2009 ATP World Tour
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organised by the ATP. The 2009 ATP World Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments (supervised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF)), the ATP World Tour Masters 1000, the ATP World Tour 500 series, the ATP World Tour 250 series, the ATP World Team Championship, the Davis Cup (organized by the ITF), and the ATP World Tour Finals. Also included in the 2009 calendar is the Hopman Cup, which does not distribute ranking points, and is organised by the ITF.


2009 ATP World Tour
2009 saw Pete Sampras' Grand Slam singles record surpassed by Roger Federer, who won his 15th title at Wimbledon. Federer also completed his Career Grand Slam at this year's French Open.


2009 ATP World Tour, Tour changes
The ATP reinstated the world tour to its name as the organisation rebranded itself as the ATP World Tour. ATP World Tour tournaments in 2009 are classified as ATP World Tour Masters 1000, ATP World Tour 500, and ATP World Tour 250. Broadly speaking the Tennis Masters Series tournaments became the new Masters 1000 level and ATP International Series Gold and ATP International Series events became ATP 500 level and 250 level events.


2009 ATP World Tour, Tour changes
The World Tour Masters 1000 includes tournaments at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Rome, Madrid, Toronto/Montreal, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris. The end-of-year event, the Tour Finals, moved to London. Hamburg has been displaced by the new clay court event at Madrid, which is a new combined men's and women's tournament, and the indoor hard court event in Madrid was replaced by an outdoor hard court Masters tournament in Shanghai. From 2011, Rome and Cincinnati will also be combined tournaments. Severe sanctions will be placed on top players skipping the Masters 1000 series events, unless medical proof is presented.


2009 ATP World Tour, Tour changes
Plans to eliminate Monte Carlo and Hamburg as Masters Series events led to controversy and protests from players as well as organisers. Hamburg and Monte Carlo filed lawsuits against the ATP, and as a concession it was decided that Monte Carlo remains a Masters 1000 level event, with more prize money and 1000 ranking points, but it would no longer be a compulsory tournament for top-ranked players. Monte Carlo later dropped its suit. Hamburg was "reserved" to become a 500 level event in the summer. Hamburg did not accept this concession, but later lost its suit.


2009 ATP World Tour, Tour changes
The World Tour 500 level includes tournaments at Rotterdam, Dubai, Acapulco, Memphis, Barcelona, Hamburg, Washington, Beijing, Tokyo, Basel and Valencia.


2009 ATP World Tour, Tour changes
The ATP & ITF declared that 2009 Davis Cup World Group and World Group Playoffs award a total of up to 500 points. Players accumulate points over the four rounds and the playoffs and these are counted as one of a player's four best results from the 500 level events. An additional 125 points are given to a player who wins all eight live rubbers and wins the Davis Cup.


2009 ATP World Tour, Tour changes
Otherwise, the domain name of their website was changed to "www.atpworldtour.com".


2009 ATP World Tour, Schedule
This is the complete schedule of events on the 2009 calendar, with player progression documented from the quarterfinals stage.


2009 ATP World Tour, Statistical information
These tables present the number of singles (S), doubles (D), and mixed doubles (X) titles won by each player and each nation during the season, within all the tournament categories of the 2009 ATP World Tour: the Grand Slam tournaments, the ATP World Tour Finals, the ATP World Tour Masters 1000, the ATP World Tour 500 series, and the ATP World Tour 250 series.


2009 ATP World Tour, Statistical information
The players/nations are sorted by: 1) total number of titles (a doubles title won by two players representing the same nation counts as only one win for the nation); 2) cumulated importance of those titles (one Grand Slam win equalling two Masters 1000 wins, one ATP World Tour Finals win equalling one-and-a-half Masters 1000 win, one Masters 1000 win equalling two 500 events wins, one 500 event win equalling two 250 events wins); 3) a singles > doubles > mixed doubles hierarchy; 4) alphabetical order (by family names for players).


2009 ATP World Tour, Statistical information, Title information
The following players won their first main circuit title in singles, doubles, or mixed doubles:


2009 ATP World Tour, Statistical information, Title information
The following players defended a main circuit title in singles, doubles, or mixed doubles:


2009 ATP World Tour, Rankings
These are the ATP Rankings of the top twenty singles players, doubles players, and the top ten doubles teams on the ATP Tour, at the end of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the 2009 season, with number of rankings points, number of tournaments played, year-end ranking in 2008, highest and lowest position during the season (for singles and doubles individual only, as doubles team rankings are not calculated over a rolling year-to-date system), and number of spots gained or lost from the 2008 to the 2009 year-end rankings.


2009 ATP World Tour, Rankings
The 2008 year-end rankings include the number of points under the 2008 points system, and doubled, as they were at the end of the year by the ATP, to fit the 2009 points system (the doubles (team) rankings points were not doubled, as they were calculated under the ATP Race points system in 2008). The doubled year-end rankings were never officially published though, as the first rankings of 2009 already counted the drop of the 2008 season openers' points due to a calendar change.


2009 ATP World Tour, Point distribution
The Davis Cup World Group and World Group Play-Off matches awarded ATP Ranking points from 2009 to 2015.


2009 ATP World Tour, Point distribution
Only live matches earn points; dead rubbers earn no points. If a player does not compete in the singles of one or more rounds he will receive points from the previous round when playing singles at the next tie. This last rule also applies for playing in doubles matches.


2009 ATP World Tour, Point distribution
1 A player who wins a singles rubber in the first day of the tie is awarded 5 points, whereas a singles rubber win in tie's last day grants 10 points for a total of 15 available points.


2009 ATP World Tour, Point distribution
2 For the first round only, any player who competes in a live rubber, without a win, receives 10 ranking points for participation.


2009 ATP World Tour, Point distribution
3 Team bonus awarded to a singles player who wins 7 live matches in a calendar year and his team wins the competition.


2009 ATP World Tour, Point distribution
4 Performance bonus awarded to a singles player who wins 8 live matches in a calendar year. In this case, no Team bonus is awarded.


2009 ATP World Tour, Point distribution
5 Team bonus awarded to an unchanged doubles team who wins 4 matches in a calendar year and his team wins the competition.


2009 ATP World Tour, Retirements
Following is a list of notable players (winners of a main tour title, and/or part of the ATP Rankings top 100 (singles) or top 50 (doubles) for at least one week) who announced their retirement from professional tennis during the 2009 season:


2009 ATP World Tour Finals
The 2009 ATP World Tour Finals (also known as the 2009 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for sponsorship reasons) was held in London, United Kingdom between 22 November and 29 November 2009. It was the first time the O2 arena hosted the ATP World Tour Year-End Singles and Doubles Championships. The event was renamed from Tennis Masters Cup to ATP World Tour Finals following the rearrangement of the ATP Tour.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification
Spots were awarded to the top seven players highest ranked single players in the world ranking and the top seven doubles teams in the 2009 ATP Doubles Race, with one spot reserved for Grand Slam champions who finish outside of the top 8, but within the Top 20 players or teams. As this did not happen, the final spot went to the next player or team in the top 8. Two additional players and teams were also in London as alternates in case of withdrawals.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
On 19 May 2009 after reaching his 7th final of the year at the 2009 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, 2009 Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal of Spain was announced as the first qualifier.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
Rafael Nadal began the year by winning his first Grand Slam on hardcourt at the Australian Open, defeating Roger Federer in the final 7–5, 3–6, 7–6, 3–6, 6–2, just after defeating Fernando Verdasco in a tournament record 5 hours 14 minutes battle in five sets. Following his Australian Open triumph he reached the final of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament losing to Andy Murray. He then revenged his loss by defeating Murray in the final of BNP Paribas Open.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
He then won three straight titles at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, the Internazionali BNL d'Italia and at the Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell. He then lost in his fourth straight final in the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open to Federer. He was the four-time defending champion at Roland Garros and had a 31-match winning streak in Paris, broken with a surprise fourth round loss to No. 23-seeded Robin Söderling. He then missed Wimbledon becoming the first player since Ivanišević to not defend his title, and lost his no. 1 ranking to Federer.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
He then returned at the Rogers Masters but he did not reach a final until the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 losing to Nikolay Davydenko. He also reached the semifinals of the US Open and the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters. Nadal has a 4–4 record at the championship and reached the semifinals in 2006 and 2007. This is his 3rd appearance


