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Henin script in tatters as Nadal marches on

June 1, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Justine Henin received a standing ovation on Monday as she walked off Court Suzanne Lenglen but it would have had a hollow ring for the Belgian after her script for a joyous French Open return had just been torn to shreds.

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Rafa Nadal stayed firmly on course for a fifth happy ending at Roland Garros though as the Spaniard matched world number one Roger Federer’s feat of reaching the quarter-finals without dropping a set.

With the line-ups for the last eight now complete and warm sunshine forecast to return to Paris by the end of the week the tournament is bubbling up nicely for a thrilling crescendo.

Shame then that Henin, one of the greatest exponents of claycourt tennis the world has seen, will be missing.

The four-times champion showed flashes of her old brilliance en route to the fourth round, her sublime backhand occasionally sparked and the old fire still burns inside.

But she never quite scaled the heights she reached when completing a rare hat-trick of titles here in 2007 and that was the case again on Monday when the 27-year-old lost 2-6 6-1 6-4 to Australia’s Samantha Stosur.

Stosur, a surprise semi-finalist last year, sabotaged an eagerly-anticipated quarter-final between Henin and Serena Williams but was well worth her victory as she, not Henin, moved through to face the American world number one.

“I just wanted so much that the adventure could keep going,” Henin told reporters after her 24-match winning streak at Roland Garros, albeit one interrupted her decision to “retire” for 20 months, told reporters.

“It’s always difficult to lose, especially in a place I love as much as Roland Garros without showing your best tennis.”

As grey clouds again blanketed the French capital Williams sped into the last eight with a 6-2 6-2 defeat of Israel’s Shahar Peer despite a shocking start in which she handed over the opening seven points on Court Phillipe Chatrier.

EASY VICTORY

Watched by sister Venus, who swapped her see-through corset for a tracksuit as she sat in the stand possibly still reflecting on her fourth-round exit, Serena soon recovered and pressed the throttle for an easy victory.

“I seem to always be able to turn it up during this particular stage maybe, the fourth round, for some reason. Hopefully I turn it up again,” the 28-year-old said.

The same could not be said of Henin at a venue she knows as well as her own backyard.

Despite winning the first set in 32 minutes she had no answer when Stosur raised her game. The Australian wobbled when she surrendered an early break in the deciding set but a Henin double-fault helped her break again at 4-4 and the seventh seed held her nerve to seal victory with a smash.

“Today I handled the situation well, especially when I got the lead and lost it again,” Stosur told reporters. “I was fighting it but I managed to stay in control.”

Stosur was joined in the quarter-finals by unseeded Kazakh Yaroslava Shvedova who knocked out Australia’s Jarmila Groth 6-4 6-3 to set up a clash with Serbia’s fourth seed Jelena Jankovic who saw off Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova 6-4 6-2.

It was a good day for Serbs with Novak Djokovic recovering from some tricky moments early on against American Robby Ginepri to reach the quarter-finals for the fourth time in six visits.

Djokovic, on course for a semi-final against Nadal, said the mid-morning start had not been to his liking but he looked as sharp as his distinctive jet black hair by the end of a 6-4 2-6 6-1 6-2 victory.

His next opponent will be Jurgen Melzer who beat Russian qualifier Teimuraz Gabashvili to become the first Austrian man to reach the French Open quarters since Thomas Muster.

May 31, 2009 will forever be etched into Nadal’s head as the day his four-year domination of the French Open was ended by Robin Soderling — a result that sent shockwaves through the world of tennis.

Fast forward 12 months and Nadal appears to be nearing the level that made him unbeatable on clay.

Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci tried his best to stop the Nadal charge on Monday and played some stunning tennis of his own but ultimately powerless to stop the Mallorcan registering his 200th Tour victory on his beloved clay.

“I played my best match in the tournament today,” said Nadal, who will face Nicolas Almagro on Wednesday after he won an all-Spanish clash against Fernando Verdasco.

“Of course, I’m very happy but I’ll start jumping when I win the tournament.”

