
Paris: Roger Federer dropped a set before earning his record-breaking 234th Grand Slam match victory to reach the third round of the French Open. Federer eliminated 92nd-ranked Adrian Ungur of Romania 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3 on Wednesday to break a tie with Jimmy Connors for most career wins at major tournaments in the Open era, which began in 1968. The 16-time Grand Slam champion is now 234-35 in tennis'...

07:02 PM, May 30, 2012

Paris: Roger Federer equalled Jimmy Connors' record of 233 career Grand Slam match wins by beating Tobias Kamke of Germany 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 in the first round of the French Open on Monday. Federer, who owns a record 16 major championships, is 233-35 at tennis' top four tournaments, a .869 winning percentage. Connors was 233-49. Kamke, meanwhile, fell to 6-10 in Grand Slam matches. He's never been past the third...

07:39 PM, May 28, 2012

Rome: Top-ranked Novak Djokovic edged Roger Federer on Saturday to set up another meeting with rival Rafael Nadal in the Italian Open final. The defending champion at the Foro Italico, Djokovic beat Federer 6-2, 7-6 (4). Five-time winner Nadal eliminated fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 7-6 (6), 6-0 in the other semi-final. "We're both physically fit and fresh and ready to deliver our best tomorrow," Djokovic said. "We have a great...

09:25 AM, May 20, 2012

Rome: A week after Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal made early exits in Madrid on an experimental blue court, both showed they remain a force on red clay on Friday by reaching the Italian Open semi-finals. The top-ranked Djokovic struggled with his serve in the opening set but found his range to eliminate fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-5, 6-1. Nadal defeated seventh-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-4, 7-5. "In the second set, I...

08:50 AM, May 19, 2012

Rome: Top-ranked Novak Djokovic overcame a poor first set and a smashed racket to beat Juan Monaco 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 and reach the Italian Open quarter-finals on Thursday. Also through at Foro Italico were five-time Rome champion Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Serena and Venus Williams and French Open champ Li Na. However, top-ranked Victoria Azarenka withdrew with a right shoulder injury. With the wind whipping the red clay into the...

08:55 AM, May 18, 2012

Rome: World number one Victoria Azarenka suffered a blow to her French Open preparations when she was forced to pull out of the Italian Open with a right shoulder injury on Wednesday, but an aching Roger Federer gingerly advanced to the third round. Azarenka had shown no sign of discomfort when she walloped Israel's Shahar Peer 6-1, 6-2 in the second round but the WTA announced her withdrawal shortly after...

08:33 AM, May 17, 2012

Halle, Germany: Roger Federer has had his name on the trophy. Now he has it on the street sign as well. The small town of Halle in western Germany hosts the Gerry Weber Open, a grass court tournament that serves as a Wimbledon warm-up. Federer has won at Halle five times and has a "lifetime contract" with the tournament " if the Swiss great plays a pre-Wimbledon event, then it...

03:23 PM, May 09, 2012

Over the years, Roger Federer has not exactly shied away from indulging in an audacious remark or two, be it an insight into his own ...

11:29 AM, Feb 28, 2012

Rotterdam: Roger Federer dismissed third-seeded Juan Martin del Potro 6-1, 6-4 on Sunday to win the ABN Amro World Tennis for his first title of the year. The top-seeded Federer jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first set as Del Potro made an uncharacteristically error-prone start. The Argentine, who beat Federer in the 2009 US Open final, took a 2-1 lead in the second set before the Swiss...

10:31 PM, Feb 19, 2012

Rotterdam, Netherlands: Roger Federer says he was misunderstood and he did not blame Switzerland teammate Stanislas Wawrinka for their Davis Cup loss to the United States. In comments translated from French, Federer appeared to criticize Wawrinka's performances in the 5-0 first-round whitewash at the weekend. But speaking at a pre-tournament news conference on Monday at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Federer said there was no rift with...

04:34 PM, Feb 14, 2012

Melbourne: Roger Federer put on a tennis clinic for the benefit of Bernard Tomic, using deft drops, lobs, booming backhands and 13 aces to beat the 19-year-old Australian 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 and advance to the Australian Open quarter-finals for the eighth straight year. Tomic came into the match following an upset third-round win over 13th-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov, using slices and a variety of off-beat shots from the back of the...

03:37 PM, Jan 22, 2012

Melbourne: A day after a rare crack opened up, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal quickly restored diplomatic relations. Nadal had criticized Federer for his unwillingness to speak out on issues affecting the men's game, allowing others to "burn themselves" as they seek improved conditions for players. After joining Nadal in the second round of the Australian Open with a win on Monday, Federer said "things are fine" between the two...

06:54 AM, Jan 17, 2012

We like to tell the story of the underdog. Sport is designed that way. A triumph against the odds. An unexpected success. Victory in adversity. Those are naturally attractive headlines. Conversely, we await the fall of a dominant champion. Who seems always to have the trophy in hand. Forever at the top of the podium. Always with a gold medal around his neck. When he is beaten, we celebrate. Here's...

11:55 AM, Dec 17, 2011