Novak Djokovic beat defending champion Rafael Nadal to win the US Open

 

Novak Djokovic beat defending champion and Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-1 to win the US Open men's final at Flushing Meadows on Monday.

Djokovic outplayed Nadal to show why he really is the hottest player in the game right now. The world number one produced a masterful display of tactics and precision then regained his composure after failing to serve out the match in the third set to seal victory after four hours and 10 minutes.


Nadal, who was the undisputed king of tennis 12 months ago when he completed his collection of Grand Slam titles at Flushing Meadows, was again left searching for answers after a season inwhich he has lost six finals, including Wimbledon, and the number one ranking to Djokovic.

No matter how hard he tried, Nadal could not find a way to get on top of the Serbian, who played at an
extraordinary high-level despitewindy conditions at Arthur Ashe  Stadium. To his credit, Nadal fought back gamely to win the third set in atiebreaker after Djokovic came  within two points of wrapping up the championship on his own serve.

There were signs of concern for the  Serbian when he called for the trainer to treat his aching back at the start of the fourth set but he  recovered and broke Nadal's opening serve to regain control. After consolidating his lead by holding his next two service games, he broke Nadal's serve again, for the 11th time in the match, the served out victory, collapsing on the court in celebration after smashing a winner past his opponent.

Both players produced some incredible tennis, including some epic rallies that had the center court crowd roaring at the top of the lungs, but it was Djokovic who won all the key moments. This is Djokovic's first US Open title and the third Grand Slam title of the year after victories at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

Djokovic produced a masterful display of tactics and precision in windy conditions at Arthur Ashe Stadium to seal the victory after more than four hours against thesame man who beat him in last  year's final.

For Nadal, who lost his number one ranking to Djokovic when he was beaten in the Wimbledon final in July, it was his sixth loss to the Serbian this year, all in finals.

Djokovic is the sixth man in history to win three Grand Slam titles in a year after Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

A see-sawing third set that lasted 84 minutes was eventually decided in a tiebreaker, which Nadal won 7-3.

Both players were broken three times in the set, which featured some extraordinary rallies that captivated the center court crowd.

Djokovic snatched the early break but could not hold his advantage then he served for the match in the
12th game after breaking Nadal to lead 6-5.  He got to within two points of the championship but Nadal broke him to force a tiebreaker. The Spaniard raced to a 5-1 lead. Djokovic pulled two back to give himself a chance but gifted it to Nadal with an error. The second set started like the first, with Nadal holding and then breaking Djokovic for a 2-0 lead as the world's top two players began engaging in longer, tension-packed rallies.

After a titanic, 17-minute game over eight deuces marked by brilliant shot-making from both players, Djokovic finally broke back by saving himself with a defensive lob that hit the baseline, leading to Nadal failing to resist the sixth break point when he slashed an overhead into the net.

Looking dispirited, Nadal continued to have trouble landing his first serve. Djokovic took advantage to reach double break point at 15-40, then took a 3-2 lead when the Spaniard double faulted. The Spaniard lifted himself back up, breaking Djokovic with a massive backhand passing shot up the line to draw level 4-4.

But for the third straight time in the match, Djokovic answered a service break with one of his own, this time taking advantage of a string of errors, with the game finishing on a mis-hit backhand by Nadal that allowed the Serb to serve out the second set. In the opening set, Djokovic overcame an early service break that
put him behind 2-0 to win 6-2.

Djokovic won the first set 6-2. Both players had difficulty holding serve, with Djokovic doing a better job in windy conditions that topped 15 miles per hour at Arthur Ashe Stadium, winning the last six games of the opening set after falling behind 2-0. Nadal took the early lead by breaking Djokovic in his first service game. The Spaniard scored on a sizzling run-around forehand winner that brushed the lines in the corner and got a 2-0 lead when the Serb made two straight backhand errors.

Second-seeded Nadal failed to consolidate his advantage when Djokovic broke right back in the next game. The Spaniard fell behind 0-4 and saved two break points before sending a forehand long to bring the set back on serve. Nadal kept the pressure on top- seeded Djokovic's serve again in the fourth game but the Serb fought off three break points to hold, then broke the Spaniard for a 3-2 lead by belting an inside-out forehand winner.

