Rafael Nadal made light work of former world number one Lleyton Hewitt to reach the fourth round of the French Open on Friday. Nadal, bidding for a record fifth straight win at the clay court grand slam, beat the Australian 6-1 6-3 6-1 to reach the last 16 in Paris. It was the 31st straight win at Roland Garrod for the top seed and he was rarely troubled by Hewitt who has never gone beyond the quarterfinals in the tournament. ...

Roger Federer has exclusively told CNN he feels he could beat reigning champion Rafael Nadal at this year's French Open in Paris, because despite winning the last four tournaments the Spaniard is "only human." The world number two is hoping this year will prove to be a turning point after suffering three consecutive final defeats to Nadal at Roland Garros. "He's won four straight times here in Paris which shows how tough he is, but if you play him the ...

World tennis number two Roger Federer has given his fans some hope that this year could be the year he finally conquers all at Roland Garros. The 27-year-old from Switzerland has won 13 Grand Slam titles, but never the clay court-contested French Open. Federer's nemesis, Rafael Nadal, has already claimed the Australian Open in a strong start to 2009, and his preparations towards a fifth consecutive French Open title seemed to be all in order until the Swiss player struck ...

Second seed Roger Federer won his first title of 2009 after stunning world number one and clay-court king Rafael Nadal in straight sets in front of his own fans in the final of the Madrid Masters on Sunday. Swiss ace Federer, who had won 57 career titles but was without a tournament victory since winning on home soil in Basle last October, took the honors 6-4 6-4 in one hour and 26 minutes. The win also ended a remarkable ...

Top seed Rafael Nadal continued his dominance on clay with a straight sets victory over defending champion Novak Djokovic in the final of the Rome Masters in Italy. The Spaniard secured his 13th victory over his Serb rival in 17 matches with a 7-6 6-2 win, to capture a record fourth Rome title. "The Rome Masters is a really important tournament for me," Nadal told reporters after claiming his fifth title of the season and his 30th consecutive clay-court victory ...

Defending champion Novak Djokovic will play world number one Rafael Nadal in the final of the Rome Masters after contrasting semifinal victories on Sunday. Djokovic edged past world number two Roger Federer 4-6 6-3 6-3 while Nadal brushed aside 12th seed Fernando Gonzalez 6-3 6-3 at the Foro Italico. Serbian ace Djokovic needs to beat Nadal on Sunday to retain his world number three spot ahead of Andy Murray. He knows it will be a tough task. "There's not much ...

Rafael Nadal beat Andy Murray in straight sets to reach the final of the Monte Carlo Masters where he will play Serbia's Novak Djokovic on Sunday. Nadal will be bidding for his fifth straight title in the principality but was made to work for his 6-2 7-6 victory by Scot Murray who once again showed his growing adaptability to clay. But world number one Nadal is almost unbeatable on the surface and has won 26 straight matches at the prestigious ...

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal easily dismissed Andy Murray in straight sets on Sunday to capture the BNP Paribas Open and claim the first ATP World Tour Masters tournament of the year. Winning the final five games of both sets, the 22-year-old Spaniard crushed Murray, 6-1, 6-2 to win his second title at Indian Well, California, in three years. The match lasted just one hour, 20 minutes and was played amid persistent high winds. "The conditions today were really ...