2013 Tennis Thread

Radwanska withdraws from Cincinnati

Agnieszka Radwanska has withdrawn from the Cincinnati Masters for personal reasons, sending Li Na through to the semi-finals.
Radwanska had earlier beaten Russian Elena Vesnina 6-0 6-2to advance to the quarter-finals but withdrew from the tournament to attend her grandfather's funeral.
"I'm very sorry that I have to withdraw from the tournament. Unfortunately, my grand-dad passed away last Sunday," said Radwanska in a statement.
"The funeral is going to be Saturday and I need to be there.
"I am disappointed to not continue with the tournament,especially because of my form so far this week.
"It was a difficult decision, but I need to be go home and be with my family."

Federer sets up Nadal clash, Murray makes last eight

The world's two top-ranked players, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, cruised into the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Masters as five-time champion Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were both tested.
The ATP Tour's big four were joined in the quarter-finals by 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina, the only other man to hoist a grand slam trophy since Marat Safin at the 2005 Australian Open.
Djokovic, Murray, Nadal, Federer and Del Potro have accounted for the last 34 grand slams and it is just the second time this year all five have reached the last eight of a tournament.
The marquee match-up on Friday will see world number five and 17-time grand slam winner Federer take on long-time rival Nadal, the world number three.
Nadal, whose grand slam resume lists 12 titles, and Federer will clash for the 31st time, adding yet another chapter to what will go down as one of the sport's all-time great rivalries.
Nadal has been in superb form coming off a win Montreal and ran his hardcourt winning streak to 12 matches with a 6-2 5-7 6-2 win over Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov on Thursday.
"Always play against Roger is a special feeling," said Nadal, who has reached the finals in 10-of-11 events he has entered this season, claiming eight titles.
"We have a great history behind us in our confrontations, so it's another quarter-finals.
"It's a special one because you're playing against a very special player. Our matches were very special always.
"But, again, it's a quarter-finals match, not the final, so that's a big difference."
Federer, the five-time defending champion in Cincinnati, also needed three sets to see off evergreen German Tommy Haas 1-6 7-5 6-3 as he struggles to build some momentum going into the U.S. Open after missing the start of the North American hardcourt season with a sore back.
In contrast, the world's two top-ranked players, Djokovic and Murray, cruised into the quarter-finals with no-nonsense straight sets decisions.
Looking to end a run of four runner-up finishes on the Cincinnati hardcourts, world number one Djokovic needed just 50 minutes to hand Belgian qualifier David Goffin a 6-2 6-0 tennis lesson.
While Cincinnati has been a happy hunting ground for Federer, it has been a frustrating tournament for Djokovic. But if the big Serb is the last man standing on Sunday he would become the first player to complete what the ATP Tour has dubbed the 'Career Golden Masters', winning all nine World Tour Masters events.
"I played four times (in the) finals, so it's been one of the tournaments where I've performed well actually in the last five, six years," said Djokovic. "Never managed to take final step and hopefully this year I can do so.
"I have an extra motivation and an opportunity to make history in this tournament, so I'm very inspired to play well day after day."
World number two Murray was no less ruthless, the Wimbledon champion looking right at home as he steamrolled Frenchman Julien Benneteau 6-2 6-2 in 69 minutes.
The Scot will be chasing his third Cincinnati title as he continues to prepare for the defence of his US Open crown later this month at Flushing Meadows.
Djokovic will take on top-ranked American John Isner in the last eight while Murray will meet Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych.
"You want to try and get off quickly because you need to play the next day," said Murray. "But also in 10 days' time, we're going to have to play best-of-five sets, so sometimes the long matches can kind of set you up for that well.
"But in terms of winning this event, better to get off quick because you have to play five days in a row if you want to win."
Seventh seed Del Potro battled into the quarter-finals with a 6-4 1-6 6-4 win over Spain's Feliciano Lopez and will meet Russian qualifier Dmitry Tursunov, who pulled off the upset of the day dumping world number four David Ferrer of Spain 6-2 6-4.

