victorious in the set decider, to clinch his first Masters Cup victory. The match between the first day's winners, Nikolay Davydenko and Novak Djokovic, was their second meeting, after a Davis Cup first round encounter in which Djokovic retired, handing Russia a decisive victory. Davydenko broke in the first service game, holding his advantage until serving at 5–3.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 3
Djokovic then broke back, and the set went into a tie-break, which he won, as Davydenko's error count went up during the set decider. The Russian started a comeback, lining up seven straight games to win the second set with a bagel, and lead 1–0 in the third. Djokovic then saved two breaks points, and converted one at 5–5, with Davydenko's unforced errors giving him the break, and eventually the match, on the score of 7–6, 0–6, 7–5. The win meant Tsonga's elimination, and Djokovic's qualification for the semifinals.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 4
Two more matches of the doubles' Gold Group took place on November 12, with second-seeded Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić, vying for the year-end No. 1 spot, defeating in straight sets Jonas Björkman and Kevin Ullyett. The Canadian-Serbian team breezed by their opponents, saving all breaks points Björkman and Ullyett held against them, and breaking three times (twice in the first set and once in the second), to score a 6–1, 6–4 victory, the second career win over Björkman and Ullyett, following a close final at the Wimbledon Championships.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 4
In the second match, Lukáš Dlouhý and Leander Paes faced Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski for the first time, with the Poles taking the close match in straight sets 7–6, 6–3. Neither team converted their break opportunities in the first set, before Fyrstenberg and Matkowski took the advantage in the tie-break, winning it 7–2. The second set was more competitive, as Dlouhý and Paes managed to score one break, but their opponents scored three, to eventually claim victory after less than two-hours-and-a-half. The results of the day assured Nestor and Zimonjić of a semifinal spot, and Dlouhý and Paes of the fourth place of the group.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 4
The fourth day of the competition had started earlier with another withdrawal, as fifth seed and 2007 Masters Cup semifinalist Andy Roddick announced he was pulling out of the event, after injuring his ankle during a practice session on the previous day. "Yesterday in the warm-up during practice I just went over on it. [ ...] We tried the best we could to get it better but I can't really stop and start on it very quickly." commented Roddick.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 4
The American's withdrawal allowed 26th-ranked Radek Štěpánek, who accepted the invitation to Shanghai as first alternate, after sixteen players ranked above him, and below last qualifier Gilles Simon, refused to come to the Masters Cup. Roddick said he had called Štěpánek, before deciding not to play, to tell him he might enter the competition : "I called Štěpánek earlier today to let him know where my head was at, and then just told him when I came off the practice court. So he knew as early as anybody else." Štěpánek's unexpected appearance (Murray had commented "Štěpánek's turned up without his own racquets, he borrowed some socks off me earlier and he hasn't got his contact lenses either") marked the Czech's first career participation to the year-end championships.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 4
The third match of the Red Group, in the singles event, was a repeat of the Madrid Masters final which Andy Murray had won over Gilles Simon in straight sets less than a month earlier. The World No. 4 made the strongest start of the match, quickly racing to a 4–0 lead. The Frenchman then fought back to 4–3, but failed to break Murray a second time, letting the Scot use his advantage to win the set 6–4.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 4
The second set was a formality for Murray, who saved all three break points he had against him, and took Simon's serve twice to record his second round robin win, 6–4, 6–2, after one-hour-and-a-half of play. The unexpected line up of the second match of the day opposed top Roger Federer to Roddick's replacement, ninth-seeded Radek Štěpánek, for the fourth time in the year, after a Rome quarterfinal (won by Štěpánek), a US Open third round (won by Federer), and a Madrid second round (won by Federer).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 4
The Swiss broke in the opening game of the match, and led 2–1 when Štěpánek broke back to 2–2. Both players held their serve to a tie-break Federer eventually took 7–4, capitalizing on Štěpánek's unforced errors. Federer and Štěpánek continued to serve strongly in the second set, before the Swiss took the advantage at 4–3, to lead 5–3 and serve for the set. Štěpánek managed to break back one last time, but Federer took the Czech's serve again to close the match 7–6, 6–4, in less than two hours, already crushing Štěpánek's slim chances to leave the round robin, and allowing Murray to secure a semifinal berth.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 5
The final matches of the doubles' Red Group, on November 13, opposed, in a dead rubber, top-seeded Bob and Mike Bryan, already qualified for the semifinals, and Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie, already assured of ending fourth of the group. The two first sets went on similarly, with the South Africans breaking twice in the first to win it 6–2, and the Americans doing the same in the second to level the score. Coetzee and Moodie managed to take the close deciding tie-break, improving their head-to-head against the Bryans to 2–2 by scoring a 6–2, 2–6, [12–10], victory over them.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 5
