Tennisphilia

Nadal leads Barcelona 2012 Semifinalists

>> Friday, April 27, 2012

The BARCELONA OPEN BANC SABADELL 2012 semifinals is set with world #2 Rafael Nadal leading the final four players to contend for this year's title. Nadal downed his quarterfinal foe fifth seed Janko Tipsarevic in an impressive 6-2, 6-2 victory that lasted 83 minutes. He now improves to 25-3 for the season and he is seeking his second straight ATP title of the year after winning last week at Monte-Carlo. Nadal has not lost in Barcelona since 2003, and has lifted the trophy on his past six appearances, from 2005 to 2009, and also last year.

Nadal's company in the final four includes countrymen and former champion Fernando Verdasco and 3-time finalist David Ferrer. Gate-crashing the semifinals is big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic who beat Andy Murray in the quarterfinals 64 76(3). Raonic is better known for his achievements on hard courts but has impressed with back-to-back wins over Nicolas Almagro and Murray. Ferrer advanced with a 67(4) 76(7) 63 win over 7th seed Feliciano Lopez and Verdasco got a short victory when 8th seed Kei Nishikori retired in the first set.

Raonic will meet Ferrer for a spot in the finals while Nadal is expected to advance over Verdasco.

Nadal quote after advancing to semi-finals: "I felt well. I played a very good match, better than yesterday... Very happy to be back in the semi-finals.You cannot expect an easy match against the No. 8 in the world. 6-2, 6-2 is a very good result for me. ... I have a lot of confidence from my past results here but it doesn't mean it will continue that way... Each match is different. I go on court and try my best in every moment and hope it goes well for me."

Raonic quote after beating Murray: "It's very, very difficult and a big plus in confidence for me... Clay's not his best surface, but he consistently does well on it. Last year he reached the semi-finals at the French Open, Monte-Carlo and Rome, so he can play really well on it. For me, it was a big win, regardless of the surface."

Nadal Barcelona 2012: Aiming for Title #7

>> Monday, April 23, 2012

At the Miami tennis tournament last month, world #2 Rafael Nadal failed to capture a single title after the season's first quarter is done. More worrying for the Nadal fans is his withdrawal prior to his semifinal with Andy Murray due to a left knee injury. But those worries are gone and with the start of clay court season, Nadal announced himself ready for another onslaught by winning his 8th Monte-Carlo crown dominating world #1 Novak Djokovic in the finals last Sunday.

And now, the Spaniard is back in his home tournament in Barcelona aiming for his seventh title at the 2012 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. The Spaniard makes a killing in terms of ranking points during the clay court season. Of his almost 10,000 ranking points, half of these has come in the five clay court tournaments he plays from April to June. If he fails to duplicate his 2011 season clay court success, he is in danger of being replaced as world #2 by Roger Federer who is lurking behind Nadal in the rankings. However, Nadal is still considered as the best clay court tennis player ever and though he is vulnerable in other surfaces, he is almost impossible to beat on clay court tennis tournaments.

At the 2012 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Nadal is the top seed and will be challenged by a number of clay court specialists and three other players in the top 10. After a first round bye, he opens up against the winner between Guillermo GARCIA-LOPEZ of Spain and Olivier ROCHUS of Belgium. His round of 16 opponent is most likely Pablo Andujar, a clay court winner earlier this month at Casablanca. His potential seeded opponents in the quarterfinals will be the winner in the area of the draw having world #8 Janko TIPSAREVIC and Nadal's doubles partner and 12th-seed Marcel GRANOLLERS. Quadrant Favorite: NADAL. Darkhorse: GRANOLLERS.

In Nadal's top half of the draw, the other quadrant was supposed to be led by world #7 Tomas Berdych. Berdych withdrew due to a right shoulder injury and is replaced in the draw by 2010 champion and 9th-seed Fernando Verdasco. Verdasco will be challenged in this section of the draw by 8th-seed Kei Nishikori, 13th-seed Kevin Anderson and 17th-seed Albert Ramos. This is certainly the most unpredictable section of the draw with Verdasco the favorite based on his previous clay court success. Quadrant Favorite: VERDASCO. Darkhorse: RAMOS.

At the bottom half of the draw is second-seed and world #4 Andy Murray. Murray has won only one match in four matches in this tournament but has improved as a clay court player over the years. His section of the draw includes 6th-seed Nicolas Almagro who leads the ATP tour this year with most matches won. Other seeds in this quadrant include #11 Milos Raonic of Canada and #18 Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan. The semifinalist from this section of the draw is most likely the winner of the potential quarterfinal between Murray and Almagro. Quadrant Favorite: MURRAY. Darkhorse: HAASE.

