Rafael Nadal produced a flawless exhibition of claycourt tennis to demolish world number one Roger Federer 6-1 6-3 6-0 on Sunday and win his fourth straight French Open title.
Top seed Rafael Nadal will meet David Ferrer in an all-Spanish showdown at the Barcelona Open after contrasting semi-final victories on Saturday. Nadal produced a claycourt masterclass to demolish German Denis Gremelmayr 6-1 6-0 while Ferrer had to work much harder to tame big-hitting Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6 6-3.
Novak Djokovic survived a late bout of nerves to beat Spanish fifth seed David Ferrer 6-0 6-3 7-5 on Wednesday and reach the Australian Open semifinals. The Serbian missed four match points and was broken when serving for victory but recovered to set up a semifinal against either Roger Federer or James Blake.
Russian Maria Sharapova produced a blistering performance to overpower world number one Justine Henin 6-4 6-0 in the Australian Open quarterfinals on Tuesday. The fifth seed was in ebullient mood, smashing 30 winners as she took a tight first set and ripped through the second to line up a semifinal against Serbian third seed Jelena Jankovic.
Eighth seed Venus Williams moved into the Australian Open quarterfinals with a 6-4 6-4 victory over talented Polish qualifier Marta Domachowska on Monday. The Wimbledon champion, who had her right thigh strapped, recovered from an early breakdown to win the first set and staved off a late fightback from the Pole.
Victoria Police vigorously defended its use of pepper spray on a section of the crowd at the Australian Open tennis on Tuesday night, saying its officers had feared for their own safety. Three people were arrested and charged with offences relating to assaulting police, resisting arrest and failing to obey the lawful instructions of the police force.