Tennis

Rafael Nadal of Spain kisses his trophy after winning against Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the end of their final match at the Italian Open tennis tournament, in Rome, Sunday, May 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
May 19, 2019 - 1:28 pm

Back on top: Nadal beats Djokovic for 9th Italian Open title

ROME (AP) — Rafael Nadal is right back where he wants to be. After losing in the semifinals of three straight clay-court tournaments, Nadal dominated for stretches against his longtime rival, Novak Djokovic, in a 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 win Sunday for a record-extending ninth Italian Open title. "You were...
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Rafael Nadal of Spain returns the ball to Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece during a semifinal match at the Italian Open tennis tournament, in Rome, Saturday, May 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
May 18, 2019 - 4:24 pm

Nadal gets his revenge over Tsitsipas; Djokovic up next

ROME (AP) — After losing in the semifinals of three straight clay-court tournaments, Rafael Nadal looked more like his old, dominant self when he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4 to reach the Italian Open final on Saturday. It was a measure of revenge for Nadal after losing to Tsitsipas in three...
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Rafael Nadal of Spain returns the ball to Fernando Verdasco of Spain during their quarterfinal match at the Italian Open tennis tournament, in Rome, Friday, May 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
May 17, 2019 - 6:29 pm

Nadal, Djokovic advance; Federer and Osaka withdraw injured

ROME (AP) — Rafael Nadal put away Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-0 at the Italian Open on Friday to reach the semifinals after conceding only six games in his six sets of tennis at the tournament. Yet he ought to be a little nervous. Nadal has fallen in the semifinals of his last three tournaments — all...
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Serena Williams, of the United States, gestures as she meets the journalists after winning her match against Sweden's Rebecca Peterson at the Italian Open tennis tournament, in Rome, Monday, May, 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
May 14, 2019 - 11:05 am

Serena Williams withdraws from Rome with injured knee

ROME (AP) — Serena Williams withdrew from the Italian Open on Tuesday ahead of her second-round match against sister Venus because of a previously injured left knee. Tournament organizers made the announcement a day after Serena opened her clay-court season with a straight-sets win over Swedish...
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Serena Williams, of the United States, serves the ball to Sweden's Rebecca Peterson during their match at the Italian Open tennis tournament, in Rome, Monday, May, 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
May 13, 2019 - 10:18 am

Serena Williams opens clay season with routine win in Rome

ROME (AP) — Serena Williams looked sharper than her previous match in March as she opened her clay-court season at the Italian Open with a routine 6-4, 6-2 win over Swedish qualifier Rebecca Peterson on Monday. In March at the Miami Open, Williams needed three sets to beat Peterson. "It's been a...
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Serbia's Novak Djokovic kisses the trophy as he celebrates winning the final of the Madrid Open tennis tournament in two sets, 6-3, 6-4, against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas, left down corner, in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, May 12, 2019. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
May 12, 2019 - 5:03 pm

Djokovic beats Tsitsipas to win his 3rd Madrid Open title

MADRID (AP) — Novak Djokovic celebrated a lot more than a record-tying 33rd Masters 1000 title at the Madrid Open. Djokovic left the Spanish capital feeling pretty good about his game, too, carrying a lot of confidence into the rest of the clay-court season. The top-ranked Djokovic earned a...
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Rafael Nadal of Spain during the Madrid Open tennis match against Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland in Madrid, Spain, Friday, May 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
May 12, 2019 - 7:55 am

Rafael Nadal says he is taking clay slump 'naturally'

MADRID (AP) — Usually this time of the year Rafael Nadal is talking about how his game is peaking ahead of the French Open. The discussion is typically about how many title-winning streaks he has extended and which records he has broken as the clay season moves toward its climax at Roland Garros...
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Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts after missing a point against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece during the Madrid Open tennis men's semi-final match in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, May 11, 2019. Tsitsipas won the match. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
May 11, 2019 - 6:57 pm

Nadal loses to Tsitsipas in Madrid as clay slump continues

MADRID (AP) — For the third straight time this season, Rafael Nadal won't be fighting for a title on his favorite surface. Nadal's slump on clay continued on Saturday at the Madrid Open with a third consecutive semifinal elimination, adding to his worst start to the clay-court swing since 2015. He...
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Roger Federer, from Switzerland, reacts after losing a point during the Madrid Open tennis match against Dominic Thiem, from Austria, in Madrid, Spain, Friday, May 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
May 11, 2019 - 7:55 am

Federer adds Italian Open to his Roland Garros preparation

ROME (AP) — Roger Federer has added the Italian Open to his schedule. A day after his three-set loss to Dominic Thiem in the Madrid Open quarterfinals, Federer announced his plans in an Instagram video on Saturday. Federer says, "Hello everybody. Just finished speaking to the team and happy to say...
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Rafael Nadal, from Spain, celebrates after winning Felix Auger-Aliassime, from Canada, during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Wednesday, May 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
May 08, 2019 - 1:58 pm

Nadal overcomes stomach virus to advance in Madrid Open

MADRID (AP) — Rafael Nadal was concerned going into his first match at the Madrid Open. He lost practice time ahead of the tournament because of a stomach virus and didn't know exactly how his body would react when he stepped onto the "Magic Box" center court on Wednesday. But despite the lack of...
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