In Murray's bottom of the draw, Spanish players are expected to emerge. World #6 and third-seed David Ferrer is Nadal's most likely challenger in the final with Ferrer being a three-time finalist in this event, each time losing to Nadal. Ferrer's potential quarterfinal opponent is countryman and seventh-seed Feliciano Lopez. Other seeds in this area of the draw are former semifinalist and 10th-seed Radek Stepanek and 15th-seed Bernard Tomic of Australia. Look for Ferrer to bounce back from an early round elimination at Monte-Carlo and to challenge for his fourth title of this season in the finals. Quadrant Favorite: FERRER. Darkhorse: NIEMINEN.

Final Prediction: While challengers abound, look for Nadal to win the 2012 Barcelona tennis tournament.

Tennis Barcelona 2012: Match Highlights and Player Interviews

All Barcelona 2012 match highlights and interviews are available here. | Preview: The 2012 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell held at the prestigious Real Club de Tenis Barcelona in Spain starts this week from April 23 - April 29, 2012. Watch live tennis action online direct from the 2012 Barcelona Open through TennisTv.com. The clay court event is a ATP World Tour 500 tennis tournament and has a 56-man singles main draw with the top eight seeds drawing a first round bye. The total prize money is €1,627,500 and Barcelona Open tickets can be acquired by using the following ticket hotline: +34 902 33 22 11.

The Barcelona tournament's is celebrating its 60th edition this week. This tennis tournament is one of the most important events in Spanish tennis and on the Barcelona social calendar. Spaniards have won the last nine editions, with world #2 Rafael Nadal lifting the trophy six times in the past seven years. This year, Nadal is aiming for his seventh title. Fresh from winning his eighth Monte-Carlo tournament last Sunday beating world #1 Novak Djokovic in the process, the top Spaniard defeated David Ferrer, 6-2, 6-4, in the 2011 final. He won this title five consecutive times from 2005-2009, and combined with his Monte-Carlo success, he became the first player in the Open Era to win two tournaments at least six times.

Three players challenging Nadal includes world #4 Andy Murray, Spain's own David Ferrer, and former champion Fernando Verdasco. Murray is competing in Barcelona for the fourth time but doesn't have much success in the tournament having won only one of four matches. He and brother Jamie, are also entered in this year's doubles draw. Ferrer is most likely Nadal's main challenger - the Spanish number two finished runner-up to Nadal three times in 2008, 2009 and 2011. He has a 21-9 record in the tournament. Verdasco is the 2010 champion and is hoping to win his sixth ATP title in his career. He beat Swede Robin Soderling in the finals two years ago.

In doubles competition, the top-ranked team of Bob and Mike Bryan are aiming for a third title in Barcelona. The Bryan brothers won in 2003 and 2008 and finished runner-up last year. The second-seed is the Mirnyi / Nestor team who achieved a semifinal finish last year. The third-seeded pair of Bhupathi / Zimonjic have not competed in the tournament previously. The fourth-seed team is Fyrstenberg / Matkowski who have a 9-6 record in Barcelona and finishing as runner-up in 2006 and 2008.

Recent Champions / Finalists since 2000:

2011 Rafael Nadal/David Ferrer
2010 Fernando Verdasco/Robin Soderling
2009 Rafael Nadal/David Ferrer
2008 Rafael Nadal/David Ferrer
2007 Rafael Nadal/Guillermo Canas
2006 Rafael Nadal/Tommy Robredo
2005 Rafael Nadal/Juan Carlos Ferrero
2004 Tommy Robredo/Gaston Gaudio
2003 Carlos Moya/Marat Safin
2002 Gaston Gaudio/Albert Costa
2001 Juan Carlos Ferrero/Carlos Moya
2000 Marat Safin/Juan Carlos Ferrero

Tournament Profile:

Name: Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell
Category: ATP World Tour 500
Place: Barcelona, Spain
Date: 23.04.2012-29.04.2012
Draw Size: S-56 D-24
Surface: Clay
Prize Money: € 1,627,500
Total Financial Commitment: € 2,072,500
Ticket Hotline: +34 902 33 22 11

Watch tennis action live from the Barcelona Open 2012 through TennisTv.com.

Stuttgart 2012 Tennis Live Online

>> Sunday, April 22, 2012

The 2012 staging of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany between April 23 - 29, 2012 will be broadcast live online here. This WTA tennis tournament is one of the 20 premier tournaments on the WTA calendar and it has been held in the Porsche Arena since 2006. On 2009, the surface for the tournament switched to clay and it has been a player favorite with the event being voted as favorite WTA tennis tournament in 2007, 2008 and 2010. Watch Stuttgart 2012 Tennis live online through the link provided above.

