Rafael Nadal extended his astonishing winning run on clay to 42 consecutive sets as he reached the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open with a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Slovakia's Martin Klizan on Friday. The defending champion will face David Goffin on Saturday after the Belgian beat Spaniard Roberto Bautista 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-2.
Nadal kept up his bid for a third Wimbledon and French Open double, putting on an ominous show to beat Karen Khachanov 6-1 6-4 7-6(3) on Friday on Centre Court and reach the last 16.
Clay has never been Sania Mirza's favourite surface but the Indian blamed lack of match practice due to injury for her first round exit from the French Open.
'I'm feeling good...Expectations are always high. I am not here to play the tournament; I am here to try to have a good result'
He went on to lift the US Open title in 1994 and, after shaving his head on the advice of his then actress girlfriend Brooke Shields, the Australian Open crown in 1995 before adding an Olympic gold at Atlanta 1996.
Austria's Dominic Thiem strained every sinew trying to cling on to the 32-year-old Spaniard and at times even gained a precarious foothold in his first Grand Slam final.
Serena Williams had to dig deep to fend off Latvian challenger Jelena Ostapenko as she wrapped up Friday's play at the Fed Cup in Seattle with a hard-fought victory that gave the United States a 2-0 advantage. Williams' experience and savvy ways showed in critical moments against the 22-year-old Ostapenko as she prevailed 7-6(4), 7-6(3) in a match that took one hour and 46 minutes.
It's Donald Trump like he's never been seen before.
Two fellow Spaniards who have already beaten him on his favourite clay surface could lie in wait for favourite and defending champion Rafael Nadal at the French Open.
Donald Young has replaced the injured John Isner for the United States and will face Wimbledon champion Andy Murray of Britain in Friday's opening match of the first-round Davis Cup tie in San Diego.
The 31-year-old triumphed despite suffering from an apparent muscle problem to became the lowest seeded player, at 13, to claim the title since Gustavo Kuerten in 1999.
Rafael Nadal had just beaten rising Greek force Stefanos Tsitsipas in a classic scrap at the ATP Finals but had no idea whether it was good enough to keep him in the tournament.
Top seed Simona Halep was pooled with grand slam winners Maria Sharapova and Flavia Pennetta in a formidable looking Red Group for the end-of-season WTA Finals on Friday.
The Wimbledon tennis championships were cancelled for the first time since World War Two as the coronavirus pandemic wiped another blue-riband sports event off the calendar on Wednesday.
A blistered foot, aching muscles and a growing rival in Novak Djokovic might slow down Rafel Nadal at Roland Garros.
Serbia's Jelena Jankovic said she feels ready to take retired Justine Henin's French Open title and her world number one slot after winning the Italian Open for the second consecutive year on Sunday. Jankovic beat France's Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-2 in the final to claim her sixth career title.
Ganeshotsav: Readers' PHOTOS from Malvan to London
Images from Day 3 of the French Open matches played at Roland Garros on Tuesday
Top seed James Blake cruised into the final of the US Clay Court Championship with a 6-3, 7-6 victory over Spaniard Oscar Hernandez on Saturday. In Sunday's final, Blake will face another Spaniard in Marcel Granollers-Pujol, who came from a set down to beat American Wayne Odesnik 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in Saturday's first semi-final.
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