Defending champion Novak Djokovic dropped just two games in a comprehensive defeat of France's Nicolas Mahut at the Australia Open on Saturday.
The ATP World Tour Finals event was a colossal letdown on many fronts, replete with injuries, dubious effort and the crystal-clear messages from Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal that the men's Tour simply runs too long. None of that seemed particularly surprising. The overriding story, from this viewpoint, was a Roger Federer masterpiece recalling the best of Pete Sampras.
World number one Novak Djokovic dismissed Ryan Harrison 6-2 6-3 to advance into the third round of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.
World No. 1 Rafael Nadal will face longtime rival Roger Federer in the semifinals of the Madrid Masters on Saturday in a rematch of the event's past two title matches.
1. Loving Cup: For as much space, pixels and air time is devoted to "fixing" the Davis Cup, last weekend we got a taste of all that's right about the event. Before 16,000 raucous fans in Belgrade, Serbia won the country's first championship, beating France, 3-2. Viktor Troicki played hero, taking down Michael Llodra in the winner-take-all match on Sunday evening. But the MVP was Novak Djokovic, who played near-flawless tennis under near-unfathomable pressure. If you happened to catch the Serbian celebration (including Janko Tipsarevic's alcohol-fueled tweets late into the night), read of the significance -- "the greatest moment in the country's history" according to more than a few accounts -- or see the French agony, you don't doubt the relevance of the competition.
Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra came from two sets down to beat Serbia's Nemad Zimonjic and Viktor Troicki in a five-set thriller to give France a 2-1 lead in the Davis Cup final on Saturday.
Viktor Troicki brushed aside Michael Llodra in straight sets in the deciding singles rubber as Serbia won the Davis Cup final for the first time with a 3-2 win over nine-time champions France on Sunday.
1. Rockin' Robin: Rafael Nadal may own Paris, But Robin Soderling is undertaking a fine land grab of his own. The hard-hitting Swede has, of course, reached the Roland Garros final in both 2009 and '10. And he added to his Gallic success last weekend, marrying his flat, pace-laced game on the greased lightning courts of Bercy to his first TMS/ATP 1000 series title. Soderling's run included a dramatic semifinal win over Michael Llodra -- in which he salvaged match points -- and a demolition of Gael Monfils in the final. What did Soderling get out of the deal? Nearly $400,000, a snazzy new ranking of No. 4, a ration of momentum heading into the London year-end event ... and the ugliest trophy known to man.
Gael Monfils saved five match points before beating top seed Roger Federer 7-6 6-7 7-6 to reach the final of the Paris Masters on Saturday.
World No. 2 Roger Federer reached the semifinals of the Paris Masters for the first time in his long and illustrious career with a straight-sets victory over Austria's Jurgen Melzer on Friday.
American Andy Roddick clinched the eighth and final place for the ATP World Tour Finals on Thursday, but world No. 3 Novak Djokovic suffered a setback in his preparations for the season-ending event.
France have secured their place in the Davis Cup final after taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in their semi-final against Argentina in Lyon on Saturday.
France are one victory away from reaching the Davis Cup final after winning both opening singles rubbers against Argentina in Lyon on Friday.
The U.S. Open is often a barometer of American tennis and its prospects for the future, but appearances can be deceiving. Ryan Harrison struck just about everyone as the real thing, a clever and imaginative kid who has every right to think big. The women's side -- and that's two years running -- has the look of a mirage.
An irate Andy Roddick crashed out of his home grand slam at Flushing Meadows, New York after suffering a second-round defeat to Serb Janko Tipsarevic.
Roger Federer cruised into the quarterfinals of the Toronto Masters tournament with a 7-6 6-3 win over Frenchman Michael Llodra on Thursday.
France knocked defending champions Spain out of the Davis Cup in their quarterfinal match at Clermont Ferrand on Saturday.
Defending champions Spain are on the verge of crashing out of the Davis Cup as France took a shock 2-0 advantage in their quarterfinal clash in Clermont Ferrand.
The occasion cries out for an encore. Who wouldn't want to see Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on Centre Court in the Wimbledon final, a reprise of the greatest match ever played?
