Caroline Wozniacki was forced to retire hurt during her match in Rome yesterday.

She was playing against Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues, and was trailing 6-4, 4-0 when she decided to call it a day.

The former world number one has struggled mightily this season, and this latest injury is a major setback for her French Open preparations.

Former French Open finalist Robin Soderling has officially withdrawn from the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympic Games.

The Swede has not played at all this year, and is suffering from a major bout of mononucleosis.

Rumors are flying that he is considering retirement, and will likely sit out the rest of the season at the very least.

He is scheduled to have a press conference on the 21st of May.

Former world number one Lleyton Hewitt will take part in Roland Garros, it was revealed today. This is despite the fact that the Australian does not have a high enough ranking to enter the tournament.

He was given a wild car by organizers.

Hewitt has not played much lately, and has been plagued by a number of injuries over the past few years.

He had hip surgery last year.

Serena Williams survived a massive scare against Nadia Petrova in Rome today, winning 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in a tight affair.

Williams, who is coming off a tournament win in Madrid, played badly in patches throughout the match, but managed to hold it together in the end for a decent win.

In other action, Sam Stosur ousted Sara Errani 6-3, 7-5, while Ana Ivanovic beat Silvia Soler-Sepinosa 6-2, 6-1.

RESULTS:

Petra Cetkovska (CZE) d. (3) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 64 46 61
(5) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. Sara Errani (ITA) 63 75
Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) d. (6) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 64 40 ret. (Upper respiratory illness)
Julia Goerges (GER) d. (7) Marion Bartoli (FRA) 63 61
(8) Li Na (CHN) d. Iveta Benesova (CZE) 61 75
(9) Serena Williams (USA) d. Nadia Petrova (RUS) 46 62 63
(12) Angelique Kerber (GER) d. Vania King (USA) 63 62
(13) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) d. (Q) Silvia Soler-Espinosa (ESP) 62 61
(14) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) d. (WC) Karin Knapp (ITA) 63 46 61
Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. (Q) Sloane Stephens (USA) 62 63
Sorana Cirstea (ROU) d. Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) 63 61
Chanelle Scheepers (RSA) d. Marina Erakovic (NZL) 57 61 62

Doubles - Second Round
(1) Huber / Raymond (USA / USA) d. Mattek-Sands/Mirza (USA / IND) 61 63

Doubles - First Round
Pennetta / Schiavone (ITA / ITA) d. Groenefeld / Martic (GER / CRO) 63 64 

Gael Monfils continued to struggle on clay in Rome today, losing 7-5, 6-3 to former French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero.

The Frenchman has had a rough time on clay so far this year, and hasn't been past the quarter-finals of the event in a while.

In other action, Juan Monaco beat qualifier Adrian Ungur 6-2, 6-2, while Sam Querrey fell to Nicolas Almagro 7-5, 6-2.

Novak Djokovic bounced back strongly from a poor performance in Madrid last week, recording a solid 6-3, 6-3 win over Australian youngster Bernard Tomic.

'It was a good first match,' Djokovic said after the win. 'I played against player with talent, you don’t know what to expect from him, he’s always changing his game. I’m happy about the game and the conditions, also another big crowd tonight.'

Djokovic was solid, if unspectacular, throughout the match, and was never really threatened by his opponent.

The Serb is the defending champion, and is in the same half of the draw as Roger Federer.

A few days after Roger Federer won his fourth title of the year in Madrid, the Swiss recorded an easy 6-4, 6-3 win over Carlos Berlocq in Rome.

Federer made a smooth transition to the red clay of the Foro Italico, winning 82% of his first serve points.

Berlocq did manage to break Federer once, but was broken himself four times.

Federer has been drawn into the same half as Novak Djokovic, and is playing his first tournament since ascending to world number two on Monday.

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Andy Murray was made to work extremely hard against David Nalbandian in Rome on Tuesday, and needed almost three hours to edge the Argentine 1-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Murray only managed a paltry 51% first serve percentage, and was broken in the third set to go down 3-1. 

