World number one Rafael Nadal remains on course for a record-equaling sixth French Open crown after beating Robin Soderling in a re-run of the 2010 final.
The women's tour may be in a chaotic stage just now, with so many top players either injured or off-form, but the men's draw in this week's Madrid event has the look of a major. It's easy to project a Rafael Nadal-Novak Djokovic final, and that's definitely what everyone wants to see, but consider the other storylines:
Top seed Rafael Nadal and second seed Novak Djokovic remain on course for a mouth-watering Madrid Masters final showdown after both players extended their impressive winning runs on Wednesday.
Novak Djokovic is through to the last 16 of the Sony Ericsson Masters in Miami, thrashing James Blake in straight sets to win his 20th consecutive ATP Tour match.
World No. 1 Rafael Nadal has continued his impressive run of form at Indian Wells with a straight-sets third-round victory over American qualifier Ryan Sweeting.
Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic upset Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters to win the Paris Open with a 6-4 6-3 victory in Sunday's final.
Rafael Nadal maintained his bid to become the first man since Rod Laver to hold all four grand slam titles on Monday with a straight-sets dismissal of Croatia's Marian Cilic in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Robin Soderling will be hoping to improve on a dismal record at the Australian Open next week after an impressive display saw him clinch the Brisbane International title in Queensland, Australia.
Not only is tennis' offseason farcically scant; we don't exactly ease into the campaign. Here it is, the first week of January, and -- apart from being a week away from commencing a Slam -- most name players were in action. We caution reading too much into one week of play, especially the first week back from vacation. Still, there were some curious results.
Roger Federer became the first tennis player to win the Qatar Open three times as he ended the reign of Nikolay Davydenko in Saturday's final.
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will resume their rivalry on the opening day of 2011 after winning through to the final of an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi.
World No. 2 Roger Federer cruised into the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals on Thursday with his third successive win in London this week.
So they are expanding the off season to seven weeks? It is not as though the top players actually need a long break such as this one. After all, they find time to play lucrative exhibitions in December and come back stronger than ever in January. Am I nuts? --JJ Johnson, Allentown, Pa.
Three-time ATP World Tour Finals champion Boris Becker predicted on Monday that world number two Roger Federer will win the season-ending contest between the men's top eight players, which takes place at the 02 Arena in London this week. After winning the Australian Open in January, the 16-time Grand Slam champion has had a disappointing season by his usual standards, failing to reach the final stage of the three other majors. But former world number one Becker has picked the Swiss to finish the year in style with victory at the event, and be crowned year-end champion. Federer has already had one win over seventh-ranked David Ferrer in the round-robin competition, and will face Great Britain's Andy Murray on Tuesday and Sweden's Robin Soderling on Thursday, before potentially progressing to the semifinal stage. "He is a proud man, he really wants to end the year on a high and wants to show [world number one Rafael] Nadal that he is still going to be around for next
Roger Federer recorded a resounding 6-4 6-2 win over Britain's Andy Murray in their Group B match at the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena in London on Tuesday.
Roger Federer enjoyed a comfortable 6-1 6-4 victory over David Ferrer to join Andy Murray at the top of Group B at the ATP World Tour Finals at London's O2 Arena on Sunday evening.
World number one Rafael Nadal has been drawn to play Novak Djokovic, Tomas Berdych and Andy Roddick in the group stage of the ATP World Tour Finals in London.
As always, it was a matter of style. Gael Monfils plays to win, naturally, but he also plays to entertain, to dazzle, to perform in the truest sense. As much as Robin Soderling needed a victory to join the list of this year's significant performances, the Paris Masters was mostly about Monfils, who stormed past Fernando Verdasco, Andy Murray and then Roger Federer in his march to the finals.
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.
Sweden's Robin Soderling swept aside home favorite Gael Monfils to win the Paris Masters title with a 6-1 7-6 victory in Sunday's final.
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.
Sweden's Robin Soderling put on an impressive performance by crushing Gael Monfils of France to reach the semifinals of the Valencia Open on Friday.
Second seed Robin Soderling eased into the quarterfinal of the Valencia Open on Thursday with a straight sets victory over Spain's Daniel Gimeno-Traver.
World number one Rafael Nadal has been knocked out of the Shanghai Masters after suffering a shock 6-1 3-6 6-3 defeat to Jurgen Melzer in the third round on Thursday.
US Open champion Kim Clijsters has been forced to pull out of next month's China Open because of a foot infection.
Top seed Rafael Nadal made short work of fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco on Thursday to advance to the semifinals of the U.S. Open with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 win.