The second, crucial match, for a semifinal spot, saw Pablo Cuevas and Luis Horna face for the first time Mark Knowles (defending champion) and Mahesh Bhupathi (three-time runner-up). Both teams served strongly, converting none of their breaks points in the first set, and providing none in the second. Bhupathi and Knowles took the first tie-break 7–3, Cuevas and Horna the second 7–4, before the latter extended their second set domination to a 6–7, 7–6, [10–5] victory, eliminating Bhupathi and Knowles, and setting a semifinal clash with Nestor and Zimonjić –which they had beaten in the French Open final.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 5
The last two matches of the singles' Gold Group took place, with the first, also a dead rubber, opposing Novak Djokovic (already qualified) to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (already eliminated) for the third time since the Serb won their Australian Open final. Djokovic easily raced through the first set, breaking Tsonga twice to a 6–1 win. The second set was closer, as both players were holding their service games until 5–6, when Djokovic, serving for a tie-break, found himself led, then broken by Tsonga, who levelled the match to one-set-all.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 5
In the final set, Tsonga increased his game level breaking Djokovic twice to win the last set, ending the match on the score of 1–6, 7–5, 6–1, to improve his head-to-head record against the Serb to 3–1, and score his first career Masters Cup win. The second match, set to decide of the third semifinalist after Djokovic and Murray, was the third career meeting of Nikolay Davydenko and Juan Martín del Potro. The Russian broke del Potro early in the first set, leading 4–1 at a point, when the Argentinian took back Davydenko's serve, seemingly getting back into the match.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 5
The fourth seed, though, did not let del Potro complete his comeback, and broke him again, eventually taking the set 6–4. Davydenko's momentum took him through the second set, where he converted each of the two break points obtained, to close the match 6–4, 6–2 after less than an-hour-and-a-half of play. The result eliminated del Potro, and allowed Davydenko to qualify for his second semifinal in four season-ending events appearances, after 2005.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 6
In the first of the last two doubles round robin matches, within the Gold Group, on November 14, Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić, already qualified to meet Cuevas and Horna in the semifinals, faced already eliminated Lukáš Dlouhý and Leander Paes, in a dead rubber. The second seeds did not leave many opportunities to the US Open runners-up Dlouhý and Paes, breaking them twice in the first, and once in the second set, saving all break points against themselves, to cruise to a 6–1, 6–4 win, and leave the round robin stage as the only undefeated team.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 6
In the second match –to decide of the last doubles qualifiers–, Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski defeated Jonas Björkman and Kevin Ullyett, to enter the last four, setting a semifinal meeting with Bob and Mike Bryan. The first two sets were each dominated by one of the teams, with the Poles breaking twice to win the first, and Björkman and Ullyett doing the same to win the second, before Fyrstenberg and Matkowski eventually took the advantage in the deciding match tie-break, to score a 6–2, 1–6, [10–6] victory, and complete the semifinals line up.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 6
Björkman and Ullyett's loss to Fyrstenberg and Matkowski marked the last career match of the Swede Jonas Björkman, who had announced his retirement at the end of the year, after a seventeen-year career, started in 1991, at the Swedish Open in Båstad. In singles, Björkman won six career titles, and went as high as the 4th place in the rankings, in 1997, reaching two Grand Slam semifinals at the 1997 US Open (lost to Rusedski), and at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships (lost to Federer).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 6
A former World No. 1 in doubles, Björkman won fifty-four career doubles titles, including nine Grand Slam crowns (runner-up at six more). He was one of four active doubles players at the time of the Masters Cup to have completed a career Grand Slam (with Bob and Mike Bryan, and Daniel Nestor), and two year-end championships titles, in 1994 and 2006.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 6
Björkman, who mainly partnered during his career with Jan Apell, Nicklas Kulti, Todd Woodbridge, Max Mirnyi and Kevin Ullyett, also finished runner-up at two mixed doubles Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon, with Anna Kournikova in 1999, and Alicia Molik in 2007, and was part of the Sweden Davis Cup team for their last three championships in 1994, 1997 and 1998.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 6
Upon retirement, as a ceremony was taking place for him, following his loss to Fyrstenberg and Matkowski, Björkman declared: "We were hoping to maybe get through [to the semifinals]. I still think it's great to end my career in the biggest event of the year. But you can't get everything. I've been mentally prepared for this because I'm mentally very ready to retire. [ ...] I've been very fortunate to be able to play for so long. It started as my hobby, and I've been able to do it for seventeen years, which is great. I'm really looking forward for the next step in life."


