Fun Enclave - World Sports http://www.funenclave.com/ General sports discussion forum. Discuss tennis, cycling, wwe and all other sports in this section. en Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:22:52 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.funenclave.com/images/fun_enclave/misc/rss.jpg Fun Enclave - World Sports http://www.funenclave.com/ <![CDATA[[Tennis] Djokovic knocks out Nadal]]> http://www.funenclave.com/world-sports/djokovic-knocks-out-nadal-33323.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:55:08 GMT ---Quote--- _*Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal in straight sets to reach the final of the BNP Paris Masters. *__The 6-2 6-3 success represented a sixth win in 20 meetings for the Serbian at the expense of the world number two - and a first outside north America._ However, it was a...
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Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal in straight sets to reach the final of the BNP Paris Masters.

The 6-2 6-3 success represented a sixth win in 20 meetings for the Serbian at the expense of the world number two - and a first outside north America.

However, it was a second successive victory for Djokovic, who came out on top the last time the pair met - in Cincinnati in August.
He was in control throughout the first set, with an impressive backhand cross-court shot in the third game serving notice of his intentions.
The Serbian took advantage of his first opportunity to break in the sixth game and repeated the feat in the eighth to make sure he took control of the match.
After being broken in the first game of the second set there was no going back for Nadal, who was struggling to compete with the Serbian's energy and movement.
Although a sweet forehand in the ninth game saved the Spaniard from facing match point, it was not long before he was facing two of them when he flopped a return into the net.
And on his second serve Djokovic produced a forehand which was too hot for Nadal, wrapping up victory in 76 minutes.
Despite hitting fewer aces and making more unforced errors than his opponent, Djokovic was a worthy winner and deservedly claimed a final meeting against either Radek Stepanek or Gael Monfils.
Djokovic told Sky Sports afterwards: "I didn't know this is the first time I've beaten him outside north America, so I'm happy to have won in another continent against him."
Djokovic knocks out Nadal | ESPNSTAR.com ]]> World Sports C.Ronaldo http://www.funenclave.com/world-sports/djokovic-knocks-out-nadal-33323.html <![CDATA[[Tennis] Nadal through after another scare]]> http://www.funenclave.com/world-sports/nadal-through-after-another-scare-33282.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:01:54 GMT *Rafael Nadal survived another major scare before edging past Tommy Robredo to reach the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters. * ---Quote--- Robredo served for the match at 5-4 in the final set but was unable to close out a famous win against his fellow Spaniard. Nadal, who saved five match... Rafael Nadal survived another major scare before edging past Tommy Robredo to reach the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters.

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Robredo served for the match at 5-4 in the final set but was unable to close out a famous win against his fellow Spaniard.
Nadal, who saved five match points against Nicolas Almagro in the previous round, made the most of his reprieve to seal a 6-3 3-6 7-5 victory.
The world number two will face France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last eight after Tsonga's 6-2 6-3 demolition of compatriot Gilles Simon.
Tsonga qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals with victory in this event last year, and remained on course for a repeat as he overpowered Simon.
The other quarter-final in the bottom half of the draw sees Robin Soderling take on in-form world number three Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic beat Roger Federer in the final of the world number one's home-town event in Basle last weekend and today demolished home favourite Arnaud Clement 6-2 6-2.
Soderling beat Nikolay Davydenko 6-3 3-6 6-4 but the Russian still qualified for the World Tour Finals thanks to Fernando Verdasco's loss to Marin Cilic.
In the top half of the draw, Gael Monfils will play Cilic for a place in the semi-finals after ensuring Julien Benneteau could not repeat his heroics of the previous round.
Benneteau knocked out Roger Federer in the second round but Monfils eased to a 6-4 6-3 win over his fellow Frenchman today.
Cilic recovered from losing the first set to beat Verdasco in three sets, while Radek Stepanek also came from behind to beat world number four Andy Murray 1-6 6-3 6-4.
Murray was perhaps feeling the effects of finishing his match with James Blake at around 2am this morning as Stepanek booked a quarter-final clash with either US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro or Fernando Gonzalez.
Del Potro eventually won a hard-fought battle when Gonzalez was forced to retire before the start of a deciding set.
Gonzalez recovered from 5-2 down in the opening set and 5-1 down in the tie-break to take it 8-6.
However, the Chilean needed treatment to his right leg in a second set which featured several lengthy games, Del Potro also calling for the trainer with an apparent stomach problem.
Del Potro still managed to save five match points as he served at 5-4 down and another at 6-5 down to force a tie-break, and the Argentinian took it 8-6 to seemingly force a decider.
But Gonzalez then signalled he was unwilling to continue and Del Potro advanced to the last eight.
Nadal through after another scare | ESPNSTAR.com ]]> World Sports C.Ronaldo http://www.funenclave.com/world-sports/nadal-through-after-another-scare-33282.html <![CDATA[[Tennis] Federer crashes out in Paris]]> http://www.funenclave.com/world-sports/federer-crashes-out-in-paris-33247.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:21:23 GMT *Roger Federer crashed out of the Paris Masters as Jean Benneteau produced a sublime performance to beat him 3-6 7-6 (7/4) 6-4. * ---Quote--- The local man started slowly as Federer looked to wrap up a quick win. Benneteau had three set points in the second set tiebreak, converting at the... Roger Federer crashed out of the Paris Masters as Jean Benneteau produced a sublime performance to beat him 3-6 7-6 (7/4) 6-4.

