Sports
Tommy Haas defeated Roger Fedrer in Gerry Weber Open

Former World No. 2 Tommy Haas won the Gerry Weber Open title for the second time on Sunday in Halle as he defeated good friend and five-time former champion Roger Federer 7-6(5), 6-4.

“I don’t have many words to say really, except that it is an amazing feeling to win another title in Germany,” said Haas. “[Winning] my thirteenth title was a goal of mine to maybe achieve in the next coming months, years or however long I am going to play. To have somebody across the net like Roger is a real honour for me. To have that picture with the winning trophy and Roger next to me is something really special, something I’ll obviously never forget. I’m just really happy and proud.”

The German had lifted the trophy in 2009 with victory over Novak Djokovic and ended a nine-match losing streak against Federer to win his 13th ATP World Tour title. He has won eight ATP World Tour finals in a row, with his last defeat in a title match coming against Andre Agassi in Rome in 2002.
Sports
Roger Fedrer Storms into final

Roger Federer (World No. 3) stormed to the Gerry Weber Open final for the seventh time on Saturday in Halle as he dismissed Mikhail Youzhny 6-1, 6-4 in one hour. The Basel native fired eight aces and converted four of his eight break points to seal his 13th win in 13 meetings with the No. 31-ranked Youzhny.
“It was a good match for me,” said Federer. “An early start, but I think I started well. Mikhail started a bit slow, but I think I took advantage of it and after that I was able to get on a roll. I’m obviously excited to be a finalist here again.” 

The Swiss is bidding to win the title at this ATP World Tour 250 grass-court tournament for the sixth time after victories in 2003-2006 and 2008. He has a 39-4 event record, with his only final defeat coming in 2010 against Lleyton Hewitt.
Sports
Rafael Nadal break record of Bjorn Borg
Rafael Nadal (Two-time reigning champion) made Roland Garros history on Monday, defeating top-ranked Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in final that spanned two days to capture his seventh title. Breaking a tie with Bjorn Borg for the most trophies in tournament history.

“For me it is a real honour. Borg is one of the greatest in history, one of the more charismatic players in history,” Nadal said in a post-match interview with John McEnroe. “The comparison with the great Bjorn is fantastic. He’s always been very nice to me, so I have to say thanks.”

Added Nadal in his press conference, “For me, it is a real emotional day, winning another time here. Sure, the seventh is important because I am the player who has more today, but like I said yesterday: that’s after. For me, the important thing is to win Roland Garros even if it’s the first, second, third, or seventh [time]. That’s what makes me very happy. [I’m] very happy [with] the way that I played today, because I played much more aggressive.”

With his 11th Grand Slam crown, Nadal moves into a third-place tie with Borg for the most major singles championships in the Open Era. He also becomes just the 10th player in Open Era history to win 50 titles on the ATP World Tour, with 36 of his successes occurring on clay

Sports
Final between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic postponed
The Roland Garros final between Rafael Nadal  and Novak Djokovic   was postponed on Sunday when rain halted play in the fourth set. The final will resume on Monday at 1pm CEST/7am EST, with Djokovic serving at 4-6, 3-6, 6-2, 2-1.
Rain first stopped play in the second set with Nadal leading 6-4, 5-3. After returning from a 34-minute delay, Nadal broke to take the second set, and had an opportunity to control the match in the third set before Djokovic staged his comeback trailing two sets and a break. Down 0-2, the Serbian won eight consecutive games to reverse the momentum before play was suspended for the second time.

For Nadal, it was just the third time in 53 Roland Garros matches that he had won two or fewer games in a set (’09 4th rd. vs. Robin Soderling and ’06 final vs. Roger Federer). It was also the first time he dropped a set at the tournament since winning a five-set match against John Isner in a first-round encounter last year.

Sports
Maria Sharapova of Russia won the French Open

Maria Sharapova of Russia won the French Open on Saturday, capturing her first title on the crushed red clay and picking up the only major trophy lacking in her collection. Sharapova, 25, defeated Italy’s Sara Errani, 6-3, 6-2, in a one-sided match on a blustery Paris afternoon.

The Russian’s fourth major title made her the sixth female tennis player in the Open era to achieve a career Grand Slam, and she joins Serena Williams as the only other active woman currently on tour who can make the same boast. Sharapova has won each of the four majors once — Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006, the Australian Open in 2008 and now the French.

“It’s surreal. It’s the most unique moment I’ve experienced in my career,” said Sharapova, adding that it even eclipsed her unexpected victory at Wimbledon over Williams as a 17-year-old. “This was extremely special, and even more so.”