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 6
The final round robin matches first opposed, in singles, Gilles Simon to Radek Štěpánek. Despite them having nothing to gain from a win (Štěpánek was already eliminated, and only the last match would determine Simon's fate), the Frenchman took the opportunity to avenge a French Open first round loss to the Czech, breaking him twice in the first set, once in the second, to clinch a 6–1, 6–4 victory.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 6
Andy Murray then faced Roger Federer in a match to decide of the Red Group's standings –a Murray win giving him the first place, Simon the second, a Federer win making him first, Murray second. Federer first took Murray's serve to lead 3–1, but the Briton broke back, and it took a second break by the Swiss at 5–4 to take the set.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 6
Murray was quick, with two breaks of serve, to race to a 5–2 second set lead, and was serving when Federer lined up four games to get back into the set, forcing a tie-break –which Murray eventually won, 7–3. Murray seemed to have grasp of the match at 3–0 in the third, with Federer, already diminished by an illness, calling the trainer for the back injury that had forced him out from the Paris Masters, but the Swiss fought back again, winning four straight games to lead 4–3.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Round robin, Day 6
Unable to retain his advantage, Federer found himself led 4–5, saving seven match points on his ten-deuce-serve, before being broken, at 5–6, allowing Murray to reach the semis (vs. Davydenko) undefeated, with a 4–6, 7–6, 7–5 win, and giving Simon a semifinal spot (vs. Djokovic). Federer made his earliest exit to the tournament since 2002, when he went out in the semifinals (lost to Hewitt).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Finals, Day 7
The semifinals of the Masters Cup, now in a knockout stage, took place on November 15, first opposing doubles Gold Group winners, ATP No. 2 Daniel Nestor (2007 champion, 1998 and 2006 runner-up) and Nenad Zimonjić (2005 finalist), undefeated in the event, to Red Group seconds Pablo Cuevas and Luis Horna (in their first year-end event appearance). The two teams had only met once before this match, in the French Open final, where the South Americans had upset the Canadian-Serbian pair, defeating them 6–2, 6–3 in less than an hour to win their first Grand Slam title.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Finals, Day 7
Nestor and Zimonjić eased through the Roland-Garros rematch, providing no break opportunities on their serve, but taking their opponents' four times, to score a 6–1, 6–3 victory in less than an hour-and-a-half, and qualify for their first final together. Red Group top pair and current World No. 1 Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan next faced Gold Group seconds, Erlich and Ram's substitutes Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Finals, Day 7
The semifinal was preceded by a five-match history, with the Bryans leading the head-to-head 4–1, having played in 2004 in Acapulco (won by Bryan/Bryan), in 2007 in Madrid (won by Bryan/Bryan), and in 2008 in Barcelona (won by Bryan/Bryan), Cincinnati (won by Bryan/Bryan), and Paris (won by Fyrstenberg/Matkowski). Bob and Mike Bryan dominated the encounter, serving strongly throughout the meeting, and breaking once in each set, to clinch, after little more than an hour, a 6–4, 6–4 victory, and reach their third final at the year-end event after winning their two previous ones in 2003 and 2004. Qualifying for the final, Nestor and Zimonjić, and Bob and Mike Bryan, separated by a mere sixty-three points in the Race rankings, set a match to decide of the year-end No. 1 spot.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Finals, Day 7
The singles semifinals saw first facing Novak Djokovic and Gilles Simon, both in their first semifinal appearances at the year-end event. The two's only previous meeting was then a second round in Marseille, in Djokovic's first tournament after his Australian Open win, where the Frenchman had taken the advantage in three sets 6–2, 6–7, 6–3. Simon was once again the first to take the lead in their second encounter, in Shanghai, returning and serving slightly better than his opponent, to snatch the first set 6–4.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Finals, Day 7
