Seventh-ranked Andy Roddick has withdrawn from the Rome Masters citing personal reasons.

Juan Martin del Potro's continuing wrist problems will give Andy Murray the chance to reclaim his No 4 position from the Argentine in the world rankings at next week's Rome Masters. Although he moved ahead of Murray in yesterday's updated list, Del Potro has not played since the Australian Open and is a doubtful starter for Rome after pulling out of this week's tournament in Barcelona because of tendinitis in his racket wrist.

If the best way to deal with falling off a bicycle is to climb back on it immediately then Andy Murray will be pedalling into the Real Club de Tenis next week for the latest stop on the clay-court circuit. The Scot had not been planning to play in Barcelona, but following his early exit from this week's Monte Carlo Masters he may request a wild card. Even if he does not compete there Murray will practise next week in the Catalan capital, where he trained as a teenager.

Ivan Ljubicic won his first Masters 1000 title by upsetting seventh-seeded Andy Roddick 7-6 7-6 in the final of the Indian Wells ATP tournament last night. The big-serving Ljubicic, seeded 20th, fired down 20 aces and hit 42 winners to seal victory. Appearing in his fourth Masters final, the 31-year-old Croat clinched the second-set tiebreak 7-5. Roddick had saved three match points in the tiebreak after clawing his way back from 5-1 down.

Britain's Andy Murray has buried the bitter disappointment of being outclassed by Roger Federer in the Australian Open final in January.

Less than a fortnight after Andy Murray upset tournament organisers in Marseilles with his late withdrawal, the title sponsors at the Barclays Dubai Championships yesterday expressed disappointment with the Scot's remarks following his second-round Dubai defeat by Janko Tipsarevic.

Unseeded Michael Llodra won his fourth career title when he beat eighth-seeded Julien Benneteau 6-3, 6-4 in an all-French final at the Open 13 yesterday.

US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro will be out of action for at least a month after suffering a recurrence of a right wrist injury.

Feliciano Lopez was crowned SA Tennis Open champion yesterday in Montecasino after a comfortable straight-sets victory over first-time ATP Tour finalist Stéphane Robert.

Ali Carter returns to Newport for the defence of his Welsh Open title today with "no expectations" of how he will perform. The Essex player has struggled for form this season, after an excellent 2008-09 campaign, and is narrowly clinging on to his place at No 5 in the world rankings.

Rugby League: The game's newest professional club is to be known as the South Wales Scorpions. The Neath-based outfit, admitted to the Co-operative Championship One to fill the geographical void left by Crusaders' move to Wrexham, settled on their identity after a poll among their prospective supporters.