NEW YORK -- Winds from the northwest, as fierce as a Rafael Nadal forehand, registered gusts as high as 31 mph. Napkins soared above the court as if they were butterflies, and so chilly was the air at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday night that much of the gentry was forced to pile blue blankets over the latest fashions from Ralph Lauren and Prada Sport.
Five time champion Roger Federer progressed to the second round of the U.S. Open on Monday night, after a straight sets win over Argentina's Brian Dabul.
Six-time champion Roger Federer has failed to make the title match at Wimbledon for the first time since 2002 after being dumped out in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
An interesting intellectual exercise for you and your readers. Transfer the name and results of Rafael Nadal over the past 365 days to Dinara Safina, and then do likewise with Roger Federer and Serena Williams. Who is now your true world No. 1? Safina (Nadal) doesn't even play Wimbledon (the computer doesn't care that its due to injury), doesn't even win a title of any kind, large or small, for an entire year! Then she hits the clay courts of Europe, wins three warm-up tournaments and then the French, and is catapulted to the top of the tennis world. Serena (Federer), her No. 2 challenger meanwhile, is defending Wimbledon AND Australian Open champion, U.S. Open finalist and French Open quarterfinalist, her worst slam result of the past year. Add other major tournament titles like Cincinnati, and she looks to be your true No. 1. Of course, Nadal has quickly produced a resume that has G.O.A.T. potential, while Safina falls far short, but the computer only reflects the results of the
SI.com caught up with Sports Illustrated senior writer Jon Wertheim after Rafael Nadal defeated Robin Soderling in the French Open men's singles final, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.
Scattered thoughts after a weirdly endearing French Open:
Rafael Nadal will get the chance to avenge his shock defeat at the French Open to Robin Soderling last year when the two meet in Sunday's final in Paris.
PARIS -- For five years, the world has been waiting for it to come into focus, the face of the man who could break the stranglehold No. 1 Roger Federer and No. 2 Rafael Nadal have on the men's game. It almost looked like Novak Djokovic for a while, then Juan Martin del Potro, then Andy Murray, but always the picture went blurry again.
SI.com caught up with Sports Illustrated senior writer Jon Wertheim after Robin Soderling defeated Roger Federer in the French Open quarterfinals, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.
Sweden's Robin Soderling ended world number one Roger Federer's defense of his French Open crown after a rain-affected four-set victory at Roland Garros.
Top seed and defending champion Roger Federer cruised into the quarterfinals of the French Open with a ruthless dispatch of Swiss compatriot Stanislav Wawrinka in Paris on Sunday.
Fifth seed Robin Soderling showed that he is one of the favorites for overall victory at Roland Garros, dropping just five games one his way to a comfortable straight sets win on Sunday.
Fernando Verdasco beat Swede Robin Soderling 6-3 4-6 6-3 to claim the Barcelona Open crown on Sunday and ensure a Spanish winner of the clay court tournament for the eighth successive year.
Fernando Verdasco denied fellow Spaniard David Ferrer a third successive final appearance at the Barcelona Open after coming from behind to win a tense last-four clash on Saturday.
World No. 4 Andy Murray has failed in his bid to win his first Indian Wells Masters title after suffering a surprise quarterfinal defeat to Robin Soderling on Friday.
Robin Soderling shrugged off his poor form this season to win the ATP tournament in Rotterdam as final opponent Mikhail Youzhny was forced to retire hurt on Sunday.
World No. 2 Novak Djokovic suffered a shock defeat by sixth seed Mikhail Youzhny in the semifinals of the World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam on Saturday.
Robin Soderling came from behind to earn his first victory of 2010 on Monday, defeating Florent Serra 4-6 6-4 6-1 in the first round of the World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam.
World No. 1 Roger Federer battled back from losing his first set of the decade's opening Grand Slam tennis tournament on Tuesday to book a place in the second round of the Australian Open.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal made light work of their opening matches on the 2010 ATP Tour circuit on Tuesday, but a man who has beaten the world's top two tennis players suffered an embarrassing defeat.
World No. 2 Rafael Nadal overcame last year's nemesis Robin Soderling to win the World Tennis Championship exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Roger Federer made a losing start to his 2010 campaign as he was beaten in three sets by Swede Robin Soderling at a high-profile exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi on New Year's Day.
Nikolay Davydenko clinched the last semifinal berth at the ATP World Tour Finals as the Russian defeated Robin Soderling 7-6 4-6 6-3 on Friday.
