TennisToday

Rafael Nadal Wins 8th French Open Title

French Open - Men's Final

4 Rafael Nadal d 5 David Ferrer - 63 62 63

8.

Rafa moves up to 3rd with Roy Emerson on the Slam list with 12.

Only Pete Sampras with 14 and Roger Federer with 17 are ahead of him.

He improved his French Open record to 59-1. A sick winning percentage.

Rafa also notched his 20th win over Ferrer and 4th of the 2013 season.

He is also the 1st man to qualify for the season ending tournament.

In a rankings quirk the win actually saw his ranking fall back to #5.

But he is firmly atop the Race to London rankings by a mile.

With 90 points to defend the rest of the year - lookout Nole...

Hi8tory: No man has ever won 8 titles at any one Slam before.

History: And no man has ever won a Slam 9 years running.

Post match: Eight times here is a lot. I never thought about that.

But I will keep practising with the same passion and intensity to bring

my tennis to the highest level possible.

***

Rafa has played 9 tournaments this year and made the finals of all 9.

He's won 7 of them making him the tour leader.

Next up is Wimbledon where he's won it twice: '08 & '10.

It's also the place where he lost early in '12 & left the tour with an injury.

This year plan on Rafa hitting Wimby with a hunger for a big points gobble.

Roger Federer Wins Historic 5 Setter to Gain Quarterfinals at the French Open

French Open - Men's Fourth Round

2 Roger Federer d 15 Gilles Simon - 61 46 26 62 63

Roger's 35 match quarterfinal streak was in jeopardy for a sec there.

But Roger being Roger dug deep and powered thru the last 2 sets.

There was also an injury scare as Rog rolled over his ankle a in the 2nd.

The victory also marked the GOAT's milestone 900th ATP match win.

He is only the 4th player to reach 900.

Post match: I knew 900 was on the line. I'm just happy I have been able

to win a lot of matches throughout my career, [giving] myself an

opportunity over and over again. I love this game.

Every time you turn around he's breaking records.

A Qf win over Tsonga and he'll own the record for most FO match wins.

He loves those records.

Novak Djokovic Thru to 4th Round at French Open as He Notches 500th ATP Match

French Open - Men's Third Round

1 Novak Djokovic d 26 Grigor Dimitrov - 62 62 63

I think everybody thought this one would be a closer contest.

Remember, Grigor beat Nole just a few weeks ago at Madrid.

In the process Nole became the 40th player to join the 500 club.

Nole certainly is looking unbeatable at this edition of RG.

But his next opponent is Philipp Kohlschreiber - H2H: 2-1/Nole.

The loss? A 3rd round straight set loss here at the French in 2009.

Yea, I'm not seeing a repeat of that on Monday.

Not happening.

Rafael Nadal Wins 7th Title at Rome

Rome Masters Series 1000 - Men's Final

5 Rafael Nadal d 2 Roger Federer - 61 63

I think we can stop calling this a comeback already. He's beyond back.

In 8 tournaments this year he's gone to all 8 finals and won 6 of them.

Including 3 Masters 1000's (IW, Madrid & Rome) and 2 500 events.

After his Sf win he moved to #1 in points earned in 2013.

This is Rafa's 7th time biting the trophy at Rome.

This is his 56th ATP title and 24th at the Masters 1000 level.

Of his 56 titles a whopping 30 have come from 4 tournaments:

Monte-Carlo 8; Barelona 8; Rome 7 & French Open 7.

And he's a good and safe bet to make it 8 in Paris.

And the win moved Rafa up to #4 and rightfully Spain's #1.

He also improved his H2H against Federer to 20-10.

Post match: If you told me four or five months ago that after eight

tournaments I would have won six titles from eight finals,

I would say you are crazy. To win three Master 1000 and two 500

tournaments is more than I ever dreamed.

His Rafanatics can say that too.

***

Rafa also got some dopey GQ style award this week too:

Andy Murray Earns 400th ATP Match Win with 2nd Round Victory at Madrid

Madrid Masters Series 1000 - Men's 2nd Round

3 Andy Murray d Florian Mayer - 76(11) 76(3)

Andy's 400th win came with a hard fought opening match at Madrid.

His ATP match record is 400-126.

The Scot's very 1st ATP win came at Queens Club back in 2005.

