Djokovic Monte-Carlo 2012 Tennis Results

World #1 Novak Djokovic's bid to claim the title in the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournaments starts on Wednesday when he goes to court for a second round action against Andreas Seppi of Italy. Djokovic is seen as the man with the highest chance of ending the seven-year reign of Spain's Rafael Nadal at the Monte-Carlo Country Club. No player in the world has won back-to-back ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles in Miami and Monte-Carlo. With Djokovic lifting the trophy in Miami this season, he goes into Monte-Carlo with a chance of achieving this rare feat.

Djokovic has indicated that he is well prepared for the transition from North America's hard courts to Europe's clay court. Last year, Nadal captured his seventh straight tournament win at Monte-Carlo in the absence of Djokovic. However, in the two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tournaments to follow - the Mutua Madrid Open and Internazionali BNL d’Italia - Nadal surrendered his titles with straight-sets losses to Djokovic in both finals. In a recent interview, Djokovic acknowledged that "...Nadal is the ultimate challenge on clay. He’s the king of clay. He’s the best tennis player ever to play on this surface and one of the best tennis players ever, so that says enough."

Arguably, the top-seeded Djokovic's section of the draw is more difficult than that of Nadal's. He is expected to face 16th-seed Alexandr Dolgopolov in the third round before a match-up with Spain's #2 player, world #5 David Ferrer, in the quarterfinals. On the other quadrant in the top half, world #4 Andy Murray lurks as Djokovic's possible semifinal opponent. Murray has already reached the semifinals of this tennis tournament twice but the Scot has yet to win an ATP title on clay. Players challengin Murray on his quadrant are sixth-seed Tomas Berdych, 12th-seed Kei Nishikori, and former semifinals and fifteenth-seed Jurgen Melzer.

Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Results - Djokovic Top Half Results | Tuesday, 17 April 2012 Update: World #3 Andy Murray advanced to the third round with a straight set victory over Viktor Troicki of Serbia 60 63. Murray was one of the first seeded players to advance to the third round of the tournament. On the same day, two seeded players in the top half of the draw also advanced. Kei Nishikori of Japan beat Albert Ramos of Spain 62 75 while Jurgen Melzer eliminated LUKASZ KUBOT also in straight sets 62 75.

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Monte-Carlo 2012 Rolex Masters Tennis TV Schedule by Country

Live tennis action will be broadcast directly from the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournament to different countries in the world. The TV schedule by country is listed below. In Europe, live coverage will be covered in France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, and Portugal. In Asia, TV coverage will be shown live in Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India and Pakistan. In North America, ESPN 3 will cover for the United States and RDS will broadcast the tournament in Canada. The list below contains the international TV schedule by country for the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournament.

ESPN Star Sports - 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Tennis TV Schedule

Date Start (IST) Match Notes
4/17/2012 11:00 Round 1 Live
4/17/2012 12:30 Round 1 Live
4/17/2012 20:00 Round 1 Live
4/17/2012 21:30 Round 1 Live
4/18/2012 11:00 Round 1 & 2 Live
4/18/2012 12:30 Round 1 & 2 Live
4/18/2012 20:00 Round 1 & 2 Live
4/18/2012 21:30 Round 1 & 2 Live
4/19/2012 12:00 Round 2 Live
4/19/2012 18:30 Round 2 Live
4/19/2012 20:00 Round 2 Live
4/19/2012 21:30 Round 2 Live
4/20/2012 12:00 Last 16 Live
4/20/2012 18:30 Last 16 Live
4/20/2012 20:00 Last 16 Live
4/20/2012 21:30 Last 16 Live
4/21/2012 6:30 Quarterfinals Live
4/21/2012 8:00 Quarterfinals Live
4/21/2012 17:00 Quarterfinals Live
4/22/2012 6:30 Semifinals Live
4/22/2012 8:00 Semifinals Live
4/24/2012 1:00 Final Live
4/24/2012 19:30 Highlights Live


ESPN3 - 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Tennis TV Schedule

Date Start (GMT) End (GMT) Match Notes
16-Apr 04:30 12:30 Round 1 Live
17-Apr 04:30 12:30 Round 1 / Round 2 Live
18-Apr 04:30 12:30 Round 2 Live
19-Apr 04:30 12:30 Last 16 Live
20-Apr 04:30 12:30 Quarter Finals Live
21-Apr 07:00 12:00 Semi Finals Live
22-Apr 07:45 10:45 Final Live


Astro Supersport - 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Tennis TV Schedule

Date Channel Start (MST) End (MST) Match Notes
17-Apr ASSP 2 (Ch816) 16.30 00.30 Round 1 / Round 2 Live
18-Apr ASSP 2 (Ch816) 16.30 00.30 Round 2 Live
19-Apr ASSP 2 (Ch816) 16.30 00.30 Last 16 Live
20-Apr ASSP 2 (Ch816) 16.30 00.30 Quarter Finals Live
21-Apr ASSP 2 (Ch816) 19.00 00.00 Semi Finals Live
22-Apr ASSP 2 (Ch816) 19:45 22:55 Final Live

BSkyB - 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Tennis TV Schedule

Date Channel Start (BST) End (BST) Match Notes
16-Apr SS1 09.30 17.30 Round 1 Live
16-Apr SS4 20.00 22.00 Round 1 Repeat
17-Apr SS1 09.30 17.30 Round 1 / Round 2 Live
17-Apr SS4 20.00 22.00 Round 1 / 2 Repeat
18-Apr SS1 09.30 17.30 Round 2 Live
18-Apr SS4 20.00 22.00 Round 2 Repeat
19-Apr SS1 09:30 17:30 Last 16 Live
19-Apr SS4 22:00 00:00 Last 16 Repeat
20-Apr SS1 09:30 17:30 Quarter Finals Live
20-Apr SS4 20:00 22:00 Quarter Finals Repeat
21-Apr SS3 12:00 16:00 Semi Finals Live
21-Apr SS4 20:00 22:00 Semi Finals Repeat
22-Apr TBC 12:45 15:15 Final Live
22-Apr SS2 19:00 21:00 Final Repeat