Stuttgart 2012 Tennis Main Singles Draw: The 2012 Stuttgart field features a strong draw with the top eight players in the world in attendance. 17 of the top 20 players are also in the main draw singles field. World #1 Victoria Azarenka is in the top half of the draw. Her quadrant includes #7 Marion Bartoli who stopped Azarenka's perfect 26-0 record for the season at the quarterfinals of the Miami tennis tournament. Also in the quadrant are former world #1 Ana Ivanovic, and German #1 Andrea Petkovic. Promising German player Mona Barthel is in the same part of the draw as a wild card entry - Barthel almost beat Azarenka earlier this year in the Indian Wells tournament.

World #4 Agnieszka Radwanska is seeded to meet Azarenka in the semifinals. In her quadrant is French Open champion and world #8 Na Li. At the bottom half of the draw in world #2 Maria Sharapova. Sharapova's quadrant includes US Open and world #6 Sam Stosur and defending champion Julia Goerges of Germany. Sharapova is seeded to meet world #3 and Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. Kvitova's section of the draw has world #6 Caroline Wozniacki, former world #1 Jelena Jankovic and 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy.

History: The first Porsche Tennis Grand Prix was played in 1978, as an indoor tournament. The first winner was the American Tracy Austin, who went on to win the next three Grand Prix tennis tournaments. The most successful player in the tournament's history is tennis legend Martina Navratilova who won six times. Austin and Martina Hingis of Switzerland won the tournament four times each. Other notable winners included Lindsay Davenport, Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin, and retired German Anke Huber.

Tournament Profile:

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2012
APRIL 23 - 29, 2012 STUTTGART, GERMANY
Tier: Premier
Prize Money: $740,000
Surface: Clay/Indoors
Tournament Director: Markus Guenthardt

Tickets:
http://www.porsche-tennis.de/prod/pag/tennis.nsf/web/english-ticketservice
Call: 0711-2 55 55 55

Official Website in English:
http://www.porsche-tennis.de/prod/pag/tennis.nsf/web/english-home

Nadal earns €460K Prize Money for 2012 Monte-Carlo win over Djokovic

World #2 Rafael Nadal won his first title of the season by overwhelming world #1 Novak Djokovic in straight sets 6-3 6-1 at the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournament held at Monte-Carlo, Monaco. The win allowed Nadal to clinch his eighth-successive Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters title on Sunday and end a seven-match final losing streak against Djokovic. For the win, Nadal earns €460,260 in prize money and 1000 ranking points. Djokovic as runner-up earns €225,680 and 600 ranking points.

With the win, Nadal increases his career prize money earnings to beyond $47 million. He is second behind Roger Federer in the ATP career prize money leaders list. Federer has earned almost $70 million. With the runner-up prize money, Djokovic now has a total of around $36.5 million. He is fourth in the career prize money leaders list behind retired American Pete Sampras who is third with $43.3 million prize money earned. Below is a list of the top prize money leaders at the start of the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on April 16, 2012.

Rank Player Career
1. Federer, Roger $69,746,521
2. Nadal, Rafael $46,789,842
3. Sampras, Pete $43,280,489
4. Djokovic, Novak $36,206,641
5. Agassi, Andre $31,152,975
6. Becker, Boris $25,080,956
7. Kafelnikov, Yevgeny $23,883,797
8. Lendl, Ivan $21,262,417
9. Edberg, Stefan $20,630,941
10. Roddick, Andy $20,228,866
11. Murray, Andy $20,200,873

The victory for the 25-year-old from Mallorca, Spain means that he is now the only tennis player ever to have won 20 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crowns. This is Nadal's first tennis tournament title since winning the French Open in June 2011. Nadal looked solid all week without dropping any set. He increased his tournament record to a staggering 44-1 win-loss count, having won 42 consecutive matches and losing only six sets since 2004. He has now won 33 clay court titles, the third most clay court wins in the Open era.

Despite the tournament win, Nadal will not increase his overall ranking points as he was simply defending his points won from last year's tournament victory. For Djokovic, his runner-up finish will allow him to increase his ranking points to beyond 13,000 points - a staggering total which puts him more than 3000 ranking points above Nadal. Djokovic did not play the Monte-Carlo tennis tournament in 2011. The loss today was Djokovic's first final loss of the season after winning tournaments in Melbourne and Indian Wells. He lost in the semifinals of the Dubai and Indian Wells tournaments. Nadal improves to 22-3 win-loss record for the season while Djokovic holds a 24-3 record.

Azarenka vs Sharapova in 2012 Stuttgart Tennis

An elite field led by world #1 Victoria Azarenka, #2 Maria Sharapova, and one of this year's top performer in world #4 Agnieszka Radwanska converge in the 2012 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in STUTTGART, Germany. The Stuttgart tennis tournament is the biggest WTA tournament on clay in Europe this season and will kick-off the major clay court preparation of top players heading into this year's grand slam on clay, the 2012 French Open at Roland Garros, France. Azarenka will be playing for the first time since losing in the quarterfinals in Miami where her 26-0 start to the season was blemished by her loss to world #7 Marion Bartoli.

