Nadal joins Federer as latest victim of Murray

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Andy Murray underlined his growing stature Saturday by beating top-ranked Rafael Nadal in the final of the Capitala World Tennis Championship, following up his victory over Roger Federer the previous day.

The fourth-ranked Murray defeated Nadal 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 to claim the winner-take-all $250,000 prize money, and the Briton is now aiming to try to win his first Grand Slam title when the Australian Open starts Jan. 19.

"I am looking forward to winning a Grand Slam this year and this victory was good before I go to Australia. I have never been past the fourth round there,'' Murray said. "I trained hard over the break and the victories over the past three days have given me confidence.''

Murray, who will first defend his Qatar Open title in Doha, paid tribute to the support he received at the exhibition event. The shootout tournament, not part of the ATP Tour, fielded six of the world's top 10 players.

"The atmosphere here was pretty special over the last three days,'' he said. "I am tired. It was a tough match and we both played well.''

Murray's only previous victory over Nadal in six matches was at the U.S. Open semifinals in September, but the Spaniard had played 111 matches in 2008 and had to pull out of the Davis Cup final against Argentina in November due to an injured knee.

Kamran Jebreili / APMurray, who has added more muscle to his frame during the offseason, broke Nadal in the third game of the first set. Nadal broke back in the eighth but dropped serve immediately and Murray wrapped up the set by holding serve in the next game.

Both players exchanged service breaks in the second set on the sixth and seventh games. Two unforced errors saw Murray concede serve and the set in the 12th game.

In the decider, both players played out long rallies but held serve. Murray broke Nadal after a marathon seventh game and then held serve to go up 5-3. Murray's court coverage helped him run everything down and he broke Nadal one more time.

Nadal was happy with his display despite the loss.

"It has been an amazing three days. I feel I played well but Andy played a bit better,'' Nadal said. "He has carried his form over the last four months and he has a good chance to win in Australia. For me it was a very good test. Playing 2 hours, 45 minutes at the best level is good. I forgot about my knee and my injury. I am looking forward to the year.''

  Also on NBCSports.com

NFL: Breaking down first-round playoff matchups
College football video previews: Fiesta  |  BCS Championship
NBA: No hocus pocus about Magic's chances
College hoops: Hoyas delver message — Big East wide open
MLB: Rough market pushes 7 greats toward retirement
NHL video: Winter Classic highlights from Wrigley Field

Murray tops Federer in exhibition in Abu Dhabi
Bad ‘09 start for Blake
Huntelaar: I Will Play With Passion For Real Madrid
Casillas Denies Eto’o Again In ‘Iker Vs Nadal’ Charity Game

France beats Taiwan at Hopman Cup

PERTH, Australia (AP) -Alize Cornet overcame jet lag and French teammate Gilles Simon some rustiness from the offseason to beat Taiwan on Saturday at the Hopman Cup.

Cornet beat Hsieh Su-wei 6-4, 6-4 and Simon, who moved up in the rankings from No. 29 to 7 last year, defeated Lu Yen-hsun 6-3, 7-6 (8) to give France a 2-0 winning lead after the two singles matches.

Cornet and Simon beat Hsieh and Lu 6-4, 7-6 (9) in mixed doubles to complete a 3-0 win, saving five set points in the tiebreaker. The French duo next play Italy on Tuesday.

Simon had problems closing out the Taiwanese player in the second set, allowing Lu to break his service in the sixth game to get back into the match and force a tiebreaker.

"I played great tennis and then when I was 6-3, 3-1 up I just lost my concentration and he played better,'' Simon said. "I'm a little bit lucky because I should have lost the second set.''

Both Cornet and Hsieh had problems with their serves in the opening set, and Hsieh was 0-for-4 in her breakpoint chances. Cornet succeeded once in five tries - in the ninth game when she took a 5-4 lead - then held serve and won the set with an ace.

Before the second set started, Hsieh has a medical time out to receive treatment for a stiff neck, and the physiotherapist was back several times between games to give the Taiwanese player additional treatment.

"It's something like 3 a.m. in France right now, so I was not in the best of shape,'' Cornet said. "I felt out of breath at times, but it's nice to get the win.''

It was the only Saturday match at the mixed teams event. On Sunday, Russia, featuring the brother-sister combination of Marat Safin and Dinara Safina, plays Italy's Flavia Pennetta and Simone Bolelli.

Lleyton Hewitt, who hasn't played since the Beijing Olympics due to a hip injury and subsequent surgery, partners Casey Dellacqua when Australia takes on Germany in one of two matches Monday.

The defending champion United States, represented by Meghann Shaughnessy and James Blake, takes on Slovakia in the other Monday match.

The U.S, Australia, Germany and Slovakia are playing in Group A while Russia, France, Italy and Taiwan are in Group B. The winners of each group play in the final next Friday.