CCTV - 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Tennis TV Schedule

Date Start (GMT) End (GMT) Match Notes
16-Apr 08:30 16:30 Round 1 Live
17-Apr 08:30 16:30 Round 1 / Round 2 Live
18-Apr 08:30 16:30 Round 2 Live
19-Apr 08:30 16:30 Last 16 Live
20-Apr 08:30 16:30 Quarter Finals Live
21-Apr 11:00 16:00 Semi Finals Live
22-Apr 11:45 14:45 Final Live

Digisport - 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Tennis TV Schedule

Date Start (GMT) End (GMT) Match Notes
16-Apr 08:30 16:30 Round 1 Live
17-Apr 08:30 16:30 Round 1 / Round 2 Live
18-Apr 08:30 16:30 Round 2 Live
19-Apr 08:30 16:30 Last 16 Live
20-Apr 08:30 16:30 Quarter Finals Live
21-Apr 11:00 16:00 Semi Finals Live
22-Apr 12:15 15:15 Final Live
22-Apr 18:00 19:00 Highlights Live


TVE - 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Tennis TV Schedule

Date Start (GMT) End (GMT) Match Notes
16-Apr 08:30 16:30 Round 1 Live
17-Apr 08:30 16:30 Round 1 / Round 2 Live
18-Apr 08:30 16:30 Round 2 Live
19-Apr 08:30 16:30 Last 16 Live
20-Apr 08:30 16:30 Quarter Finals Live
21-Apr 11:00 16:00 Semi Finals Live
22-Apr 11:45 14:45 Final Live

GAORA - 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Tennis TV Schedule

Date Start (JST) End (JST) Match Notes
16-Apr 22:30 01:30 Round 1 Near Live
17-Apr 12:00 15:00 Day 1 Round 1 Repeat
17-Apr 22:30 01:30 Round 2 Near Live
18-Apr 12:00 15:00 Day 2 Round 1 / 2 Repeat
18-Apr 20:00 23:00 Round 2 Near Live
19-Apr 09:30 12:30 Day 3 Round 2 Repeat
19-Apr 22:30 01:30 Last 16 Near Live
20-Apr 17:30 20:30 Day 4 Last 16 Repeat
20-Apr 22:30 01:30 Quarter Finals Near Live
21-Apr 16:00 19:00 Day 5 Quarter Finals Repeat
21-Apr 19:58 01:00 Semi Finals Live
23-Apr 12:30 16:30 Day 6 Semi Final Repeat
22-Apr 21:13 00:45 Final Live
23-Apr 16:30 19:00 Day 7 Final Repeat
24-Apr 12:30 15:00 Day 7 Final Repeat

Globosat - 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Tennis TV Schedule

Date Start (GMT) End (GMT) Match Notes
16-Apr 08:30 16:30 Round 1 Live
17-Apr 08:30 16:30 Round 1 / Round 2 Live
18-Apr 08:30 16:30 Round 2 Live
19-Apr 08:30 16:30 Last 16 Live
20-Apr 08:30 16:30 Quarter Finals Live
21-Apr 11:00 16:00 Semi Finals Live
22-Apr 11:45 14:45 Final Live


Lumiere TV - 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Tennis TV Schedule

Date Channel Start (EEST) End (EEST) Match Notes
16-Apr LTV Sports 2 11.30 19.30 Round 1 Live
17-Apr LTV Sports 2 11.30 19.30 Round 1 / Round 2 Live
18-Apr LTV Sports 2 11.30 19.30 Round 2 Live
19-Apr LTV Sports 2 11.30 19.30 Last 16 Live
20-Apr LTV Sports 2 11.30 19:30 Quarter Finals Live
21-Apr LTV Sports 2 14.00 19:00 Semi Finals Live
22-Apr LTV Sports 2 15:15 18.15 Final Live

MTV3 Finland - 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Tennis TV Schedule

Date Start (GMT) End (GMT) Match Notes
20-Apr 08:30 16:30 Quarter Finals Live
21-Apr 11:00 16:00 Semi Finals Live
22-Apr 11:45 14:45 Final Live

NovaSports - 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Tennis TV Schedule

Date Channel Start (EEST) End (EEST) Match Notes
16-Apr NS1-NSHD 11.30 19.30 Round 1 Live
17-Apr NS1-NSHD 11.30 19.30 Round 1 / Round 2 Live
18-Apr NS1-NSHD 11.30 19.30 Round 2 Live
19-Apr NS1-NSHD 11.30 19.30 Last 16 Live
20-Apr NS1-NSHD 11.30 19:30 Quarter Finals Live
21-Apr NS4 14.00 19:00 Semi Finals Live
22-Apr NS1-NSHD 14:45 18:00 Final Live

Sky Italia - 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Tennis TV Schedule

Date Channel Start (GMT) End (GMT) Match Notes
20-Apr Sky Sports 2 08:30 16:30 Quarter Finals Live
21-Apr Sky Sports 2 HD 11:00 16:00 Semi Finals Live
22-Apr Sky Sports 2 HD 11:45 14:45 Final Live

SPORT 1 (DE) - 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Tennis TV Schedule

Date Channel Start End Match Notes
16-Apr SPORT.TV2 09.30 17:30 Round 1 Live
17-Apr SPORT.TV2 09.30 17:30 Round 1 / Round 2 Live
18-Apr SPORT.TV2 09.30 17:30 Round 2 Live
19-Apr SPORT.TV2 09.30 17:30 Last 16 Live
20-Apr SPORT.TV 2 09.30 17:30 Quarter Finals Live
21-Apr SPORT.TV2 12.00 16.00 Semi Finals Live
22-Apr SPORT.TV2 13.15 15:30 Final Live

