Djokovic beats Federer in thrilling ATP World Tour Final

 

By Piers Newbery BBC Sport at the O2 Arena

The Serb won 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 to add the season-ending title to his Australian Open victory and top ranking.

He needed two hours and 14 minutes to take two sets in a match of dramatic swings in momentum.

It is the second time Djokovic has won the ATP finale, following his triumph in Shanghai four years ago.

"I was just trying to hang in there," said Djokovic.

"It's not the first time that Roger started so well against me. I've experienced before his aggression, really trying to put his mark on the match."

He added: "Whenever I needed to come up with some really good shots - really focus myself and get every ball back in the court - I did that, so I cannot be more thrilled than now."

Federer was attempting to become the first man since Ivan Lendl 25 years ago to win a hat-trick of season-ending championships, and his seventh overall.

"Maybe there's a bit of regret because I had the lead twice before him," the 31-year-old admitted in defeat.

"At the end of the day that doesn't matter, you have to get over the finish line in the set and then obviously the match. He was better at that today.

"What he does well - even in defence he stays somewhat offensive. That, I think, is what separates him from the rest a little bit."

Federer has made London's O2 Arena a second home in winning there for the last two years and, as ever, the Swiss did not lack for support.

The atmosphere might not have been cranked up at the start as it was in Sunday's semi-final against Andy Murray, but the Federer fans were in full voice as their man reeled off the first nine points.

Djokovic appeared nervous, fluffing a routine volley and firing long as he slipped, and there were ironic cheers when he finally got on the board in game three.

The winners were flowing from Federer but it was a case of brilliance against resilience as Djokovic dug in and weathered the storm by extending the rallies whenever possible.

Fed Cup: Czech Republic beat Serbia to retain title in Prague

 

The Czech Republic secured back-to-back Fed Cup titles with a 3-1 win over Serbia before fervent fans in Prague.

A backhand winner from world number 17 Lucie Safarova sparked celebratory scenes in the Czech capital as she beat Jelena Jankovic 6-1 6-1.

Petra Kvitova and Safarova had put the defending champions in control on Saturday by winning the opening singles rubbers for a 2-0 lead.

Ana Ivanovic reduced the arrears by beating Kvitova 6-3 7-5 on Sunday.

But Safarova defeated Serb number two Jankovic in one hour and 17 minutes to prevent the first-time finalists becoming the first team in the competition's history to overturn a 2-0 deficit in the final.

The world number 17 hit 32 winners, describing her performance against the world number 22 as one of her best.

"It's hard to describe how I feel. I played an unbelievable game," Safarova said. "I desperately wanted to win and I'm really delighted. It's fantastic to win at home, in Prague. I played one of the best matches of my career."

Kvitova seemed to be suffering from the ill-effects of a cold that forced her to pull out of last week's WTA Championship.

The defeat by Ivanovic ended the world number eight's 11-game unbeaten run in the Fed Cup.

"I lost a lot of strength [on Saturday] and I was also drained emotionally," said Kvitova.

"I lacked energy. The doctor gave me some sugar during a bathroom break but it didn't help much."

Andy Murray wins men's singles Olympics tennis gold

By David Ornstein

BBC Sport at Wimbledon

Andy Murray captured the biggest title of his career with an emphatic victory over Roger Federer in the Olympic men's singles final at Wimbledon.

“It's number one for me - the biggest win of my life”

Andy Murray

Murray beat the Swiss world number one in straight sets, 6-2 6-1 6-4, on a raucous Centre Court.

The 25-year-old is the first British man to win the Olympic singles gold medal since Josiah Ritchie in 1908.

He had never beaten Federer in a best-of-five-sets match and lost to him in this year's Wimbledon final.

Murray's triumph came four weeks to the day since that 6-4 5-7 3-6 4-6 loss to Federer at the All England Club.

"It's number one for me - the biggest win of my life," said Murray.

"I have had a lot of tough losses in my career and this is the best way to come back from the Wimbledon final."