However, the Scot, who is still looking for his first clay final this year, regained his composure and took advantage of some loose play from Nalbandian.

Murray has been drawn into the same half as Rafael Nadal.

Serena Williams made some unflattering comments about the top players on the ATP Tour yesterday, saying that the men should stop complaining.

“We ladies don’t complain we just do our best,' she said after her victory in Madrid over Victoria Azarenka. 'On the WTA (tour) we are real performers, we are not about going out there and being weenies.”

Though she didn't mention them by name, she was obviously alluding to Novak Djokovic and especially Rafael Nadal, who leveled non-stop complaints at the blue courts in Madrid last week.

Yesterday, Nadal said he was tired of talking about Madrid, and was looking towards Rome now.

The David Cup World Group playoff between South Africa and Canada will be held in Canada later this year, instead of in South Africa, as was originally planned.

The South African Tennis Association deferred the right to host the tie, due to economic reasons.

The Canadian captain said he was 'thrilled' that the team would be playing on home soil. 

Justine Henin will be back at the French Open this year, but not to play.

The Belgian has agreed to provide television commentary for some matches throughout the week, most notably the semi-finals of the women's event.

Henin returned briefly from retirement, but had mixed results and finally decided to call it a day due to repeated injuries.

She is a former French Open champion.

Andy Murray missed last week's ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid due to an injury, and doesn't seem to upset about the fact that he did.

'From what I have been told, skipping Madrid was the best choice. The conditions did not look good,' he said. 'The Foro Italico is the place to prepare for the French Open.'

The Scot faces David Nalbandian in the second round on Tuesday.

Despite a convincing scoreline of 6-3, 6-4, Venus Williams struggled mightily against Simona Halep in Rome on Tuesday. The American was far from her best, but a slew of unforced errors helped Williams get over the finish line.

Maria Sharapova also had a tough day at the office, and had her hands full with Christina McHale. She also wasn't in top form, but managed to hang tough for a 7-5, 7-5 victory.

Here are some other results:

Singles - Second Round
(2) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. Christina McHale (USA) 75 75
(4) Petra Kvitova (CZE) d. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 75 64

Singles - First Round
Marina Erakovic (NZL) d. (11) Sabine Lisicki (GER) 76 (4) 46 63
(14) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) d. (Q) Mirjana Lucic (CRO) 61 62
Sorana Cirstea (ROU) d. (15) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 63 46 76 (4)
Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. (16) Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 61 76 (2)
Petra Cetkovska (CZE) d. (Q) Olga Govortsova (BLR) 75 64
Nadia Petrova (RUS) d. (Q) Andrea Hlavackova (CZE) 63 63
(Q) Silvia Soler-Espinosa (ESP) d. (WC) Alberta Brianti (ITA) 62 61
(Q) Sloane Stephens (USA) d. (Q) Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) 62 26 64
(WC) Venus Williams (USA) d. Simona Halep (ROU) 63 64 

A week after stunning Rafael Nadal in Madrid, Fernando Verdasco suffered a meek 6-3, 7-6 loss to David Ferrer in Rome on Tuesday.

Ferrer has enjoyed a terrific year on clay so far, even winning a few titles, while Verdasco has struggled to put back-to-back match wins together.

In a similar scenario elsewhere, last week's quarter-finalist, Richard Gasquet, ousted the struggling Austrian Jurgen Melzer 6-1, 7-6(6).

John Isner overcame a slow start against Philipp Kohlschreiber in Rome on Monday to eventually win 2-6, 7-6, 6-2.

The American has enjoyed a banner year in 2012, but looked close to making an early exit in the ATP 1000 event. However, his big serve helped him close out a tight second set tie-break, and the third was a one-sided affair.

In other action, Munich finalist Marin Cilic put in a poor performance against Nicolas Almagro, losing 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 to the Spaniard. Cilic lost 12 of the final 15 games, and wasn't able to pose much of a challenge after winning the first set.

