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FEDERER DOWNS NADAL IN LONDON


Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal 6-3 3-6 6-1 to equal Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras' record haul of five Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at London's O2 Arena this afternoon.

The final the tournament had hoped for did not rival some of the classic encounters between the two best players of this, or arguably any, era, but it was absorbing nonetheless.

Federer was the better player throughout but Nadal, who was looking to add the one major title that has so far eluded him to his year's collection of three grand slams, put up a brave fight despite clearly not being at his best physically.

Federer, who takes home a cheque for just over £1million and 1,500 ranking points, said: "I've really enjoyed playing here this week, it's been a wonderful atmosphere once again. Rafa's had an amazing year, one any player dreams of."

Nadal admitted he had lost to the better player, saying: "I want to congratulate Roger. He played unbelievable throughout the whole week. It was a fantastic year for me, probably the most emotional of my career."

It was the 22nd meeting between the pair, who between them have won 21 of the last 23 grand slam titles, but the first since May's Madrid Masters final and only their fourth match in two and a half years.

Nadal led the head-to-head 14-7 but it was level at 3-3 on hard courts, while Federer had won both their previous encounters at the end-of-season showpiece.

The big question was how well would the world number one have recovered from yesterday's three-hour epic against Andy Murray.

Federer, by contrast, had not lost a set in four previous matches this week and demolished Novak Djokovic yesterday for the loss of only five games.

The early indications were that Nadal was feeling the effects of his exertions as Federer fired winners off his forehand and backhand, with the Spaniard left motionless.

Incredibly, this was the first final at this event played between the top two seeds since Lendl beat Boris Becker 24 years ago.

The body serve that proved so effective for Nadal against Murray was working well again but there was a sense that the match was Federer's for the taking if he could play the big points well.

The first opportunity duly arrived with Nadal serving at 3-4 and Federer looked confidence personified as he casually whipped a backhand winner cross-court to break.

Often the 29-year-old has looked a little inhibited against Nadal but not so far today, and he closed out the set to love with a pinpoint forehand winner.

The world number one had not won an indoor title since he was a teenager, and he had a lot of work to do if he was going to add to that tally here.

Federer often has little lapses these days, though, and a netted volley gave Nadal his first break points in the fourth game of the second set. One went begging but on the second Federer drilled a forehand wide.

Nadal played intelligently for the rest of the set, conserving energy where possible, and after an hour and six minutes he had two set points. He promptly took the first when Federer made a late decision to come to the net.

It was an unlikely scoreline considering the world number one was still looking very weary, but there were signs of improvement in his movement and intensity at the start of the decider.

With five weeks until his next competitive match, Nadal could afford to give everything, but he found himself facing break point in the fourth game.

A brilliant Federer return put his great rival in trouble, and a follow-up forehand left Nadal with too much to do.

The Swiss now had victory in his sights but beating Nadal is as much a battle of the mind for Federer and he wobbled on serve before holding for 4-1.

With that hurdle overcome, the world number two set about challenging for a double break, and he achieved it when Nadal, who now surely realised the game was up, netted a backhand.The end, when it came after an hour and 37 minutes, was a little unfortunate as both players and the crowd paused to see whether Federer's forehand was in before the new champion was able to celebrate his 66th career title.




:thum:
 

sarahmic

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WIMBLEDON RESULTS

Saturday 25th June 2011

Men's Singles - Third Round
1 2 3 4 5
Rafael Nadal (1) 7 (8) 7 (7) 6 - -
Gilles Muller 6 (6) 6 (5) 0 - -
Men's Singles - Third Round
1 2 3 4 5
Juan Martin Del Potro (24) 7 (10) 7 (7) 7 - -
Gilles Simon (15) 6 (8) 6 (5) 5 - -
Men's Singles - Third Round
1 2 3 4 5
Mardy Fish (10) 6 6 (5) 6 1 -
Robin Haase 3 7 (7) 2 1 -
Match won by retirement
Men's Singles - Third Round
1 2 3 4 5
Alex Bogomolov Jr. 2 4 3 - -
Tomas Berdych (6) 6 6 6 - -
Men's Singles - Third Round
1 2 3 4 5
Gael Monfils (9) 3 6 3 3 -
Lukasz Kubot 6 3 6 6 -
Men's Singles - Third Round
1 2 3 4 5
David Ferrer (7) 6 6 6 - -
Karol Beck 4 3 3 - -
Men's Singles - Third Round
1 2 3 4 5
Fernando Gonzalez 3 4 3 - -
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (12) 6 6 6 - -
Men's Singles - Third Round
1 2 3 4 5
Nicolas Almagro (16) 6 3 6 (3) 3 -
Mikhail Youzhny (18) 4 6 7 (7) 6 -
Men's Singles - Third Round
1 2 3 4 5
David Nalbandian (28) 4 2 4 - -
Roger Federer (3) 6 6 6 - -
Men's Singles - Third Round
1 2 3 4 5
Robin Soderling (5) 1 4 5 - -
Bernard Tomic 6 6 7 - -
Men's Singles - Third Round
1 2 3 4 5
Yen-Hsun Lu 3 3 1 - -
Michael Llodra (19) 6 6 6 - -
Women's Singles - Third Round
1 2 3 4 5
Caroline Wozniacki (1) 6 6 - - -
Jarmila Gajdosova (27) 3 2 - - -
Women's Singles - Third Round
1 2 3 4 5
Dominika Cibulkova (24) 6 1 6 - -
Julia Goerges (16) 4 6 3 - -
Women's Singles - Third Round
1 2 3 4 5
Melinda Czink 2 6 (5) - - -
Shuai Peng (20) 6 7 (7) - - -
Women's Singles - Third Round
1 2 3 4 5
Klara Zakopalova 2 3 - - -
Maria Sharapova (5) 6 6 - - -
Women's Singles - Third Round
1 2 3 4 5
Sabine Lisicki 6 6 - - -
Misaki Doi 4 2 - - -
Women's Singles - Third Round
1 2 3 4 5
Ana Ivanovic (18) 2 6 (0) - - -
Petra Cetkovska 6 7 (7) - - -
Women's Singles - Third Round
1 2 3 4 5
Marion Bartoli (9) 5 6 9 - -
Flavia Pennetta (21) 7 4 7 - -
Women's Singles - Third Round
1 2 3 4 5
Maria Kirilenko (26) 3 2 - - -
Serena Williams (7) 6 6 - - -
Women's Singles - Third Round
1 2 3 4 5
Francesca Schiavone (6) 6 4 9 - -
Tamira Paszek 3 6 11 - -
Men's Doubles - Second Round
1 2 3 4 5
Wesley Moodie / Dick Norman (11) 4 7 (7) - - -
Jamie Delgado / Jonathan Marray - - - - -
 

