Tennis

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Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have met on clay, grass and hard courts, and even in a half-grass, half-clay court exhibition last week.

On Monday, the top two players tried another version of the game -- doubles.

Nadal teamed with Carlos Moya to beat Federer and his Davis Cup teammate Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 7-6 (5) in the first round of the Rome Masters.

"I'm getting to know him pretty well," Federer said. "It was fun."

In singles, Gilles Simon of France upset 10th-seeded Andy Murray 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, and Spanish qualifier Oscar Hernandez eliminated former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1.

Both matches were delayed for 2 1/2 hours by rain, and Murray and Hewitt were returning from back injuries.

In singles, Nadal holds a 7-3 career edge over Federer and has won all five matches on clay. Nadal also won his only previous meeting with Federer in doubles, teaming with Tommy Robredo to beat Federer and Yves Allegro at the 2004 Indian Wells Masters.

Nadal wasn't reading anything into the latest victory over his rival.

"We're in the second round in doubles, that's it," Nadal said. "Doubles is not the same tension as singles. But it's good practice for singles."

Murray pulled out of the Monte Carlo Masters last month and Hewitt was playing for the first time in nearly two months.

"I didn't feel great physically on the long rallies," Murray said. "I was a bit rusty."

Earlier, 2001 Rome champion Juan Carlos Ferrero rallied to beat Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, and Nicolas Almagro of Spain eliminated Tim Henman of Britain 7-5, 6-1 to set up a second-round match with Federer.

Guillermo Canas, who lost to Nadal in the Barcelona final just over a week ago, came through qualifying and beat Jurgen Melzer of Austria 7-5, 6-2. However, fellow Argentine Agustin Calleri, a semifinalist in two of his last four events, lost to Italian wild card Potito Starace, 6-3, 6-1.

Marat Safin's match with American qualifier Amer Delic was postponed to Tuesday.

Federer, Nadal and the other top six seeded players have first-round byes in singles. Nadal will face either Robby Ginepri or Italian wild card Daniele Bracciali in the second round.

In last year's Rome singles final, Nadal outlasted Federer and won in a fifth-set tiebreaker. Monday's doubles match between the top two players went a lot faster before an overflow crowd at Foro Italico's second stadium.

Nadal and Moya broke Federer's serve to win the first set when Wawrinka netted two backhand volleys.

In the second set, Federer and Wawrinka went ahead with an early break. Wawrinka had a chance to serve out the set at 5-4 -- but made two errors to let Nadal and Moya draw even. The match ended when Federer returned Moya's serve into the net on the first match point.

"We wasted some opportunities in the second set, but it's a little different playing those guys in doubles. They stay back a lot," Federer said. "But considering Stan was coming back from injury, I thought we played pretty well."

Wawrinka was a late withdrawal from Switzerland's Davis Cup loss to Spain in February because of a knee injury.

"It was to help Stan coming back from injury and because we've never played together before," Federer said of his decision to play doubles. "In Davis Cup, we might play together. We've been talking about it for a year or so. I've always been helping Yves out, so now I'm helping Stan."

The ATP tour has been trying to get its top players to play doubles for years. Last season, no-ad scoring was introduced and 10-point tiebreakers were instituted instead of third sets for doubles.

"For me, it's better. It makes the game shorter," Nadal said of the new rules.

Moya also embraced the changes.

"Just look at the court. It was full of people, so that's a good thing. This is a big tournament," Moya said. "It's not easy playing singles and doubles but it's important for the top guys to play doubles."

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The U.S. Open and CBS have agreed to a new six-year deal worth about $145 million for broadcasting the Grand Slam tennis tournament.

They tore up the last three years of an agreement that was to run through 2008; the new deal was agreed to last year and runs through 2011, the USTA said Monday.

It also gives CBS the rights to events in the U.S. Open Series, the circuit of hard-court warmup tournaments leading up to the season's last major.

The contract represents about a 20 percent decline in the rights fee that CBS will pay the USTA. But the agreement also includes a revenue-sharing component that allows the USTA to get a percentage of TV ad spending after CBS reaches a minimum guarantee.