Sport TV - 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Tennis TV Schedule

Date Start (CEST) End (CEST) Match Notes
16-Apr 10:30 18:30 Round 1 Live
17-Apr 05:20 10:25 Round 1 Repeat
17-Apr 10:30 18:30 Round 1 / Round 2 Live
18-Apr 05:20 10:25 Round 1 / Round 2 Repeat
18-Apr 10:30 18:30 Round 2 Live
19-Apr 05:20 10:25 Round 2 Repeat
19-Apr 10:30 18:30 Last 16 Live
20-Apr 05:20 10:25 Last 16 Repeat
20-Apr 10:30 18:30 Quarter Finals Live
21-Apr 06:25 13:00 Quarter Finals Repeat
21-Apr 13:00 18:00 Semi Final Live
22-Apr 09:45 13:45 Semi Final Repeat
22-Apr 13:45 16:45 Final Live

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Isner's Ranking: His Rise to Becoming the Top American Tennis Player

In the newly released ATP rankings, John Isner ascends to world #9, his highest ranking to date and in the process, he becomes the 12th different player to hold the distinction as the top men’s tennis player from the United States since the ATP world rankings began in August 23, 1973. How did he get there? Will he stay at the top for a long time?

For an American public that was spoiled until the early years of this century with seeing the top American players winning Grand Slams and staying as world #1, there has been a drought in American tennis success in the ATP tour. Andy Roddick last stayed as world #1 in 2004, and he last won a Grand Slam in 2003. After that, the European triumvirate of Roger Federer – Rafael Nadal – Novak Djokovic started dominating men’s tennis and American success, if at all, has been very limited.

The following is a look of the history of ATP top players from the United States:

Top American – Year Achieved – Career-High ATP Ranking

John Isner 2012 No. 9
Mardy Fish 2011 No. 7
James Blake 2006 No. 4
Andy Roddick 2003 No. 1
Pete Sampras 1992 No. 1
Jim Courier 1991 No. 1
Brad Gilbert 1990 No. 4
Michael Chang 1989 No .2
Andre Agassi 1988 No. 1
John McEnroe 1980 No. 1
Jimmy Connors 1973 No. 1
Stan Smith 1973 No. 3

Isner’s 2011 Season: In 2011, Isner ended the year as the #3 American behind Mardy Fish (#8) and Andy Roddick (#14). He finished in the top 20 for the second year in a row. His 2011 season was highlighted by 2 ATP World Tour titles – winning Newport and Winston-Salem. He made his Grand Slam breakthrough reaching the quarterfinals at the US Open before losing to Andy Murray. He reached the semifinals in Paris and finished his last 32 matches of the season with a 25-7 mark. He earned a career-high $1,170,432 in 2011 for his 2nd straight $1 million+ season. In 2011, Isner led the ATP tour with service games won (91%), most TBs played (58) and won (34) and No. 2 in aces served (811).

Isner’s 2012 Season so Far: In 2012, Isner has already reached two tournament finals at Indian Wells and the recently concluded Houston tennis tournament. On a more promising note, he has beaten three top 20 European players in clay – all on Davis Cup 5-set matches. He beat Roger Federer in Switzerland, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon in France. These wins point to a promising clay court season for Isner in 2012 where he has barely any ranking points to defend.

2012 Win-Loss Record: 20-7
2012 Prize Money: $749,771
2012 Career Prize Money: $3,855,838

John Isner’s Ranking History

Date Singles Rank
16.04.2012 9 (Top ATP player from the United States)
09.04.2012 10 (Top 10)
01.03.2010 20 (Top 20)
14.09.2009 39 (Top 50)
25.02.2008 93 (Top 100)
06.08.2007 193 (Top 200)
30.07.2007 416 (Top 500)
26.09.2005 954 (Top 1000)
01.08.2005 1,306T (First Ranking)

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2012 Monte-Carlo Tennis: Nadal vs Djokovic

When the first ball is struck on April 15 to start the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters singles main draw tournament, fans around the world will be anticipating a final next Sunday to feature a fascinating match-up between the top two players in the world: seven-time tournament champion and world #2 Rafael Nadal against world #1 Novak Djokovic. Djokovic holds a 2-match winning streak against Nadal on clay but make no mistake, it is Nadal who is the best clay court player the world has seen in all of tennis history.

Nadal is still the man to beat in this tournament. He has won a record seven consecutive titles in Monte-Carlo and in forty matches played in this tournament, he has won thirty nine of them, losing only once. Nadal is going for his 20th Masters 1000 crown although he hasn't won a single tournament in four tries this year. He lost to Djokovic in the finals of the Australian Open - his first and only finals match to-date. He withdrew from his semifinal last March against Andy Murray in Miami due to a left knee injury.

Nadal's main challenger is no doubt, the world #1. Djokovic is the leading contender to wrest the Monte-Carlo trophy from Nadal’s grip. The Serbian has beaten Nadal in their past seven meetings, including two clay-court finals last season. Djokovic has also beaten Nadal in the last three Grand Slam finals. Djokovic certainly holds the momentum and psychological advantage in their head-to-head match-up but look out to clay for Nadal to harness his best form.

Two other players may not pose such strong threats, but they've performed well in the Monte-Carlo tournament in the past. World #4 Murray has twice reached the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo, falling to Rafael Nadal on both occasions in 2009 and 2011. He has never won an ATP World Tour clay-court title. World #6 David Ferrer has already won two ATP World Tour clay-court trophies in 2012 and will look to reach the final in Monte-Carlo for the second year in a row after losing to Nadal last year. Other seeded players in the draw who could pose a threat to the favorites include 2007 semifinalist and #7-seed Tomas Berdych, #13-seed and 2010 finalist Fernando Verdasco, #15-seed and 2011 semifinalist Jurgen Melzer. World #3 and 2009 French Open champion Roger Federer is skipping the Monte-Carlo tournament as he did last year.