Show courts to get 'giant umbrella' roofs

The centre court at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the main venue for the US Open, and a rebuilt Louis Armstrong arena are to have retractable roofs installed, the United States Tennis Association has said.
The move will bring the US Open into line with Wimbledon and the Australian Open which both have retractable roofs on their centre courts. The French Open has announced plans to cover its main court.
Two new stadiums will be also be added as part of a £350 million overhaul of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, a project which should be completed by 2018.
The huge Arthur Ashe Stadium - by far the biggest in tennis - was always assumed to be unroofable, given the sheer size of the structure.
But the new roofs in question get around the problem by use of revolutionary new materials: they will not be made not from glass, plastic or fibreglass, but from fabric.
In other words, the USTA is building a giant umbrella that can be hauled over the stadium. The roof for the Arthur Ashe Stadium alone will cost £70 million.
"In order to have spectacular facilities we want to make sure we have the excitement and the energy that New York deserves and the world comes to see," Dave Haggerty, the USTA's chairman of the board, said.
"Our strategic mission, when completed, will have a couple of new stadiums, a better fan experience, we will have wider walkways so that people can get around and, yes, as you have heard, there will be a roof on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"In addition Louis Armstrong (Stadium) will have a roof as well."
The Arthur Ashe Stadium roof will be made of teflon-coated fabric that is translucent in appearance and will be stretched over a colossal steel frame in four panels, each weighing around 400 tonnes.
Eight new steel columns will be built around the huge stadium to support the weight of the roof, which can be opened or shut in as little as seven minutes.
It will measure 200,000 square feet and organisers hope to have it installed "at the earliest for the 2016 US Open and most likely by the 2017 US Open".
A new 8,000-seat Grandstand Stadium court will be constructed in time for 2015 followed by a 15,000-seat Louis Armstrong Stadium court to be opened before the 2018 edition.
"We recognise there are many known, and certainly many unknown, hurdles we will have to confront to meet this schedule," said USTA executive director Gordon Smith. "We are ready for the challenge and hope we can achieve it."
Andy Murray, the US Open champion who is competing this week at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, welcomed the news.
"For TV and stuff it's fantastic," he said. "Always good that you know matches are going to get finished ... rain delays and stuff, it used to be part of it, whereas now that's kind of going away gradually.
"I don't particularly like going from indoors to outdoors to indoors but it's good for TV."
Bad weather has wrought havoc with the US Open schedule in recent years with the men's final, including last year's epic between Murray and Novak Djokovic, being pushed back from Sunday to Monday for the past five years.
Despite frequent calls for a roof, the USTA last year ruled out including one as part of the redevelopment, citing logistical issues.
Opened in 1997, Arthur Ashe Stadium has a 22,500 capacity, making it by far the largest tennis arena in the world but some, such as four-times US Open champion John McEnroe, argued a smaller venue with a roof would have made more sense.
The scale of the arena has been one of the main logistical challenges that has emerged from feasibility studies with the USTA previously saying a roof would be "technically complex and financially challenging".
This year's US Open, which starts on August 26, has a Monday finish included as the official final day for the first time.
The switch to a scheduled Monday finish, unique among the four grand slam events, has been criticised by the men's governing body, the ATP.

Sharapova confirms split with Connors after just one match

Maria Sharapova has confirmed she has severed ties with coach Jimmy Connors after one match together.
The Russian world number three said in a statement emailed to Tennis.com that the pairing had not been "the right fit for this time in my career".
Sharapova had originally hoped her partnership with the fiery eight-times Grand Slam champion would produce the same type of success Andy Murray has enjoyed since recruiting Ivan Lendl, another former playing great, as his coach.
But instead the brief experiment ended after one match, a second round loss to Sloane Stephens in the Western and Southern Open on Tuesday.
The 60-year-old Connors, who was pugnacious on court with a relentless determination through his playing career, and tennis glamour queen Sharapova had always seemed an odd fit.
Looking on from the stands on Tuesday, Connors could only hang his head as he watched his student unravel in a three-set loss to American teenage prospect Stephens which owed as much to a seven-week injury layoff as any breakdown in coaching.
While it had been a rocky start to their collaboration, Connors seemed to indicate after the match that it would continue, tweeting: "Every good round starts with a bogey - not the start we wanted, so back to work tomorrow."
The split leaves Sharapova without a coach heading into the US Open, the final grand slam of the season which starts on August 26.

