Hewitt Waves Emotional Gidday

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Two-time grand slam champion Lleyton Hewitt waved an emotional goodbye to tennis after the Australian lost the final singles match of his career to Spain’s David Ferrer.

Hewitt typically fought to the very end in front of a packed crowd in Rod Laver Arena but he was unable to beat the classy Ferrer, who won 6-2 6-4 6-4 to reach the third round.

The 34-year-old had made clear his intention to retire at the end of this year’s tournament, his 20th Australian Open, and bring an end to an iconic career that has included winning the US Open in 2001 and Wimbledon in 2002.

In an interview on court after his defeat, Hewitt told his home fans it had been the perfect way to go out.

“It’s a weird emotion, I don’t think it’ll fully settle in until a couple of days time,” Hewitt said.

“It was obviously in the back of my mind coming into every match this week but I’ve had a fantastic last month playing in what feels like every major city in this great country.

“I feel honoured to have the support and love from this crowd, it means so much to me.

“I’ve had such great success on this court and I feel fortunate to finish here.”

Hewitt remains the youngest ever world number one, after he reached the top of the rankings aged 15, and he spent 80 weeks of his career in the coveted peak spot.

Winning 30 singles titles in total, Hewitt narrowly missed out on clinching the Australian Open title in 2005 when he was beaten by Marat Safin in the final.

Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios all paid tribute to Hewitt in a video shown inside the stadium after the match.

Hewitt said: “Playing for Australia has always been my biggest honour. Getting the number 89 gold jacket off John Newcombe and Tony Roche when they picked me to play Davis Cup was one of the great days of my life.”

He added: “It’s something I can always be proud of — my whole career I’ve given 100 per cent.

“I love coming out here and competing, it’s never hard coming out and playing in front of such great spectators.

“I love Rod Laver Arena it’s like a second home for me and I’m just so fortunate to have this opportunity 20 years in a row.”

Hewitt’s fighting spirit often boiled over in his career and it did against Ferrer too when the Australian took exception to a linesman handing him a foot-fault.

At the change of ends Hewitt told umpire Pascal Maria: “You’re a fr****** idiot. That’s why everyone in the locker room thinks you’re so full of yourself.”

The pair shook hands, however, at the end of the match and Ferrer now goes through to meet American 31st seed Steve Johnson in the next round.

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No Final for Ferrer as Nadal Destroys

Defending champion Rafael Nadal reached a record seventh French Open final by destroying David Ferrer 6-2 6-2 6-1.

The second seed saved two early break points to win five games in succession and take the first set in 39 minutes.

Nadal continued the onslaught either side of a break for rain and hit some sparkling shots to move two sets up after an hour and 15 minutes on court.

The ruthlessness continued as Nadal broke for a third time in the third set to win in an hour and 46 minutes.

"Today was my best match of the tournament, against the best player I've faced here so far," said Nadal, who will meet Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer in Sunday's showpiece.

"It is a very important victory for me - to win with this result against one of the best players of moment, and the world.

"I don't believe in perfection, it doesn't exist in my opinion, you can play always better. But I'm very happy with the way I'm playing."

It will be Nadal's fifth consecutive Grand Slam final and the victory extended his phenomenal record at Roland Garros to 51 wins from 52 matches, his only defeat against Robin Soderling in 2009.

Having beaten one record he shared with the legendary Bjorn Borg - the number of French Open finals - the 26-year-old now has the chance to eclipse him again by becoming the first player in the Open era to win the title seven times.

The French crowd arrived for the 13:00 local time start at a leisurely pace and Nadal was also a shade slower out of the blocks than usual as the bustling Ferrer comfortably held his first two service games, then created two break point opportunities in the fourth.

Nadal, utilising his customary quick feet to unleash his whirling forehand whenever possible, duly responded by forcing some Ferrer errors and breaking to love in the next.

The wind was blowing clay particles off the court and Nadal soon began to do the same to Ferrer, breaking to love again and winning 18 out of 20 points in taking the first set.

Nadal even managed to win a point whilst sitting on the clay having slipped, which led to a break in the third game of the second set.

He broke again to lead 4-1 and the only halt to his march into the final came from the elements as heavy rain resulted in a 55-minute delay on the Court Philippe Chatrier.

The rain gave way to clear skies and Nadal unveiled more classic strokes from his repertoire, a dexterous overhead backhand smash swiftly followed by a running forehand down the line as the second set was sealed in 36 minutes.

Ferrer had often outclassed British number one Andy Murray in their quarter-final but could find no answer to the supreme nature of Nadal's strokeplay.

The 30-year-old's only win in 13 previous matches on clay against Nadal came in their first meeting, a 2004 encounter in Stuttgart.

His chances of improving that statistic receded further when Nadal quickly moved 2-0 ahead in the third set.

The six-time champion proved his backhand was just as fearsome as he recorded two more breaks and wrapped up his 39th victory in 43 matches this year.

"He plays better than me all the time," said Ferrer. "It's difficult to say something, no? He was better, and he had a very good match."

Ferrer Ends Paris Hopes for Murray

Andy Murray's French Open hopes hit 'The Wall' at the quarter-final stage as he suffered a 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-2 defeat to David Ferrer.

