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Tennis: Federer eyes first win of 2013 at Indian Wells

March 8, 2013 02:00
Roger Federer, with two unsuccessful title defences behind him already this year, is eager to reverse that trend at the Indian Wells Masters. The Swiss great, seeded second in the first of the ATP's elite Masters events of 2013 behind world number one Novak Djokovic, missed out on retaining titles in Rotterdam and Dubai. In Rotterdam he fell to France's Julien Benneteau in the quarter-finals, while in Dubai he failed to convert three match points in a semi-final loss to Tomas Berdych.

UPDATE 1-Tennis-Berdych downs Federer to reach Dubai final

March 1, 2013 16:00
(Updates with Federer loss) By Matt Smith DUBAI, March 1 (Reuters) - Tomas Berdych saved three match points on his way to beating titleholder Roger Federer 3-6 7-6 6-4 in the Dubai Championships semi-finals on Friday, setting up a showdown with world number one Novak Djokovic in Saturday's final. Federer surged from 5-2 down in the second set but then fluffed three match points in the tiebreak before Czech Berdych forced a deciding set with a bludgeoned return winner.

Tennis: Djokovic, Federer into Dubai semi-finals

February 28, 2013 15:01
Roger Federer earned himself a chance of revenge for his most disappointing defeat of 2012 by carrying the defence of his Dubai Open title impressively into the semi-finals on Thursday. The five-time champion's 6-2, 6-2 win over Nikolay Davydenko earned him a semi-final with Tomas Berdych, the dangerously flat-hitting Czech who halted Federer in the quarter-finals of the US Open in 2012.

Tennis: Djokovic, Federer into Dubai semi-finals

February 28, 2013 14:01
World number one Novak Djokovic and defending champion Roger Federer moved closer to a mouth-watering Dubai Open final showdown when they cruised into the last four on Thursday. Australian Open winner Djokovic extended his unbeaten 2013 sequence to eleven with a trampling 6-0, 6-3 success over Andreas Seppi which suggested that he will be very hard to stop. Federer was equally impressive, needing just 54 minutes to beat Russia's Nikolay Davydenko 6-2, 6-2, firing five aces in the process.

Tennis: Federer would consider all white all year

February 28, 2013 09:01
Roger Federer says he has thought about transforming his appearance by wearing only white tennis gear all year, if that were to become possible. Federer has shown his love of traditional attire with his outfits during Wimbledon, most notably a cream blazer which he wore from the locker room to the centre court - and which divided opinion. The seven-times champion's retro fashion sense has been complemented by his respect for the history of tennis and his considerable knowledge of how the sport has evolved.

Tennis: Djokovic, Federer close in on Dubai showdown

February 27, 2013 15:15
Novak Djokovic, the world number one, and Roger Federer, the defending champion, moved nearer to a showdown in Saturday's final when both raced into the quarter-finals of the Dubai Open. Federer set the pace by getting there in only 71 minutes against Marcel Granollers, the world number 34 from Spain, with Djokovic taking just 90 minutes to get past another Spaniard, Roberto Bautista-Agut, the world number 55.

UPDATE 2-Tennis-Federer and Djokovic power through in Dubai

February 27, 2013 11:31
(Recasts with Djokovic victory) DUBAI, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic strolled to easy victories in the Dubai Championships second round on Wednesday, keeping the world's top two players on course for a showdown in Saturday's final. Other dangers await after Tomas Berdych and Juan Martin Del Potro also claimed straight set wins, but few in Wednesday's 5,000 capacity crowd would bet against another meeting between the big two, winners of 23 Grand Slam titles between them.

AFP sports schedule for Wednesday, February 27

February 26, 2013 20:45
AFP sports schedule for Wednesday, February 27: FOOTBALL David Beckham makes his full debut for Paris Saint-Germain in a high-octane French Cup clash with arch-rivals Marseille. Coverage by Andy Scott. Second Spanish Cup semi-final return leg sees Atletico Madrid, 2-1 first leg winners, meet Sevilla, the winner to play Real Madrid. In England, FA Cup 5th round - Chelsea v Middlesbrough. Also Cup action in Germany. Slugs: Fbl-ESP-Cup, Fbl-GER-Cup, Fbl-FRA-Cup, Fbl-ENG-FACup TENNIS

Federer bounced out of Rotterdam

February 26, 2013 11:20
International Sports Desk, Feb 15 (EFE).- France's Julien Benneteau scored the biggest upset of this week's ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, knocking off top seed and world No. 2 Roger Federer 6-3, 7-5 Friday in the quarterfinals. Benneteau, who is ranked No. 39 and has never won an ATP Tour singles title, caught the Swiss great on an off day to score one of the biggest victories of his career.

Tennis: Federer survives scare against popular Jaziri

February 25, 2013 14:45
Roger Federer seemed to have talked his way into a scare before beginning an up-and-down defence of his Dubai Open title with a recovery against an opponent even more popular than himself on Monday. The Grand Slam record-holder had said before the match that often took him a while to suss out players he had never previously played - and sure enough he ran into trouble against the best player in the Arab world, Malek Jaziri, dropping the first set to loud cheers.
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