Rafael Nadal recently dropped from number 2 to number 3 on the ATP World Tour Rankings, but the Spaniard said yesterday that this move doesn't bother him at all.

'My position is not bad,' he said when asked about the drop. I had a good start of the season. To arrive [at] No. 2 or 3 isn't going to change my game. You have to win in the semi-finals – even if you are No. 2 or 3.'

Though Nadal will be able to regain his rankings in the near future, he is also defending a lot of points in the coming months, making the margin of error very small for the Spaniard.

1 1 Azarenka, Victoria 31/07/89 BLR 9020 19
2 2 Sharapova, Maria 19/04/87 RUS 7610 16
3 3 Radwanska, Agnieszka 06/03/89 POL 7080 21
4 4 Kvitova, Petra 08/03/90 CZE 6250 18
5 5 Stosur, Samantha 30/03/84 AUS 5435 21
6 9 Williams, Serena 26/09/81 USA 5300 15
7 7 Bartoli, Marion 02/10/84 FRA 4945 26
8 6 Wozniacki, Caroline 11/07/90 DEN 4936 21
9 8 Li, Na 26/02/82 CHN 4405 17
10 10 Zvonareva, Vera 07/09/84 RUS 3640 22
11 14 Kerber, Angelique 18/01/88 GER 3235 21
12 12 Petkovic, Andrea 09/09/87 GER 3201 16
13 13 Lisicki, Sabine 22/09/89 GER 3131 19
14 11 Schiavone, Francesca 23/06/80 ITA 3080 22
15 15 Ivanovic, Ana 06/11/87 SRB 2920 22
16 19 Kirilenko, Maria 25/01/87 RUS 2485 23
17 16 Cibulkova, Dominika 06/05/89 SVK 2470 23
18 17 Hantuchova, Daniela 23/04/83 SVK 2365 24
19 20 Vinci, Roberta 18/02/83 ITA 2320 26
20 18 Jankovic, Jelena 28/02/85 SRB 2260 23
21 21 Pennetta, Flavia 25/02/82 ITA 2150 23
22 23 Safarova, Lucie 04/02/87 CZE 2145 23
23 22 Peng, Shuai 08/01/86 CHN 2050 22
24 24 Errani, Sara 29/04/87 ITA 2050 24
25 26 Kanepi, Kaia 10/06/85 EST 1999 18
26 25 Pavlyuchenkova, Anastasia 03/07/91 RUS 1952 22
27 28 Kuznetsova, Svetlana 27/06/85 RUS 1931 18
28 29 Cetkovska, Petra 08/02/85 CZE 1900 22
29 27 Goerges, Julia 02/11/88 GER 1890 26
30 31 Petrova, Nadia 08/06/82 RUS 1850 19
31 30 Medina Garrigues, Anabel 31/07/82 ESP 1780 25
32 35 Barthel, Mona 11/07/90 GER 1762 24
33 33 Zheng, Jie 05/07/83 CHN 1730 24
34 32 Wickmayer, Yanina 20/10/89 BEL 1725 19
35 34 Niculescu, Monica 25/09/87 ROU 1715 23
36 36 McHale, Christina 11/05/92 USA 1601 22
37 37 Hercog, Polona 20/01/91 SLO 1415 27
38 38 Pervak, Ksenia 27/05/91 KAZ 1409 23
39 41 Makarova, Ekaterina 07/06/88 RUS 1378 20
40 45 Suarez Navarro, Carla 03/09/88 ESP 1342 23
41 39 Erakovic, Marina 06/03/88 NZL 1342 22
42 44 Zakopalova, Klara 24/02/82 CZE 1315 27
43 40 Clijsters, Kim 08/06/83 BEL 1311 13
44 43 Pironkova, Tsvetana 13/09/87 BUL 1282 20