Djokovic ended deep-hitting rallies twice with drop-shot winners on his way to breaking Nadal for a third straight time for a 5-2 lead before holding at love in the next game to clinch the first set. 

US Open - Nadal downs Murray to reach final

Rafa Nadal, his form and confidence rising with each match, powered past Britain's Andy Murray 6-4 6-2 3-6 6-2 at the US Open to set up a rematch of last year's final with Novak Djokovic.

The second-seeded Spaniard was brilliant from the baseline and the net, and proved too steady against an out-of-sorts Murray, who shouted at himself and whacked his leg with his racket as his frustrations boiled over in the first two sets.

In the fourth set, Nadal again unsteadied the volatile Murray, giving himself a chance to avenge a string of stinging losses to Djokovic this year.

Nadal beat Djokovic in last year's final but the Serb, who advanced with a thrilling five-set win over Roger Federer on Saturday, has beaten the Spaniard in five finals this year, including Wimbledon, to replace him as world number one.

"This year I'm not having a lot of luck against him. I have played him already in five finals and I lost all of them," 10-time Grand Slam winner Nadal told the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd. "So hopefully, New York will help me this time."

Murray was out of step in the opening sets but flashed his great retrieving skills and athletic volleying to keep himself in the match. By the end he was undone by a rash of unforced errors, peppering the net with routine shots.

The Briton, a three-time Grand Slam finalist who was hoping to end a 75-year drought for a British men's Grand Slam winner, cracked 44 winners, 13 more than Nadal, but his 55 unforced errors was more than twice his opponent's total.

The Spaniard looked set to take charge early in the match, grabbing 0-30 leads in Murray's first two service games, but the Scotsman fought him off, leaving his feet to put everything into his strokes to keep the first set on serve before wilting under Nadal's constant pressure in the seventh game.

Unforced errors crept into Murray's game and the Briton yelled at himself after one glaring mistake before sending a forehand long to lose his serve and fall behind 4-3.

Nadal served out to claim the set 6-4 and stepped up his attack in the next set, breaking the Briton twice to take a two set lead, with Murray banging himself with his racket for not cashing in on three break points along the way.

Murray tried another tact in the third set, changing pace more often and engaging the hard-working Spaniard in longer rallies before seizing opportunities to go on the offensive.

Nadal and Murray traded service breaks early in the third set before the Briton broke in the eighth game and held serve to hand the Spaniard his first lost set of the tournament.

After fighting off two break points, Murray finally yielded the critical service break in the fourth game when he sailed a forehand long to fall behind 3-1.

The fight seemed to seep out of Murray, who had a tough four-set match against American John Isner on Friday, and Nadal broke the Briton again in the eighth game to end the three-hour 24-minute match.

India lose two rating points but remain No.1 in ICC Rankings

India retained the number one spot in the latest test rankings relased Monday but lost two rating points following two drawn Tests against the lower-ranked West Indies in a series that they eventually won 1-0.

The third and the final Test in Dominica ended in a draw Sunday.
India lost two ratings points as it drew matches against a side that was six places below it. The rankings during a bilateral series are calculated keeping in mind the corresponding rating of the two opponents.

Thus, the West Indies gained two points despite losing the series and remain in the seventh position. They are now just two ratings points behind Pakistan.

In the individual rankings, Harbhajan Singh is up one place to seventh in the bowlers chart. The off-spinner had a successful third Test with figures of 57-21-101-6 and in the process passed the 400-wicket mark. He pushed Man of the Series Ishant Sharma to eighth place.

West Indies fast bowler Fidel Edwards, who finished with match figures of
36.8-4-122-6 gained two places to 16th, a position he holds jointly with South African spinner Paul Harris.

The top three remain unchanged with Dale Steyn of South Africa still leading the way ahead of England's Graeme Swann in second position and James Anderson in third.

The top five Test batsmen also remain unchanged. Jacques Kallis leads the table followed by Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Alastair Cook.

