Tennis: Nadal plays down expectations before Brisbane return

PARIS, France -- Former world number one Rafael Nadal said on Monday he expects "nothing" from himself before his return to the courts next month.

Nadal, 37, has been out with a hip injury since last January but is set to feature at Brisbane in the near year.

The Spaniard will use the tournament as a warm-up to the Australian Open in Melbourne, having slumped to 663rd in the world before starting his final year before his expected retirement.

"I think I'm ready and I trust and hope that all goes well and it gives me the opportunity to enjoy myself on the court," Nadal said in a video on social media.

"I expect from myself to expect nothing.

"To have the ability not to demand myself what I have demanded myself throughout my career," the 22-time Grand Slam winner added.

Since being sidelined Nadal has been overtaken in the number of Grand Slam tournaments won by Serbian world number one Novak Djokovic, who now has 24 major titles.

Nadal will try to return to the highest level in Australia with the aim of competing at the French Open which he has won a record 14 times.

He is in line for a busy final season with the Grand Slams and the Olympic Games, where he won singles gold in Beijing in 2008 and doubles gold in Rio in 2016.

"I believe I'm in a different moment, situation. I am in an unexplored terrain," Nadal said.

"I have internalised what I have had throughout my life, which is demand myself the maximum.

"Right now what I really hope is to be able not to do that, to accept things are going to be very difficult at the beginning and give myself the necessary time," he added.

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Nadal beats Medvedev again to reach Acapulco ATP final

Rafael Nadal beat Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-3 on Friday to reach the final of the ATP Mexico Open and insure the Russian will not celebrate his rise to number one with the Acapulco trophy.

Medvedev was unable to avenge his loss to Nadal in the Australian Open final, where the Spaniard rallied from two sets down to triumph in five and claim a record-setting 21st Grand Slam singles title.

But the 26-year-old Russian departs Mexico knowing he'll move to number one in the world on Monday. He was assured of reaching the summit when Serbian star Novak Djokovic fell in the quarter-finals at Dubai on Thursday.

Nadal pushed his perfect 2022 record to 14-0, but it wasn't as simple as the scoreline might suggest.

He powered through the first set without facing a break point and broke Medvedev in the opening game of the second.

But the 35-year-old world number five found himself in trouble in the fourth game, fighting off four break points to preserve his advantage.

Medvedev pushed him again in a marathon sixth game but failed to convert any of his seven break chances.

"I played some amazing points on the break points," said Nadal, who used everything in his arsenal to fend off Medvedev -- from his classic powerful forehands to aggressive forays to the net.

"The second set was very emotional," Nadal said. "Daniil was playing very aggressive — drop shots, winners. It was a very difficult set.

"I feel lucky to win that set, because he had a lot of chances."

Serving to extend the match at 5-3, Medvedev took a 40-0 lead before a spate of errors, including his seventh double fault of the contest, gave Nadal an opening and allowed him to wrap it up on his second match point.

In Saturday's final, Nadal will face Cameron Norrie, who pushed his winning streak to eight straight matches with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.

Britain's 12th-ranked Norrie, who lifted the trophy at Delray Beach last week, broke in the ninth game of each set and calmly served them out.

Tsitsipas, who reached the Rotterdam final earlier this month, had not dropped a set all week until he ran into the in-form Briton -- who faced just one break point in the match.

Nadal has won all three of his career meetings with Norrie -- at the Australian Open, Barcelona and Roland Garros in 2021.

But he said Norrie has made big strides since then.

"His level of tennis is huge," Nadal said. "He improved a lot at the beginning of last year, and this year he continues.

"It's going to be a big challenge, but we are in the final of a 500 here in Acapulco, so can't expect an easy opponent. I'm excited about being in the final."

Nadal is seeking a fourth Acapulco title. He won his first two, in 2005 and 2013, when the tournament was played on clay, and added a third in 2020 after it had moved to hardcourts.

Agence France-Presse

Tennis: Nadal edges Medvedev in epic to claim Grand Slam record

MELBOURNE -  Rafa Nadal edged Daniil Medvedev in a classic Australian Open final on Sunday, roaring back from two sets down to claim a record 21st Grand Slam title only months after fearing his glorious career might be over due to injury.

With Novak Djokovic forced out by deportation and Roger Federer recovering from knee surgery, the Spanish great is now one major title clear of his ‘Big Three’ rivals after surviving the 2-6 6-7(5) 6-4 6-4 7-5 thriller at Rod Laver Arena.

"It was one of the most emotional matches in my tennis career," Nadal said at the post-match presentation.

"It's just amazing now being gone one month and a half ago I didn't know if I will be able to be back on the tour playing tennis again.

"And today I'm here in front of all of you having this trophy with me."

Riding a wave of raucous support from the crowd, a vintage Nadal pulled off his greatest escape to deny Medvedev again, less than three years after leaving the Russian heartbroken in five sets at the 2019 U.S. Open final.

In a five-hour 24-minute epic steeped in drama, Nadal was two points from the title but was broken as he served for the match at 5-4.

He held firm to break Medvedev again and served out the match to love, rushing in to deliver a backhand volley as a stunning coup de grace.

Dropping his racket, Nadal shook his head and grinned, then kicked a tennis ball away and pumped his fists in delight.

It was a triumph that defied time and logic, with the 35-year-old fighting back from a two-set deficit for the first time in 15 years -- the last time being against Mikhail Youzhny in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2007.

Having suffered four final defeats in 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2019, Nadal can now savour a second Melbourne Park crown, 13 years after beating Federer in another epic decider in 2009.

The long hair and pirate shorts of that decade have fallen by the way-side, but the class and fighting spirit endure in the face of Nadal's titanic battles to recover from injuries.

Having missed Wimbledon due to fatigue and the U.S. Open because of a chronic condition in his left foot, Nadal was on the brink of quitting in late-2021 and felt blessed just to turn up at Melbourne Park.

ARE YOU TIRED?

His ability to win seven matches felt miraculous for the Spaniard, who joins Djokovic, Rod Laver and Roy Emerson as the only men to take each Grand Slam title at least twice.

Thrashed by Djokovic in last year's final, U.S. Open champion Medvedev has now lost three out of the four Grand Slam deciders he has contested.