Djokovic crashes out to Isner, Nadal downs Federer

American John Isner shocked Novak Djokovic 7-6 (5) 3-6 7-5 to reach the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Masters, while Rafael Nadal extended his winning streak against Roger Federer.
In a heavyweight matchup featuring two of the game's big-hitters, it was Isner who came out on top after a slugfest lasting two hours and 23 minutes to set up a meeting in the last four with Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro.
Earlier, the seventh-seeded Del Potro beat Russian qualifier Dmitry Tursunov 6-4 3-6 6-1 to kick off a mouth-watering day of quarter-final action that featured the ATP Tour's 'big four' in Djokovic, Andy Murray, Nadal and Federer.
Nadal came up against an improved Federer in the final men's match of the day at the sprawling Lindner Family Tennis Center and had to withstand huge pressure for a set and a half before emerging triumphant 5-7 6-4 6-3 in over two hours and set up a last four clash against Tomas Berdych, the Czech an earlier victor over Andy Murray.
Djokovic, a four-time runner-up on the Cincinnati hardcourts, had been eager to take the final step this year and become the first player to complete what the ATP Tour has dubbed the Career Golden Masters by winning all nine World Tour Masters titles.
"I just played a very bad match overall. Terrible match," Serb Djokovic said. "From beginning to end, except the start of the second set, I was just a different player totally.
"Today I wasn't able to capitalise on my opportunities and serves. You know, in some important moments some double faults, and that's the way it is.
"Of course now I'm disappointed because I really wanted to win. But it's sport; I'll move on."
Isner, the top-ranked American at 22 who has been in good form on hardcourt surfaces with a win in Atlanta and a runner-up finish in Washington, signalled right from the start that
Djokovic was in for a fight.
The two men set a pounding tone for the match in a 47-minute opening set that went to a tiebreak with the American prevailing 7-5.
Facing a triple set point, Djokovic was able to fight off two but on the third he Slammed a return into the net, giving Isner the early advantage to the delight of the partisan home crowd.
Djokovic stepped up the pressure in the second set, breaking
Isner at the first opportunity on the way to a 3-0 lead before levelling the match.
But Isner was eager for the fight, coming back in the third and breaking Djokovic to cap the upset.
Djokovic was able to save the first of two match points with a thundering ace but Isner would seal the match on his second chance when the world number one sent a limp backhand return into the net.
Del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, continued to sharpen his hardcourt game before heading to Flushing Meadows, surviving a nearly two-hour centre court battle with Tursunov, the first qualifier to reach the last eight in Cincinnati in 11 years.
"Trying to play slices and different shots in this tournament before the U.S. Open to see how different I can play against the top guys or doing different things," said Del Potro.
"It's the last tournament for me before the U.S. Open, so it means a good thing to close my preparations to get there."

Andy Murray capitulates in Cincinnati ahead of US defence

Andy Murray’s US Open defence suffered a blow as he crashed out of the Cincinnati Masters quarter-finals in straight sets to Tomas Berdych.
Murray went down 3-6 4-6 as the sixth-seeded Czech set up a semi-final against world number three Rafael Nadal or world number five Roger Federer.
Scot Murray, playing in only his second tournament since winning Wimbledon, lost in the third round of the Masters tournament in Montreal last week to Ernests Gulbis after a month’s break from the court, and reached the final of the doubles.
The British world number two has said he was keen to gain as much game time as possible this week ahead of the Grand Slam later this month at Flushing Meadows.
However he was unable to get into his groove against Berdych, despite having begun every previous match in Cincinnati on fire.
Chasing his third Cincinnati title, the first set went with serve until Berdych broke the Wimbledon champion for a 5-3 lead, with Murray furious after handing over the break point with a forehand error.
Berdych served out the set and was able to earn his second and final break in the match in the third game of the second stanza. Murray saved two break points but sent a forehand long on the third.
He was unable to break back, and the match was over when he returned a huge Berdych serve into the net.
Murray said he struggled to come to grips with the fast surface but the sixth-seeded Berdych was always going to represent a tricky test for the Wimbledon champion with the Czech holding a slight 5-4 advantage in head-to-head meetings.
The Scot, a two-time winner in Cincinnati, had just four break chances against Berdych and failed to convert them all.
"You know, the things that I really need to do well - serving, returning, moving - that was good," said Murray.
"But I'll need to work on my groundstrokes a bit, make sure I'm not making too many mistakes going into the U.S. Open.
"Today when I had my opportunities, you know, I didn't take them. That was the problem today."

Williams storms into last four

World number one Serena Williams was at her lethal best as she crushed Romanian Simona Halep 6-0 6-4 to romp into the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Open.
Williams' devastating form suggests that there is little standing in the way of the muscular American from adding the prestigious Cincinnati hard court event to her long resume.
In a career that has generated 54 singles titles, including 16 grand slams, Williams has won just about everything there is to win in her sport but Cincinnati, one of the WTA Tour's most prestigious tournaments, is not among them.
With Friday's rout, Williams sets up a semi-final date with defending champion Li Na of China, who received a walkover into the last four when Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska withdrew from the tournament to attend her grandfather's funeral.
Williams was in ruthless form to open the match, steamrolling past her opponent to take the first set in just 16minutes.
Halep offered token resistance in the second but there was never any doubt Williams would prevail as she went on to wrap up her 59th match win of the season in just over an hour.
With eight titles and 10 finals appearances from 11 events this season while losing only three matches, it would be hard to defect any flaw in Williams' game.
Certainly Halep, who beat Marion Bartoli in what was the final match of the Frenchwoman's career before her shock retirement announcement on Wednesday, never threatened to send Williams to a fourth defeat.
Though the American's performance in Cincinnati has impressed nearly everyone else, under her own critical eye It has been something of a disappointment.
"I definitely haven't felt good all week, so surprised I'm still in the event, to be honest," Williams told reporters. "It's not really about how you play at the end...it's about being able to win, whether you play good or bad.
"I was able to so far and be in the semi-finals. So, you know, considering, it's a good result. I obviously want to do better, and I'll just see how it goes."
Earlier, 14th-seeded Serb Jelena Jankovic, the 2009Cincinnati champion and runner-up in 2011, needed just 63minutes to book her place in the last four as she pounded 12th seed Roberta Vinci of Italy 6-0 6-4.
"I started aggressive and I felt the ball great," said Jankovic. "I'm really pleased with my performance today, so that's important.
"I love playing here in Cincinnati because I have great results in the past, I was a finalist and a champion before so you always love coming back to places where you can win."

