Thursday, March 17, 2011

Nadal, Federer to play at Monte Carlo Masters

MONACO (AP) -Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic will all play at next month's Monte Carlo Masters.

Tournament director Zeljko Franulovic says the top three players in the world will be at the clay-court event from April 9-17 after Federer decided to take part in the tournament to prepare for the French Open.

Federer had initially planned to skip the tournament and limit his clay-court appearances to Madrid and Rome.


Federer is a three-time finalist in Monaco while Djokovic lost to six-time defending champion Nadal in the 2009 final.



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Monday, March 14, 2011

Wozniacki wins in straight sets

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) - Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark opened the second week of the BNP Paribas Open with a 6-1, 6-3 victory in the third round against Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain on Monday.

The world's top-ranked women's player needed just over an hour to beat Martinez Sanchez on Monday for the first time in four meetings. Wozniacki has improved her results in each of her first four years playing at Indian Wells, where she was runner-up to champion Jelena Jankovic last year.

There were two upsets on the men's side: fourth-seeded Robin Soderling of Sweden and No. 11 seed Nicolas Almagro of Spain both lost.


Soderling fell to No. 32 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, 7-6 (8), 6-4; while 23rd-seeded Albert Montanes of Spain took out Almagro 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Other women's winners were No. 9 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and No. 22 Alisa Kleybanova of Russia.

Later Monday, top-seeded Rafael Nadel played American qualifer Ryan Sweeting and Maria Sharapova faced Aravane Rezai of France.



Di Maria clinches Real dealAlmagro, Dolgopolov into final of Brazil Open

Nadal keeps goals short-term after injury

INDIAN WELLS, California - Having suffered an ill-timed leg injury at the Australian Open in January, Rafa Nadal is reluctant to look too far ahead for the rest of this season.

The world number one was sidelined for 10 days after losing to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in the Australian Open quarter-finals and has competed in only two Davis Cup matches since then.

Nadal is back in action at the Indian Wells ATP tournament, where he won the title in 2007 and 2009, and will launch his campaign against South African Rik de Voest in the second round on Saturday.


Asked by reporters what his goals were for 2011, the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion replied: "The goal is the match of tomorrow. That's the first goal, no? We will see.

"I felt I was in very good position to try to start this season very well. I felt perfect but I was unlucky in the beginning of the season, so I am just trying to find again the performance of the beginning of the season."

Nadal, bidding to become only the third man to hold all four grand slam titles at the same time, was stunned 6-4 6-2 6-3 by Ferrer in the last eight at Melbourne after suffering a leg injury early in the match.

"That's part of the game," Nadal said of his premature departure from the first grand slam event of the season.

"In the second game, I felt the leg. That's what happened. I tried to recover very fast and practise in Mallorca, so that's what I did. I played Davis Cup last week, and I'm here to try my best."

CUP WINS

Nadal won both of his singles encounters in Spain's first-round Davis Cup tie against Belgium last week, describing his form there as "normal".

He was delighted to be back in the California desert at Indian Wells for the opening Masters Series event of the season at a venue he has long enjoyed.

"I don't have any reason to not play well here because I was playing really well before the injury and I came back," Nadal said.

"I need to adapt a little bit to this court, because I think the bounce is like crazy and the ball is very fast. But I always love this tournament, and I always played well in this tournament."

The Spanish left-hander was optimistic he could swiftly regain the form he displayed during his 2010 campaign where he won an ATP World Tour-leading seven titles in nine finals.

"The (season-ending Tour) finals in London I think was a very high level for me," Nadal said. "I have to try to be at this position another time.

"I'm trying my best every day practicing. And for sure winning matches, if I am winning matches, everything is gonna be a little bit easier."



Knee injury sidelines Venus for rest of 2010Nadal set for Mallorca role

Tour life a successful balancing act for mother Clijsters

INDIAN WELLS, California - A decade after reaching the final at Indian Wells for the first time, Kim Clijsters is playing the best tennis of her career with motherhood the most significant change in her lifestyle.