"Tough to talk after five hours and 30 minutes and losing," said Medvedev who shuffled and rolled his eyes during a lengthy speech by a local tennis official.

"What you (Rafa) did today was amazing.

"After the match, I just asked him: 'Are you tired?'

"It was insane ... I thought you are going to get tired, maybe just a little, but you won the match.

"You're an amazing champion and I think you guys (Federer, Djokovic and Nadal) have a good rivalry still. It's not over yet."

It was a match that had everything, even a crowd invasion as a spectator jumped on the court to protest Australia's detention of refugees as Nadal struggled to serve out the second set.

Nadal failed to convert a set point and Medvedev made him pay, sealing the set with a crisp backhand passing shot.

The Russian hammed up his villain persona, flapping his hands at the crowd with a smirk.

It proved a red rag to a bull as both Nadal and the crowd united to harry the Russian through the next two sets.

Medvedev was left begging for crowd control from the chair umpire as Nadal stormed back into the game.

"They are idiots. No brains. Empty brains. Probably in their life it must be very bad," he said at a change of ends of the fans.

Medvedev's frustrations only grew and he became sluggish in his movement as the match wore on. He frowned as a trainer worked on his left thigh but dragged himself out to make a game of it to the finish.

In the end, it was Nadal dictating terms to the Russian and showing himself and the world that further records may yet be at his mercy. 

(Additional Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly; editing by Pritha Sarkar)

-reuters-

Australian Open: Nadal turning the improbable into reality

MELBOURNE - Almost five months after Rafa Nadal posted a photograph of himself on crutches after a medical procedure, the 35-year-old Spanish great is within range of his most improbable triumph.

Nadal, who will play Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final on Sunday, will become the first man to win 21 Grand Slam titles if he defeats the Russian in Melbourne.

On the court alone, it is an immense task.

Medvedev is a decade younger. He is a dominant player on hard courts and also won their most recent clash at the ATP Finals in 2020.

"If I'm not able to play at my top level, (I) simply will be no chance," Nadal said.

But the fact that he has a chance at all is remarkable when one considers a photograph of Nadal from September on the day Medvedev was booking a spot in the U.S. Open final.

Nadal posted a picture of himself on Sept. 11 leaning on crutches after treatment on a foot that has hindered him since he was a teenager.

On the same day, his great rival Novak Djokovic moved to within one win of completing the calendar Grand Slam with a five-set triumph over Alexander Zverev at Flushing Meadows.

Certainties do not exist in sport. But the odds that it would be Nadal instead of Djokovic being the first to 21 major titles seemed a distant prospect at very best that day.

The march of Djokovic appeared inexorable at a time when there were significant doubts about Nadal and the still sidelined Roger Federer ever regaining peak fitness and form.

Only Medvedev could have stopped the Serbian from taking Manhattan and marching into Melbourne, which had been at Djokovic's mercy for much of the past decade, seeking major title number 22.

The twist in the script since Sept. 11 would seem too absurd for even a fantasist to consider.

Djokovic would be denied by Medvedev in straight sets in New York and then deported from Australia ahead of his title defence in Melbourne Park.

Nadal, after also falling ill with COVID-19 in December, would manage to return fit and firing at the Grand Slam where he has endured the most problems in his career.

To borrow a favourite phrase from another great left-hander in John McEnroe: "You cannot be serious".

A victory over Medvedev at Rod Laver Arena would complete a remarkable chapter in Nadal's extraordinary career.

He said after defeating Italian Matteo Berrettini on Friday that he could not have imagined playing in the decider in Melbourne when he arrived at the start of the month.

"For me, it's something completely unexpected, so I am super happy," Nadal said.

"Of course everybody knows me and I am always gonna try my best. Of course my goal now is to win."

He remains the outsider according to Australian bookmakers, but the left-hander's reputation for defying the odds has only been enhanced by his run in Melbourne.

The injury and illness aside, he also managed to rebound when looking beaten by the heat and the sizzling shots struck by Denis Shapolov in the quarter-finals.

Medvedev ruined Djokovic's dreams in New York. He is spoiling to do the same against Nadal.

But no matter how the final unfolds, the Spaniard is relishing just having the chance.

"In my case, I think I have been able to enjoy it probably more than the others, because for a lot of times I was close to not being able to do it again," he said. (Reporting by Courtney Walsh; editing by Stephen Coates)

-reuters-

Tennis: Djokovic, Nadal to begin 2021 campaigns on Feb. 2

MELBOURNE -- Top-ranked Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal will start their 2021 seasons on Feb. 2 when they lead Serbia and Spain respectively in the team-based ATP Cup ahead of the Australian Open.

The top two men's players will be joined by world number three Dominic Thiem and Russian No. 4 Daniil Medvedev on the opening day of the tournament at Melbourne Park, which will also host the year's first Grand Slam from Feb. 8-21.

Reigning champions Serbia, led by Australian Open holder Djokovic, will begin their title defense against Canada on Rod Laver Arena and will also play Germany in the group stages.

Austrian Thiem, who lost to Djokovic in last year's final in Melbourne, will play the early session on the John Cain Arena against Italy.

World number two Nadal, part of the team that finished runners-up to Serbia, and ATP Finals winner Medvedev will highlight the evening sessions when they play against opponents from hosts Australia and Argentina.

The ATP Cup debuted last year with 24 teams and was held across three cities in Australia but there will be half the number of teams in this year's edition due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The start of this year's tournament has been pushed back by a day to allow more time to train for 72 players confined to their hotel rooms after some passengers on the three charter flights that brought them to Australia tested positive.

Russia are the only team with two top 10 players in their side in Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, while Argentina and Japan are led by No.9 Diego Schwartzman and Kei Nishikori, ranked 41st.

The winners from each group will advance to the semi-finals. 

(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Ed Osmond)

-reuters-

Tennis in 2019: Nadal on top as new faces make mark in women's game

LONDON -- Rafael Nadal finished the season on top of the world to give the men's rankings a familiar look but a new crop of women is showing the old guard can be overthrown.

The Spanish world number one and Novak Djokovic won two Grand Slams each in 2019, holding Father Time and their young rivals at bay for another year.

