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Has Roger Federer joined twitter?

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:51:35 +0000

Hey all,

Today Twitter went buzzing with the rumor or may be the fact that Roger Federer has joined twitter. What caused this buzz?

At about 12pm CET, the official Roger Federer (RogerFederer.com) website on their homepage displayed the follow link of Roger Federer's official facebook account and official twitter account @RogerFederer

Screenshot Credit: SJF302 (Scott)

Screenshot Credit: Rachael Bolton

This @RogerFederer twitter id had about 76 followers at about 12:00 pm CET, but, with in a couple of hours, now has 1439 followers.

Now, the homepage of the official RogerFederer website has removed the twitter link from their homepage and also, this follow @RogerFederer twitter link has been removed from their homepage.

But, under the links section on RogerFederer in the my links, there is still a link to twitter account, which states twitter and leads you to @RogerFederer twitter id.

A Brief history of @RogerFederer Twitter id::

RogerFederer twitter id is showing as registered on 9th April, 2013 on all tools & apps meant to check from which date the twitter id was registered from.

As, I had stated when MariaSharapova had joined twitter, Twitter has blocked id's of famous personalities including all old and young Tennis players.

So, I am 100% confident that this @RogerFederer twitter id is 100% genuine and we will soon get an official confirmation from Roger Federer.

PS: I have dropped an e-mail to the media communication cell of RogerFederer.com to get a clarification from them on this issue, when ever any clarification is received, will update this post.

Roger Federer's South American Exhibition matches tentative schedule of December, 2013

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:25:35 +0000

After the grand success of last year's Gillette Federer Tour where in Federer played six exhibition matches during his South American tour in Brazil, Argentina and Colombia, Roger Federer has decided to visit South America again in 2013.

Though, the schedule hasn't been officially announced, but sources have informed us that Federer will be playing 4 exhibition matches during his South American trip in December, 2013.

The tentative schedule (as per our sources) is as follows :

December 12: Tigre, Argentina

December 13: Tigre, Argentina

December 14: Chile (date to be finalized after French Open)

December 16: Bogota, Colombia

PS: Please be informed that this schedule is tentative at this time and none of us will be held responsible if the actual schedule differs from this tentative schedule.

Will Juan Martin Del potro play at French Open, Roland Garros, 2013?

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:32:19 +0000

Juan Martin Del Potro the 2009 US Champion who had made a comeback at Italian Open, 2013 after a Viral that had kept him out of Madrid Masters & Estoril has flown back to Argentina for further treatment of his BronchoSpasm. The decision to return to Argentina was taken by the medical team led by Dr. Roberto Peidro, Télam the official National News Agency of Argentina reported today morning.

Picture of Pope Francesco with Juan Martin Del Potro taken on 15th May

In a statement sent to the media, Argentine tennis player claimed he needed "physical recovery plan & intensive treatment accordingly to achieve the goal of full recovery in the shortest time possible."

Del Potro "Suffered a bronchitis viral that prevented him training for two weeks after his arrival in Monte Carlo," explained the statement.

"Rest will help in momentary deterioration of physical and respiratory capacity which is recovering progressively," the statement added.

The issued statement neither discarded nor confirmed Del Potro's decision to play at French Open, 2013.

The World No. 7 has played only 4 matches in this year's European Clay Season with 2 wins and 2 loses, the last defeat being against Beniot Paire at Rome Masters, clearly the Argentine, even if he decides to play at French Open starting from 26th May, 2013 will be going with literally no match practice.

PS: Before posting this topic, I tweeted Jorge Viale (Del Potro's communication manager) to ask about Del Potro's plans, in case, he replies, will update it in the following post.