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
On 5 July – after the 2009 Wimbledon Championships – Roger Federer of Switzerland who won his 15th Slam at the tournament over Andy Roddick was announced as the second qualifier.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
Roger Federer began the year with a loss to Rafael Nadal at the final of the Australian Open. He won his first title of the year at the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open defeating Nadal in the final. For his first win over Nadal since 2007 and ending Nadal's 5 match winning streak. After Nadal's early exit, Federer snapped up the French Open, beating Robin Söderling 6–1, 7–6, 6–4 in the final  to complete the career Grand Slam. At Wimbledon Federer defeated Andy Roddick in the final.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
It was the longest match in the final of Wimbledon in terms of games 5–7, 7–6, 7–6, 3–6, 16–14. Federer reclaimed the world no. 1 ranking and broke Pete Sampras's Grand Slam record with a 15th Grand Slam. He won his 4th title of the year at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters defeating Novak Djokovic. He was also a runner-up at the US Open losing to Juan Martín del Potro and the Davidoff Swiss Indoors losing to Djokovic ending his 3-year run at the tournament. He also reached 4 semi-finals at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Sony Ericsson Open, BNP Paribas Open and the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. He has a 27–5 record in the championship having won it on 4 occasions in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007. This is his 8th appearance.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
On 20 August – After his title in the 2009 Rogers Masters defeating Juan Martín del Potro, Andy Murray of Great Britain was announced as the third qualifier.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
Andy Murray won six titles in the year, more than anyone else. With titles in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, the Sony Ericsson Open. As well as at Queens, in the Rogers Cup and in the Open de Tenis Comunidad Valenciana defeating Mikhail Youzhny. He was also the runner up at the BNP Paribas Open. He missed the Asian Leg due to a wrist injury. At the slams he reached the semifinals for the first time at Wimbledon, as well as the quarterfinals of the French Open for the first time. This is his second appearance with a 3–1 record following his semifinal appearance last year.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
On 10 September – Novak Djokovic of Serbia the defending champion was the Fourth to qualify following his third straight semifinal appearance at the 2009 US Open.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
Novak Djokovic made his tennis do the talking as he won his first title of the year in Dubai Tennis Championships defeating David Ferrer. He then won three other titles in the inaugural Serbia Open defeating Łukasz Kubot, China Open defeating Marin Čilić and in Davidoff Swiss Indoors defeating Roger Federer. He then won his first Masters title of the year at the BNP Paribas Masters over Gaël Monfils. He finished as a runner-up at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, Gerry Weber Open, Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and the Sony Ericsson Open. He also made the semifinal of the US Open. He is the Defending champion and has a 4–4 record. This is his 3rd appearance.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
On 15 September – after his first Slam win at the 2009 US Open over Roger Federer, Juan Martín del Potro of Argentina became the fifth qualifier.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
Juan Martín del Potro produced a break-out year, as he reached a career-high no. 5 and won his first Slam at the 2009 US Open defeating Roger Federer 3–6, 7–6, 4–6, 7–6, 6–2 in the final. He is also the tallest ever Grand Slam champion and the first player to defeat both Nadal and Federer in the same Grand Slam tournament. He also won two other titles at the Heineken Open defeating Sam Querrey, and the Legg Mason Tennis Classic defeating Andy Roddick. He also reached his first Masters final at the Rogers Cup losing to Andy Murray. He also reached the semi finals at the French Open losing to Federer. Del Potro has a 1–2 record at the championship and is making his 2nd appearance.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
On 20 September – despite an early exit at the US Open, Andy Roddick of the United States was the sixth qualifier.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
Andy Roddick won the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships defeating Radek Štěpánek. His major triumph though came at the Wimbledon finishing as runner-up to Roger Federer. He defeated hometown hero Andy Murray and Lleyton Hewitt en route to this final. As well as finishing as a runner up at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open losing to Murray and the Legg Mason Tennis Classic losing to Juan Martín del Potro. At the Slams, he also reached the Semifinals of the Australian Open losing to Federer after defeating Novak Djokovic.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
Plus making the fourth round of French Open for the first time, losing to Gaël Monfils. This is Andy seventh straight qualificationand his sixth appearance withdrawing in 2005. He has an 8–8 record reaching the semi final in 2003, 2004, and 2007. Roddick withdrew from the tournament due to a left leg injury suffered at the Shanghai Masters.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
On 12 November – After Verdasco fell to Čilić in the third round of the 2009 BNP Paribas Masters last years runner-up Nikolay Davydenko of Russia took one of the last two remaining spots.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
Nikolay Davydenko won his first tournament at the International German Open defeating Paul-Henri Mathieu. The following week he won the ATP Studena Croatia Open Umag defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero. As well as the inaugural Proton Malaysian Open defeating Fernando Verdasco. Davydenko then claimed his 3rd Masters title at the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 upsetting Rafael Nadal after defeating Novak Djokovic. He well as making the quarterfinals of French Open losing to Söderling. This is his fifth appearance with an 8–7 record. His best performance came last year as he reached the final losing to Novak Djokovic.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
On 13 November after both Söderling and Tsonga fell to Djokovic and Nadal respectively in the quarterfinals of the 2009 BNP Paribas Masters Australian Open semifinalist Fernando Verdasco occupied the last remaining spot.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
Fernando Verdasco started the year well with a semifinal appearance Australian Open losing to Rafael Nadal in a tournament record 5 hour 14 minute battle after five sets. He claimed his third title of his career in the Pilot Pen Tennis prevailing over Sam Querrey. He was also the runner up in the Brisbane International losing to Radek Štěpánek and the Malaysian Open losing to Nikolay Davydenko. Verdasco is making his debut at the championship.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
After Roddick's withdrawal due to left leg injury on 17 November Robin Söderling was announced as his replacement.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
Robin Söderling 's highlight of the year was reaching the French Open final. After becoming the first player to defeat Rafael Nadal at the Roland Garros. He won his only title of the year at the Catella Swedish Open defeating Juan Mónaco. He reached 4 semifinals as well at the Heineken Open, Proton Malaysian Open, China Open, and the If Stockholm Open. Soderling is making his debut at the event.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Qualification, Singles qualification
The two alternate spots were up for grabs. With the first one was taken by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who won 3 titles including the SA Tennis Open defeating Jérémy Chardy, the Open 13 defeating Michaël Llodra and at the AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships defeating Mikhail Youzhny. His highlight at the slams was the quarterfinals of the Australian Open losing to Fernando Verdasco. The second spot was taken by Fernando González, who won the 2009 Movistar Open over José Acasuso 6–1 6–3. As well as reaching the semifinals of the French Open losing to Robin Söderling.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Doubles qualification
The first two teams qualified for the year-end doubles tournament on 5 July. They were the defending champions Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjić of Serbia and the American brother duo of Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan from the United States following their doubles final at the 2009 Wimbledon.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Doubles qualification
Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić played their second full tour together. They started with back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open and at the Medibank International Sydney to the Bryans. They claimed their first title of the year at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament. They then claimed three back-to-back titles at Monte-Carlo and Internazionali BNL d'Italia and the Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell. They claimed their fourth title at the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Doubles qualification
The Canadian-Serbian duo hit back from a two-set deficit in The Championships semi-finals at Wimbledon, against James Blake and Mardy Fish, before edging the Bryans in a four-set final. They won their 7th and 8th titles at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors. They won their 9th title and 5th Masters of the year, at the BNP Paribas Masters, and reached the semifinals of the French Open. They have a record of 5 and 0. With a best of Champions last year, this is their 2nd appearance.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Doubles qualification
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan began with back-to-back titles in Australia by winning the Medibank International Sydney and winning their 7th Slam at the Australian Open. They won their third title of the year at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships. The brothers added the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships. They won the LA Tennis Open and China Open. They also reached 5 other finals, Monte-Carlo, Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Wimbledon, Western & Southern Financial Group and Davidoff. They were the only team to reach the semifinal or better at all 4 slams. Bob Bryan also won the French Open Mixed Doubles playing with Liezel Huber. This is their 10th appearance.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Doubles qualification
On 10 September the teams of Mahesh Bhupathi/Mark Knowles and Lukáš Dlouhý/Leander Paes following the US Open finals, the two teams are competing in their second straight year-end championship.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Doubles qualification
Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles only win came at the Rogers cup. They also finished as runner-up at the Australian Open and at the US Open. As well as at the Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell. Separately Bhupathi won the Australian mixed doubles with Mirza. Knowles won the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships with Fish and the Wimbledon mixed doubles with Anna-Lena Grönefeld. and the final of the China Open with Roddick.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Doubles qualification
Lukáš Dlouhý and Leander Paes won two out of four Grand Slams. They won the French Open. and the US Open. They finished as runners-up at ABN AMRO. They reached the Australian Open semifinals. Paes separately reached and lost three finals, the Heineken Open with Scott Lipsky and the Mixed doubles finals of both Wimbledon and the US Open with Cara Black.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Doubles qualification
The last four qualifiers were decided at the 2009 BNP Paribas Masters. They were Łukasz Kubot/Oliver Marach, František Čermák/Michal Mertiňák, Max Mirnyi/Andy Ram only after Wesley Moodie/Dick Norman were ousted. Mariusz Fyrstenberg/Marcin Matkowski qualified after winning their quarterfinal match-up against the Bryans.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Doubles qualification
Łukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach claimed three doubles titles, in their debut year. They took the Grand Prix Hassan II, the Serbia Open and the Bank Austria-TennisTrophy. They also reached the final of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel. At the Slams, they were able to reach their first Major semifinals at the Australian.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Doubles qualification
František Čermák and Michal Mertiňák, in their first year on tour together, won 5 titles., the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, the MercedesCup, at the ATP Studena Croatia Open Umag, the BCR Open Romania, and finally at the Valencia Open 500. They also reached the finals of the Movistar Open.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Doubles qualification
Max Mirnyi and Andy Ram reached three finals, all Masters 1000 events. They won one of these finals at the Sony Ericsson and lost the BNP Paribas Open and the Rogers Masters. They reached the US Open semifinal. Ram separately finished as runner-up at the Australian mixed doubles with Nathalie Dechy and at the Open 13 with Julian Knowle.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Doubles qualification
Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski won the Aegon International and the Malaysian Open. They also reached the finals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Groupings
The tournament was conducted in a round robin format. The eight players/teams divided in two groups. The eight seeds were determined by the South African Airways ATP Rankings and the 2009 ATP Doubles Team Rankings of Monday, 16 November 2009. The top seed was placed in Group A and the second seed placed in Group B. Players/teams seeded three and four, five and six, seven and eight, were then drawn in pairs placing the first drawn in Group A.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Groupings, Singles grouping
Group A: Consisted of Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Juan Martín del Potro and Fernando Verdasco. Against the rest of the group, Roger Federer was 12–7, Andy Murray was 17–5, Juan Martín del Potro was 2–10 and Fernando Verdasco was 1–10.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Groupings, Singles grouping
