Paris: Rafael Nadal has admitted that there were a few butterflies in his stomach during his record seventh French Open win which was played out across two days due to persistent rain interruptions. Nadal's 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 win over the No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic came on Monday after play ended the day before with the Serbian in control, and he admitted he had been very nervous.
"I wasn't ready for the match until three minutes before," said the world No. 2. "That was the first moment since we stopped yesterday that I really felt that I am here to play. I really felt nervous."
Nadal had appeared visibly irritated by the decision to continue playing on Sunday despite worsening conditions " he had lost eight of the final nine games played in continual drizzle " but he perked up on Monday when play resumed. He twice broke Djokovic to hasten the result, which took his past Bjorn Borg's tally of six titles at Roland Garros.
Speaking after the match, Nadal said the decision to resume on Monday had helped him vanquish his opponent. "It was very hard for me. I've been playing this match since Friday afternoon, it's a long time preparing, and then yesterday with all the stops," he said. "It was clearly a good thing for me to stop the match yesterday because of the conditions. The last couple of games, the conditions of the court were not right to play the final of
12:43 PM, Jun 12, 2012
Nadal said beating Novak Djokovic after losing three Grand Slam finals to him made his 7th French Open title more special. ...
10:58 AM, Jun 12, 2012
Paris: Rafael Nadal has made history by defeating No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in a rain-suspended men's final at Roland Garros, sealing an Open-era record seventh French Open title. The rain-hit match had resumed on Monday with Djokovic serving at 2-1 in the fourth set, and he was immediately broken by Nadal who has now gone past Bjorn Borg at the clay-court open. The win on Monday...
05:55 PM, Jun 11, 2012
Six-time champion from Spain, Rafael Nadal and world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia resume their unfinished French Open final match on Monday. ...
04:20 PM, Jun 11, 2012
Paris: Top seeds Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor captured a second successive French Open doubles title by beating American twins Bob and Mike Bryan 6-4, 6-4 in the final on Saturday. The second-seeded Bryans were bidding to win a record-equalling 12th major doubles crown but were thwarted by the Belarussian-Canadian partnership who looked more at ease on the red clay. Mirnyi picked up his sixth grand slam men's doubles title...
12:03 PM, Jun 10, 2012
Paris: Novak Djokovic has won 27 matches in a row at Grand Slam tournaments. If he can make that 28 by beating Rafael Nadal in Sunday's French Open final, Djokovic will earn a fourth consecutive major title, something no man has accomplished since 1969. Tough to imagine someone so close to such a historic achievement being an underdog, yet that's exactly what Djokovic is. Even the 25-year-old Serb says so....
08:48 PM, Jun 09, 2012
Paris: Already a big name on the red carpet, Maria Sharapova is now a champion on the red clay, too. The Russian star won the French Open on Saturday, defeating Sara Errani 6-3, 6-2 in the final at Roland Garros to complete the career Grand Slam. Second-seeded Sharapova, who was guaranteed of moving to No. 1 in the world regardless of the result, jumped to a quick 4-0 lead against...
08:33 PM, Jun 09, 2012
Paris: When Maria Sharapova's opponent in the French Open final, Sara Errani, was 12 years old, she struck out on her own, leaving behind her family in Italy and heading off to Nick Bollettieri's famed tennis academy in Florida. Far from her parents, and not yet able to speak English well, Errani stuck it out for about 10 months, crying nearly every day. She called home a lot. "I knew...
01:10 AM, Jun 09, 2012
Paris: One day before she plays for the singles title, Sara Errani teamed with Roberta Vinci on Friday to win the women's doubles crown at the French Open. The Italians beat Russians Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to capture their first Grand Slam doubles title. Errani is the first player since Kim Clijsters in 2003 to reach the singles and doubles final at Roland Garros. Errani and...
10:50 PM, Jun 08, 2012
There are birthdays and then there are special birthdays. June 7, 2012 was one such day for Mahesh Bhupathi. The Indian tennis ace celebrated his 38th birthday by adding a 12th Grand Slam to his impressive career, as he and Sania Mirza captured their second mixed doubles title together by beating Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Santiago Gozalez 7-6, 6-1 in the French Open final on Thursday. The seventh-seeded pair added the...
03:35 PM, Jun 08, 2012
Paris: After notching up their second Grand Slam title together at French Open, Indian mixed doubles pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza said they will now look to make the transition from clay to grass to keep their Olympics preparation on track. Bhupathi and Sania's mixed doubles title triumph at the French Open has raised hopes of a medal in the Olympics and the Indian pair said they are...
03:23 PM, Jun 08, 2012
New Delhi: Sania Mirza after winning the mixed doubles title at French Open pairing with Mahesh Bhupathi terms this grand slam win as a special one. Talking to CNN-IBN, Sania said, Every grand slam is as special as the other. The first one was very special for its own reasons and this was special as it was on my least favourite surface and it comes on Mahesh's birthday and it...
10:43 AM, Jun 08, 2012
Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi defeated Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Santiago Gonzalez 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 to lift the French Open mixed doubles title. ...
09:15 AM, Jun 08, 2012
Paris: Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi won the French Open mixed-doubles title, beating Klaudia Jans-Ignacik of Poland and her Mexican partner Santiago Gonzalez 7-6 (7-3), 6-1. The seventh seeded Indian pair took one hour and 13 minutes to win their second Grand Slam title together and first French Open trophy. It is the second career Grand Slam title for Sania, while 12th Major trophy for Bhupathi, who now has got...
12:20 AM, Jun 08, 2012
Watch all the action from the women's singles semi-finals live as Samantha Stosur takes on Sara Errani and Maria Sharapova is up against Petra Kvitova. ...
07:28 PM, Jun 07, 2012
Paris: Such is Rafa Nadal's vice-like grip on the French Open that his semi-final opponent David Ferrer concedes beating him is "almost impossible". Ferrer is a claycourt specialist who has dropped only one set en route to the last four culminating in a straightforward victory over fourth seed Andy Murray on Wednesday. But such is the six-time champion Nadal's dominance in Paris, that Ferrer knows the odds are stacked enormously...
01:31 PM, Jun 07, 2012
Paris: Paris: India's Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi reached their maiden French Open mixed doubles final but Leander Paes and his Russian partner Elena Vesnina were knocked out of the event here Wednesday. Mirza and Bhupathi outplayed Galina Voskoboeva and Danielle Bracciali 6-4, 6-2 to enter the mixed doubles final. They will face the Polish-Mexcian combine of Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Santiago Gonzalez in the title clash at the Roland Garros....
07:59 PM, Jun 06, 2012