45 46 Cirstea, Sorana 07/04/90 ROU 1281 28
46 42 Voskoboeva, Galina 18/12/84 KAZ 1271 21
47 48 Martinez Sanchez, Maria Jose 12/08/82 ESP 1224 17
48 47 Halep, Simona 27/09/91 ROU 1205 25
49 49 Martic, Petra 19/01/91 CRO 1201 23
50 51 Scheepers, Chanelle 13/03/84 RSA 1176 24
51 50 Benesova, Iveta 01/02/83 CZE 1150 24
52 52 Paszek, Tamira 06/12/90 AUT 1148 22
53 54 Wozniak, Aleksandra 07/09/87 CAN 1128 21
54 53 Peer, Shahar 01/05/87 ISR 1120 23
55 105 Hradecka, Lucie 21/05/85 CZE 1101 26
56 55 Begu, Irina-Camelia 26/08/90 ROU 1100 20
57 56 Zahlavova Strycova, Barbora 28/03/86 CZE 1080 30
58 57 King, Vania 03/02/89 USA 1078 19
59 77 Lepchenko, Varvara 21/05/86 USA 1069 25
60 60 Soler-Espinosa, Silvia 19/11/87 ESP 1063 20
61 58 Arvidsson, Sofia 16/02/84 SWE 1045 25
62 62 Bondarenko, Kateryna 08/08/86 UKR 977 21
63 72 Williams, Venus 17/06/80 USA 950 11
64 66 Hsieh, Su-Wei 04/01/86 TPE 946 16
65 63 Parmentier, Pauline 31/01/86 FRA 936 27
66 64 Babos, Timea 10/05/93 HUN 936 26
67 65 Daniilidou, Eleni 19/09/82 GRE 930 29
68 61 Oprandi, Romina 29/03/86 SUI 924 19
69 59 Gajdosova, Jarmila 26/04/87 AUS 897 23
70 67 Baltacha, Elena 14/08/83 GBR 891 23
71 70 Krajicek, Michaella 09/01/89 NED 879 18
72 69 Tatishvili, Anna 03/02/90 GEO 873 29
73 74 Date-Krumm, Kimiko 28/09/70 JPN 845 28
74 76 Cadantu, Alexandra 03/05/90 ROU 843 31
75 75 Govortsova, Olga 23/08/88 BLR 829 27
76 78 Keothavong, Anne 16/09/83 GBR 806 31
77 80 Morita, Ayumi 11/03/90 JPN 805 27
78 79 Panova, Alexandra 02/03/89 RUS 802 27
79 68 Vesnina, Elena 01/08/86 RUS 784 22
80 73 Dushevina, Vera 06/10/86 RUS 781 20
81 81 Larsson, Johanna 17/08/88 SWE 776 23
82 99 Mayr-Achleitner, Patricia 08/11/86 AUT 772 28
83 83 Foretz Gacon, Stephanie 03/05/81 FRA 767 27
84 84 Minella, Mandy 22/11/85 LUX 743 33
85 85 Gallovits-Hall, Edina 10/12/84 ROU 736 20
86 86 Cornet, Alize 22/01/90 FRA 730 28
87 89 Hampton, Jamie 08/01/90 USA 723 18
88 90 Dulgheru, Alexandra 30/05/89 ROU 722 19
89 88 Johansson, Mathilde 28/04/85 FRA 719 28
90 91 Bertens, Kiki 10/12/91 NED 716 26
91 93 Radwanska, Urszula 07/12/90 POL 709 27
92 82 Stephens, Sloane 20/03/93 USA 700 20
93 95 Pous-Tio, Laura 01/10/84 ESP 697 20
94 103 Dominguez Lino, Lourdes 31/03/81 ESP 681 19
95 98 Tanasugarn, Tamarine 24/05/77 THA 676 18
96 111 Dellacqua, Casey 11/02/85 AUS 674 24
97 117 Hlavackova, Andrea 10/08/86 CZE 672 25
98 87 Rus, Arantxa 13/12/90 NED 672 25
99 106 Dubois, Stephanie 31/10/86 CAN 670 21
100 94 Yakimova, Anastasiya 01/11/86 BLR 670 31