Azarenka is aiming for just her second WTA clay tournament. She won the Marbella tennis tournament on clay last year, but all her other 11 career titles were on hardcourts. The world #1 will be hoping to win her 5th title this year after winning in Sydney, Melbourne, Qatar, and Indian Wells. As top seed, she received a first round bye and will be opening against one of two Germans, either Andrea Petkovic - who is playing her first WTA event since January after a back injury lay-off - or veteran wildcard Kristina Barrois.

Leading the bottom half of the draw is Sharapova who is still looking for her first title of the year after losing in all 3 tournament finals she contested. Sharapova lost to Azarenka twice in Melbourne and Indian Wells, and was surprised in her last tournament by Radwanksa falling to the #1 Polish player in straight sets at Miami. Sharapova has three titles on clay including a win at Rome in 2011. The second seed will open against either Flavia Pennetta, who has won their last two meetings, or a qualifier.

In Sharapova's section of the draw is world #3 Petra Kvitova. Kvitova begins against former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone or Monica Niculescu. After reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open in January, Kvitova's form has dipped and she lost in the early rounds of Indian Wells and Miami. She is currently competing at the Fed Cup 2012 semifinals in Italy this weekend before flying over to start her campaign in Stuttgart.

Radwanska is the fourth seed and is undoubtedly the second best performer this year after Azarenka. She won titles in Dubai and Miami and will be hoping to win her third title here at Stuttgart. Radwanska will be opening against a qualifier and she is seeded to meet Azarenka in the semifinals. Radwanska leads the WTA with the most number of matches won this year - but she has lost four times to only one player - and that player is Azarenka.

Rounding out the top eight seeds are Sam Stosur, Caroline Wozniacki, Marion Bartoli and Li Na. If the seeds all survive through the quarterfinals, the match-ups will feature Azarenka vs Bartoli, Radwanksa against Li, Kvitova against Wozniacki, and Sharapova vs Stosur. With only eight seeds and 17 of the top 20 players present, there are interesting early round matches including the first round battle between Wozniacki and fellow former No.1 Jelena Jankovic.

German players will also be in contention with Angelique Kerber, Julia Goerges, Petkovic and Mona Barthel featured in the main draw. Last year, Goerges became Germany's second home champion in Stuttgart, beating then-No.1 Wozniacki in the final for her biggest title to date. Kerber is a player to watch having won two titles already this year - in Paris and in Copenhagen where she beat Sharapova and Wozniacki on her way to the titles. Barthel remains a player to watch as the tall German almost defeated Azarenka in Indian Wells.

Serena, Fed Cup 2012 Live Online - April 22, 2012

The second day of the BNP Paribas - sponsored Fed Cup 2012 competition heats up with nations competing for victory in ten World Group cities this Sunday, April 22, 2012. The world group semifinals pit Russia vs Serbia in the first tie with both teams splitting their matches on the first day at the Sports Palace "Megasport" in Moscow, Russia. Serbia has never beaten Russia in their 3 completed ties to date. The other semifinal pitted the Czech Republic against Italy in CEZ Arena in Ostrava, Czech Republic. The Czech Fed Cup team are a win away from the 2012 Fed Cup finals after winning both matches on Saturday to set-up a commanding 2-0 lead over the visiting team. Watch 2012 Fed Cup matches live online here.

Over at the Superior Golf and Spa Resort in Kharkiv, Ukraine, thirteen-time Grand Slam champion and former world #1 Serena Williams is leading the United States in their Fed Cup campaign against an overwhelmed Ukrainian team. The Americans have a commanding 2-0 lead after Saturday's matches, with Christina McHale putting the USA on the road to success by lifting the team to 1-0 in the opening match. McHale needed three sets to down 110th-ranked Lesia Tsurenko 61 46 63. Serena had a much straight forward 62 61 win over 171st-ranked Elina Svitolina who was playing on her first Fed Cup team. The United States need one more win to secure a place in next year's World Group and is heavily favored to sweep it's remaining matches against the hapless team from Ukraine.

In other World Group play-off matches, Japan leads Belgium 2-0 in their tie at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan. The Japanese are led Ayumi Morita ranked #83, and Kimiko DATE-KRUMM, ranked #84. Belgium is playing without a top 100 player with top players Kim Clijsters and Yanina Wickmayer opting out of the tie. In Spain, the Spanish team is tied 1-1 with the team from the Slovak Republic at the tie being held in Club de Tenis Puente Romano in Marbella. Daniela HANTUCHOVA won the second rubber to force the tie after top Slovak player Dominika CIBULKOVA lost in the first rubber against Lourdes DOMINGUEZ-LINO.

