Paris: Seven-time champion Rafael Nadal could face top-seeded Novak Djokovic in the French Open semifinals a year after they met to decide the title. Friday's draw for the clay-court Grand Slam tournament placed Nadal and Djokovic on the same half of the field, while Roger Federer could face David Ferrer in the other semifinal.
Federer, the owner of a record 17 major titles including the 2009 French Open, will face a qualifier in the first round - and if he wins that, he'll play a qualifier in the second round, too. Djokovic faces a far more intriguing start: The reigning Australian Open champion's first-round opponent is David Goffin, a 22-year-old Belgian who took a set off Federer in the fourth round in Paris last year after making it that far as a lucky loser.
No man has won the title at Roland Garros as many times as Nadal, who broke a tie with six-time champion Bjorn Borg by defeating Djokovic in last year's final and is 52-1 for his French Open career. Nadal also has reached the finals of all eight tournaments he's played in 2013. But because the Spaniard missed about seven months with a left knee injury, his ranking slipped to No. 4, and the French Open decided not to bump him to a higher seeding.
If the tournament had placed Nadal at No. 2, he and No. 1 Djokovic only could have met in the final; instead, a Nadal-Djokovic rematch for the championship can't
06:01 PM, May 24, 2013
Bangalore: Former World No. 1 Boris Becker on Friday said Rafael Nadal has good chances of winning the French Open this year but added the Spaniard will face competition from Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. "Rafa's chances are looking good. But then you have others like Djocovic, who is world No. 1. You also have Federer, who is still very good. There is question mark about Andy Murrey though, who...
11:43 PM, May 17, 2013
Madrid: Andy Murray complained he has been failing to take his chances but said his clay season was "going in the right direction" following the failure of his latest bid for a maiden title on his least favoured surface. Murray lost 7-6, 6-4 to Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych in the Madrid Open quarter-finals on Friday but will at least have the consolation of climbing above Roger Federer to number...
08:27 PM, May 11, 2013
Madrid: Roger Federer vowed to get straight back on the practice court after the world number two was dumped out in the third round of the Madrid Open by Japan's Kei Nishikori on Thursday. Defending champion at the clay Masters event in the Spanish capital, Federer was playing his first tournament after a seven-week rest following defeat to Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals at Indian Wells. The 31-year-old Swiss is...
09:15 AM, May 10, 2013
Madrid: Second-ranked Roger Federer was ousted by Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 in the third round of the Madrid Open on Thursday. After recovering from Nishikori's strong start, it looked like Federer found his stride after roaring back in the second set. But Nishikori reasserted his ground game in the decider after breaking the defending champion for a 3-1 advantage and held on for the surprising victory to...
10:38 PM, May 09, 2013
Madrid: Roger Federer looked as sharp as ever in his first match following a two-month layoff as he beat Czech Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-3 at the Madrid Open on Tuesday. The Swiss chose an eye-catching mint-green shirt for his first match since losing to Rafa Nadal at the Indian Wells Masters in March and secured a 12th victory over Stepanek in 14 meetings. The victory set up a possible third-round...
11:30 PM, May 07, 2013
Switzerland: Rafael Nadal is scheduled to play at Roger Federer's hometown tournament for the first time in nine years. Organizers of the Swiss Indoors announced their star attractions for the October 19 to 27 event in Basel. The field is headed by five-time champion Federer, Nadal and defending champion Juan Martin del Potro. Nadal last played in Basel in 2004, losing in the first round to Rainer Schuettler of Germany....
08:07 PM, Apr 29, 2013
London: Wimbledon is increasing prize money by 40 percent this year and plans to build a retractable roof over Court No. 1. Total prize money for the Grand Slam event will be 22.6 million pounds ($34.4 million), an increase of 6.5 million pounds ($9.9 million) from last year, the All England Club said on Tuesday. The club called it the largest single increase and biggest total prize fund in the...
06:07 PM, Apr 23, 2013
Basel: Roger Federer says he will play at the Swiss Indoors in October, ending speculation he'd skip his hometown tournament because of a contractual dispute. Federer tells Swiss daily Tages Anzeiger that "everyone knows how much this tournament means to me and that is still true." The five-time champion says he never said that he wouldn't play in Basel. He says he's trying "to make this complicated issue simpler." Federer's...
08:33 PM, Apr 10, 2013
The 2-6 6-4 7-6 victory was Murray's ninth in a Masters 1000 series event. ...
08:28 AM, Apr 01, 2013
The US Open tennis tournament will increase its annual prize money to USD50 million by 2017. ...
10:13 AM, Mar 20, 2013
Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer 6-4, 6-2 in the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open. ...
02:56 PM, Mar 15, 2013
Comeback man Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer 6-4, 6-2 in the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open. ...
09:42 AM, Mar 15, 2013
Del Potro seaid, he and a few others like Berdych, Tsonga and Ferrer are trying to get into that group but it's not easy. ...
07:29 AM, Mar 15, 2013
Nadal has shown no visible sign of discomfort, with his knee taped up throughout his matches but his fans are worried. ...
03:31 AM, Mar 15, 2013
Rafael Nadal ended the run of Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis with a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory in the fourth round at the BNP Paribas Open. ...
10:52 AM, Mar 14, 2013
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer stayed on track for a mouth-watering quarter-final showdown at the BNP Paribas Open after they both advanced to the last 16. ...
12:14 PM, Mar 12, 2013
Roger Federer overcame minor back problems to clinch the contest, which lasted just 61 minutes, 6-3, 6-1 against Croatia's Ivan Dodig. ...
09:25 AM, Mar 12, 2013
The Spainards's recovery trail will be complete only at Paris when he succeeds in defending his Roland Garros title in May. ...
02:54 PM, Mar 07, 2013