There is also no change in the top five players among Test all-rounders with Kallis at the top followed by New Zealand's Daniel Vettori.

ICC Test Rankings:

RANK	Team	Rating
1	India	126
2	South Africa	117
3	England	116
4	Sri Lanka	107
5	Australia	107
6	Pakistan	88
7	West Indies	88
8	New Zealand	78
9	Bangladesh	7

Andy Roddick: I am feeling good

Andy Roddick considers himself a serious Wimbledon contender and an impressive victory on Wednesday showed he might be right.

It would be some surprise if the men's champion comes from outside the established top four in the world rankings - Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray.

However, Roddick has reached three previous Wimbledon finals and his 6-4 6-3 6-4 demolition of Victor Hanescu on Centre Court eased him through to the third round on Wednesday.

With 15 aces, no double faults and not a single loss of serve, there is clearly one significant part of the American's game which requires little work.

Next up for Roddick will be Spain's Feliciano Lopez, who was a four-set winner over Germany's Rainer Schuttler.

Roddick hit the target with 65% of first serves, and anything around that mark makes him a tough opponent.

A slight change of grip has lifted his percentages out of the 50s, and should he serve consistently well he might just be the player who prevents the top four occupying the semi-final slots.

A possible quarter-final with Murray lies ahead, and he beat the Briton in the semi-finals two years ago.

The serve, the weapon which has defined his career, is working just fine in Roddick's opinion, after he banished a bad habit.

"I think it's back to where it was as opposed to me changing anything I've done for a decade," he said. "That would probably explain why my shoulder was beat up, too.

"If you change something, are hitting something different than a way you have before, even without knowing, sometimes have you to go back to basics. I never had to do that on my serve before.

"But is that all it was? I don't know. But I feel good with where it's at right now."

To be watched by his parents, Jerry and Blanche, was a treat for the 28-year-old.

"This is the first time they've seen me play here," said the finalist of 2004, 2005 and 2009.

"I think today was the first time they ever sat in a box in my entire career.

"They picked a good court to debut that on. I think they're having fun. They're having a good time."

Roddick should be confident heading into his clash with Lopez, having beaten the same opponent in the first round at Queen's Club a fortnight ago, albeit in a deciding set.

Venus hails inspirational Serena

Reigning Wimbledon champion Serena Williams was hailed as an inspiration by sister Venus as she prepared to continue an emotional title defence.

Williams is playing only her second tournament since recovering from a serious foot injury and blood clots on the lungs, which left her in fear of her life.

The 13-time grand slam champion broke down in tears after beating Aravane Rezai 6-3 3-6 6-1 in the first round on Tuesday.

Williams faces the Romanian Simona Halep on Court Two at mid-day, with Venus in awe of her strength of character.

"I think she showed (against Rezai) that once you're a champion, you're always a champion as long as you're always willing to believe in yourself," said Venus.

"I think she a good role model for anyone. It means a lot to her to be back.

"I don't think anybody else will ever understand what she's been through.

"As a family we always stayed positive. When times get tough, we always laugh. She stayed positive and I think a lot of people could have got negative."

Venus Williams has also been sidelined for most of the year, with a hip injury, but she navigated through a "perfect storm" to beat veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm and reach the third round.

While rain fell outside, Williams and Date-Krumm entertained the Duchess of Cornwall and the Centre Court crowd under the closed roof with some breathtaking tennis.

Date-Krumm took the first set on a tie-break but only after Williams had battled from 5-1 down and saved a total of seven set points.

Williams moved a break up early in the second set to draw level in the match before prevailing in a hard-fought third to clinch a 6-7 (6/8) 6-3 8-6 victory in nearly three hours.

The American had only played four matches since January after suffering the injury at the Australian Open and was relieved to find a way past the 40-year-old.

"I thought she played unbelievable. I thought she had some luck on her side. This is a great surface for her too," said Williams.

"It was a perfect storm for her to try to get a win. Thankfully I had some answers."

Vera Zvonareva, last year's beaten finalist, overcame Russian compatriot Elena Vesnina 6-1 7-6 (7/5) and she will meet Tsvetana Pironkova, who beat Petra Martic 6-1 6-4.

