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
Paris: Victoria Azarenka used to create the impression on court she was contending with more than an opponent. There seemed to be demons at play as well. Consider her fourth-round meltdown against Nadia Petrova at Wimbledon in 2009. She began mimicking her own movements before sarcastically shaking a linesperson's hand and telling the chair umpire, "You guys have so much power to ruin the whole match." She is now a...
02:19 PM, May 24, 2013
Paris: A look at 10 of the top topics at the French Open, the clay-court Grand Slam tennis tournament that begins on Sunday and ends on June 9: 1. WHY STOP AT SEVEN? Rafael Nadal already owns a record seven French Open titles - he broke a tie with Bjorn Borg by winning last year - and is widely considered the favourite to add No. 8. He is 36-2 this...
09:10 AM, May 24, 2013
Nice, France: Second-seeded Gilles Simon of France and third-seeded Sam Querrey of the United States were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Open de Nice on Thursday. Spaniards Alberto Montanes and Pablo Andujar and Frenchmen Gael Monfils and Edouard Roger-Vasselin reached the last four. Wild-card entry Roger-Vasselin beat Querrey 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-1. The Frenchman broke Querrey twice in the final set to lead 5-1 before converting his first match...
08:54 AM, May 24, 2013
London: Based on form, Serena Williams is a stand-out favourite to win a second French Open title but her record at Roland Garros means she approaches the tournament with a touch of apprehension and fearful of the "lady in the mirror". Williams is world number one, unbeaten in 24 matches and has won four consecutive tournaments, yet she remains diffident after last year's debacle when she exited in the first...
04:46 PM, May 23, 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
Paris: Seventh-ranked Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina has pulled out of the upcoming French Open because of a respiratory virus. Del Potro said in a statement on Wednesday that he has not fully recovered and not fit to play. American players Brian Baker and Mardy Fish have also pulled out. Baker has not recovered from a right knee operation and Fish is unfit because of heart problems. They will...
10:32 PM, May 22, 2013
Melbourne: Bernard Tomic will play at next week's French Open despite his off-court troubles - if only to keep some momentum going for the grasscourt season ahead, Tennis Australia's Todd Woodbridge said on Wednesday. Tomic's father John faced a charge of causing criminal injury in a Madrid court earlier this month after allegedly assaulting his son's hitting partner Thomas Drouet. Tomic senior says he acted in self-defence and the court...
01:18 PM, May 22, 2013
London: Britain's world number two Andy Murray has pulled out of the French Open after failing to recover from a lower back injury which he aggravated at the Italian Open last week. "It's a really tough decision and I love playing in Paris, but after seeking medical advice, I am not fit to compete," Murray said in a statement released by his management company. "Apologies to the organisers and thanks...
08:40 AM, May 22, 2013
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...
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: Serena Williams won her fourth consecutive title of the year in dominating fashion Sunday, beating third-seeded Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-3 in the Italian Open final. The top-ranked American will enter the French Open, which starts next Sunday, on a career-best 24-match winning streak. Williams was coming off consecutive titles in Miami; Charleston, South Carolina; and Madrid last week. Williams' only previous title at this clay-court event came in 2002,...
06:58 PM, May 19, 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: Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna reached the semi-finals of the Rome Masters after getting a walkover from rivals Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek even as Sania Mizra and Bethanie Mattek-Sands crashed out of the women's event, here. Berdych, who shocked world number one Novak Djokovic in the men's singles in a gruelling three-setter, cited muscle fatigue as the reason for him withdrawing. Bhupathi and Bopanna will now fight it...
01:49 PM, 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
Paris: Sharath Kamal took a game off World No.5 Timo Boll before going down 1-4 in the men's singles second round at the World Table Tennis Championships here, ending the Indian challenge in the mega event. Germany's Timo Boll got the better of Sharath 9-11, 12-10, 11-1, 11-5, 11-2 in a round of 64 match Thursday night. The two paddlers play for the same club in Germany, Borussia Dusseldorf. Sharath,...
08:32 PM, May 17, 2013
Rome: Top-ranked Novak Djokovic wasted a chance to serve out the match and was beaten 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 by sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych in the Italian Open quarterfinals on Friday. It's the second consecutive week that Djokovic has struggled, having also lost to Grigor Dimitrov in the second round of the Madrid Open, where he was bothered by a right ankle injury. Djokovic said he had been playing pain free this...
08:17 PM, May 17, 2013
Rome: Serena Williams is on the longest winning streak of her career. The top-ranked American beat Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-0 Friday to reach the Italian Open semi-finals and extend her victory run to 22 matches. Williams had twice won 21 in a row before, although both of those streaks came a decade ago, in 2002 and 2003. In the other half of the draw, two-time defending champion Maria Sharapova...
06:43 PM, May 17, 2013