The winner of the Monte-Carlo tennis tournament will take home €460,260 and 1000 ranking points while the runner-up will earn €225,680 and 600 ranking points. Below is the breakdown of the prize money and doubles ranking points per stage in the tournament:

2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Singles Prize Money and Ranking Points:

Points/Prize Money (Singles)
Points Prize €
W 1,000 460,260
F 600 225,680
SF 360 113,580
QF 180 57,755
R16 90 30,000
R32 45 15,810
R56 10 8,535
--
Q 25
Q3 0 0
Q2 16 1,965
Q1 0 1,000

List of Past Champions in Monte-Carlo since 2000:

Year Singles Winner
2011 Rafael Nadal
2010 Rafael Nadal
2009 Rafael Nadal
2008 Rafael Nadal
2007 Rafael Nadal
2006 Rafael Nadal
2005 Rafael Nadal
2004 Guillermo Coria
2003 Juan Carlos Ferrero
2002 Juan Carlos Ferrero
2001 Gustavo Kuerten
2000 Cedric Pioline

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Tennis Winners: Kerber downs Wozniacki in Copenhagen, Monaco and Andujar claim ATP Titles

Tennis tournament winners this weekend include a talented and up-and-coming German, a Spanish defending champion, and an Argentine player with promising 2012 results. In Copenhagen, Denmark, Angelique Kerber of Germany shattered the perfect record of local player and world #6 Caroline Wozniacki to claim the 2012 e-Boks Open in straight sets, 6-4 6-4.

Wozniacki has previously been unbeaten in her country’s only WTA tennis event winning the first two editions in 2010 and 2011. The former #1 won her matches before the finals all in straight sets, but couldn’t find enough answers to stop Kerber from claiming her second title of the year. Kerber is a rising WTA star who won in Paris defeating world #2 Maria Sharapova on the way. Kerber struggled in her first three matches before finding strong form to finish her opponents in straight sets in the semifinals and finals.

In Houston, Texas, fourth seed and wild card Juan Monaco of Argentina beat the top American player in John Isner 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to capture the US Men’s Clay Court Championship trophy for his first ever U.S. title. The Argentine won his fifth tournament on his 14th ATP final. Monaco broke Isner twice in the first set, ending the American’s run of 45 successive service holds at the ATP World Tour 250 event. The Argentine saved eight of nine break points against his serve to claim victory in two hours and 28 minutes, notching his first win in three meetings with Isner.

In Casablanca, Morocco, third seed Spaniard Pablo Andujar defeated seventh-seeded countryman Albert Ramos 6-1, 7-6(5) in a rain-delayed final to successfully defend his Casablanca title at the Grand Prix Hassan II on Sunday. The win marks Andujar’s second ATP title and is an encouraging result as he had a losing win-loss record this season prior to the start of the tournament. Andujar was quoted as being very happy and feeling special to have won twice in a row at the Casablanca tennis tournament. He also noted the difficulty in playing through three rain delays.

Congratulations to Kerber, Monaco and Andujar for their achievements this week! Watch the match highlights through TennisTv.com. Match highlights include: 15 April - Albert Ramos v Pablo AndujarGrand Prix Hassan II, Casablanca | 15 April - Caroline Wozniacki v Angelique Kerbere-Boks Sony Ericsson Open.

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2012 Monte-Carlo Tennis Live Online

The 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters live online coverage will begin here starting on Monday, April 16, 2012. Eight first round matches will be viewed online featuring seeded and unseeded players. The top favorites in the tournament are world #2 and seven-time champion Rafael Nadal who will start his 2012 campaign later on the week. Nadal’s primary challenger will be world #1 Novak Djokovic with the latter holding a 2-match winning streak against Nadal in clay court finals.

The Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournament is one of the oldest running tournaments. It celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2006, and outside of the French Open, it is one of three big clay court tournaments during the spring / summer clay court season – the other two being staged in Rome and Italy. It is a player and fan favourite due to its magnificent location and long tradition of champions. Nadal holds the most titles with seven consecutive tournament wins since 2005. He holds the best win-loss record of the tournament having won an impressive thirty-nine matches against forty played.

This year, Nadal and Djokovic are joined in the draw by most top ten players with the exception of Roger Federer and Americans Mardy Fish and John Isner. Andy Murray of Great Britain is seeded third, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France is seeded fourth and David Ferrer of Spain is seeded fifth. Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic is seeded sixth followed by Janko Tipsaveric of Serbia. Eight seed is Nicolas Almagro of Spain, ninth seed is Gilles Simon of France, and the tenth seed is Feliciano Lopez of Spain.

The official name of the tournament is MONTE-CARLO ROLEX MASTERS. It is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tennis tournament and it is held in Monte-Carlo Monaco. There are 56 players in the singles main draw with the top 8 seeds receiving a first round draw. The surface is played on clay and total prize money is € 2,427,975. For ticket information, call +377/97-98-70-00. Tournament singles main draw live action started on April 15, and the finals will be held on Sunday, April 22.

Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters: Live Online Coverage state Monday, 16 April:

10:30 CEST (08:30 GMT)
CENTRE COURT

Donald Young Vs Paul-Henri Mathieu
10:30 CEST (08:30 GMT)

Fernando Verdasco Vs Olivier Rochus
COMING UP

Julien Benneteau Vs Marcel Granollers
COMING UP

Milos Raonic Vs Albert Montanes
COMING UP

COURT 1

Lukasz Kubot Vs Jurgen Melzer
10:30 CEST (08:30 GMT)

Bernard Tomic Vs Denis Istomin
COMING UP

Philipp Kohlschreiber Vs Guillaume Rufin
COMING UP

Juan Ignacio Chela Vs Alexandr Dolgopolov
COMING UP

Watch the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters live online through TennisTv.com.