1 Djokovic, Novak (SRB) 11,200 0 18
2 Federer, Roger (SUI) 9,430 1 18
3 Nadal, Rafael (ESP) 9,105 -1 19
4 Murray, Andy (GBR) 7,500 0 19
5 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried (FRA) 4,930 0 24
6 Ferrer, David (ESP) 4,460 0 22
7 Berdych, Tomas (CZE) 4,410 0 22
8 Tipsarevic, Janko (SRB) 3,090 0 28
9 Del Potro, Juan Martin (ARG) 2,970 2 22
10 Isner, John (USA) 2,725 0 24
11 Fish, Mardy (USA) 2,660 -2 22
12 Simon, Gilles (FRA) 2,545 0 26
13 Almagro, Nicolas (ESP) 2,255 0 28
14 Monfils, Gael (FRA) 2,210 0 21
15 Monaco, Juan (ARG) 1,925 0 23
16 Verdasco, Fernando (ESP) 1,810 3 24
17 Lopez, Feliciano (ESP) 1,760 -1 27
18 Dolgopolov, Alexandr (UKR) 1,745 2 28
19 Nishikori, Kei (JPN) 1,735 -2 22
20 Wawrinka, Stanislas (SUI) 1,505 1 23
21 Raonic, Milos (CAN) 1,495 2 21
22 Gasquet, Richard (FRA) 1,465 -4 20
23 Cilic, Marin (CRO) 1,415 -1 22
24 Kohlschreiber, Philipp (GER) 1,370 1 27
25 Stepanek, Radek (CZE) 1,340 1 26
26 Granollers, Marcel (ESP) 1,295 3 25
27 Roddick, Andy (USA) 1,270 0 20
28 Mayer, Florian (GER) 1,265 -4 25
29 Troicki, Viktor (SRB) 1,220 1 25
30 Seppi, Andreas (ITA) 1,220 2 33
31 Melzer, Jurgen (AUT) 1,217 2 24
32 Tomic, Bernard (AUS) 1,215 -1 22
33 Benneteau, Julien (FRA) 1,210 -5 26
34 Youzhny, Mikhail (RUS) 1,210 0 26
35 Anderson, Kevin (RSA) 1,205 0 27
36 Andujar, Pablo (ESP) 1,150 1 32
37 Chela, Juan Ignacio (ARG) 1,085 -1 25
38 Berlocq, Carlos (ARG) 1,060 0 31
39 Ramos, Albert (ESP) 1,040 0 32
40 Haase, Robin (NED) 1,026 0 26
41 Baghdatis, Marcos (CYP) 1,025 0 27
42 Nalbandian, David (ARG) 1,005 1 21
43 Istomin, Denis (UZB) 982 2 32
44 Bogomolov Jr., Alex (RUS) 961 -2 32
45 Fognini, Fabio (ITA) 940 2 28
46 Nieminen, Jarkko (FIN) 932 -2 28
47 Ferrero, Juan Carlos (ESP) 880 2 21
48 Davydenko, Nikolay (RUS) 860 6 25
49 Young, Donald (USA) 856 1 25
50 Falla, Alejandro (COL) 853 6 27
51 Giraldo, Santiago (COL) 853 2 26
52 Muller, Gilles (LUX) 844 3 27
53 Kukushkin, Mikhail (KAZ) 842 -2 26
54 Kubot, Lukasz (POL) 841 -6 24
55 Chardy, Jeremy (FRA) 834 -3 23
56 Soderling, Robin (SWE) 805 -10 15
57 Harrison, Ryan (USA) 802 4 24
58 Llodra, Michael (FRA) 785 -1 22
59 Lu, Yen-Hsun (TPE) 770 -1 29
60 Karlovic, Ivo (CRO) 760 0 20
61 Soeda, Go (JPN) 758 -2 28
62 Darcis, Steve (BEL) 735 1 27
63 Rochus, Olivier (BEL) 725 3 29
64 Lacko, Lukas (SVK) 723 1 25
65 Montanes, Albert (ESP) 715 -1 26
66 Paire, Benoit (FRA) 685 1 33
67 Bellucci, Thomaz (BRA) 680 2 23
68 Mayer, Leonardo (ARG) 680 0 23
69 Ebden, Matthew (AUS) 677 1 24
70 Ito, Tatsuma (JPN) 673 11 23
71 Sela, Dudi (ISR) 662 -9 27
72 Ramirez Hidalgo, Ruben (ESP) 657 1 27
73 Cipolla, Flavio (ITA) 656 6 30
74 Dodig, Ivan (CRO) 655 0 27
75 Kamke, Tobias (GER) 648 8 32
76 Volandri, Filippo (ITA) 647 -5 34
77 Gulbis, Ernests (LAT) 641 3 24
78 Andreev, Igor (RUS) 637 -1 28
79 Machado, Rui (POR) 632 8 31
80 Roger-Vasselin, Edouard (FRA) 622 4 29
81 Stakhovsky, Sergiy (UKR) 620 1 29
82 Phau, Bjorn (GER) 620 3 23
83 Malisse, Xavier (BEL) 615 -11 27
84 Jaziri, Malek (TUN) 613 2 27
85 Garcia-Lopez, Guillermo (ESP) 611 9 28
86 Tursunov, Dmitry (RUS) 608 2 23
87 Kunitsyn, Igor (RUS) 606 2 34
88 Mahut, Nicolas (FRA) 602 2 26
89 Querrey, Sam (USA) 600 -13 22
90 Stebe, Cedrik-Marcel (GER) 600 1 27
91 Rosol, Lukas (CZE) 596 2 31
92 Matosevic, Marinko (AUS) 584 13 22
93 Petzschner, Philipp (GER) 582 -1 26
94 Dimitrov, Grigor (BUL) 579 2 25
95 Starace, Potito (ITA) 578 -20 29
96 Lorenzi, Paolo (ITA) 577 -18 30
97 Klizan, Martin (SVK) 573 3 21
98 Blake, James (USA) 572 -3 19
99 Ungur, Adrian (ROU) 568 -2 31
100 Bachinger, Matthias (GER) 551 -1 31