But Ashleigh Barty and teenager Bianca Andreescu were two new faces on the list of women's Major winners as familiar names slipped from view.

AFP Sport looks at some of the big talking points of the season.

Can Nadal stay on top in 2020?

Rafael Nadal arrived at the Italian Open in May without a title in 2019. He beat Novak Djokovic in the final and lost just three matches in the rest of the season, winning the French Open and the US Open before inspiring Spain to Davis Cup glory on home soil, finishing as world number one for a fifth time.

With a combined age of 103, Nadal, Djokovic and Roger Federer continue to dominate men's tennis and it takes a brave punter to predict their imminent demise.

But there is at last the sense of a credible challenge from an exciting crop of youngsters including Daniil Medvedev, who pushed Nadal all the way in the US Open final, and ATP Finals winner Stefanos Tsitsipas.

"I believe I'm really close to being crowned a Grand Slam champion," said Tsitsipas after beating Dominic Thiem in the final in London. 

Women's NextGen show the way

Australia's Ashleigh Barty, 23, rose from the relative anonymity of 15th in the world at the end of 2018 to top the rankings a year later, winning the French Open and the WTA Finals along the way.

Teenager Bianca Andreescu of Canada soared even more dramatically, from 178th to fifth in the world, beating Serena Williams in the final of the US Open to become the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam singles title.

"NextGen is here," Andreescu announced during her winning run at Flushing Meadows. "You see many fresh faces and I think we're only going to get better from here."

Federer's Wimbledon pain

Roger Federer had two Wimbledon championship points on his own serve to beat Novak Djokovic and win his 21st Grand Slam title. That would have taken him six clear of the Serbian on the all-time list and three clear of Rafael Nadal at the time.

Instead, he faltered. Djokovic, in a match lasting a shade under five hours, won his 16th Grand Slam and two months later Nadal won his 19th.

"It's such an incredible opportunity missed," said the Swiss veteran, now 38 and who must fear his days as the all-time leader on the list are numbered.

Serena's Court problem 

Serena Williams is running out of opportunities to win the 24th Grand Slam singles title that would pull her level with Margaret Court's record.

The 38-year-old American reached the final at both Wimbledon and the US Open but she won just four games against Simona Halep in London and lost in straight sets to Bianca Andreescu in New York.

It followed defeats in the finals of both events the previous year, suggesting Williams is feeling the pressure.

Speaking after her US Open defeat, she downplayed the pursuit of Court's record.

"I'm not necessarily chasing a record. I'm just trying to win Grand Slams," she said. "It's definitely frustrating, but for the most part I just am still here. I'm still doing what I can do."

Comeback of the year

In January, British former world number one Andy Murray admitted the 2019 Australian Open could be his last tournament during a tearful press conference.

But the Scot, 32, returned to the court after hip resurfacing surgery and beat fellow veteran Stan Wawrinka in the final of the European Open in October.

"It means a lot," Murray said after his triumph. "The past few years have been extremely difficult.... I didn't expect to be in this position at all, so I'm very happy."

A star is born

Having been the youngest player to come through Wimbledon qualifying, 15-year-old Coco Gauff stunned five-time champion Venus Williams in the first round in straight sets, belying her ranking of 313.

"My dream was to win. That's what happened," said the American whose run at the All England Club was eventually ended by champion Simona Halep in the fourth round.

Gauff went on to make the US Open third round before winning a maiden title in Linz in the autumn having lost in qualifying.

At the end of 2018, she was ranked 875 but she will head into 2020 at 68.

Agence France-Presse

Nadal defies inspired Medvedev in five-set epic to win US Open

NEW YORK - Rafa Nadal survived a heroic Daniil Medvedev fightback to claim an epic 7-5 6-3 5-7 4-6 6-4 win and a fourth U.S. Open title on Sunday, moving within one Grand Slam crown of matching Roger Federer's all-time record.

A routine end to the Flushing Meadows fortnight looked on the cards when Nadal went up two sets and a break up but it turned into a near five-hour thriller as Medvedev staged a comeback that left the Spaniard shaken and Arthur Ashe Stadium buzzing.

Not once since 1949 had a player come back from two sets down to win the U.S. Open final but the tall Russian, cheered loudly by a crowd that booed him mercilessly earlier in the week, came mighty close.

On the ropes with Medvedev looking to deliver the knockout blow, though, Nadal showed once again why he is the game's greatest fighter and he lifted himself off the canvas to scrap his way to a 19th Grand Slam title.

Nadal needed three championship points to finally kill off his 23-year-old opponent and let out a mighty roar as Medvedev's final return sailed long before falling on his back to soak up the cheers.

Already the King of Clay the Spaniard has been a master of the Flushing Meadows hardcourts this New York fortnight, dropping just three sets on way to the final.

The 33-year-old lefthander became the second oldest U.S. Open champion in the professional era behind Australian Ken Rosewall, who was 35 when he lifted the title in 1970.

While the women have served up four different Grand Slam winners this season, the old guard of Nadal, Federer and Novak Djokovic continue to rule the men's game with the "Big Three" having combined to win the last 12 majors.

Medvedev arrived at his first Grand Slam final as the hottest player in men's tennis, riding the momentum from reaching four consecutive finals, but it was not enough to carry him to a maiden major title.

Nadal was not exactly holding a cold hand either, the Spaniard riding a 10 match win streak going 26-1 in his last five events. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Nadal topples birthday boy Tsitsipas in Toronto final

TORONTO - Rafael Nadal ended the red-hot run of Greek upstart Stefanos Tsitsipas with a ruthless 6-2 7-6(4) win on Sunday that gave the Spanish top seed his fourth Rogers Cup championship.

Tsitsipas, who was contesting the Masters 1000 final on his 20th birthday after four consecutive wins over top-10 players in Toronto, threw all he had at Nadal but was ultimately unable to beat the world number one.

"If you told me this two weeks ago I would not have believed it," Nadal said in his on-court interview. "It's a great way to start the hardcourt season. Winning in Toronto is so important. You don't win Masters 1000s very often. It's a very important victory for me and I'm very happy."