The other World Group play-off is being held at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany. The visiting Australian team is holding a 2-0 lead after the first day of play with world #5 Samantha STOSUR beating world #14 Angelique KERBER 76(1) 64. Australia's #2 player Jarmila GAJDOSOVA, ranked #50 in the world, caused an upset when she beat 16th ranked Julia GOERGES in straight sets 64 64. Stosur will next face Goerges in the first reverse singles on Sunday hoping to win the tie for Australia.

In the first world group semifinal, Anastasia PAVLYUCHENKOVA will be aiming to put the Russians ahead when she plays former world #1 Ana IVANOVIC. The fourth rubber will be between 2-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana KUZNETSOVA and former world #1 Jelena JANKOVIC. Kuznetsova and Jankovic both won their day 1 matches to provide a split 1-1 score between the Russia and Serbia.

In the other world group semifinal, the Czech Republic will need just one more win to advance to the 2012 Fed Cup finals. In the first day of play, Lucie SAFAROVA downed higher ranked former French Open champion Francesca SCHIAVONE of Italy in straight sets 7-6(3) 6-1. In the second match, world #3 and reigning Wimbledon champion Petra KVITOVA beat Italy's #2 player Roberta VINCI 6-4 6-3. In the reverse singles matches on Sunday, Kvitova will square off with Schiavone while Safarova will go against Errani.

Watch Serena Williams and Fed Cup 2012 live online action at the link provided above.

Djokovic impersonates Wozniacki's boyfriend at Monte Carlo 2012 players show

In an amusing twist on the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters players show, world #1 Novak Djokovic teamed up with former ATP player David Ekerot of Sweden in impersonating former women's #1 tennis player Caroline Wozniacki and her boyfriend, the world's #1 golfer Rory McIlroy. Djokovic impersonated McIlroy complete with a funny golfer's get-up while Ekerot dressed up in drag to imitate Wozniacki. The audience howled their approval and heartily accepted the duo when they bounced onto the stage and got interviewed. Djokovic has previously impersonated fellow tennis stars including Maria Sharapova and his final opponent on Sunday, Rafael Nadal. Watch photos from the event here.

Monte-Carlo 2012 Finals Live: Nadal vs Djokovic

It's a dream final in both the singles and doubles competition at the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournament. The tournament's top two seeds are contesting the championship in both singles and doubles finals. World #1 Novak Djokovic is going against world #2 Rafael Nadal in singles, while the top-seeded pair of Bob and Mike Bryan are going against the second-seeded pair of Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor. Live online action will be available here starting at 2.00 pm local time on Sunday, April 22, 2012.

Djokovic is going for his first ever Monte-Carlo title while Nadal is aiming for an unprecedented eighth straight title. The pair have met once in the final before with Nadal the victor in the 2009 finals. Djokovic has shown some resilience this week overcoming first set losses in the round of 16 and the semifinals while Nadal's path has been pretty straightforward winning all his four matches this week in straight sets. On a personal level, Djokovic will be playing his fourth match after learning about death in his family with the unfortunate demise of his grandfather last Thursday.

The Monte-Carlo tennis tournament is one of the only three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 that Djokovic hasn't won in his career. The other two are Cincinnati and Shanghai. The world #1 will be playing his 45th ATP tournament championship match and has won 30 titles before. Eighteen of those title matches have come in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final, where he has won 11 titles to date. As for Nadal, he is going for his 47th ATP title in his 68th ATP tournament championship match. The Spaniard is attempting to be the first player ever to win 20 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles as he is currently tied with Roger Federer with 19 such titles. He is playing in his 30th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 finals match.

Nadal has a winning record against match-ups with #1 players. He has won 13 of 21 matches when going against the top-ranked player. In Monte-Carlo, he is a perfect 14-0 against top-10 opponents. Nadal also leads Djokovic 16-14 in their career head to head meetings. However, he hasn't beaten the Serb since the round robin stage of the 2010 10 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Djokovic has won their last seven matches including two finals in clay in Madrid and Rome, and the last three Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon, the US Open, and this year's Australian Open. Djokovic's last two victories over Nadal on clay were both in straight sets.

The winner of the tournament will take home €460,260 and 1000 ranking points. The runner-up will earn €225,680 and 600 points. Furthermore, the winner will have a huge psychological advantage for the rest of the clay court season. Djokovic hasn't been shy on expressing his desire of conquering this year's French Open - the only Grand Slam missing in his resume. Nadal is all out to stop him from doing that. After all, Nadal is considered by many to be the best clay court player ever and his 32 titles in clay - third best total - attest to that.

Nadal on playing Djokovic: "My feeling is I have much less to lose than him. I have everything to win... That's the most important thing. That's the only positive thing about losing seven times. The next matches, you only have to win. You go to the match knowing that the normal thing is lose but trying the best to change situation. That's what I'm going to try."