Among those 400 wins his 2 best matches came just last season...

Winning the gold medal over Federer & the US Open topping Djokovic.

To notch win #401 he'll need to get thru Gilles Simon - H2H: 10-1/Andy.

Gilles won their first meeting in '07 aince then it's been all Andy.

I suspect that trend will hold tomorrow.

 

 

Rafael Nadal Wins ATP Title at Indian Wells

ATP Masters Series 1000 Indian Wells - Men's Final

5 Rafael Nadal d 7 Juan Martin Del Potro - 46 63 64

Rafa came from a set and a break to notch a record 22nd Masters title.

This also marks a milestone as this was his 600th match victory.

Winning his 3rd title at Indian Wells ('07 & '09) moves him back up to #4.

But that will be temporary as he's not going to defend Sf points at Miami.

This was also his 1st hard court title since October 2010 at Tokyo.

Rafa's 4 tournament comeback swing sure was a success.

He made the final of all 4, winning 3 of them: Sao Paulo, Acapulco & IW.

And suddenly -poof- he's the tour leader in titles won.

This is the best start to a season he's ever enjoyed: 17-1.

We will next see him at Monte-Carlo where he is the 8-time defender.

Post match: A lot of things happened the last seven months, [so]

to be back here and to have this very heavy trophy with me is amazing.

Beating three Top 10 players and winning a title like this is just something

unbelievable for me. I'm very, very happy and very emotional.

Your Rafaholics were too. Trust.

Roger Federer Breaks Record for Most Weeks at #1

Today Roger Federer break his tie with Pete Sampras for most weeks at #1.

Make it 287 at the top of the pile. That's about 5 1/2 years.

He enjoyed his 1st week at #1 way back in February 2, 2004.

At 31, Rog becomes the 2nd oldest man to hold the top spot: Andre Agassi.

Roger, after he tied the record:

I never stopped believing...it all worked out. I got great momentum...

Great confidence and it all came together. It's a magical moment for me.

I was so close to the record two years ago and...

It is really amazing to be No. 1 again.

I played and won a lot of tournaments since the US Openlast year...

I’m happy that all the hard work I have been putting in has paid off.

***

Roger is only 75 points ahead of Novak Djokovic.

They both have the Olympics as their next tournament.

With no points to defend the race for #1 is on again in London.

Can Roger make it a SW19 double?

Rafael Nadal & David Ferrer Set Semifinal Clash at Roland Garros

Roland Garros - Men's Quarterfinals

2 Rafael Nadal d 12 Nicolas Almagro - 76(4) 62 63

6 David Ferrer d 4 Andy Murray - 64 67(3) 63 62

Spain will have it's top 2 players battle for a spot in the RG finals.

***

This is Rafa's 7th RG Sf: 6-0 and 19th at a Slam: 15-3.

He becomes the 6th man to notches 50+ match wins at Roland Garros:

Vilas (56), Federer (54), Lendl (53), Agassi (51), Pietrangeli (50).

Post match: The numbers say that I am playing well.

The red clay-court season was great, probably one of the best ...

Very happy.

***

This is David's 1st RG Sf and 3rd at a Slam: 0-2.

Post match: It was a very tough match & I'm happy.

It was in important moments that I played better than him (Murray).

***

2 Rafael Nadal vs 6 David Ferrer - H2H: 15-4/RN

Rafa is 12-1 on clay - David's 1 came back in '04 before Rafa was Rafa.

Interesting to note that David has a 2-1 lead on Rafa in Slam matches.

They have played twice this year and Rafa won them both in straight sets...

Tho 3 of those sets Rafa won with a 7 in the score.

Rafa on David: His game bothers everybody...

He is one of the best players in the world, on every surface.

David on Rafa: (Nadal) is the best player on claycourts in history and...

I will have to fight & play my best tennis to beat him.

And of course living in California NBC will eff this up for me.

Photos: Getty Images

Sam Groth Breaks Ace Speed Record

Groth recorded the faster recorded serve on the ATP at 163.4 MPH.

The previous record was hit by Ivo Karlovic at 156 MPH.

Groth, ranked #340, broke that record 3 times in this match.

A match he lost pretty handily - 4 & 3 - at the Busan, South Korea Challenger.

The ATP doesn't actually keep official ace speed records...