Tsitsipas did well to serve out at love in the first game but Nadal took over as he broke back in each of his next two chances before sealing the opening set in 34 minutes when the world number 27 sent a routine forehand into the net.

The second set looked to be going much the same way until Tsitsipas mounted a late charge that briefly shifted momentum in his favour.

Nadal, serving for the match at 5-4 and having dropped only three points on serve the entire match up to that point, suddenly looked tight as Tsitsipas broke him and then held serve to pull within one game of levelling the contest.

"I got nervous, I played a terrible game," said Nadal after winning his first hardcourt Masters title since Cincinnati in 2013. "But that's how it is. You keep going. That's part of the sport.

"Everybody gets tight at some moments. Today for me was an important match and I just made a couple mistakes but the positive news is I played my best match without a doubt."

Nadal, much to the dismay of the many flag-waving Greek supporters in attendance, forced a tiebreak where he rallied back from a mini break and clinched the win with a crosscourt forehand winner for a record-extending 33rd Masters title.

The win made the 32-year-old Spaniard, who also won the Rogers Cup in 2005, 2008 and 2013, the fourth player in the professional era to win 80 titles, joining a club that includes Jimmy Connors (109), Roger Federer (98) and Ivan Lendl (94).

(Reporting by Frank Pingue; Editing by Clare Fallon and Pritha Sarkar)

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Tennis: Nadal claims record-extending 11th French Open title

PARIS --  Rafael Nadal was at his awe-inspiring best as he crushed Austrian Dominic Thiem to snatch a record-extending 11th French Open title with a 6-4 6-3 6-2 victory on Sunday.

The Spanish world No. 1 took his Roland Garros win-loss record to 86-2 as he captured his 17th Grand Slam title by demolishing the seventh seed, who was hoping to become the second Austrian to win at Roland Garros.

In 11 finals in Paris, Nadal has only lost six sets as he matched the all-time record of most singles titles won at the same Grand Slam event set by Margaret Court at the Australian Open during the 1960s and '70s.

Sunday's result marks the sixth consecutive Grand Slam won by either Nadal or 20-times major champion Roger Federer.

The muscular Spaniard had won all 10 of his previous Roland Garros finals and although Thiem was the only man to have beaten him on clay over the past two seasons, the Austrian never threatened the claycourt master on Sunday.

Nadal called on the trainer to get his forearms massaged twice in the final set but even that problem failed to improve Thiem's chances of emulating fellow Austrian Thomas Muster's 1995 triumph.

Nadal got off to a dream start, pocketing the first six points of the match as he broke Thiem in the second game to open up a 2-0 lead.

Thiem broke back immediately as he continued to go for his shots, and he saw off a break point to hold for 2-2.

FRUSTRATED THIEM

Nadal, however, turned the screw in the 10th game and Thiem seemed to grow nervous, sending a forehand long to hand his opponent the opening set.

The signs were already ominous for Thiem at that stage because in 112 best-of-five-set matches, Nadal had never lost after taking the first set.

The top seed went 2-0 ahead in the second set as he wore Thiem down in lung-burning rallies, leaving the Austrian screaming in frustration.

Thiem found some life and threatened with a break point in the seventh game, but Nadal broke his pace with a drop shot and finished it off with a passing shot, holding for 5-2.

He bagged the second set when Thiem sent a backhand long.

Thiem was still on the back foot in the third set, being forced to save four break points in the first game. He dropped serve in the third and Nadal held for 3-1 after taking a time out because of a sore hand.

He then had his forearm massaged at the changeover before resuming his demolition job. Nadal had another massage at 5-2 and he ended Thiem's ordeal on his fifth match point when the Austrian returned long.

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Nadal thrashes Kyrgios to win China Open title

World number one Rafael Nadal produced a ruthless performance to thrash Australian Nick Kyrgios 6-2 6-1 in the China Open final on Sunday for his 75th career singles title.

The 31-year-old was given a tough fight early on but Kyrgios's challenge faded after he lost his temper and was docked a penalty point at 2-5 in the first set.


Nadal's previous title at the tournament came 12 years ago.

"I had very tough draw here," Nadal, who saved match points in his opening round against Frenchman Lucas Pouille, said.

"I was lucky the first day saving the two match points but after that I think I played one of my best events of the year."

World number 19 Kyrgios matched Nadal early on, winning his opening two service games but became involved in a debate with umpire Mohamed Lahyani over a close line call against him.

"I can't play at 100 percent if that stuff happens -- and then you expect me not to be angry," Kyrgios told Lahyani.

He continued to argue the toss with the official who eventually awarded a penalty point against the Australian during the changeover when he trailed 2-5, meaning he began the eighth game already 0-15 behind.

Nadal was well in control by then and he raced into a 5-0 lead in the second set before Kyrgios slightly delayed the inevitable as the Spaniard sauntered to his 12th consecutive win.

"He played well. I played terrible. He's in great form. He just destroyed me today, so it was too good," Kyrgios, who struck 20 winners but 35 unforced errors, said.

"I put in a pretty good week, had some good wins. It's tough to find positives when you won three games in the final. But I guess there were positives. In the semi-final I played well, obviously beating Alex (Zverev)."

Kyrgios still has a chance of qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals as he is 15th in the Race standings with several tournaments remaining to close the gap on those in front.

Nadal, winner of the French Open and U.S. Open titles this year, has won six tournaments in a season for the first time since 2013 and strengthens his position at the top of the rankings ahead of Roger Federer.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Toby Davis and Christian Radnedge)

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Nadal and Federer team up to widen Europe's lead in Laver Cup

PRAGUE - Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal took care of business in their singles matches before teaming up in an eagerly anticipated doubles pairing to extend Europe's lead over players from the rest of the world in the inaugural Laver Cup on Saturday.

The new team tennis event, kicking off in Prague and moving to the United States next year, was a first chance for the world's top two players to play competitively side by side.


Putting aside a rivalry rekindled this season after Spaniard Nadal and Swiss Federer swept all four grand slams, the pair outlasted and outclassed Americans Sam Querrey and Jack Sock to win 6-4 1-6 1-0(10-5) in the weekend's headline match.

The doubles victory put Team Europe up 9-3 going into the final day when the four matches are each worth three points.