Two years ago, the Belgian set her sights on maintaining the best possible balance between marriage, motherhood and life on the WTA Tour -- and so far she seems to have perfected that tricky art.

Clijsters has won three of her four grand slam singles titles since the birth of her daughter Jada just over three years ago, most recently at the Australian Open in January.


"I played my best tennis there when it was needed," the 27-year-old told reporters at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Wednesday.

"The final probably summed up how my whole tournament went," Clijsters said, referring to her 3-6 6-3 6-3 victory over China's Li Na. "When I started, I felt I was hitting good but I wasn't good enough because Li Na was always one step ahead and was just doing everything a little bit better.

"Luckily I was able to find some of my best tennis at the most important stages in that second set when I was able to break her rhythm a little bit and kind of maybe get in her head as well."

Clijsters, who retained her U.S. Open title in September, has become something of a torchbearer for working mothers in tennis, a role which she relishes.

FAMILY TIME

"To me, it's really important to have the time at home because otherwise I'm going to go to tournaments and I'm not going to want to be there," the world number two said.

"I want to be a housewife and take care of my husband and Jada, that's really important to me."

The Clijsters family have already made fun a top priority at Indian Wells where Jada has enjoyed the water slide in their hotel swimming pool as well as the 'living desert' zoo in nearby Palm Desert.

"We have had a great time doing those kinds of things," Clijsters said. "We have also taken lots of walks with Jada."

Clijsters smiled as she reflected on the biggest change in her life since she reached the final of the Indian Wells WTA tournament for the first time in 2001.

"Obviously I wasn't thinking then about what activities were good for kids," she recalled. "At that time, it was playing, eating, massage and then sleeping -- that was all.

"Once in a while I was able to go to a restaurant but even then, it was probably more room service than anything else."

Clijsters plans to continue competing for a maximum two years following her remarkable run of success since returning to the tour in 2009 from a lengthy maternity break.

Seeded second at Indian Wells where she won the title in 2003 and 2005, the Belgian will meet Russian Alla Kudryavtseva in the second round on Friday.



Palop commits to SevillaClijsters closes in on No. 1 ranking in Paris

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Nadal, Federer have near stranglehold on majors

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -Call them the two-headed monster of men's tennis.

In the past six years, any player attempting to win a Grand Slam tournament usually has found Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer barring the way. No two players in the Open era have dominated as they have in winning 21 of 24 Grand Slams dating back to the top-ranked Spaniard's first win at the French Open in 2005.

While their rivalry atop the men's game has captivated fans and produced indelible moments, it also has made it nearly impossible for other players to earn that career-defining win.


Just ask Andy Roddick or Andy Murray.

And now the monster might have sprouted a third head with Novak Djokovic winning his second Australian Open.

"There is respect, but there is frustration also," said Gilles Simon, a former No. 6-ranked player who has never beaten Federer or Nadal in a Grand Slam. His latest setback came in a five-set loss to Federer in the second round of this year's Australian Open.

"They stopped me every time I was playing my best tennis," Simon said. "I lost three times to Nadal in slams, one time to Roger. Of course, it's so boring. You know when you play against them you just have a little chance."

Simon is just one of the top players who has failed to get past Nadal and the second-ranked Federer in a Grand Slam.

Former No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko has never beaten Federer in five meetings at the majors and has yet to face Nadal. Seventh-ranked Tomas Berdych also has struggled against the duo in majors, beating Federer once in five matchups and losing twice to Nadal.

Then there is Roddick. The American has lost all but two of his 20 meetings with Federer - and neither of the victories came in a Grand Slam.

The challenge, many of the players said, is that winning a Grand Slam title has meant beating both of them - and often in five sets. Berdych got close to winning his first Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2010, when he beat Federer in the quarterfinals and Djokovic in the semis before falling to Nadal in the final.

"If you want to win a Grand Slam, you have to beat at least three of the top guys," Berdych said. "In Wimbledon, I beat Roger, I beat Novak, but in the final was still one more waiting. ... So even if you want to do well on Grand Slam, still you need to beat at least three great players. That's how it is. And it doesn't matter who it is."

