Nadal Plans to Sue French Minister

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Rafael Nadal has said he will sue the former French government minister Roselyne Bachelot after she alleged that the Spaniard’s lengthy absence from tennis in 2012 was due to a positive doping test.

Nadal, who beat Gilles Müller 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in the second round at Indian Wells on Sunday, has never failed a drugs test and responded angrily to the allegations made by Bachelot, who served as sports minister between 2007 and 2010.

“I’m going to sue her, and I’m going to sue everyone who [is] going to comment [on] something similar in the future, because I am tired of that,” said Nadal. ‘There is a couple of times I heard comments like this … this is going to be the last one, because I’m going to sue her.

“I am tired about these things. I let it go a few times in the past. Not more. A minister of France should be serious. This time is the time to go against her.”

Speaking in the wake of Maria Sharapova’s revelation that she had failed a drugs test, Bachelot said: “We know that Nadal’s famous seven-month injury was without a doubt due to a positive [drug test]. When you see a tennis player who stops playing for long months, it is because he has tested positive and because they are covering it up. It is not something that always happens, but yes it happens more than you think.”

When asked about Sharapova’s failed test last week Nadal said: “I really don’t know anything about the doping and I am a completely clean guy. I worked so much during my whole career and when I get injured, I get injured. I never take anything to get back quicker. I believe in the sport and in the values of the sport."

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Rafael Nadal Clean Guy

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Rafael Nadal has denied he has ever used a banned substance to get an edge or to speed up recovery from injury.

Asked for his reaction to Maria Sharapova's failed drug test, the 14-time Grand Slam champion took the opportunity to address speculation he has used performance-enhancing drugs.

The Spaniard, 29, said he was "a little bit tired" of the rumours, adding: "I am a completely clean guy.

"I have never had the temptation of doing something wrong."

Nadal added: "I believe in the sport and the values of the sport.

"It is an example for the kids and if I am doing something that goes against that, I will be lying to myself, not lying to my opponents."

Nadal has never failed a drugs test but has been the subject of speculation that he dopes.

In 2011, former French Open champion Yannick Noah wrote a newspaper article saying Spanish sporting success was due to doping.

A year later, a satirical French TV show featured a life-size likeness of Nadal filling up his car's gas tank from his own bladder before being pulled over by traffic police for speeding.

Then in 2013, Belgian former professional player Christophe Rochus questioned Nadal being able to dominate the 2012 French Open and then be injured two weeks later at Wimbledon.

Nadal said he has taken advantage of some new treatments for his knee problems, like stem-cell therapy and Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy, often known as blood spinning.

Nadal speaks to the media in Indian Wells before the start of the BNP Paribas Open

"I have been open all my career," he said. "I never tried to hide nothing that I did. I did PRP and then I did stem cells.

"The first time with PRP it worked fantastic and the second time it was bad. I had to stop playing tennis for seven months.

"With stem cells, I used it two times on my knees and it worked very well. I am not doing, never did, and never going to do something wrong."

Nadal added that he trusts a doctor to monitor what medication he takes.

"He has been the doctor for all the Spanish players for a number of years," he said. "I would never take nothing that he doesn't know about."

Former world number one Sharapova announced on Monday that she failed a drug test at the Australian Open in January.

The five-time Grand Slam winner tested positive for meldonium, which was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned list this year.

Nadal said Sharapova deserved to be punished as an example to others.

"It is difficult to imagine that something like this can happen, but mistakes happen," he said. "She should be punished.

"I want to believe it is a mistake for Maria. She didn't want to do it. But obviously it is negligence. She must pay for it."

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Nadal Knocked Out in Melbourne

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Rafael Nadal bowed out in the Australian Open first round as fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco came from behind to win 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.

Nadal led by two sets to one and then 2-0 in the decider in Rod Laver Arena but Verdasco came roaring back, unleashing an incredible 90 winners on the way to a superb victory.

The world number 45 will now face Israel’s Dudi Sela in round two, while Nadal exits a third consecutive grand slam in the first week.

“I played unbelievable in the fifth set from after the break he made against me,” Verdasco said.