CBS began airing the U.S. Open in 1968.

"The U.S. Open is one of our premier properties, and our goal was to ensure that the U.S. Open remained at CBS," CBS News and Sports president Sean McManus said.

U.S. cable rights to the tournament are held by USA Network through 2008 under a more traditional rights-fee deal.

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"كيم كلايسترز" تنيس*باز برجسته بلژيكي، روز يكشنبه اعلام كرد به دليل آسيب ديدگي*هاي متعدد و متوالي از دنياي تنيس خداحافظي مي*كند.

به*گزارش خبرگزاري آسوشيتدپرس از بروكسل ، خانم كلايسترز كه رتبه چهارم در جمع برترين تنيس بازان زن جهان را داراست، با اعلام اين خبر در وب سايت خود، به دوران ۱۰ساله حضورش در رقابتهاي اين رشته ورزشي پايان داد.

وي گفت: اعلام خداحافظي شيريني خاص خود را دارد. بازنشستگي قبل از ۲۴ سالگي خيلي زود است اما زيباست. مي*توانستم چند ماه ديگر صبر كنم و در چند مسابقه مهم (سه گرند اسلم باقيمانده از سال جاري) شركت كنم.

كلايسترز در ادامه افزود پول عامل مهمي در زندگي است اما مهمترين چيز در زندگي او نيست و به سلامتي و امور شخصي خود بسيار بيشتر اهميت مي*دهد.

وي در آخرين مسابقه تنيس خود، روز پنجشنبه گذشته در چند ست پياپي مقابل "خوليا واكولنكو" اوكرايني تن به شكست داد و نتوانست از عنوان قهرماني خوددر مسابقات ورشو دفاع كند.

قهرمان تنيس آزاد آمريكا در سال ، ۲۰۰۵اظهارداشت به*دليل آسيب ديدگي هاي متعدد، زمان آن رسيده كه به امور ديگري مثل مراسم ازدواج خود با "برايان لينچ"، بازيكن حرفه*اي بسكتبال آمريكا، در روز ۱۴ژوئيه (۲۳ تيرماه) بپردازد.

كلايسترز ۲۳ساله امسال به مرحله نيمه نهايي رقابتهاي تنيس آزاد استراليا راه يافت اما دچار آسيب ديدگي مفصل ران شد.

وي ۳۴قهرماني انفرادي دركارنامه دارد و در سالهاي ۲۰۰۲و ۲۰۰۳ فاتح رقابتهاي قهرماني WTAشد.

او نخستين تنيس باز بلژيكي بود كه رتبه نخست رده بندي برترين تنيس بازان جهان را بدست آورد و ۱۹هفته متوالي در سال ، ۲۰۰۳صدرنشيني خود را حفظ كرد.

كلايسترز در فينال تنيس آزاد فرانسه در سال ۲۰۰۱و ،۲۰۰۳فينال تنيس آزاد آمريكا در ۲۰۰۳و فينال تنيس آزاد استراليا در ، ۲۰۰۴ناكام ماند.

وي بهترين خاطرات خود از دنياي تنيس را قهرماني*هاي مختلف و رتبه يك تنيس بازان جهان عنوان كرده و افزود: زمان شروع زندگي جديد فرارسيده است. مي*خواهم اوقات بيشتري با خانواده و دوستانم سپري كنم.

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رقابت*هاي بين*المللي تنيس مردان رم ايتاليا روز سه*شنبه با حذف " ليتون هيوويت" تنيس باز سرشناس استراليايي آغاز شد.

به گزارش خبرگزاري فرانسه ، در اين ديدار هيوويت با نتيجه ۲بر يك و با امتيازات ۶بر ۶ ، ۳بر ۷و ۶بر يك مغلوب "اسكار هرناندز" اسپانيايي شد.

در ساير بازي*ها، "گيلرمو كاناس" آرژانتيني با نتيجه ۲بر صفر "يورگن ملزر" اتريشي را شكست داد، "پوتيتو استاراس" از ايتاليا با همين نتيجه بر "آگوستين كالري" از آرژانتين غلبه كرد و "روبين سودرلينگ" از سوئد در دو ست متوالي برابر " بنجامين بوكر" آلماني به پيروزي دست يافت.