Djokovic on playing Nadal: "It will be the most difficult match for me in this tournament... He's the player to beat here. He's the player to beat on clay courts. He's the best ever in the history of the sport on this surface. It's the ultimate challenge. I need to play well. I need to play well from the first to the last point. I cannot have ups and downs. I cannot afford that against Rafa. I'm aware of that. But why not believe that I can win?"

Watch the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters 2012 finals live online featuring Djokovic vs Nadal through TennisTv.com.

Djokovic vs Nadal Live in 2012 Monte-Carlo Final

>> Saturday, April 21, 2012

The top two seeds overcame semifinal opponents in contrasting fashion to set-up a blockbuster final at the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournament. The seven-time champion and world #2 Rafael Nadal advanced with a straight set victory over Gilles Simon of France 63 64. He will face off with world #1 Novak Djokovic who took three sets to eliminate top Czech player Tomas Berdych 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Watch the final live online featuring Djokovic vs Nadal starting at 2pm CET / 8am ET here.

Nadal who improved to 41 straight wins in Monte-Carlo will be facing a seven-match losing streak against Djokovic. He hasn’t beaten the world #1 since the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in 2010. He lost two tournament finals in clay last year to Djokovic, and also lost three consecutive Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon, the US Open, and most recently, the Australian Open last January.

Nadal is aiming to win a record 20th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy. He currently has 19 in a tie with world #3 Roger Federer. If Nadal wins the title in Monte-Carlo, it would be only his first ATP tour title after winning at the French Open last year. He has yet to win a single title in four tournaments this year. In his semifinal win, he has now beaten Simon for the fifth time in six career meetings.

As for Djokovic, he has now reached the Monte-Carlo final for the second time in his career after reaching the same stage in 2009 before losing to Nadal. He has a good chance to win the final considering his recent streak against the Spaniard. But, as Djokovic admits, Nadal is a different player on clay. "He's the player to beat here. He's the player to beat on clay courts. He's the best ever in the history of the sport on this surface. It's the ultimate challenge. "

Djokovic is also facing an emotional battle this week after learning on Thursday of the death of his grandfather. He is aiming for his third title this year after winning the Australian Open in Melbourne where he beat Nadal and taking the title in Miami in his last tournament by defeating Andy Murray. He is going for this twelfth Masters 1000 trophy and thirty first overall in his career. The 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters final will be broadcast live online through TennisTV.com.

2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Match Highlights Online

Match highlights, featured interviews and daily highlights for the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters are available for viewing online here. Currently available videos are: Quarterfinal action between Nadal vs Wawrinka, Murray vs Berdych and an all-French clash between Tsonga and Simon. | Video: Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters - QF Hot Shot (Djokovic) Novak Djokovic showed why he's the best in the world with this incredible point against Robin Haase. |

Other video match-ups available: Tsonga vs Simon Highlights (Monte-Carlo QF) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon met in an all-French clash for a place in the Monte-Carlo semi-finals. | Simon Interview (Monte-Carlo QF) The No. 9 seed came up against countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals. | Legends Borg and Lendl Reunite Former champions and tennis legends Bjorn Borg and Ivan Lendl reunited at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. |

Nadal vs Wawrinka Highlights (Monte-Carlo QF): Rafael Nadal looked to maintain his perfect record against Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarter-finals. | Nadal Interview (Monte-Carlo QF) The reigning champion was seeking his 40th consecutive win in Monte-Carlo and a place in the semi-finals. Nadal Interview (Monte-Carlo QF/ESP) The reigning champion was seeking his 40th consecutive win in Monte-Carlo and a place in the semi-finals. |

Djokovic vs Haase Highlights (Monte-Carlo QF): Top seed Novak Djokovic came up against first-time quarter-finalist Robin Haase in Monte-Carlo. | Djokovic Interview (Monte-Carlo QF): The World No. 1 continued his quest for a first title at the Monte-Carlo Country Club against Robin Haase. | Murray vs Berdych Highlights (Monte-Carlo QF): Third seed Andy Murray and sixth seed Tomas Berdych met in the first of the Monte-Carlo quarter-finals. | Murray Interview (Monte-Carlo QF) The British No. 1 attends his press conference after facing Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals. | Berdych Interview (Monte-Carlo QF): The Czech was looking to reach the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo for the first time since 2007.

Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters - Thursday Hot Shot by Nadal: Rafael Nadal produced another moment of magic, this time a sublime lob against Mikhail Kukushkin. | Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters - Thursday Round-up: The top four seeds were back in action in what was an emotional day for Djokovic and a dramatic one for Murray. | Nadal vs Kukushkin Highlights (Monte-Carlo 3R): Rafael Nadal continued the defence of his crown with a third round clash with Mikhail Kukushkin in Monte-Carlo. | Nadal Interview (Monte-Carlo 3R) The seven-time champion assesses his performance against Mikhail Kukushkin. |

Djokovic vs Dolgopolov Highlights (Monte-Carlo 3R): Following the death of his grandfather, an emotional Novak Djokovic took to the court against Alexandr Dolgopolov. | Tipsarevic vs Simon Highlights (Monte-Carlo 3R): Seventh seed Janko Tipsarevic faced French No. 3 Gilles Simon in the third round. Fans can also watch 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters match highlights online through the ATP website link here.