After calling the trainer to nurse a neck pain at the start of the second set, Simon failed to hold his serve to be led 1–3 by the Serb, who then maintained his break to the end of the 6–3 set. Djokovic took the chance to break at 1–1 in the third, leading 5–4, when, after taking a time out for cramp, the Serb served for the match, and Simon managed to break back to 5–5.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Finals, Day 7
The fatigue of the nearly three hours match, though, proved too strong for the Frenchman, who lost his serve at 6–5, allowing Djokovic to finish the match on the score of 4–6, 6–3, 7–5, and reach his first year-end championships final. Andy Murray, victor of Federer in a three-hours match on the previous day, faced Nikolay Davydenko, in his second semifinal showing at the Masters Cup, after 2005, when he lost to David Nalbandian in straight sets.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Finals, Day 7
The Murray-Davydenko match was preceded by six previous meetings, split between the two players, in 2006 in Indian Wells (won by Davydenko) and at the US Open (won by Davydenko), in 2007 in Doha (won by Murray) and Indian Wells (won by Murray), and in 2008 in Doha (won by Murray) and Dubai (won by Davydenko).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Finals, Day 7
Davydenko broke in the first game, only to be immediately broken back by Murray, but the Russian, who had not played since his last round robin match two days before, proved himself fresher in the course of the game, and was able to take Murray's serve a second time at 5–5, keeping his following service game to score a 7–5 win in the first set. Davydenko capitalized on his momentum to line up five straight games in the second set from 1–2 to 6–2, clinching his 7–5, 6–2 win over Murray in little more than an hour-and-a-half, to reach his fifth final of the season, and his first at the Masters Cup.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Finals, Day 8
The first final to take place on November 16, was that of the doubles event, taking place between World No. 1s, US Open, Miami, Rome and Cincinnati Masters, Barcelona champion Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, and World No. 2s, Wimbledon, Hamburg and Toronto Masters, London Queen's Club titlists Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić, in a match to decide of the year-end No. 1 ranking.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Finals, Day 8
It was the third year-end event final of the Bryans, after 2003 (def. Llodra/Santoro) and 2004 (def. Black/Ullyett), the fourth of Daniel Nestor, after three finals with Mark Knowles, in 1998 (lost to Eltingh/Haarhuis), 2006 (lost to Björkman/Mirnyi), and 2007 (def. Aspelin/Knowle), and the second of Nenad Zimonjić after a previous final in 2005 with Leander Paes (lost to Llodra/Santoro).


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Finals, Day 8
The two teams also shared a four-match history before the final, having played together in four ATP Masters Series finals, in 2007 in Paris (won by Bryan/Bryan), and in 2008 in Rome (won by Bryan/Bryan), Hamburg (won by Nestor/Zimonjić), Toronto (won by Nestor/Zimonjić). The Canadian-Serbian duo took the upper hand early in the match, breaking the Americans to lead in the first set, until the Bryans broke back to level the score –both teams then held their serve to a tie-break, in which Nestor and Zimonjić prevailed, 7–3.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Finals, Day 8
The second seeds raced through the next set, converting their two break points to notch a 7–6, 6–2 win –their fifth title of the year, and their first at the year-end championships. The win also meant a first year-end No. 1 spot together for the undefeated champions Nestor and Zimonjić (Zimonjić's first ever, Nestor's third, after ending No. 1 in 2002 and 2004 with Knowles) and, in the individual rankings for doubles players, the top spot for Zimonjić, and the second for Nestor.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Finals, Day 8
The Tennis Masters Cup singles final featured ATP No. 3, Australian Open, Indian Wells and Rome champion Novak Djokovic, and Miami Masters, Pörtschach and Warsaw winner Nikolay Davydenko, in both men's first year-end championships final.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Finals, Day 8