Andy Murray led 6–3 against Federer, having won 4 of their last 5 meetings at that point. Murray was 4–1 against del Potro and 7–1 over Verdasco. Federer was 3–0 against Verdasco and 6–1 over del Potro. Verdasco and del Potro faced each other for the first time.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Groupings, Singles grouping
Group B: Against the rest of the group, Rafael Nadal was 21–10, Novak Djokovic 13–16, Nikolay Davydenko 8–12 and Robin Söderling 7–11.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Groupings, Singles grouping
Nadal was 14–6 with Djokovic. Nadal led 4–3 against Davydenko. Nadal edged Soderling, 3–1. Djokovic was tied with Davydenko at 2–2, and was 5–0 against Söderling. Söderling led Davydenko 6–3 including 5 of their last 6 meetings.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Groupings, Doubles grouping
Group A: Nestor/Zimonjić were joined by Bhupathi/Knowles, Čermák/Michal Mertiňák and Fyrstenberg/Matkowski. Against the rest of the group Nestor/Zimonjić were 8–3, whilst Bhupathi/Knowles were 7–1. Čermák/Mertiňák were 0–1 and Frystenberg/Matkowski were 2–8.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Groupings, Doubles grouping
Nestor/Zimonjic were 3–1 against Bhupathi/Knowles, 4–2 against Fyrstenberg/Matkowski and 1–0 against Cermak/Mertinak. Bhupathi and Knowles had never played Cermak/Mertinak but were 4 and 0 against Fyrstenberg/Matkowski. Cermak/Merinak had never faced Fyrstenberg/Matkowski.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Groupings, Doubles grouping
Group B: Against the rest of the group the Bryans were 7–3, while Dlouhý/Paes were 1–3 while Ram/Mirnyi were at 2–2 and Kubot and Marach were 0–3.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Groupings, Doubles grouping
The Bryans were 3–1 up against Dlouhý/Paes, 2–2 with Ram/Mirnyi and 3–0 against Kubot/Marach. Ram/Mirnyi and Dlouhý/Paes had never faced their other opponents.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 1: 22 November 2009
The tournament started with group A doubles action. In the opening match the top doubles team and defending champions Nestor/Zimonjić being upset by Fyrstenberg/Matkowski 6–4, 6–4. The Polish team faced no break points.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 1: 22 November 2009
In the first singles match, 2008 semifinalist Murray fought del Potro. Murray went up 5–0 over Del Potro, who took a medical timeout at 3–0, for a nosebleed. Del Potro dropped to 15–40, but eventually saved two set points and won the game. At 5–1, on the second break point Del Potro challenged Murray's apparent ace and won the break. Both players then held, giving Murray the first set 6–3. In the second set, Del Potro looked rejuvenated taking the first 3 games; breaking at love in the second game.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 1: 22 November 2009
Murray broke in the 5th game to bring it back to serve. The Argentine broke again and held to lead 5–2. Both players held, requiring a third set. The decider saw a change of roles as Murray broke in the second game at his second chance to lead 3–0. The servers held the next four games to 5–2. At 5–2 Del Potro went down 15–30, and then double-faulted, giving Murray 2 match points. Murray converted the second.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 1: 22 November 2009
Federer/Verdasco started with Verdasco breaking Federer and holding to lead 2–0. At 3–2, Verdasco was warned for taking too much time. Verdasco held for a 4–2 lead. In the next game Federer saved two break points. The two players then held, giving Verdasco the set 6–4. In the second set both players held serve comfortably to 6–5, when Federer broke to win the set 7–5. In the 3rd, Federer took a 5–0 lead and won 4–6, 7–5, 6–1.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 2: 23 November 2009
Nadal/Söderling was a sequel to the fourth round of the French Open. Söderling broke in the second game and led 3–0, quickly reversed by Nadal for 3–3. From there both players held to 5–4. At 40–30 Nadal made three unforced errors, giving Söderling the first at 6–4. In the second set Nadal broke in the 3rd game for 2–1. Nadal then saved two break points before Söderling challenged a backhand from Nadal. Both players then held. At 5–4 Nadal faced match point at 30–40, which Söderling converted to win the set 6–4 and the match.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 2: 23 November 2009
The final match repeated last year's final pitting Djokovic against Davydenko. At 2–2 in the 1st Davydenko broke at love. Then the Russian saved one break point for 4–2. Both then held. Djokovic faced two set points and gave Davydenko the first set 6–3. At 2–2 on serve in the 2nd Davydenko saved two break points to lead 3–2. At 4–4 Davydenko's unforced errors gave Djokovic a break and he served out the set 6–4. In the decider Djokovic broke early for 2–0. He served for the match at 5–4 but Davydenko broke back. Djokovic broke back and served the match out.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 2: 23 November 2009
The doubles competition produced two upsets as Mirnyi/Ram beat World no. 2 the Bryans 6–4, 6–4. Kubot/Marach defeated Dlouhý/Paes in straight sets.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 3: 24 November 2009
The next day del Potro and Verdasco played each other for the first time. In the 3rd game del Potro broke at 15. Both held giving del Potro the first set 6–4. At 4–3 in the second Verdasco converted the first break point to lead 5–3. Verdasco won 6–3 triggering a deciding set. Verdasco went down 3–2 and 0–40. He saved 2 break points but at 30–40, del Potro challenged a Verdasco forehand called in. Hawk-Eye reversed the call giving del Potro a 4–2 lead. Verdasco saved match point at 5–2, then Verdasco broke and held to level the set at 5–5. Del Potro won the eventual tie-break 7–1.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 3: 24 November 2009
Federer then took on Murray. Both players immediately broke, then at 3–2 Federer held only 2 of 3 break points. The first set went to Murray 6–3. In the 6th game of the second set the Swiss was able to break and served it out for 6–3. Federer then broke in the third, fifth and seventh games to finish 6–1.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 3: 24 November 2009
Bhupathi/Knowles outlasted Fyrstenberg/Matkowski 3–6, 6–3, [10–7], taking them to the semifinal. Defending champions Nestor/Zimonjić lost to Čermák/Mertiňák 6–3, 6–4.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 4: 25 November 2009
First Söderling battled Djokovic. No break opportunities emerged until 5–4 when Djokovic saved 3. In the following tie-break, the Swede took a 2–0 lead and then the Serb took three. Söderling got a mini-break for 6–4, and won at 7–5. Djokovic then won the opening game but then Söderling won the next six to advance to the Semifinal.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 4: 25 November 2009
The next match was a Shanghai final rematch between Davydenko and Nadal. Davydenko raced into a 3–0 lead. In the 6th game Davydenko broke again, and served it out at 6–1. Davydenko broke Nadal in the 5th game of the 2nd and then saved two break points in the 6th for 4–2. Nadal then broke Davydenko to level it at 4–4. Both held through to a tie break. Nadal got a mini-break for 2–1, but gave it back for 3–3. Davydenko then broke for 5–3. Davydenko converted his second match point to win at 7–4. For the first time in his World Tour Finals history, Nadal failed to reach the semifinal.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 4: 25 November 2009
In Doubles, in the first match Kubot/Marach outlasted Mirnyi/Ram in a marathon 4–6, 6–4, [16–14] to advance in the top spot. The second match saw the Bryans eliminated Dlouhý/Paes.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 5: 26 November 2009
Murray played Verdasco, hoping for a straight set shot through to the semi final, leaving Federer and Del Potro to fight for the other spot. A loss for Murray would eliminate him. And a three-set win required a complicated tie break.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 5: 26 November 2009
In the first eight games, Murray failed to convert multiple break points. In the ninth game, Murray finally succeeded and served it out for 6–4. Verdasco saved break points in the fifth game for 3–2. Verdasco saved two more break points in the 11th game, leading to a tie-break. Verdasco won the early lead 4–2 but Murray recovered to reach 4–5 on serve. Verdasco won the next point before Murray double faulted to give Verdasco the set. In the third Verdaso save the only break point in the second. Verdasco double faulted to give Murray a 4–2 lead who held on to win the breaker 7–3.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 5: 26 November 2009
The last match repeated US Open final as Federer took on del Potro. Del Potro broke in the 1st and 5th games thanks to a Federer double fault, winning the opening set 6–2. Federer saved a break point in the next game, eventually reaching a tie break. Del Potro claimed a 4–2 lead, but Federer fought back to win 7–5. That put Federer into the semi final. Murray needed Federer to win four games in the final set for him to advance but Federer did not oblige. At 4–3 Federer went down 0–40. He saved one break point but del Potro got the next and closed out the match 6–3.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 5: 26 November 2009
Murray was thereby out, with Federer and del Potro advancing. The three players won the same number of matches and leaving it to game percentage. All of the Group A matches went three sets.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 5: 26 November 2009
In the doubles Nestor/Zimonjić were eliminated despite claiming their first victory over Bhupathi/Knowles at 6–4, 7–6. The second match saw Čermák/Mertiňák move on by defeating Fyrstenberg/Matkowski, finishing second in the group.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 6: 27 November 2009
Nadal began the day by taking on Djokovic. Djokovic broke in the opening game. Nadal struck back in the next game after Djokovic saved two break points. In the third game, Djokovic broke again. In the next game, Djokovic held, taking a 3–1 lead. Nadal held and then broke. Both players then held to force a tie-break. Djokovic took the mini-break to lead 4–2 and held on for 7–5. Djokovic broke for the fourth time, gaining a 3–1 lead. Djokovic took the match at 6–3.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 6: 27 November 2009
Söderling still had to battle Davydenko, who was trying to claim the second semifinal berth. In the 7th game Davydenko failed to convert break points, as did Söderling in the next 8th, eventually leading to a tie break. There were no mini-breaks until the changeover, which was followed by three straight, giving Davydeno the set 7–4. In the 9th game of the second set Söderling broke at love and won the set 6–4, giving him the top spot in Group B. At 3–2 in the final set Davydenko broke to lead 5–2. Söderling held. At 5–3 with two match points, Davydenko double-faulted, but converted the next match point to win 6–3. This win meant that Davydenko would face Federer, becoming the only 2008 singles semifinalist to go through to the 2009 semifinals.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Round robin, Day 6: 27 November 2009
In doubles, Dlouhý/Paes lost their final round robin match to Mirnyi/Ram 7–6, 6–4. Then the Bryans had to win their match against Kubot/Marach in straight sets to reach the semi final, which they did 6–3, 6–4.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Finals, Day 7: 28 November 2009
Play began between Federer and last year's runner-up Davydenko. Federer had won all 12 prior encounters. Davydenko saved two early break points. In the next game. Davydenko broke, then held and broke again at love. Federer broke back immediately for 2–4. Federer saved only one of two break points, for a third consecutive break. Davydenko held for 6–2. At 5–5, Davydenko converted a break point and in the next game saved one of his own before serving it out in his first win over Federer.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Finals, Day 7: 28 November 2009
In the evening semifinal, Söderling played del Potro, having split their last two meetings. In the third game, Söderling saved three break points from 0–40 for 2–1. Both players continued to hold, creating a tie-break. Söderling went up 5–0, before winning it 7–1. At 4–3 in the second set, del Potro broke Söderling and held on for 6–3. The third set saw Söderling break to lead 4–2 and del Potro break for 4–3. From there, both players held. In the tie-break, del Potro went up 4–0 lead and won 7–3.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Finals, Day 7: 28 November 2009
Mirnyi/Ram defeated Čermák/Mertiňák 6–4, 7–6 to reach the finals. Then, there was an Australian Open final rematch pitting the Bryans against Bhupathi/Knowles. The result was the same, with the Bryan twins taking it 6–4, 6–4.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Finals, Day 8: 29 November 2009
The Bryans got a first set chest bump after taking the first set point on a down-the-middle backhand. A single break in game eight of the second set was enough for the brothers to serve for the match. The pair thrilled to have regained the title and the top ranking.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Finals, Day 8: 29 November 2009
Finally, del Potro and Davydenko having both defeated Soderling, Federer, and one Spaniard along the way faced off. This was their fourth meeting, with Davydenko leading 2–1. Davydenko broke at his second chance and then easily served out the set. In the second set at 2–2, del Potro saved a break point. Davydenko did the same, for 3–3. At 4–4 Davydenko broke at love. Davydenko then served the match out for a 6–3, 6–4 win. This was Davydenko's biggest title to date.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Finals, Day 8: 29 November 2009
Del Potro commented "Congratulations Nikolay, you had a great week, you beat everyone and you're a great champion. Thank you the crowd, you support me a lot and helped me. I hope to see you next year." Davydenko added; "Yeah!... I just want to congratulate Martin: he had a big season. For me it was amazing, coming in as number seven and winning the tournament. I surprised myself. Maybe I now have English fans... I hope. I really enjoy coming to London, I will try to come back again." He also added "Trophy, it's always something important, you know, in career for the tennis player. Something important for me because Federer I beat in semifinals. It was a great match, good feeling. Never beat him before. And beat him once here in semifinals. But, you know, finals different".