Nadal 2012 Monte-Carlo Semifinals Live Online vs Simon

>> Friday, April 20, 2012

World #2 and seven-time defending champion Rafael Nadal advanced to the semifinals of the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournament when he eliminated unseeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland. The Spaniard recorded his 40th consecutive win in Monte-Carlo during his straight set 75 64 quarterfinal victory. Nadal will take on ninth-seeded Gilles Simon for a spot in the finals. Simon won the battle of the Frenchmen when he downed higher ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 75 64 in the last match of the day. Watch the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters semifinal between Nadal and Simon live online here.

Nadal has not lost a match in Monte-Carlo since being beaten by Guillermo Coria in the third round of the 2003 tournament. He has now improved to a perfect 8-0 record against the Swiss who is ranked #26 in the world. Wawrinka played an impressive match in the previous round when he eliminated Nadal’s countryman, Nicolas Almagro, who leads the ATP tour this year with the most match wins at 25. Nadal said that he had a difficult quarterfinal match, but that he was happy with the way he played and in reaching the semifinals.

Nadal will be a heavy favorite to reach his eight consecutive final at Monte-Carlo. He has the best career match record on clay since the start of the Open Era. He has won 233 matches against 18 losses for an incredibly high 93% winning percentage. He has reached thirty-six clay court tournament finals winning 32. Nadal has lost only four matches on clay since 2006 winning twenty three clay court titles since that time. Two of those losses however, were dealt by world #1 Novak Djokovic during last year’s clay season.

As for Simon, he reversed a losing trend to his Davis Cup teammate by beating Tsonga for the first time since 2008. Simon now improves to 2 wins against 4 losses against the French #1 who he last beat in a third set tiebreak during the first round of the 2008 ATP Masters 1000 Rome tennis tournament. Simon beat his second straight top 10 opponent as he also eliminated world #8 Janko Tipsaveric in the round of 16. He now advances to his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final on clay and is the first Frenchman to advance to this round after Richard Gasquest accomplished the same in 2005.

Nadal Statistics for 2012: The 25-year-old from Mallorca now improves to 42-1 career record with 40 straight wins in Monte-Carlo. He has been very dominant in this tournament losing only a total of six sets against 80 sets won since 2005. Nadal is aiming to win his first title of the year after reaching 1 final and 3 semifinals in his last four tournaments. He withdrew against Andy Murray in the semifinals in Miami, the last tournament he played before Monte-Carlo. He owns a 20-3 record this season losing to three players – Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Gael Monfils.

Simon Statistics for 2012: The #3 Frenchman behind Tsonga and Monfils is now through to his third semifinal of the year. Simon lost both semifinals appearances in the Brisbane and Montpellier tennis tournaments. With the win over Tsonga, he has now defeated top 10 players back-to-back for the first time in his career. He has a 17-9 record for the year, and is aiming for his 10th career title and first for the year. Simon has played Nadal five times, winning just one of those meetings in the semi-finals of the 2008 Mutua Madrid Open.

Watch the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters semifinals featuring Nadal vs Simon live online through TennisTv.com.

Djokovic 2012 Monte-Carlo Semifinals Live Online vs Berdych

World #1 and top-seeded Novak Djokovic overcame personal sorrow and a stubborn opponent in eliminating Robin Haase of the Netherlands. Djokovic now advances to the semifinals of the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournament in Monaco after his 64 62 victory achieved in 77 minutes. The Serb will next face world #7 Tomas Berdych who conquered higher ranked #4 Andy Murray 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3. The semifinals match between Djokovic and Berdych will be shown live online here.

Djokovic was playing his second match after learning about the death of his grandfather during practice yesterday. He indicated that he handled his emotions better during the quarterfinals as compared to his third round match where he lost the first set before composing himself to take the next two sets. He is quoted as saying that the win is a “big result under the circumstances”. Djokovic also said that his grandfather is very close to him, and it was a “big loss for me and all the family”. He credits “remembering only the nicest memories, and that’s what gave me strength to play yesterday and today”.

Djokovic Stats: With the victory, the 24-year-old Serb improved his career record in Monte-Carlo to 14-5. He is aiming to improve from his last appearance in 2010 where he lost to Fernando Verdasco in the semifinals. His best result in this tennis tournament is reaching the finals in 2009 before losing to Rafael Nadal. Djokovic is looking to win his third tournament of the year after winning the Australian Open in Melbourne and the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. He is playing in his fifth tournament and has a 23-2 win-loss record prior to the semifinals. He has reached at least the semifinal stage in all five tournaments played. He is aiming for his 31st ATP career title in Monte-Carlo.