Stosur splits with coach

Australia's Sam Stosur has split with her long-time coach David Taylor, the former US Open champion confirmed.
Taylor oversaw Stosur's transformation from a doubles specialist into a formidable singles player after teaming up with the Australian during her comeback from the tick-borne Lyme disease which sidelined her for much of the 2007 season.
"We've had a tremendous working relationship and I owe so much of my success to Dave's hard work and enduring support," the 29-year-old said in a statement.
"His dedication during the many highs and lows of my career has been unwavering both on and off the court. I wish Dave all the very best for the future."
A winner at Flushing Meadows in 2011, Stosur will work with Australia's Fed Cup captain Alicia Molik during the upcoming US Open and would think about longer term options after the tournament, she said.
Currently ranked 11th in the world, Stosur recently won her fourth WTA singles tournament at Carlsbad, the first since her US Open title two years before.

Nadal to meet Isner in Cincinnati final

Rafa Nadal continued his perfect run on the North American hardcourts, taming Tomas Berdych 7-5 7-6 (4) at the Western and Southern Open on Saturday to set up a final showdown with big-hitting American John Isner.
Earlier, unseeded Isner had blasted his way into the final with a 6-7 (5) 7-6 (9) 6-3 marathon win over Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro.
Rebounding nicely from a shock first round upset at Wimbledon, Nadal has been in sizzling form picking up his 58th career title last week in Montreal while extending his hardcourt winning streak to 14-0 with a run to the final in Cincinnati.
A win on Sunday would give the third ranked Spaniard his ninth title of the year and leave him the red-hot favourite heading into the US Open which begins on Aug. 26 in Flushing Meadows.
A contest between the towering 6-foot, 10-inch (2.06m) Isner and the 6-foot, 6-inch (1.98m) Del Potro was always going to be a bruising baseline battle and the match more than lived up to predictions as the two giants slugged it out for 2 hours and 47 minutes.
The semi-finals had a dramatically different look from what tennis fans might have hoped with the ATP Tour's 'big four;' world number one Novak Djokovic, number two Andy Murray, number three Nadal and five-time Cincinnati champion Roger Federer all featuring in the last eight.
But after a day of upsets that saw only Nadal survive, the partisan crowd still had plenty of reason to cheer as Isner carried the US flag into the semi-finals picking up his first career win in five tries against the seventh seeded Argentine.
Isner, who delivered the biggest shock of the quarter-finals toppling Djokovic, has traditionally saved his best for the home crowd with 13 of the his 15 career ATP Tour final appearances coming in the U.S. and he proved once again to be a crowd pleaser pounding 23 aces past his opponent.
Since retiring in the second round at Wimbledon with a left knee injury Isner has been in sizzling hardcourt form putting together a 15-3 match record while picking up his seventh career title in Atlanta followed by a runner-up finish in Washington.
"I've been winning a lot of matches this summer but I feel like this tournament here is where I'm really starting to put it all together," Isner told reporters.
"No offence to the other guys I've beaten prior to this but like you just said, I've beaten three top-10 guys in a row.
"I have been playing well, really in pretty much all facets of my game. There's definitely some stuff I can always improve on, but I do think I'm playing well."
In a tight opening set that failed to produce a break, it was Del Potro taking the initiative winning the tie-break 7-5.
The 2009 US Open champion had looked poised to end the contest in two sets serving for the match at 5-4 only to double-fault on match point opening the door for Isner.
The 28-year-old American seized his chance but it was not easy needing five set points before clinching the tie-break 11-9.
Isner rode that wave of momentum from his tiebreak into the third set breaking Del Potro at the first opportunity and pulling in front 3-0 on way to a hard fought win.