Owing to the array of equipment used at each tournament.

But still. Wow.

Rafael Nadal Wins 8th Title at Monte-Carlo

ATP Masters Series 1000 Monte-Carlo - Final

2 Rafael Nadal d 1 Novak Djokovic - 63 61

Historic: No man has ever won 8 straight titles anywhere. Ever.

During his 8 title run Rafa has lost only 6 sets.

In fact, he won 4 MC titles without dropping a single set, including this year.

Only 1 other player has 8 titles at a tourny: Guillermo Vilas at Buenos Aires.

Rafa is also the leader in Masters 1000 titles - this being his 20th.

This represents his 47th ATP title & another great start to the clay season.

Rafa will play Barcelona this week as the defender and looking for title #7.

With this win Rafa also turned the tables on Novak after 7 straight losses.

Rafa to Novak post-match: After seven times, thank you for this one.

He increases his H2H against Nole to 17-14.

As for Novak - he was clearly depleted after a tough emotional week.

He'll head home to be with the family and celebrate his granddad's life.

Today's Novak is not the one that'll show up for the rest of the clay season.

Match #31 is in the books. Expected one or two more thru Roland Garros.

Photos: Top Getty Images - bottom from Rafa's Facebook

Rafael Nadal Goes for 8 Straight at Monte-Carlo

Rafa was given a special plaque honoring his historic Monte-Carlo run.

No player in the Open Era has ever won a tournament 7 straight times.

Remember, this ain't no rinkydink tourny either, it's a Masters 1000.

And until a couple of years ago it was mandatory.

He is 39-1 at M-C with his lone loss coming in '03 - before he was Rafa.

Looking at his draw this year I would be surprised in he didn't make the final.

But the big question mark is the knee. And Novak.

***

A look back at Rafa's 7 historic Monte-Carlo finals:

2005 he defeated Guillermo Coria - 63 61 06 75

2006 he defeated Roger Federer - 62 67(2) 63 76(5)

2007 he defeated Roger Federer - 64 64

2008 he defeated Roger Federer - 75 75

2009 he defeated Novak Djokovic - 63 26 61

2010 he defeated Fernando Verdasco - 60 61

2011 he defeated David Ferrer - 64 75

2012 he defeated... whoops, I'm ahead of myself.

Novak Djokovic Wins Historic Title at Montreal

Montreal Masters Series 1000 - Final

1 Novak Djokovic d 6 Mardy Fish - 62 36 64

This is just getting down-right scary. I mean look at these stats:

2011 W/L: 53-1. 9 titles. Only 17 sets lost. 16 wins over top 10 players.

His lone defeat was in the Sf's at Roland Garros to Roger Federer.

Novak also becomes the 1st man to win 5 Masters titles in a single season.

This is his 2nd title in Canada ('07) & his 10th Masters Series 1000 title.

He is the 1st #1 since Sampras to win a title in his 1st tourney at the top.

He seems on course to have the most incredible season in ATP history.

Novak: History making, of course it’s special.

Of course, it’s an honour and privilege to be part of the history...

Of the sport that I love and that I play.

ADJE.

Photo: Getty Images

Rafael Nadal Wins His 6th ATP Title at Barcelona

Barcelona ATP 500 - Final

1 Rafael Nadal d 4 David Ferrer - 62 64

Second Sunday in-a-row these 2 have played - David has yet to take a set.

Last weekend's Monte-Carlo scoreline entertained a closer contest: 64 75.

Spare a thought for David - it's just gotta sting, no?

Rafa becomes the only Open Era man to have won 2 events 6 or more times.

King of Clay: 7 titles at M-C, 6 at Barcelona, 5 at Rome and Roland Garros.

Those numbers just keep getting sicker with every passing year.

Rafa is also throwing down a 34 match winning streak on clay.

With his Sf win Rafa joined the exclusive 500 club; he's now 501-105.

At only 24 he is the 2nd youngest to get to 500 behind Bjorn Borg, also 24.

Rafa: It's a very special tournament.

It always has been as I grew up watching this tournament.

It's a historical tournament with a great tradition and great champions.

It's more than a dream to win here six times.

Rafa will take a week off before heading to Madrid where he is the defender.

So far he has seen off all clay challengers...

Things may get interesting in Spain. Can Novak offer resistance on the dirt?

