Sportmaster International

Nadal closes in on clay century From Simon Cambers in Barcelona, Spain
Former Australian Captain May 01, 2008

RAFAEL Nadal made a smooth start to his bid for a fourth consecutive Barcelona Open title as he powered to a 6-4 6-2 win over Italy’s Potito Starace in the second round.

The top seed and three-time French Open champion continued his winning run following his triumph in Monte Carlo last week and eased to victory in 78 minutes.

The popular victory at the
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Mathieu reaches Munich last eight From correspondents in Munich, Germany
Former Australian Captain May 01, 2008

TOP seed Paul-Henri Mathieu advanced to the quarter-finals at the ATP tournament in Munich on a day of few surprises as former world No.1 Marat Safin made the second round.

With a host of top names pulling out of the event, including local heros Tommy Haas and Philipp Kohlschreiber, the clay-court event has been shorn of big names.

Mathieu, ranked No.19
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Murray is already out of the singles in Barcelona

Murray, beaten 6-4 6-4 by Mario Ancic on Tuesday, partnered Ross Hutchins to a 6-4 2-6 (10-3) win over Swedes Thomas Johansson and Robert Lindstedt.

They now face Kevin Ullyett and Jeff Coetzee for a place in the last eight.

Reigning singles champion Rafael Nadal began his title defence with a 6-4 6-2 defeat of Italian Potito Starace.

Nadal, who beat Roger Federer to win his fourth straight
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Wildcard, 16, in Prague quarters By staff writers
Former Australian Captain May 01, 2008

KAROLINA Pliskova came back to beat Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 1-6 6-3 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals of the Prague Open.

The 16-year-old Czech wildcard, who overcame Australian Alicia Molik 6-4 6-4 on Wednesday (EST) for her first victory on the WTA tour, will now play No.3 seed Victoria Azarenka or Tatiana Poutchek, both of Belarus.

Azarenka beat Petra Kvitova 6-3 6-4 in a first-round match.

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O’Brien and Baltacha began their clay-court season in Fes

Both players were making a rare appearance in the main draw of a WTA Grand Prix event.O’Brien, ranked 115th in the world and Britain’s number one women’s player, was beaten 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 6-1 by France’s Emilie Loit.Baltacha, ranked 146th, took a 3-1 lead in the first set against Bulgaria’s Sesil Karatantcheva but lost 7-5 6-2.Karatantcheva thereby won her first WTA Tour match in nearly two and a
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Nalbandian struggles to beat ‘friend’ From correspondents in Barcelona, Spain
Former Australian Captain April 30, 2008

NO.3 seed David Nalbandian recovered from a shocking start to beat Argentine compatriot Agustin Calleri 1-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 and become the first man into the third round of the ATP Tour Barcelona Open.

Calleri, a semi-finalist in Barcelona last year, raced through the first set in 26 minutes.

Nalbandian served poorly and allowed his opponent, ranked 60, to take the initiative.

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German drawcard succumbs to flu From correspondents in Munich, Germany
Former Australian Captain April 30, 2008

THE sudden withdrawal of No.3 seed and defending champion Philipp Kohlschreiber with a virus left organisers stunned at the rain-lashed Munich Open.

After the weekend withdrawals of Thomas Berdych, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet, Kohlschreiber had been due to play compatriot Matthias Bachinger.

But the 24-year-old withdrew just as play was due to get underway as heavy rain had pushed play back into the late afternoon.

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Works continue at Wimbledon ahead of the start on 23 June

In the second year of equal prize money for the winners of the men’s and women’s singles, the champions will each get £50,000 more than in 2007.The All England Club said an enlarged Centre Court with 15,000 seats and the return of its traditional roof will be ready for the 23 June start.Work will be completed in 2009 with the addition of a retractable roof.A new Court Two is structurally complete
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Canas makes confident start From correspondents in Barcelona
Former Australian Captain April 29, 2008

ARGENTINIAN Guillermo Canas, still rebuilding after a left wrist injury, opened his Barcelona Open campaign with a 6-1 6-4 first-round win over unseeded Spaniard Oscar Hernandez.

No.9 seed Canas, the runner-up to Rafael Nadal last year, cruised through the first set and kept his concentration in the second to see off Hernandez, ranked 72.

Having missed the Australian
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The Spaniard Rafael Nadal has become the first player to win the Monte Carlo Masters title for the fourth consecutive time last Sunday by beating the world No 1 tennis player the Swiss Roger Federer during their encounter on one of the most exclusive French clay courts.