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Houston 2012 Finals Highlights: Monaco downs Isner

Latest: Juan Monaco of Argentina defeated John Isner to win his first title on US soil. Watch the 2012 Houston finals highlights here. | Finals Preview: American John Isner continued his exemplary 2012 season by reaching the finals of the 2012 US Men's Clay Court Championship in Houston. Isner defeated third-seeded Feliciano Lopez 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-3 to reach his second ATP final of the year and assure his highest ranking ever and become the top ranked American player for the first time in his career. For other countries outside the United States, watch the 2012 US Men's Clay Court Championship finals live online from Houston here.

In the finals, Isner will go against accomplished clay court specialist, Juan Monaco of Argentina. Monaco overcame a first set loss to down American qualifier Michael Russell 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 in the other semifinal. Isner will be looking for his first title of the year and first career title in clay. He has won three ATP titles before but has lost his only final in clay finishing runner-up to fellow American Sam Querrey in the 2010 Belgrade tennis tournament. Monaco has already won a title this year winning at Vina Del Mar. He is through to his 13th final and will be aiming for his fifth ATP win.

Isner and Monaco have met twice previously with Isner coming out on top on both occasions. Their last meeting was in the third round at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells where Isner reached his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final by defeating world #1 Novak Djokovic before falling to Roger Federer. Monaco is also in fine form reaching the semifinals of the Miami tennis tournament before falling to Djokovic.

In the history of the tournament, Isner assures that an American has reached the finals of the US Men’s Clay Court Championships for the fifth consecutive year, and 11th in the past 12 years. American Ryan Sweeting was last year’s champion and Isner will attempt to make it two in a row for Americans by winning the title. The hard serving American from Tampa has not been broken in the whole tournament. He is a perfect 7-0 on clay this year including 3 wins against more accomplished European clay courters in Davis Cup matches. His victims included Roger Federer, Gilles Simon, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. In reaching the finals, Isner will become the 12th different player to become the American top player and fourth in the past decade after Andy Roddick in 2003, James Blake in 2006, and Mardy Fish in 2011.

Monaco is appearing on his first final in a U.S. tennis tournament. The winner of the tournament will take home $79,880 and 250 ranking points. The runner will win $42,070 and 150 ranking points. For US fans, the singles final will start at 12 noon and will broadcast at 2pm through Tennis Channel.

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Casablanca Tennis Finals Live Online: Andujar vs Ramos for 2012 Title

Two Spanish players reached the finals of the 2012 Grand Prix Hassan II tennis tournament in Casablanca, Morocco. Third-seeded defending champion Pablo Andujar reached his second consecutive final in Morocco by beating Flavio Cipolla 6-3, 7-5. He will face fellow Spaniard, the seventh-seed Albert Ramos who defeated Igor Andreev 6-3, 7-6(7) to reach his first ATP World Tour final.

World #52 Ramos won all his matches this week in straight sets. He was a 62 63 winner over fellow Spaniard Pere Riba in the first round. He beat Victor Hanescu of Romania 62 64 in the second round. In the quarterfinals, Ramos downed Jeremy Chardy of France 63 64. His semifinal against Andreev was his toughest match to date.

Andujar had a first round bye before beating last year’s finalist Potito Starace of Italy 63 60 in the secondround. He lost his first set of the tournament before regrouping to down fellow Spaniard Sergio Gutierrez-Ferrol 64 16 63 in the quarterfinals. His win over Cipolla allowed him to reach his fifth ATP tour final, all in clay.

Andujar has met Ramos twice before, winning both encounters. They last met last month in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. Ramos reached the semifinals in Sao Paulo and the quarterfinals in Doha this year. He holds a 14-9 record going to the finals. Andujar reached the quarterfinals at Acapulco and has an 8-8 win-loss record for the year. The only clay court meeting between Andujar and Ramos was in Kitzbühel, Austria last year with Andujar prevailing 62 61.

Tournament Preview:

The Grand Prix Hassan II tennis tournament which started in 1986 is entirely funded by Morocco's King Mohammed VI. It is currently the only ATP World Tour stop on the African continent. Two Moroccans have won the title in their home country: Hicham Arazi in 1997 and Younes El Aynaoui in 2002.

Name: Grand Prix Hassan II
Category: ATP World Tour 250
Place: Casablanca, Morocco
Date: 09.04.2012-15.04.2012
Draw Size: S-28 D-16
Surface: Clay
Prize Money: € 398,250

Player Previews:

Top Four Players to watch at the 2012 Grand Prix Hassan II in Casablanca, Morocco

1. Top seed will be world #20 Florian Mayer of Austria. Meyer has a 70-59 career record on clay courts, and his making his fourth appearance in Casablanca. He has not had much success reaching the second round twice in 2005-06.

2. World #22 Alexandr Dolgopolov is seeded second and is making his second main draw appearance in Casablanca. He earlier reached a tour final in January at Brisbane where he lost to world #4 Andy Murray.

3. Pablo Andujar is this year’s third seed. He is the defending champion in Casablanca having beating fifth-seeded Potito Starace of Italy to win the 2011 title in straight sets 61 62.

4. Clay court specialist Albert Montanes of Spain had some success in Casablanca. He reached the finals in 2007 before losing to Henry Mathieu of France. Last year, he lost to eventual champion Andujar in the semifinal round.

Watch the 2012 Grand Prix Hassan II finals live online between Pablo Andujar vs Albert Ramos from Casablanca, Morocco. Live online video stream will be available through TennisTv.com.