Rafael Nadal has had it with Madrid.

After losing in the third round last week, the Spaniard is more than ready to move on, and doesn't want to talk about the event anymore.

'I just want to focus on [Florian] Mayer,' he added. 'Last time he beat me in Shanghai, so I want to concentrate on this match. It's stupid to think about the final already...we're at a Masters 1000, and there are always many pitfalls.'

Nadal has been drawn into the same half as Andy Murray.

Last week Roger Federer said that he wasn't sure if he would play in Rome this week, but yesterday the Swiss confirmed that he will most likely play.

'I think so,' he said when asked.

'We'll see tomorrow, it has been a tough week, after six weeks of rest. I should only start Wednesday, so I have two days to evaluate and try to make the right decision.'

Federer was concerned about his health following the long layoff.

He won Madrid last week, beating Tomas Berdych in the final.

Ion Tiriac did not mince words about Rafael Nadal yesterday, saying that if the Spaniard didn't return to the event next year, he it wouldn't bother him.

'The sport of tennis goes beyond those who play it,' he added. 'I have seen Laver, Emerson, Newcombe, Connors, Nastase, Borg, Agassi, McEnroe...players come and go, the sport remains. There are two or three players now that are very important, it is true, but you can not build a great event on a single player.'

When asked about it, Rafael Nadal said that Madrid is over now, and that he doesn't want to talk about it anymore.

Ion Tiriac says that he won't tailor the ATP event in Madrid for any single player, and while he didn't mention Nadal by name, he was certainly almost certainly referring to the Spaniard.

Nadal was very critical of the courts, and said he would not be back next year if they remain blue.

