Love and dating on the tennis tour is a notoriously complicated affair with players flying to different locations every week, and some of the lower ranked players struggling to pay their bills, coaches, trainers and relying on sponsorship. Players often date among themselves, get their partners involved in aspects of their career or leave them at home, returning briefly a few times a year.

Back in January Nikolay Davydenko said "really, I would like have kids now, like Federer already have two, or Hewitt. But my wife don't want to, you know, stay at home. She travel with me now. Now I'm top ten she scared about if I start to, with kids, lose tennis and go down, stray. That's was because I start to miss and I was to go home."

Roger Federer, who has the financial means, and raw talent to continue to play well even with the arrival of twin girls has shown the importance of dating a woman who understands the needs of an elite athlete. Roger and his now wife Mirka had been dating since the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and engaged for some years, but only finally found the time to get married this time last year when she was pregnant with their twins. Because of the demands of the tour, with a large number of compulsory tournaments each year the two were barely had time for a honeymoon, with Roger choosing to play in the non compulsory Monte Carlo event instead.

Andy Roddick on the other hand, who had been dating model Brooklyn Decker for two years, marrying last year at the same time as Roger and Mirka, using the Monte Carlo tournament week as their honeymoon time.

The unfortunate truth is that there are very small windows in each season for players to enjoy their personal lives, and even then the media interest in their lives makes it a little bit more difficult.

Take Rafael Nadal for example. He has been dating Maria Francisca 'Xisca' Perello for over 4 years. She studies a business/economics degree back home in Mallorca while Rafa travels. She travels with him occasionally, more frequently last year when Rafa was returning from injury, because she has said she doesn't want to distract him. A few weeks ago Rafa starred in Shakira's Gypsy music video clip, sending media into a frenzy that Rafa was possibly dating, or was at least more than friends, with the Colombian singer. While Rafa and Xisca haven't been seen together recently, which in itself is not unusual as she normally doesn't travel on the tour again until Barcelona or Monte Carlo, his reps have firmly denied that their charge is dating anyone other than his childhood sweetheart.

Novak Djokovic has also been subject to rumours that he has a roving eye which has been heavily refuted by his reps, saying that his girlfriend Jelena Ristic, who frequently travels with Novak, is the "love of his life". Ristic is often court side cheering Novak on.

Kim Clijsters, who dated, and became engaged to Lleyton Hewitt, has manged to find a balance between her personal and professional life since marring Bryan Lynch and having baby daughter Jada. Kim and Bryan go to great lengths, zoo visits, theme park rides and controlling Kim's schedule to ensure that her family life is not affected by the demands of the sport.

Then there is another of the top men's seeds, Andy Murray. Andy had been dating Kim Sears, daughter of coach Nigel Sears, for 4 years when he apparently (only rumours, but then who would confirm this) chose to play play station rather than spending quality time with her.... And that's what I mean when I say tennis players are a special bread of monsters. Notoriously selfish, single-minded and immature, it takes a special sort of woman to survive in the land of tennis.

The most successful parings have either been with women who have their own interests (Roddick/Decker) or with women who have made their man's career their world (Roger/Mirka, Nikolay/Irina). The later two had traveled with their players for numerous years and have played rolls in their coaching and development, getting fully involved in their careers. The most important thing to the players in consistency without disruption, and no-one has been more consistent than Mirka.

There are some players like Fernando Verdasco, who somehow manage to get Camilla Belle and Caroline Wozniacki in his booth at the same time just after he finished dating Ana Ivanovic but for the most part the players need someone who understands the way the tennis, and competitive sporting life works. Ivanovic is the perfect example, now happily dating Adam Scott a pro-golfer.