"خوان كارلوس فررو" اسپانيايي با نتيجه ۲بريك از سد "دومنيك هرباتي" از اسلواكي گذشت، " دميتري تورسونف" روس با همين نتيجه "يوناس بوركمن" از سوئد را پشت سر گذاشت و "تيم هنمن" انگليسي در دو ست پياپي نتيجه را به "نيكولاس آلماگرو" اسپانيايي واگذار كرد.

همچنين رقابت*هاي تنيس يك ميليون و ۳۴۰هزار دلاري زنان برلين آلمان روز سه*شنبه آغاز شد.

در ديدارهاي برگزار شده، "مارتينا مولر" آلماني با نتيجه ۲برصفر ديگر هموطن خود "الني داميليدو" را مغلوب كرد، "پنگ شواي" چيني با همين نتيجه مقابل "آندرا پتكوويچ"آلماني به برتري رسيد و "لوردس دوميگوئز" اسپانيايي با نتيجه ۲بر صفر "النا وسنينا" روس را شكست داد.

در پايان اين دوره از پيكارها به نفرات برتر يك ميليون و ۳۴۰هزار دلار جايزه اهدا مي*شود.

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Top-seeded Marion Bartoli of France advanced to the Prague Open quarterfinals Wednesday, beating Ukraine's Viktoriya Kutuzova 6-3, 6-4.

Bartoli will face Slovakia's Jarmila Gajdosova, a 6-0, 6-4 winner over Germany's Sandra Kloesel.

Two other seeds were eliminated. Germany's Julia Schruff beat No. 3 Olga Poutchkova of Russia 6-2, 6-2, and Czech Klara Zakopalova ousted seventh-seeded Virginie Razzano of France 6-2, 7-6 (1).

Bartoli's compatriot, No. 5 Nathalie Dechy, advanced to the second round, winning beating Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-0.

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Top-ranked Justine Henin and Amelie Mauresmo advanced to the third round of the rain-soaked German Open on Wednesday.

Henin defeated German wild card Tatjana Malek 6-1, 6-3, and Mauresmo played her first match since an appendectomy operation in March, eliminating China's Yan Zi 6-3, 6-3.

Henin stayed on track for a fourth title at this clay-court warmup for the French Open. She won the French in 2003, '05 and '06.

"It gives me a lot of confidence when I win here, especially since I like to take a rest before the French Open," Henin said.

Mauresmo, ranked No. 3, worked to get the kinks out of her game.

"She had 10 break chances against me in the first set, but I won the key points," Mauresmo said. "I wasn't frustrated -- I knew that I wasn't able to play completely the way I wanted yet."

Malek said she was rattled facing Henin.

"I had no idea she played that fast," Malek said. "I was too nervous. I'd never seen her before except on television."

Defending champion Nadia Petrova, third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 4 Martina Hingis, No. 5 Jelena Jankovic and No. 12 Ana Ivanovic also advanced on a day when several players had to finish rain-delayed matches before playing a second match.

The seventh-seeded Petrova, who beat Henin in last year's final, topped Severine Bremond 6-4, 6-2 and Kuznetsova beat Sybille Bammer, 6-1, 7-5.

Hingis, the 1999 champion, edged Kateryna Bondarenko 7-5, 7-6 (7) on her return to the tour after six weeks out with tendinitis. Jankovic ousted Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 and Ivanovic beat Elena Likhovtseva 6-3, 6-2.

"I didn't want it to go three sets," Hingis said. "I'm not 100 percent ready to come back, but I don't want to wait any longer."

Patty Schnyder, seeded 15th, beat Roberta Vinci and then routed Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-0, 6-1. Alona Bondarenko beat No. 6 Tathiana Garbin 6-4, 6-2; Zuzana Ondraskova ousted No. 11 Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 6-2; and Martina Mueller eliminated No. 13 Shahar Peer 6-2, 7-6 (2).

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Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from the Italian Open due to a right shoulder injury.

The second-ranked Russian hasn't played since losing to Serena Williams in the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami in March. She also pulled out of Rome last year with a foot problem.