"We will always forever be rivals as long as we are active. And after this we will be rivals again," said Federer, ranked number two in the world and holder of 19 career grand slam titles to top-ranked Nadal's 16.

"But this was something very special. Knowing you can trust him in the big moments, seeing his decision-making, seeing his thought process, it was very interesting."

"It was definitely a different day to other days in my life," he added.

The Laver Cup, named after Australian tennis hero Rod Laver, is attempting to add new excitement to the sport in an already crowded calendar and was the brainchild of Federer and his sports management company Team8.

The Europeans are the clear favourites with five of the world's top seven players and have won five of the six singles matches in the first two days.

In Saturday's first match, Federer cruised through 6-4 6-2 against world number 16 Querrey.

Nadal then glided through his first set before the hard-hitting Sock fought back to force a third set, which under the event's rules is a rapid-fire, 10-point tiebreak.

Sock, who had teamed up with Australian Nick Kyrgios on Friday to take down Nadal and Czech Tomas Berdych to get Team World's only point on the opening day, again had to claw his way out of a hole.

But Nadal kept his nerve and ended the match with a winner at the net on the sleek, black hardcourt at O2 Arena to win 6-3 3-6 1-0(11-9).

In the evening session, Kyrgios defeated Berdych, taking late control to win 4-6 7-6(4) 1-0(10-6).

Nadal and Federer capped the evening with a thrilling win over Querrey and Sock, even after an early miscue almost caused Nadal to hit his partner as they both went for an overhead smash.

"We played with too much energy, so went for everything," Nadal said of the near-miss.

After Federer served to take the first set, the American pair flew through the second 6-1 with some big serves.

Two crushing winners at the net by Nadal gave him and Federer the momentum to take them easily through the tiebreak.

Despite questions over competitiveness most matches have been tight and players have shown their approval.

The Team World bench has stood out with players joking around, choreographing their celebrations after points and leading the crowd in the Mexican Wave.

(Editing by Clare Fallon)

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Nadal eyes sweet sixteen against Anderson

NEW YORK -- Rafael Nadal can wrap up a 16th Grand Slam title and third at the US Open on Sunday but has to find a way past the almost unbreakable spirit of South Africa's Kevin Anderson.

The 31-year-old Spaniard, who captured a 10th Roland Garros in June and was runner-up to Roger Federer at the Australian Open in January, is the overwhelming favourite.

He is the world number one playing in his 23rd Slam final and who won his first major as a 19-year-old at the sixth attempt.

Anderson, two weeks older, is playing in his first final at the Slams after a career stretching 32 majors.

Nadal's 73 career titles also dwarf Anderson's modest three.

But the Spaniard is wary of the challenge posed by 6ft 8in (2.02m) Anderson's deadly serve.

At the US Open, the South African has fired 114 aces and has been broken just five times in 108 service games.

He has also unleashed the tournament's third fastest serve of 137 mph (220.4km/h).

"It's a very tough one. He's a huge player with an unbelievable serve and he plays so well on these kinds of surfaces," said Nadal of a player he has known since he was 12 years old.

"I need to be ready for it. It is probably the most important match for me that remains this year, so I am going to try my best to play my best."

Nadal was champion in New York in 2010 and 2013 while finishing runner-up in 2011.

He was expected to have been pushed hard by 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro, who knocked out Federer in the last eight, when they met in Friday's semi-finals.

But after being out-fought and out-thought in the first set, Nadal switched up his tactics, had the weary Del Potro scrambling around the Arthur Ashe Stadium court and eventually claimed a 15th successive semi-final win at the Slams.

Victory on Sunday would take Nadal to within three majors of Federer's record of 19 and extend the iron grip of Nadal, Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka.

Since Federer won his first Wimbledon in 2003, an incredible 52 of the 57 Slams have been claimed by the five men.

- 'Greatest competitor' -

However, with former winners Djokovic, Murray and 2016 champion Wawrinka all not playing this year, opportunity has knocked for Anderson.

"We are accustomed to the few guys doing well, exceptional consistency. It's tough beating those guys because they have had so much experience at this level," said the world number 32.

"Even with them out, there have still been a lot of challenges I've had to face throughout this week. I have faced some of the best tennis players in the world."

Anderson is 0-4 against Nadal, losing their most recent clash in Barcelona this year as the Spaniard swept regally through the European clay court swing.

In those four meetings, the Johannesburg-born Florida-based Anderson has claimed just one set.

In the pair's only clash at the Slams, Nadal won in straight sets in the Australian Open fourth round in 2015.

"Nadal is one of the greatest competitors in sports, period. He's an amazing fighter," said Anderson, the first South African in the US Open final since Cliff Drysdale in 1965.

Johan Kriek remains the last Slam champion from the country, winning the 1981 Australian Open.

"Nadal really controls the court well," Anderson said. "I really need to be dominant and control proceedings as much as possible, because if you let him do it, it's very difficult."

Sunday will be also an emotional occasion for Nadal's coach since childhood, his uncle Toni, who will retire from life on the road at year's end to devote himself to his nephew's academy in Mallorca.

"He lives 300 meters from my house. I train at the academy. He is my uncle and he will continue to give me advice, but he has the right to do what makes him happy," said Nadal.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Healthy year bigger prize for Nadal than US Open crown

NEW YORK - World number one Rafael Nadal, nagged for years by knee injuries but enjoying a stellar season, already has a prize more treasured than another Grand Slam title -- a healthy campaign chasing them.

The 31-year-old Spaniard, who ousted Juan Martin del Potro on Friday to reach Sunday's US Open final, said the year he has enjoyed has brought a happiness no Slam crown can match after past seasons of misery unable to unleash his best efforts.

"For me, more than winning Grand Slams or not -- of course, if I win, I will be more happy -- but is about being healthy and feeling well and competitive," Nadal said. "That's already happened in the whole season. So that's the most important thing for me."


Nadal seeks his third US Open title after 2010 and 2013 and his 16th career major when he faces South African 28th seed Kevin Anderson.

"What is more important, more than winning Slams, is to be happy," Nadal said. "I am happy if I am healthy and happy if I feel competitive most of the weeks I'm playing and that's what happened this year.