2009 ATP World Tour Finals, Champions, Doubles
Bob Bryan /  Mike Bryan def. Max Mirnyi /  Andy Ram, 7–6(7–5), 6–3


2009 ATP World Tour Finals – Doubles
Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the round robin stage.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals – Doubles
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan won in the final 7–6(7–5), 6–3 against Max Mirnyi and Andy Ram.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals – Doubles, Draw, Group A
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.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals – Doubles, Draw, Group B
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.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals – Singles
Nikolay Davydenko defeated Juan Martín del Potro in the final, 6–3, 6–4 to win the Singles tennis title at the 2009 ATP World Tour Finals.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals – Singles
Novak Djokovic was the defending champion, but was eliminated in the round robin stage.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals – Singles
Andy Roddick qualified for the tournament, but withdrew due to a left leg injury.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals – Singles, Draw, Group A
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.


2009 ATP World Tour Finals – Singles, Draw, Group B
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.


2009 ATP World Tour Masters 1000
The twentieth edition of the ATP Masters Series. The champion of each Masters event is awarded a 1,000 rankings points.


2009 Aaron's 499
The 2009 Aaron's 499 was the ninth race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. With a distance of 500.8 miles (806.0 km), it was held on April 26, 2009 at the 2.66 miles (4.28 km) Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. Fox Sports broadcast the race starting at 1 PM EDT, with MRN and Sirius XM Radio carrying the radio broadcast over the air and on satellite respectively. The race had nine cautions, 25 different leaders, and 57 lead changes, the most lead changes of the season up until that point.


2009 Aaron's 499
Brad Keselowski, driving for Phoenix Racing, won the race in his fifth career start (third start in 2009) and led his first career Sprint Cup lap, Lap 188 (in fact the only lap he led the entire race), while Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished second and Ryan Newman finished third. This was the first time since Casey Mears's win at the 2007 Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte that a driver had won his first career win in a major, and the first win in the Aaron's 499 by a first-time driver since Phil Parsons in 1988. It was also the first time a driver's first ever lap led was to win the race. Keselowski dedicated his win to the late Neil Bonnett.


2009 Aaron's 499, Background
Talladega Superspeedway is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races; the others are Daytona International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Michigan International Speedway. The standard track at the speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.66 miles (4.28 km) long. The track's turns are banked at thirty-three degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 16.5 degrees. The back stretch has a two-degree banking. Talladega Superspeedway can seat up to 143,231 people.