Fourth seed Victoria Azarenka cruised into the third round with a 6-0 6-3 victory over Iveta Benesova and will now face Daniela Hantuchova.

British number three Anne Keothavong crashed to a 6-2 6-1 defeat to eighth seed Petra Kvitova, who will now play Roberta Vinci.

Eleventh seed Andrea Petkovic was last on court as darkness fell but teed up a third round meeting with Ksenia Pervak after beating Canadian Stephanie Dubois 6-3 4-6 6-3.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki and French Open champion Li Na are both in action today while title favourite Maria Sharapova meets British 17-year-old Laura Robson on Court One.

Elena Baltacha, the British number one, tackles 20th seed Shuai Peng from China.

Rory McIlroy: The champion who is true to himself

Holywood's most famous son is the new darling of golf, as much for his charm and modesty as his precocious talent, says Jim White.

Rory McIlroy, aged nine, on his local golf course

To celebrate Rory McIlroy's towering accomplishment in winning the US Open championship on Sunday, the BBC in Northern Ireland unearthed some footage it had recorded back in 1998. It shows a
nine-year-old boy playing on his home course at Holywood, just under the flight path to Belfast airport.

 Looking at the film of the little golfer, standing barely taller than his clubs, it is clear that some things have not changed in the dozen years since. Even then, he was in possession of the perfect swing, a gorgeous amalgam of art and function, a thing of such simplicity and grace it is enough to make the average weekend hacker weep at their own hopelessness.


And when he was asked about his recent victory in the World Under-10s Championship, the boy exhibited exactly the same smiling self-deprecation he did on tearing up the records in Maryland over the weekend: "Yeah," he said, "it was nice".


The only thing that appeared different was that back then he had a close-cropped haircut. Of the Harpo Marx curls falling in an unruly tumble from beneath his cap, there was no sign. This is the thing about Rory McIlroy: whatever the seismic scale of his achievements, the 22-year-old Northern Irishman remains seemingly unchanged, essentially still the little boy who melted the hearts of everyone who came into contact with him on the junior circuit.


And how they are falling for him now in America. There the lad has been adopted as Wee-Mac and is being feted like few before. They love his insouciance and his charm; in a sporting world defined by carefully manufactured heroes (some of whom, in the case of Tiger Woods, turn out to have been constructed on falsehood), they love his natural, unaffected ease.


But most of all, they love him because he is a winner. A winner, moreover, who overcame the bitter disappointment of blowing victory at the US Masters just two months ago, through the jovially disingenuous approach of dismissing it as "one of those things".


So how did it happen? How did the UK, which is not renowned for its production of prodigies, come up with such an extraordinary sporting talent, now being spoken of as having the potential to become the finest of all time, even greater than Tiger Woods?


His emergence is particularly surprising since he appears to have managed it largely on his own, learning the game on a course in suburban Belfast unencumbered by expensive coaches or psycho-babble-spouting swing gurus or mobile-phone juggling agents.


The start of Wimbledon fortnight, showpiece of a sport in which we have spent £250 million in five years in the vain pursuit of unearthing a British contender, is as good a time as any to examine the McIlroy formula.

In a sense, McIlroy was born to swing. His dad, Gerry, was the barman at the Holywood course's nineteenth hole, and Rory was there from the age of two, picking up a club and seeing what he could do. Interestingly, Gerry never pushed him. Unlike Tiger's dad Earl, or Richard, the Williams sisters' pop, or Anthony Hamilton, father of Lewis, there was no early sense of the parental desire to lead a champion's life vicariously.


McIlroy was never shoved on by aggressively demanding folks; he says he was the one who forced his dad out on his days off to give him an opponent. He was the one who set up a little range in the family kitchen, where he could practise chipping into the opened washing machine. As soon as he was old enough, he was out on the course on his own. He has always been someone, he says, who relishes his own company.