Nadal who holds a 98-1 winning streak on clay is the strongest favorite to win the French Open for the fourth time in a row; the second Grand Slam of the year will be played next month. Nadal has only lost one time on clay to Roger Federer at the 2007 Hamburg final.

The 21-year-old
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Sharapova confirmed for Beijing From correspondents in Moscow, Russia
Former Australian Captain April 28, 2008

MARIA Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova will represent Russia in the women’s singles at the Beijing Olympics, the country’s federation chief Shamil Tarpishchev said.

“We can send four single players and two doubles to Beijing,” Tarpishchev said.

“Sharapova and Kuznetsova will definitely play in the women’s tournament, while the other girls will fight it out for the two remaining places.”
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Andy Murray was in the top 20 from August 2006 to April 2008

Murray, 20, reached a career-best third round on clay before defeat to Novak Djokovic in the Monte Carlo Masters.The Scot dropped out of the top 20 in early April after a second round defeat at the Sony Ericsson Open. The British number one is back in action this week and will face either Mario Ancic or Mischa Zverev in the ATP tournament in Barcelona.Murray is seeded seven in the event after
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Djokovic won his first Grand Slam in Australia in January

The 20-year-old Serbian, who won the Australian Open in January, told BBC’s Inside Sport programme: “In the UK a lot of kids are a little bit spoiled.”If you have perfect conditions and everything you want, you don’t know the real meaning of tennis and you don’t work as hard as you are supposed to. “You do not have hunger for success because everything is on a plate.”Djokovic, who was rumoured to
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Nadal conquers Federer again From correspondents in Monte Carlo
Former Australian Captain April 28, 2008

ROGER Federer described Rafael Nadal as a ‘hell of a clay court player’ after the Spaniard won an historic fourth successive Monte Carlo Masters title.

It was the world No.1’s third loss in a row in the final against Nadal and his seventh defeat in eight clay-court clashes, the deadly slow surface on which the 21-year-old Mallorcan, the triple French Open champion, is the undisputed ruler.

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Monte Carlo - Rafael Nadal made history at the Monte Carlo Masters on Sunday winning a fourth straight title with a 7-5, 7-5, defeat of top rival Roger Federer.

Spain’s king of clay became the first player to win four consecutive titles since New Zealand’s Anthony Wilding from 1911-1914. The victory was the third in a final at the principality between Nadal and Federer, with the Spaniard winning his 24th career title and 19th on clay. © Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Nadal beat Federer for the third successive year in Monte Carlo

Nadal won a fiercely competitive first set, but then found himself 0-4 down in the second to an inspired Federer. The match appeared to be heading to a final-set decider but Nadal hit back in style, winning the next five games. The world number two eventually clinched the win, breaking Federer for the third time in the set.Nadal’s latest triumph over Federer on clay, his seventh win in eight
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Llagostera will hope to continue her winning streak in the Fed Cup final

Having claimed both singles rubbers on the opening day, Spain needed just one win on Sunday to wrap up the victory.

The experienced Nuria Llagostera Vives beat China’s Peng Shuai 6-4 6-4, giving her side an unassailable 3-0 lead.

In September’s final, Spain are likely to come up against Russia, who lead the USA 2-0 going into the second day of their tie in Moscow.

“We knew we could win the tie but we’ve never expected to win three matches in a row,” said Llagostera.

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Spain reach Fed Cup final From correspondents in Beijing, China
Former Australian Captain April 27, 2008

SPAIN have qualified for the Fed Cup final, the five-time champions taking an unassailable 3-0 lead over China in Beijing.

Nuria Llagostera Vives defeated Peng Shuai 6-4 6-4 to follow up her singles win against Zheng Jie and that of Carla Suarez Navarro over Peng Shuai on the opening day of the tie.

Spain will face either the United States or Russia in the final.

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Mauresmo seals Fed Cup win From correspondents in Tokyo, Japan
Former Australian Captain April 27, 2008

AMELIE Mauresmo has outclassed Ai Sugiyama to give France an insurmountable 3-0 lead over Japan and secure a return to the Fed Cup World Group.

The 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon champion needed only 74 minutes to secure a straightforward 6-1 6-4 victory over the former world doubles No.1 in the best-of-five contest.

Mauresmo overwhelmed Ayumi Morita 6-0
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Djokovic at mercy of illness From correspondents in Monte Carlo
Former Australian Captain April 27, 2008

AUSTRALIAN Open champion Novak Djokovic is tennis’s brightest future star but his sick-list of injury and illness is becoming depressingly familiar.