"I am very happy to win Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid and Roland Garros. I am very happy to be in the final here in the US Open... and I am going to fight to win another title here. But still, a great season for me."

Nadal, who lost to Roger Federer in the Australian Open final but won his 10th French Open crown in June, has reached three Slam finals for the first season since 2011.

He hasn't won multiple Slams in a season since 2013, but he did thump del Potro for his 15th consecutive Slam semi-final triumph, the last loss coming to del Potro in the South American's 2009 US Open championship run.

"Important day for me. Important victory against a great opponent," Nadal said.

"I woke up today and said to myself, 'Today is the day that I'll play. I need to play with the right energy, and I need to increase the level of my game.'

"A lot of times I know that and it didn't happen, but today it happened."

Nadal said that sometimes the only way to get better is to win matches, victories building the final 20 to 30% he needs to maximize his potent game.

"You need to win matches," Nadal said. "If you practice well and you feel yourself well, you have more chances to win matches in the tournaments.

"But this 20, 30%, that's a big difference. You only make this winning matches, because it's about confidence. It's about things that when you are on court comes automatic.

"You don't have to think about what you doing in some important moments. Things comes straightaway without thinking that much and all these things happen only when you are in a good moment."

Few were better than his clay court run with two Spain titles, Monte Carlo and the capper at Roland Garros.

"Clay court season was unbelievable, so that helps a lot for my confidence, to be more calm and I'm here in the final," Nadal said.

"It's a great result for me already. I will now face a very tough opponent, probably the most important match for me that remains this year, so I gonna try my best to play my best."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Del Potro stuns Federer at US Open

NEW YORK -- (UPDATED) Juan Martin del Potro sensationally gatecrashed the US Open again on Wednesday, stunning five-champion Roger Federer and shattering hopes of a first New York showdown between the Swiss legend and Rafael Nadal.

The Argentine giant, who won his only Grand Slam title in the city in 2009 by beating Federer in the final after seeing off Nadal in the semis, triumphed 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (10/8), 6-4 in front of a spellbound Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd.


The 28-year-old will once again face world number one Nadal in the semi-finals on Friday, a stunning achievement for a man who had saved two match points to beat sixth seed Dominic Thiem in the last 16.

Nadal, who will keep his world number one status following third seed Federer's exit, had earlier defeated Russian teenager Andrey Rublev 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in just 97 minutes.

It will be a sixth US Open semi-final for Nadal and 26th at the majors while Del Potro, the 24th seed, will be playing in just his fourth last-four match at the Slams.

For 36-year-old Federer, it was a first Slam loss of 2017 after he had captured the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles to take his career tally to 19.

"I served really good. I hit my forehand as hard as I could and I played a great match. I deserved to win," said Del Potro who will be in his first Slam semi-final since Wimbledon in 2013.

"This feels like my home court. I played Rafa here in 2009 too. Hopefully I can get the same result on Friday."

Del Potro, whose career was almost ended last year after undergoing four wrist surgeries, wrapped up the first set thanks to a break in the 11th game secured with a blistering crosscourt pass.

Federer, who had a 16-5 winning record over Del Potro ahead of the quarter-final, levelled the tie after breaking for a 3-1 lead in the second.

However, the match turned in the third set tiebreak when Del Potro saved four set points before a weary and error-riddled Federer dropped serve again to trail 3-2 in the fourth.

Victory was Del Potro's eight minutes short of three hours with a deep forehand as Federer was left to survey the wreckage of 41 unforced errors.

"It's hard to explain, I didn't play that badly," said Federer.

"I just ran into a guy who was better on the bigger points. I don't deserve to still be in the tournament."

Nadal will take an 8-5 record over Del Potro into the semi-final where the winner will face either Kevin Anderson or Pablo Carreno Busta for the title.

"Juan Martin is a top player. When he's playing well, it's difficult to stop him. Probably the forehand is maybe the fastest on the tour," said Nadal, who is chasing his second major of the year to add to his French Open.

Rublev, bidding to be the youngest man in 17 years to reach the semi-finals, had no complaints over his loss to Nadal.

"He gave me a lesson: 1, 2, and 2," said the Russian, who lost 16 of the last 19 points of the opening set and finished with 43 unforced errors.

- All American -

The women's semi-finals will be an all-American affair after CoCo Vandeweghe and Madison Keys set-up a last-four duel.

Thursday's other tie will see seven-time major champion Venus Williams face Sloane Stephens.

American 20th seed Vandeweghe claimed a 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 win over the Czech Republic's Karolina Pliskova, whose brief eight-week stay as world number one ended with Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza taking over.

Vandeweghe's victory means that the US Open will have an all-American semi-final line-up for the first time since 1981 after Keys defeated Estonian qualifier Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 6-3.

"I won the juniors here when I was 16 and dreamed of playing on the real stage," said 25-year-old Vandeweghe, who also made the semi-finals at the Australian Open, beating then-world number one Angelique Kerber in the process.

The last time four US women were in the semis was 36 years ago when eventual champion Tracy Austin, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Barbara Potter all made it.

Keys, the 15th seed, will be playing in her second Slam semi-final after the 2015 Australian Open.

"It means the world to me," said Keys, who underwent wrist surgery earlier this season.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Nadal delighted at return to No. 1, sorry Federer out

CINCINNATI -- Rafael Nadal was thrilled Monday to learn he would return to world number one for the first time in three years but sorry it came because Roger Federer withdrew from this week's ATP Cincinnati Masters tournament.

Third-ranked Federer said he injured his back in Montreal, where he lost in Sunday's final to Germany's Alexander Zverev in a key hardcourt tuneup for the US Open.

Federer, this year's Wimbledon and Australian Open champion, was the only player who could have denied second-ranked French Open champion Nadal the top spot in next Monday's rankings.

"For me to be in that position is something very special," Nadal said. "I have the passion and love for the game. That's why I'm able to be back in that position again."

It's the first time Nadal has been number one since July of 2014.

The 31-year-old Spaniard, who won his 15th Grand Slam title this year at Roland Garros, will overtake Britain's top-ranked Andy Murray, who withdrew from Montreal and Cincinnati with a hip injury.