France takes 1-0 lead at Hopman Cup
Guardiola Pleased Yet Sad With Barcelona Defeat
Simon’s 2009 goal: improve in the Grand Slams

France takes 1-0 lead at Hopman Cup

PERTH, Australia (AP) -Alize Cornet overcame jet lag to beat Hsieh Su-wei 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday and give France a 1-0 lead over Taiwan at the Hopman Cup.

Both players had problems with their serves in the opening set, and Hsieh was 0-for-4 in her breakpoint chances. Cornet succeeded once in five tries - in the ninth game when she took a 5-4 lead - then held serve and won the set with an ace.

Before the second set started, Hsieh has a medical time out to receive treatment for a stiff neck, and the physiotherapist was back several times between games of the set to give the Taiwanese player additional treatment.

"It's something like 3 a.m. in France right now, so I was not in the best of shape,'' Cornet said. "I felt out of breath at times, but it's nice to get the win.''

Gilles Simon, who moved up in the rankings from No. 29 to 7 last year, will try to give France a winning 2-0 lead when he plays Taiwan's Lu Yen-hsun in the men's match, followed by mixed doubles.

It was the only Saturday match at the mixed teams event. On Sunday, Russia, featuring the brother-sister combination of Marat Safin and Dinara Safina, plays Italy's Flavia Pennetta and Simone Bolelli.

Lleyton Hewitt, who hasn't played since the Beijing Olympics due to a hip injury and subsequent surgery, partners Casey Dellacqua when Australia takes on Germany in one of two matches Monday.

The defending champion United States, represented by Meghann Shaughnessy and James Blake, takes on Slovakia in the other Monday match.

The U.S, Australia, Germany and Slovakia are playing in Group A while Russia, France, Italy and Taiwan are in Group B. The winners of each group play in the final next Friday.

Athletic Bilbao’s Gurpegi Happy With ‘Just’ A Broken Nose
Cassano Ends Italy Career, Hails Sevilla Win
France beats Taiwan at Hopman Cup

Murray tops Federer in exhibition in Abu Dhabi

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -Andy Murray dominated Roger Federer again, beating the 13-time Grand Slam title winner 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6) Friday in the semifinals of the Capitala World Tennis Championship.

The exhibition event, which is not part of the ATP Tour, features six of the top 10 players and offers a winner-take-all prize of $250,000.

Murray improved to 5-2 over Federer after having lost their previous match in the U.S. Open final. Murray will play top-ranked Rafael Nadal, who defeated Nikolay Davydenko 6-2, 6-3.

"I have realized that I will win some and lose some,'' Federer said. "As long as I enjoy the game, I don't mind the losses. But I surely want to win the big games.''

Murray said he wants to defeat Federer when it counts.

"We had some close matches in the past. He beat me in the U.S. Open last year, but hopefully I will beat him at a Grand Slam,'' Murray said.

Federer broke Murray in the first game before dropping serve in the fifth. In the 10th game, a backhand winner from Federer and a double-fault by Murray ended the set.

In the second set, Murray broke Federer in the opening game and rallied from three game points down in the third to take a 3-0 lead. Though Murray lost serve in the sixth game, he broke back to even the match.

Federer attempted to serve and volley, but was often beaten as he approached the net.

In the third set before a crowd of 5,000, Murray broke in the third and fifth games but lost his serve in the sixth.

Federer saved three match points to rally to 6-6 in the tiebreaker, but Murray clinched it when the second-ranked Swiss star sailed a return long.

Nadal dropped his opening serve in the second game but reeled off the next six games. Davydenko hung on in the second set but was broken in the sixth game and Nadal closed out the match.

Bad ‘09 start for Blake
Miguel: Valencia Have Only Themselves To Blame For Real Madrid Loss

Simon's 2009 goal: improve in the Grand Slams

PERTH, Australia (AP) -For all his success in 2008 - wins over Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic and a leap in the rankings from No. 29 to 7 - Gilles Simon played totally out of character in the Grand Slams.

So Simon, competing for France in the Hopman Cup mixed teams event beginning Saturday, has a clear ambition for 2009.

"I want to play better in the Slams because I had a great year ... but I didn't reach the third round in any,'' Simon said Thursday. "So that's one of my goals this year.''

The 24-year-old Simon lost in the first round at the French Open and didn't see much of the second week in the other three. But he did win three tournaments and made it to the semifinals of the Masters Cup in Shanghai.

He beat Djokovic at Marseille, Federer at Toronto and saved his best performance of the year in a semifinal upset of No. 1 Nadal at the Spaniard's hometown Madrid Masters.

After beating No. 11 James Blake and No. 14 Ivo Karlovic to reach the semis, he stunned Nadal in three sets, saving 17 break points, including seven in the final set.

"The difference is not on the court when you play against them, because we saw last year I can defeat these players,'' Simon said of the top three.