The encounter was the third match of the two, after a Davis Cup rubber won by Davydenko after Djokovic retired, leading two sets to one, and their round robin meeting on day 3, in which Djokovic prevailed 7–6, 0–6, 7–5. Djokovic started the encounter on serve, and took the advantage of a weak Davydenko service game (the Russian went on to win only 42% of his service points in the set) to break and lead 2–0. A nervous Davydenko failed again to keep his serve at 3–0, and was broken again by the Serb.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Finals, Day 8
The Russian managed to save his service game at 5–0, forcing Djokovic to serve for the set. The Serb did not falter, and clinched the set 6–1. Despite holding his first service game, Davydenko was broken again at 1–1 in the second set. Davydenko avoided another break of serve when led 1–3, but was unable to gain the advantage on Djokovic's serve until the Serb served for the match at 5–4.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Finals, Day 8
Davydenko then increased his level of play, and came back to 5-all, but Djokovic, keeping his momentum of the match, broke once more, and held to serve to claim victory, after one hour and forty-two minutes, on the final score of 6–1, 7–5. The win marked Djokovic's fourth title of the year (after a six months title drought since Rome, won on May 11) and his eleventh overall, as well as his first year-end championships crown.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Finals, Day 8
Djokovic became the first Serbian player to win the singles championships (Nenad Zimonjić had become the first Serbian to win the doubles championships just hours before – and all three men, Djokovic, Zimonjić and Nestor were born in Belgrade), succeeding to two-time defending champion Roger Federer, and, thanks to the win, and Federer's early loss, finished the year only two points behind the Swiss in the ATP Race. Djokovic commented on his win : "I would put it in the same league as a Grand Slam because the best eight players in the world are participating here. [


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Finals, Day 8
...] I feel very happy. End up the season the way I started it, with a win in a big event. So it's a great boost up for upcoming season." On the possibility of going up in the rankings in the 2009 ATP World Tour season, Djokovic admitted again his goal to become World No. 1 : "Certainly, I believe that I have quality to reach the top spot in the upcoming year or, you know, whatever, next couple of years, 10 years [...] That is my lifetime goal that I’ve been always trying to achieve."


2008 Tennis Masters Cup, Champions, Doubles
Daniel Nestor /  Nenad Zimonjić def. Bob Bryan /  Mike Bryan 7–6(7–3), 6–2


2008 Tennis Masters Cup – Doubles
Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor were the defending champions. They were both present but did not compete together. Knowles partnered with Mahesh Bhupathi, but lost in the round robin. Nestor partnered with Nenad Zimonjić, and won in the final 7–6(7–3), 6–2, against Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup – Doubles, Draw, Red Group
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) Number of matches; 3) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 4) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 5) Steering Committee decision.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup – Doubles, Draw, Gold Group
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) Number of matches; 3) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 4) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 5) Steering Committee decision.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup – Singles
Novak Djokovic defeated Nikolay Davydenko in the final, 6–1, 7–5 to win the Singles tennis title at the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup – Singles
Roger Federer was the two-time defending champion, but lost in the round-robin. This marks the only instance that he was eliminated before the semifinals at the year-end championships.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup – Singles
Rafael Nadal qualified as the world No. 1, but withdrew before the tournament citing a knee injury.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup – Singles, Draw, Red Group
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) Number of matches; 3) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 4) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 5) Steering Committee decision.


2008 Tennis Masters Cup – Singles, Draw, Gold Group
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) Number of matches; 3) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 4) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 5) Steering Committee decision.