Also, as Andy Murray is likely to withdraw from French Open, 2013 because of lower back issues, the French Open seedings in case if both Murray and Del Potro withdraw will be as follows :

i) Novak Djokovic

ii) Roger Federer

iii) Rafael Nadal

iv) David Ferrer

v) Tomas Berdych

vi) Jo Wilfried Tsonga

vii) Richard Gasquet

viii) Janko Tipsarevic

ix) Stanislas Wawrinka

PS: Had Wawrinka won one more match at Italian Open, he would have been ranked above Tipsarevic and possibly a seeding of #8 at French Open, 2013.

Here's wishing a quick recovery to Del Potro. May he be fit in time to play at French Open, 2013.

Will Andy Murray be fit to play at French Open 2013 and the impact on French Open seedings because of withdrawal of Andy Murray?

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:21:51 +0000

Hey all,

As you all must be aware that Andy Murray retired from his 2nd round match at Italian Open, 2013 vs Granollers because of a lower back issue on Wednesday.

After the match, it was so hard for Murray to even walk that day that media personnel present there were briefed that Andy Murray might just have to cancel his press conference. But, Murray did manage to reach the press conference and looked in serious pain.

When asked about if he will be fit to play at French Open, Murray stated he would be “very surprised” if he made it to Paris. Murray struggled with the injury during the clay-court season last year and revealed he has experienced pain on and off for the past 18 months. You can see the video of that press conference right here.

Murray had a scan yesterday and will be meeting a specialist on Tuesday and sources close to Murray camp are suggesting that his decision about playing at French Open will be taken by Wednesday. He lost out in the Quarter-final of French Open, 2012 and will lose 360 points if he skips French Open, 2013. But, considering he has a lot of points to defend at Wimbledon and the coming hard court season, I feel that Murray won't risk in playing at French Open, on his least favorite surface.

So, if Murray decides to skips French Open, as Rafael Nadal has regained No. 4 ATP Ranking from David Ferrer by winning the Italian Open, 2013 title, the following will be the Top 10 seeds for French Open, 2013 :

i) Novak Djokovic

ii) Roger Federer

iii) Rafael Nadal

iv) David Ferrer

v) Tomas Berdych

vi) Juan Martin Del Potro

vii) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

viii) Richard Gasquet

ix) Janko Tipsarevic

x) Stanislas Wawrinka

What these seedings would mean?

i) Djokovic and Federer would not face in the semi-finals of French Open, 2013, like they have been doing for the last two years.

ii) Djokovic or Federer can get to face either Nadal or Ferrer in the semi-finals of French Open, 2013 depending on the draw.

Also, the following will be the ATP Points of Top 11 (updated after Italian Open, 2013) to be announced by ATP on 20th May, 2013 :

i) Novak Djokovic - 12670 points

ii) Andy Murray- 8670 points

iii) Roger Federer - 8000 points

iv) Rafa Nadal- 6895 points

v) David Ferrer- 6740 points

vi) Berdych- 4700 points

vii) Del Potro- 4320 points

viii) Tsonga- 3795 points

ix) Gasquet- 3090 points

x) Tipsarevic- 2640 points

xi) Wawrinka - 2630 points

The biggest mover of this week is Benoit Paire who will get up to 26th Rank with 1405 points and will get #25 seeding at French Open, 2013. Grigor Dimitrov will get 27th seeding at French Open, 2013, Janowicz 23rd, while Milos Raonic will get 15th seeding, Kei Nishikori will get 14th seeding and Giles Simon 16th seeding at French Open, 2013 if Andy Murray misses out from French Open, 2013.

PS: The seedings of French Open, 2013 will be as per the ATP Ranking points to be declared on 20th May, 2013.

Match Report, Pics and Video Highlights of Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer, Italian Open, Rome Masters 2013

Sun, 19 May 2013 15:55:50 +0000

Rafael Nadal won his 24th ATP Masters title and his 7th Italian Open title defeating Roger Federer 6-1, 6-4 in 1 hour and 8 minutes and with this win, Rafael Nadal regained No. 4 ATP Ranking from David Ferrer.