Williams ends Li reign to reach first Cincinnati final

World number one Serena Williams fought her way to a 7-5 7-5 win over defending champion Li Na to reach the final of the Western and Southern Open on Saturday and close in on one of the few titles to elude her.
Williams, who has been critical of her performance in Cincinnati despite making it to the final for the first time, was not at her dominating best against Li but it was a good enough effort to put the American in line for a $1 million (£640,000) bonus.
Her appearance in Sunday's final combined with a win last week in Toronto has put Williams at the top of the US Open Series bonus challenge and sends her to Flushing Meadows with a chance to compete for the largest payout ever awarded at the year's final Grand Slam.
Williams can pocket $3.6 million (£2.3 million), with the million-dollar bonus supplementing the $2.6 million (£1.66 miilion) cheque for winning the women's singles at the US Open.
In a career that has generated 54 singles titles including 16 Grand Slams, Williams has won just about everything there is to win in her sport but Cincinnati, one of the WTA Tour's most prestigious tournaments, is not among them.
Williams can fill that hole in her resume on Sunday when she takes on Belarusian world number two Victoria Azarenka, who was a 4-6 6-2 6-3 winner over 2009 champion Jelena Jankovic of Serbia.
Li stepped onto centre court well-rested having received a walkover into the semi-finals when Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska withdrew from the tournament to attend her grandfather's funeral.
But the 31-year-old fifth ranked Chinese got off to a sluggish start as Williams recorded the early break to move ahead 4-1.
Li hit back, sweeping through the next four games to pull in front 5-4, but Williams upped her game when needed, breaking her Chinese opponent twice more to take the set.
Williams and Li held serve to open the second but the set would soon dissolve into series of breaks.
In the end, Williams claimed the decisive one when Li double-faulted to end her Cincinnati defence and hand Williams the match.
While Williams and Li may have struggled with their serves, their problems were minor compared to Azarenka and Jankovic, who managed to hold serve a grand total of just four times over three ugly sets.
Of the 27 games played, 23 ended in breaks, with the miserable serving display marred by 20 double-faults, 11 by Azarenka and nine from Jankovic.
"I don't care about that," said Azarenka, when asked about the incredible number of breaks. "As long as I won the match, that's all that matters, and I didn't count.
"I noticed it was a lot of breaks but who really cares? I think everybody kind of struggles with a serve here for some reason, but whatever."
"I definitely would not have predicted myself being in the final here at all," said Williams, who will be chasing a career-high ninth title in a single season on Sunday.
"I came in here not playing my best and then now I'm in the final. It's just almost weird.
"It was definitely a little scratchy but I was able to get through. I just tried to stay positive.
"When I was down, I just got really relaxed and I felt like, you know, Serena, you don't really have much to lose. So just kind of relax and get through it."

Nadal beats Isner in Cincinnati for back-to-back titles

Rafa Nadal continued his sizzling hardcourt form by beating John Isner 7-6 (8) 7-6 (3) in the final of the Cincinnati Masters.
Unbeaten on the surface in 15 matches this year and comin goff a win in Montreal, the third ranked Nadal, who will move up to number two on Monday, won back-to-back hard court finals on consecutive weeks for the first time in his career.
"It means a lot, being able to win two straight titles, two Masters 1000 on hard back-to-back is just amazing for me," Nadal told reporters. "I never did something like this in all my career, so it was an emotional moment for so many different reasons.
"It is a nice feeling to arrive to the U.S. Open with two victories in two very difficult tournaments.
"And it is nice arrive there knowing that, if I am able to keep playing like this, hopefully, I have the chance to have a good result."
Nadal needed nearly two hours on a muggy centre court to tame the towering in-form American, who had knocked off three top 10 players, including world number one Novak Djokovic, to earn his spot in the final.
But the big-hitting Isner had no answers for the relentless Nadal, who has now claimed nine titles from 12 events this season.
It was the 59th win of Nadal's career but first in nine tries on the Cincinnati hardcourts.
Isner, who has traditionally saved his best for the home crowd with 14 of the his 16 career ATP Tour final appearances coming in the U.S., had the capacity crowd in his corner and bombarded Nadal with 11 aces but could not crack the Spaniard's defences failing to convert any of three break chances.
Nadal played the entire match without a single break opportunity against Isner but came up big in both tie-breaks taking the first set 10-8.
Eager to avoid a third set against the game Isner, the12-time grand slam winner was even more aggressive in the second set tiebreak racing to a 6-3 advantage then falling onto his back and leaping into the air when the American's return slammed into the net.
"He kept on coming up with the goods," shrugged Isner. "I thought he played a very smart match, and I knew he would.
"That's what he does. That's why he's so good. He's constantly adjusting to every circumstance, and he did today with me."
Isner, who will move from 22 to 14 in the world when the new rankings come out, has also established himself as a legitimate threat when the final grand slam of the season gets underway in Flushing Meadows on Aug. 26.
Since retiring in the second round at Wimbledon with a left knee injury Isner has been in brilliant hard court form putting together a 16-4 match record while picking up his seventh career title in Atlanta followed by a runner up finish in Washington and Cincinnati.
"I would say Rafa is the favourite going to the U.S. Clear cut? I wouldn't say that," said Isner. "I think he'd probably say the same."