Murray later faced a second Olympic final in a day, but he and mixed doubles partner Laura Robson could not overcome Belarusian top seeds Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi. They lost 2-6 6-3 10-8 in a champions' tie-break decider and had to settle for silver.

Team GB remain third in the London 2012 medal table, with Murray's singles triumph in just an hour and 56 minutes the 16th gold medal of a glorious Games for the host nation.

Afterwards he climbed into the stands to celebrate with his girlfriend, family and support team as Federer again missed out on the one accolade missing from his CV.

Murray then mounted the podium with Federer and bronze medallist Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, who beat Serbia's Novak Djokovic 7-5 6-4 in an hour and 48 minutes earlier in the day.

There were no obvious tears, but it was clear how much this meant to Murray as he sang along to parts of the national anthem and then draped himself in a union jack.

Having suffered a shock first-round defeat by 77th-ranked Yen-Hsun Lu in Beijing four years ago, he will be delighted to have contributed this time round.

Murray becomes the first Briton to claim an Olympic men's singles medal since Charles Dixon took silver at the 1920 event in Antwerp.

Victorious over Djokovic in the semi-finals, Murray troubled an error-strewn Federer from the outset. After saving two break points in the opening game of the match, he broke serve in game six before holding for 5-2 with two booming aces.

Murray buried a backhand passing shot to wrap up the 37-minute first set but, given he also took the opener in the Wimbledon final, there remained a sense of caution around the stadium.

That caution turned into belief when a forehand pass clipped a net cord to elude Federer in game two of the second set and he then saved six break points to hold for 3-0.

Federer looked agitated and his fans dejected and a rare double fault let Murray strike again before the Scot swiftly served out to extend his advantage.

The Scot's performance continued to improve as his opponent's faded and Federer's delivery was breached decisively in game five of the third set as Murray powered towards the finishing line, dropping just one point on serve as he closed out with an ace.

"I didn't expect that at the start of the week," added Murray after collecting his gold medal. "I thought I'd go deep into the tournament but I felt so fresh today. It's amazing."

Olympic Tennis returns to Wimbledon

The sport's top stars will be returning to Wimbledon just three weeks after the end of the annual grand slam tournament, in the hope of being crowned Olympic champion on the grass of Centre Court.
The Tennis events at London 2012 span nearly the entire Games, starting on Saturday 28 July and wrapping up with medal events on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 August.

View the full London 2012 Tennis schedule

All entries for Tennis will be confirmed following the sport entries deadline on 9 July 2012.

Wimbledon is not only home to one of the most famous tennis tournaments in the world, but also has a rich Olympic heritage. The venue staged the Tennis competition when London first hosted the Olympic Games in 1908, with Great Britain winning all six gold medals.

At Beijing 2008, Rafael Nadal won the men’s Singles, while Venus and Serena Williams sisters triumphed in the women’s Doubles. See the full medal table from Beijing 2008

Ferrer forges on, Almagro, Tsonga and Del Potro too

David Ferrer continued his charge through the men’s draw with another efficient display to win through to the last eight. Today’s casualty was his Davis Cup team-mate Marcel Granollers, seeded No.20 here. For the fourth time in as many outings at Roland Garros 2012, Ferrer was never in anything you could seriously call trouble. He won 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 in an hour and 51 minutes, to equal his best career display at Roland Garros.

Granollers too has had a good tournament, with this fourth round appearance his best Slam performance to date. But on a frankly chilly Philippe Chatrier court, he became the latest contender to fall victim to Ferrer’s trick of making his opponents play badly, a skill noted by Mats Wilander. The seven-time Slam winner (including three on the Parisian clay) says Ferrer’s expertise is so subtle that he leaves opponents puzzled as to exactly how he wins so many matches. But Wilander made it plain he would be delighted if Ferrer can capture a Slam title because it would be a triumph of dedication.