Roger Federer playing his first day match after four successive night matches started in an aggressive manner in his opening service game of the First Set. He came to the net twice and held on to his service comfortably. But, probably that was the only silver-lining for Federer in the entire match.

Federer then got broken in the 3rd, 5th and 7th game as Rafa Nadal won the first set 6-1 in 23 minutes.

Here are the first set stats

Clearly, the 15 unforced errors in a 7 games set was the main reason for such a dismal performance by Federer in the first set.

Rafa Nadal's game plan was absolutely the same as always. He kept serving to Federer's backhand and kept attacking Fed's backhand and errors on the backhand and forehand kept coming thick and fast.

2nd set :

Federer had a break point in the opening game of the second set. But, Rafa saved it and then immediately broke Federer the very next game and raced to a 3-0 lead after holding his service again. Federer opened his account in the 2nd set by winning the 4th game on his service after being down 0-30 down.

Rafa after holding his service in the 5th game again broke Federer's service to race to a 5-1 lead and clearly, there was no way back for Federer then.

Federer managed to break Nadal's service in the 7th game as Nadal was serving for the set and the match at 5-1.

Then, Federer held on to his service to make it 3-5. But, Nadal served out the match in the 9th game winning the set 6-3 and the match 6-1, 6-3 in 1 hours and 8 minutes.

Here are the overall match stats :

Clearly, Federer's 32 unforced errors and Nadal's gameplan of attacking Federer's backhand reaped high dividends as Rafael Nadal won his 20th encounter vs Federer in 30 times that they played.

With this win, Rafael Nadal will be back to fourth in the ATP Rankings to be announced on Monday. That would mean that Djokovic or Federer won't have to play Nadal in the Quarter-Finals of French Open, 2013.

Federer will get #3 seeding at French Open and if Andy Murray withdraws from French Open, Federer will get #2 seeding at French Open beginning from 26th May, 2013.

Picture of Rafa Nadal biting the Italian Open 2013 trophy after defeating Roger Federer

More pics, video recording, highlights from the match, interview quotes to be posted in the following posts of this thread.

Latest pictures of Rafael Nadal's girlfriend Maria Francisca Perello Xisca taken at Italian Open, Rome Masters 2013

Sat, 18 May 2013 22:40:42 +0000

Here are a few pictures of Maria Francisca Perello or "Xisca" taken during Rafa Nadal's matches at Italian Open, Roma 2013 ----

Francisca with Nadal's sister María Isabel..

Uncle Tony Nadal in cap with head down

PS : Pics of Xisca in Barcelona were taken by me .

Also, I am really excited to see my two favorite wag's Mirka Federer and Maria Francisca Perello or 'Xisca' cheering for their men tomorrow in the finals of Italian Open, 2013. THis will be first time that they both will be spotted together after French Open finals, 2011. People call their men as Fedal and I call my two favorite WAG's as MirSca ...

Match Report, Pics and Video Highlights of Roger Federer's win over Benoit Paire, Italian Open, Rome Masters 2013

Sat, 18 May 2013 18:20:18 +0000

Roger Federer overcame some stiff resistance in the semi-finals of Italian Open from Benoit Paire to reach his 3rd final at the Italian Open. The Swiss maestro defeated the 24 year old French Man 7-6(5), 6-4 in 1 hour and 28 minutes to book a final clash vs Rafael Nadal. The final will be played on Sunday, 19th May, 2013 at 4 pm CEST or 8.30 pm IST or 11pm PHT/CST or 01:00 AEST or 11am EDT .

1st set

Benoit Paire in his previous two clashes vs Roger Federer had managed to win only 11 games. But, clearly, since his previous clash vs Roger Federer at Australian Open, 2013, Paire has really matured as a player. He came out with a clear gameplan of being aggressive and getting to the net as often as possible.

Paire had two break points in the opening game of Roger Federer's service. Federer saved both to win the opening service game. Paire once again got break point on Federer's service at 2-all, Federer again managed to save that.