leostiinta

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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: won his eighth career ttitle in Doha


TSONGA SEES OFF MONFILS


Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat his fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils 7-5 6-3 in the final of the Qatar Open.

The third seed shrugged off a 35-minute delay for fog in Doha before claiming his eighth career title and a third win in four meetings against world number 16 Monfils.

Monfils, who beat Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals, had just broken the world number six in the first game when play was stopped because the fog made the courts slippery.


As fans waited in their seats, workers with brushes scrubbed the edges of the court and the fog drifted through the stadium. Play was resumed after a 35-minute delay.

When the final re-started, Monfils consolidated the break, and kept his advantage until 5-3, when Tsonga began to take control.


He won 16 of the next 19 points, racing through four straight games to clinch the set.


The second set went with serve until Monfils, trailing 2-3, handed Tsonga the only break of the set with a forehand unforced error. Tsonga went on to close out the match in one hour and 57 minutes.


"It was difficult. The surface was very slippery especially on the 'Qatar' sign painted on the court," said the 26-year-old Tsonga.

"It was dangerous but they did enough to make it OK. This is a good win for me going into the Australian Open, it's just amazing."

Tsonga is the third Frenchman to lift the Doha trophy, following Nicolas Escude in 2004 and Fabrice Santoro in 2000.
 

sarahmic

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NADAL AND FERRER TO MEET IN FINAL


Spanish duo Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer will meet in the final of the Barcelona Open for the fourth time in five years after both progressed through their respective semi-finals in straight sets on Saturday, albeit in contrasting fashion.

Top seed and reigning champion Nadal saw off ninth-seeded countryman Fernando Verdasco in convincing fashion 6-0 6-4 to reach his third final of the year.

However, Ferrer, the third seed, had a much tougher task of it against big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic, who knocked out second seed Andy Murray in the quarter-finals.

Ferrer was taken to tie-breaks in both sets against the 11th seed before winning through 7-6 (7/2) 7-6 (7/5) in two hours, five minutes.

Those results mean Sunday's final will have a familiar look about it, with Nadal having beaten Ferrer here in 2008, 2009 and again last year.

World number two Nadal also lifted the Barcelona title in 2005, 2006 and 2007, and is looking to clinch his seventh crown here this weekend.

The clay-court king, who has won 10 of 11 meetings with Ferrer on that surface, told www.atpworldtour.com: "It's even more special to reach a final at home.

"I enjoy this tournament a lot. Tomorrow I will have to play perfectly to have a chance to beat one of best players in the world."

Nadal, who picked up his first tournament win of the season after defeating Novak Djokovic in the final in Monte Carlo earlier this month, added: "To win in Monte Carlo and to reach a final in Barcelona, no matter what happens tomorrow I have had a great start to the clay season."

Ferrer, the world number six, admits he has his work cut out to topple Nadal in the final, saying: "It will be difficult to beat Rafa on clay.

"I've lost the last three times to him on clay here, I hope it will be different for me tomorrow."
 

batkov

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Бенчич получила wild card в квалификацию Кубка Кремля

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Швейцарка Белинда Бенчич, которая конкурирует с Элиной Свитолиной за поездку на Итоговый турнир, получила wild card в квалификацию Кубка Кремля.

«Как мы и предполагали, к нам обратились игроки первой десятки с просьбой предоставить им места в сетке непосредственно перед турниром. Речь идет, в первую очередь, о тех, кому понадобятся очки перед итоговым турниром года. Одним из таких игроков стала швейцарская теннисистка Белинда Бенчич, которой мы предоставили wild card квалификационного турнира, ей еще придется побороться за выход в основную сетку соревнований. Это делает наш турнир еще более интересным, говорит о том, что уже в первые выходные можно будет увидеть игру теннисисток самого высокого класса», - сказал директор женского турнира Алексей Селиваненко.

Напомним, для того чтобы обойти Свитолину в Чемпионской гонке, по результатам которой и будут отобраны восемь лучших теннисисток в Финал WTA, Бенчич нужно одержать победу на турнире в Москве.
 
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