“I just started hitting winners — I don’t know how. I was closing my eyes and everything was coming in.”

Australian Nadal Nadal overcame Verdasco in a momentous five-setter in the Australian Open semi-finals six years ago, but few expected a similar battle with Verdasco now 32 and with his best days behind him.

Nadal, though, is not the powerhouse presence he once was, having crashed out in the second round at Wimbledon last year and US Open third round.

There had been signs of a revival in recent weeks but the 14-time major champion was simply unable to cope with Verdasco’s superior baseline hitting, which yielded 90 winners, 41 of them forehands, to Nadal’s 37.

A double fault at 6-6 in the first-set tie-break was enough to give Verdasco an early lead, but Nadal looked to have ridden the storm when he clinched the next two sets - the first following a thrilling rally, which ended with Nadal roaring and pumping his fists.

However, Verdasco refused to lie down, cranking up the power on his forehand and nicking the fourth set to force a decider.

Again Nadal edged ahead with an early break in the fifth, but it was Verdasco who strung together six games in a row, including two breaks of serve, to seal victory in four hours and 41 minutes.

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Djokovic Beats Nadal in Qatar

Novak Djokovic moved ahead for the first time in his long-running rivalry with Rafael Nadal when the world No1 thrashed the Spaniard to win the Qatar Open in Doha on Saturday.

The Serb – appearing in his 16th consecutive final – won 6-1, 6-2 in little more than an hour and now has 24 career victories over Nadal, compared to 23 for the former world No1.

Djokovic dominated 2015, winning three of the year’s four grand slams, and already looks in the groove in the build-up to this month’s Australian Open.

He and Nadal boast the most prolific rivalry, in terms of meetings, in the professional era of men’s tennis but the latest only emphasised how dominant Djokovic has become. The Serb has now won nine of his last 10 matches with Nadal.

This one-sided affair saw Djokovic claim a 60th career ATP title, one of only 10 players to achieve such a feat.

The 28-year-old suffered one of his few blips last year in Doha when he was surprisingly beaten by Ivo Karlovic, and failed to reach a tournament final for the only time in 2015.

But he made up for that with an immaculate week in the Arabian Gulf.

Nadal was powerless to stop Djokovic as he watched 16 winners fly past him in the opening set. The world No5 Nadal, competing in his 99th final, fared little better thereafter and has now lost 11 consecutive sets against Djokovic since the 2014 French Open final.

“I played pretty much perfect tennis today. From the very beginning I managed to get every shot the way I wanted,” said Djokovic. “The way I played today gives me great satisfaction.”

Djokovic will aim to retain the Australian Open crown in Melbourne where he has won half of his 10 major titles.

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Nadal Knocked Out in US

Rafael Nadal said he 'fought until the last point' in his US Open five-set defeat by Fabio Fognini.

The world No 8 exited the tournament in a third-round thriller which went the way of the Italian with a 3-6 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 victory.

The loss means Nadal will now finish the season without a major title for the first time since 2004, but he insists he gave it his best shot.

"I fought until the last point but I didn't do enough to win and I've lost a lot of matches this year like this," Nadal said.

"My mind allows me to fight to the end and sometimes in my career I haven't been able to do it.

We look at Rafael Nadal's year in the majors after another early exit

"The crowd was amazing and the support I got gave me a very special feeling. I enjoyed that and I tried to fight, I believe I did.

"But it was not enough. The only thing that means is I played worse than the last 10 years.

"That's the real thing. By the way, for me it was amazing to win a grand slam 10 years in a row. I think nobody did. You can imagine how difficult it is to make that happen.

"I accept this was not my year and keep fighting till the end of the season to finish in a positive way for me." 

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Nadal Happy Being Honest

Rafael Nadal continued his bid for a third US Open title by beating Diego Schwartzman in the second round, and after the match claimed criticism of his form has gone too far.

Despite his lack of stature, 5ft 7in Argentine Schwartzman presented a difficult challenge for eighth seed Nadal and took the opening set to a tie-break.

The world No 74 built a 5-3 lead in the breaker, only for Nadal to raise his game and take it 7-5.