Certainly many here see Ferrer as a worthier member of the Big Four than his potential quarter-final opponent Andy Murray. But whether he can translate that into an actual Slam victory, particularly this year, is harder to see. Nonetheless, this fourth-round outing was right up his street, as he took his opponent to multiple deuces in Granollers’ opening service game. It was only a matter of time before the defences crumbled. At 3-2 Ferrer brought up his third break point of the game by outfoxing Granollers with a drop shot followed by a perfect ball down the line (not the last time he would use that combination to crushing effect). Granollers, who is just the sixth-ranked Spaniard here despite his seeding, double faulted and it was 2-4. Aside from one thoroughly atypical love game, he always looked vulnerable on service.

Granollers did however manage to carve out two chances. Ferrer was serving for the set and unexpectedly put the ball wide for break point. A 23-stroke rally forced Granollers further and further into a defensive corner and left him nowhere to go. Then Ferrer sent the ball long again, and another long rally drew a further error from Granollers. That was the nearest Ferrer came to a crisis, even though it was a set where he made more errors than Granollers. Crucially Ferrer produced even more winners, and he served it out 6-3 in 44 minutes.

The second set opened with a 13-minute game as Ferrer cemented his advantage. He brought up his fourth break point with a backhand volley, and converted with a wrong-footing forehand. At 0-2 it was raining on Granollers’ parade and also on Chatrier, although play continued. At 3-1 Ferrer forced the pace once more, racing to the net to reach a seemingly perfect drop shot and send it down the line to move clear at 4-1. Granollers had little left to give and captured just one more game before the match was done.

Commented Ferrer after the win: "It's a series of reasons why I have reached quarterfinals, why this year is my best performance at Roland Garros. It's true that in the past three or four ‑ well, four matches ‑ I felt really comfortable. I felt really at ease. I think I have to continue this way. Next match I will be playing will probably be a difficult match to play, but I'll have to continue and be positive. I should try and reach semifinals. I've never managed to go beyond the level of quarterfinals. I managed at the US Open but never on clay, so I will have to continue and make even more effort."

Nicolas Almagro, meanwhile, continued his incredible run that began in the first round of the Nice Open. Since that match, the Spanish no.12 seed has yet to drop a set, winning the tournament in the south of France and racing into the quarter-finals here. Almagro's latest victim was Janko Tipsarevic, no less, the no.8 seed from Serbia. Tipsarevic was outplayed in every part of the game by the Spaniard who must be starting to feel invincible, such is his form. The clay-court specialist is about to find out, as he faces the winner of the Juan Monaco-Rafael Nadal match this afternoon.

Almagro was understandably delighted to reach the last eight: "Yes, of course I'm very happy. I think I played great tennis today. The day was a little bit cloudy, but now it's really sunny for me. (Smiling.) Now that win is one of the best moments of my career, and I want to enjoy and I'm very happy with my tennis."

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was a mightily relieved man when he converted his second match point on Stanislav Wawrinska's serve to win 6-4, 7-6(6), 3-6, 3-6, 6-4. The French fifth seed had come into the match carried over from last night with a 4-2 lead and lost the first game to relinquish his precious break. The Swiss then drew level at 4-4 and a potentially tight, drawn-out conclusion looked likely. No doubt annoyed at letting his lead slip, Tsonga had other ideas, running around his forehand to smash winners in the next two games and grasp victory from the valiant Wawrinka. Providing he makes full use of that devastating forehand in tomorrow's quarter-final, the Frenchman must have a (small) chance. Especially if Djokovic starts as sluggishly as he did against Andreas Seppi in the last round...

Juan Martin Del Potro took up where he left off last night, carving out a 7-6(6), 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over Tomas Berdych by taking the fourth set he required. Leading two sets to one overnight, the Argentinean no.9 seed broke to lead 2-0, only to relinquish that break in the seventh game. Del Potro looked the more dangerous throughout though, and after he raced into a 0-40 lead in the 12th game he clinched his place in the quarter-final on his first match point when Berdych hit long.

Del Potro was bothered by his heavily strapped knee in the early rounds, but gave no sign of discomfort either yesterday or today. His groundstrokes have been wreaking havoc and Roger Federer will need to bring his A-game against the former US Open champion in the quarter-final. Since missing nearly all of 2010 with a wrist injury, tennis fans have been waiting for the giant South American to get back to his devastating best. He is not there yet, but there are growing signs that the Del Potro of old is back, and the 'Big Four' may become a 'Big Five' on this evidence.