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Wozniacki vs Kerber Finals Live at eBoks Open in Copenhagen

The top two seeds reached the singles finals at the 2012 E-Boks Open final in Copenhagen, Denmark. World #6 and defending champion Caroline Wozniacki extended her winning streak at her home tournament by winning her fourteenth match against Petra Martic in the semifinals. She is now 14-0 at the tournament where she won the first two editions in 2010 and 2011. Wozniacki will be facing surging German and second-seeded Angelique Kerber. Kerber overwhelmed former world #1 Jelena Jankovic and will now compete for her second WTA title on Sunday. Kerber won her first title this season in Paris two months ago. Watch the Wozniacki vs Kerber final Live at the eBoks Open final in Copenhagen, Denmark here.

Wozniacki won all her four matches this week in straight sets. She started shakily against Urszula RADWANSKA of Poland 76(4) 62 in the first round. She beat Pauline PARMENTIER of France 62 61 in the second round. She had a dominant 60 63 victory over Alize CORNET of France in the quarterfinals. She beat Martic 63 62 in the semifinals where she broke serve four times and hit five aces en route to her fourth straight set victory. The unseeded Martic has now fallen to a 0-7 record against Top 10 players.

Wozniacki quote: "Petra played quite well. She's a very good player... I was just able to play better today. I felt I was able to control the points throughout the match. I also put more pressure on her by not giving away any easy points... It's always nice to win at home but I don't think about it too much... I don't think it's easy for me here, because there are a lot of good players. I just seem to play very consistently here, which is when I'm dangerous."

In contrast, Kerber reached the finals by scoring three consecutive three-set victories before dominating her semifinal. She beat Stephanie FORETZ GACON of France 46 62 75 in the first round. She also lost the first set in her second round match against Anne KEOTHAVONG of Great Britain 46 63 63. In a challenging quarterfinal, Kerber lost the second set to love before rebounding to beat compatriot and sixth-seeded Mona Barthel 62 06 75. It was in the semifinals where in fine form, she completely overwhelmed world #17 Jankovic in a 62 61 win.

Kerber quote: "First of all, Jelena is an amazing player. I was surprised I was able to win that comfortably.. I've been getting more used to this surface, which helped a lot. I was very focused and tried to keep myself in every point... I have gained a lot of confidence with today's win and I´m looking forward to the final against Caroline... It will be tough both physically and mentally, as we know each other very well."

In the final, Wozniacki will be playing a top 20 player for the first time since she started playing the Copenhagen tennis tournament. In all her 14 wins, her highest opponent was ranked #38. Kerber is in fine form and having the best start to a season this year. She has beaten 3 top 10 opponents in world #2 Maria Sharapova and Marion Bartoli in her Paris win. She downed Li Na in Indian Wells going all the way to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion and world #1 Victoria Azarenka.

Kerber will need all the boost she can get as she goes to the finals knowing she has lost all three previous meetings against Wozniacki. The last meeting was right here in Copenhagen in last year's second round match when Kerber was ranked only #76 and Wozniacki was the world #1. Wozniacki won in straight sets 76(4) 63 but Kerber did hold set points in the first set. Wozniacki will be fully motivated too as she plays before her home crowd and is also aiming for her first title this season. The winner will receive $37,000 in prize money earnings and 280 ranking points. The losing finalist will win $19,000 in prize money earnings and 200 ranking points. Watch the Wozniacki vs Kerber final Live at the eBoks Open final in Copenhagen, Denmark at TennisTv.com

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Wozniacki Live at Copenhagen's 2012 e-Boks Open

The third staging of the e-Boks Open in Farum Arena just north of Copenhagen, Denmark will be broadcast live online here. Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, the former world #1 and now world #6 is the defending champion in this event winning the first two tournaments in 2010 and 2011. She will be joined in the 2012 edition by two other top 20 players - world #16 Angelique Kerber of Germany is the second seed, and world #17 Jelena Jankovic is seeded third.

The venue of the e-Boks Open is at Farum Arena. The place was built in 2000 for theater, concerts, conferences and handball but tennis was added to the venue as the first WTA event in Denmark with the rise of Caroline Wozniacki to superstardom. In 2009, Wozniacki reached the finals of the US Open, her best performance at a Grand Slam to date, and in 2010, she ascended to the world #1 ranking, the first Danish player to do so. "This tournament means a lot to me," said Wozniacki, who was born and raised less than 90 miles away in Odense. "It's great to play in front of my Danish fans who have been following me my whole career. It's just amazing to be able to play in front of the home crowd."

Wozniacki is still looking for her first tournament title of the year. She lost her number 1 ranking after losing to Kim Clijsters at this year's Australian Open and failed to defend her tournament titles at Dubai and Indian Wells. Her best performance at a tournament this season was reaching the semifinals of the Miami tennis tournament where she beat Serena Williams for the first time. She will be starting her e-Boks Open campaign by going against Urszula RADWANSKA of Poland, the younger sister of world #4 Agnieszka Radwanska.

Kerber will most likely provide the stiffest challenge for Wozniacki. She won her first career title earlier this year indoors in Paris and also has three semifinal showings during a season that saw her crack the Top 15 for the first time last month. Also, she played Wozniacki closer than anyone else at this event last year. Third-seeded Jankovic will also provide a challenge if she can make her way to the finals. She has fallen on hard times of late, but has won two titles indoors and owns four career wins over Wozniacki. Kerber and Jankovic are on opposite sides of the draw from Wozniacki. Kerber will start her Copenhagen campaign against Stephanie Foretz Gacon of France while Jankovic will face British youngster Laura Robson in the first round.

The winner of the 2012 e-Boks Open will take home $37,000 and 280 ranking points. The finalist will win $19,000 and 200 ranking points. Watch tennis live action direct from Copenhagen through TennisTv.com.

