PREVIEW: Nadal facing Federer in Rome final

TENNIS - Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer both reached the final in the ATP Masters Series in Rome on Saturday. Nadal has reached the final in Rome for a record eighth time.

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INFOGRAPHIC: Nadal writes first line of ninth symphony

TENNIS - Rafael Nadal easily negotiated his first hurdle of the 2013 Monte Carlo 1000 Masters tournament, a championship that the Spaniard has won in each of the previous eight years. He is attempting to become the first player to win the same ATP tournament on nine different occasions.

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PREVIEW: Nadal out to affirm ‘King Of Clay’ status

TENNIS - As the ATP Tour begins its clay court season with three Masters tournaments prior to Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal looks to continue his extraordinary record in these events. Below is a comprehensive preview to the clay court season.

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INFOGRAPHIC: Surfaces chosen by Davis Cup hosts

TENNIS - This weekend, the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup World Group will take place. Defending champions Czech Republic travel to Kazakhstan, who have chosen clay as the surface for only the second World Group tie they host. Argentina host a match on clay, which they almost always do. The two North American hosts have opted for their preferred hardcourts. Click on the picture below to enable our Infographic’s interactive features. Check and uncheck the boxes to see which surfaces are popular with which hosts.

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INFOGRAPHIC: Masters of the Masters forego Miami

TENNIS - The Sony Open in Miami is this season’s second Masters 1000 series and the two players that lead tournaments of that level in career singles titles, Rafael Nadal (22) and Roger Federer (21), have chosen to forego this championship. Of the players taking part this year, Novak Djokovic (13) has most career Masters 1000 titles under his belt. Our Infographic shows the Top 10. You can access it by clicking ‘Read More’.

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PREVIEW: Fed, Nadal set up first quarterfinal meeting

TENNIS - Roger Federer will face Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of Indian Wells. Remarkably, of the 28 previous singles meetings between the two, NONE came at the quarterfinal stage. They met in finals (19), semifinals (7), Last 32 (1) and Round Robin (1). Nadal leads the series 18-10. The last meeting between the two came in last year’s semifinals at Indian Wells. Federer triumphed.

REVIEW: Djokovic 1st player in Open era to Aus Open threepeat

TENNIS - Novak Djokovic has become the first player in the Open era to win the Australian Open in three successive years. The last player to achieve that feat before the Open era started (1968) was Roy Emerson who won five in a row from 1963 to 1967. Jack Crawford (1931-1933) is the only other player to win this tournament at least three years in a row.

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PREVIEW: Li poised to add giant killer accolade

TENNIS - China’s Li Na will take on top seed Victoria Azarenka in the final of the 2013 Australian Open women’s singles final, coming fresh off a victory over second seed Maria Sharapova and fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarterfinals. On only three previous occasions, a player managed to eliminate three of the top four seeds in the same Grand Slam championship (women’s singles).

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PREVIEW: Sharapova on record pace

TENNIS - Maria Sharapova will play against Li Na in the semifinal of the 2013 Australian Open on Thursday. Sharapova has lost nine games in the first five matches of this tournament. This equals the second fewest number of games lost in a Grand Slam tournament for players reaching the final four (only players with five completed matches taken into account).

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ANALYSE THIS - ‘Big 4’ among 11 most dominant

TENNIS - When looking at percentage of games (the ones that make up sets, which make up tennis matches) won at Grand Slams in Open era, the men’s singles Top 11 all-time contains the ‘Big 4’ of modern day tennis. Björn Borg and Rafael Nadal are the only two players that have won at least 60% of all their games, the equivalent of winning each Grand Slam match by 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

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REVIEW: 42-year-old Date-Krumm marches on

TENNIS - Japan’s Kimiko Date-Krumm has reached the third round at the Australian Open, making the 42-year-old the second oldest player to survive two rounds of women’s singles at a Grand Slam tournament, behind Renée Richards, who was 45 when negotiating the first two rounds at the 1979 US Open. Date is now faced with another daunting task, attempting to become the first player in almost 20 years to beat an opponent less than half her age. Martina Navratilova last performed that feat at the 1993 US Open.

INFOGRAPHIC: Sharapova bags 4th double bagel

TENNIS - Maria Sharapova’s fourth career double bagel at a Grand Slam propelled her into the top 10 of that statistical category. There are six players that have recorded more. The record holder is Chris Evert on 13.

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REVIEW: Sharapova logs back-to-back ‘double bagels’

TENNIS - Maria Sharapova became the third woman in Open era history to register back-to-back ‘double bagels’ (6-0, 6-0 triumphs) in the same Grand Slam tournament, joining Margaret Court, who performed the feat in the second and third rounds of the 1973 Australian Open and Wendy Turnbull who did the same in Rounds 1 and 2 of the 1985 Australian Open.

RECORD: Date-Krumm sets Australian Open record

TENNIS - Kimiko Date-Krumm has become the oldest player to win a women’s singles match at the Australian Open. The 42-year-old from Japan improves the record set by Virginia Wade in 1985 at age 40. Martina Navratilova is the oldest player to win a women’s singles match at any  Grand Slam. She was 47 when she won a match at Wimbledon in 2004.

PREVIEW: Djokovic aiming for unique threepeat

TENNIS - Novak Djokovic, the winner of the last two men’s singles championship at the Australian Open, can become the first person in the Open era (1968-present) to win three in a row. The last player to complete the threepeat was Roy Emerson, five consecutive from 1963 to 1967 (prior to the Open era). In the Open era, 10 players managed back-to-back titles, but no one has registered the threepeat.