The 20-year-old world No. 3 quit his Monte Carlo Masters semi-final against top seed Roger Federer because of illness while trailing 6-3, 3-2 and left to a chorus of jeers from a crowd which felt short-changed.
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Sunday’s final will be Federer’s 15th meeting with Nadal (right)

The world number one was leading 6-3 3-2 before the Serbian retired after complaining of feeling dizzy.

Nadal, the three-times defending champion, had earlier beaten Nikolay Davydenko 6-0 6-2.

The Spaniard was rarely troubled and will meet Federer in Sunday’s final for the third consecutive year.

Kuznetsova puts Russia 2-0 up From correspondents in Moscow, Russia
Former Australian Captain April 27, 2008

WORLD No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Ahsha Rolle in straight sets to give Russia a comfortable 2-0 lead in the Fed Cup semi-final against the United States.

Kuznetsova, 22, experienced few problems during her first ever head-to-head meeting with her unheralded 23-year-old opponent, easing to a 6-2, 6-1 victory.

“I’m pleased with the result
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Nadal powers into Masters final From correspondents in Monte Carlo
Former Australian Captain April 26, 2008

THREE-TIMES defending champion Rafael Nadal reached the Monte Carlo Masters final with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Russian fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko on Saturday.

The second-seeded Spaniard will meet either world number one Roger Federer of Switzerland or Serbian Novak Djokovic, seeded third,  in the final.

Nadal, who will be gunning for a fourth consecutive
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Suarez-Navarro is ranked 64 places lower than Peng Shuai

Carla Suarez-Navarro, 19, gave them the initiative with a 6-3 7-6 (7-4) win over the higher-ranked Peng Shuai.Nuria Llagostera Vives then beat Zheng Jie 6-3 6-4 to leave them needing one more win to reach the final.The second semi-final sees defending champions Russia face the USA in Moscow without Maria Sharapova.But Llagostera Vives was not thinking about either team following her singles victory,
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France make flying start From correspondents in Tokyo, Japan
Former Australian Captain April 26, 2008

FORMER world No.1 Amelie Mauresmo starred as France took a 2-0 lead over Japan in the Fed Cup World Group play-off in Japan.

The 2006 Wimbledon and Australian Open champion needed only 58 minutes to defeat up-and-coming Ayumi Morita 6-0 6-2 before beat former world doubles No.1 Ai Sugiyama 6-1 7-5.

“I played a good match,” Mauresmo said. “(Morita) was probably
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Murray has decided to compete in Spain rather than rest

The decision is an about-turn for the 20-year-old, who had indicated he would take a short break after playing at the Monte Carlo Masters this week.The Scot made it to the third round at Monte Carlo - a career-best performance on clay in a Masters event - but was well beaten by Novak Djokovic.Murray is familiar with Barcelona, having lived in the city as a teenager.He moved there when was 14-years-old
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Monte Carlo - Roger Federer settled a score after losing his last two against David Nalbandian, hammering the Argentine 5-7, 6-2. 6-2 for a place in the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters on Friday.

He was joined in the final four by rival and second seed Rafael Nadal, who earned his 28th straight victory against a Spanish compatriot with a 6-1, 7-5 dispatch of fifth seed David Ferrer. Nadal will play on Saturday against Nikolay Davydenko, who struggled for nearly three hours to finally subdue fellow Russian Igor Andreev,
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Monte Carlo - Andy Murray and James Blake secured late places in the Barcelona Open starting on Monday as both struggle to recover from serious clay losses in the French Open run-up.

Officials announced on Friday that British number one Murray, bundled out 6-0, 6-4 in the Monte Carlo third round, would enter the field along with Blake. The eighth-ranked American lost a sure-thing final last weekend in Houston against Marcel Granollers-Pujol with a third-set collapse. Blake is due to also compete in a pro-am golf event this
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Federer, Nadal steam into semis From Dave James in Monte Carlo
Former Australian Captain April 26, 2008

TRIPLE champion Rafael Nadal and world No.1 Roger Federer remained on course for another instalment in their epic rivalry by moving into the Monte Carlo Masters semi-finals.

Top seed Federer fought back from a brutal first-set assault to beat No.6 seed David Nalbandian of Argentina 5-7 6-2 6-2.

Federer, the runner-up to Nadal for the past two years, goes on to face either No.3 seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia or America’s Sam Querrey for a place in Sunday’s final.