Azarenka overcomes Serena Williams for Cincinnati title

Victoria Azarenka won a showdown between the world's two top ranked players beating number one Serena Williams in a three-set thriller 2-6 6-2 7-6 in the final of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.
For two hours and 30 minutes, Azarenka and Williams engaged in a seesaw centre court battle before the second ranked Belarusian finally clinched the victory, winning a nervy tie-break 8-6 to stop the American from ticking one 'to do' item off her 'bucket list'.
In a career that has generated 54 singles titles, including 16 grand slams, Williams had won just about everything there is to win in her sport - but not Cincinnati, one of the WTA Tour's most prestigious tournaments.
Cincinnati will remain a hole on her resume for at least another year after Azarenka answered the challenge claiming just her third win in 15 tries against the 31-year-old American.

King of Clay looks to extend reign to hardcourts

The undisputed King of Clay, Rafa Nadal could soon extend his reign to the hardcourt after establishing himself as the red-hot favourite for the US Open with back-to-back wins in Montreal and Cincinnati.
Open with back-to-back wins in Montreal and Cincinnati.
With eight French Open titles, Nadal may be the best ever on the dirt but the Spaniard has also stood tall this year on the American hardcourts, where he remains unbeaten with a 15-0 record.
"On clay, we only had three (Masters events), I won two, and I played the final," Nadal told reporters after grinding out a 7-6 7-6 win over American John Isner in the final of the Western and Southern Open.
"The results on clay were amazing. On hard, I play three, I won all three. Is only one more match. That's all.
"I think it's just a coincidence, in my opinion, but no doubt I am better player on clay than on hard."
Some would debate that assessment based on Nadal's play on the hardcourts this season which - based on his record - has so far been flawless.
To be fair, Nadal has already proven himself to be a man for all surfaces with grand slams titles on clay, grass and hardcourt.
With the exception of grass and his opening-round slip up at Wimbledon, the Spaniard has impressed on all surfaces again this season.
He added to his grand slam collection at the French Open and has captured five of seven Masters Series events, including three-of-four hardcourt stops.
The U.S. Open has always been the hardest grand slam for Nadal because of its unforgiving surface and timing.
Of his 12 grand slam titles, only one has come at Flushing Meadows and he only reached the final on one other occasion.
Nadal usually arrives at the back end of the tennis schedule with his knees creaking like two rusty gates and nursing a mountain of aches and pains that are the payment for his relentless action-packed style.
The ongoing battle with the debilitating tendonitis in his knees continues.
But this year, after a long injury layoff that bridged the end of last season and the start of the current campaign along with a six week break following his Wimbledon exit, Nadal has arrived in U.S. ready for action.
"If I am able to be healthy for the rest of the year, probably the rest is going to be positive," said Nadal.
"For the last eight years before the injury, I didn't stop, I played every year long, very long seasons with very, very high intensity.
"So mentally and physically, to have a period of rest and recovery, your body is great.
"When you are in tough moments, in hard moments, when you are suffering, working every day, trying to recover, when you are back, the only thing you want to do is try to enjoy every moment, try to be at your 100 percent and play with the higher intensity and passion.
"After from the place that I came, just to be here playing and competing is fantastic and that gives me this extra power, intensity to compete well."

Robson seeded at a Grand Slam for first time

Laura Robson’s successful year has been further rewarded with the news that she has been seeded 32nd for the upcoming US Open.
Both Robson and fellow young hope Heather Watson face a race to be fit for the tournament which begins in New York on August 26th.
Robson, who reached the fourth round in New York last year, has withdrawn from the WTA event in New Haven this week due to a wrist injury having also missed events in Toronto and Cincinnati.
While Watson, who has struggled all season following a bout of glandular fever, retired from her qualifying match in New Haven due to a hip injury.
Defending champion Andy Murray is seeded third in the men's draw with Roger Federer seventh, which is the lowest ranking for the Swiss since October 2002.

Wimbledon champion Bartoli joins Eurosport coverage

Recently-retired Marion Bartoli has joined the Eurosport team for the upcoming US Open.
Bartoli, the 2013 Wimbledon winner, will join Mats Wilander, Amélie Mauresmo, Barbara Schett, Henri Leconte and Serena Williams' coach Patrick Mouratoglou as part of the Eurosport team for the final Grand Slam of the year, which runs from 26 August to 8 September.
Bartoli will give her expert analysis as part of Eurosport and Eurosport 2's unrivalled coverage which includes 250 hours of live TV broadcast and access to six courts on Eurosport Player, Eurosport's online TV service.
She will work with both the French and English broadcasting teams.
Bartoli had shocked the tennis world last week by announcing her retirement from the sport at the age of 28, and tweeted news of her new role to her 35,000 plus followers.
After a second round loss to Romanian Simona Halep at the Western and Southern Open, the Frenchwoman, who was ranked seventh in the world, walked into the media room and told stunned reporters: "I just can't do it anymore".
Her surprise announcement comes just six weeks after she beat Germany's Sabine Lisicki in the Wimbledon final to claim her one and only Grand Slam title.
"Well, it's never easy and obviously there is never a time to say it or whatever, but that was actually the last match of my career," said Bartoli, wiping the tears from her eyes. "It's time for me to retire and to call it a career.
"I feel it's time for me to walk away."

