Rafael Nadal

Going into the 2012 Australian Open, plenty of mystery shrouded second-ranked Rafael Nadal.What would he have to do in order to beat a player (Novak Djokovic) who simply dominated him throughout 2011? Would his body be healthy enough, or would a minor knee injury hold him back? Would Melbourne be a huge first step towards regaining the No. 1 spot that he had enjoyed for so long?Although Rafa failed to emerge victorious from Down Under, he was...  

Dubai: One of the most charismatic players in the world will be a strong contender for the 20th Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title when play gets under way on February 27 at the Dubai Tennis Stadium. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga — nicknamed Ali because of ...  

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) -- Novak Djokovic has been awarded the top state honor in Serbia. President Boris Tadic has decorated the tennis great with the Karadjordjeva Star Medal, the highest honor in the Balkan country. Tadic said on Tuesday ...  

Seventh-seeded Viktor Troicki defeated Thiemo de Bakker 7-6 (6), 6-0 Tuesday in the first round of the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament. Troicki, who helped Serbia beat Sweden in the Davis Cup over the weekend, squandered three break points in ...  

Novak Djokovic has become such a huge name in tennis that even people who are not familiar with the sport have taken notice.He is not a Federer, nor a Borg, a McEnroe or any other player. He is, simply, himself.It's going to be a battlefield when the Roland Garros begins. Novak is already setting his sights on it, saying at the Laureus Awards:"I have to stay optimistic, believe in what I can do, believe in my abilities and believe that I can...  

INDIAN WELLS — The BNP Paribas Open will collect tennis racquets and balls for recycling during the two weekends of the tennis tournament. People who bring at least six used tennis balls on tournament weekends, March 10-11 and March 17-18 ...  

BELGRADE, Serbia -- Novak Djokovic has been awarded the top state honor in Serbia. President Boris Tadic has announced the tennis great will receive the Karadjordjeva Star Medal, the highest honor in the Balkan country. Djokovic deserves the ...  

Dubai: Second seed Rafael Nadal ended Roger Federer's Dubai winning streak by defeating the top seed 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the 2006 final. Up until that point, Federer had progressed in straight sets — although one of his more intriguing matches was his ...  

Others in the top half include the returning Paul-Henri Mathieu, for whom this will be his second ATP Tour event since his comeback from injury, Feliciano Lopez, home favourite Robin Haase, the fading Nikolay Davydenko, and mercurial Frenchman Richard Gasquet.  

The final rounds in the men's bracket of Grand Slams have seen epic battles between Serbia's Novak Djokovic, Spain's Rafael Nadal, Switzerland's Roger Federer and Great Britain's Andy Murray. The Australian Open championship match lasted nearly six hours ...  

Tennis comes ashore for its second albumColorado DailyBy Ashley Dean, dean@coloradodaily.com Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore, the Denver husband-and-wife duo known as Tennis, first caught our attention with Cape Dory. They wrote the album after spending seven months sailing along the east coast, ...  

Tennis: Shorbagy knocks out 2nd seed DarwishIndia TodayIt was a day of upsets at the PSA Masters with top two seeds Ramy Ashour and Karim Darwish making their way out on Friday. For years, Mohamed El Shorbagy grew up in the shadows of the stalwarts of Egyptian squash but on Friday, the 20-year-old took a ...and more »  

Tennistalk.comGoran too expensive for Croatian tennis budgetTennistalk.comCroatian tennis can't seem to afford the services of Goran Ivanisevic. Officials in the Balkan country have declined an offer from the 2001 Wimbledon winner and national sporting idol to take over as coach of the Davis Cup squad. The problems is price, ...Goran Ivanisevic won't be captain of Croatia's Davis Cup team because of his ...Washington PostIvanisevic too...  

Stuff.co.nzSparc won't play ballStuff.co.nzNew Zealand tennis is struggling to get a first serve over the net as funding problems strangle its aim to produce top-class players. David Long reports. The return of Marina Erakovic and resilience of the Davis Cup team to stay in Asia/Oceania group ...and more »  

Rafael Nadal chats about watching his peers and his physical health as he advances to his 6th straight Australian Open quarterfinal.