Rain god delays French Open final

After three hours of brutal tennis combined with bad weather, heavy balls and slow decision making by the tournament officials, Rafael Nadal has plentiful of reasons to be angry as he walked out of Court Philippe Chatrier.

The French Open men's singles final was suspended due to heavy rain which Nadal said should have been stopped an hour earlier. Nadal holds the last game at 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 1-2.

The match will resume today on Monday at 7.00PM (GMT+8).

Carlos Moya and his girlfriend Carolina Cerezuela

Serena Williams who lost in the first round at the French Open this year also spotted watching the final

(Images via Yahoo! Sports)

Rafael Nadal visits Babolat's staff and fans at Roland Garros

Rafael Nadal used his off day yesterday to meet Babolat's staff and fans at the sponsor's space at Roland Garros.

Also present at the event was Carlos Moya.

Today, he will play against fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro to determine a place in the semifinals.

(Images via Babolat's Facebook fan page)

Australian Open: IMG Players Party

Some of the tennis stars were at Breezes in Crown Entertainment Complex for the annual Crown IMG Baller Party celebrating the start of this year's Aussie Open.

Check out these photos.

Rafael Nadal who is not feeling the pressure to win the AO, posing
with sisters Melinda and Victoria Petrolo.

Jelena Jankovic is wearing a Wayne Cooper dress and Louis Vuitton bag and shoes.

Roger Federer is Mr Suave no. 1.

James Blake is Mr Suave no. 2.

Carlos Moya is Mr Suave no. 3.

Feliciano Lopez spoilt the party with a cheap homemade t-shirt.

David Nalbandian shares a laugh with Channel Seven's Mia Grieves.

Radek Stepanek looks as if he owns Nicole Vaidisova. Well, literally he is.
And his girl looks kinda intimidated.

Australian wild card Monika Wegnert, 16.

(Images by Fiona Hamilton via news.com.au)

India's rising star Somdev Devvarman stunned Carlos Moya at Chennai Open

Indian wildcard Somdev Devvarman stunned two-time former champion Carlos Moya 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the second round of the Chennai Open today.

The 23-year-old Devvarman, who is based in the U.S., produced an inspired display to triumph in 2 hours and 14 minutes in hot conditions in the southern Indian city to move into his second ATP tour quarterfinals.

Sixth seed Moya won the first set comfortably but Devvarman, who spent his formative years in Chennai, delighted the home crowd when he grabbed the second set.

The highest-ranked Indian at 202, Devvarman broke the Spaniard in the third game of the final set as he wore down the former world no. 1 for the biggest victory of his career.

Moya said he was at a disadvantage with organizers scheduling matches in the heat of the Chennai afternoon to make up for matches that had been delayed by rain.

"The heat affected me more than it bothered him,'' Moya said.

"(Devvarman) plays much better than his rankings reflect,'' Moya added.

"I was not surprised, because I saw him play two days ago and knew he was very fast and was solid from the back of court.''

Devvarman became the first Indian player to reach the quarterfinals in Chennai since Leander Paes reached the semifinals in 1998

"I sent a message to him that I just wasn't going to go away," said Devvarman.

"When you see a player on the other side trying to do too much, you know he's under pressure."

"Hopefully, I'm not just quarters. I'm not one of those guys who gets content easily,'' he added.

(Via supersport.co.za, sportsillustrated.cnn.com)

James Blake out in Madrid; Ball girls & off-court photos

James Blake becomes the first seed to lost in Madrid after lost to Gilles Simon 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the second round of the $3 million Mutua Madrilena Masters (Madrid Masters).

Simon will face either 5th-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko or American qualifier Robby Ginepri in the third round.

Headlining today's five 2nd-round matches is top-seeded Rafael Nadal, who will clash with unseeded Latvian Ernests Gulbis.

This is the first single match for Nadal since claiming a pair of singles victories in Spain’s Davis Cup win over the U.S..

The world no.1 is now leading the ATP with eight titles and a 77-9 record this season.

The world No. 1 and 2005 champion of this hardcourt event, Nadal faced Gulbis for the first time at Wimbledon earlier this year, dropping the first set before taking the second-round encounter, 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, en route to the championship.

Also slated for second-round play is U.S. Open runner-up Andy Murray, the 4th seed, and world no. 15 Richard Gasquet.

That pair will try to avoid the same fate as no. 13 Fernando Verdasco, who suffered a 6-2, 6-3 second-round loss to Marin Cilic of Croatia.