Stay tuned.

Ivo Karlovic Hits the Fastest Serve in History Today

Dr. Ivo hit a serve clocked at 156 MPH on Davis Cup play today.

Topping Andy Roddick's previous record of 155.

He and partner Ivan Dodig lost their match to Germany's Cas/Petzschner.

It was a 5-set thriller: 63 36 57 63 64.

Ivo tweeted: So close... But 251 kmh record serve felt good.

Here is the video clip:

Roger Federer Moves to an 8th Place Tie in ATP Match Wins Today at Dubai

Today Roger Federer played his 930th ATP match and with his win over Marcel Granollers (63 64) he tied Ilie Nastase at #8 on the ATP match win list with 755. A win tomorrow in the Qf's over Sergiy Stakhovsky (they've never played) will give him #8 all to himself and place him 6 matches behind Pete Sampras who has 762 match wins.

Let's take a look at the top 8:

1. Jimmy Connors with 1,241

2. Ivan Lendl with 1,071

3. Guillermo Vilas with 923

4. John McEnroe with 875

5. Andre Agassi with 870

6. Stefan Edberg with 806

7. Pete Sampras with 762

8. Nastase & Federer with 755

Roger's average number of match wins the last 4 years is 65. Even if he drops a little this year (which remains to be seen) he could easily overtake the next two players and finish the year at #6 in ATP match wins.

To get this record though may just be unattainable. To catch Jimmy Connors staggering 1,241 match wins Roger would need to average 60 wins for 8 years. Now I know he says he plans to play for, hmmm, ever - Jimmy shouldn't lose too much sleep over this one.

Congrats Rog. Your longevity is much appreciated.

Francesca Schiavone Defeats Svetlana Kuznetsova in an Epic Thriiler at Australian Open

Austrailian Open - Women's Fourth Round

6 Francesca Schiavone d 23 Svetlana Kuznetsova - 64 16 16-14

Longest match in women's Slam history - 4 hours and 44 minutes.

I know we're only in Jan. but this could turn out to be the match of the year.

And I went to bed when they were locked at 7-7. Couldn't keep my eyes open.

Sveta had 6 match points... Franny served for it 3 times & was broken.

And as the match got deeper into the 3rd - the level of play went UP!

This win will lift Fran into the top 5. It's impossible to not cheer for Fran.

Fran: This is one of the most emotional moments of my life.

To me, this was personally really fantastic.

I hope one day to show this DVD to my son.

I told Svetlana she did a really good job and she's great, fantastic.

She said the same. We respect each other a lot.

Fran advances to her 6th Slam Qf: 1-4. Her 1st was at RG back in '01.

Her only Qf win, of course, last year at RG - she went on to win the title.

Best of luck: An exhausted Fran will next face Caroline Wozniacki. Um...

***

I sure hope Sveta isn't gutted by this loss for tooooooo long.

Sveta: At some stage I was like, 'What's the score? Who's serving?

What's going on here anyway?' I had no clue sometimes.

***

I's gonna speak for fans everywhere: Thanks for a great match ladies.

XOXO

Photos: Getty Images

Roger Federer Sets New Australian Open Record with 3rd Round Win Last Night

Australian Open - Men's Third Round

2 Roger Federer d Xavier Malisse - 63 63 61

With the win Roger becomes the winningest man at the Australian Open.

Last night he surpassed Stefan Edberg and now has 57 match wins.

And climbing...

After a tough 2nd round 5-setter - Roger is sure to breeze to the Qf's.

I mean, Tommy Robredo in the next round - H2H: 9-0... it's a gimme, no?

Roger: I'm okay today and I'm happy I was able to come through it.

[It's] not the easiest thing to come back after a five setter, but I managed.

You think he'll need a new pair of Nikes next year?

Photos: Getty Images

Roger Federer Plays 900th Career Match in Stockholm

AND WINS!!!

Stockholm ATP 250 - Men's Second Round

1 Roger Federer d Taylor Dent - 61 62

Winning in match #900 he improves his career W/L to 727-173.

WOW: And of those 900 matches... not a single retirement.

Those numbers also represent 63 titles, including 16 Slam.

Open Era standings in matches:

Roger is 27 matches behind Boris Becker who is #12 with 927 played.

