Fabrice Santoro was shorn of all magic while going down 6-0 6-1 to world number-one Rafael Nadal in the first round of the Qatar Open on Tuesday.
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/ 17 January 2008
Roger Federer stepped up his unrelenting charge towards a third successive Australian Open title with an emphatic win on Thursday, but Venus Williams had to dig deep to reach the third round. The Fed Express, chasing a 13th Grand Slam title, crushed wily Frenchman Fabrice Santoro, playing in a record 62nd Major tournament, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0.
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/ 17 January 2008
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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/ 15 January 2008
Crowd trouble and police ejections cast a shadow across Melbourne Park on Tuesday, diverting attention from world-class sport at the Australian Open. A violent incident marred a tennis fiesta in which fans bathed in glorious sunshine and the world’s best players showcased their skills.
Maria Sharapova produced another display of fearsome big hitting to roll into the US Open third round on Thursday, while top American hopes Andy Roddick and James Blake struggled to stay on course. The 20-year-old Russian glamour girl opened her shoulders to blast past overmatched Australian Casey Dellaqua 6-1, 6-0 in just 51 minutes.
Maria Sharapova opened the defence of her United States Open crown in commanding style on Tuesday by overpowering Italy’s Roberta Vinci 6-0, 6-1 in less than an hour. There were wins also for two former New York champions, Martina Hingis and Svetlana Kuznetsova, and for Andy Roddick, among others.