Roger Federer News

PARIS (AP) _ Maybe Roger Federer needs to allow the pain of coming up short at the French Open to last a little longer. Maybe he needs to be a tad more concerned about whether he ever will pull off what he's come so close to _ and yet, in a way, remains so far from accomplishing: a ``Roger Slam'' of four consecutive major titles, a career Grand Slam, a true Grand Slam. Maybe Federer needs ...

PARIS (AP) _ A sluggish Roger Federer overcame a deficit in every set at the French Open on Friday, and now is within one victory of the only Grand Slam title he has yet to win. The top-ranked Swiss looked lacklustre for much of the match but advanced to the final by beating Nikolay Davydenko 7-5, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7). ``I could have lost in three sets,'' Federer said. ``He's an excellent player. It's a superb win ...

ROME (AP) _ Roger Federer lost to Italian wild card Filippo Volandri 6-2, 6-4 Thursday in the third round of the Rome Masters, extending his title drought to four straight tournaments. The top-ranked Federer last won at the Dubai Tennis Championships in March. He has since failed to win at Indian Wells, California; Key Biscayne, Florida; Monte Carlo, Monaco; and Rome. It's the worst stretch of Federer's career since becoming ...

MONTE CARLO, Monaco (AP) _ Roger Federer won his 500th career match Friday, beating David Ferrer 6-4, 6-0 in the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters. ``I am very happy to have done it here,'' said Federer, who reached the final in Monte Carlo last year. ``That is a lot of games. I'm glad they are victories.'' The 10-time Grand Slam champion has never lost a set to Ferrer in ...

Switzerland's Roger Federer and Russia's Maria Sharapova top the lists of seeds at the Australian Open, with organizers sticking to thh world rankings. Federer, the defending champion, is aiming for his 10th Grand Slam singles title and has been atop the men's rankings since February 2004. Sharapova moved to the top of the women's seedings list at Melbourne Park after No. 1-ranked Justine Henin-Hardenne of Beelgium withdrew from the tournament ...

All the brilliant numbers came down to one simple equation for Roger Federer: He was two sets short of a Grand Slam season. Federer returns to Melbourne Park as the overwhelming favourite and defending Australian Open champion, one of three majors he won while compiling a 92-5 record last year. Four of his losses were against second-ranked Rafael Nadal, including the French Open final when he won the first set ...

Defending champion Andy Roddick set up a championship match against top-ranked Roger Federer in the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament, beating Scotland's Andy Murray 6-4, 6-4 on Friday. Roddick, of the United States, has only one win in 13 ATP Tour matches against Federer, of Switzerland, and has lost their last eight matches. ``I'm going to go out there and try to win a tennis match,'' Roddick said. ``It's always nice ...

Among Roger Federer's resolutions for the new year: Winning a first French Open title and a fifth-straight Wimbledon crown. ``(Winning the) French Open will definitely be a dream come true but on top of the list there is always Wimbledon and staying No. 1,'' Federer said. ``These are the ones that changed my life and made me the player and person I am today.'' Federer reached his first final at ...

Roger Federer overwhelmed James Blake, claiming his third Masters Cup title 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 in Sunday's championship match. Top-ranked Federer rounded off another dominating season with 12 titles and 16 finals appearances from the 17 tournaments he contested, winning US$8.34 million. Already the first player to exceed $7 million in prize money in a season, Federer pocketed $1.52 million for his unbeaten run at the season-ending championship in Shanghai. ``To ...

Rafael Nadal of Spain rallied to beat Russian Nikolay Davydenko 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 Friday and set up a Masters Cup semifinal against top-ranked Roger Federer while Daniel Nestor of Toronto and Mark Knowles of the Bahamas advanced to the doubles final four. Nestor and Knowles defeated Poland pair Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 6-3, 6-3 to finish second in the Gold Group and will face Red Group winner Paul Hanley ...

Andy Roddick was eliminated from the Masters Cup by defending champion David Nalbandian 6-2, 7-6 (4) on Thursday, with the result allowing Roger Federer to advance to the semifinals of the US$4.45-million round-robin tournament. The top-ranked Federer later beat Ivan Ljubicic 7-6 (2), 6-4 _ extending his winning streak to 27 and improving to 15-0 in Masters Cup round-robin matches. Federer, broken in the opening game, closed with an ace ...

Roger Federer of Switzerland saved three match points in a second-set tiebreaker before overcoming American Andy Roddick 4-6, 7-6 (8), 6-4 Tuesday at the Tennis Masters Cup. Top-ranked Federer extended his winning stretch in round-robin matches at the season-ending championship to 14 and his streak against Roddick to eight. He's 12-1 career against Roddick, who has not beaten the Swiss star since the semifinals in Montreal in 2003. Roddick had ...