Others said Federer and Nadal also have an edge, since they bring unbridled confidence into the Slams due to their past success and often face weaker competition in the earlier rounds. They also have played plenty of five-setters, giving them an edge over young, up-and-comers who may depend on one big weapon such as a serve, which may bring them wins in lesser tournaments but not in Grand Slams.

Take Federer. He had a run of 23 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals snapped only last year when he lost in the quarterfinals of the French Open. He also has come from two sets down on six occasions, including his first-round win at Wimbledon last year and his fourth-round victory over Tommy Haas of Germany at the 2009 French Open.

"You have to win five matches to be there 23 times and you play good players. Sometimes he was close to losing 2 sets to love for the opponent," Simon said, almost in awe.

"But at the end, they always win the match. I don't know how I can explain it. I think it's easier for them when it's five sets," he said. "You can play one amazing set against them and you win and you are one set closer to win the match. But it's not about luck or playing one hour of your best tennis. You have to play four hours of your best tennis to win. I saw that against Roger this year. I was playing very good and couldn't play better than that. I had an impression I could win the match but finally I lost."

Simon and others admit fans like to see consistency at the top and that Federer, Nadal and even Djokovic are fun to watch. But he said after several years with no change in the top three, he believes fans and players are getting restless and want to see some fresh faces challenging for the Grand Slams.

He also said this dominance of the top three ends up relegating the rest of the top 10 to an afterthought with many tennis fans.

"They kill the top 10," he said. "No one cares anymore because we know the other top 10 players don't manage to defeat them, defeat them enough in the slams for it be really interesting."

Federer insisted there are "many players out there" who could win a major, adding that several have gone "deep into tournaments" and are "definitely good enough to win big ones."

He also believes that too much attention is paid to the Grand Slams at the expense of the other tournaments.

"If you talk about (Andy) Murray, Novak, myself and Rafa, we have been at very top for so long now. It always seems there are no new faces, there is nobody else," he said before the Dubai Championships in February.

"But if you look really into the game, you see how many there really are," the Swiss said. "It's just that people sometimes talk about the Grand Slams a bit too much."

Federer said that bar is too high, especially for younger players moving up through the ranks.

"The problem is that media and experts are too driven by just only judging the Grand Slam results," he said. "There, you can't expect a 17-year-old to come through and knock out four or five top-10 guys to win the tournament. That is a hard thing to do with the mental and physical strain in today's game."

ATP international chief Brad Drewett said the tour shows no signs of losing fan interest with TV ratings on the rise and sellout crowds at many matches.

"Roger and Rafa's dominance at the top of the game is being challenged by the likes of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Robin Soderling, Tomas Berdych and many more. The depth and diversity of talent on tour is at an all-time high," he said. "ATP players come from 100 countries and our top-10 players come from eight different countries, making the sport a truly global property."



Federer KO’dNadal set for Mallorca role

Dokic, Safarova move into Malaysian finals

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -Australia's Jelena Dokic and Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic advanced Saturday into the Malaysian Open final.

Dokic, a former fourth-ranked player, took just over an hour to beat Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands 6-2, 6-3 and secure her best tournament performance in seven years.

Fellow Australian, fourth-seeded wildcard Jarmila Groth, succumbed 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to fifth-seeded Safarova.


The final will be held Sunday.



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Forget picks France Davis Cup team to face Austria

PARIS (AP) -France captain Guy Forget has selected Julien Benneteau, Richard Gasquet, Michael Llodra and Gilles Simon in his team to play Austria in the first round of the Davis Cup next month.

Forget will be without his two best players, the 12th-ranked Gael Monfils and No. 17 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga because of injury, but decided against naming a fifth player as a replacement.

Forget says "once again, bad luck has struck" but that despite the injuries "our reservoir (of players) allows us to pick a very competitive team."


The March 4-6 clay-court tie will be indoors in Vienna.

France was missing the former Australian Open runner-up Tsonga when it lost the Davis Cup final to Serbia last year.



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