The Spaniard maintained his perfect record against the fourth seed on clay to reach the last four for the first time in Roland Garros - his reward is a showdown with compatriot Rafael Nadal.

For the third time in the tournament this year Murray dropped the opening set, though he responded impressively in the second to level matters.

However, just as he was seemingly getting into his stride, the rain arrived to halt his momentum. After returning to court he lost four games in a row, putting Ferrer in pole position.

Crucially, after breaking serve five times in the match Murray would give it straight back on every occasion, something that he simply couldn't afford to do against an opponent nicknamed 'The Wall' for his non-stop style of play.

The back injury that has bothered him throughout in Paris didn't aid his hopes, there were several grimaces throughout the match, though neither did the fact he wasted break points in the third and seventh games of the opening set.

A further two went begging at 5-3, allowing Ferrer to serve out for a 1-0 lead.

Murray's response was to break immediately at the start of the second and although he quickly lost that advantage, he stood firm to force a tie-break and then stepped up his game just at the right time, winning five points in a row from 1-0 down and eventually taking it 7-3.

The world number four held serve in the opening game of the third set but then the rain really began to come down, forcing the players from the court for around 20 minutes.

From then on, Ferrer was the one in full control. He broke three times on his way to taking the third set, while it was groundhog day at the start of the fourth as Murray played a terrific defensive point to break only to surrender his serve immediately for the fifth time, sending a forehand just wide.

He had two chances to move ahead again but could not take either, and the end looked nigh when he lost a third successive game with another wayward forehand.

Murray had two more break points in the seventh game but couldn't capitalise, ending his run of reaching at least the last four at five consecutive grand slams. It also means the wait for a British winner at a major goes on, with Wimbledon his next attempt to end 76 years of hurt.

Seventh Nadal Barcelona Title

Rafael Nadal produced another stunning display on clay to beat David Ferrer and win a seventh Barcelona Open title.

A week on from securing his eighth Monte Carlo Masters, Nadal overcame third seed Ferrer 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 in two hours 40 minutes of gruelling tennis.

The top seed saved five set points to take the opener before battling past his fellow Spaniard in a taxing second.

World number two Nadal becomes the first man in the Open era to capture two ATP events at least seven times.

"This is the hardest match I had on clay court this season, David always takes you to the limit," Nadal told Spanish TV. "A bit of it was lottery, luck fell on my side today."

The victory was the perfect way to mark the 10th anniversary of his first match on the main tour.

On 29 April 2002 Nadal beat Ramon Delgado 6-4 6-4 in Mallorca, and exactly a decade later he collected the 49th title of his career.

Nadal, 25, overturned an early break of serve before saving a break point in game six and bringing up one of his own in game 11.

But Ferrer was equal to the task and not only held firm but earned himself a glorious opportunity at 6-5.

He had five opportunities to take the opening set but Nadal showed incredible defensive skills in forcing a tie-break.

After mini-breaks were exchanged, Ferrer sent down a double-fault to hand over the momentum and he was duly punished.

Nadal was now regularly hitting the lines and when he broke to move 3-1 ahead in the second set, the finishing line was in sight.

However, Ferrer hit straight back and the crowd were in raptures as a Nadal double-fault meant Ferrer would serve for the set at 5-4.

But his game capitulated at the worst possible moment and a forehand sailed wide to squander the chance.

Nadal held for 6-5 and then broke to love for a fine victory that improves his head-to-head against Ferrer to 14-4.

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Nadal Meets Ferrer in Barcelona

Six-time champion Rafael Nadal defeated Fernando Verdasco 6-0, 6-4 Saturday to ease into the Barcelona Open final, where he will face fellow Spaniard David Ferrer for a fourth time.

Nadal dominated from the start, winning 21 of 27 points to break Verdasco's first three service games and set him on his way to his 33rd straight win at the competition.

In the other semifinal, Ferrer held off Milos Raonic's powerful serve for a 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5) victory to give him a shot at his fourth title of the year.

"Rafa is the best player, clay-court player ever," Ferrer said. "He has beaten me three times in the finals here. I hope tomorrow is different."

Verdasco, who won here in 2010 when Nadal sat out the tournament he has otherwise dominated since 2005, barely offered resistance as the second-ranked player hit winner after winner.

Nadal ran off seven straight points to open the match, breaking Verdasco's first service game with an intimidating smash.

"I began the first set very strong, and getting the first break gave me a lot of confidence," Nadal said. "He also made some errors early on, which helped me."

Nadal improved to 13-0 all time against Verdasco and predicted a close final.

"David is always tough. He is a rival you never want to face," Nadal said. "I wish him the best. Well... not for tomorrow, but for the rest of the season."

Raonic hit 15 aces against Ferrer, displaying the same massive serve that led to his upset of Andy Murray in the quarterfinals.

But the third-seeded Ferrer worked his Canadian opponent around the red-clay court with well-placed ground strokes and proved the better finisher in the two tiebreakers.

"It was very difficult to beat him," Ferrer said. "We both had our chances. It was a question of winning or losing the key points."

Behind 3-1 in the second-set tiebreaker, the sixth-ranked Ferrer fought back and claimed the match with a superb return that clipped the sideline.

"I'm very happy to make my fourth final," Ferrer said. "I have a special relationship with this tournament. I hope I can fulfil my dream of finally winning here."

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