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The local man started slowly as Federer looked to wrap up a quick win.
Benneteau had three set points in the second set tiebreak, converting at the second attempt as the match began to turn in his favour.
And the world number 49 held his nerve to maintain his momentum in the third set and close out the match, breaking down with joy as he ousted the legendary Swiss.
Earlier, Marat Safin bode farewell to professional tennis with a 6-4 5-7 6-4 defeat by US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro.
The fiery Russian announced earlier this year he would be bringing to an end a 12-year career that has brought him two grand slam titles and the world number one ranking.
Today's match saw flashes of Safin at his brilliant best, and he fought impressively to take the second set, but there were also too many mistakes as fifth seed Del Potro booked his place in round three.
The crowd were behind the wild card, who is a three-time champion in Paris, throughout the match and, after a hug from Del Potro across the net, a host of Safin's current and former rivals came out on court to pay tribute to the Muscovite.
Safin was presented with a souvenir trophy and then addressed the crowd, saying: "It's a very special moment.
"I'm happy to get through to the second round and play Del Potro, I hope he's going to do well here. He's confident now because of me so if he's going to win it he can send me some prize money!
"This is the day where all my memories will be in one box. I'm closing one door, hopefully another door will be opened."
In other matches, Rafael Nadal was forced to dig deep into his renowned powers of resilience to overcome Spanish compatriot Nicolas Almagro 3-6 7-6 (7/2) 7-5.
The world number two, who had won all four of his previous encounters with Almagro without dropping a set, has endured a torrid time with injuries in the last few months and was troubled by blisters to his feet in the duel, which lasted three hours 14 minutes.
Second seed Nadal saved four match points and was a break down in the third set, but overcame Almagro, who himself required treatment in the closing stages, to progress.
Third seed Novak Djokovic saved two set points against Juan Monaco on his way to a 6-3 7-5 victory.
The Serb, who beat Federer in the final of the world number one's home-town event in Basle on Sunday, looked a little jaded and appeared in trouble at 2-5 in the second set.
But Monaco squandered two set points on his opponent's serve and five games in a row gave Djokovic victory.
Robin Soderling kept alive his chances of qualifying for the event at the O2 later this month with a 6-4 7-6 (8/6) victory over giant Croatian Ivo Karlovic.
Elsewhere, home favourite Gael Monfils eased into the third round with a 6-4 7-5 win over qualifier David Guez.
Arnaud Clement saved one match point in his 5-7 6-3 7-6 (10/8) victory over Tommy Haas, Fernando Gonzalez beat John Isner 7-5 7-6 (7/3) and Tommy Robredo defeated Tomas Berdych 6-4 6-4.
Twelfth seed Marin Cilic beat Polish qualifier Lukasz Kubot 6-7 (3/7) 6-4 6-2,
Andy Murray battled his way past stubborn resistance from James Blake to take his place in the third round in a match that did not finish until almost 2am local time.
It did not begin until 11.30, and once it did Murray was tested all the way before eventually triumphing 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (6-4).
Murray broke the American in the fourth game to put himself in the driving seat in the opening set only for Blake to claw his way back to return the favour immediately to go to 3-2.
The pattern continued as Murray took the sixth game on Blake's serve with a second break to go to 3-3 and it quickly became 4-3 as he held serve.
Murray made it four games on the trot by breaking serve again in game eight and then served out to take the opening set 6-3.
Both players then held serve through the second set, forcing a tiebreaker as the marathon day's play continued.
Blake pushed 6-4 ahead and it was then that Murray slipped and seemed to hurt his leg scrambling for the ball.
He got up to face set point but could not stop Blake levelling the match at 1-1.
Murray still looked to be struggling as the third set begun, but he battled through another lengthy fight as both players held serve to force another tiebreaker.
Murray finally made his move, pushing 5-3 ahead, but he could not hold serve to give Blake another chance.
However, Murray got back to 6-4 ahead for his second match point and clinched victory when Blake hit a shot long, ending the contest after two and a quarter gruelling hours.
Radek Stepanek had a much easier time dispatching Viktor Troicki 6-4 6-0.
Federer crashes out in Paris | ESPNSTAR.com ]]> World Sports C.Ronaldo http://www.funenclave.com/world-sports/federer-crashes-out-in-paris-33247.html Bolt, Bekele vie for top male athlete award http://www.funenclave.com/world-sports/bolt-bekele-vie-top-male-athlete-33130.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:50:29 GMT World and Olympic champions Usain Bolt and Kenenisa Bekele were among five contenders shortlisted for the male Athlete of the Year award on Monday.


At this year's world championships Jamaica's Bolt added the 100 metre and 200m titles to the Olympic golds he won last year, when he was named the International Association of Athletics Federations' (IAAF) male Athlete of the Year, while Ethiopian Bekele did the same over 5,000 and 10,000m.

Also on the shortlist are American sprinter Tyson Gay, Australian pole vaulter Steve Hooker and Norway's javelin thrower Andreas Thorkildsen.

The women's shortlist will be released on Tuesday with both winners being announced during the World Athletics Gala in Monaco on Nov. 22.

Bolt, Bekele vie for top male athlete award - *Cricket and Sports - MSN India ]]> World Sports Kimi http://www.funenclave.com/world-sports/bolt-bekele-vie-top-male-athlete-33130.html