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/ 3 June 2008

Monfils flies the flag for France

Gael Monfils has found himself with the hopes of a nation on his shoulders after he blasted his way into the quarterfinals of the French Open on Monday with a four-set win over Ivan Ljubicic. No Frenchman has won at Roland Garros since Yannick Noah’s emotional triumph in 1983.

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/ 1 June 2008

No sweat for top seeds at French Open

Top seeds Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova both moved smoothly into the last 16 at the French Open on Saturday. Federer outplayed close friend Mario Ancic of Croatia, winning 6-3, 6-4 6-2 in cool, rainy, evening conditions on the Philippe Chatrier Centre Court. Earlier in the day, Sharapova defeated Italy’s Karin Knapp 7-6 (7/4), 6-0.

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/ 29 May 2008

Sharapova struggles as Nadal and Djokovic cruise

Maria Sharapova almost became the first women’s top seed in French Open history to lose in the opening round on Wednesday as Rafael Nadal showed her the way to master a Roland Garros sandstorm. Russian golden girl Sharapova toiled for two-and-a-half hours before squeezing past teenage compatriot and world number 104 Evgeniya Rodina 6-1, 3-6, 8-6.

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/ 24 January 2008

Federer faces Djokovic threat to supremacy

The tennis world has been yearning for someone to challenge Roger Federer’s record-breaking domination and Novak Djokovic is being touted as the one in Friday’s Australian Open semifinal. The peerless Swiss secured the number one ranking for an unprecedented 209th week after sweeping into a record 15th consecutive Grand Slam semifinal.

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/ 23 January 2008

Venus ousted as Europeans dominate

Europe tightened its stranglehold on the Australian Open when America’s sole survivor in the women’s singles, Venus Williams, was blasted out of the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Venus went the way of sister Serena, battered by a Serb baseliner, losing 7-6 6-4 to fourth seed Ana Ivanovic.

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/ 23 January 2008

Djokovic survives late nerves to make semis

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.

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/ 22 January 2008

Rivals talk up ‘beatable’ Federer

A bullish mood is spreading among his rivals that dominating world number one Roger Federer is beatable coming into the showpiece rounds of the Australian Open. The Swiss top seed, the winner of 12 Grand Slam titles, second only to Pete Sampras’s 14, has ruled men’s tennis for four years and has been a constant in the last 10 Major finals.

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/ 21 January 2008

Federer on track as Venus gathers steam

It was back to business as usual for Roger Federer on Monday as he clinically moved into an Australian Open quarterfinal against James Blake, with Venus Williams also working up a head of steam. The world number one rebounded from his uncharacteristic five-set scare in the third round to resume his sprint towards a 13th Grand Slam title.

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/ 17 January 2008

Federer bamboozles court magician

Roger Federer’s sleight of hand proved too bamboozling for court magician Fabrice Santoro as Melbourne Park was treated to a masterclass on Thursday. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Venus Williams, Novak Djokovic, David Ferrer and Lleyton Hewitt also reached the Australian Open third round but none could match the mastery of Swiss top seed Federer.

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/ 18 November 2007

Federer blasts Ferrer to win fourth Masters Cup

World number one Roger Federer put on a vintage display to beat Spain’s David Ferrer 6-2 6-3 6-2 in securing his fourth Masters Cup title at the season-ending event on Sunday. Federer’s victory at the showcase eight-man tournament put him level with Ilie Nastase and one behind the record of five titles held by Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras.

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/ 10 November 2007

Federer looking for turnaround in Shanghai

World number one Roger Federer will aim to put an unusually patchy tennis season behind him with victory number four at the elite Masters Cup starting on Sunday. The defending champion, smarting from two rare defeats in the past month, signalled his determination by arriving nearly a week early for the year-ending showpiece.

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/ 9 November 2007

Nadal wants winning stamp on 2007

Rafael Nadal hit the practice court with 48 hours to go before his start at the year-end Masters Cup in Shanghai, determined to fulfil the goal of ending this season on a high note. Nadal, losing finalist last weekend in the Paris final to David Nalbandian, said he wants to put a winning stamp on this season.