2008 Tercera División play-offs
The 2008 Tercera División play-offs to Segunda División B from Tercera División (Promotion play-offs) were the final playoffs for the promotion from 2007–08 Tercera División to 2008–09 Segunda División B. In some groups four teams took part in the play-off while other groups have only three.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team
The 2008 Texas A&M football team (often referred to as "A&M" or the "Texas Aggies") represented Texas A&M University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by first-year head coach Mike Sherman, who replaced Dennis Franchione after the previous season.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Preseason, Recruiting
While head coach Mike Sherman was finishing his offensive coordinator duty for the Houston Texans, he contacted A&M's orally committed recruits by telephone, and hired former Nebraska recruiting coordinator Tim Cassidy—who had been the recruiting coordinator at A&M from 1989–2004—to serve as the recruiting coordinator for football. Once Sherman commenced his head coaching duties, he and his coaching staff scoured the state for speedy players, recruiting running back Cyrus Gray, wide receiver Jeffrey Fuller, linebacker Ricky Cavanaugh, defensive backs Terrence Frederick and Trent Hunter, and defensive tackle Eddie Brown.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Preseason, Recruiting
The coaches also signed five offensive lineman and three tight ends, after losing four starting offensive lineman and two starting tight ends from the 2007 season. The staff was able to retain 18 of the previous coaching staff's recruits, but lost another 3 to other schools. Jeff Fuller, Tommy Dorman, and A&M's only junior college transfer, Matt Moss, enrolled at A&M in the spring to take part in spring practices.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Preseason, Recruiting
In all, A&M received letters of intent from 24 players on National Signing Day, which was on February 6, 2008. Of those 24, 3 ranked in ESPN's top 150 national players list, and 5 ranked in Rivals.com's top 250. 22 are from Texas. Rivals.com also included 14 of the commits on its Texas Top 100 ranking. The recruiting class was ranked No. 16 by Rivals, No. 15 by Scout.com, and No. 25 by ESPN.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Preseason, Recruiting
Derrick Hall and Blake Chavis were not able to make the team due to academic ineligibility.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Preseason, Players, Position changes
During the preseason, Coach Sherman made some player adjustments to fit his pro-style offensive scheme. Von Miller, who was a backup defensive end last season, and Garrick Williams, his high school teammate, were moved to outside linebacker. Safety Jordan Pugh was shifted to cornerback, which he played in high school. Devin Gregg moved to free safety from strong safety. Jordan Peterson, after playing two seasons at cornerback, became a safety. Jamie McCoy, who moved from quarterback to wide receiver the previous season, shifted to tight end. Defensive back Chevar Bryson and Kenny Brown became wideouts. Running back Jorvorskie Lane is losing weight to make the move from tailback to fullback. Billy Chavis made the move from linebacker to tight end.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Preseason, Players, Position changes
Starting quarterback Stephen McGee recovered from surgery he had on his non-throwing shoulder in January 2008, causing him to miss most of the spring drills. He competed with sophomore Jerrod Johnson and freshman Ryan Tannehill for the starting position. He was named the starter for the season-opener against Arkansas State, but continued to compete for the job for the remainder of the season.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Preseason, Players, Position changes
The Aggies are looking to improve their offensive line, after losing three starters, including two who earned all-Big 12 honors. They also are looking to field adequate linebackers and tight ends.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Preseason, Players, Honors
Justin Brantly made the preseason All-Big 12 team and was also a Ray Guy Award candidate. Running back Mike Goodson and fullback Jorvorskie Lane were two of 75 college players named to the 2008 Maxwell Award watch list. Additionally, quarterback Stephen McGee, along with 25 other quarterbacks, appeared on the 2008 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Preseason, Spring game
The Aggies played their spring intrasquad Maroon and White exhibition game on April 19, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. The game attracted 32,000 fans, including more than 100 college football prospects from the class of 2009. The game featured a new format of two halves. The first half featured a two-quarter game that pitted the Texas A&M team, led by quarterbacks Stephen McGee and Tommy Dorman, and the Texas Aggies team, led by quarterbacks Jerrod Johnson and Ryan Tannehill. The second half consisted of situational work, including the red zone, overtime, goal line, and two-minute drills. Two honorary student coaches, who were selected by the coaching staff and players, also served during the game. Each student coach gave their respective team a pre-game speech and interacted with players, coaches, and staff on the sidelines during the game.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Preseason, Spring game
On the opening drive of the game, running back Mike Goodson picked up 58 yards on 8 carries, and McGee ended the drive with a 1-yard bootleg play to the endzone. On the next drive, led by Johnson, Bradley Stephens ran 41 yards on 5 carries, though the drive ended on a 44-yard field goal by Matt Szymanski. Dorman led the ensuing drive, and Cornell Tarrant eventually scored a touchdown on a 40-yard run. The Texas A&M team defeated the Texas Aggies 14–3. Tarrant became the leading rusher of the game with his 59 yards on 4 carries.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Preseason, Spring game
McGee was the game's leading passer, completing 5-of-8 passes for 58 yards, though none of the passes were to a wide receiver. Converted tight end Jamie McCoy was the leading receiver with two catches for 31 yards, including a 25-yard catch thrown by McGee. Tannehill completed 6-of-10 passes for 50 yards, while Johnson was 3-of-5 for 25 yards. In the goal-line drill of the second half, defensive back Chevar Bryson made a length-of-the-field interception return for a touchdown. Jorvorskie Lane did not play due to a stomach virus.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Preseason, Spring game
Head coach Mike Sherman commended the running backs, especially Mike Goodson, calling him a "very dangerous weapon". Though the Aggies didn't run any option plays in the game, the play-calling was run-heavy, as was planned. Sherman stated that they had a running game because they "wanted to show some toughness, not just throw it around".