Organizers made the announcement Wednesday, five days before the tournament is scheduled to start. Top-ranked Justine Henin did not enter, leaving No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo as the top player. Mauresmo is a two-time Rome champion and a five-time finalist.

Seventh-ranked Martina Hingis is expected to defend her title.

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Andy Roddick was more than satisfied after opening his clay-court season with a win over 2004 French Open champion Gaston Gaudio.

It didn't matter to the American that Gaudio's ranking has fallen to No. 71 and that the Argentine is considering retirement.

"I don't think he's long on confidence right now. But at the same time, this is the most challenging surface for me," Roddick said after his 6-1, 7-6 ( win in the second round of the Rome Masters.

"If there was a time to beat him and be a little bit proud of it, it's on this surface."

Also Wednesday, Rafael Nadal overcame stiff resistance from Italian wild card Daniele Bracciali on his way to a 6-4, 6-2 victory. Nadal extended his clay-court winning streak to 73 matches and is attempting to become the first player to win this tournament three consecutive times.

Fourth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko beat Davis Cup teammate Marat Safin 7-6 (4), 7-5, and fifth-seeded Novak Djokovic, who won his third title of the season at Estoril on Sunday, rallied to beat Robin Soderling 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Also, Nicolas Massu of Chile upset ninth-seeded James Blake 7-6 (3), 7-5, Filippo Volandri of Italy eliminated 13th-seeded Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4 and Gilles Simon of France beat Guillermo Canas 7-6 (4), 6-4.

Canas is a former top-10 player whose ranking dropped during a 15-month doping suspension. He reached the final in Barcelona, Spain, last month, losing to Nadal, and beat Roger Federer twice on hard courts earlier this year.

Nadal, Roddick and the other top six seeded players received first-round byes.

After breezing through the first set, Roddick required five match points to close his match out.

Roddick was playing for the first time since injuring his hamstring in a Davis Cup win over Spain's Fernando Verdasco last month. He attacked well and even showed some clay-court savvy, pulling off a difficult backhand drop-shot winner to set up his first match point.

"It's probably the first time -- and last time -- where if you asked me what my best shot was, I'd say my drop shot," Roddick said. "I've been trying to work on it a little more."

This tournament is an important clay-court warmup for the French Open, which begins May 27.

Roddick, who has never advanced past the third round at Roland Garros, explained why Americans traditionally struggle on clay.

"It's tough for us because the movement is something that we probably didn't acquire at a young age. Kind of like a language," Roddick said. "If you learn it at 3 or 4 years old it's going to be a lot easier for you. But if you're trying to get it at 16-17, it's going to be tougher to learn."

Roddick will next face Juan Ignacio Chela.

While he appeared to run out of energy, the 125th-ranked Bracciali displayed a possible plan for how to give Nadal trouble.

Bracciali served to Nadal's backhand and consistently won points when he followed his serve into the net. The Italian also varied the pace of his shots well during a stretch in the first set when he won three of four games to get to 3-4.

"He never makes any errors so it's tough to win points. The only chance is to try and attack," Bracciali said. "When the rallies last longer he's too tough to handle."

Nadal said he felt dizzy.

"It was very difficult for me in the first eight games," he said. "Before the match I went to see the doctor and he said it was nothing. Now I'm going back."

Nadal will next face 15th-seeded Mikhail Youzhny, who the Spaniard lost to on hard courts in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, earlier this year and at the U.S. Open last year. Youzhny eliminated Olivier Rochus 7-6 (7), 6-3.

"He's one of the more difficult players for me," Nadal said of Youzhny. "If I don't play my best tennis, it's going to be a very difficult match."

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Filippo Volandri followed up his win over Roger Federer by beating 12th-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-2, 6-3 Friday to reach the semifinals of the Rome Masters.

Volandri, who entered on a wild card invitation, became the first Italian to reach the final four in Rome since Adriano Panatta in 1978. Panatta was also the last Italian to win the tournament, in 1976.

Volandri will play either sixth-seeded Fernando Gonzalez or Juan Ignacio Chela.