(Editing by Miles Evans)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: easy victory, Exponents, french capital, Grey Clouds, hat-trick, Justine Henin, Line Ups, quarter-finals, rafa nadal, roger federer, roland garros, Samantha Stosur, Semi Finalist, Seven Points, Shahar Peer, Sister Venus, standing ovation, Suzanne Lenglen, tatters, Warm Sunshine

Rafa back on centre stage, Verdasco may face crowd

May 27, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Play on Court Philippe Chatrier will have a familiar feel on Thursday with Rafa Nadal and Justine Henin, holders of eight French Open singles crowns, bidding to move into the third round.

Nadal returns to the stadium where 12 months ago he suffered the only defeat of his Roland Garros career when he takes on Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos in a match sure to be dominated by brutal baseline exchanges.

Henin, mobbed by eager children seeking autographs at Roland Garros on Wednesday, will hope her game is a little more fine-tuned after a rusty first round when she plays Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic.

Women’s top seed Serena Williams, the 2002 champion, will be on Court Suzanne Lenglen where she takes on Germany’s Julia Goerges for a place in the last 16.

Men’s seeds Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick also feature on the venue’s second principal court.

Spain’s Fernando Verdasco may not receive the warmest of welcomes from the French crowd when he takes on home hope Florent Serra on the main court.

The seventh seed hurled profanities at the Nice crowd when losing the final to Richard Gasquet on Saturday. He later issued an apology but the Roland Garros spectators will be firmly behind his opponent.

With rain curtailing much of Wednesday’s play, several matches will be carried over including British fourth seed Andy Murray’s second-round clash with Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela.

(Editing by Ed Osmond; To query or comment on this story emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: andy murray, Andy Roddick, Centre Stage, Court Philippe Chatrier, Eager Children, fernando verdasco, Florent Serra, French Open Singles, Home Hope, juan ignacio chela, Julia Goerges, Justine Henin, novak djokovic, Osmond, Principal Court, rafa nadal, Richard Gasquet, roland garros, Suzanne Lenglen, Zeballos

Soderling makes hay while sun shines in Paris

May 24, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Robin Soderling sauntered into round two of the French Open on Sunday with the minimum of effort after a 6-0 6-2 6-3 victory over French wildcard Laurent Recouderc.

Soderling, the man who stunned the tennis world 12 months ago by inflicting Rafa Nadal’s only defeat at Roland Garros, stormed through the first nine games and a rare whitewash looked on the cards.

But Recouderc, encouraged by a sun-baked crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier, finally broke his duck in game 10 and mockingly egged on the crowd with a punch in the air.

But Soderling, the fifth seed, unleashed his brutal forehand time and again to ease through in just an hour and 34 minutes to book a place in round two against either American Taylor Dent or Ecuador’s Nicolas Lapentti.

(Editing by Miles Evans; To query or comment on this story emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: 12 months, Court Philippe Chatrier, crowd, ecuador, Fifth Seed, french open, game, Laurent Recouderc, Miles Evans, Nicolas Lapentti, Punch, rafa nadal, robin soderling, roland garros, Sauntered, Taylor Dent, tennis world, victory, whitewash, wildcard

Roger and Rafa to renew epic rivalry

May 16, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

The Roger and Rafa show is back in town.

After a year in which the tennis world has been deprived of seeing one of its greatest ever rivalries played out on court, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal battled through their Madrid Open semi-finals on Saturday to set up a mouthwatering showdown on the clay at the Magic Box arena.

Spaniard Nadal was first into Sunday’s final when he came from a set down to beat compatriot Nicolas Almagro 4-6 6-2 6-2 and world number one Federer joined him by dispatching David Ferrer, another Spaniard, 7-5 3-6 6-3.

The last time the pair met across the net in a competitive match was in last year’s Madrid final.

Federer’s 6-4 6-4 victory 12 months ago sparked off a golden spell for the Swiss as he went on to capture an emotional first title at Roland Garros before triumphing at Wimbledon for a sixth time.

Nadal’s 2009 season, which began with an epic five-set win over Federer at the Australian Open, hit the skids as injured knees prevented him from defending his Wimbledon crown and he surrendered the number one ranking to his arch rival.

