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
Madrid: Milos Raonic would probably not feature on most people's list of potential French Open champions but the two-metre Canadian with the booming serve has been working hard on his clay game in Spain and has the potential to cause an upset. The Montenegro-born 22-year-old, who will make his third appearance at Roland Garros next week, joined up with Spanish coach Galo Blanco at his 4Slam Tennis academy in Barcelona...
04:46 PM, May 23, 2013
London: Watching Rafael Nadal churn his way through the claycourt season over the past few weeks, it seems nothing much has changed since his French Open triumph a year ago despite a lengthy injury layoff. Titles in Barcelona, Madrid and Rome, where he dropped only three sets in the process, mean the 26-year-old is overwhelming favourite to lift the trophy for an eighth time at Roland Garros when play gets...
04:29 PM, May 23, 2013
Rome: Rafa Nadal beat Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych 6-2 6-4 to reach the Italian Open final on Saturday with a dominant performance that he described as emotional after his long injury absence. Nadal, who returned to action in February after seven months out with a knee problem, will have the chance to win his sixth title since his comeback when he faces either Roger Federer or Benoit Paire in...
11:49 PM, May 18, 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
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
Rome: Six-time champion Rafael Nadal overcame one of the worst opening sets of his career to edge Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 Thursday and reach the Italian Open quarter-finals. Nadal's performance, and sometimes sluggish movement on the court, raises questions about whether he will be able to successfully defend his title at the French Open. The year's second Grand Slam starts in 10 days. Nadal will next face...
11:29 PM, May 16, 2013
Madrid: Rafael Nadal won his fifth title since returning from a knee injury by beating Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 6-4 on Sunday for the Madrid Open championship. Cheered on by the home crowd at the Caja Magica, the fifth-ranked Nadal cruised to his 55th career title and extended his head-to-head record with the Swiss to 9-0. Nadal grabbed the first set in just over half an hour and closed out the...
09:40 PM, May 12, 2013
Madrid: Rafael Nadal reached his seventh consecutive final since returning from a knee injury, brushing aside wild-card entry Pablo Andujar 6-0, 6-4 at the Madrid Open on Saturday. Nadal had little trouble extending his winning streak in clay-court semi-finals to 46 matches, quickly finishing his over-matched countryman after winning the first six games. Nadal can win his fifth title since coming back from seven-month layoff healing his left knee. "I...
10:01 PM, May 11, 2013
Madrid: Rafael Nadal fought back to beat David Ferrer 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-0 in Friday's quarter-finals of the Madrid Open, keeping alive his bid to reach a seventh straight final since returning from injury. In a meeting of Spain's top ranked players, Ferrer's baseline game on the red clay almost proved too much for the fifth-seeded Nadal. But Nadal held on to force a third set and won six straight...
10:02 PM, May 10, 2013
Madrid: Rafael Nadal avoided a similar fate to beaten world number one Novak Djokovic when he dismissed French young gun Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-4 to claim a place in the third round of the Madrid Open on Wednesday. Serb Djokovic fell to another promising youngster, Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov, in the second round of the Masters event on Tuesday but Nadal showed why he has the best record on clay in...
11:03 PM, May 08, 2013
Paris: Rafael Nadal will not be protected with a higher seeding at the French Open, tournament director Gilbert Ysern said on Saturday. Roland Garros committee member Guy Forget suggested last month that the Spaniard, who has slipped to fifth in the world rankings, should be protected to avoid a potential quarter-final clash with world number one Novak Djokovic. "Considering what Nadal represents in Paris, i.e. the best player in the...
04:40 PM, May 04, 2013
Rafael Nadal says the decision to destroy the evidence in the Operation Puerto doping case is "a mistake." "My opinion is that the ruling wasn't positive for anyone," the tennis great said on Friday. "The only ones that benefited were the ones who cheated. The ones that are hurt are Spanish athletes and sports in general." In the verdict on Tuesday, the doctor at the heart of the doping ring,...
08:14 AM, May 04, 2013
London: For Rafael Nadal to bridge a 7,000-point gap with Novak Djokovic in the ATP rankings looks like a tall order, even for a player of his qualities, yet he could still threaten the Serb's hopes of ending 2013 as world No.1. With the French Open looming large on the horizon, Nadal is back in the claycourt groove as he continues his comeback from a knee injury that sidelined him...
08:40 AM, May 01, 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
Barcelona: Rafael Nadal won the Barcelona Open for the eighth time on Sunday after seeing off Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 6-3 in the final. Almagro took it to Nadal early on and built a 3-0 lead, but Nadal found his form and broke his fellow Spaniard in three of his next four service games to take the initiative for good. It was Nadal's 54th career title and fourth this year, having...
09:25 PM, Apr 28, 2013
Barcelona: Rafa Nadal moved closer to an eighth Barcelona Open title in nine years on Friday when he breezed through two matches to set up a semi-final against Canadian fifth seed Milos Raonic. Chasing a fourth title of the year after returning from a seven-month injury layoff in February, Nadal recovered from a slow start on the clay at the Real Club de Tenis to beat Benoit Paire 7-6 6-2...
12:37 AM, Apr 27, 2013
Barcelona: Seven-time winner Rafael Nadal advanced to the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open by beating Benoit Paire of France 7-6 (2), 6-2 on Friday. Paire broke Nadal's first service game, but when the fifth-ranked Spaniard found his rhythm he had little trouble extending his winning streak on the Real Club de Tenis' red clay to 36 straight matches. The match was originally scheduled for Thursday but was postponed due to...
05:01 PM, Apr 26, 2013
Barcelona: Rafael Nadal may have to play two matches at the Barcelona Open on Friday after his third round clash against Frenchman Benoit Paire was postponed by rain on Thursday. The world number five and second seed, gunning for an eighth Barcelona title, will face Paire on Friday with either sixth seed Kei Nishikori or Albert Ramos waiting in the next round should Nadal avoid an upset. Third seed Tomas...
08:38 AM, Apr 26, 2013
Barcelona: Carlos Berlocq of Argentina set up a second-round match against defending champion Rafael Nadal at the Barcelona Open by defeating Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain 7-5, 6-4 on Tuesday. Nadal last played Berlocq at the Brasil Open and rallied to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. Berlocq says Nadal appears to be in better physical condition now than in February, saying "he is in an awesome shape." Nadal is...
03:14 AM, Apr 24, 2013