Sure, he put in the 10,000 hours of practice as a child that it's reckoned are necessary to become a winner. But the important thing was that he immediately displayed the aptitude, winning every junior title at an age not even the uber-prodigy Woods had matched. As the Lawn Tennis Association will be demonstrating on a daily basis at Wimbledon, without talent, no amount of hot-housing will produce a champion.


McIlroy, too, had from the start the natural resources to cope with this most mentally demanding game, never letting the stress of singular combat diminish him. He has never been lonely on the course, not with himself for company. Nor has he ever been remotely fearful of reputation or occasion.


He was obsessed by the game from the moment he picked up a club. He described himself as a youngster as being "a Woods anorak", who studied the former world number one's career with forensic detail, analysing precisely what the American had done to become a champion (though probably not his approach to married life). School work never had such a tenacious grip on his attention. The only use he had for maths was to work out his handicap, while he spent most English lessons at Sullivan Upper School practising his autograph.


From the outset, he knew that he was gifted, destined, marked. There is a difference, as Rafael Nadal has long shown, between arrogance and certainty. McIlroy always knew he would make it to the select group of UK major winners – it was just a matter of time.


And he needed no prop to rely on to get there; when he first made it to the circuit, he used his dad as his caddie, but he fired the old man when he was 17. He says he didn't want their personal relationship to be frayed by the pressures of competition. Even the apparently preternaturally composed McIlroy can sometimes, it seems, lose it in private.


Now he has arrived, his elevation has been hugely welcomed by the golfing world. This was a business damaged by the priapic self-destruction of Woods. That the game's one practitioner whose reach extended beyond the 18th hole was exposed as morally suspect was a blow from which many thought golf would not recover.


Until this weekend, Woods's presence was still reckoned by many to be essential to sell the sport, even with his tarnished reputation. Now it has another global superstar. And this one displays none of the aggressively marketed edges that always made Woods a less than convincing cheerleader.


This is the difference between McIlroy and other modern sporting heroes: he remains himself. He has had none of his charm excised by the corporate machine, in the manner of Lewis Hamilton; none of his boyish edges smothered, like Wayne Rooney; none of his natural character hidden, like Andy Murray.


And counter-intuitively, in a world awash with image consultants and media advisers, that makes him an even bigger draw. When he spurned the traditional demand on the US Open champion of an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, preferring to head straight back home to Holywood to celebrate with friends and family, he will have done nothing to still the rush of corporations anxious to attach themselves to his growing celebrity.


Hitching the corporate flag to McIlroy would be money well spent; that he has overnight put himself in a position to become the biggest name in sport was demonstrated at Wimbledon yesterday afternoon, when the first question Rafael Nadal was asked after winning his match was about McIlroy's US Open performance. "In my opinion he played a perfect round of golf," said Nadal. "Rory is perfect."


Every paper chimed with Nadal. Glory Rory Hallelujah yelled the headlines. McIlroy has arrived: he is now just a first name. And, as he heads back to the shores of Belfast Lough to a homecoming that may well turn liquid at the bar of the Holywood Club, where he is still a playing member, the most impressive thing about him is that he will hardly notice.

Rory McIlroy's career in Pictures

Click here to see the slideshow in full screen

Nadal Beats Federer to Collect Record-Tying Sixth French Open

Rafael Nadal clinched a record-tying sixth French Open tennis title by beating Roger Federer today, a victory that preserves the Spaniard’s No. 1 ranking.
The left-hander sank to his knees after retaining his crown by defeating the Swiss 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 6-1 in Paris. His victory ties him with Sweden ’s Bjorn Borg, who wonsix Roland Garros trophies from 1974 to 1981. Nadal received the Coupe des Mousquetaires from two-time champion Jim Courier .
“This is a very, very special moment for me,” Nadal said in an interview at the side of the main Court Philippe Chatrier. “I’ve won against the best player of all time. It’s a very emotional moment for me.”
Federer, a 16-time major champion, last beatNadal in a Grand Slam final at Wimbledon in 2007. Today’s win extended Nadal’s head-to-head record against the right-hander to 17-8.
“He beat me again,” Federer said at the trophy ceremony. “Of course I’m sad, but I’m proud with how I’ve played in the past two weeks.”
Nadal, also the reigning Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion, had started the season witha shot at becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam tennis titles at the same time. Instead, he exited the Australian Open after a ruptured thigh muscle hampered his movement in a quarterfinal loss to Spain ’s David Ferrer .