In the 6th game, on Paire's service at 2-3, Federer had three break points, but the French Man saved all three break points to make it 3-all.

The very next game, Paire broke Federer's service to lead 4-3. But, the very next game, Federer managed to break Paire's service on the 2nd break point after Paire's dropshot was comfortably picked up by Federer and Federer ended the point with a smash. That made it 4-all & Federer's fist pump was a strong enough indication that he was keen to win this match.

The next 4 games went on serve and the first set went to tie-breaker.

Paire won the first two points but Federer managed to make it 3-all before the change over of the ends. At 5-all, Paire had a chance to get a set point on his service, but Federer won that point and the next point to win the tie-breaker 7-5.

Here are the 1st set stats

2nd set

In the third game of the 2nd set, Paire double faulted to gift Federer the early break and as we have seen in the past, after Federer gets an early break, he normally puts the match to bed quite comfortably.

But, in the sixth game, on Federer's service at 3-2, Paire had two break points, but couldn't capitalize as Federer made it 4-2.

Federer then comfortably served out the set & the match in the 10th game winning the set 6-4 and the match 7-6 (5), 6-4 in 1 hour and 28 minutes.

Here are the overall match stats for you all ---------

With this win, Federer ensured himself of a 30th clash vs his arch rival Rafael Nadal. (Rafa Nadal leads the head to head 19-10 vs Federer).

This will be Federer's 34th final at an ATP Masters (ATP 1000) levels, with Federer having won 21 titles so far. While, this will be Rafael Nadal's 35th final at an ATP Masters (ATP 1000) levels, with Nadal having won 23 titles so far.

Also, this will be the first ATP final after French Open, 2011 finals (played on 5th June, 2011) involving the two legends Federer and Nadal.

With this win, Federer will be ranked #6 in the 2013 Year to date or as ATP likes to call it, Race to London O2 Rankings.

(After semi-finals of Rome 2013, Nadal is at top with 4600 points, Djokovic is 2nd with 4310, Murray 3rd with 2910, Ferrer is 4th with 2880 points, Berdych 5th with 2405 & Federer 6th with 1860 points).

Scroll down for pictures, video highlights, full match recording, interview and quotes from both players.

Match Report, Pics and Video Highlights of Roger Federer's win over Jerzy Janowicz, Italian Open, Rome Masters 2013

Fri, 17 May 2013 22:44:39 +0000

Roger Federer overcame a tough challenge from Jerzy Janowicz to book his place in the semi-finals of Italian Open, defeating the 22 year old Pole 6-4, 7-6(2) in one hour & 25 minutes.

In the First Set, Roger Federer saved 2 break points on his service in the 3rd game. Other than that, both players continued to hold their service game comfortably. Some of Janowicz serve speeds even touched 226 kmph. Federer service also looked impeccable at times and the Swiss maestro also served 7 aces in the first set.

However, Federer manged to get a break point in the 10th game & was able to convert it as Janowicz's drop shot was comfortably picked up by Federer and the Swiss maestro won the set 6-4 on his 1st break point in 36 minutes.

Here are the First set stats

Federer had 7 aces compared to Janowicz's one and what mattered the most was that Federer was able to convert the only break point that he got, thanks to a wrong shot selection by Janowicz.

How ever, the 22 year Pole who will rise to 23rd Rank in the ATP rankings to be announced on Monday after Rome Masters started the Second set in great fashion as he broke Federer's game in the very first game with three stringing returns.

The next 8 games went on service, but, Janowicz impressed all with his disguised drop shots in between and some aggressive forehand shots. Inspite of Janowicz's firepower, Federer kept his composure and served quite well.

Jerzy Janowicz had a set point on his service in the 10th game serving at 5-4, but once again made the error of making a cheeky drop shot which didn't cross his side of the net.