She will rise from No. 2 to the top of the women’s rankings when they are released next week.
Her destruction of Errani, a surprise finalist who was seeded No. 21, was as brutal as it was swift. In 89 minutes, Sharapova compiled 37 winners, enough by themselves to win nine of her 12 games. She fired so many shots onto the sidelines that the puffs of chalk they sent up might as well have been smoke.
Sports
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will meet on Sunday, 10 June, 2012 for the 33rd time in an historic Roland Garros final. Djokovic (World No. 1) will be looking to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam championship titles, while No. 2-ranked Nadal is bidding to capture a record seventh trophy on Parisian clay.Djokovic has won their past three matches in major hampionship finals (2011 Wimbledon, 2011 US Open and 2012 Australian Open). Nadal has won their past two clay-court final meetings at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in April and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome. Nadal leads Djokovic 18-14 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

Here is a history of the duo’s last 5 career meetings:-
1.       2012 Internazionali BNL d’Italia Final, ATP World Tour Masters 1000, Rome, clay, Nadal d. Djokovic 75 63

2.        2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Final, ATP World Tour Masters 1000, Monte-Carlo, clay, Nadal d. Djokovic 63 61

3.        2012 Australian Open Final, Grand Slam, Melbourne, hard, Djokovic d. Nadal 57 64 62 67(5) 75

4.        2011 US Open Final, Grand Slam, New York, hard, Djokovic d. Nadal 62 64 67(3) 61

5.    2011 Wimbledon Final, Grand Slam, London, grass, Djokovic d. Nadal 64 61 16 63



Sports
Rafa & Novak: The Rivalry

Rafa & Novak: The Rivalry 
Internazionali BNL d’Italia final will be played on Sunday, 20 May, 2012. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 3 Rafael Nadal will meet for the 32nd time in the
Nadal won their latest clash 6-3, 6-1 in the final of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters to take a 17-14 lead in their FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series, stopping Djokovic’s run of seven straight wins.
Nadal Versus Djokovic FedEx ATP Head 2 Head Record
The Spaniard holds marks of 10-2 on clay and 2-1 on grass, while Djokovic leads 11-5 on hard courts. The Serbian has won three of their four Grand Slam championship final clashes.
Here is a history of the duo’s recent meetings:

1.   2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Final, ATP World Tour Masters 1000, Monte-Carlo, clay, Nadal d. Djokovic 63 61

2.  2012 Australian Open Final, Grand Slam, Melbourne, hard, Djokovic d. Nadal 57 64 62 67(5) 75

3.  2011 US Open Final, Grand Slam, New York, hard, Djokovic d. Nadal 62 64 67(3) 61

4.  2011 Wimbledon Final, Grand Slam, London, grass, Djokovic d. Nadal 64 61 16 63

5.  2011 Internazionali BNL d’Italia Final, ATP World Tour Masters 1000, Rome, clay, Djokovic d. Nadal 64 64

 
Sports
Roger Federer vs Novak Djokovic

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will once again meet for the 25th time in Internazionali BNL d’Italia semi-finals Saturday’s in Rome. It will be the pair’s first meeting after five-set battle in the 2011 US Open semi-finals. Federer leads 14-10 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.
 
Below is a history of the pair’s 10 meetings,

1. US Open Semi-final, Grand Slam, New York, hard, Djokovic d. Federer 67(7) 46 63 62 75
2. 2011 Roland Garros Semi-final, Grand Slam, Paris, clay, Federer d. Djokovic 76(5) 63 36 76(5)

3. 2011 BNP Paribas Open Semi-final, ATP World Tour Masters 1000, Indian Wells, hard, Djokovic d. Federer 63 36 62

4. 2011 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Final, ATP World Tour 500, Dubai, hard, Djokovic d. Federer 63 63


5. 2011 Australian Open Semi-final, Grand Slam, Melbourne, hard, Djokovic d. Federer 76(3) 75 64


6. 2010 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Semi-final, London, indoor hard, Federer d. Djokovic 61 64


7. 2010 Swiss Indoors Basel Final, ATP World Tour 500, Basel, indoor hard, Federer d. Djokovic 64 36 61
8. 2010 US Open Semi-final, Grand Slam, New York, hard, Djokovic d. Federer 57 61 57 62 75


9. 2010 Rogers Cup Semi-final, ATP World Tour Masters 1000, Toronto, hard, Federer d. Djokovic 61 36 75


10 .2009 Swiss Indoors Basel Final, ATP World Tour 500, Basel, indoor hard, Djokovic d. Federer 64 46 62

       
Sports
Federer, Nadal Make Forbes’ Top 100’s List

Federer, Nadal Make Forbes’ Top 100 List

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have both made the grade in Forbes’ 2012 list of the world’s most powerful celebrities. Federer was the highest-ranked tennis players at No. 31, followed by Nadal (47), Maria Sharapova (71), Serena Williams (77) and Li Na (87).

Of Federer, Forbes wrote that he “has the most impressive endorsement portfolio in sports with nine sponsors that collectively earn Federer more than $30 million annually including long-term deals with Nike, Rolex, Wilson and Credit Suisse. He also commands more than $1 million per exhibition event. Federer is widely perceived as the greatest tennis player ever. He holds the records for most singles Grand Slam wins (16) and career prize money ($70 million). He appeared in a staggering 18 out of 19 Grand Slam finals between 2005 and 2010.”

Nadal, said Forbes, “has established himself as one of the top tennis players of all-time. He has ranked among the top two in the ATP’s year-end standings for seven straight years. His $48 million in career prize money ranks second only to Roger Federer. He became the first person to win the same tournament eight straight years when he clinched the title at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in April, 2012. Nadal has expanded his endorsement portfolio in recent years and counts Nike, Babolat, Kia Motors, Richard Mille and Bacardi among his sponsors.”