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Top-seeded Bartoli loses in 1st round at Barcelona - Tennis - Yahoo! Sports YAHOO.Sports.ultPageInfo = {"ult" : true, "spaceid" : 95862560};
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BARCELONA, Spain (AP)—Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia upset top-seededMarion Bartoli 6-4, 6-1 in the opening round of the Barcelona Open on Monday.
The 72nd-ranked Rybarikova broke the 2007 Wimbledon runner-up twice in thefirst set and three times in the second.
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AP - Apr 20, 6:46 am EDT 1 of 23 Tennis Gallery
Second-seeded Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania advanced when Zuzana Kucova ofSlovakia retired while trailing 6-1, 5-0. Also, No. 6 Roberta Vinci of Italy,who beat Silvia Soler Espinosa of Spain 6-2, 6-3.
Other first-round winners included Yaroslava Shvedova, Estrella CabezaCandela, Maria Elena Camerin and Jill Craybas.
Got a sports argument? Challenge a friend and take 'em to the Grudge Judge! Updated 7 hours, 3 minutes ago Email Print digg add to facebook del.icio.us Twitter Tennis Pat McEnroe offended by Young's tweetNadal wins sixth Barcelona Open titleTop seed Bartoli loses Barcelona openerBrianti defeats Halep in Fez final Goerges upsets Wozniacki in final2010 champ Youzhny wins Munich openerZverev, Kavcic reach 2nd round in Serbia 45 Comments Show: Newest FirstOldest FirstHighest RatedMost Replied Post a Comment Comments 1 - 25 of 45First PrevNextLast
It seems that the women on the circuit are afraid to knock Serena out of the top 10, There are 3 or 4 women that are very close to do so, but they are all struggling. Radawanska moved into that group with her recent wins, maybe she'll have what it takes.
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I for one am looking forward to the upcoming clay season, can Nole catch up with Nadal's clay dominance. Now more than anytime in the past, there has come a player who can keep up with Nada in clay. It remains to be seen if it can be done.
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News Flash. Nadal switches to the Wilson T-200 racket. Story at 11.
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At this point, i think it's a waste of time even playing these clay events from start to finish. Just hand the title to Nadal. I'm not even a fan of his, though i respect him greatly. But noone can beat this guy on clay. He barely ever loses a set. Nadal on clay is the closest thing to unbeatable you can have in sports. Here's a prediction, LOL! Nadal will win Rome, and Paris for sure. And probably won't lose a set in either. Ferrer and djok are tough, but on this surface noone has a chance vs rafa. Federer (who is my favorite) shouldn't even finish the clay season. Go practice on grass for next 2 months, and try to win 1 last Wimbledon. I think that's his only shot at a major he has left. He still has the game on grass to give any1 fits.
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Congrats to rafa....for winning the barcelona tournament....where he played high school kids before the finals....but thats ok...he won the title....now this is where we want him...winnning everything in sight...beating players that we have not heard of...and then beating good players...so in short winning .....and the script could not have been written in a better way....so no excuses when comes the french...cause at the french remember rafa fans i had made a statement before the aus open...that rafa will not win any slams....well i was right the first time...now it wil break your hearts when rafa wins all the clay court tournaments even though they r useless and no one remembers them after 20 years...rafa will lose the slam...yes every slam....and remember i said it first....the almighty federer has 16 slams and thats the fact...and poor nadal has 9 slams....and that fact will never go away.....
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In the last 4 years, Nadal only lost 3 times on clay, against Ferero, Roger and Soderling .. really amazing achievement
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I still believe Roger and Rafa still the best in this game. Nole is just a flux, it happened to Davydenko, Murray, Soderling, Berdych, Roddick, Verdasco, etc .... none of them can play in the highest level more than 6 months. But Roger and Rafa has been in the top of their game for about 6 years. Ok, Roger is getting old and slow now, it will happen to Rafa and everybody else, just a human nature. I firmly believe by the end of this year the top ranking would be the same, Rafa, Roger and Nole
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Who cares who defeats who? As long as it's a 3 or 5 hard fought sets I'm fine with who ever wins, these players who earns big bucks should give the spectators and sponsors a descent play, not easy straight set wins like most of you here wants. Such cowards because deep down you know that he can be defeated and you cannot accept it.
You fools! like this Norwin F he said that Rafa always runs after all the balls like no one else does DUH! If he did and he got to every ball Rafa should have won all the matches he plays! You should say that Rafa tries his best to go every after point! DO NOT CLAIM that he gets to all the balls and do not say that he does it like no one does!
Who's the other guy who told me that Novak needs to explain why he will skip Monte Carlo and that guy even had the nerve to tell me to get my facts straight? What a deuche bag! you did not even know that Monte Carlo lost it's mandatory status before blowing your top on me.
