Berdych swings the momentum on a key break point
Sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych took down No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the Italian Open quarterfinals.
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ROME (AP) — Novak Djokovic can’t seem to find any consistency on clay courts. And with French Open less than 10 days away, he will enter Roland Garros coming off two early losses.
The top-ranked Serb wasted a chance to serve out the match and was beaten 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 by sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych in the Italian Open quarterfinals on Friday.
Despite turmoil, Tomic set to play French Open
Despite dealing with his father’s legal issues, Bernard Tomic is expected to play the French Open.
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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Tennis Australia expects that Bernard Tomic will play in the French Open, despite coach John Tomic recently declaring his son’s participation unlikely.
The 20-year-old Tomic has resumed training after withdrawing from this week’s Rome Masters following an assault case involving his father in Madrid, and has made no suggestion he will also skip Roland Garros which starts May 26.
US Open tennis leaving CBS for ESPN in 2015
The U.S. Open is the latest major sporting event to move to ESPN after agreeing to move in 2015.
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The U.S. Open tennis tournament will leave CBS after nearly a half-century and move all TV coverage to cable starting in 2015 under an 11-year contract with ESPN.
The new deal between the U.S. Tennis Association and ESPN, announced Thursday, also includes the series of North American summer hard-court tournaments leading up to the Open.
Serena vs. Maria, Federer’s struggles and more Mailbag
Serena Williams hasn’t lost to Maria Sharapova since 2004, holding a 13-2 head-to-head record.
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Why doesn’t Maria Sharapova go to almost all kick serves against Serena Williams? Serena has trouble with the high bounce, and it gives Sharapova more time to deal with Serena’s return.
– Robert, Kansas City
• At this point, their matches (of which Sharapova has dropped 12 in a row after losing the Madrid Open final last week) are so much more about self-belief (or lack thereof) than X’s and O’s. But, yes, especially on clay, the way to beat Serena is to grub up the match. Kick serves out wide. Lots of spin. Take your time. Rally-prolonging retrieving. That approach doesn’t play to Sharapova’s strengths, though she obviously has enjoyed a lot of success on clay over the last year against the rest of the field.
Serena Williams’ unrivaled dominance unparalleled in history
Serena Williams rolled to her 50th title in Madrid, her first red-clay win since 2002.
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The most spirited sports debates never quite get settled. Mays and Mantle, Palmer and Nicklaus, Russell and Chamberlain — there’s so much evidence on either side, there’s really no closure to the arguments.
Here’s something that’s beyond question: In the history of women’s tennis, nobody has crushed the notion of “rivalry” quite like Serena Williams.
Wozniacki falls at Italian Open; Djokovic cruises
Bojana Jovanovski topped Caroline Wozniacki on Tuesday, furthering Wozniacki’s struggles on clay.
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ROME (AP) Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer appear back on track after early losses in Madrid last week. Serena Williams, meanwhile, is maintaining her dominance.
Assault case involving Tomic’s dad pushed back
John Tomic was charged with assault after allegedly head-butting his son’s hitting partner, Thomas Drouet.
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SYDNEY (AP) – News Limited is reporting from Madrid that the court case involving the father of tennis player Bernard Tomic has been adjourned until October after the man he allegedly assaulted declined to return for Tuesday’s scheduled hearing.