Towering Isner emerges as America's hope for Flushing Meadows

Long before Andy Roddick retired at the US Open last year American tennis had been searching for someone to wave the Stars and Stripes at Flushing Meadows.
That man has stepped forward this summer with towering John Isner and his booming serve looking ready to make some noise when the final grand slam of the season gets underway on August 26.
Roddick exited the sport to great fanfare last September taking his final bow on the same Arthur Ashe Stadium court where he had claimed his one and only grand slam title.
This year it will be a full decade since Roddick became to the last American man to hoist the trophy and the search continues in earnest for the next in an illustrious line of homegrown winners that also includes, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors.
The search has been tough -- last week's world rankings did not include a single American in the top 20 for the first time since the classification began in 1973.
That changes on Monday though when Isner will move from 22 to 14 in the world and he underlined his US Open ambition forcing world number two Spaniard Rafa Nadal to grind out a 7-6 7-6 win in the final of the Western and Southern Open on Sunday.
While it is far too early to put Isner's name in the same sentence with any of the greats of American tennis the 27-year-old is looming as the big dangerman in Flushing Meadows.
"His game is on the rise. He's improving a lot, and he's moving fast," said Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro, the 2009 US Open winner. "His serves are unbelievable, and nobody wants to play against him."
Since retiring in the second round at Wimbledon with a left knee injury Isner has been in brilliant hardcourt form putting together a 16-4 match record while picking up his seventh career title in Atlanta followed by runnerup finishes in Washington and Cincinnati.
Along the way to Sunday's final Isner knocked off three top 10's, world number one Novak Djokovic, number seven Del Potro and number 10 Milos Raonic.
"Nobody likes to play against a great player, and nobody likes to play against a player who you will not have the chance to be on rhythm for most of the time," said Nadal. "John is this kind of player that, in my opinion, he should be fighting for the Masters, for the top 10. Of course, with his serve, advantage is huge.
"So if he's playing well mentally and he's making the right decisions in important moments, he's a player that it's very difficult to stop."
Certainly, if nothing else, Isner has raised expectations heading into the U.S. Open but remains reluctant to shoulder the added burden of being the next great American hope leaving that duty to four-time U.S. Open champion Serena Williams.
"I never felt like I was a guy who was going to carry American tennis at all," said Isner. "The fact that I ever even made it to the top ranked American is a huge surprise for me, and I feel very proud that I can say that.
"I'm just worried about myself and trying to play this sport as long as I can, because I realize I'm in a very fortunate position to do what I do. So I want to do it as long as possible."
The towering 6-foot, 10-inch (2.08m) Isner is the perfect fit for the largest stadium in tennis, the big American thriving on home turf.
Isner has traditionally saved his best for the home crowd with 14 of the his 16 career ATP Tour final appearances coming in the U.S. and can expect a massive lift from a raucous stadium that will be squarely in his corner.
"I'm just comfortable in the U.S. It's something I need to improve on," said Isner. "Really sort of saved my season the last four years every time the summer rolls around in the States.
"I'm probably always going to play my best tennis in the States but I can always improve over in Europe.
"One thing is these are surfaces I'm comfortable on, but also the support that I have from the fans and whatnot, it helps a lot.
"What it all comes down to is me being comfortable. I think that's the main key."

Troicki challenges doping ban at Court of Arbitration for Sport

Serbia's Viktor Troicki has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over his 18-month suspension for violating doping regulations, the Lausanne-based tribunal said on Tuesday.
"The CAS procedure is in progress and a decision will be issued in around four months," CAS said in a statement.
The 27-year-old was suspended by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in July for not providing a blood sample at the Monte Carlo Masters in April.
Troicki, a member of the Serbia team which won the Davis Cup in 2010, was ranked 53rd when the ITF announced his ban.
He is one of the most high-profile players to break doping rules in tennis
Troicki has denied any wrongdoing and said because he was not feeling well the doping officer had told him he could skip the blood test. Troicki had already given a urine sample.
He has been publicly supported by compatriot and world number one Novak Djokovic.