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2012 Davis Cup Semifinals set: Spain vs USA; Czech Republic vs Argentina

Last year's Davis Cup finalists are back in the final four as defending champion Spain crushed Austria 4-1, and finalist Argentina beat Croatia, also 4-1 to both advance in the final four of the 2012 Davis Cup World Group. They were joined in the semifinals by the United States which beat France 3-2, and Czech Republic which downed Serbia 4-1. Of the four ties held this weekend, France was the only host country who did not advance after Team USA moved past their underdog tag to claim their second consecutive victory over a host European country playing on clay. USA also beat Roger Federer in Switzerland in the first round last February.

The 2012 Davis Cup semifinals will be held on September 14-16, 2012. Spain will be hosting the United States and Argentina will host the Czech Republic. Both countries are expected to play to their strengths and host the semifinals ties on outdoor clay. Spain and the United States have met 10 times previously, with both countries winning 5 ties apiece. Spain has won their past two meetings in 2008 and 2011, including a victory on indoor hard courts in Austin, Texas in the 2011 Davis Cup quarterfinal. The last win by the USA over Spain was in the 2007 quarterfinal held in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Spain will be the heavy favorites to win their semifinal against the United States with two clay court masters in the world's top 10 in #2 Rafael Nadal and #5 David Ferrer. The United States will be banking on current top 10 players John Isner and Mardy Fish to lead their charge.

The other semifinal will pit Argentina against the Czech Republic. The Argentine team as hosts, will pick the playing surface. The Czech Republic holds a 3-1 advantage in their previous Davis Cup ties. The Czechs won their previous meeting held on indoor carpet in Ostrava, Czech Republic in the 2009 World Group quarterfinals and that tie went down to the fifth and deciding rubber. Argentina was victorious in the 2005 World Group first round by routing the Czechs 5-0 on outdoor red clay. Their other previous meetings were in the 1980s when the Czech players were still competing under Czechoslovakia. Argentina is expected to be led by 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro while the Czech Republic will have world #7 Tomas Berdych as their top player.

Related Links:

Spain's title defence gathers pace | Spain were the overwhelming favourite to prevail in their World Group quarterfinal tie against Austria and they didn’t disappoint, winning all four singles rubbers.

Czechs line up title challenge | Czech duo Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek proved once again they are formidable force in Davis Cup as they dispatched Serbia to reach the World Group semifinals.

Courier relishing underdog tag | USA have already faced tough away ties against Switzerland and France this year, and their trip to Spain in the World Group semifinals will be no different.

Argentina in search of elusive glory | Argentina possess the unwanted record of playing the most Davis Cup Finals without winning the title, but this could be the year that statistic changes.

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Serena's 40th Title at Charleston pushes record Career Earnings past $35 Million

13-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams won her 40th WTA career title on Sunday at the 2012 Family Circle Cup held in Charleston, South Carolina. She routed Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in just under an hour 60 61 in a match which she totally dominated after winning the first nine games to go up 60 30. It was the second straight dominating performance for Serena as she also defeated world #5 and reigning US Open champion Sam Stosur 61 61 in the previous day's semifinal. That rout also took less than an hour to complete.

Serena earned $115,000 and 470 ranking points for winning the Family Circle Cup, her second Charleston tennis tournament trophy after also being victorious in 2008. More importantly, the victory pushed Serena's career prize money earnings past $35 million - the most earnings by a female athlete in any sport. Safarova won $59,000 and 320 ranking points as the losing finalist in the singles tournament. Safarova did win the doubles title partnering with Anastasia PAVLYUCHENKOVA of Russia to defeat the duo of Anabel MEDINA GARRIGUES and Yaroslava SHVEDOVA in the doubles final 57 64 10-6.

The victory for Serena, especially her form in the semifinals and finals, sends a clear message to the rest of the WTA tour. Serena is back and in top form and ready to contend in this year's clay court season. The title allowed Serena to go higher in the rankings and she moved to world #9 in the latest rankings. She is expected to be amongst the top eight seeded players when the French Open rolls in next month. Serena barely played last year and will not be defending any ranking points until the grass court season in June.

In winning the title, Serena lost a total of 15 games - the fewest games en route to winning a title this season. Her 40th WTA title means she trails only two active players in number of titles won - older sister Venus Williams has 43 and Belgian Kim Clijsters has 41. With the clay court swing in the next two months, Serena would like to add to her relatively few WTA clay court titles. She has won four to date: in 2002 Rome, 2002 French Open, and Charleston twice in 2008 and now in 2012. Her schedule for the next two months include Madrid, Rome, and the French Open at Roland Garros.

The match highlights of the 2012 Family Circle Cup in Charleston between Serena and Sharapova can be watched here.

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Davis Cup 2012: Spain, USA, Argentina seek Semifinal Spots

The final day of Davis Cup 2012 quarterfinal matches will be broadcast live online here on Sunday, April 8. Three host countries and one visiting country hold a 2-1 lead after three rubbers and are hoping to win their first reverse singles match on the third day to advance to the Davis Cup 2012 semifinals. Host countries Spain, Argentina and the Czech Republic are all expected to advance as their #1 players are higher ranked that their final day opponents. France is the only host country who is trailing, having lost the doubles match-up against the United States #1 ranked doubles team in Bob and Mike Bryan. However, France #1 player - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is favored against his opponent American John Isner. Tsonga won't underestimate Isner though as the American is the only player this year to beat both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

On the last day featuring reverse singles matches, the host teams are expected to clinch their ties. World #5 David Ferrer goes against Jurgen Melzer. World #7 Tomas Berdych is a slight favorite against fellow top ten player Janko Tipsaveric only because of home court advantage. World #10 Juan Martin del Potro should beat Marin Cilic. In the match-up between France and USA, Tsonga is slightly favored to win against Isner and when that happens, a decider fifth match will be played. In such case, veteran Gilles Simon is expected to beat young American Ryan Harrison. The following April 8 matches can be viewed online through TennisTv.com:


FERRER (ESP) vs MELZER (AUT)
Play starts Sunday 8 April at 12:00 (10:00 GMT)
World Group quarterfinals, Castellon, Spain

TSONGA (FRA) vs ISNER (USA)
Play starts Sunday 8 April at 11:00 (09:00 GMT)
World Group quarterfinals, Roquebrune, France

BERDYCH (CZE) v TIPSAREVIC (SRB)
Play starts Sunday 8 April at 13:00 (11:00 GMT)
World Group quarterfinals, Prague, Czech Rep

DEL POTRO (ARG) v CILIC (CRO)
Play starts Sunday 8 April at 10:30 (13:30 GMT)
World Group quarterfinals, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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Family Circle Cup 2012 Finals Live: Serena vs Safarova

Serena Williams blasted 29 winners in her 61 61 semifinal win over Sam Stosur at the Family Circle Cup 2012 Charleston tennis tournament. She advanced against Lucie Safarova who also dominated her semifinal opponent Polona Hercog 60 60 to advance to her first WTA final of the season. Watch the Family Circle Cup 2012 finals between Serena vs Safarova here. Both players are seeking their first WTA title of the year and get a good head start in this year's clay court season.

The Serena vs Stosur was a highly anticipated match as Stosur earlier ruined a sibling semifinal when she beat Venus Williams in three sets in the quarterfinal round. Stosur was expected to give Serena a run for her money as she won their only clay court match at the 2010 French Open when Serena was the top seed and ranked #1 in the world. Stosur also was a surprise winner against Serena in the 2011 US Open final when the American was heavily favored to win her 14th Grand Slam title. It was Serena who came out on top in their last meeting winning in straight sets at the Miami tennis tournament last month. With the win, Serena now leads Stosur 6-3 in their head-to-head career meetings.

It was a surprise that Serena won so easily against the higher ranked Australian but Stosur conceded that Serena played very high quality tennis and deserved the win. "To be honest, I actually felt pretty good out there," Stosur said. "My body wasn't aching or really all that tired to be honest, so unfortunately I can't use that as an excuse. I just thought she played very, very well today. I barely got a look in. I tried standing back and standing in, but it didn't really seem to matter what I did on the court today. She came out with the goods every time... It wasn't bad luck. She just beat me fair and square."

In the second semifinal, Safarova registered her best tournament result for the season by routing the surprise package of the tournament in Hercog in just over an hour. Safarova was in her first semifinal of the year with her previous best showing at a tournament being a quarterfinalist at Doha. Percog had a superb tournament beating veterans Marion Bartoli and Nadia Petrova in consecutive matches for her first semifinal after suffering seven straight first round losses to start the year. But she had little to offer against Safarova failing to win a single game to go out 60 60.

Safarova will now attempt to win the fifth WTA career title against Serena and her first since the 2008 Forest Hills title. As for Serena, she will be aiming for her 40th WTA title. She reached her 55th WTA finals where she has a 39-15 record. Serena will certainly be the favored player to win the Family Circle Cup 2012 title, but expect Safarova to fight with all her might. Watch the exciting Family Circle Cup 2012 final between Serena and Safarova to be broadcast live online via TennisTv.com directly from the Charleston tennis tournament.

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Davis Cup 2012 Quarterfinals Match Highlights

Davis Cup 2012 quarterfinal matches are underway in Spain, Argentina, the Czech Republic, and France. Winners in the April 6 - 8 Davis Cup ties will advance to the semifinals. Watch the Davis Cup 2012 match highlights here. As of Saturday, the second day of action, no winners have materialized just yet as all four ties have 2-1 records. Spain leads Austria, USA leads France, Czech Republic leads Serbia, and Argentina leads Croatia. Team USA is the only team in the lead who is not playing on home soil. The featured Davis Cup match highlights as of Saturday are listed below:

Argentina vs Croatia - Doubles Match: Highlights of David Nalbandian & Eduardo Schwank vs Marin Cilic & Ivo Karlovic in the third rubber of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas quarterfinal between Argentina vs Croatia. The Argentine won the match to take a 2-1 lead.

Spain vs Austria - Doubles Match: Highlights of Marcel Granollers & Marc Lopez vs Alexander Peya & Oliver Marach in the third rubber of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Quarter Final between Spain and Austria. The Austrian team stayed alive by beating the Spanish doubles team.

Czech Republic vs Serbia - Doubles Match: Highlights of Tomas Berdych & Radek Stepanek vs Ilija Bozoljac & Nenad Zimonjic in the third rubber of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas quarterfinal between Czech Republic and Serbia. The hosts are ahead of Serbia by winning the pivotal doubles match.

France vs USA - Doubles Match: Highlights of Julian Benneteau & Micheal Llodra vs Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan in the third rubber of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas quarterfinal between France and USA. The American #1 doubles team won in straight sets to take a 2-1 lead into the third and final day.

Argentina vs Croatia - Second Singles Match: Highlights of Juan Martin Del Potro vs Ivo Karlovic in the second rubber of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas quarterfinal between Argentina v Croatia. Del Potro won to allow Argentina to even the tie at 1-1.

France vs USA - Second Singles Match: Highlights of Giles Simon vs John Isner in the second rubber of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas quarterfinal between France and USA. Isner won in three straight sets to tie the match-up with France, 1-1.

Spain vs Austria - Second Singles Match: Highlights of David Ferrer vs Andreas Haider-Maurer in the second rubber of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Quarter Final between Spain and Austria. Ferrer won to give a commanding 2-0 lead for host Spain.

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