Earlier, fourth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko rallied to beat Tommy Robredo 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Davydenko will play either Rafael Nadal or fifth-seeded Novak Djokovic.

For the second straight day, the 53rd-ranked Volandri gave his highly favored opponent trouble with his steady groundstrokes and deep service returns.

Like he did during the straight-set win over Federer on Thursday, Volandri was aided by a partisan crowd. After each point Volandri won, fans banged together inflatable balloons provided by a sponsor.

It's the first time Volandri has reached the semifinals of a Masters series event, and the first time he has beaten Berdych in four tries. The previous three losses had all been in straight sets.

"For it to happen here, I couldn't ask for more," Volandri said.

Against Davydenko, the seventh-seeded Robredo dominated the first set with his steady baseline play, but appeared to lose energy as the match wore on.

"He was playing his best tennis, very clean with no errors," Davydenko said. "In the second set, I tried to make the points last a little longer and I think he got tired. That's what gave me the chance to win."

Davydenko beat former No. 1 Marat Safin in the second round and has won five of his 10 career titles on clay. He has reached the quarterfinals and semifinals at the French Open in the last two years.

The Rome Masters is an important warmup for Roland Garros, which begins May 27.

Nadal has won 74 consecutive matches on clay and can match John McEnroe's record for most consecutive wins on one surface if he beats Djokovic later Friday.

McEnroe had a 75-match winning streak on indoor-carpet between September 1983 and April 1985.

Djokovic was the last player to beat Nadal -- on hard courts in the quarterfinals in Key Biscayne, Fla., in March

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Defending champion Martina Hingis has withdrawn from next week's Italian Open due to hip and back injuries.

Hingis complained of pain after losing 6-4, 6-0 to Patty Schnyder in the third round of the German Open on Thursday. She had missed the previous six weeks with a variety of ailments.

Second-ranked Maria Sharapova has already withdrawn with a right shoulder injury and top-ranked Justine Henin did not enter, leaving No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo as the top seeded player. Mauresmo is a two-time Rome champion and a five-time finalist.

Hingis beat Dinara Safina in last year's Rome final for her first title since coming out of retirement. She returned to the tour last year after nearly three years out with foot and ankle injuries.

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"روزبه كامران" تنيس*باز جوان ايراني به همراه زوج انگليسي خود مقام نايب قهرماني پيكارهاي دونفره (دوبل) فيوچرز الجزاير را كسب كرد.

به*گزارش روابط عمومي فدراسيون تنيس ، در اين دوره از مسابقه*ها كه در شهر "آباناما" در ۶۸۰كيلومتر پايتخت الجزاير برگزار مي*شود، تيم دونفره كامران و استور در بازي فينال در دو ست متوالي و با نتايج ۷بر ۵و ۶بر ۳مغلوب تيم رشيدي و صابر از مراكش شدند و درمكان دوم قرار گرفتند.

كامران در دور نخست ديدارهاي انفرادي ، مقابل بخت شماره سه كسب عنوان قهرماني تن به شكست داد و از دور اين مسابقه*ها حذف شد.

هفته دوم اين پيكارها از روز يكشنبه آينده آغاز مي*شود كه كامران به همراه اميد سوري ديگر تنيس باز جوان ايراني در اين رقابت*ها شركت خواهند كرد.

مسابقه*هاي فيوچرز الجزاير در سه هفته مجزا برگزار خواهد شد كه در پايان هر هفته ۱۰هزار دلار به نفرات برتر اهدا مي*شود.

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Top-seeded Justine Henin rallied from 4-0 down in the final set against Jelena Jankovic and reached the German Open semifinals with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win on Saturday.

Henin, chasing her fourth title at the key French Open tuneup, completed the comeback with an overhead smash, then stepped on the court again a few hours later to face third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals.

Downpours stopped the match with the 2004 U.S. Open champion leading Henin 6-4, 5-7, 3-2.

They will finish their match Sunday, and the winner will face 12th-seeded Ana Ivanovic later in the final. The Serb teenager advanced when Julia Vakulenko quit with a right wrist injury while trailing 4-3 in the first set.

