Tennis Hound

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1189202-italian-open-why-novak-djokovic-vs-rafael-nadal-will-be-instant-classic
The Italian Open final is already set, and with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal set to square off, this matchup promises to be an instant classic.
Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in straight sets to advance to the final, while Nadal did the same to David Ferrer.
This matchup is intriguing simply [...]

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1189174-roger-federer-mistakes-erase-chance-for-upset-of-novak-djokovic-in-rome
When you’re going up against the top-ranked tennis player in the world, a 25-year-old virtuoso who has had your number more often than not, the last thing a player can afford to do is make things easier on his opponent by committing needless mistakes.
However, that’s exactly what happened in [...]

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1189154-roger-federer-loss-to-novak-djokovic-proves-fed-wont-win-french-open
Roger Federer has been playing great, but he has no shot at winning the 2012 French Open. That much became clear when world No. 1 Novak Djokovic easily dispatched him 6-2, 7-6 in the semifinals of the Masters 1000 in Rome.
Federer was terrible in the first set of this [...]

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1189163-roger-federer-semifinal-defeat-proves-hes-not-elite-anymore
Novak Djokovic was too much for Roger Federer in the semifinals of the Italian Open, and the two-set victory by the Serbian shows that he is a cut above Federer.
Djokovic, the world’s top-ranked player, won 6-2 and 7-6 to advance to the finals against Rafael Nadal. This is the [...]

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1189152-rafael-nadal-spaniard-must-clean-up-unforced-errors-to-win-italian-open
Rafael Nadal reached the final of the Italian Open by overcoming a number of errors early and an inspired first-set battle to beat David Ferrer 7-6 (6), 6-0 Saturday in Rome.
To win the Italian Open for the sixth time, however, Nadal will need to clean up the bevy of unforced [...]

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1188859-rome-2012-final-preview-rafael-nadal-and-novak-djokovic-battle-for-the-throne
Two epic semifinals later, we now know who the finalists of the 2012 Rome Masters will be: Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
 
Rafael Nadal
Coming into this tournament on the back of an early-round exit at his home tournament in Madrid and losing his No. 2 ranking to Roger Federer, Rafael [...]

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1189119-2012-rome-masters-final-novak-djokovic-vs-rafael-nadal-preview
Novak Djokovic has improved to 11-14 overall against Roger Federer as the Serb defeated the Swiss on Saturday in straight sets at the 2012 Rome Masters. That result sets up a final between the World No. 1 and the World No. 3 as Rafael Nadal booked his spot in [...]

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1189103-2012-atp-nice-features-john-isner-gilles-simon-and-nicolas-almagro
With the 2012 Rome Masters nearly over, there are just two tour events to be played before the start of 2012 French Open.
The Power Horse World Team Cup takes place later this week in Dusseldorf, and the other event is ATP Nice, a 250 series level tournament coming from [...]

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1189059-rafael-nadal-will-be-put-to-the-test-in-italian-open-final
Rafael Nadal is going to have his hands full in the Italian Open Final match versus either Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic.
Nadal has looked more like himself at the Italian Open on the traditional red clay surface after struggling on the blue clay at the Madrid Open last weekend. [...]

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1189038-internazionali-bnl-ditalia-2012-rafael-nadal-will-cruise-to-title-win
It’s tough to pick against Rafael Nadal in any instance, but it’s nearly impossible to pick against him when he’s playing on clay.
Yes, even if his opponent is Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic.

Nadal has moved on to the final round of the Rome Masters Final, and he did so [...]

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1189008-rome-2012-rafael-nadal-beats-david-ferrer-books-his-place-in-the-final
The score read 7-6 (6), 6-0 once the two-hour-plus battle between Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer had ended.
But it doesn’t quite do the match justice. In my preview of the two semis, I envisioned Rafa winning in straights, as he simply does everything a bit better.
Today, that wasn’t quite [...]

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1188989-novak-djokovic-why-his-calendar-grand-slam-hopes-depend-on-the-italian-open
The only thing that could have possibly made Novak Djokovic’s 2011 season better was achieving the coveted Calendar Grand Slam, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since Rod Laver’s 1969 season. His only setback from that kind of success came from Roger Federer in the semifinals of the French [...]