Top seed Roger Federer shrugged off the loss of the second set to beat Serbian qualifier Ilija Bozoljack 6-3 6-7 6-4 7-6 to reach the third round at Wimbledon.
Justine Henin boosted her hopes of a first Wimbledon title by clinching victory in her final grass warm-up match at the UNICEF Open in the Netherlands on Saturday.
It was shortly after the conclusion of the 2005 Davis Cup, won by Croatia on the strength of Ivan Ljubicic's 11-1 record, when someone asked Roger Federer about the tall, bald fellow at the center of things. "He's very secure, you know," Federer said. "He doesn't really look like he's going to panic."
Croatian Marin Cilic maintained his impressive run of form this season by reaching the second round of the Dubai Championship on Tuesday.
1. Ring in the old: It was a good week for players in need in strong results. Some of you wondered why Maria Sharapova would take a pass on the well-paying Dubai event to enter Memphis. Perhaps the answer: to bolster her confidence and get in some matches and pick up some appearance-fee bounty in the process. She did all three at the Regions Morgan Keegan event, winning her first title of 2010. Other highlights from the bank of the Mississippi: Ernests Gulbis, a top 10 prospect not long ago, put together some nice wins and reached the semis. Nicole Vaidisova, whose career has been in the abyss, won a main draw match for the first time in a long time. In Dubai, Venus Williams, perhaps still stung by a disappointing loss in the Aussie Open quarters, won her 42nd career title, beating Victoria Azarenka in the finals. Don't count her out yet. Michael Llodra won both the singles and doubles in Marseille. David Nalbandian returned in Buenos Aires. Juan Carlos Ferrero, suddenly resurgent,
Fourth seed Novak Djokovic is through to the second round of the men's singles at Roland Garros, after opponent Nicolas Lapentti was forced to retire with a left ankle injury.
Fourth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated fellow-Frenchman Michael Llodra in straight sets to win the Marseille Open tournament on Sunday.
There will be an all-French climax to the Marseille Open on Sunday after the top two seeds, Novak Djokovic and Gilles Simon, were surprisingly beaten in straight sets in Saturday's semifinals.
Top seed Novak Djokovic produced his best performance of the week in beating Mischa Zverev in straight sets to reach the semifinals of the Marseille Open.
Top-seeded Novak Djokovic marked his return to tournament action with a 7-6 6-4 victory over Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in the first round of the Marseille Open on Wednesday.
Second seed Andy Murray battled his way into the quarterfinals of the ABN AMRO tournament in Rotterdam, but the world number four was far from his best as he struggled to beat Italian Andreas Seppi on Thursday.
Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal was made to fight through three sets on Wednesday before beating Italian Simone Bolelli 4-6 6-2 7-5 to reach the second round of the Rotterdam Open.
Argentine David Nalbandian has won the Sydney International title after defeating Finn Jarkko Nieminen in Saturday's final.
World number one Rafael Nadal wasted little time in seeing off Ryler DeHeart 6-1 6-2 6-4 to reach the third round of the U.S. Open on Thursday night.
SI.com's Jon Wertheim breaks down the men's and women's seeds at Wimbledon. Read on for the top first-round matchups, dark horses to keep an eye on and his predicted winners.
Rafael Nadal and Noval Djokovic continued their impressive form at Roland Garros by cruising into the last eight of the French Open men's singles with straight sets victories.
Two-time former champion Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain rallied to beat Michael Llodra of France 6-7 6-1 6-1 in the opening round of the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco on Monday.
Russia and Argentina took 2-1 leads in the Davis Cup quarterfinals on Saturday while Spain wrapped up victory over Germany by taking an unassailable 3-0 lead over Germany and France cut into the United States' lead by claiming a shock doubles win.
Robin Soderling advanced to his second consecutive ATP final on Saturday when he beat Radek Stepanek 7-6 (2) 6-3 in the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships.
Michael Llodra of France won the Rotterdam Open title by defeating Swede Robin Soderling 6-7 6-3 7-6 in Sunday's final.
Michael Llodra continues his busy year by bidding for a second title of the season when he faces Robin Soderling in the final of the Rotterdam Open on Sunday.