Soderling Defeat
The second-ranked Novak Djokovic won his second major title in Melbourne and went onto defeat Nadal in four tournament finals. Nadal’s loss to Djokovic on the clay courts of Madrid last month was the Spaniard’s first onthe slow surface since Robin Soderling of Sweden handed him his only defeat at Roland Garros in the fourth round in 2009, the year Federer won his lone French Open trophy.
No. 3 seed Federer beat Djokovic in four sets in the semifinals, preventing the Serb from tying John McEnroe’s record of 42 consecutive wins from the start of a season, set in 1984. Djokovic would have been the new No. 1, replacing Nadal, if he had made his first French Open final or if Nadal had losttoday.
Full of Doubts
Top-seed Nadal was full of doubts in the firstweek of Roland Garros , repeatedly telling reporters that his play wasn’t good enough to win his 10th major title. The Spaniard started the tournament playing his first five-set match at Roland Garros, needing more than four hours to beat John Isner of the U.S. Afterwards, he said he was feeling “anxious” and “nervous” and had been unable to transfer his practice form into his matches. He said he regained his confidence after defeating Soderling in the quarterfinals.

Federer last won a major at the 2010 Australian Open, where his defeat of Britain’s Andy Murray extended his men’s Grand Slam singles title record to 16 trophies. Nadal has now beaten Federer in four French Open finals. Before today, the two last met in a major final at the 2009 Australian Open, which was won by Nadal and reduced Federer to tears at the trophy ceremony.
Federer lost in the quarterfinals in Paris last year to Soderling, ending his record streak of23 straight Grand Slam semifinals. He lost to Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, which was the six-time champion’s earliest loss at the All England Club since 2002. Djokovic defeated Federer in the semifinals of the U.S. Open, saving twomatch points. The Serb also beat Federer in the last four in Melbourne in January on the way to his second Australian Open title.
Today’s match was the 19th tournament final between the third-ranked Federer and Nadal. Only Ivan Lendl and McEnroe have played more finals against each other since tennis turned professional in 1968. It was the eighth time Nadal and Federer had met in a Grand Slam final, extending their record for the most meetings between two players in a major final.

Rafael Nadal & Roger Federer eyeing French Open glory

Rafael Nadal & Roger Federer eyeing French Open glory.

French Open men's final - Rafael Nadal v Roger Federer
Venue: Roland Garros, Paris
Date: 5 June from 1400 BST

Rafael Nadal reaches final after defeating Andy Murray in straight sets.
Rafael Nadal will have to contain a rampant Roger Federer if he is to secure a record-equalling sixth French Open title on Sunday, and keep hold of his world number one ranking.

The Spaniard, who turned 25 on Friday, has won 44 matches and suffered only one defeat in seven years at Roland Garros, and one more victory will bring him a 10th GrandSlam title and draw him level with Bjorn Borgas the tournament's most dominant man.

"For me, seriously, I don't think about that," said Nadal. "[I have] a lot of respect for the great Bjorn but I am focused on trying to play well. For me, it's much more important to win Roland Garros than equal Bjorn."

The weather forecast is not good for Sundayand interruptions are possible, but Nadal rejected any suggestion that heavier conditions would favour him.

"I don't have the power to control the weather," he said. "So if it rains, I'm going to think it's an advantage for me; if the sun shines, I'm going to think it's an advantage for me. I have to think positive all the time because I cannot control that."

head-to-head
Nadal Federer
Record - 16 8
Age - 25 29
Pro since - 2001 1998
Height - 6ft 1in 6ft 1in
Weight - 13st 6lb 13st 4lb
Ranking - 1 3
ATP titles - 45 67
Slams - 9 16
Earnings - $40.1m $62.5m

Having beaten the 29-year-old Swiss in all four previous meetings at the French Open, including the finals of 2006, 2007 and 2008, Nadal would seem to be a prohibitive favourite once again, but Federer has been so impressive in Paris this year that a 17th Grand Slam title appears possible.