Janowicz double faulted to give Federer a break point. Though Janowicz saved the first break point with a forehand cross court and then saved the second break point with an ace, how ever, he once again double faulted to give Federer the third break point, Federer this time gave Janowicz a taste of his own medicine as he made a perfect drop shot to make it 5-all. That perhaps, dashed Janowicz's hope for a come-back in the match.

Federer had a comfortable hold to make it 6-5, then on Janowicz service had two break points (match points), but the Pole managed to saved both to take the 2nd set to tiebreaker.

Janowicz managed to win the first point of the tie-breaker and that was the only time, he was ahead in the tie-breaker. Federer proved to be too good for the Pole, but however Janowicz showed some superb reflexes on the net at 1-4 in the tie-breaker and that for me was the point of the match. (See the video in the following post)

Federer comfortably won the tie-breaker 7-2 and won the match 6-4, 7-6(2) in 1 hours and 25 minutes.

Here are the overall match stats

Federer will face Benoit Paire (who earlier defeated Granollers 6-1, 6-0) in the second semi-final starting at 8 pm local time.

In the first semi-finals, Rafael Nadal will play Tomas Berdych at 4 pm local time.

More pics ,video highlights and interviews to follow in the following posts.

Match report, pics and video highlights from Novak Djokovic vs Tomas Berdych at Italian Open,2013.

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:49:57 +0000

World number one Novak Djokovic lost 2-6 7-5 6-4 to Czech Tomas Berdych in the Italian Open quarter-finals.

Serb Djokovic was attempting to win his third Rome title, but had been troubled by pain in his ankle recently.

"I played very well and was two points from winning. Then the entire match changed," the 25-year-old said.

Djokovic lost in the second round in Madrid last week, and defeat to Berdych, 27, comes a week before the clay-court season reaches its climax at the French Open.

The Australian Open champion looked set for a routine victory when he took a 6-2 5-2 lead, but Berdych broke Djokovic as he served for the match at 5-3.

World number six Berdych had previously lost twice to Djokovic this year, his only previous victory against the Serb coming in the 2010 Wimbledon semi-finals.

"I know I can play well on clay and so I shouldn't allow myself to have these drops. Let's hope it won't happen for Roland Garros," Djokovic said of the French Open, the only major he has not won. "I'm fine. I just lost my rhythm." "It's a very strange situation."

It was also only Berdych's fourth win vs. a top-ranked player in 20 attempts, with all three previous wins coming over Federer.

"He has been for quite a few years just behind the top four," Djokovic said. "He's able to play big matches. He has proven that. So (he) is definitely a very dangerous player on any surface with a serve like that."

Source:BBC

Match Report, Pics and Video Highlights of Roger Federer's win over Giles Simon, Italian Open, Rome Masters 2013

Thu, 16 May 2013 21:21:30 +0000

Roger Federer produced another masterful display of some high quality tennis as he eased past Giles Simon 6-1, 6-2 in 62 minutes to set up a Quarter-Final clash vs Jerzy Janowicz who defeated Richard Gasquet 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.

In the First Set, Roger Federer broke Simon's service in the 4th game & 6th game & comfortably held on to his service to win the first set 6-1 in 23 minutes.

Federer immediately broke Simon's service in the opening game of the 2nd set & that pretty much dashed any hopes that Simon had of any comeback. In the 7th game, Simon managed to save 4 break point but Federer converted on his 5th break point to make it 5-2 and then served out the set in no time to win the match 6-1, 6-2 in 62 minutes.

Here are the match stats :

As you can see, Federer's service was immaculate and he gave absolutely no chance to break to Simon. Federer's backhand, forehands were absolutely a treat for the eye and his majestic drop shots and the divine net play working so well is a big enough proof that he is returning back to his prime form.

Also, it needs to be mentioned that his hunger to do well & succeed that looked a wee bit missing in the earlier part of the season seems to be coming back and its a good sign for the rest of the season.

Federer will play against Jerzy Janowicz tomorrow at 9 pm local time.

More pics and video highlights, interview quotes to follow in the following posts.

