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The cream rises and, in men’s tennis at the moment, it just stays there. When Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal walk out onto the court at Rod Laver Arena to play the Australian Open men’s final on Sunday, they will be doing what comes naturally.
Over the past five-plus years, encompassing 21 Grand Slams, fourteen finals have been contested between members of the most exclusive club in sports — the world’s top four male tennis players. Only Robin Soderling, currently off the tour because of illness, has managed to gate-crash the party more than once by reaching consecutive French Open finals. Juan Martin del Potro — the only outsider to win a title, at the US Open in 2009 — Andy Roddick, Tomas Berdych, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Fernando Gonzalez are the others...
In a match with extraordinary comebacks and momentum shifts, Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5. It was a battle that defies accurate description and will immediately go... more »
For the first time in the Open era, which began in 1968, the same two men, Nadal and Novak Djokovic, will meet for the third consecutive time in the final of a Grand Slam tournament. If recent history is any indication, there... more »
WHILE Andy Murray had a nasty first-round match against a talented youngster that lasted more than three hours in the furnace of Hisense Arena, Novak Djokovic spent less than half that time on centre court in a 6-2, 6-0, 6-0... more »
FEDERER versus Nadal has been superseded. Another, less sexy rivalry has quietly supplanted it between a Spaniard and a Serb, a lefty and righty, a baseliner and a baseliner. Tomorrow, a weary Novak Djokovic will play Rafael... more »
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