M0R0NS! even that Sam is an idiot because he agree to this one person who said that Novak is happy because Rafa is not 100%. WHAT? YOU THINK NOVAK WANTS TO DEFEAT RAFA THAT WAY? HE IS NOT WEARING A CHICKEN CRAP OUTFIT LIKE MOST OF THE scared to the bones DIE HARD IDIOT FANS HERE. A champion wants to be the No.1 and earn it the hard way not the easy way!
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yeahhhh right , but Nole hasn't defeated Rafa on Clay, perhaps never.
Like saying ... I can beat Muhammad Ali :-)
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Nole can beat Nadal.....
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Good try David but you met the Rafinator.
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Well, looks like the French Open is decied huh? Nadal on clay = nearly unbeatable. And consistently too. It's ridiculous.
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Boo for Novak to be missing the clay season. I guess he didnt wanna get beat by Rafa in the final. Its like if he's looking to stay unbeaten the whole year. Dont be surprised if he also misses Wimbledon. He'll probably come back until the hardcourt season starts again.
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I meant to say "wish" not "was" in that comment. But since I am here again I'll just say that I'd love to sleep with his post match jock over my face.
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I was I could get hired to pick Rafa's wedgies with my teeth whenever he gets a wedge on court ! What a privilege it would be and the sweatier the better! The crowd watching would not be an issue but I know many would be jealous... He's just got a dynamite @#$% on him !
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Nadal schedule may be explainable.Last year Barca and Italia were in straight week but this year ,Barca and Madrid have a week to rest whilst Madrid and Italia in straight week!!
Congrats for Nadal!!
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I do not understand what is the big hype of Nadal winning here.Comment hidden due to low rating. Show Comment
He has face absolutley no one in this Barcelona Open. No one .
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It was an interesting match at the least! If I were Uncle Toni, I'd pay close attention to the Nadal first serve. His percentages are low and his ability to win points off the first serve is diminishing- especially when he plays people who take the ball early and can hit it flat- so Djokovic can pose problems for Nadal. Ever since the last US Open when Nadal tweaked his serve and began to earn some free points off it he seems to be preoccupied with pace (others have mentioned this in the past) and sacrificed placement (he could learn by observing Federer who can put the ball in various parts of the service box with the same service motion). A faster first serve may have its advantages on hard courts. However, on a clay court it offers little and asks for a lot, by ruining momentum and disrupting the rhythm with which one could establish their first point. Granted I did not watch the full match but just portions of it, I've felt that Nadal experimented with his backhand slice and could not really find his range with those looping backhands deep into the court.
I'm eager to hear what other Tennis lovers have to say about Nadal's two recent matches against Ferrer and if they saw anything different in strategy and execution between Monte Carlo and Barcelona. Vamos Rafa! You've earned your rest before Madrid (hopefully all the top ten will be there). Peace!
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Vamos Rafa! Your a great champion.
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14.I told you my friends ( all of Rafa fans ), what i told was that let the clay season beging and we shall all see the beast rising, in the mean time i want to say hello to Sam, Ernesto and Bennitez and remember them that they are a bunch of loser that doesn`t know anything obout tennis.
Vamos Matador all the Dominican Republic its with you, im so joyful because of your win # 45 and counting.
Vamos Rafa!
You are the beast and the best.
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Would be interesting to see whether Rafa is able to surpass his great clay achievement in 2010 (MonteCarlo-Madrid-Rome and Roland Garros), now in 2011 MonteCarlo-Barcelona-Madrid-Rome and Roland Garros ... I think he can ... let's see
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vamus rafael nadal u're the greatest player of all time.....keep it up and god bless
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Nadal career on CLAY is simply amazing, even in 2008 he's already the best clay player in the history of the game, and now in 2011 ... even better. Would be interesting to watch Nadal vs Borg in their best time ... I would put my money on Rafa
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It is important for all of you to know that what Rafa does takes heart and a fighting spirit which comes naturally with birth. The reason behind is excellence is hard work and humility. You all can compare but Vilas and Borg were good in their times on clay and today in the year 2011 Rafa is the best on clay. Dont lower the standards of players like Roger Djolkovic Murray and all the other players who work hard at what they do. Rafa is good and when he retire someone else will become as good or even better. Appreciate the sport and the players. Though I am a Rafa fan I appreciate Djolkovic and Roger they did not walk to their positions they earned it and played hard to get to where they are. I am so looking forward to the FO cant wait.
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Many said Nadal should not have played this match. Well Nadal has another match win on his belt, a few dollars more in his pocket, a much needed clay tuneup and a good confidence boost.Comments 1 - 25 of 45First PrevNextLast Post Comment Sign in to post a comment, or Sign up for a free account. Related Articles Article Browser In TEN Headlines
Also 500 precious points that may help keep him as the number 1 player in the world. Last but not least he is in sill in good condition with a full week of rest before his next match.
Maybe all the board coaches and managers should let Tony and Rafael decide their own fate, I really don’t think they have been listening and it is a good da%n thing.
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