His victory over Novak Djokovic in the semis, ending the Serbian's six-month, 43-match unbeaten run, has already been hailed as one of his best ever.

"Honestly, I feel very well," said Federer. "I think I move very well, I'm never stressed. If there is a ball that you miss, it's just because the other one played it very well, and not because I made a mistake or I played bad tennis on the return, or on my serve.

"That's why I'm very happy at the moment with my game. Is it my best? I don't know."

Sunday will be the eighth time Nadal and Federer have met in a Grand Slam final, two more than any other pairing, but it will be the first time since Nadal's victory in the 2009 Australian Open and Federer's first Slam final anywhere since Australia in 2010.

Last year, Federer made an unusually early exit at the quarter-final stage of both the French Open and Wimbledon, but asked whether he ever doubted he could get back to a Grand Slam final, the world number three responded: "No, not really. I was very close in the US Open [semi-finals] and then I'm playing a final here against Rafa.


PREVIOUS MEETINGS
2011
*. Madrid - Nadal
*. Miami - Nadal

2010
*. ATP World Tour Finals - Federer
*. Madrid - Nadal

2009
*. Madrid - Federer*. Australian Open - Nadal

2008
*. Wimbledon - Nadal
*. French Open - Nadal
*. Hamburg - Nadal
*. Monaco - Nadal

2007
*. China - Federer
*. Wimbledon - Federer
*. French Open - Nadal
*. Hamburg - Federer
*. Monaco - Nadal

2006
*. China - Federer
*. Wimbledon - Federer
*. French Open - Nadal
*. Rome - Nadal
*. Monaco - Nadal
*. Dubai - Nadal

2005
*. French Open - Nadal
*. Miami - Federer

2004
*. Miami - Nadal

Li Na Dethrones Schiavone at French Open

Which woman had the weight of China on her shoulders? It was not easy to tell in this French Open final, not with Francesca Schiavone looking edgier and misfiring more often than Li Na.

But Li, not Schiavone, was the veteran trying to become the first Chinese player to win a Grand Slam singles title, and though that might have been too much to bear for a less strong-minded woman, Li handled the occasion, on the whole, with remarkable poise.

After losing in her first Grand Slam final at this year's Australian Open, Li drew on that experience and kept her temper and baseline power under control and, in the end, the only thing she lost command of washer balance. After Schiavone's final one-handed backhand had landed long, Li fell to the clay on her back, dropped her racket and covered her eyes with both hands.

"Of course I was nervous, but I didn't want to show opponent," Li said after her 6-4, 7-6 (0) victory.
China is clearly no longer a future tennis power. Li and her compatriot Zheng Jie wereonce considered a platform generation: capable of laying the foundation for the next generation of singles champions to come. But Li ended up becoming that champion herself at an age - 29 - when many a modernplayer has long since peaked.

But then such breakthroughs are fast becoming the rule at Roland Garros. Schiavone won her first Grand Slam title herelast year when she, too, was 29.

"This year she grow up so much, and she played today really well," Schiavone said of Li in her postmatch remarks to the crowd.
She then turned to Li and said, "Enjoy this moment; it's fantastic."

Schiavone made some history of her own last year, becoming the first Italian woman towin a Grand Slam singles title. But China, the world's most populous nation, carries a symbolic and demographic weight all its own.

Chinese women have won Grand Slam doubles titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, but singles is where the prestigeresides in the modern game. And though tennis is not yet a sport for the masses in China, a mass audience there watched her victory: it was shortly after 11 p.m. in China when she won.

Li, who is also the first person from Asia to win a Grand Slam singles title, was a legitimate underdog in this final. Clay, at leastuntil now, was her least favorite surface, andit has long been the surface on which Schiavone can best express her range of shots and talents. Until this year, Li had neverbeen past the fourth round at Roland Garros,but there is a dearth of proven talent at the top of the women's game for the moment.

