Barcelona - Spaniards Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer will clash for the second straight year in a Barcelona Open final after cruising to solid semi-final victories on Saturday. Nadal, his devastating form improving even further as he heads toward the dream of five trophies in succession at the Real club, dispatched Russian third seed Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 6-2 in windy conditions to reach the Sunday showdown.
Ferrer, the scampering, retrieving number four, outlasted determined Chilean Fernando Gonzalez 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) as the South American made a recovery from 5-2 down in the second set to eventually force a tiebreaker.
Sydney - Multiple Davis Cup champion Australia faces unprecedented sanctions including a temporary ban from the competition after refusing Saturday to send a team into what it considers a danger zone. Australia declared Saturday it would boycott next month's Davis Cup tie against India in Chennai over security concerns after the London-based International Tennis Federation (ITF) rejected its request for a neutral venue like Singapore.
The ITF insisted the May 8-10 matches go ahead, warning Tennis Australia (TA) of sanctions if its team stayed home.
Sydney - Australia declared Saturday it would boycott next month's Davis Cup tie against India in Chennai over security concerns after the International Tennis Federation (ITF) rejected its request for a neutral venue. The ITF insisted the May 8-10 matches go ahead, warning Tennis Australia (TA) of sanctions if its team stayed home.
TA head Geoff Pollard said it was "unreasonable" to expect the team to play in India during elections.
Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald also criticized the ITF, saying "some thought must be given to the players' safety."
Barcelona - Russian Nikolay Davydenko checked in for another successful work day on the clay Friday while Rafael Nadal took advantage of a quarter-final walkover as the pair prepared for a Saturday semi-final clash at tennis' Barcelona Open.
Top-seeded world number one Nadal put in some practice time after learning the day before that seventh-seeded Argentine opponent David Nalbandian would not be fronting up for their match due to hip problems which intensified during the previous round.
London - Wimbledon officials said Tuesday that there are no plans to change the daytime format of the Championships but refused to categorically rule out future play under the new lights which make their debut at this summer's edition.
The upcoming tournament will mark the initiation of the new moveable roof which will allow at least one match to continue when the inevitable rain arrives.
The 1,000-tonne monster covering 5,200 square metres will open and close in less than 10 minutes.
London - Wimbledon officials said Tuesday that there are no plans to change the daytime format of the Championships but refused to categorically rule out future play under the new lights which make their debut at this summer's edition.
The upcoming tournament will mark the initiation of the new moveable roof which will allow at least one match to continue when the inevitable rain arrives.
The 1,000-tonne monster covering 5,200 square metres will open and close in less than 10 minutes.
Barcelona - Spaniards Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer will clash for the second straight year in a Barcelona Open final after cruising to solid semi-final victories on Saturday. Nadal, his devastating form improving even further as he heads toward the dream of five trophies in succession at the Real club, dispatched Russian third seed Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 6-2 in windy conditions to reach the Sunday showdown.
Sydney - Multiple Davis Cup champion Australia faces unprecedented sanctions including a temporary ban from the competition after refusing Saturday to send a team into what it considers a danger zone. Australia declared Saturday it would boycott next month's Davis Cup tie against India in Chennai over security concerns after the London-based International Tennis Federation (ITF) rejected its request for a neutral venue like Singapore.
Sydney - Australia declared Saturday it would boycott next month's Davis Cup tie against India in Chennai over security concerns after the International Tennis Federation (ITF) rejected its request for a neutral venue. The ITF insisted the May 8-10 matches go ahead, warning Tennis Australia (TA) of sanctions if its team stayed home.
Barcelona - Russian Nikolay Davydenko checked in for another successful work day on the clay Friday while Rafael Nadal took advantage of a quarter-final walkover as the pair prepared for a Saturday semi-final clash at tennis' Barcelona Open.
London - Wimbledon officials said Tuesday that there are no plans to change the daytime format of the Championships but refused to categorically rule out future play under the new lights which make their debut at this summer's edition.
London - Wimbledon officials said Tuesday that there are no plans to change the daytime format of the Championships but refused to categorically rule out future play under the new lights which make their debut at this summer's edition.