He is #9 in matches won & #6 in winning percentage (in 400+ matches). 

***

Roger's 1st tour match was a loss at Gstaad to Lucas Arnold Ker in 1998.

His 1st match win came 2 months later in Toulouse over Guillaume Raoux.

Roger's 1st final was at Marseille in '00 & his 1st title at Milan in '01.

For 2010 his W/L is 49-12 with 2 titles: Australian Open & Cincinnati.

***

Here are some H2H stats:

He has a losing record to 21 guys - only 11 if they've played at least twice.

In all H2H's he has a double-digit lead over 13 players.

Of those players he has played Lleyton Hewitt the most: 23 (17-6).

Roger has the most victories over Andy Roddick: 19 - with just 2 losses.

Rafael Nadal is the only player to have double-digit wins over Roger: 7-14.

***

A major milestone was reached today in Stockhom. Well done Rog.

Photo: Reuters

Rafael Nadal Wins 1st US Open Title

US Open - Men's Final

1 Rafael Nadal d 3 Novak Djokovic - 64 57 64 63

CAREER SLAM

Throw that Olympic title in there and let's make that a Golden Career Slam.

Only two other players own the Golden Slam: Andre Agassi & Steffi Graf.

This becomes Rafa's 9th Slam - only 6 other players have more:

Federer 16, Sampras 14, Emerson 12, Laver 11, Borg 11, Tilden 10.

At 24 he is 3 Slams ahead of Federer's pace of his seeminly untouchable 16.

Not since Laver in '69 has a player done the French, Wimbledon, US sweep.

The Career Slam is complete: AO '09, FO '05-'08 & '10, W '08 & '10, US '10.

No Federer: In Rafa's 3 Slam final wins this year he beat Roger's defeater:

Rolands Garros: Soderling. Wimbledon: Berdych. US Open: Djokovic. 

This is Rafa's 6th title on the year: 3 Slams & 3 Masters 1000.

Rafa really only has the year-end championships missing from his resume.

London calling?

Spare a thought for Novak... he tried hard to snatch that away from Rafa.

He's now been to 3 Slam finals: 1-2. He is the '08 Aussie Champ.

No shame in losing the other 2 to Roger & Rafa. Both at the Open: '07 & '10.

Novak's day will surely come again.

Photos: Top Reuters, Bottom Getty Images

Caroline Wozniacki at the US Open: From Runner-Up to Champion a Year Later?

Caroline Wozniacki will head to the US Open as the tournament's top seed. She was the runner-up to Kim Clijsters last year.

She is trying to become the 14th player in the Open Era to win a 1st Slam title at a particular venue a year following a runner-up finish. She would join quite a list of Hall of Famer's should it happen.

Here is a list of 16 times it's happened previously:

Stan Smith - Wimbledon: '71 (Newcombe) - '72 (Nastase)

Evonne Goolagong - Australian Open: '71-'73 (Court & Wade) - '74 (Evert)

Chris Evert - Roland Garros: '73 (Court) - '74 (Morozova)

Chris Evert - Wimbledon: '73 (King) - '74 (Morozova)

John McEnroe - Wimbledon: '80 (Borg) - '81 (Borg)

Chris Evert - Australian Open: '81 (Navratilova) - '82 (Navratilova)

Ivan Lendl - US Open: '82-'84 (Connors & McEnroe) '85 (McEnroe)

Steffi Graf - Wimbledon: '87 (Navratilova) - '88 (Navratilova)

Steffi Graf - US Open: '87 (Navratilova) - '88 (Sabatini)

Mats Wilander - US Open: '87 (Lendl) - '88 (Lendl)

Jana Novotna - Wimbledon: '97 (Graf) - '98 (Tauziat)

Juan Carlos Ferrero - Roland Garros: '02 (Costa) - '03 (Verkerk)

Marat Safin - Australian Open: '04 (Federer) - '05 (Hewitt)

Ana Ivanovic - Roland Garros: '07 (Henin) - '08 (Safina)

Rafael Nadal - Wimbledon: '06 & '07 (Federer) - '08 (Federer)

Roger Federer - Roland Garros: '06, '07 & '08 (Nadal) - '09 (Soderling)

***

Photo: Reuters

PS: I did this research myself. Took me an hour. So there.

Thanks Wikipedia.