Game, Set, Match News
This was the day's first singles match, and it wasn't as routine as the score -- both players seemed nervous (both had more errors than winners), and it took Roger Federer half a dozen match points to finish.
Simona Halep can't seem to get off to an easy start these days. She must be getting really tired. On the other hand, she has the whole off season to rest....
When the first point of this lasted 27 strokes, one of the watchers commented that it was going to be a long afternoon. It might have been a lot longer had David Ferrer been able to hold on to leads.
David Ferrer was determined not to have yet another of his feeble matches against Rafael Nadal. He didn't exactly dominate, but he wasn't broken until he served for the match the first time -- and, having been broken, at once broke back and served it out.
A strange match -- and not just because it featured #1 versus #2 in the semifinal. Simona Halep started reasonably well in the first set, collapsed, took charge in the second, went down a break in the third, then took charge again.
As matches go, this was pretty dull. As drama goes, Novak Djokovic is doing his best. Rafael Nadal doesn't need much more to clinch the year-end #1, but Djokovic continues to apply all the pressure he can -- not just winning but winning easily.
When Elena Vesnina lost the second set of this, we couldn't help but think, "Well, that's that." But this is the new model Vesnina. She came back to win -- and leave her record at 2-1, the same as Ivanovic's.
Rafael Nadal isn't giving Novak Djokovic much opportunity in the contest for #1 / This still isn't enough points to make any difference to Ana Ivanovic -- but the win moves her to 2-0, which obviously makes it very likely that she will reach the semifinal here.
Singles - Second Round: (1) R Nadal def. M Granollers 7-5 7-5
That gives Rafael Nadal a lead of 2060 points over Novak Djokovic in the contest for the year-end #1, with Djokovic having a maximum of 2410 points still available. It's not quite over, but it's getting close....
Here was an interesting conundrum: With the Paris draw as it now stands, Roger Federer is sure to make it to London. So could he withdraw from Paris after wearing himself out this week?
Russia had has troubles over the past weeks scraping together a team with many of the country's top players preferring to skip the final - but that's not the case with Italy when the nations meet this weekend.
The draws for Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Europe/Africa Zone Groups I and II took place at the ITF headquarters in London on Monday.
Click here to view the men's draws, order of play and more.
Initially it seemed that Serena Williams was the one with the physical problems. Then -- Li Na turned into the player who hadn't even won a set against Serena since 2009. Afterward, the champion said, "I can't believe I won, I was so tired. Did I really win?
There really seems to be something wrong with David Ferrer these days. Half a dozen straight finals blown. And that after leading by a break in the second set. Not even the Spanish crowd could hold him together. He was broken four times.
« Previous Page — Next Page »