Nadal, who has spent 141 total weeks in the top spot, has struggled with knee injuries since first becoming world number one in August 2008 after a Cincinnati semi-final run. He admitted doubting he could ever regain the top spot after so many years.

"If you don't have doubts, it's because you are very arrogant and I'm not very arrogant," Nadal said. "There's a young generation up and coming. It's very tough to come back and be number one."

Nadal knows that while he will claim the upper hand no matter how he fares this week, the year's final Grand Slam event starting in New York on August 28 will have a major role to play in the fight with Federer for number one.

"Roger and I are having great seasons," Nadal said. "One of us will have the chance to have that position for more weeks. I'm going to try and do my best this week and see what happens."

Federer, a seven-time champion on the Cincinnati hardcourts, apologized but said he needed to rest with the US Open so near.

"I am very sorry to pull out of the Western and Southern Open as I always enjoy playing," Federer said. "Cincinnati has some of the best fans in the world and I am sorry I will miss them.

"Unfortunately, I tweaked my back in Montreal and I need to rest this week."

Federer was replaced in the draw by Italian 85th-ranked lucky loser Thomas Fabbiano, who will enjoy a first-round bye.

Nadal said he was sorry to see Federer join the list of players absent this week, which includes Murray, Serbia's Novak Djokovic, Japan's Kei Nishikori and Swiss Stan Wawrinka.

"It's bad news for Roger he's not playing," Nadal said. "I'm sorry for all of them. I hope they have good recovery. We need to see them back for the sport."

Nadal has been forced to alter training and event schedules more as he has gotten older.

"Of course we're not 20 years old any more. We're not playing all the weeks. That's part of the sport. I skip many more events than the rest of my competitors."

- Zverev 'unbelievable' -

Nadal, ousted in the third round last week at Montreal, praised Zverev, who won his fifth ATP title at Montreal on Sunday and swapped spots with Austrian Dominic Thiem to reach a career-high seventh in this week's rankings.

"You are talking about an unbelievable player. And Dominic is right there too," Nadal said, declining to offer either advice.

"Better not. I cannot give many advices. Everybody has to learn from their own mistakes. You need to do your own way and experience it for yourself."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Nadal eyes number one in Montreal with Murray sidelined

MONTREAL, Canada -- Rafael Nadal says he'll focus on the foes in front of him at the ATP Montreal Masters this week, and not on his chance to return to number one in the world.

A semi-final run in Montreal would see the Spaniard supplant Britain's Andy Murray atop the rankings.

"I don't even think about that now," Nadal said of number one. "I'm trying to have the right preparation now and that's it.

"I'm going to keep trying to play the way I did in the first part of the season, so if I'm able to make that happen, I hope to have a chance to do well."

The top seed is expected to open his campaign for a fourth Canadian title on Wednesday with a second-round meeting against either Croatian Borna Coric or Russian lucky loser Mikhail Youzhny.

Murray is among the notable absentees from this key US Open tuneup. Novak Djokovic is taking off the rest of the season to rehab an elbow injury and US Open champion Stan Wawrinka has ended his 2017 campaign with a knee problem.

Murray is trying to recover from a nagging hip injury in time for the final Grand Slam of the season that starts later this month in Flushing Meadows.

Nadal claimed his 10th French Open title this year but bowed out in the fourth round at Wimbledon -- his fifth exit before the quarter-finals in his last five appearances at the All England Club.

Roger Federer, who seized his 19th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, is also slated to open on Wednesday.

Former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina was due to open the night session against 14th-seeded American John Isner.

Isner won back-to-back titles in Newport and Atlanta in July before withdrawing from last week's tournament in Washington with knee trouble.

Kyrgios cruises

In early matches on Monday, Australia's Nick Kyrgios romped past Serbian Viktor Troicki 6-1, 6-2.

Kyrgios, seeded 16th, had retired from his three previous matches -- at Queen's Club, Wimbledon and Washington.

He was battling a left hip injury when he pulled out of the two grass court events in London, while in Washington last week he was booed off the court when he quit against 106th-ranked American Tennys Sandgren with a right shoulder injury.

Kyrgios showed no sign of any physical problems on Monday, but then he was barely tested in the 51-minute win against Troicki, never facing a break point. He broke Troicki twice in each set and served eight aces to the Serb's two.

Kyrgios said he's still feeling the injuries, but hopes to play through them with the US Open approaching.

“I just have to keep doing the right things," he said. "I'm getting a lot of treatment, trying to do my rehab every day. I'm doing everything I can."

France's Gael Monfils shook off a slow start to beat American Steve Johnson 2-6, 7-6 (7/1), 6-1.

France's Benoit Paire also advanced, downing American Donald Young 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, but rising French star Lucas Pouille fell 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (10/8) to American Jared Donaldson.

Monfils was broken twice in a sluggish first set, but gradually found his range, firing 11 aces and saving the only other two break points he faced in the one-hour, 38-minute victory.

"At 4-3 in the second set I started putting the ball in the court. I was able to move better," said Monfils who had his knees taped during the second set. "I was able to make it more difficult for him. From then on, I was able to get some more opportunities and I was able to make him have some doubts."

source: news.abs-cbn.com
 

Tennis: Red-hot Nadal rolls over American Young

LONDON -- Rafael Nadal continued his imperious run of form as he swept aside American Donald Young, 6-4 6-2 7-5, in the Wimbledon second round on Wednesday.

The two-times champion was rarely troubled by an opponent ranked 43rd in the world who chose to slug it out from the back of the court against the supreme Spanish baseliner.

The fourth seed, who has yet to drop a set in the tournament, will face Karen Khachanov in the third round. The 21-year-old Russian is tipped to be a future winner of grand slams.

"It might look easy at this moment in our sport, because there are three players that won 18, 15, and 12," he said, referring to Roger Federer, himself and Novak Djokovic.

"But it not a very long time ago when (Pete) Sampras had 14, and it looked like nobody was going to have the chance to increase that number," Nadal added.

"Karen is a great player, he has chances to win a lot. But then there are other good players out there."

   
On current form, few people would bet against Nadal.

The 31-year-old, fresh from winning his 10th French Open title last month, was roared on by the crowd and he seemed to be able to produce winners at will with his swashbuckling forehand.