Berdych Stats: The top player from the Czech Republic now has a 12-7 record in the Monte-Carlo tennis tournament. He has now replicated his best result in 2007 where he also reached the semifinals before losing to then world #2 Nadal. He improved his match record this year to 22-5, and has a perfect 5-0 record on clay. This season, he has won the Montpellier title, and reached the semifinals in Rotterdam. Three of his losses this season have been against top 10 opponents. With the win against Murray, he improved his top 10 record this year to three wins against three losses.

Djokovic vs Berdych: The Czech held a match point against Djokovic on their last meeting at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in November 2011. He lost the match and he cherishes the next opportunity for another shot at the world #1.

Berdych on Djokovic: “It's a day to play the No. 1 player in the world, which is always great. It's a semi-final, which is fantastic.” Djokovic on Berdych: “He's a threat to anybody on any surface. Big groundstrokes, powerful serve. He knows what it feels like to play on the big stage... Hit incredible shots from baseline.” Watch the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters men’s semifinal between Djokovic and Berdych live online through TennisTV.com.

Video: Djokovic crying after Grandfather's Death

This blog sends its condolences to world #1 Novak Djokovic on the death of his grandfather and "hero" Vladimir. The top tennis player in the world learned about the sad news on a practice court before his third round match at the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournament. The Serbian had to come from behind in a tough 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over #16-seed Alexandr Dolgopolov. For all the mental toughness that Djokovic has displayed on and off the court in his rise to the top of the ATP tennis world, his vulnerability showed as he wept into his towel while walking off the court.

May Djokovic's faith in the Almighty carry him through this difficult challenge in his life. His fans around the world are praying for him and his family at this time. It is yet unknown if Djokovic will continue to play in the tournament. Watch the video below taken by Canal Sport of Djokovic crying after learning of the sad news while practicing.

Nadal Monte-Carlo 2012 Tennis Results

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic led the way to the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters quarterfinals which saw six of the top 9 seeds advancing and 2 unseeded European players joining the elite list. Seven-time tournament champion Nadal overwhelmed a qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin with the loss of only two games 61 61, while top-seeded Djokovic needed three sets to overcome 16th-seed Alexandr Dolgopolov 26 61 64.

Other seeded players included 3rd-seed Andy Murray, 4th-seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6th-seed Tomas Berdych and 9th-seed Gilles Simon. Murray advanced when his French opponent Julien Benneteau was forced to resign while trailing 5-6 in the first set with a right ankle injury. Tsonga outlasted former finalist Fernando Verdasco 76 62. Berdych downed young Japanese Kei Nishikori 26 62 64. Simon pulled out a minor upset when he eliminated 7th-seed Janko Tipsaveric 60 46 61.

Two unseeded players – Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland and Robin Haase of the Netherlands – gate crashed in to the quarterfinals of the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournament. Wawrinka upset 8th-seeded Nicolas Almagro in straight sets 63 63. Although Almagro was in fine form this season, the result is barely an upset. Wawrinka is a former world #9 and a winner of three clay court titles in his career, the most recent in the 2011 Chennai tennis tournament.
The bigger surprise is the presence of the 55th-ranked Haase in the quarterfinals. Haase downed recent Houston champion and 11th-seed Juan Monaco to reach the second round. He then eliminated Fabio Fognini before downing Thomaz Bellucci to reach the last eight. Bellucci was the surprise winner over fifth-seed David Ferrer in the second round.

For the quarterfinal match-ups on Friday, Djokovic will go up against Haase, Nadal battles Wawrinka, Tsonga and Simon will battle to represent France in the semifinals, and Murray and Berdych will match up for a semifinal slot. Of the four quarterfinals, Djokovic and Nadal are heavy favorites to advance. The two other quarterfinals between top nine seeds will most likely be determined by the player showing up in stronger form on that day.

Singles - Third Round
[1] N Djokovic (SRB) d [16] A Dolgopolov (UKR) 26 61 64
[2] R Nadal (ESP) d [Q] M Kukushkin (KAZ) 61 61
[3] A Murray (GBR) d J Benneteau (FRA) 65 ret. (right ankle)
[4] J Tsonga (FRA) d [13] F Verdasco (ESP) 76(7) 62
[6] T Berdych (CZE) d [12] K Nishikori (JPN) 26 62 64
[9] G Simon (FRA) d [7] J Tipsarevic (SRB) 60 46 61
R Haase (NED) d T Bellucci (BRA) 62 63
S Wawrinka (SUI) d [8] N Almagro (ESP) 63 63

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