Rome: After all these years, Rafael Nadal still knows how to dominate Roger Federer. In the 30th meeting between the two tennis greats, Nadal controlled the final from start to finish to win 6-1, 6-3 on Sunday for his seventh Italian Open title.
It was the most lop-sided win in the series since Nadal also lost just four games, but over three sets, in the 2008 French Open final against Federer. Nadal improved to 20-10 in his career against Federer, and showed once again that he'll be the player to beat when the tournament at Roland Garros starts next Sunday. It was the fifth-ranked Spaniard's fifth title since returning earlier this year from a seven-month layoff due to a left knee injury.
Federer had not dropped a set all week, but he had no reply for Nadal's topspin-heavy groundstrokes. The 17-time Grand Slam winner attempted serving and volleying, but he either missed the volley or Nadal passed him with the return. Federer lost more points, 10, than he won, nine, at the net. He also committed 32 unforced errors to Nadal's eight.
Center court at the Foro Italico was packed to the limit with 10,500 fans, but the crowd didn't get to see too much tennis. The men's final took only 1 hour, 9 minutes....
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09:34 PM, May 19, 2013
Rome: Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna ended runners-up at the Rome Masters after a tame straight sets defeat at the hands of top seeded American team of Mike and Bob Bryan here on Sunday. The sixth seeded Indian combination lost 2-6 3-6 in the summit clash of the euro 3,204,745 clay court event. Such was the domination of the veteran American pair that Indians could not earn even a single...
08:11 PM, May 19, 2013
Rome: Czech Tomas Berdych snapped a run of 11 consecutive defeats by world number one Novak Djokovic to reach the semi-finals of the Rome Masters before Rafa Nadal was stretched to the limit against David Ferrer on Friday. Berdych clawed his way back from a 6-2 5-2 deficit to stun the Serbian top seed 2-6 7-5 6-4 and set up a semi-final meeting with Nadal, who for the second week...
07:52 AM, May 18, 2013
Rome: Women's doubles sixth seeds of Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek-Sands reached the second round of the Rome Masters here. The Indo-American pair beat Japanese-Latvian duo of Shuko Aoyama and Liga Dekmeijere 6-1, 6-3 in 58 minutes Tuesday. The winners broke their opponents five times in the match. They will face Italian-Australian unseeded pair Francesca Schiavone and Samantha Stosur late Wednesday. India's Leander Paes will also play his men's doubles...
07:55 PM, May 15, 2013
Mumbai: Eight-time world champion Pankaj Advani and Aditya Mehta will spearhead the Indian challenge in the RKG-Khar Gymkhana Snooker Masters 2013, India's biggest Pro-Am Snooker tournament, from May 12 to 18 here. The prize money is the biggest offered in India with the winner's purse being Rs 500,000 lakh. World No.21 Stephen Lee from England will be the star attraction while also in the fray are World No.31 Michael Holt...
06:07 PM, May 10, 2013
Jakarta: Shiv Kapur stumbled to a crippling double bogey on the 17th hole but still gave himself a shot at the title by being tied sixth after the third round of the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters here on Saturday. Three-under after 16, Kapur double bogeyed the 17th but got one back with a birdie on the 18th to end the third day at two-under 70. At seven-under 209 for three...
02:31 PM, May 04, 2013
Madrid: Chinese tennis star Li Na arrives at the Madrid Tennis Masters with a positive frame of mind, and praised her coach for a successful start to the season. The 32-year-old world number five began the year in fine form as she reached the final of the Australian Open and warmed up for Madrid by reaching the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, reports Xinhua. Speaking to...
02:10 PM, May 04, 2013
Jakarta: South African Ernie Els struggled with jet-lag but stayed within striking distance of Thai veteran Thongchai Jaidee who took a two-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the Indonesian Masters in Jakarta on Friday. British Open champion Els was tied fourth, four strokes behind Thongchai, after carding five birdies against three bogeys for a two-under-par 70 at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club. "Today was a bit of a jet-lag...
07:20 PM, May 03, 2013
Jakarta: Shiv Kapur and Sujjan Singh carded two-under 70 each to be tied 21st on the opening day of the USD 750,000 CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters, here Thursday. The Indians were four shots behind the leaders, Australian Scott Hend and Hwang In-Choon of Korea. Reigning Open Championship winner Ernie Els of South Africa was also in the mix after returning with a 68 at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club. Bernd...