2009 Aaron's 499, Background
Before the race, Jeff Gordon led the Drivers' Championship with 1242 points, and Jimmie Johnson stood in second with 1157. Kurt Busch was third in the Drivers' Championship with 1144 points, six ahead of Tony Stewart and 56 ahead of Denny Hamlin in fourth and fifth. In sixth, Clint Bowyer with 1052 points was 26 points ahead of Kyle Busch in seventh, as Carl Edwards with 1023 points was 31 points ahead of David Reutimann, and 48 points in front of Kasey Kahne.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
To begin pre-race events, Jeff Sauls, Chaplain Emergency Crews and Alabama Raceway Ministry, delivered the invocation at 1:00 P.M Central Standard Time (2:00 pm Eastern Standard time). Then Katie Stam, Miss America 2009, performed the national anthem. At 1:08 pm, University of Alabama head football coach, Nick Saban, delivered the starting command.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
During the pace laps, Scott Speed made an emergency last-minute pit stop, causing him to start the race 1 lap down, since the Talladega races are impound races. Before the green flag, six drivers (including all four Richard Petty Motorsports cars) had to move to the back of the field due to engine changes: Brad Keselowski, Kasey Kahne, David Stremme, Elliott Sadler, Reed Sorenson, and A. J. Allmendinger. Robby Gordon was also forced to start at the rear as his car height was too low and failed post-qualifying inspection.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
At the drop of the green flag at 1:20 pm, polesitter Juan Pablo Montoya claimed the lead and stayed in that position for four laps. On lap 5, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. passed him for the lead with drafting help from Denny Hamlin. Earnhardt, Jr. led for one lap before being repassed by Montoya.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
On lap 7, David Ragan, who had won the Nationwide Series race the day before, took the lead on the back straightaway with the help from Joey Logano, who had assisted Ragan in that win. Moments later, the first caution flag was waved for a huge crash in turn 3. This started when Matt Kenseth, while in the middle groove, moved up in front of Jeff Gordon (driving a retro Pepsi Challenge paint scheme used by Darrell Waltrip in 1983) and made contact, causing the 24 car to wobble and get loose on the high side.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
Gordon then made contact with David Gilliland, getting him loose, then came down and collected 14 more cars, including Allmendinger, Kahne, Sadler, Casey Mears, Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Max Papis, Jamie McMurray, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Scott Riggs, and Bobby Labonte. Martin, who had won the Phoenix race the previous week, took a very hard hit, as his car went over the hood of Riggs', smashed into the wall driver's side first, and got fishtailed by Kahne as his came to a rest on the infield. Bowyer and Gilliland also went head-on into the outside wall.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
Under this caution, Speed got the free pass. Most of the drivers pitted under the caution on lap 9. As the caution period continued, John Andretti, Greg Biffle, and Ryan Newman each led a lap before making their pit stops. When the race restarted on lap 13, Logano claimed the lead. One lap later, Martin Truex, Jr. took it away from Logano with help from Earnhardt, Jr. Truex, Jr. continued to lead until lap 18, when Montoya passed him for it.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
One lap later, Busch, upon returned after the huge wreck on lap 6, took the lead from Montoya and led a lap before being passed by Hamlin. On lap 22, Jeff Burton took the lead and led for a lap before being passed by Hamlin. Burton repassed him for the lead on lap 24. On lap 27, Busch reclaimed the lead when Burton was shuffled out of line. As this took place, Burton reported having no voltage in his car. One lap later, the second caution was thrown for debris on the track. Burton was penalized for pitting early to replace his car battery.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
On the lap 34 restart, Kyle Busch claimed the lead. He led for the next seven laps. On lap 38, Truex, Jr. briefly took the lead on the back straightaway before Busch repassed him with a shove from Michael Waltrip. In the middle of the next lap, Truex, Jr. passed Ky. Busch, but lost the lead coming into the tri-oval. On lap 40, Ky. Busch, assisted by David Ragan, was travelling alongside Jimmie Johnson, who was being pushed by David Stremme. On lap 41, Ky. Busch, pushed by Speed, raced side-by-side with Johnson, who was being pushed by Earnhardt, Jr.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
On lap 42, the third caution flag waved when Michael Waltrip cut down in front of Marcos Ambrose in the tri-oval and spun out. Waltrip saved his car and barely avoided hitting the inside retaining wall. The free pass went to Allmendinger, 22 laps down after being involved in the first crash.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
During the pit stops, Scott Speed stayed out for a lap to claim the lead from Kyle Busch, but returned it to him when he pitted on lap 45. The race restarted on lap 46 with Busch leading. Busch led for two laps before being passed by Earnhardt, Jr. on lap 48. Earnhardt, Jr. and Martin Truex, Jr. had such a run that they were able to get a few seconds ahead of the main pack. Eanrhardt, Jr. led until he was passed by Matt Kenseth on the inside on lap 50.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
Kenseth led for three laps before Earnhardt, Jr. repassed him. Earnhardt, Jr. continued to lead for the next seven laps. On lap 60, the fourth caution waved when Kurt Busch spun out in the tri-oval after being touched in the left-rear by David Stremme. his spin happened in exactly the same spot that Waltrip's pin happened in to bring out the previous caution. He also saved his car. During this caution, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, and Kasey Kahne all returned to the track multiple laps down after repairs from the big crash. Under the caution, Jeff Burton received the free pass. Waltrip led for a lap during the caution before pitting and giving the lead to Martin Truex, Jr. At the restart on lap 64, Truex, Jr. led the field to the green flag.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
The Top 4 drivers — Truex, Jr.; Sadler; Earnhardt, Jr.; and Kyle Busch —were able to get a strong start and pull away from the lead pack. Truex, Jr. led until he was passed on the inside by Hamlin on lap 75. Two laps later, Montoya took the lead. He led for one lap before being passed by Earnhardt, Jr., who had a shove from David Stremme. Two laps later, Jimmie Johnson claimed the lead with a shove from Earnhardt, Jr. Johnson led for one lap before being passed by Hamlin.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
On lap 82, Earnhardt, Jr. and his JR Motorsports driver Brad Keselowski got together on the back straightaway and went below the yellow line. Though Earnhardt, Jr. was able to blend back into the field, Keselowski ended up losing the draft and fell all the way to the back of the lead pack. On lap 83, Sam Hornish, Jr. took the lead.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
Two laps later, debris on the back straightaway brought out the fifth caution of the day. Most of the drivers pitted under the caution, while Jeff Burton received the free pass. Joe Nemechek led one lap before pitting, while Paul Menard stayed out and led the field to the restart on lap 88. Menard was passed one lap later by Denny Hamlin, who had help from Joey Logano. Hamlin led for two laps before Jimmie Johnson passed him on lap 92. Johnson led for a lap before Hamlin repassed him.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
On lap 100, the field began to run side by side, led by Hamlin on the outside as Casey Mears led a line on the inside. On Lap 111, Earnhardt, Jr. and a lap-down Jeff Burton hooked up and got such a run they were able to get a five-second lead over the main pack for a few laps. Burton was attempting to get back on the lead lap the hard way. On lap 112, Menard pitted, followed a lap later by Reed Sorenson.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
On lap 114, Earnhardt, Jr.'s runaway lead vanished as Martin Truex, Jr. claimed the lead, and Earnhardt, Jr. fell back to 11th place. Truex, Jr. led until lap 116, when he was passed by Joey Logano, who was repassed by Truex, Jr. a lap later. On lap 119, Burton got back on the tail end of the lead lap. On lap 121, Brian Vickers passed Truex, Jr. for the lead. Vickers led two laps before Truex, Jr. repassed him with a push from Kyle Busch. One lap later, the sixth caution came out for debris. On lap 125, under caution, Carl Edwards claimed the lead as the leaders pitted. Jeremy Mayfield also stayed out. Both Edwards and Mayfield pitted one lap later and gave the lead to Kyle Busch, who had won the race off pit road.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
Kyle Busch led the field to the green flag on lap 127. The field shuffled around during the next seven laps, with Busch and Hamlin swapping the lead several times in the middle of the track on lap 132. On lap 134, Elliott Sadler claimed the lead with help from Brad Keselowski. Sadler led for three laps before Kurt Busch passed him with help from Earnhardt, Jr. On lap 140, Hamlin pushed David Reutimann to the lead, but went around Reutimann at the finish line to lead the lap. One lap later, Casey Mears claimed the lead. He led until lap 143 when Jeff Burton passed him with assistance from Earnhardt, Jr., who took the lead from Burton on the next lap on the middle groove. Kurt Busch passed Earnhardt, Jr. on lap 145, and led one lap before Earnhardt, Jr. repassed him.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
On lap 146, the seventh caution came out for debris. Under the yellow flag, Jeremy Mayfield stayed out to collect five bonus points for leading a lap as most of the drivers took their final pit stops of the day. Kurt Busch led the field to the green flag on lap 150. He led for four laps before his brother passed him with help from Earnhardt, Jr. Busch led for fifteen laps before Matt Kenseth passed him on lap 169. Kenseth led for a lap before Busch repassed him. On lap 171, the eighth caution came out when Busch and Truex crashed in turn 3. It began when Jeff Burton made contact with Busch's rear bumper, causing him to wobble, and eventually spin out after contact from Montoya, while behind them, Truex got turned loose by Ragan.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
Matt Kenseth claimed the lead and led the field to the green flag on lap 175. One lap later, Hamlin got loose but saved his car, and teamed up with Ryan Newman to make a run past the leaders, allowing Newman to take the lead from Kenseth two laps later. On lap 180, the ninth caution flag was waved for a large crash on the back straightaway.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
It started when Montoya, running in the middle of the lead pack, was touched by Hamlin, causing Montoya to spin into Bobby Labonte and collected seven more cars, including Martin Truex, Jr., Robby Gordon, David Stremme, Jeremy Mayfield, Jimmie Johnson, Michael Waltrip, and Sam Hornish, Jr.. Gordon took the worst of it, as his car was sent head on into inside wall, stoving in the entire front portion of his car. Newman continued to lead at the restart on lap 184, drafting with Earnhardt, Jr.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
Carl Edwards passed Newman for the lead to take the white flag on lap 187, pushed by Brad Keselowski. Edwards and Keselowski were ahead of Newman, who was being pushed by Earnhardt, Jr. heading down the back straightaway. Coming into the tri-oval, Edwards attempted to block Keselowski, and Keselowski made contact with Edwards' left rear quarter panel. Edwards spun backwards and went airborne. Earnhardt, Jr. slipped past Edwards on the inside, and Edwards' airborne car was struck head-on by Newman. This second hit propelled Edwards higher and sent him flying straight into the catch fence. Eight fans were injured by flying debris; the most serious one being a woman whose jaw was broken, and was airlifted to a nearby hospital.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
As Keselowski crossed the finish line and won the race with Earnhardt, Jr. right behind him, Edwards landed hard on his wheels and screeched to a halt in the middle of the track 100 feet (1,200 in) away from the finish line. No other cars except Newman had been in the vicinity of Edwards' car, and all of the cars behind him made it past without incident, although Greg Biffle came very close to hitting Edwards.


2009 Aaron's 499, Race recap
After a few moments, Edwards climbed out of his car and in a tribute to the 2006 comedy racing film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, he jogged to the finish line to a standing ovation from the crowd, which Mike Joy described as having "shades of Ricky Bobby". When Edwards was interviewed on Larry King Live, he responded, "I'm kind of a Will Ferrell fan. He did that at the end of Talladega Nights."


2009 Aaron's 499, Aftermath of the last lap crash
In the wake of the crash, the catch fence was raised by 10 feet and was strengthened for the fall race in order to prevent such an incident from occurring again. In addition, NASCAR implemented a rule for the fall race at Talladega in which drivers were not allowed to bump draft in the corners as an attempt to reduce multicar crashes that often took place at that part of the track.


2009 Aaron's 499, Aftermath of the last lap crash
Finally, in 2010, the wing on the Car of Tomorrow was replaced by a spoiler due to its role in Edwards' crash, as well as other wrecks in which the wing provided enough aerodynamic lift to render the roof flaps useless. NASCAR on Fox analyst Darrell Waltrip compared Edwards' crash to a one in 1987, when Bobby Allison blew a tire and went into the catchfence near the start/finish line, ripping out several feet of it and injuring several fans.


2009 Aaron's 499, Aftermath of the last lap crash
That crash made NASCAR mandate restrictor plates at Daytona and Talladega to slow down the cars from such extremely high speeds. Although Edwards quickly congratulated Keselowski for the win, the two drivers began a rivalry that heated up almost every year. After a few incidents in the NNS with Keselowski in 2009 they were given a warning by NASCAR on their bitter feelings.


2009 Aaron's 499, Aftermath of the last lap crash
Almost a year later, in the closing laps of the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta, Edwards (a few laps down after an accident with him early in the race) intentionally rushed for Keselowski's bumper and turned him. This was a wreck that resembled what Keselowski did to Edwards at Talladega the previous year. Keselowski climbed out mostly unscathed, and with an injured leg, he limped down the track to the ambulance. Not long after the crash when reviewing radio quotes, NASCAR black-flagged Edwards for the finish after finding out that Edwards did intentionally turn Keselowski.


2009 Aaron's 499, Aftermath of the last lap crash
Later that year, Edwards was leading a Nationwide Series race at Gateway Raceway when Keselowski, who said during a red-flag period that he had the fastest car, bumped him in turn 1 of the final lap to take the lead. In return, Edwards spun Keselowski into the pack in turn 4 of the final lap, causing in a multiple car collision and won the race. Keselowski was rammed hard by charging cars and spun in circles.


2009 Aaron's 499, Aftermath of the last lap crash
Keselowski climbed out with minor injuries and a grimace on his face and in victory lane, Edwards confessed publicly that the crash was not an accident. When interviewed, Keselowski furiously said, "I found a way to beat him but he just wrecked me ... it is not cool when I wreck on the straightaway going over 180 miles per hour. I am sure Edwards will think about how great he is or how cool he is in his own little mind but that is not reality."


2009 Aaron's 499, Aftermath of the last lap crash
That week, Edwards and Keselowski met with NASCAR, who penalized both drivers' points for the Nationwide Series championship standings, fined them both $25,000, and requested them to calm down the rivalry or face indefinite suspension from the sport. Their rivalry did not end until the 2012 Nationwide race at Watkins Glen, where the two rivals finished 1-2 and confirmed it in both their interviews.


2009 Aberto Santa Catarina De Tenis
The 2009 Aberto Santa Catarina De Tenis was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor red clay courts. It was part of the 2009 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Blumenau, Brazil between 11 and 17 May 2009.


2009 Aberto Santa Catarina De Tenis, ATP entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2009 Aberto Santa Catarina De Tenis, Champions, Men's doubles
Marcelo Demoliner /  Rodrigo Guidolin def. Rogerio Dutra da Silva /  Júlio Silva, 7–5, 4–6, [13–11]


2009 Aberto Santa Catarina De Tenis – Doubles
Adrián García and Leonardo Mayer were the defending champions, but they chose to not participate this year. Marcelo Demoliner and Rodrigo Guidolin won in the final 7–5, 4–6, [13–11], against Rogerio Dutra da Silva and Júlio Silva.