Serena Williams has not played in nearly a year because of health problems. Her sister Venus Williams has not played since January because of an injury.

Justine Henin, the Belgian star who was the finest clay court player of this generation, retired this year because of a major elbow injury, and Kim Clijsters, who beat Li in the Australian Open and likes clay, was unable to play any preliminary tournaments on clay after being injured in a freakish accident while dancing at a wedding. (Clijsters was defeated here in the second round.)

To her credit, Li has taken advantage of the instability, and though she struggled with her game and results after the Australian Open, she recovered her form in time for Roland Garros with the help of her new coach, Michael Mortensen, a Dane who has refined some of her technique and, above all,pushed the concept of keeping tennis in perspective.

Federer stops Djokovic win streak at 41

Roger Federer ending Novak Djokovic's perfect season and 43-match winning streak, beating the second-seeded Serb 7-6 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) in the French Open semifinals on Friday.

Federer will face five-time champion Rafael Nadal in the final. Nadal defeated Andy Murray 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.

Roger Federer is one victory away from a second French Open championship. He'll face Rafael Nadal in Sunday's final.

Dusk was descending, wind was swirling and full-throated chants of"Ro-ger! Ro-ger!" from 15,000 or so fans finally were hushing as Roger Federer stepped to the baseline to serve -- one point from returning to the French Open final and one point from ending Novak Djokovic's 43-match winning streak.

Federer rocked back, unfurled his body and whipped an ace, his 18th Friday, to seal a 7-6(5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) victory over Djokovic, then roared and wagged his right index finger, as if telling the world, "I'm still No. 1!"

So what if the official ranking says otherwise? This was Federer showing he's still got what it takes.

• OPEN SOURCE: Game-by-game analysis
He'll go for a 17th Grand Slam title, and second at Roland Garros, in Sunday's final against longtime nemesis and five-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, who eliminated Andy Murray 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 to improve to 44-1 at the clay-court major tournament.

By summoning all of the strokes and resolve required to win a taut, tense contest with a lot on the line, Federer also managed to do what no one else had in quite some time: defeat Djokovic, who entered the day 41-0 in2011 and unbeaten since losing to -- guess who? -- Federer in late November.
"I wasn't here to spoil the party," said the third-seeded Federer, who completed a career Grand Slam by winning the 2009 French Open. "Almost feels, somewhat, like I've won the tournament, which is not the case. Silverware is still out there to be won, and I'm looking forward to the match with Rafa."

It'll be their fifth meeting -- and fourth final --in Paris since 2005. Nadal is 4-0 in those matches, part of his 16-8 overall lead head-to-head.

A sixth French Open title would tie Nadal with Bjorn Borg for the most in history.

"I don't think about that," said Nadal, who turned 25 Friday. "A lot of respect for the great Bjorn, but I ... focus on (trying) to play well. For me, is much more important win Roland Garros than equal Bjorn."

Djokovic is the only other player to have beaten Federer more than eight times, including a 3-0 mark this season before Friday. Long considered one of the top talents in tennis, Djokovic credited a handful of factors with helping him excel recently: more maturity; confidence from helping Serbia win its first Davis Cup title in December; a gluten-free diet he now refuses to discuss in any detail. He won his second major title at the Australian Open in January and arrived in Paris as a co-favorite with Nadal, thanks in part to having beaten the Spaniard in two tournament finals on clay in May.

"It had to end somewhere," said the second-seeded Djokovic, who would have clinched the No. 1 ranking with a victory over Federer and will move up anyway if Nadal loses Sunday. "Best five months of my life, my tennis career. I cannot complain. It was definitely an incredible period."

Nadal's victory over the fourth-seeded Murray was far more compelling and competitive than a typical straight-set sweep,yet still paled in comparison to what Federer and Djokovic produced later. Because Nadal-Murray lasted more than three hours - and because the tournament pushed back the start of the men's semifinals from 1 p.m. to 2p.m. to accommodate TV - Federer and Djokovic didn't set foot on Court Philippe Chatrier until early evening. It was nearly 6 p.m. when the first point was played, and the heavy gray clouds clustered overhead limited the light.