05:41 PM, May 02, 2013
Jakarta: In-form Shiv Kapur and Anirban Lahiri will spearhead a strong Indian challenge at the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters which starts on Thursday. Kapur, who has tasted win on the European Challenge Tour this year, and Lahiri, who won the SAIL-SBI Open this year, are among the Indians, who will tee up at the event. Other Indians are Digvijay Singh, Himmat Rai, C Muniyappa, Jyoti Randhawa, Sujjan Singh, Rahil Gangjee,...
08:03 PM, Apr 30, 2013
New Delhi: It's unfortunate that author Atulya Mahajan's 'The Masters of America' will always be compared with writer Anurag Mathur's quirky guide to surviving in the US - 'The Inscrutable Americans' - mostly because Mathur got it out first. If you have read 'The Inscrutable Americans', you will appreciate the struggle that Fresh off the Boat (FOB) Indian immigrants face in the mythical land of opportunities and Mahajan takes the...
06:11 PM, Apr 27, 2013
Ohio: Jack Nicklaus thinks Tiger Woods got the proper ruling at the Masters. However, he's not so sure he agrees with the slow-play penalty given to 14-year-old Chinese phenomenon Guan Tianlang. Woods' third shot on the par-5 15th in the second round hit the flagstick and ricocheted back into the water. He took his drop from 2 yards farther back - contrary to the rules - from the spot where...
09:21 AM, Apr 25, 2013
Monte Carlo: Rafael Nadal admitted he is still trying to recapture his best form but remained optimistic for the French Open after losing his Monte Carlo crown to Novak Djokovic on Sunday. Nadal, who returned to action in March after seven months out with injury, went down 6-2 7-6 to the Serbian world number one, ending his eight-year reign on the principality's clay. "I need to put in a little...
12:05 AM, Apr 22, 2013
Monte Carlo: Current anti-doping measures in tennis are a "disaster" and the introduction of biological passports can only improve matters, world number six Tomas Berdych said. "The system right now... I don't know how it works with the others but with me, it does not work at all," the Czech told Reuters in an interview at the Monte Carlo Masters this week. "You have to say every single day... where...
11:52 PM, Apr 21, 2013
Monte Carlo:For the first time in nine years, the Monte Carlo Masters trophy belongs to someone other than Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard's record reign at the clay-court tournament finally ended Sunday as he lost 6-2, 7-6 (1) to top-ranked Novak Djokovic in the final. Nadal won his 46 previous matches and the last eight titles at Monte Carlo - beating Djokovic in last year's final - and his last defeat...
08:33 PM, Apr 21, 2013
Monaco: Eight-time defending champion Rafael Nadal recorded his 46th consecutive win at the Monte Carlo Masters by beating Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 7-6 (3) Saturday to set up a repeat of last year's final against top-ranked Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard has reached five straight finals since returning from a seven-month layoff following a left knee injury. He will go for his fourth title of the season against Djokovic, who cruised...
08:49 PM, Apr 20, 2013
Monte Carlo: Jurgen Melzer and Leander Paes lost their men's doubles quarterfinal clash against the top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan here at the Monte Carlo Masters on Friday. The Bryan brothers won 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 in one hour and 13 minutes to proceed to the semifinals of the 1000-point ATP clay court tournament. The Indo-Austrian pair broke the top seeds twice in as many chances they got to get...
09:55 PM, Apr 19, 2013
Monte Carlo: Rafael Nadal was pushed all the way by Grigor Dimitrov before winning his 45th straight match at the Monte Carlo Masters, reaching the semifinals with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 victory and staying on course for a rematch of last year's final against Novak Djokovic. The top-ranked Djokovic had less of a struggle against Jarkko Nieminen, beating the Finnish veteran 6-4, 6-3 and getting through another test on his...
08:18 PM, Apr 19, 2013
Monaco: Sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Stanislas Wawrinka 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Monte Carlo Masters to set up a potential semi-final clash with eight-time defending champion Rafael Nadal. Wawrinka made short work of beating second-seeded Andy Murray on Thursday and looked well on the way to another clinical win as he held to love to win the first set, clinching it with an ace on second serve. But Tsonga raced...
04:42 PM, Apr 19, 2013