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Preseason, Rankings and predictions
In June 2008, Rivals.com ranked the team 65th out of 119 Division I FBS teams. A Sporting News writer ranked the team No. 48 in his 2008 top 50 list. Sports Illustrated ranked the Aggies 51st out of the 119 national teams. A Washington Times columnist placed the team 65th, while an Orlando Sentinel reporter ranked it 38th.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Preseason, Rankings and predictions
Another Sporting News writer ranked the team's nonconference schedule the 4th toughest in the Big 12. A Tulsa World sports columnist rated the Aggies 9th in the Big 12 in July 2008.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Preseason, Rankings and predictions
In June 2008, ESPN's Mark Schlabach predicted the team would face the Oregon State Beavers in the Brut Sun Bowl. In July 2008, ESPN's Tim Griffin picked the team to go to the Texas Bowl to face longtime Southwest Conference rival SMU. The Rivals.com staff predicted that A&M will not play in a bowl this season. The 2008 edition of Dave Campbell's Texas Football predicted the team would finish the season with an 8–4 record. Point-Spreads.com, a spread betting website, projected the Aggies to go 5–7. The official Big 12 Media Preseason Poll picked the Aggies to finish fifth in the Big 12 South.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Preseason, Rankings and predictions
The Oklahoman ranked the wide receiver corps last in the Big 12. The same writer ranked the defensive line 10th, and the linebackers 10th as well. The Kansas City Star rated the quarterbacks 10th, the running backs 1st, the offensive line 8th, the wide receivers and tight ends 12th, the defensive line 12th, the linebackers 11th, the defensive backs 5th, and the special teams 6th.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Preseason, Rankings and predictions
The team did not rank in the preseason AP or Coaches polls. It did receive 3 votes in the Coaches Poll, however.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Coaching staff
After former coach Dennis Franchione resigned on November 23, 2007, former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike Sherman, who was the Houston Texans' offensive coordinator at the time, was hired three days later, becoming the 28th head coach of the Texas A&M football program. Sherman chose to finish his term with the Houston Texans before working full-time as the Aggies' head coach. The Texans ended their regular season December 30, 2007.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Coaching staff
During that period, Sherman contacted A&M's orally committed recruits by telephone, and hired former Nebraska recruiting coordinator Tim Cassidy—who had been the recruiting coordinator at A&M from 1989–2004—to serve as the recruiting coordinator as well as the associate athletic director for football. Once Sherman started his job full-time, he named Seattle Seahawks wide receivers coach Nolan Cromwell to be his offensive coordinator and Reggie Herring to be his defensive coordinator. Herring, however, resigned a month later and became the linebackers coach for the Dallas Cowboys. Sherman worked with Cromwell under head coach Mike Holmgren at Green Bay.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Coaching staff
On January 9, 2008, Sherman announced Buddy Wyatt would coach the defensive line. Wyatt had 18 years of collegiate coaching experience, including 3 seasons at A&M from 2000–02. In 2001, the Aggie defense ranked 10th in the nation. Sherman also retained defensive backs coach Van Malone, who coached under Franchione for the 2006–07 seasons. Malone is the only member from Franchione's staff to be retained. Shortly afterwards, Charles McMillan, who worked at TCU from 2004–07 as the cornerbacks coach, was announced to also coach the defensive backs.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Coaching staff
Former Boston College offensive line coach Jim Turner, as well as former NFL running back Randy Jordan, will coach the offensive line and running backs, respectively. Former Green Bay Packers coach Tom Rossley was hired to coach the quarterbacks. Former Alabama defensive coordinator Joe Kines was hired to replace Herring, and was also named the assistant head coach. Former Denver Broncos coach Kirk Doll, who also coached at A&M from 1988–93, was hired to be the tight ends and special teams coach.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Game summaries, Arkansas State