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Federer was clearly delighted with the manner of his win

Nalbandian had won half of his previous 16 meetings with Federer, including the last two, and edged the first set without facing a break point. But Federer hit back in magnificent style, reeling off four games in a row to clinch the second set before sweeping to victory. The top seed will face Novak Djokovic or Sam Querrey in the last four.Federer, who is working with coach Jose Higueras in the build-up
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Davydenko into semis From correspondents in Monte Carlo
Former Australian Captain April 25, 2008

RUSSIAN No.4 seed Nikolay Davydenko reached his fifth semi-final of 2008 with a gruelling 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 victory over Davis Cup teammate Igor Andreev in the last eight of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Davydenko, who has already won the Miami Masters title this season, will now take on either triple defending champion Rafael Nadal or David Ferrer for a place in Sunday’s final.

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Federer, Nadal on collision course From Dave James in Monte Carlo
Former Australian Captain April 25, 2008

RAFAEL Nadal closed in on Monte Carlo Masters history while Roger Federer confidently buried his previous day’s heart-stopping brush with humiliation to move into the quarter-finals.

No.2 seed Nadal, chasing a record fourth successive Monte Carlo title, eased past Spanish compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-4 6-1 to record his 21st win in 22 matches in the principality.

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Monte Carlo - Revitalized Roger Federer led a sweep of the top six seeds into the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-final as he stretched his personal domination of Frenchmen on Thursday.

The Swiss claimed his 21st straight Gallic victim, lifting a seventh consecutive victory since starting on clay last week in Estoril. After staging a desperate fightback from 1-5 down in Wednesday’s third set against Spanish outsider Rueben Ramirez-Hidalgo, Federer showed his trademark class on clay by spanking Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4 in 71 efficient
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Murray and Djokovic are friends but Djokovic has beaten the Scot four times

Djokovic quickly seized the upper hand, breaking the British number one in his lengthy first service game and then again to race to the opening set.Murray found his rhythm in the second set and he broke Djokovic at 2-1 but the Serbian broke straight back.The Scot stayed with Djokovic only to tamely hand his old rival the break - and the match - in the 10th game.

If you want to emulate the powerfully impressive style of play by world No.2 Rafael Nadal, try training on one leg.

Top tennis trainer Paul Gold explains

Who wouldn’t want to be like Rafael Nadal? His muscle-bound physique and awesome talent with a tennis racket means he looks the part and plays the part of a player ranked No.2 in the world. It’s hardly surprising therefore that many players are hitting the gym in a quest to emulate their Spanish hero.

Modern tennis is, after all, all about power ‘ power of movement, power of shot and power
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Federer was gifted too many points by his French opponent

After struggling to overcome Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo in his previous match, Federer had a far easier time of it in beating France’s Gael Monfils 6-3-6-4. He broke serve three times as Monfils was guilty of too many unforced errors.Three-time champion Nadal was even more convincing as he saw off Spanish compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-4 6-1.Nadal is searching for a fourth straight title in Monaco
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Nadal continues feats of clay From Dave James in Monte Carlo
Former Australian Captain April 24, 2008

TRIPLE champion Rafael Nadal moved closer to a historic fourth consecutive Monte Carlo Masters title when he beat Spanish compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-4, 6-1 to book a quarter-final place. Nadal recorded his sixth career win over Ferrero and will now face another Spaniard, fifth seed David Ferrer, for a place in the semi-finals.

The 21-year-old Nadal
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Baker had been having a good year until the illness struck

The 21-year-old spent three days in intensive care after contracting a blood disorder which raises the risk of severe internal and external bleeding. He should make a full recovery but is unlikely to be fit for Wimbledon. “He loves tennis enough to get himself back fit and healthy,” his Davis Cup team-mate Andy Murray told The Herald.The British number one’s brother Jamie Murray added: “I think
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Monte Carlo - Roger Federer flirted with a clay-court crisis, but escaped into the third round while three-time champion Rafael Nadal was untroubled as he soared to victory on Wednesday.

Top seed Federer confessed to doubts as he trailed Spanish qualifier Rueben Ramirez Hidalgo 1-5 in the final set but managed what for another player would be a miracle by pulling through for 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-1) victory in two hours, two minutes. ‘I was just hoping for a better spell where I was wasn’t making maybe so many mistakes, finding
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Federer rallies to see off Spaniard From Julien Pretot in Monte Carlo
Former Australian Captain April 23, 2008

ROGERS Federer was two points from an embarrassing exit from the Monte Carlo Masters before rallying to beat Spanish qualifier Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 to reach the third round. The world number one was 5-4 and 30-15 down in the third set before his opponent, ranked 137th by the ATP, crumbled under the pressure.

Federer had already recovered from being 5-1 down after a string of unforced errors brought him to the brink of defeat.
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