"But I know that during all the year they are far better, so that's the difference. You have to be at the top every week.''

Simon will partner Alize Cornet at the Hopman Cup. France opens the eight-country competition on Saturday when it takes on Taiwan.

Among the leading teams for this year's event are the United States (Meghann Shaughnessy and Blake), Australia (Lleyton Hewitt and Casey Dellacqua) and Russia (the brother-sister pair of Marat Safin and Dinara Safina).

Simon has a doubles ranking of 278 and admits both he and Cornet will be relying on wins in their singles matches against Lu Yen-hsun and Hsieh Su-wei.

"We are not counting on the doubles,'' he said.

The Hopman Cup opens the 2009 season. The Brisbane International, a new joint ATP-WTA tournament, begins Sunday on the Australian east coast, while the ATP also has tournaments at Doha, Qatar and Chennai, India and the WTA at Auckland, New Zealand.

The following week, the Sydney International is another joint ATP-WTA event. The men also have a tournament at Auckland and the women at Hobart, Australia, leading up to the Australian Open in Melbourne beginning Jan. 19.

On Thursday, Daniela Hantuchova - No. 4 seed for Brisbane - said the subtropical heat and humidity of the Queensland capital will help players get acclimatized to conditions in Melbourne.

"I'm very glad I came earlier,'' Hantuchova said as temperatures rose to 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit). "I was saying to my coach if I can play in Brisbane, I can play anywhere ...''

French Open champion Ana Ivanovic of Serbia is also entered in the Brisbane women's event, while Australian Open champion Djokovic and the man he beat in the final at Melbourne in 2008, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, head the men's side.

Serena pulls out of Hopman Cup
Villarreal Have An Opportunity Against Barcelona - Godín
Casillas Denies Eto’o Again In ‘Iker Vs Nadal’ Charity Game

Bad '09 start for Blake

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -Andy Murray cruised past James Blake 6-2, 6-2 Thursday to set up a semifinal meeting with Roger Federer at the inaugural Capitala World Tennis Championship.

In the other first-round match, Nikolay Davydenko ousted Andy Roddick 6-4, 6-4 and will face Rafael Nadal in Friday's semis. Nadal and Federer both received first-round byes in the exhibition event, which is not part of the ATP Tour but features six of the world's top 10 players and offers a winner-take-all prize of $250,000.

Murray broke Blake in the third game and then took a 5-2 lead after using two forehand winners for another break. The struggling Blake was then broken twice in a row in the second set as Murray raced out to a 4-0 lead and never looked in danger of losing control.

Roddick started by hitting three aces in his opening service game but was broken in the next after missing a forehand, which was enough to give Davydenko the set. Roddick then made two unforced errors in the fourth game of the second set to give Davydenko another break, and the Russian confidently held his serve the rest of the way without exhausting himself.

"For these (exhibition) matches, concentration is not 100 percent and you don't run that extra hard between the lines,'' Davydenko said.

Capitala is the first major tennis tournament to be played at the Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi, and Roddick said he was bothered by the shade covering half the court for the mid-afternoon match.

"It was tough playing out of the shadows and made it difficult to spot the ball,'' Roddick said. "It was always going to be difficult coming from six weeks over the break. But regardless of this match, I have worked hard in the offseason and I am happy.''

Davydenko said he expected a tougher challenge in the semifinals.

"Nadal takes all his games seriously,'' he said. "As a left-hander, he is more difficult to play as his shots curve away from your backhand.''

The top-ranked Nadal and No. 2 Federer will both begin their 2009 ATP season by playing in the Qatar Open in Doha starting Monday. Murray, the defending champion, and Roddick are also playing in the tournament.

Deportivo Battle For A Point In Poland
Casillas Denies Eto’o Again In ‘Iker Vs Nadal’ Charity Game
Federer cuts back clay court schedule
Federer cuts back clay court schedule for 2009

Murray looks to boost image

LONDON (AP) -After reaching his first Grand Slam final, Andy Murray has enlisted a Hollywood talent agency to boost his profile.

The fourth-ranked Murray has signed with CAA Sports and 19 Entertainment, the company run by "American Idol'' creator Simon Fuller which also manages England midfielder David Beckham.

The 21-year-old Scot's brother, doubles player Jamie, has also signed up for the deal that will look after their on- and off-court activities from March 1, 2009.

"Jamie and I feel we've made big progress in the last couple of years on court,'' said Andy Murray, who lost September's U.S. Open final to Roger Federer. "It's important that we have the very best team to take care of business while we concentrate 100 percent on our tennis.

"We now have an unbeatable combination of representatives with world-class stature and experience, and we are really excited by what we can achieve together.''

Real Madrid To Beat Manchester City to Santa Cruz Signing?
Federer cuts back clay court schedule for 2009
Federer cuts back clay court schedule