2009 Aberto Santa Catarina De Tenis – Singles
Marcelo Demoliner became the first champion of this tournament. He defeated Rogerio Dutra da Silva in the final (6–1, 6–0).


2009 Aberto de Brasília
The 2009 Aberto de Brasília was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was part of the 2009 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Brasília, Brazil between 10 and 16 August 2009.


2009 Aberto de Brasília, Singles entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2009 Aberto de Brasília, Champions, Doubles
Marcelo Demoliner /  Rodrigo Guidolin def. Ricardo Mello /  Caio Zampieri, 6–4, 6–2


2009 Aberto de Brasília – Doubles
Marcelo Demoliner and Rodrigo Guidolin defeated 6–4, 6–2 their compatriots Ricardo Mello and Caio Zampieri in the final.


2009 Aberto de Brasília – Singles
Ricardo Mello won in the final 7–6(2), 6–4, against Juan Ignacio Chela.


2009 Abierto Internacional Varonil Casablanca Cancún
The 2009 Abierto Internacional Varonil Casablanca Cancún was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor red clay courts. It was the second edition of the tournament which was part of the 2009 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Cancún, Mexico between 16 and 22 November 2009.


2009 Abierto Internacional Varonil Casablanca Cancún, ATP entrants, Other Entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2009 Abierto Internacional Varonil Casablanca Cancún, Champions, Doubles
Andre Begemann /  Leonardo Tavares def. Greg Ouellette /  Adil Shamasdin, 6–1, 6–7(6), [10–8]


2009 Abierto Internacional Varonil Casablanca Cancún – Doubles
Łukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach were the defending champions, but they chose to not compete this year. Andre Begemann and Leonardo Tavares won in the final 6–1, 6–7(6), [10–8], against Greg Ouellette and Adil Shamasdin.


2009 Abierto Internacional Varonil Casablanca Cancún – Singles
Grega Žemlja, who was the defending champion, reached the final, where he lost to Nicolás Massú 3–6, 5–7.


2009 Abierto Internacional Varonil Club Casablanca
The 2009 Abierto Internacional Varonil Club Casablanca was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor red clay courts. It was part of the 2009 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Mexico City, Mexico between 13 and 18 April 2009.


2009 Abierto Internacional Varonil Club Casablanca, Singles entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2009 Abierto Internacional Varonil Club Casablanca, Champions, Men's doubles
Sanchai Ratiwatana /  Sonchat Ratiwatana def. Víctor Estrella /  João Souza, 6–3, 6–3


2009 Abierto Internacional Varonil Club Casablanca – Doubles
Carsten Ball and Robert Smeets were the defenders of championship title, but they chose not to defend their 2009 win. Sanchai Ratiwatana and Sonchat Ratiwatana defeated Víctor Estrella and João Souza (6–3, 6–3).


2009 Abierto Internacional Varonil Club Casablanca – Singles
Dawid Olejniczak was the defending champion, but lost to Im Kyu-tae in quarterfinals. The qualifier Dick Norman won in the final 6–4, 6–7(6), 7–5, against Marcel Felder.


2009 Abierto Mexicano Telcel
The 2009 Abierto Mexicano Telcel was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 16th edition of the men's tournament (9th for the women) of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, and was part of the 500 series of the 2009 ATP World Tour, and was in the International category of tournaments on the 2009 WTA Tour. Both the men's and the women's events took place at the Fairmont Acapulco Princess in Acapulco, Mexico, from February 23 through February 28, 2009.


2009 Abierto Mexicano Telcel
The men's singles draw included David Nalbandian, the 2008 runner-up in this event and winner in Sydney earlier this year; Gaël Monfils, a semifinalist in Doha and Rotterdam earlier this year; Nicolás Almagro, the defending champion; Tommy Robredo, a semifinalist in Viña del Mar and winner of Costa do Sauipe and Buenos Aires earlier this year; Carlos Moyá, a two-time champion of this event; Albert Montañés; José Acasuso, Viña del Mar runner-up and Costa do Sauipe semifinalist earlier this year; and Juan Mónaco.


2009 Abierto Mexicano Telcel
The women's singles draw included two top 20 players: Dubai champion Venus Williams and Flavia Pennetta, who has reached the final of this event the last five years and won it twice. Carla Suárez Navarro, 2004 champion Iveta Benešová, Bogotá runner-up Gisela Dulko, Lucie Šafářová, Tathiana Garbin, and Bogotá champion María José Martínez Sánchez were also in the draw.


2009 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Finals, Men's doubles
František Čermák /  Michal Mertiňák defeated   Łukasz Kubot /  Oliver Marach, 4–6, 6–4, [10–7]


2009 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Finals, Women's doubles
Nuria Llagostera Vives /  María José Martínez Sánchez defeated  Lourdes Domínguez Lino /  Arantxa Parra Santonja, 6–4, 6–2


2009 Abierto Mexicano Telcel – Men's Doubles
Oliver Marach and Michal Mertiňák were the defending champions, but did not compete together that year. Marach partnered with Łukasz Kubot, but lost in the final to František Čermák and Mertiňák. Mertiňák partnered with Čermák and won the final 4–6, 6–4, [10–7].


2009 Abierto Mexicano Telcel – Men's Singles
Nicolás Almagro was the defending champion, and defeated Gaël Monfils 6–4, 6–4, in the final.


2009 Abierto Mexicano Telcel – Women's Doubles
Nuria Llagostera Vives and María José Martínez Sánchez were the defending champions, and in the final, defeated Lourdes Domínguez Lino and Arantxa Parra Santonja, 6–4, 6–2.


2009 Abierto Mexicano Telcel – Women's Singles
Flavia Pennetta was the defending champion, but lost in the final to Venus Williams, 6–1, 6–2.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Abkhazia on 12 December 2009, the fourth such elections since the post of President of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia was created in 1994. The result was a victory for incumbent president Sergei Bagapsh, who received 63% of the vote, winning a second term in office. Bagapsh competed against four opposition candidates: former Vice President and Prime Minister Raul Khajimba, who came second behind Bagapsh in the 2004 Presidential election, and newcomers Beslan Butba, Zaur Ardzinba and Vitali Bganba. Khajimba had stated that he, Ardzinba and Butba would support each other should one of them reach the second round of the election. Bagapsh was inaugurated on 12 February 2010.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates, Requirements and the procedure for registration
According to the Law on the Election of the President of the Republic of Abkhazia, candidates for the Presidency have to:


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates, Requirements and the procedure for registration
Prospective candidates had to be nominated between 13 October and 2 November 2009. This could be done either by an interest group, which had to present a list of signatures, or by a political party registered with the Central Election Commission. The only parties registered in this way were United Abkhazia, the Forum of the National Unity of Abkhazia, the Party of the Economic Development of Abkhazia and the People's Party. After the nomination period ended on 2 November, the Central Election Commission verified the signature lists and whether candidates satisfied the set requirements.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates, Requirements and the procedure for registration
To test the nominees' proficiency in Abkhaz, it established a language commission consisting of Aleksei Kaslandzia, Batal Khagush, Eva Tania, Adgur Skinkuba and Fatima Kvarchelia. Registration of the candidates had to be completed before 12 November and two days after their registration the Central Election Commission had to publish the list of nominees whose candidacy had been approved.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Candidates, Candidates
Five people were nominated for the presidency. On 5 November they successfully passed the Abkhaz language examination. Bagapsh and Khajimba were exempted from it as they had already passed a similar examination during the 2004 Presidential election, but they both volunteered to undergo it anyway. On 6 November, all five nominees were officially registered as candidates, and they received their certificates on 9 November.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Political-background, Bagapsh, Khajimba, the 2004 election and the power-sharing agreement
Sergei Bagapsh and Raul Khajimba already competed for the presidency in the 2004 Presidential election. That election was narrowly won by Bagapsh, but this was disputed by Khajimba and his supporters. To end the severe crisis that followed Bagapsh and Khajimba reached an agreement under which Bagapsh became President and Khajimba Vice President. The arrangement was uneasy: Khajimba's Forum of the National Unity of Abkhazia remained in opposition and Khajimba on various occasions supported the opposition's criticism of government policy.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Political-background, Bagapsh, Khajimba, the 2004 election and the power-sharing agreement
Most recently, on 20 May 2009, the Forum of the National Unity of Abkhazia, the Party of the Economic Development of Abkhazia and several other opposition groupings held a press conference in which they sharply criticised the governments foreign policy. On 28 May Khajimba announced that he agreed with the criticism and that he had filed for resignation. According to some observers Khajimba was partly motivated in his decision by the need to disassociate himself from the current authorities in the run-up to the election.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Political-background, Bagapsh, Khajimba, the 2004 election and the power-sharing agreement
Bagapsh first addressed the matter of his candidacy when during a press conference in Moscow on 18 April 2009 he announced that he would probably make use of his constitutional right to run for a second term.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Political-background, Beslan Butba
Beslan Butba is a prominent businessman and a former member of the People's Assembly. When he failed to retain his seat in the 2007 elections, he founded the Party of the Economic Development of Abkhazia and the private TV station Abaza TV. On 15 May 2009 Butba first announced that he planned to compete in the presidential election.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Political-background, Attempts by Khajimba to form alliances with Butba and Ardzinba
In the run-up to the election, various opposition politicians and organisation often jointly expressed their criticism of the government. The Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that during the summer of 2009 Khajimba and Butba had entered negotiations over forming an alliance, but fell out following the visit of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to Abkhazia. Putin had met with Khajimba, but not with Butba, and Butba considered this an unfriendly act on the part of Khajimba.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Political-background, Attempts by Khajimba to form alliances with Butba and Ardzinba
During the nomination period for candidates, Khajimba then tried to form a team with Ardzinba. The alliance would have combined Ardzinba's backing by part of the business community and his financial resources with Khajimba's elector popularity. The pair said they would run together during two meetings with voters, and the idea was that they would receive the joint nomination by the Forum of the National Unity of Abkhazia. According to the Kommersant, in the end the pair could not agree on what positions they would get.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Political-background, Attempts by Khajimba to form alliances with Butba and Ardzinba
Khajimba wanted the Presidency, and offered Ardzinba to become Prime Minister, but this was not acceptable to the latter. The congress of the Forum of the National Unity of Abkhazia planned on 29 October was called off, and Ardzinba was instead nominated by an initiative group that day. Khajimba had already been nominated by an initiative group on 19 October.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Political-background, Attempts by Khajimba to form alliances with Butba and Ardzinba
Nevertheless, on 18 November Khajimba and Ardzinba announced that they would continue to coordinate their campaigns, and that they had appointed chairman of Aruaa Vadim Smyr to lead this coordination. On 20 November, Khajimba stated that he and Ardzinba had different visions on coming to power, but that he did not consider Ardzinba his opponent, and that in the case of a second round, he, Ardzinba and Butba would support each other.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Political-background, Other political actors, Sergei Shamba
Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergei Shamba was another potential presidential candidate. Shamba had participated and come third in the 2004 election. Even though he had originally been brought into the cabinet by Khajimba over Bagapsh' preferred candidate he rejected the opposition criticism of Abkhazia's foreign policy that led Khajimba to resign.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Political-background, Other political actors, Stanislav Lakoba
In the 2004 election, Bagapsh had run with Stanislav Lakoba as Vice Presidential candidate. The power-sharing deal between Bagapsh and Khajimba to end the post-election crisis meant that Lakoba could no longer become Vice President. Instead, after the new election on 12 January 2005, Lakoba was appointed Secretary of the Security Council on 17 February. When Khajimba resigned as Vice President on 28 May 2009 he declared that within the government he had received most support by Lakoba. On 18 August Lakoba himself handed his resignation over the Abkhazian citizenship crisis.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Political-background, Other political actors, Stanislav Lakoba
In an interview with Caucasian Knot on 3 September Lakoba stated that he would not participate in the December 2009 presidential election and he called absurd the notion that he would join the opposition. Nevertheless, in an interview with the newspaper Nuzhnaya on 17 November, Lakoba stated that as a private citizen he supported Khajimba's candidacy and he praised his work in the Security Council. On 4 December Lakoba had a statement read out on Abkhazian television in which he stressed that this was only his private opinion and that it should not be used by any of the election campaigns.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign
The election campaign official began when the candidates received their registration certificates on 9 November. Since Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab was a candidate for the Vice Presidency, he was suspended from his post on 11 November as required by law, and his tasks were taken over by First Vice Premier Leonid Lakerbaia.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign
The election campaign was monitored as in previous years by the League of Voters "For Fair Elections". On 26 October, it released its first report and on 5 November it gave a press conference detailing its findings. The League released a second report on 1 December and a third report on 12 December.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign
The Central Election Commission was headed by Batal Tabagua, first appointed by Bagapsh's predecessor Vladislav Ardzinba during the crisis following the 2004 election. In its second report, the League of Voters "For Fair Elections", generally praised the Central Election Commission, but called upon it to be more responsive to the various complaints submitted to it, and it expressed regret that the Commission had not set up its own information service and website.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Political programmes, Raul Khajimba
On 20 November Khajimba gave a press conference in which he talked about some of his political positions. He spoke out in favour of free press and of equal access to information sources for all journalists. He promised that if he won the election he would not prosecute journalists for their view of events. Khajimba also promised to continue to fight corruption by providing decent wages and the certainty of punishment in the event of corruption. He claimed that while still in government, he had brought to light the corruption in the Sukhumi administration that cost Mayor Astamur Adleiba and several others their position, but that similar corruption in other cities had been buried by the prosecutor.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Political programmes, Raul Khajimba
This criticism was strongly rejected by the prosecutor's office on 30 November. It claimed that the corruption in the Sukhumi administration could only be investigated properly once Khajimba's allies O.L. Berulava and T.V. Parulua had been take of the case, and that corruption in other cities had not been ignored since misdealings in the Ochamchira district administration had also been dealt with. It furthermore criticized possibly corrupt affairs during Khajimba's own time as Prime Minister.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Political programmes, Raul Khajimba
Khajimba also spoke out in favour of reducing the bureaucracy by removing parallel structures in government. Concretely, he proposed removing the legal and economic departments of the Presidential administration in light of the existence of the Justice and Economy Ministries, and the cutting of the position of Vice President. He also criticised the recruitment of state officials on the basis of their family ties. Khajimba complained that the judiciary was not independent and he proposed that judges should be appointed by the People's Assembly and not by the President. According to the press agency Apsnypress, judges are actually already elected by Parliament, albeit upon nomination by the President.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Political programmes, Raul Khajimba
On 11 December Khajimba gave a press conference with the Association of Media Workers. He advocated the strengthening of relations with Russia while at the same time preserving the identity of Abkhazia. Regarding the inhabitants of the Gali District, Khajimba denied that he was against granting them Abkhazian citizenship and passports but argued that this should take place according to laws reflecting the will of the people.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Political programmes, Sergei Bagapsh
During a visit to a school in Sukhumi on 23 November, Bagapsh stated that education and health were his priorities, that wages would probably be raised in these areas in the coming year, that it was impossible to solve all problems simultaneously and that opposition promises of raising wages to 20,000 rubles were blatant lies. His Vice Presidential candidate Ankvab talked about the achievements of the current government, claiming that 10,622 people had received a total of 67 million rubles in assistance. He also praised the fact that patients had been sent to Russian medical institutions to receive free treatment.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Political programmes, Sergei Bagapsh
In an interview with the newspaper Respublika Abkhaziya Vice Premier Leonid Lakerbaia boasted of the sixfold increase of pensions between 2004 and 2009, the increase of pension categories from 16 to 29, the post-war high in fertility and other successes in social policy.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Political programmes, Zaur Ardzinba
On 24 November Ardzinba gave a press conference in which he stated that if he were elected President, he would do everything to bring together the fragmented people of Abkhazia and to remove the divide between 'us' and 'them'. He also declared that he would make use of qualified people in the government administration, from all political camps.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Political programmes, Zaur Ardzinba
On 11 December, Ardzinba declared that while the power-sharing agreement that resolved the 2004 post-election crisis had meant to bring an end to the division in the Abkhazian society, it had in fact failed to do so, and that he meant to correct that. Ardzinba also spoke out against the size of the bureaucracy, lamenting the duplication of functions.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Media use, TV broadcasts
Each candidate received four hours of free air time on national television in the four weeks running up to election day. During the first week (from 16 to 20 November) candidates had to either address voters live and answer questions from voters or send in a pre-recorded DVD. In the second week the candidates, assisted by no more than five associates, would answer questions of voters present in the studio, or send in a pre-recorded DVD. In the third week the Vice-Presidential candidate had to answer questions from voters. In the last week the Presidential candidate again had to address voters live and answer questions.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Media use, TV broadcasts
Apart from these broadcasts, each candidate could also buy one commercial not longer than three minutes, which would be broadcast on national television three times daily.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Media use, TV broadcasts
The private channel Abaza TV, owned by Beslan Butba, also offered equal amounts of airtime to all candidates.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Media use, TV broadcasts
The League of Voters "For Fair Elections" criticised both the State Radio and TV and Abaza TV for unequal coverage of the election. It noted that the State TV had shown in detail meetings of United Abkhazia, the party of incumbent President Bagapsh, and that Abaza TV had broadcast directly from the Congress of the Party of the Economic Development of Abkhazia, the party of its owner Beslan Butba. Both broadcasts had featured clear agitation in support of the parties' candidates and against the other candidates.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Media use, Newspapers
Most newspapers of Abkhazia campaigned for one of the candidates, with Edinoy Abkhazii, Amtsakhara and Respublika Abkhaziya on the side of incumbent President Bagapsh, and Ekho Abkhazii, Forum, Novy Den and Nuzhnaya on the side of the opposition. The League of Voters "For Fair Elections" condemned the unbalanced and incomplete reporting in both pro-government and pro-opposition papers. It particularly condemned the fact that Butba had replaced all the journalists of his newspaper Ekho Abkhazii by political activists. It also criticised an article by Daur Achugba in Forum for its gross unsubstantiated accusations against the government and President Bagapsh in particular, and its statements directed against a national minority.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Public contract
With input from all involved parties, the Public Chamber drafted a ten-point social contract to regulate election conduct, which it opened up for signing from 13 till 18 November. On the first day, head of the Public Chamber Natela Akaba expressed her puzzlement that it had not yet been signed by any of the candidates or the heads of the election campaigns. On 18 November, Khajimba and Ardinba stated that they would sign the social contract if and only if Bagapsh were to sign it.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Public contract
In its second report on 1 December, the League of Voters "For Fair Elections" acknowledged that there had been some flaws in the way the Public Contract had been drafted, but it nevertheless criticised President Bagapsh for refusing to sign it.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Unlawful campaigning, Use of administrative resources
Government officials were by law forbidden to participate in the election campaign.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Unlawful campaigning, Use of administrative resources
In its first report, the League "For Fair Elections" admonished certain government officials for calling on voters to vote for President Bagapsh. In its second report, the League specifically singled out the Minister of Education and the Mayor of Sukhumi for participating in Bagapsh's campaign. It furthermore judged that while the General Prosecutor had a right to correct incorrect accusations by opposition candidates, he had gone beyond that and his statements too could be considered campaigning for Bagapsh. The league criticised the opposition for the fact that members of the People's Assembly had appeared in the campaigns of Khajimba and Ardzinba.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Unlawful campaigning, Use of administrative resources
The League also condemned the call of some leaders of the Armenian community on all Armenians to vote for President Bagapsh, and a more covert but similar call for support for Bagapsh by Vice Premier Alexander Stranichkin during a conference of the Union of Russian Nationals.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Unlawful campaigning, Use of administrative resources
On 20 November, Khajimba complained to the Central Election Commission that Bagapsh was trying to influence the election by ordering state-employees to make copies of their passports.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Unlawful campaigning, Use of administrative resources
On 25 November the Central Election Commission responded to Khajimba's complaint. It stated that it had not received any concrete examples by Khajimba, but that it had nevertheless investigated the copying of passports in the Sukhumi City Hospital, which had been mentioned by Khajimba in his press conference on 20 November. According to the Central Election Commission, passports had been copied in the context of a human resource program of the health ministry initiated in 2008 involving all medical personnel in Abkhazia, and the matter was thus unrelated to the election campaign.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Unlawful campaigning, Use of foreign nationals in campaigns
Abkhazian election law forbade foreign nationals from taking part in the election campaign.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Unlawful campaigning, Use of foreign nationals in campaigns
On 20 November, Khajimba complained to the Central Election Commission that in one of Bagapsh's election videos on TV, foreign nationals had campaigned for him. According to the press agency Apsnypress, the video had indeed featured several Russian nationals speaking approvingly of Bagapsh, although they did not explicitly recommend voting for him.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Unlawful campaigning, Use of foreign nationals in campaigns
In its second report, the League "For Fair Elections" also criticised the fact that the first President of Adygea Aslan Dzharimov had participated in Bagapsh's campaign. It also considered Beslan Butba's employment of Russian spin doctors to be in breach of the constitution.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Unlawful campaigning, Other violations
In its press conference on 5 November the League of Voters "For Fair Elections" condemned United Abkhazia and the Party of the Economic Development of Abkhazia for having started campaigning before the official start of the election campaign when the candidates were registered.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Unlawful campaigning, Other violations
Opposition candidates complained that on 23 November, their election posters were torn in Gagra.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Unlawful campaigning, Other violations
In its second report, the League condemned the campaigns of Ardzinba and Butba for using recordings of ordinary citizens without their consent.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Abkhazian citizenship dispute
The 2009 presidential election was the first in which voters could only use their Abkhazian passport to identify themselves. This disenfranchised mostly the Georgian part of Abkhazian society, since the majority of Georgians does not have Abkhazian citizenship. In the run-up to the election, President Bagapsh attempted to extend the number of Georgians eligible for Abkhazian citizenship, but had to abandon these plans under opposition protests, and the government decided to suspend until after the election the issuing of new passports to residents of the Gali District, where most Georgians live.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Abkhazian citizenship dispute
This last decision was sharply and repeatedly criticised by the League "For Fair Elections" as violating the Constitution of Abkhazia. It strongly recommended that the sides should come to agree that the suspension be lifted before the election, and it criticised the opposition for its unwillingness to do so. The League also considered the general ambiguous effects of making the Abkhazian passport the sole document granting participation in the election.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Abkhazian citizenship dispute
It praised the increased overall transparency but lamented the electoral exclusion of most inhabitants of the Gali District, pointing out the fact that only 3500 inhabitants of the Gali District would be able to participate in the election, whereas 25,000, 12,000 and 15,000 inhabitants of the Gali District had voted in the elections of 1999, 2005 and 2007. The League warned that the legitimacy of the election would be judged on the basis of the participation of ethnic minorities.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Abkhazian citizenship dispute
On 24 November, Ardzinba, Khajimba and Butba complained to Minister of Internal Affairs Otar Khetsia that the State Passport Service had refused to provide them with the number of Abkhazian passport holders, divided out by district and nationality, the number of passport holders abroad and the number of Abkhazian citizens under the age of 18. Specifically, the trio requested anonymised passport data for the Gali District.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Fire incidents involving Beslan Butba's campaign
On 19 November, in Gagra the car of Vitali Azhiba burned down, head of the regional branch of Beslan Butba's Party of the Economical Development of Abkhazia. On 20 November a building burned down in the village of Aradu in the Ochamchira District, said by Butba's campaign to be the district office of the agro-industrial complex 'Aradu', owned by Butba. Butba condemned the events on 21 November as "planned political provocations, aimed at destabilising the situation in Abkhazia and intidating society". They were labeled 'terrorist attacks' by Aruaa, "aimed at intimidating voters and destabilising the country".