Looking forward to his quarter-final with Roger Federer, Del Potro was upbeat: "I (need to) play an unbelievable match, try to take my opportunities, serve 100%, trying to play winners with my forehand, with my backhand, and put him to raise his game. I don't like to run too much, so I will try to be more aggressive than his game and looking at unbelievable shots."

Del Potro wins 2nd straight Estoril Open

OEIRAS, Portugal (AP)

        Argentina's Juan del Potro won his second consecutive Estoril Open title, using a strong serve to beat France's Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-2 Sunday.

       

         Del Potro, seeded first and ranked 12th, won his second title of the year and 11th of his career.

''I felt it was my best match of the week,'' Del Potro said. ''I felt really confident on my forehand and I grew in confidence every game.''

          Gasquet, seeded second, also lost this clay-court final in 2007 when he faced Novak Djokovic. He dropped serve early in both sets. Del Potro didn't give up a break chance in the match and had six aces in improving his record against Gasquet to 4-1.

          ''He's very tall and has a good second serve and was hitting the ball very well,'' Gasquet said. ''He was the better player today.''

Aussie Groth Hits Speedy Serves

by ATP Staff12.05.2012

Australian Samuel Groth hit an ace recorded at 163.4 mph (263 kph) Wednesday during an ATP Challenger event in Busan, South Korea. The serve, which came during Groth’s second-round defeat to Belarusian Uladzimir Ignatik, is the fastest ever recorded at a professional tennis event.

The ATP does not officially recognise service speed records because of the variance in radar guns, but confirmed that the event was using approved equipment, and that other data gathered appeared within a normal range.

Currently, the fastest-recorded serve at an ATP World Tour or Davis Cup level event is a 156 mph (251 kph) rocket hit by Croatian Ivo Karlovic during a Davis Cup tie between Croatia and Germany in Zagreb in March, 2011.

Groth hit two other serves recorded at 157.5 mph (253.5 kph) and 158.9 mph (255.7 kph) respectively in the same match.

Groth (@samuelgroth on Twitter), No. 340 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, tweeted after the match: 'Lost 4&3 average! Did hit a 263kmh serve though in for an ace.' The 24 year old reached the Challenger final in Burnie, Australia, in February and the semi-finals of the Kyoto Challenger in Japan in March.

Federer Renews Reign In Indian Wells

Roger Federer equaled Rafael Nadal’s record of 19 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles after defeating American John Isner 7-6(7), 6-3 on Sunday in Indian Wells. He became the first player to claim four BNP Paribas Open titles, adding to the three straight he won from 2004-06. "When it all pays off after a bit of a scare early on in the week and you get the title and the emotions are going, it's a wonderful feeling," he said. "I remember the days when I won three years in a row here, and I enjoyed myself over here. "It's been a long time since I have been this successful here, even though I have had some really good matches here in the past, but it's nice taking it all the way and getting victories. I was just really happy and not relieved because I was just extremely proud of my performance this week." Federer was the first to come under pressure in the final, needing to fight off two break points early on. After waiting out a 12-minute rain delay following the fifth game, both players easily held until Federer earned his first set point on Isner’s serve at 6-5. Isner held to force a tie-break, and fought off two more set points at 6-5 and 7-6 before he put a volley into the net on Federer’s fourth opportunity. The Swiss stepped up his play an extra notch in the final set. He lost just one point on serve and won the final four games to close the door on the 6’9” Isner after one hour and 21 minutes. The title was Federer’s third straight on the ATP World Tour, following his triumphs at the ATP World Tour 500 tournaments in Rotterdam and Dubai, and extended his winning streak to 15 straight matches. Since a loss in the US Open semi-finals, Federer has won 39 of his past 41 matches. He avenged his two losses - to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open semi-finals and to Isner in Davis Cup action - this weekend. Federer had admitted he was not completely healthy at the start of the week, and needed to overcome Milos Raonic and Thomaz Bellucci in three-set matches before decisively defeating Juan Martin del Potro in the quarter-finals. "I played with an attitude maybe of, well, I can only win here," he said. "I don't favor myself because I have not felt great. It would be a surprise to come through. That's how it feels now. I was able to come through, and so convincingly at the end is amazing. I've really played amazing these last three matches in particular. I couldn't be more happy. They were really great wins." Isner had reached his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final by outlasting World No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. The victory guaranteed that the 26-year-old North Carolina native would break into the Top 10 for the first time on Monday. "It was a great experience for me," he said. "The whole week was a lot of fun. Felt like right from the get go I was going to have a good week, but I didn't want to overthink it. I definitely took it one match at a time. I certainly played well all week, and obviously today it did not go my way. "I don't really feel like necessarily I played my best, but that's what Roger does. If I have any shot to beat him I'm gonna have to play my best. That wasn't the case today. He was too strong. All the credit goes to him."