This marked the fourth meeting between the Aggies and the Arkansas State Red Wolves, a member of the Sun Belt Conference. A&M went into the game with a 3–0 all-time record against the Red Wolves; the third game occurred in 2003, the Aggies' 4–8 season. This was Arkansas State's first football game with its new nickname of "Red Wolves". Previously, Arkansas State's sports teams had been nicknamed "Indians" in honor of the Osage Nation that inhabited the area until the 1800s. The use of an Indian mascot was the subject of ongoing controversy, including NCAA restrictions on the use of the mascot.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Game summaries, Arkansas State
Arkansas State, which finished 5–7 the previous season, returned six ;starters on offense and five on defense. Experience was lacking on the team's secondary, where the Red Wolves must replace all four starters, and the offensive line, which has only one returning starter. Key players include junior quarterback Corey Leonard, who set school records for total yards and passing touchdowns in 2007, as well as junior tailback Reggie Arnold, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards the previous two seasons. Arkansas State was predicted to finish fourth in its conference by the preseason Sun Belt Conference coaches' poll.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Game summaries, Arkansas State
ASU compiled 60 yards on the game opening possession, ending it with a 37-yard field goal. A&M answered with a 69-yard drive that resulted in a 9-yard touchdown run by tailback Mike Goodson. On their next possession, Arkansas State lost a fumble, allowing the Aggies to take over on downs on the A&M 28-yard line. The Aggies eventually moved to the Red Wolves 15-yard line, but faced a fourth-down situation. Kicker Richie Bean missed a 32-yard field goal to keep the score at 7–3. The Red Wolves' ensuing drive led to a punt, which A&M recovered at its 23-yard line.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Game summaries, Arkansas State
McGee cranked up A&M's passing game after making completions of 5, 13, 12, and 16 yards. Goodson soon scored a touchdown on a 7-yard run. Bean added the extra point to give A&M a 14–3 lead with 4:23 left in the half. Neither team could advance the ball for a touchdown over the remainder of the half.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Game summaries, Arkansas State
In the second half, the Aggies' had four turnovers, three of which led to ASU scoring drives. Posting just 103 offensive yards – including 9 rushing – A&M failed to score on all eight of its possessions. In the third quarter, an interception and a fumble recovery let the Red Wolves to score two field goals, cutting the score to 14–9. In the fourth quarter, A&M kicker Richie Bean kicked a 25-yard field goal wide right. After the missed field goal, the ball was spotted on the ASU 20-yard line.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Game summaries, Arkansas State
ASU drove 80 yards into A&M territory for a touchdown to take the lead. Although their two-point conversion pass was incomplete, the Red Wolves could maintain their 15–14 advantage with 4:39 remaining in the game. On their next possession, the Aggies lost the ball on a fumble by Goodson after four plays. This set up ASU to kick its fourth successful field goal of the game to extend its lead to 18–14. Once the clock went down to 1:12, the Aggies looked to score on their final drive in order to win the game.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Game summaries, Arkansas State
On the third play of the drive, McGee threw a 26-yard pass to third-string quarterback Ryan Tannehill to move the ball to the ASU 39. Two subsequent passes to Goodson allowed only a net gain of 5 yards, and on fourth down – with 7 seconds remaining – McGee threw another interception. ASU ran out the clock to preserve their 18–14 victory.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Game summaries, Arkansas State
Goodson had his third career 100-yard rushing game. He was three yards short of breaking his game record of 127 yards, compiled against Oklahoma his freshman season. Third-string quarterback Ryan Tannehill was the leader in receiving yards in the game, with 5 catches for 59 yards. McGee hit the 5,000-passing yards mark, becoming the fifth all-time A&M quarterback to do so. His two interceptions in the game was also the second time of his career in which he threw two or more interceptions. The first time occurred against Texas in 2007.


2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team, Game summaries, Arkansas State
Jorvorskie Lane received only a few snaps and no carries or catches in the game due to a neck injury he got during one of the August practices. The defense compiled only three tackles for a loss. Linebacker Matt Featherston posted a game-high of 16 stops, and safety Arkeith Brown made 11 tackles with two pass breakups. Featherston was the second player in the nation with the most tackles during the first week.