Henin played flawless tennis against the fifth-seeded Jankovic after she trailed 4-0 in the deciding set.

"She played unbelievably -- she didn't make a mistake until it was 4-4 or something," Jankovic said. "I'm very disappointed."

Henin's array of winners down the line, drop shots and pinpoint passing shorts forced a scream of frustration from Jankovic at one stage.

The match was stopped Friday because of darkness -- with Jankovic ahead 6-3, 4-4 -- then halted twice by rain.

Jankovic has improved to sixth in the rankings after two recent titles, but this was her fifth straight three-set loss to the world's top-ranked player.

Henin also charged back to win at the U.S. Open semifinals against Jankovic when trailing 5-3 in the second set.

"She is a champion. She is the only one I have trouble against -- I have beaten all the other top 10 players," said Jankovic, who also was eliminated last week in Warsaw by Henin.

The 19-year-old Ivanovic will play her second final.

"It's never nice to win this way," Ivanovic said. "I am just looking forward to the challenge of playing the final."

Vakulenko's right wrist also forced the Ukrainian out of the quarterfinals at Warsaw, where she beat Kim Clijsters in the Belgian's last match before retirement.

Vakulenko, taking painkillers, upset both third-ranked Amelie Mauresmo and No. 10 Dinara Safina on Friday.

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Rafael Nadal extended his winning streak on clay to 76 matches and broke John McEnroe's record for most victories on one surface by defeating Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 (3), 6-7 (, 6-4 Saturday in the semifinals of the Rome Masters.

McEnroe had a 75-match winning streak on indoor carpet between September 1983 and April 1985.

"It's nice to have these records but the important thing for me is to be in the final right now," Nadal said.

In the final, Nadal will meet sixth-ranked Fernando Gonzalez, who ended Filippo Volandri's impressive run with a 6-1, 6-2 rout.

"The guy seems like he's unbeatable right now," said McEnroe, who was at the Foro Italico for a seniors tournament. "Doesn't he ever have a bad day or a headache once in a while or something? His intensity and quality level is just amazing."

Nadal was broken while serving for the set in each of the first two sets and lost the second set -- the first time he has lost a set in 14 matches on clay this season. But the Spaniard eventually wore out Davydenko to close out the match in 3 hours, 38 minutes.

"He tried for every ball -- it's amazing," Davydenko said. "It was my body. My shoulder was tired. I'm not like Nadal physically. I need to improve physically."

Nadal visited the hospital Thursday to check a dizzy spell and stomach problem and didn't look full strength during long stretches against Davydenko.

Normally considered the fastest player on tour, the second-ranked Spaniard arrived late to balls he usually crushes for winners and his baseline shots did travel deeply into his opponent's court.

"I wasn't playing my best tennis today," said Nadal, who added he felt fine physically. "I was very near to (losing), but all the time I (stayed) tough mentally. It was a very, very physical test, but it was more of a mental test."

Nadal is attempting to become the first player to win this French Open warmup three consecutive times. Thomas Muster and Jaroslav Drobny -- a Czech player in the 1950s -- also won in Rome three times, but not in succession.

Nadal beat Gonzalez in the quarterfinals here last year but Gonzalez holds a 3-1 edge in career meetings, including a win in the Australian Open quarterfinals in January. Gonzalez went on to lose the final to top-ranked Roger Federer.

"It's going to be an interesting final," Nadal said. "It's always very difficult against Gonzalez. I'm a little bit tired after today."

Against Davydenko, Nadal lost his serve at love when he served for the first set at 5-4 and saved a set point trailing 6-5 with a risky drop shot. Davydenko ran the drop shot down but couldn't get it back over the net.

In the first-set tiebreaker, Nadal took control when Davydenko missed four forehands in the first four points.

Nadal uncharacteristically committed 19 unforced errors to Davydenko's 14 in the first set.

Nadal increased his consistency in the second set but again lost his serve at love when he served for the match at 5-3.

In the second-set tiebreaker, Davydenko required six set points before Nadal scooped down low for a backhand that sailed long.

After exchanging breaks early in the final set, Nadal broke Davydenko at love to take a 5-4 lead and dropped to the clay when Davydenko's forehand return sailed long on his first match point in the next game.