Schwartzman continued to make life difficult for his illustrious opponent in the second set, breaking serve for an early 2-0 lead.

The break back came in the next game though and Nadal forced another in the seventh for a 4-3 lead before breaking once more to take the set 6-3.

However, Schwartzman wasn't going out without a fight and despite failing to convert any of three break points at the start of the third set, the 23-year-old later broke to lead 3-2.

Spaniard Nadal battled back once again though, levelling at 4-4, and eventually tamed his confident opponent, winning 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 7-5 with a break in the 12th game.

That set up a third round meeting with Italy's Fabio Fognini, who has beaten Nadal twice this year.

Nadal has failed to reach the last four of a Grand Slam so far this year but after the win against Schwartzman he took a swipe at critics who he feels have exaggerated his recent decline.

"I am No 8 in the world. I am not No 100," Nadal said. "It seems like I am No 200 in every press conference.

"After I arrive here happy with the victory, [it is made out that] I go back to the locker room saying how bad I am. Every day.

"For the fans, it is normal that they are worried because I am worried, too. If I am not playing well, I am the first one who worries."

Nadal also defended his policy of honesty after admitting to a loss of confidence earlier this year following a shock defeat to fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in Miami.

"It seems like I come here and if I am telling the truth, it is bad," Nadal said.

"If I explain if I am playing with nerves or with anxiety, like I did in Miami, and I say that after in the press conference, then I don't know what you want of me.

"People say, 'Why do you say that? Why are you that honest? You give confidence to the opponent'.

"I believe what happens outside the court, what we are talking about here, is going to effect zero per cent the next result.

"The thing is you play well, you have chances to win; you play bad, you will lose. The sport is simple."

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Nishikori Knocks Out Nadal

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Kei Nishikori swept aside Rafa Nadal in the quarter-finals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal with a swift 6-2 6-4 victory, while world number one Novak Djokovic saved two match points before beating Latvian Ernests Gulbis.

Japan's Nishikori, seeded fourth, took just 82 minutes to beat the Spaniard, a 14-time grand slam champion and a winner three times at the Rogers Cup.

"I was close in Madrid, but today I was dominating everything," said Nishikori after getting his first win over Nadal in eight attempts.

"I definitely needed to change some of my tactics when playing against Rafa. I had to play 100 percent to beat him."

Nishikori will next meet Andy Murray in the semi-finals after the Briton defeated defending champ Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-4 6-4.

Nishikori won his third title of the season in Washington last week and is hitting his stride ahead of the US Open. The 25-year-old reached the final at Flushing Meadows last year only to lose in straight sets to Marin Cilic.

Djokovic almost joined Nadal on the way out but rallied from a set down to beat Gulbis 5-7 7-6(7) 6-1, setting up a semi-final with Jeremy Chardy of France.

The Serb, who is looking for a fourth Canadian crown, said he would have had no complaints had Gulbis beat him.

The win extended Djokovic's Master Series streak to 29 victories. He has not lost since Roger Federer beat him in Shanghai last year.

A victory in Montreal would be his record-tying fifth Masters Series title of the year, equaling his own mark in 2011 and Nadal's from 2013.

Elsewhere, world number one Serena Williams rolled into the semi-finals of the women's event with a clinical 6-4 6-3 win over Italy's Roberta Vinci, setting up an intriguing showdown with Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic.

Williams, a three-time champion on the Canadian hardcourts, stretched her winning streak in Toronto to 14 matches but on a humid evening she was made to sweat for her spot in the last four by her 53rd ranked opponent.

"I don't feel like I'm at my best or anywhere near it," said Williams, who will go for the Grand Slam at the U.S. Open. "But I feel like I'm going in the right direction and I want to keep that up.

"I definitely feel more positive today. I don't want to peak too soon."

Standing in the way of Williams' return to the final is Bencic, who has eliminated two former-world number ones, Caroline Wozniacki and former Rogers Cup champion Ivanovic.

In other quarter-final action, second seeded Romanian Simona Halep sleepwalked through the first set before producing a remarkable comeback to record a 0-6 6-3 6-1 win over defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska.

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