Phillip Kohlschreiber, Gael Monfils, Jarkko Nieminen and Marcel Granollers-Pujol claimed first-round victories Tuesday.

Photos:

Madrid Masters is probably famous for its hot Hugo Boss ball girls. These are the ball girl on the Andy Murray vs Simone Bolelli match. Murray was leading the match with 6-0, 2-1 when Bolelli retired due to an injury.


And here are more off-court photos.

Feliciano Lopez signing autograph for young fans.

Agustin Calleri signing autograph in Diadora's stand.

Marin Cilic was in Air Europa's stand.

Carlos Moya in front of a Mercedes.

(Images via Yahoo! Sport, Madrid Masters official website)

Gilles Simon beats Carlos Moya in BCR Open final

Gilles Simon of France won his second straight BCR Open Romania by beating Carlos Moya 6-3, 6-4 on the weekend final.

The second-seeded Simon broke the Spaniard at 3-2 in the first set and saved all six break points he conceded in the match to secure his fifth career title.

The final only lasted about 90 minutes, just half the time it took Simon to defeat eighth-seeded Jose Acasuso of Argentina in Saturday’s semifinal.

Simon beat local favorite Victor Hanescu in last year’s final, and has an 11-1 record in Bucharest.

In the men's doubles final, French duo Nicolas Devilder and Paul-Henri Mathieu won an epic battle against top seeded Poles Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 7-6(4), 6-7(9) 22-20 in the final of the BCR Open Romania in Bucharest to clinch their first team title.

(Via Yahoo! Sports)

Former tennis world no. 1s pay tribute to Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal has a new title to add to his King of Clay title. He should be called the King of ATP now.

He becomes the 24th player in the history of the South African Airways ATP Rankings (since 1973) to hold the No. 1 position. The 22-year-old replaced his great rival Roger Federer of Switzerland, who had held the top spot for a record 237 consecutive weeks (since February 2, 2004).

Below, seven former World No. 1s pay tribute to the Mallorcan 'Matador'.

ROGER FEDERER: "Rafa played great to get it. That's what I expected and hoped for, many years ago when I got to No. 1, that if ever somebody were to take it away for me, he would have to play an incredible tennis schedule, win the biggest tournaments, dominate the game basically, and then like this he can take No. 1. So I think Rafa totally deserves it."
There's certainly no other player at this moment who is more suitable to succeed Federer than Nadal.

STEFAN EDBERG: "Nadal is a great player with incredible charisma and fighting spirit, who deserves the No. 1 ranking. Especially after winning one of the greatest Wimbledon final ever following the French Open win. Federer is one of the best players ever to play the game and his record of 237 weeks at No. 1 is incredible. A tribute to his sportsmanship as well!"

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: "I believe becoming No. 1 in the world is the biggest glory of an athlete. Nadal deserved to be in the No. 1 position since a few years. Federer definitely helped him to become a better player. Nadal's achievement is well deserved and I believe he has the capability to hold the No. 1 position for a long period, a feat that I'm sure he is very determined to accomplish."
It was the matches with Federer that Nadal learn to become a better player. Federer is Nadal's Guru!

ROD LAVER: "Nadal's had a terrific Wimbledon, winning a tough five setter against Roger. He is a worthy new No. 1. Federer’s consistency for three years dominating all opponents is one of the great efforts in open tennis. Hopefully Nadal can continue his winning ways through 2008. The US Open will be a huge test for both of them."

JOHN McENROE: "It makes you realize that Federer is a human being, after compiling four of the greatest years in the history of Open tennis. Nadal’s made some great improvement in the last year or so and he’s followed it up with some wins at other events [beyond clay]. He deserves it."
Are you nuts? Federer is a human being. So does Nadal. By the way Nadal has been improving every year, not just last year 'or so'.

CARLOS MOYA: "When Rafa becomes No. 1 he will totally deserve it. He's been close for three years. But until now, Federer has been playing out of this world. He's more human now, and Rafa has improved a lot. I can't say that I really helped Rafa so much - maybe a bit when I was 24 and practising with him. That motivated me; you don't want to lose to a kid. He's helped me to be a better player by his intensity in training and his desire. He knew he could ask me questions and I could answer him. I don't know what it means, but of the three guys who have been No. 1 from Spain, two are from Mallorca."

PETE SAMPRAS: "He's a great fighter and I'm impressed with him. He's had the best year and he's clearly number one. He's 22 and think about that. It's incredible what Nadal's been able to do and I think he's going to get better and better if he can."

(Via ATP.com)