Players Want Rules Enforced: Fan Reaction By Brad Boeker

Article by Brad Boeker

http://sports.yahoo.com/tennis/news?slug=ycn-11085006

Players Want Rules Enforced: Fan ReactionSeveral professional tennis players this year have commented publicly about rules on tour being enforced. Or more to the point, they have been making comments about rules not being enforced. The two most common complaints come from the time players take between points (men) and the shrieks players emit when playing (women).Last week, speaking at the BNP Paribas Open, Roger Federer commented on the slow pace of play of Rafael Nadal. Chris Chase, who writes the Busted Racquet tennis blog on Yahoo! Sports, took some shots at Federer's comments. Chase likes to poke fun at the regal way the Fed tries to criticize without seeming to criticize.

But is Federer wrong? After all, he is calling for nothing more radical than for the existing rules to be enforced. Currently players are allowed 20 seconds between points while playing in Grand Slam events, but they are allowed 25 points in regular ATP tournaments. Unscientific estimates have predicted that the epic, nearly six-hour Australian Open final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal (two of the most notorious perpetrators of slow play) could have been cut by an hour if the players had followed a pace of play prescribed by the rules.On the women's side we (still!) hear complaints about the grunts, yells, and shrieks players issue when playing. During the Australian Open in January Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland (currently ranked #5) complained to the press about Maria Sharapova's noise levels while playing. Last fall then-#1 Caroline Wozniacki went further, claiming that players were actually making noise to gain an advantage. Still, like the ATP and pace of play, the WTA does little to address the noise issue.One of the negative public perceptions of tennis is that, as an individual sport, it's filled with prima donnas surrounded by of enablers who refuse to try to get the players into line. Sadly, there is lots of evidence to support this. Just watch SportsCenter during a Grand Slam and it won't be too long before you'll be treated to footage of a player smashing a racquet (or several). Or watch this video.Fans of all sports want the rules enforced consistently and fairly. Football fans want the Super Bowl champion Giants treated the same as the team in last place. Tennis fans should want the same. The notion that top players "have earned" a certain amount of latitude that the #167-ranked player doesn't get really doesn't do the sport any favors. I really enjoy following the career of Rafael Nadal. Not only is he one of the all-time greats, but everything about him tells me he is an individual of class and integrity. I simply wish he would stop taking an eternity between points.Now that the players themselves are speaking out about these problems, maybe the tours will be forced to act. The first step seems easy enough. Tell the referees to enforce the rules. Then be ready to back them up when the players complain.Brad Boeker has been a fan of professional tennis for over 30 years. He coaches high school tennis in Illinois.

Llodra fined $2,500 for racial taunting

Frenchman Michael Llodra has been fined $2,500 for racially taunting a spectator during his first-round win over Ernests Gulbis at Indian Wells. The ATP confirmed the fine for "verbal abuse."Canadian journalist Tom Tebbutt, who was at the match, reported that Llodra hit a ball out of court, threw his racket, and called fan Daniel Lee and his sister "f--king Chinese." L’Equipe will report on Tuesday that Llodra said he thought the fine was too high and that what he said should not have been considered worse than swearing.Llodra allegedly said he would call the Lees by 2 PM on Sunday, but Daniel Lee told TENNIS.com that they had not been contacted by 8 PM.Llodra withdrew from his second-round match with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Sunday because of a knee injury when trailing 4-1.