Group B outsider Robin Soderling became the first player to reach the semifinals of the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals on Wednesday night.
Robin Soderling blew Group B at the ATP Tour Finals in London wide open with a shock straight sets victory over world number two Rafael Nadal on Monday.
Roger Federer will face U.S. Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro, home hope Andy Murray and Spain's Fernando Verdasco in the tougher of the two round robin groups for the ATP World Tour finals in London next week.
Nikolay Daydenko boosted his chances of qualifying for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London with victory in his opening match at the Paris Masters on Tuesday.
Fourth seed Novak Djokovic cruised to a fourth-round victory over 15th seed Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic, winning 6-1 6-3 6-3 at the U.S. Open.
Australia's Lleyton Hewitt saved two match points in a second-set tie-break before beating Sweden's Robin Soderling 3-6 7-6 6-4 to reach the second round of the Cincinnati Masters.
Andy Murray survived a five-set thriller on Monday to defeat Stanislas Wawrinka and advance to the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
Second seed Roger Federer is through to the last 16 of the men's singles at Wimbledon, despite dropping a set on his way to a Centre Court victory over Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber.
The absence of defending champion Rafael Nadal has overshadowed the men's singles at Wimbledon and has increased British expectations that Andy Murray may finally become the first home winner of the tournament in over 70 years.
Sweden's Robin Soderling came from 4-1 behind in the final set to defeat 12th seed Fernando Gonzalez in a thrilling battle of the big hitters to reach the French Open final at Roland Garros on Friday.
Four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal slid to an astonishing 6-2 6-7 6-4 7-6 defeat to Sweden's Robin Soderling at the French Open on Sunday.
SI.com caught up with Jon Wertheim to get his impressions of No. 23 seed Robin Soderling's stunning upset of No. 1 Rafael Nadal at the French Open.
Third seed Novak Djokovic crashed out of Wimbledon in the second round on Wednesday, after losing in straight sets to Marat Safin.
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.
USA and Argentina joined Russia and Spain in the last four of the Davis Cup by completing victories in Sunday's opening singles matches.
Russia secured a place in the Davis Cup semifinals for the fourth consecutive year Sunday after Czech Tomas Berdych retired hurt in the decisive fifth set against Nikolay Davydenko.
Top seed Roger Federer stayed on course for his first tournament win of the year after Swedish oppnent Robin Soderling retired in the second set of their third round match at the Masters Series tournament in Florida.
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.
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.
American number three seed Andy Roddick celebrated U.S. Independence Day in style on Wednesday, overpowering Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-2 7-5 7-6 to take his appointed place in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
Spain's world number two Rafael Nadal and third-seeded Belgian Xavier Malisse set up a semifinal clash in the Chennai Open with contrasting third-round victories on Friday.
Spain's Rafael Nadal won a record 54th consecutive men's claycourt match when he beat Sweden's Robin Soderling 6-2 7-5 6-1 in the French Open first round.
Tommy Haas reached his second straight final, defeating French qualifier Julien Benneteau 6-3 6-1 in the semifinals of the Regions Morgan Keegan event.
Defending champion Kenneth Carlsen of Denmark went out to in-form young Swede Robin Soderling in the second round of the ATP event in Memphis on Thursday night.
Seeded American pair Robby Ginepri and James Blake slumped to straight sets defeats in the first round of the ATP event in Memphis on Tuesday.
Fifth-seeded Swede Robin Soderling reached the second round of the Thailand Open, beating Czech Robin Vik 4-6 6-1 6-2 in Bangkok on Monday night.
Alex Corretja of Spain cruised to an untroubled win over David Ferrer of Spain 7-5 6-1 on the opening day of the Madrid Masters tennis tournament Monday.
U.S. Open semi-finalist Joachim Johansson suffered a surprise defeat by fellow Swede Robin Soderling at the Lyon Grand Prix on Friday.
The final of the Swedish Open will be an all-Argentine final between French Open champion Gaston Gaudio and defending champion Mariano Zabaleta.
Former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson ended Greg Rusedski's run at the Nottingham Open, beating the defending champion in the quarter-finals.
Paradorn Srichapan was the major casualty on the second day of the Munich Open when the second seed was beaten 6-3 6-2 by Belgium's Olivier Rochus.
Precocious young Swede Robin Soderling reached his first ATP final by beating home hope Arnaud Clement in straight sets in the 600,000-euro Marseille tournament on Saturday.
Frenchman Arnaud Clement beat Spain's Alberto Martin 6-3 6-2 on Friday to become the only seed to reach the semifinals of the Marseille Open.
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