Russian Maria Sharapova has won the Rome International, defeating the French open champion, China’s Li Na, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) in a rain-hit final. Sharapova, the defending champion probably played the best tennis of her career, rallying to snatch the second set from Li Na, when she had lost the first set 4-6 and was [...]
World number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic swept past Roger Federer on Saturday to set up a Rome Masters final rematch with five-time winner Rafael Nadal. Top seed Djokovic ended Federer’s brilliant run of recent clay form, defeating the world number two, and last week’s Madrid champion, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) while Nadal reached a [...]
Serena Williams withdrew on Saturday prior to the Rome Masters semi-final with China’s Li Na, with the American admitting she just had been feeling small twinges and will be fine for the French Open. “I’m fine, I’ll be 100 per cent for the French,” said 30-year-old Williams, who added she pulled out to make sure [...]
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will clash for the 25th time in Saturday’s Rome Masters semi-finals while Rafael Nadal also progressed, ensuring the big three all made the last four of this crucial French Open warm-up. Defending champion Djokovic, the top seed, fought through the first set, before racing away in the second to beat [...]
Roger Federer held off a spirited challenge by Spanish veteran, Juan Carlos Ferrero, to book a place in the quarter-finals of the Rome Masters with a hard-fought 6-2 5-7 6-1 victory. The 32-year-old Ferrero fought back after dropping the first set to seize the single decisive break in the second, only for the Swiss third [...]
England hopeful James Taylor will miss a rare appearance in club cricket this weekend after being told to report to Lord’s to link up with the Test team. Nottinghamshire batsman Taylor, who hit 118 as England Lions captain against the West Indies touring team last week, was due to play for Shrewsbury against Wolverhampton in [...]
Sinn Fein Junior Minister Martina Anderson has apologised for any confusion over a reference to golf clubs in a speech on sectarianism. She had echoed the comments of the DUP’s Jonathan Bell, who made comments at a community relations conference which suggested golf clubs may harbour secret sectarian attitudes. He later apologised, saying his remarks [...]