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1188944-serena-williams-tennis-superstar-withdraws-from-italian-open-with-back-injury

According to the Associated Press, Serena Williams has withdrawn from her semifinal match with Li Na at the Italian Open due to a lower back injury.
“It was feeling a little stiff and I don’t think this is the right moment to force (it). I just want to relax and [...]

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1188849-somdev-devvarman-ranking-outlook-bleak-ahead-of-wimbledon-french-open
Somdev Devvarman has not had a singles match on tour since losing to Denis Kudla at the Charlottesville Challenger in the fall of 2011. The Indian is ranked 230th in the world, according to the May 14th, 2012 rankings, and may be sinking further in the near future. 
However, his [...]

From Yahoo! Sports – Tennis News

ROME (AP) Serena Williams withdrew from the Italian Open with a lower back injury shortly before she was scheduled to meet French Open champion Li Na in the semifinals on Saturday.

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1188833-2012-madrid-masters-rafael-nadal-vs-david-ferrer-preview
The 2012 Madrid Masters event is down to the semifinals, and one match features an all-Spanish affair, as world No. 3 Rafael Nadal meets world No. 6 David Ferrer.
Both players are in the semifinal having not dropped a set in the entire tournament, as Ferrer went through Fernando Verdasco, [...]

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1187843-10-most-obscure-tennis-record-holders
There are many record holders in tennis in different areas, and the majority of them are famous. 
Some of the records are very obvious, like number of Grand Slam tournaments won over career, win-loss record in the career, speed of serve, height of players, etc.
Most of the records, in fact, [...]

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1188755-2012-rome-masters-roger-federer-vs-novak-djokovic-preview
The final four players in the Rome Masters draw has been set, and there’s not really a surprise semifinalist in the quartet. In one semifinal Spaniards David Ferrer and Rafael Nadal will meet while the other semifinal will feature World No. 1 Novak Djokovic against World No. 2 Roger [...]

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1188710-maria-sharapova-can-she-get-back-to-no-1-and-be-dominant
Remember when Maria Sharapova was hardly considered a clay-court threat? Over the past couple of years, the Russian superstar has shattered any notion that she can’t compete on the dirt.
And if she’s playing well on the surface that’s least conducive to her game, what does that say about her [...]

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1188544-rome-2012-preview-roger-federer-vs-novak-djokovic-rafael-nadal-vs-david-ferrer
We’ve come to the final weekend and we have the usual suspects playing one another. The Big Three are still in it and David Ferrer, the ever consistent clay-courter, has joined them in the semis. 
Rome is the final tournament before the clay season culminates in the French Open on [...]

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1187841-rafael-nadal-ranking-his-biggest-threats-at-roland-garros
Rafael Nadal, whether ranked number two or number three in the world, will head into the French Open finals as one of the favorites for the title, if not the favorite for the title.
Looking retrospectively at how the clay court season has evolved so far this season, the results [...]

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1188433-christina-mchale-playing-major-role-in-rise-of-female-sponsorships-in-sports
Sponsorships for women in sports have been slowly improving over the past several years. Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Danica Patrick definitely set the bar high, but there are others who are making strides that deserved to be recognized.
American tennis player Christina McHale is the perfect example of the [...]

From Yahoo! Sports – Tennis News

ROME (AP) A week after Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal made early exits in Madrid on an experimental blue court, both showed they remain a force on red clay Friday by reaching the Italian Open semifinals.

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1187929-rafael-nadal-early-predictions-on-rafas-french-open-chances
It’s almost time for the French Open, and that means it’s time for Rafael Nadal to add another French Open title to his resume. 
Nadal has played in the French Open seven times and, amazingly, has only lost one match.
The Spaniard’s sole loss came in the fourth round in 2009 [...]

From Bleacher Report – Tennis http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1187929-rafael-nadal-early-predictions-on-rafas-french-open-chances
It’s almost time for the French Open, and that means it’s time for Rafael Nadal to add another French Open title to his resume. 
Nadal has played in the French Open seven times and, amazingly, has only lost one match.
The Spaniard’s sole loss came in the fourth round in 2009 [...]