For much of the match, the lean and nimble Davydenko hovered on top of the baseline and was often able to angle shots to the corners, moving Nadal from side to side.

Nadal also appeared frustrated with Davydenko's deep service returns, which were landing just in front of the baseline. Some of the returns took awkward bounces and at one such point midway through the first set, Nadal held his arms out wide in frustration.

"Davydenko was playing a very great match. He plays with great timing," Nadal said.

Volandri upset top-ranked Roger Federer on Thursday and also knocked out No. 12 Tomas Berdych and No. 13 Richard Gasquet this week, but the Italian wild card was never in contention against Gonzalez, who reached the Australian Open final in January.

Gonzalez staved off a break point in the opening game of the match, broke in the following game and never looked back.

Gonzalez picked on Volandri's backhand and took some speed off his first serve to make sure he got it in on the important points. The Chilean also mixed in an occasional serve and volley and flattened out his ground strokes for winners to end several long rallies.

"He played perfectly. I couldn't get into any rallies. I couldn't play like I wanted to, that's the most disappointing thing," Volandri said. "But I beat the No. 1 player and two players in the top 15, I've got nothing to be ashamed about. It's been a fantastic week."

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Mired in his worst slump in more than three years, Roger Federer is splitting from coach Tony Roche.

The top-ranked Federer announced the change on his Web site Saturday, saying he and Roche mutually decided to end their arrangement. The move leaves Federer without a coach two weeks before the May 27 start of the French Open, the only Grand Slam tournament he hasn't won.

Roche has worked with Federer part time for the past 2 1/2 years. The Swiss star won six of his 10 major championships in that span.

"I thank Tony very much for his efforts over these last years, during which I appreciated the 12-15 weeks per season we would work together," Federer said on his site. "I am also grateful for the sacrifice he made, traveling so far from his home in Australia and leaving his family."

Roche was with Federer this week at the Rome Masters, where he was upset in the third round by Filippo Volandri, ranked 53rd in the world. That loss meant Federer has played in four consecutive tournaments without winning a title, his longest such drought since he rose to No. 1 in the rankings in February 2004.

"I don't know what's wrong. I have to analyze it myself," Federer said after the defeat in Rome.

He added that he thought he needed to "get back on the practice courts instead of the match courts."

Roche is a former Australian Davis Cup captain who also has coached top-ranked players Ivan Lendl and Patrick Rafter.

Federer has worked off and on with coaches since his longtime coach Peter Carter died in a car crash in 2002. Federer was coached by Peter Lundgren in 2003, then didn't have a coach at all the next year, when he won 11 titles -- including three majors.

He brought Roche aboard before the 2005 Australian Open, working with him in Sydney for two weeks. At the time, Federer said: "I hope he can improve my game just a little bit. I like the way I'm playing right now. If he can improve just a few things in my game, that will be good."

AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf in Rome contributed to this report.

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با هفتاد و ششمين پيروزي پياپي

رافائل نادال ركورد تنيس جهان را شكست


رافائل نادال با كسب هفتاد و ششمين پيروزي پياپي مقابل نيكلاي داويدنكو، ركورد تاريخي را از اين نظر رقم زد.


به نقل از CNN، پيش از اين، ركورد پيروزي*هاي پياپي در اختيار مك انرو با 75 پيروزي بود و اكنون نادال اسپانيايي از اين جهت در صدر قرار مي*گيرد.

وي گفت: "خيلي خوب است. هميشه دوست داشتم صاحب اين ركورد باشم. شكست*ناپذيري من ادامه خواهد داشت و آن را به 100 مي*رسانم."

وي ادامه داد: "بايد قهرمان آزاد فرانسه باشم و در بازي پاياني در انتظار راجر فدرر خواهم بود. ركوردم دست نيافتني خواهد شد و براي هميشه در تاريخ ثبت مي*شود."

پيروزي نادال مقابل داويدنكو مدعي فقط يك ساعت و 38 دقيقه طول كشيد و اين هم در نوع خود بي*نظير و ركوردي ارزشمند است.