Federer seeded only seventh for US Open

Organisers have announced the seedings for the US Open and Roger Federer is seeded only seventh.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic is the top seed in the men's draw but seeing five-time US Open champion and 17-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer as seventh seed is the oddest sight for tennis fans.
It is first time the Swiss has been placed outside the top three in a Grand Slam in over ten years.
The last time he was seeded lower was in the 2002 when he went into the US Open as 13th seed. In that tournament he was knocked out in the fourth round by Max Mirnyi.
Spaniard Rafael Nadal is the number two seed, ahead of Britain's Andy Murray, the defending champion and this year's Wimbledon winner.
As expected, world number one and defending champion Serena Williams has been given the top seeding.
Belarussia's Victoria Azarenka, who beat Williams in Sunday's final of the CincinnatiOpen, is the second seed ahead of Maria Sharapova of Russia and Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska.
Williams heads into the Open, which starts on August 26, looking to add to her French Open title from this year, her 16th Grand Slam singles triumph, which includes four championships at Flushing Meadows.
Williams' sister Venus, a two-time US Open winner but currently ranked 60th in the world, was unseeded.
The draw for the tournament will be held on Thursday.

Men's seeds

1. Novak Djokovic, Serbia

2. Rafael Nadal, Spain

3. Andy Murray, Great Britain

4. David Ferrer, Spain

5. Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic

6. Juan Martin Del Potro, Argentina

7. Roger Federer, Switzerland

8. Richard Gasquet, France

9. Stanislas Wawrinka, Switzerland

10. Milos Raonic, Canada

11. Kei Nishikori, Japan

12. Tommy Haas, Germany

13. John Isner, United States

14. Jerzy Janowicz, Poland

15. Nicolas Almagro, Spain

16. Fabio Fognini, Italy

17. Kevin Anderson, South Africa

18. Janko Tipsarevic, Serbia

19. Tommy Robredo, Spain

20. Andreas Seppi, Italy

21. Mikhail Youzhny, Russia

22. Philipp Kohlschreiber, Germany

23. Feliciano Lopez, Spain

24. Benoit Paire, France

25. Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria

26. Sam Querrey, United States

27. Fernando Verdasco, Spain

28. Juan Monaco, Argentina

29. Jurgen Melzer, Austria

30. Ernests Gulbis, Latvia

31. Julien Benneteau, France

32. Dmitry Tursunov, Russia

Women's seeds

1. Serena Williams, United States

2. Victoria Azarenka, Belarus

3. Maria Sharapova, Russia

4. Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland

5. Sara Errani, Italy

6. Li Na, China

7. Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark

8. Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic

9. Angelique Kerber, Germany

10. Jelena Jankovic, Serbia

11. Roberta Vinci, Italy

12. Samantha Stosur, Australia

13. Kirsten Flipkens, Belgium

14. Ana Ivanovic, Serbia

15. Maria Kirilenko, Russia

16. Sloane Stephens, United States

17. Sabine Lisicki, Germany

18. Dominika Cibulkova, Slovakia

19. Carla Suarez Navarro, Spain

20. Sorana Cirstea, Romania

21. Nadia Petrova, Russia

22. Simona Halep, Romania

23. Elena Vesnina, Russia

24. Jamie Hampton, United States

25. Ekaterina Makarova, Russia

26. Kaia Kanepi, Estonia

27. Alize Cornet, France

28. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia

29. Mona Barthel, Germany

30. Magdalena Rybarikova, Slovakia

31. Laura Robson, Great Britain

32. Klara Zakopalova, Czech Republic

Ward, Baltacha win in qualifying

James Ward and Elena Baltacha have made it through to the second round of US Open qualifying.
Ward beat Frenchman Jonathan Eysseric in straight sets 6-3 6-1; while Baltacha weathered a fightback from American Melanie Oudin to take her match 6-1 3-6 6-2.
They are both now two victories away from a place in the main draw of the final Grand Slam of the year in New York.
British number two Ward next meets Matthias Bachinger of Germany while Ukrainian Olga Savchuk awaits Baltacha.
Dan Evans, Tara Moore and Samantha Murray are also bidding to make it through to the tournament proper.

Fish pulls out of US Open

American Mardy Fish's hopes of putting aside his troublesome heart condition to compete in his first grand slam tournament in 12 months ended on Wednesday after the former top-ten player was forced to pull out of next week's US Open.
The 31-year-old has played sporadically over the last two seasons and contested only eight matches on the ATP World Tour this year.
The last of those was on Tuesday when he quit midway through the third set against Jarkko Nieminen at the US Open warm-up tournament in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, because of heat stroke.
"Friends, unfortunately my health won't allow me to compete this year at the US Open. Thank you for all your support," Fish tweeted on Wednesday.
Last year Fish, who suffers from an accelerated heartbeat, reached the US Open fourth round but handed Roger Federer a walkover after saying he had to withdraw for "precautionary measures" on doctor's orders. He was sidelined for the next six months before returning in Indian Wells in March.
However, his health has prevented him from competing in any best-of-five-set matches this year as he has not played at any of the four majors or the Davis Cup.