Nadal owns a 9-2 winning record on clay against Federer but with the French Open title in the hands of the Swiss, the world is waiting to see if the balance of power on the red dust has shifted.

“I think it’s exciting for tennis and for us as well that we can face off again,” a relaxed-looking Federer told a news conference.

“He’s playing really well on clay now, I’m finding my form again really nicely here in Madrid so it’s one of those finals you just never know,” the 28-year-old added.

“I was able to come up with the right plays at the right time in the final last year and I have to do something similar tomorrow to come through.”

SPECIAL MOTIVATION

A jovial Nadal, who has an overall 13-7 winning record against Federer and is seeking a hat-trick of Masters titles on his favoured surface after triumphs in Monte Carlo and Rome, said he was not out for revenge.

“I go out there to win every match and I forget about the previous one,” said the 23-year-old, whose four-year French Open reign was ended last May.

“I believe that if you think about revenge you don’t have a cool enough head to play your normal game.

“It’s always a special motivation playing Federer and they are always very difficult matches.”

Cries of “Vamos Rafa!” and “Vamos Nico!” rang out around Manolo Santana centre court earlier as the capacity crowd could not decide whether they wanted a massive upset win for unseeded Almagro or another victory for Nadal.

In the end they were treated to a contest of the highest quality, with both players cracking a slew of blistering winners and Almagro defying his ranking of 35.

With half the court bathed in sunshine and the rest in chilly shadow, the feisty Almagro sprinted into a 4-1 lead with two breaks of the Nadal serve.

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo was again in a front row seat at the Magic Box arena and it looked for a while as if Real fan Nadal might be about to suffer a shock exit to his lesser-known compatriot.

But the 24-year-old Almagro from Murcia in southern Spain was unable to maintain the early intensity, suffering two breaks of serve in each of the second and third sets.

LOST TEMPER

Almagro almost alienated the crowd at one point in the decider when he lost his temper with a ball girl but was given a rousing ovation as he left the court and even Nadal was moved to applaud him off.

There was no doubt who the partisan crowd were behind in the second semi-final.

Nadal’s Davis Cup team mate Ferrer sent the fans into a frenzy with a stirring fightback but the Swiss maestro turned the screw in the decider.

He missed a couple of break points in the second game of the third set but made the most of another to take a 5-3 lead before sealing victory with an eighth ace.

“I knew on clay I was going to come through a tougher period and that’s what happened in the second set,” Federer said.

“He (Ferrer) doesn’t miss much, he fights like crazy and he’s really improved over the last few years.”

(Editing by Pritha Sarkar and Ken Ferris; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: australian open, balance of power, compatriot, David Ferrer, Face Off, French Open Title, hat-trick, Hit The Skids, Magic Box, Nicolas Almagro, rafa nadal, red dust, rivalries, roger federer, roland garros, semi finals, sixth time, spaniard, tennis world, Wimbledon Crown

Nadal sinks compatriot Almagro to reach Madrid final

May 16, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Vamos Rafa! Vamos Nico!

In the all-Spanish semi-final at the Madrid Open on Saturday, the capacity crowd couldn’t quite decide whether they wanted a massive upset win for unseeded Nicolas Almagro or another victory for clay king Rafa Nadal.

In the end they were treated to a match of the highest quality, with both players cracking a slew of blistering winners and Nadal battling back from a set down to claim his place in Sunday’s final with a 4-6 6-2 6-2 success.

With half the Manolo Santana centre court bathed in sunshine and the rest in chilly shadow, the feisty Almagro had sprinted into a 4-1 lead with two breaks of the second seed’s serve.

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo was again in a front row seat at the Magic Box arena and it looked for a while as if Real fan Nadal might be poised to suffer a shock exit to his lesser-known compatriot, ranked 35.

But the 24-year-old Almagro from Murcia in southern Spain was unable to maintain the early intensity, suffering two breaks of serve in each of the second and third sets in the face of some gritty Nadal strokeplay.

Almagro almost alienated the crowd at one point in the decider when he lost his temper with a ball girl but was given a rousing ovation as he left the court and even Nadal was moved to clap him off.