Tsonga Targets First Grass Court Title at Queens Club

Jo Wilfried Tsonga will try to go one step further than last year by winning his first grass court title at the AEGON Championships, 11-17 June, 2012. Tsonga, the World No.6, thrilled the crowds at The Queen’s Club last year with his big serve, diving volleys and extravagant celebrations, and narrowly lost out to Andy Murray in a pulsating three-set, Monday final. After agreeing to play at the AEGON Championships again, he said that the event last year was a turning point for him. He went on to reach the semifinals at The Championships, Wimbledon and reached the final of the ATP World Tour Finals at the end of the year.“I had an incredible year in 2011, and it all started there (at the AEGON Championships),” said Tsonga. “For me it is really nice, the organizers are very friendly with me, I like the crowd, and it was a really good atmosphere in the final. I beat Lleyton Hewitt there in 2007 to get into the Top 100 for the first time and that’s where I started to do my celebration like this (he demonstrates his jumping celebration with two thumbs pointing to his back).”Can he go all the way at the AEGON Championships this time, and also at Wimbledon two weeks later?“I know that I can beat everybody on grass, so why not?” he said. “I know on grass that I am a good player. I go to the net and I serve well.”Murray, who fought back to beat Tsonga 3-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 in last year’s final and has already confirmed his participation at the AEGON Championships this year, paid tribute to the Frenchman shortly after defeating him in the final. "Jo was playing a different sport to me in the first two sets, I have never seen anyone dive so much," said Murray. "He is so much fun to watch but not much fun to play against!”.

Experience Leads Federer Past Raonic

Experience won over youth on Tuesday night in Indian Wells, with 30-year-old Roger Federer coming back to defeat 21-year-old Milos Raonic 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4 for a place in the BNP Paribas Open fourth round.

“I guess my experience helped me to stay calm and just weather the storm,” said Federer. “Maybe if I would be younger I'd be more panicky about him hitting aces left and right and making me feel uncomfortable. I have been there so many times before against some of the all time great servers that it was obviously not going to happen tonight. I just hoped to stay calm.”

Raonic gained the upper hand in the first meeting between the pair, going up a mini-break 5-3 and holding his serve to clinch the tie-break, but Federer came back strong in the second set. The World No. 3 broke in the opening game and a second time to go up 4-1. “I felt at the beginning maybe I just went for a little too much, didn't play within myself,” said Raonic. “I think I caught on to that pretty early and calmed down and did the right things. I think it just came down to a few poorly executed plays as well. I think I hit the ball well. I just was picking the wrong shot, and this is what makes the difference, but with experience hopefully I catch on to that.”

Federer lost only five points on serve in the decisive set, and converted on the only break point chance with a winner past Raonic in the seventh game, going on to clinch the victory after two hours and seven minutes. “Even though I was down a set, I don't think I was playing poorly,” said Federer. “I might have missed one running forehand in the breaker, and that was about it. That cost me the set. That's just how it goes sometimes. I think my experience in this regard helped me a bit, but overall I think I just played a good match. My confidence got me through as well playing so many matches as of late. I think that was maybe the difference tonight.” Both players had entered the year’s first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament with two titles to their names in 2012, Federer winning in Rotterdam and Dubai and Raonic in Chennai and San Jose. Federer has now 11 straight matches, and 35 of his last 37 since a loss in the US Open semi-finals. He will attempt to extend his streak when he next meets unseeded Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci. The World No. 50 secured safe passage when former World No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko retired due to illness. Bellucci, 24, has reached the quarter-finals of an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament once previously, posting upset wins over Top 10 players Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych en route to the Madrid semi-finals last year (l. to Djokovic). “Obviously it's a quick turn of events to go from night session to day session, from a righty to a lefty, from a big server to a baseliner,” assessed Federer. “I'm looking forward to that kind of a challenge. It's different. I hope to feel better again tomorrow so I will be able to last through long rallies.”