Pics and Video of Roger Federer attending Moët & Chandon Event In Rome, Italy

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:49:16 +0000

Roger Federer met with the local notable Italians in Rome May 13th 2013 at an event for Moët & Chandon...

Federer with Italian actress Claudia Gerini

Roger Federer talks with Italian tennis icons Nicola Pietrangeli and Lea Pericoli

Roger with Italian journalist Sarah Vaelchi

Federer with Italian actress Katy Saunders

Pics and Video of Viktor Troicki outburst during the match vs Ernests Gulbis, Italian Open, Rome 2013

Wed, 15 May 2013 23:39:25 +0000

Can there ever be a dull moment in a match involving Ernests Gulbis? For a change, it had nothing to do with Gulbis .

During the 2nd Round match between Gulbis and Victor Troicki, the chair umpire Cédric Mourier overruled a call and the Serbian Troicki got angry on the overrule and had a long argument with the chair umpire and threatened that he will retire from the match and also, even forced the cameraman to show it to the whole world that the ball was touching the line and had no space as the chair umpire suggested.

Troicki shouted that you can see the ball mark even as far away as the space, it seems, which made every one in the crowd to giggle.

Here is the picture of Victor Troicki pushing the cameraman to show the ball mark live to the whole world

Here's the video of Troicki emotional outburst, meltdown and the cameraman incident and the verbal fight with the French Chair umpire Cédric Mourier

Video credit: Chris Oddo TheFanChild

Andy Murray retired from his second-round at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Rome 2013

Wed, 15 May 2013 22:01:15 +0000

Andy Murray retired from his second-round match against Marcel Granollers at the end of the second set on Wednesday at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.

Andy Murray take treatment shortly before retiring from his 2nd round

Murray, who is celebrating his 26th birthday, required treatment for a lower back injury midway through the second set and now faces a race to be fully fit for Roland Garros which begins on 26 May.

Asked about why he retired after the second set, Murray said, "I pulled out because there is a good chance I wouldn’t be playing tomorrow. We'll have to wait for Paris. I'd be very surprised if I were playing in Paris.

"I need to make plans and see what to do. Tonight I'll speak with the physio and come up with a plan for the next few days and then make a decision on Paris after the next five days. I'll need to take some days off and see how it settles down."

"I'll try and get it sorted but its been an issue for some while," explained Murray. "So I want to make sure that it's something that I can sort out. It's not enjoyable to play now."

Granollers led by one set and 4-1 before Murray staged an amazing comeback. Murray was unable to convert one set point on Granollers serve at 5-6, 30/40, but won the tie-break 7-6(5). Murray then retired after one hour and 51 minutes of play.

In their first FedEx ATP Head2Head clash at the 2006 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell clash, Granollers led by one set and 4-1, but lost 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Source:ATP

Video of a boy imitating voices of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:20:26 +0000

Enjoy this video of a boy named Josh berry imitating voices of tennis stars, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic

Ryan Brough asking questions, and Charlie Ridout did the filming and directing of this video.

PS: Isn't he perfect in imitating? Probably, he sounded almost 100% like Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic .

Pictures and Video of Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal during the Kids day at Italian Open, Rome Masters 2013

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:13:45 +0000

Here are a few pictures of Roger Federer taken during the "Kids day" at Italian Open, Rome 2013

Here are a couple of videos from the event

Scroll down for More pics and videos.

Pics and Video of Roger Federer's Nike "Fly Swatter" advertisement

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:38:18 +0000

On Monday (13th May, 2013), Roger Federer posted a picture on his official Facebook account asking, "Does anyone know the best way to get rid of a fly?"

Yesterday, Nike Tennis released the Nike Free Trainer 5.0 commercial featuring Roger Federer where in Roger Federer was seen swatting a fly with his Nike strain free Trainer shoes .

The video, “Fly Swatter” , was directed by Adam Hashemi and was filmed in a private home in Meilen, Switzerland, just outside of Zurich.

