Rafael Nadal News

Ukrainian sisters Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko finally stopped their on-court squabbling. via PR-inside.com

“It would have been really great to have won one on your home soil, so it’s a really nice recognition here in Australia.”

LLEYTON HEWITT has not made a Grand Slam semi-final in more than two years but his former Davis Cup team-mate Pat Rafter believes the South Australian can win Wimbledon again. via The Austrailian

“Heard it before and don’t read it before because it is the same thing over and over again.”

ROGER Federer doesn’t think much about Novak Djokovic. Sure, he can see this bloke is some kind of talent. via NEWS.com.au

“Justine will do whatever it takes to win the point”

The longest night turned into the shortest day at the Australian Open here yesterday. via The Independent

“Very honestly, this guy is very much down to earth. He did not have any attitude. He posed for me with a genuine smile. Thanks Nadal…”

Reader Blisson Antony sent us this picture. ‘ Hi, this is Blisson Antony with tennis ace Rafael Nadal [ Images ] at the Chennai Open. via Rediff.com

Rafael Nadal’s Grand Slam record looks very impressive on clay - three straight titles at Roland Garros. via Buenos Aires Herald

“They turned so pale, they were so scared. They couldn’t wait until they landed. “But it’s so much fun. I love doing that, and I want to see Melbourne from the top.”

MELBOURNE, Australia : Jarkko Nieminen thinks a taste of Finnish army life has been a big factor in his best start to an ATP season. via International Herald Tribune

“It was nice to have that win against Baghdatis, against a top-quality opponent”

LLEYTON Hewitt has admitted for the first time that he may never realise his lifelong dream of winning the Australian Open. via NEWS.com.au

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s phenomenal Australian Open run continued as the unseeded Frenchman crushed 14th seed Mikhail Youzhny 7-5 6-0 7-6 to reach the semi-finals in Melbourne. via Eurosport

“The players start to feel that he’s beatable”

FITTINGLY, it was Novak Djokovic who put the topic on the table. Having just put Lleyton Hewitt’s weary tournament to bed, the Serbian upstart made a far larger statement about Hewitt’s long-term successor: … via The Sydney Morning Herald

“It was an unbelievable match, I am still shaking”

Defending champion Serena Williams slumped out of the Australian Open in a 6-3, 6-4 quarterfinal loss to third-ranked Jelena Jankovic.

Williams, who was unseeded and ranked No. 81 when she won here last year for her eighth Grand Slam title, struggled with her serve on Tuesday and made 36 unforced errors trying to combat Jankovic’s go-for-broke game.

Williams had not dropped a set in her four previous matches but looked sluggish after winning the first two games. Her usually powerful serve was broken three times in the first set and four times in the second. Read more

WHEN the time comes for Australia’s best player in a generation to move on to other things, we well may remember this night as Lleyton Hewitt’s last stand. via The Austrailian

Jarkko Nieminen , seeded 24th at the Australian Open in Melbourne, has now progressed into the last eight of the tournament, with a very gritty four-set win against Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 3-6, 7-6, … via Helsingin Sanomat

“I took his best stuff for five sets and I thought I was going to get him to break or to fold”

James Blake was only two points from joining Andy Roddick and Fernando Gonzalez as an upset third-round loser at the Australian Open. via Arizona Daily Star

“I always had very high goals, so pressure is something that it’s normal to have”

AH, SLEEP. It is a precious commodity this time of year. As Lleyton Hewitt was roaring his way to victory over Marcos Baghdatis, eyes popping and veins throbbing, his next opponent, Novak Djokovic, was happily … via The Sydney Morning Herald