Rafael Nadal

Top seed Nadal to face Belgium's Rochus in first round

Top seed Nadal to face Belgium's Rochus in first round Melbourne  - Men's draw made Friday for the 15.5-million- dollar Australian Open.

<# Rafael Nadal, 1, Spain v Christophe Rochus, Belgium

Florent Serra, France v Roko Karanusic, Croatia

Eduardo Schwank, Argentina v Tommy Haas, Germany

Qualifier v Dmitry Tursunov, Russia

Richard Gasquet, France v Diego Junqueira, Argentina

Vince Spadea, US v Denis Istomin, Uzbekistan

Guillermo Canas, Argentina v Nicolas Kiefer, Germany

Murray, Nadal like their chances in exhibition final

Murray, Nadal like their chances in exhibition finalAbu Dhabi, UAE  - Andy Murray remains more excited about his fast-improving Australian Open chances than even the 250,000-dollar prize packet he stands to win in the final with Rafael Nadal at the Capitala Championship in Abu Dhabi.

Murray reached the Saturday title showdown as he beat Roger Federer in three sets at the exhibition.

"It's always a challenge playing Roger," said the Scot, ranked fourth. "I've got the better of him on a few occasions, but in the big one we played, at the US Open final, he beat me pretty badly.

Nadal, Jankovic lift 2008 ITF honours

Rafael NadalLondon - The world number one pair of Rafael Nadal and Jelena Jankovic lifted top honours for the 2008 season as the each received world champion honours from the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

Nadal, winner of a fourth straight Roland Garros title as well as Wimbledon and the Olympic gold medal, swept the field on the men's side. The ITF makes the selections based upon ATP and WTA results combined with Grand Slams, Olympics, Davis Cup and Fed Cup play.

ITF president: "Nadal has a very serious problem"

Rafael Nadal reigns supreme in men's tennisShanghai - World number one tennis player Rafael Nadal is suffering from serious physical problems, the president of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), Francesco Ricci Bitti, said on Wednesday.

"Nadal has a very serious problem," Ricci Bitti told a small group of media, including Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, at the Masters Cup tournament in Shanghai.

Nadal steps down from Davis Cup final over knee injury

Nadal steps down from Davis Cup final over knee injuryBarcelona - Spain's Rafael Nadal, world number one, stepped down from the Davis Cup final against Argentina later this month, due to a knee injury.

Nadal himself explained his decision Monday in Barcelona, after undergoing several medical tests.

"I did everything I could to try to get to that final. I am used to playing on court with pain and I have stood it quite well. But this is a different kind of pain, a new pain. I cannot manage to control it," the tennis player said.

Nadal steps down from Davis Cup final over knee injury

Barcelona - Spain's Rafael Nadal, world number one, stepped down from the Davis Cup final against Argentina later this month, due to a knee injury.

Nadal himself explained his decision Monday in Barcelona, after undergoing several medical tests.

Spain is set to play Argentina in the Davis Cup final November 21- 23, on an indoor carpet court in the Argentine coastal city of Mar del Plata.

Argentina seeks its first-ever "salad bowl," as the tournament trophy is known, while Spain is seeking its third title.

Nadal, 22, quit his Paris Masters quarter-final 10 days ago, when he lost 6-1 to Russian Nikolay Davydenko. He was suffering from tendinitis in his right knee.

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