“The way I was playing at the start was the way I had to play,” Almagro, who has lost all his six matches against Nadal, told a news conference.

“I’ll have to keep working and maybe sooner or later I can manage to beat Rafa,” he added.

World number three Nadal, who lost to Swiss number one Roger Federer in the 2009 final, is bidding for a third straight Masters title of the year on his favoured surface after triumphs in Monte Carlo and Rome.

If he reaches Sunday’s final, he will reclaim the number two ranking from Serb Novak Djokovic, who pulled out of Madrid due to illness, and victory would set a new record for Masters Series titles of 18.

Nadal and retired American Andre Agassi both have 17 and Federer 16.

Federer will seek a place in the final later on Saturday against another Spaniard, ninth seed David Ferrer, whom he has beaten on all nine occasions he has played him.

(Editing by Ken Ferris; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Ball Girl, capacity crowd, Clay King, compatriot, Magic Box, Manolo Santana, masters series, Masters Title, Nicolas Almagro, novak djokovic, rafa nadal, real madrid, roger federer, Rousing Ovation, row seat, Series Titles, southern spain, unseeded, Upset Win, Vamos Rafa

Murray rejects Lloyd”s criticism for UK-Lithuania Davis Cup miss

March 26, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

London, Mar. 26 (ANI): Britain’s best tennis player Andy Murray has hit back at former Davis Cup captain John Lloyd for criticising him for missing the clash in Lithuania earlier this month.

The British No1 chose to sit out the tie following Britain”s relegation to Europe/Africa Zone Group II.

Lloyd questioned Murray”s commitment to Great Britain, but Murray said he had made the right decision.

“I can understand to a certain extent that everyone would like me to play in the Davis Cup because obviously we”ve got a better chance of winning. But the last tie I played in Davis Cup, I was injured. I played through the match when I was injured and it set me back probably double the amount of time that it would have done if I hadn”t played,” The Sun quoted Murray, as saying.

“No one talks about that side when you”re playing through matches when you”re hurt and it sets you back and then you drop ranking points,” Murray added.

“I don”t see John coming out and having a go at Roger Federer or Rafa Nadal or Andy Roddick or whoever, the guys that don”t play Davis Cup all of the time either. I think there needs to be a bit of perspective there that it”s not just me missing the Davis Cup tie,” Murray said. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: amount of time, andy murray, Andy Roddick, Better Chance, captain john, clash, Davis Cup, Davis Cup Tie, Europe Africa, Former Davis Cup Captain, great britain, hadn, John Lloyd, no1, rafa nadal, relegation, right decision, roger federer, tennis player, Zone Group

Murray eases into third round

March 16, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

British world number four Andy Murray outclassed Italian Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-4 on Monday (AEDT) to move into the third round of the Indian Wells ATP tournament.

The fourth-seeded Scot, although not at his very best, broke his opponent in the seventh game of the second set when the Italian pushed a backhand volley wide before wrapping up victory in 86 minutes.

Murray ended the match with a crunching forehand winner down the line on a sunny afternoon in the California desert and he will next meet either Russian Igor Andreev or American Michael Russell.

The opening set on the showpiece stadium court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden was a patchy affair with Seppi being broken twice and Murray once in the first three games.

However, the Briton took command when he converted his third break point opportunity in the seventh game with a forehand winner and clinched the set in 48 minutes when the Italian netted a backhand.

The second set went with serve until Seppi buckled in the seventh game and Murray, beaten by Spaniard Rafa Nadal in last year’s final, held serve to close out the match.

“Obviously I did well last year but I would love to win this time,” Murray said in a courtside interview.

“This is a great tournament with great weather, and a really nice place to be.”

Earlier on Sunday, Australian Open semi-finalist and ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France hammered Australian Marinko Matosevic 6-1, 6-3 and Spaniard Nicolas Almagro upset 23rd-seeded Croatian Ivo Karlovic 7-5, 7-6.