Here's the video of the commercial --------

Scroll down for the pics from the commercial.

Match Report, pics, video highlights of Roger Federer vs Potito Starace, Italian Open 2013, Rome Masters

Tue, 14 May 2013 19:24:22 +0000

Roger Federer showed his true class and his full repertoire of mind blowing shots as he defeated Italian Potito Starace 6-1, 6-2 in 51 minutes in the Round-2 of Italian Open, 2013.

Picture of Roger Federer in his new haircut. His new short haircut received a thumbs up from Majority of fans.

Roger Federer playing in his first match after last week's loss at Madrid Open to Kei Nishikori started off in grand fashion holding on to his opening game in 51 seconds.

With some blistering forehands, precise backhand shots, dropshots and a couple of unbelievable volleys, Federer broke Starace in the 4th & 6th game and then served out the first set after saving two break points to win the first set 6-1 in 19 minutes.

Federer then immediately broke Starace's service in the first game of the Second set. Federer then again broke the Italian's service in the 7th game and then comfortably held on to this service to win the set 6-2 and the match 6-1, 6-2.

Here are the overall match stats

As you can see from these stats, not only was Federer's service effective, but also, his high winners to unforced errors ratio showed that Federer is returning to form. Also, Federer was keen to come to the net and won 75% of his points.

Federer's next opponent (in Round-3) will be the winner of Giles Simon (who today defeated Volandri) vs Mikhail Youzhny (who defeated Tommy Haas in straight sets).

More pics and video highlights to follow in the following posts.

Match report, pics, video highlights of Rafael Nadal vs Stanislas Wawrinka, Mutua Madrid Open, 2013

Sun, 12 May 2013 16:22:23 +0000

Rafael Nadal won his fifth title since returning from a knee injury by beating Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 6-4.

Cheered on by the home crowd at the Caja Magica, the fifth-ranked Nadal cruised to his 55th career title and extended his head-to-head record with the Swiss to 9-0.

Nadal grabbed the first set in just over half an hour and closed out the second after Wawrinka put up more of a fight.

It was Nadal's seventh straight final since recovering from a nagging case of tendinitis in his left knee that sidelined him for seven months.

Wawrinka, who came through gruelling matches against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tomas Berdych on the way to his second Masters final, never looked like claiming a first win against Nadal at the ninth attempt.

Nadal broke his serve three times in the match and did not face a single break point himself and collapsed on to his back in celebration when Wawrinka went long with a backhand to hand the Spaniard victory.

“Maybe this win is even more special given where I have come back from”, Nadal said in an interview with Spanish television broadcaster La Sexta.

“Playing in Madrid is always very exciting for me and the tournament couldn’t have worked out better,” he added.

Source: The Globe and Mail

Roger Federer practicing for Italian Open Rome 2013

Sun, 12 May 2013 11:53:11 +0000

Here are some videos of Roger, with his coach Paul Annacone, practicing in Rome, courtesy of Tennis World Italia. Nice to have a supportive crowd!

Looking good

Seedings and PDF Printable Draw for Internazionali BNL d'Italia - Italian Open 2013, Rome Masters

Sat, 11 May 2013 12:56:21 +0000

The seedings of Internazionali BNL d'Italia - Italian Open or Rome Masters 2013 have been announced. Juan Martin Del Potro who had to withdraw from Madrid Masters because of a viral fever is back and will play at Italian Open 2013.

Here are the mens seedings (based on the ATP Rankings as last announced on 5th May, 2013)

Novak Djokovic
Roger Federer
Andy Murray
David Ferrer
Rafael Nadal
Tomas Berdych
Juan Martin Del Potro
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Richard Gasquet
Janko Tipsarevic
Marin Cilic
Nicolas Almargo
Milos Raonic
Tommy Haas
Stanislas Wawrinka
Kei Nishikori

The first 8 seeds will receive bye from Round-1. Scroll down for the main draw.