Roger Federer of Switzerland won his first Madrid Masters and 10th title of the season Sunday with a 7-5, 6-1, 6-0 victory over Fernando Gonzalez. Federer became the first player in the Open era to win 10 titles in three straight years. The top-ranked Swiss player moved ahead of Pete Sampras with his 12th Masters series title _ second only to Andre Agassi's 17. Federer didn't drop a set in ...

Roger Federer of Switzerland moved a step closer to his 10th title of the year, routing Argentina's David Nalbandian 6-4, 6-0 Saturday in a semifinal of the Madrid Masters. The top-ranked Swiss will play for the title Sunday against 10th-seeded Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, who beat Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-1. This is Gonzalez's first Masters final and second consecutive final. Last week, he lost the championship match to Ivan Ljubicic in Vienna, Austria. Federer ...

Roger Federer of Switzerland moved a step closer to winning his 10th title of 2006 with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) quarter-final win over American Robby Ginepri at the Madrid Masters on Friday. In doubles play, Daniel Nestor of Toronto and Mark Knowles of the Bahamas, the No. 3 seeds, earned a 6-4, 6-4 semifinal win over the second-seeded team of Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden and Max Mirnyi of Belarus. Federer ...

Roger Federer of Switzerland rallied in two tiebreakers to beat Robin Soderling of Sweden 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8) and advance to the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters on Thursday. Neither player dropped serve in the match, sealed when the top-ranked Federer correctly challenged that the final two points were hit out by Soderling. Each player receives two challenges a set in this tournament. If he is correct with a challenge, ...

Top-ranked Roger Federer of Switzerland won his first indoor tournament match in almost a year, while fourth-ranked David Nalbandian of Argentina rallied to reach the third round of the Madrid Masters on Tuesday. In doubles action, Toronto's Daniel Nestor won his opening match with partner Mark Knowles of the Bahamas. Federer had 28 winners and broke Nicolas Massu three times _ including twice in the final set _ for the 6-3, 6-2 win, his first indoor victory on ...

Roger Federer has won 42 career titles in 14 different countries. None of them have come in Spain. The world's top-ranked player is hoping to reverse that trend at the US$2.45-million Madrid Masters, which begins Monday, but it won't be easy. The Madrid field includes 18 of the world's top 20 players, including defending champion Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard is 6-2 against Federer _ 4-1 in 2006. The last time ...

Roger Federer took advantage of some costly mistakes by Britain's Tim Henman on Sunday to win his first Japan Open. Top-ranked Federer coasted to a 6-3, 6-3 win over 10th-seeded Henman, who struggled with his serve in windy conditions at Tokyo's Ariake Colosseum. Henman conceded three straight double faults to allow Federer to take a 4-2 lead in the first set, which the Swiss star closed out with an ace. ``When he served three double faults, that just ...

Top-ranked Roger Federer coasted to a 6-3, 6-3 win over Britain's Tim Henman on Sunday to capture his first Japan Open title. Federer took control early, taking advantage of a double fault to break 10th-seeded Henman and go up 4-2 before closing out the first set with an ace. ``It's been a great year so far,'' said Federer. ``To come here for the first time and win this tournament is a great feeling. I hope to come back ...

Top-ranked Roger Federer cruised to a 6-3, 6-4 win over Benjamin Becker on Saturday to advance to his first Japan Open final. Federer barely broke a sweat in Saturday's match and was never seriously challenged by the 14th-seeded German, who beat Andre Agassi at the U.S. Open last month to send the eight-time Grand Slam winner into retirement. Federer will meet Britain's Tim Henman in Sunday's final at Ariake Colosseum. Henman, who is chasing his first title this ...

Top-ranked Roger Federer rallied from a shaky start Friday to edge Japan's Takao Suzuki 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3) and advance to the Japan Open semifinals. The Swiss star dropped the first set to Suzuki, who recently recovered from a shoulder injury and is playing in his first ATP tournament since the Australian Open in January. ``It was a difficult match and I was afraid I might lose it,'' said Federer. ...

Top-ranked Roger Federer coasted to a 6-2, 6-1 win over defending champion Wesley Moodie on Thursday to advance to the Japan Open quarter-finals. Federer established control early, breaking Moodie to go up 4-2 in the first set and slamming five aces before beating the 13th-seeded South African in just 52 minutes. ``I was expecting a tough match,'' said the Swiss star. ``I had trouble returning yesterday so I thought it ...