World number 24 Ivo Karlovic booked his place in the semifinals of the ABN AMRO tournament in Rotterdam on Friday with a 6-3 6-1 victory over German qualifier Mischa Zverev.
Robin Soderling of Sweden upset eighth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis 6-3 3-6 6-4 Tuesday to advance to the second round of the ABN Amro tournament.
Former world number one Gustavo Kuerten bowed out in the first round of his farewell tournament on home soil, beaten by Argentina's Carlos Berlocq in the Brazil Open.
Tennis fans will get a glimpse of the future of the men's game when rising Serbian star Novak Djokovic takes on French surprise package Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final of the Australian Open on Sunday.
Russia took a 2-1 lead over France when Igor Andreev and Nikolay Davydenko beat Sebastien Grosjean and Michael Llodra 3-6 7-5 6-3 3-6 6-3 in the doubles on Saturday to give the holders the edge in their Davis Cup world group quarterfinal in Moscow.
Croatia are clinging on to the Davis Cup by their fingertips after losing a pivotal doubles rubber in the quarterfinal tie with Argentina in Zagreb on Saturday.
Russia's Nikolay Davydenko and Igor Andreev crushed their French opponents to clinch a 3-2 victory in the Davis Cup quarterfinal in Moscow.
Tuesday results at Wimbledon (seeds in bold)
Croatian Mario Ancic underlined his grasscourt credentials when he beat defending champion Michael Llodra 7-5 6-4 to win the Ordina Open in Den Bosch on Sunday.
Czech Klara Koukalova recovered from a poor start to beat compatriot Lucie Safarova 3-6 6-2 6-2 in the final of the Ordina Open in Den Bosch , to collect her first WTA Tour title.
Top seed Tommy Robredo and second-seeded Guillermo Coria both crashed to straight sets defeat in the second round of the Ordina Open on Wednesday.
French Open finalists Gaston Gaudio and Guillermo Coria gave title favorites Argentina a commanding start to the World Team Cup with a 2-1 victory over France on Monday.
Briton Greg Rusedski has pulled out of his second round match at the Marseille Open with a rib injury, sending qualifier Sebastien De Chaunac into the last eight.
Slovakia's Karol Beck reached the final of the St Petersburg Open by beating French seventh seed Michael Llodra 6-4 2-6 6-1.
Seventh-seeded Michael Llodra of France shocked top seed Marat Safin 6-4, 6-1 as the Russian's game fell apart following a disputed line call in their quarterfinal at the St. Petersburg Open.
Andre Agassi has marched into the Stockholm Open semi-finals, beating Spanish eighth seed Fernando Verdasco 7-6 6-2.
Andre Agassi posted his second consecutive straight-set win, advancing to the quarterfinals of the euro643,750 ($822,000) Stockholm Open on Thursday.
Champion Andy Roddick continued his steamroller progress at the U.S. Open on Sunday with a 6-1 6-3 6-3 victory over Argentine Guillermo Canas in the third round.
Lleyton Hewitt continued his U.S. Open preparations with a 6-1 6-4 win over Michael Llodra en route to the quarterfinals of the ATP Long Island Cup.
France's Michael Llodra beat top seed Guillermo Coria of Argentina 6-3, 6-4 to win the Ordina Open in Den Bosch and claim his first ATP tournament victory.
Tim Henman survived a match point and battled back from two sets down against Michael Llodra to reach the quarterfinals of the French Open for the first time.
Michael Llodra and Fabrice Santoro performed an impromptu striptease after retaining the men's doubles title at the Australian Open on Saturday.
France Davis Cup captain Guy Forget has dropped long serving doubles specialist Fabrice Santoro for next month's Davis Cup World Group tie with Croatia.
Australian Mark Philippoussis won the battle of the big servers as he saw off a spirited challenge from embattled Briton Greg Rusedski in the Sydney International on Wednesday.
Frenchman Nicolas Escude capped his return from injury by beating Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 6-3 7-6 to win tennis' Qatar Masters.
Tim Henman's 10-match winning streak was ended in the semifinals of the Qatar Open by unseeded Croatian Ivan Ljubicic.
Wayne Ferreira failed to live up to his top seed billing at the Australian hardcourt championships, crashing out in the first round to Todd Reid.
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