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Fire incidents involving Beslan Butba's campaign
It lamented "the inability of authorities to ensure the safety of citizens and the rule of law in such a challenging period for our nation and state" and it warned that should the government not in the course of the following days take decisive steps towards resolving the crimes, Aruaa would consider it partly to blame for the resulting civil unrest.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Fire incidents involving Beslan Butba's campaign
Minister of the Interior Otar Khetsia stated on 21 November that criminal cases had been opened by law enforcement agencies in Gagra and Aradu. He noted that Azhiba's car had stood along the road at a far distance from his home, and while he confirmed that fire had broken out, he cautioned that it was up to the investigation to establish whether the car had exploded or been set fire to.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Fire incidents involving Beslan Butba's campaign
Khetsia also confirmed that a warehouse for kiwifruit had burned down in Aradu, and that everything would be done to find the perpetrators, but he expressed his surprise at the fact that reporters from Abaza TV (owned by Butba) had been at the crime scene before officers from the Ochamchira police department.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Fire incidents involving Beslan Butba's campaign
The prosecutor's office declared on 30 November that the incidents were under investigation, and it condemned accusations of government involvement, warning that it would prosecute any attempts to destabilise the situation.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Fire incidents involving Beslan Butba's campaign
In its second report, the League of Voters "For Fair Elections" called alarming the burning incidents and it called for an impartial, thorough and speedy investigation.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Possible election fraud
Some of the opposition candidates have repeatedly speculated that the government might try to rig the election. On 20 November, Khajimba requested to know the number of eligible voters abroad. and also on 20 November, Zaur Ardzinba requested of the Central Election Commission that it publish the names of the members of the central, district and divisional election commissions, including those abroad.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Possible election fraud
On 11 December Khajimba gave a press conference with the Association of Media Workers. He expressed his conviction that all opposition candidates would conduct their activities within the law, but he accused the government of planning fraud and of using its administrative resources to support the campaign of Bagapsh. He claimed that if he had used the administrative at his position when he was Prime Minister, he would have won the 2004 election. He also denied that he had received any Russian support during that election, and praised the fact the Russian government was not supporting any candidate now. He did not exclude the possibility that the opposition would start street protests should the government manipulate the election.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Possible election fraud
Likewise, Ardzinba said on 11 December that while the 2004 election had been 'stolen', the opposition would not allow that to happen this time.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Possible election fraud
Conversely, in its second report the League of Voters "For Free Elections" condemned the campaign of Butba for soliciting voters to sign a 'contract' in which they committed themselves to voting for Butba during the election. The League also reported receiving unconfirmed reports of vote buying.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Campaign, Possible election fraud
On 3 December Head of the Central Election Commission Batal Tabagua also stated that although no official complaints had been made, reports had come in concerning the bribing of voters. He warned that if this turned out to be true, the candidate in question would be excluded from the election.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Conduct
On 7 October 2009, the date of the election was set by the People's Assembly to be 12 December. The voting was structured through the 35 electoral districts of Abkhazia, comprising a total of 174 polling stations. Two of these were stationed in Russia – in Moscow and Cherkessk – they were officially part of electoral district no. 5 in Sukhumi. Their election commissions were appointed by Abkhazian Ambassador to Russia Igor Akhba. Ten days before election day, on 2 December, lists of voters were distributed. On 10 and 11 December, the ballot papers were handed out to the election commissions.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Conduct
On Election Day, the voting stations were open from 08:00 until 20:00. The Abkhazian passport was the only document voters could use to identify themselves. To prevent multiple voting, the passports of voters were stamped on page 17. On 7 December, there were 146,121 holders of an Abkhazian passport, of which 9910 were under the age of 18 and thus ineligible to vote, and 5759 lived outside Abkhazia. The total number of eligible voters was estimated at 127,000.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Conduct
Raul Khajimba was the first of the candidates to vote, at 9:00, followed by Sergei Bagapsh at 9:30. Beslan Butba intended to vote at 10:00 but had to come back late due to the huge crowd at the polling station.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Conduct
At 12:00, the turn-out was 21%, at 15:00 it was 40.77%.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Conduct
The results of the election are to be published no later than three days after the election, that is, 15 December. If a second round is necessary, it is to be held no later than two weeks after the first round, that is, before 26 December.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Conduct
On 1 December the Public Chamber of Russia announced that it would send a delegation to Abkhazia from 11 to 13 December to monitor the election. On 8 December it was announced that also the State Duma and various Russian NGOs would send delegations during that period.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Results
According to the final results, Bagapsh won in the first round with over 60% of the vote.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, International reactions
Georgia – The election was condemned as illegal on 20 November by the Central Election Commission of Georgia, which considers Abkhazia to be part of its territory. On 11 December the spokesperson of Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili called the election an immoral Kremlin-staged comedy.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, International reactions
Russia – Two polling stations were opened in Russia for local Abkhazian citizens to vote in the elections. After the election results were announced, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev congratulated Bagapsh for his victory.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, International reactions
United States – The Department of State called the elections illegitimate and illegal, and reiterated its support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.


2009 Abkhazian presidential election, Inauguration and formation of a new government
President Bagapsh announced on 13 December that his reinauguration would take place on 12 February 2010, and that it would be modest, quick and without pomp.


2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (officially the 2009 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix) was the seventeenth and final Formula One motor race of the 2009 Formula One season. It took place on 1 November 2009 at the 3.45-mile Hermann Tilke-designed Yas Marina Circuit. It was the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and also the first ever day-night Grand Prix (starting at 17:00, with sunset at 17:43 on raceday). The race was won by Sebastian Vettel for Red Bull, with polesitter Lewis Hamilton (driving for McLaren) having retired due to a brake failure. This would be the last Formula One race for Kazuki Nakajima and Giancarlo Fisichella and the Brawn GP, BMW Sauber and Toyota teams (respectively).


2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Report, Background
Jenson Button had secured the title of World Champion in Brazil, but only two points separated the second-placed and third-placed Sebastian Vettel and Rubens Barrichello. Brawn GP was declared Constructors' Champion in Brazil with Red Bull second, but third position overall was still undecided between McLaren and Ferrari.