- Reuters

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: AEDT, Andreas Seppi, andy murray, Atp Tournament, australian open, break point, Briton, California Desert, Igor Andreev, Indian Wells Tennis, Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Ivo Karlovic, jo wilfried tsonga, Marinko, Michael Russell, Nicolas Almagro, rafa nadal, Semi Finalist, showpiece, Sunny Afternoon

Sampras, Agassi rivalry comes to fore during charity match

March 15, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

London, Mar 15 (ANI): Tennis legends Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi renewed their age old rivalry on the court during a charity match to raise money for the Haiti relief fund.

The tennis legends joined Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal in raising cash for Haiti earthquake victims.

They have been bickering since Agassi claimed in his autobiography that Sampras was a cheapskate – citing an occasion when he tipped just one dollar for valet parking.

The two greats cannot keep their simmering rivalry hidden, as it had been eight years since they last faced each other on a tennis court.

But within a matter of minutes of the Hit for Haiti night at the BNP Paribas Masters in California at the weekend, they were almost coming to blows.

Agassi was playing with Nadal and Sampras was teamed up with Federer for one set of doubles in front of a packed house of 16,000, the Daily Express reports.

All the players were wearing microphones, which gave Agassi the opportunity to crack a few gags and get the audience going.

As Sampras simply got on with the business of forehands and backhands, he was encouraged to lighten up a little. Sampras duly responded by imitating Agassi’s pigeon-toed walk and his fidgeting and fussing at the baseline.

Agassi hit back by showing off his impersonation of Sampras; turning out his pockets and claiming to have no money.

Sampras was clearly livid and served a thunderbolt directly at Agassi. “It’s OK, it’s OK,” Agassi said as he dodged the ball. “It’s better than being a valet driver and you pulling up.”

By this stage, Federer and Nadal were looking distinctly uneasy while the crowd was not Nadal was fortunate enough to miss most of the snide remarks and put-downs.

“I didn’t understand anything,” he said. “No, that’s the truth. They speak very fast for me. I was very happy I didn’t understand. I think they try to have fun there. ”

They were obviously having so much fun that neither Sampras nor Agassi spoke to the media after the fundraiser and both beat a hasty retreat from the venue. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: andre agassi, autobiography, Bnp Paribas, Bnp Paribas Masters, Cheapskate, daily express, Earthquake Victims, gags, impersonation, Matter Of Minutes, microphones, Pete Sampras, Pigeon Toed, rafa nadal, rivalry, roger federer, snide remarks, tennis court, thunderbolt, Valet Parking

Djokovic in no rush for top spot

March 15, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Novak Djokovic climbed to a career-high second in the world rankings last month but the Serbian is reluctant to dream about usurping Roger Federer at the top.

Djokovic prefers instead to reflect on the consistency he has produced at the highest level over the last three years and is prepared to bide his time.

“I try not to think about that [the top ranking] too much,” Djokovic said while preparing for the Indian Wells ATP tournament, an event he won in 2008, two months after his Australian Open triumph.

“I have been very successful in the last three years playing equally good year after year with those guys. Federer and [Rafa] Nadal have been very dominant in the last five years and you have to give them credit for that.

“Especially Roger who has had some life changes in the last year-and-a-half.

“He became a father and husband and he’s still managing to play on this high level. We’re all trying to compete well and work hard, be patient and wait for chances.”

Djokovic, who won his 17th ATP career title in Dubai last month, says he is particularly excited by the strength of the men’s game.

“There are more players now who are able to win major events and that is what attracts the crowd and gets the media to be a little bit more involved in other players as well,” the 22-year-old said.

“It’s great. [Juan Martin] Del Potro showed it last year at the US Open and you also have [Jo-Wilfried] Tsonga, [Andy] Murray, [Nikolay] Davydenko – all these guys in extraordinarily good shape at this moment.”

Djokovic earned the label ‘Ironman’ on last year’s ATP Tour after playing in 97 matches, more than anyone else.

Although his marathon schedule took a physical toll, he has no plans to cut back on events this season.

“I don’t think my schedule can be much different from what it was last year,” he said.

“But definitely I can prioritise more important events, grand slams and [Masters] 1000 events, and try to set up in good shape for those events.

“I kind of go with the philosophy that the more matches you play, that means that you are successful and the more successful you are. If I have as many matches as last year, it’s great.”

- Reuters

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