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Moya, Munoz' pain in Spain

Where are you: Vaidisova, Bag Man?
Top mens' rivalry, Vakulenko

New feature features readers' questions and input
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Belgian tennis player Justine Henin
Cynthia Lum/WireImage.com

Henin retirement stunner:
'This is the end of a child's dream'

Intense No. 1 cites lack of emotion;
leaves with 7 Slams, 41 titles, 117 weeks at top


The toughest girl in tennis was not the biggest girl in tennis. The toughest girl wasn't afraid to cry, wasn't afraid to say she's afraid, wasn't afraid to tell the world's other elite players that they had reason to fear her.
Henin can't locate her confidence in Safina loss
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Belgian tennis player Justine Henin
Cynthia Lum/
WireImage.com
THE TR NEWSLETTER: SUNDAY, MAY 11, NO. 272

Aiming for No. 1, Djokovic claims
first Masters Series clay crown

Novak stops doing imitations
because of negative connotations


FROM THE ITALIAN OPEN IN ROME – With Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer knocked out early in this tournament, all eyes were on Novak Djokovic to win the prestigious Masters Series event of Rome. In his 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 comeback win over Stanislas Wawrinka in the final, Djokovic proved again that he plays his best tennis in pressure situations, even though he says it’s not easy.
For TennisReporters.net subscribers onlySUBSCRIBERS: CLICK FOR FULL STORYrule
EXCLUSIVE
THE TR NEWSLETTER: FRIDAY, MAY 2, NO. 271

Sharapova hammers WTA over photo shoot

Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova
Cynthia Lum
Maria: 'The tour does not care what any of the players think, not just top players.… I just could not just sit back anymore'


Maria Sharapova has long been considered one of the tour's most cooperative players when it comes to fulfilling media, sponsorship and fan requests, but the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour is now seriously butting heads with its most prized asset over an upcoming commercial shoot in Rome in a move that already caused damage to their relationship.
For TennisReporters.net subscribers onlySUBSCRIBERS: CLICK FOR FULL STORY
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ARCHIVED STORIES
Federer and shaky backhand crash to Stepanek
Clay-court schedule takes toll on Nadal
Roddick cruises over Fish
Hardcore clay season begins:
Tier Is in Rome, Berlin

You ask, he answers (with a crisp volley)
Hamburg, ATP to go to trial over tournament status
Federer's collapses, Rafa takes another clay crown
Federer v. Nadal No. 15

Serena on a hot spring streak

THE TR NEWSLETTER: Pasarell behind De Villiers changes

Creating titlists out of clay
THE TR NEWSLETTER: Higueras looks to work magic with Federer
Davis Cup: Power nations pull through
Freaky Friday: US gets big win from Blake
Davis Cup quarters preview: Roddick, Blake up against unexpected French foes
For TennisReporters.net subscribers only TennisReporters.net's first-quarter women's top 10
Davydenko breaks big-match roadblock
Shaky Serena wins fifth title in Miami
Nadal beats Berdych to reach final
THE TR NEWSLETTER: Federer melts down against big-serving Roddick
Djokovic, Williams sisters, Kournikova, Blake, Nadal
For TennisReporters.net subscribers onlyBlake falls to Nadal again
Vintage Serena humbles passive Henin
THE TR NEWSLETTER: Serena comes up against nemesis: Henin
Sweet song for Serbia, Part I; Djokovic continues climb to top
Sweet song for Serbia, Part II: Ivanovic goes from good to dominant
For TennisReporters.net subscribers onlyTHE TR NEWSLETTER: Fish fries flailing Federer; to meet Djokovic
Kuznetsova dumps Sharapova, Ivanovic jars Jankovic
Hottest rivalry: Ivanovic vs. Jankovic: a real treat, in and out of Serbia
Tsonga hits low note in third set



Today's tennis news

FRIDAY, MAY 15 – Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will face off for the No. 2 ranking in Hamburg after the Serb dumped Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-3 and Nadal blew out his good buddy, fellow Mallorcan Carlos Moya 6-1, 6-3.
No. 1 Roger Federer also cruised with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Fernando Verdasco and will face Italy's Andreas Seppi, who put down German Nicolas Kiefer 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 in three hours.
Nadal has won all three of his and Djokovic’s previous matches on clay, including in the '07 Roland Garros semis. Djokovic said he wouldn’t think what’s at stake. "I'll just play the match as any other one and try to stay focused.” Nadal, who has spent a record 147 weeks ranked No. 2, added. "If you want, it's a little bit more important than a normal Masters semi, but it's not as special as if you were playing for the No. 1.”
Rome lost the Williamses, as sister stopper Jelena Jankovic took out Venus 5-7, 6-2, 6-3, while Serena pulled out with a back injury prior to her quarterfinal with French teen Alize Cornet. Serena said the injury won’t affect her Roland Garros performance, but it may be too soon to tell. Anna Chakvetadze is having her best tournament in three months, scoring a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win over Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova.
Defending champ Jankovic will face Maria Sharapova in the semis. "She was up 2-0 in the third set and I never gave up," Jankovic said. "I just wanted to play one point at a time and just be strong out there, and I did it somehow. I was thinking about my game, how I'm feeling, and what I have to do in order to win."

FROM THURSDAY: Surprise, surprise! Take a good look at the official WTA web site photo gallery of the now infamous “Superhero” shoot in Rome and guess who isn’t included in the numerous shots? That would new No. 1 Sharapova, who had torched the tour prior to the shoot for asking for too much of her time prior to Tier One event. Interestingly, Getty Images has four Sharapova shots in up on their site of the Russian arriving and sitting in a car during a commercial, but the WTA chose not to select any those, even though nearly every other player of note has a picture up. Bad blood? Could be.

CRONIN ON FOXSPORTS.COM

IVANOVIC FEELS THE HEAT



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Crosscourt:
Matt and Tom Compare Eras
Matt Cronin and long time tennis correspondent for the Toronto Globe & Mail Tennis edition, Tom Tebbutt, take a look at some of the great rivalries of past eras and compare them to today. Roger Federer has not yet won a title this year and the feeling of some is that for the first time in years, he might be vulnerable yet with the exception of Nadal on clay and the recent emergence or Novak Djokovic, he's had the stage to himself. So how does he stack up? See what Matt and Tom have to say.

Training a
9-Year Old:
19 Months In to It
Training—and the subsequent documentation—of his 9-year old daught, Kyla, over the past year and a half has been as revealing for Dave Smith as it has been for many of our readers who have been following her progress. While having taught tennis for over 30 years, this was the first time Dave documented, in real time, the improvements made by a student from the start as they go through the sometimes frustrating, uncomfortable, and challenging aspects associated with learning the game. This series is a blueprint for any parent.

On Improving Focus
Some people naturally “live in the moment and naturally focus well but for rest of us, it is a constant struggle. We implore ourselves to “Watch the Ball,” but all too often we lose focus just as we need it most, at ball impact. We’ll “Watch the ball” as we start the backswing, but lose it somewhere during the forward swing. Just before impact our minds seem to shift to the results we want instead of staying with the action needed to get those results. Exploring your focus might pay off in your game. Rolf Clark

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