After briefly using a Yonex racquet and then returning to his Tecnifibre frame, Fernando has officially signed with Dunlop racquets.

Fernando signed an international contract for rackets, strings and accessories, while also agreeing to play a key role endorsing Dunlop’s junior talent identification programme – D-Squad.

“Becoming a brand ambassador for Dunlop is a very proud moment for me,” he said. “I look forward to joining the great players already associated with the brand. I am continuing to work hard and with the help from Dunlop I hope to be able to make this my most successful year to date.”

Barry Leach, MD of Dunlop Sport said: “Fernando is a world class addition to Dunlop and exemplifies the quality we look for at the brand. He plays an exciting style of tennis and, if he can build on last year’s performances, I would expect him to be a main fixture in the ATP top ten this year.”

(via dunlop sport)

http://fernando-verdasco.com/

There’s not much content at the moment, just a video, but hey, it’s a start! I have no clue when it launches or anything like that, but it’s great that Fernando finally has something official! Don’t worry though, I’ll still be updating here and probably once it launches too, considering lots of times, official sites just do minor updates and stuff.

The first ATP Masters event of the year, the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California is coming up this week! The main draw is announced on Tuesday, March 9 at 1:00 p.m. local time and the doubles draw will be announced on Wednesday, March 10 at 6:00 p.m. local time.

Fernando is, of course, entered in the singles main draw and will likely be seeded 10th (del Potro and Gonzalez have both withdrawn) He and Feliciano are also on the entry list (and seeded!) for the doubles draw. Check back here or on our twitter on Tuesday and Wednesday for more information about the draw!

Fernando won his fourth career title and along with it a major win over a top ten player when he beat Andy Roddick at the SAP Open in San Jose, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4!

“I served much better in the second and third set than the first set. Also, I was more aggressive; I started to push him a little bit more, tried to play more inside the court and move toward the net in the second set.

“I know against the Top 10 guys it’s always tough matches,” said Verdasco. “Last year in a lot of them I was really close and I didn’t win. I was a little bit unlucky in the matches, like in London against Federer, del Potro, Murray. Those were three matches I could’ve won and I lost all of them.

“Of course it’s a match that I hope is going to give me confidence. It was a really hard final for me, this one against Andy here, in his country, in the U.S., and I’m so happy that I was able to beat him here after the last times he beat me. It’s special for me and I’m happy that I did it.”

Fernando’s victory over Andy Roddick ends a 15-match losing streak against top 10 players. His last win against a top ten player was in the fourth round of the 2009 Australian Open against then world number 7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

With so much talk about bringing a World Cup to tennis and many of the top players backing the idea, you might be wondering which of them, if any, still want to keep the Davis Cup.

Well, never fear because Fernando is one of the first players to speak out in support of Davis Cup. While he didn’t explicitly rule out a world cup, it’s clear just how much Davis Cup means to Fernando.

“I don’t really know about World Cup tennis, but I can say that I really enjoy playing Davis Cup.

The last two years I’ve won with my country so for me it is very special. I will always support the Davis Cup but I know the schedule is so tight and it’s so tough to play all the ties and all the tournaments. We’ll see what is the best choice and try to get it as best as possible for everyone.”

And this one, from another article:

I do not know what they’re thinking, Djokovic, Rafa, or whoever else. They have not talked to me about the format or the way they want to change things. I would like an earlier finish to the season, but Davis Cup is something that has given me a lot of joy, having won it the last two years. It is very special to me. Getting rid of Davis Cup is something I do not like.

You could perhaps remove the weeks of less important tournaments, some 250 tournaments, or make the final of the Davis Cup in early November and then put the 250 tournaments at the end of the month, since you would not need the top ten to play these tournaments.

I think we can we can reach a solution without changing the Davis Cup.”

(via sydney morning herald & nacion.com)

The ITF will soon be releasing its annual Davis Cup: The Year in Tennis and Fernando and Feliciano are featured on the cover for the 2009 edition. The International Tennis Federation annually publishes the books, which contain information about the entire World Group competition throughout the year. The 2009 edition will feature over 125 pages illustrated with a stunning collection of images and featuring commentary from some of the most prominent journalist in the sport.

You can save 34% by pre-ordering the book here at Amazon.com. You can also order it through the ITF webstore, but it’s about $12 more expensive!

(via rfet.es)

Fernando started his 2010 season off in spectacular style with a win over three top players to take the title at the AAMI Classic in Kooyong. Battling the elements–the heat and a wild wind–he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3 to take the title and a new trophy for his mantleplace. Because Kooyong is just an exho, it doesn’t count with his official ATP tour titles, but a win is a win and this one should do wonders to boost Fernando’s confidence heading into the Australian Open next week.

Fernando defeated fellow Fernando, Gonzalez, that is, in his first match of the 2010 season at the AAMI Classic in Kooyong. The two held serve until Fernando finally managed to break Gonzalez’s serve at a crucial 6-5 in the opening set to take it 7-5. Fernando then went on to win the second set 6-1. Fernando looked in very good form throughout the match, especially during the second set. He was wearing his new kit (pictures in the gallery below!) and sporting a slightly shorter and gel-free haircut reminiscent of his Wimbledon style from last year.

Fernando will face Novak Djokovic in the semifinal round. Novak leads their head-to-head 5-2 and has won their last five meetings, including at the US Open and China Open last fall.

I will probably livetweet Fernando’s next match, so make sure you’re following the Verdasco News twitter for stream links and live updates :) Vamos Fernando!

Hi guys :) This is just me letting you know that I’m still here but that the site will be on a mini-hiatus until the tennis season kicks off again next month. Right now, Nando is recovering and getting ready for next year, so there isn’t going to be much in the way of news and updates.

However I’ll be a busy little bee this off season working on getting the rest of the site all put together. I’ve still got a lot of work to do on the results pages and I’m constantly adding new pictures to the gallery (click the link to the right or click here to check those out.

Fernando will be playing in Kooyong for his Australian Open tune-up, and isn’t defending his final appearance in Brisbane as far as I know. You can check out his tentative schedule for the coming year here.

So in conclusion, you might not see updates on the main page here, but keep checking back, as I’ll be constantly adding new stuff to the site in preparation for the new year! Vamos Fernando and good luck :)

- Lynsey

ETA: Fernando will not be competing in Bilbao this weekend. He is being instructed by doctors to rest for two weeks in order to fully heal the injury that he sustained at the Masters Cup in London. He spent time recovering before Davis Cup, but he is not fully 100% and prefers not to take risks by participating in the exhibition, following the recommendations of Dr. Angel Ruiz-Cotorro who prescribed for him “rest for two weeks and anti-inflammatory treatment.”
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Fernando is returning to Bilbao this weekend to defend his title in the Master de Tenis Bilbao-Bizkaia exhibition tournament. Fernando saved a match point in the second set tiebreak in last year’s final, defeating Tommy Robredo, 4-6, 7-6(9), 7-5 to take the title.

Joining Fernando at the eight-player exhibition are fellow Davis Cup teammates Feliciano López, David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo, Juan Carlos Ferrero and local player Guillermo Olaso.

As defending champion, Fernando gets a bye to the semifinals, where he will face either Juan Carlos Ferrero or Guillermo Olaso

(via Master de Tenis Bilbao-Bizkaia)