Young, 27, sought to mix up his play in the third set by rushing the net and he broke the Spaniard's serve. But in the end there was nothing he could do to prevent the Nadal juggernaut rolling on.

As Nadal left Center Court, he was slightly taken aback when a fan asked him to sign a prosthetic leg, but he politely agreed.

Asked whether that was the strangest thing he had autographed, he chuckled: "Probably not."

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Nadal first to qualify for ATP World Tour Finals

Rafael Nadal has become the first player to book his place at the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London in November after the Spaniard won a record 10th French Open title in Paris on Sunday.

Nadal has claimed four titles on the tour this year, winning 46 matches and losing just six in a stellar 2017.

"I've had a great season so far and I am happy to have already qualified for London," the Spaniard told the ATP website. "I could not play last year because of injury so I look forward to returning in November."


Nadal has never won the event, but finished runner-up in 2010 and 2013, losing out to Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, respectively.

The ATP World Tour Finals, which features the world's top eight singles players and top eight doubles pairs, will be held at London's O2 Arena from Nov. 12-19.

Federer is next in line to qualify for the event, for which he is a near certainty after winning the Australian Open earlier this year.

The Swiss will return to action in Stuttgart this week after sitting out the entire claycourt season to prepare for Wimbledon.

Young Austrian Dominic Thiem is third in the ATP race to London, followed by Stan Wawrinka, Alexander Zverev, Djokovic, world number one Andy Murray, and Belgium's David Goffin.

Players earn their place at the season finale by finishing in the top eight of the race to London standings on Nov. 6, when the World Tour regular season concludes after the Paris Masters.

The race is a calendar-year points race that starts at the beginning of each season in the first week of January.

(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly and Alison Williams)

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Tennis: Nine is fine for Nadal? Really?

PARIS - Rafa Nadal was not fooling anyone when, after thrashing elegant Austrian Dominic Thiem in the French Open semi-finals on Friday, he said nine French Open titles was enough.

The record books might not interest the 31-year-old Mallorcan, but he will have to be dragged away screaming and kicking before giving up the chance to move into double figures and land La Decima against Stan Wawrinka on Sunday.

Nadal, often written off as a spent force since winning the last of his 14 grand slam titles here three years ago, is secretly salivating at the prospect of ruling Roland Garros again after watching Wawrinka and then Novak Djokovic usurp him.

Victory on Sunday would see Nadal become the first player to win the same grand slam 10 times in the modern era.

After dropping only 29 games en route to a 10th final, only a brave man would bet against him.

"I think I don't need to make more history, no? It's enough. Nine are more than good," Nadal, whose resurgence this year began when he reached the Australian Open final against Roger Federer, losing an epic, told reporters.

"Nine or 10, it's only 10 percent more! It's true 10 is a beautiful number, but actually my favourite is nine. But for sure if it becomes 10, it will be my favourite.

"In general, to be in the final again here is probably the most important event in my career."

Nadal's 6-3 6-4 6-0 defeat of Thiem means he will be playing his 22nd grand slam final on Sunday, putting himself second on the all-time list behind Federer who is out on his own with 28.

Yet he describes himself as "not very special" -- another statement that was never going to wash, coming from the greatest claycourt tennis player of all time.

"Nine is probably difficult," he said. "It is obvious that you need to combine a lot of things, and a lot of things have to come together to have that record. You need to be lucky, you need to play well, you need to be healthy for two weeks."

"I am not the right one to say, but to play 10 finals here is something difficult."

Sunday's final will be Nadal's first grand slam clash with the Wawrinka since the Swiss beat him to win his first major at the 2014 Australian Open -- a match in which Nadal struggled with physical problems.

Asked if it was a chance to right a wrong, Nadal said: "Revenge is not part of my vocab. The best player will win again. He's in the final. It's the toughest opponent possible." (Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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Djokovic fends off Nadal-slayer Verdasco

MELBOURNE - Novak Djokovic may have cursed the draw for throwing up Fernando Verdasco as the first opponent in his Australian Open defense on Tuesday but the tough match-up against the Spanish giant-killer ultimately proved a blessing in disguise.

The Serb launched his bid for a record seventh title at Melbourne Park with an impressive 6-1 7-6(4) 6-2 win over the man who knocked Rafa Nadal out in the first round of last year's tournament.

Djokovic was forced to save five match points to beat Verdasco at the recent Qatar Open and was broken twice during a thrilling second set under the lights of Rod Laver Arena.

But the second seed defended brilliantly to defuse the veteran lefthander's power game and closed out the two-hour 20-minute clash.

   
"I knew that winning the second set would be crucial because I definitely didn't want to give him wings," Djokovic told reporters after setting up a second round clash against Uzbek Denis Istomin.

"I didn't want to have him start swinging at the ball, as he knows.

"I don't know how he felt about the draw. But I personally think that I could have drawn... an easier player. But nothing is easy obviously.

"From one perspective it was good that I got to have the very tough first-round match, because it made me prepare better and kind of approach this match and the tournament with the right intensity right from the blocks, right from the first point."

Djokovic has owned Melbourne Park for almost a decade and his continued reign seemed assured as he roared to a 5-0 lead in the first set.

Verdasco felled Nadal in five sets last year by swinging at every ball and his aggression was rewarded when he broke Djokovic twice early in the second.

But he was furious with himself for letting the chances slip, cursing in Spanish and bouncing his racket off the court in disgust.

He double-faulted at 4-4 to give Djokovic two break points but saved them both before holding serve, leaving the Serb yelling out his own frustrations from his chair at the change of ends.

It took a moment of Verdasco madness to open the door, the Spaniard wafting a sliced backhand well beyond the baseline to concede two set points.

Djokovic wrapped up the tiebreak with a monster serve and sprinted away in the third set.

Beaten emphatically in a string of baseline skirmishes, Verdasco fell behind 4-1 and he threw his racket at his chair.

It felt more like a towel being tossed into a ring as there was no stopping Djokovic in full flight.

"It feels like home," said the Serb on the court where he won his sixth Australian Open title a year ago.

"Already in the last couple of weeks, I was really eager to come back to the court and get into the competitive mode, just be back in the office."

(Reporting by Ian Ransom,; Editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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