'A tournament in is not created for a particular player, otherwise the system would fail,' he said of the situation. 'Tennis players should take into consideration the audience, as we struggle for money, sponsors and TV. There are studies that say blue is better for visibility, so we went with blue.'

Carlos Moya made similar statements earlier in the week, saying the tournament would not be bullied by players.

Ana Ivanovic had few problems beating Svetlana Kuznetsova in Rome on Monday, breezing past the former US Open champion 6-4, 6-3.

Ivanovic has been playing well so far this year, and is hoping to make a deep run in Rome.

Singles - First Round

(12) Angelique Kerber (GER) d. (Q) Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) 46 75 62
(13) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) d. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 64 63
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. Ksenia Pervak ​​(KAZ) 62 64
Julia Goerges (GER) d. (Q) Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) 61 67 (1) 63
Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) d. Zheng Jie (CHN) 62 61
Christina McHale (USA) d. Monica Niculescu (ROU) 64 64
Chanelle Scheepers (RSA) d. Jarmila Gajdosova (AUS) 64 76 (3)
Iveta Benesova (CZE) d. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 64 57 76 (5)
Shahar Peer (ISR) d. Peng Shuai (CHN) 76 (4) 46 31 ret. (Left hand injury)
Vania King (USA) d. Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) 60 61 

Former Australian Open semi-finalist, Marcos Baghdatis, continues his poor run of form in Rome on Monday, falling to unheralded journeyman Fabio Fognini 6-2, 6-2.

The Cypriot has struggled to win matches this year, and has been plagued by injuries for the past 18 months.

Elsewhere, former Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian overcame Albert Ramos 6-3, 6-4, and set up a date with Andy Murray in the next round.

Stanislas Wawrinka also won, beating Robin Haase 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.

Gael Monfils made a confident start to his campaign in Rome on Monday, easing past Alex Bogomolov 6-4, 6-1.

The Frenchman made a number of impressive trick shots, and looks to be in fine form. Monfils lost to Tomas Berdych in Madrid last week, but played two good matches before falling to the eventual finalist.

In other action, rising Australian start Bernard Tomic overcame Santiago Giraldo 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

He will next face Novak Djokovic, who got a bye in the first round.

Novak Djokovic his looking to erase the bad memories he created in Madrid last week, and hopes to defend his title at the ATP 1000 event in Rome this week.

The Serb lost in the third round in Madrid to Janko Tipsarevic last week, but is still confident in his game.

'I'm physically fit and ready for the challenges that will come,' Djokovic said today. 'I've had a fantastic time here, especially in 2011. I really feel that this is why I feel really close to the Italian people. Physically and mentally I am fine. I am where I wanted to be. I am number one in the world and I am winning Grand Slams.'

Djokovic was drawn into the same half as Roger Federer.

Roger Federer made no bones about the fact that he wants to get back to number one.

His comments followed his win over Tomas Berdych in the Madrid final last night, which catapulted the Swiss into the second spot on the ATP World Tour rankings.

'It's no secret for any player out there that you'd rather be No. 1 than No. 2,' Federer said when pressed on the issue. 'It would be absolutely amazing.'

While the Swiss is still some ways from Novak Djokovic, the Serb has a great many points to defend in the coming months, and if he stumbles a major opportunity will present itself for Federer.

Serena Williams: 10/10
After such a long break from the sport, many people thought Serena Williams would take quite a while to reach top form again. She proved all her critics wrong, however, as she trashed the Tour's hottest players in Madrid en route to her title. Her win in the final over Victoria Azarenka was particularly inspiring. Superb!

Victoria Azarenka: 7/10
Azarenka struggled throughout the event, and you have to give her credit for the way she hung tough in almost every match. However, her performance in the final was poor at best, and she'll have to improve drastically if she is to hold on to number one for much longer.
 

Roger Federer: 9/10
While every other player at the tournament complained about the court and the conditions, Federer remained as cool as ever, and confidently dealt with an extremely tough draw. The Swiss has won more tournaments than anyone else this year, and seems to be just getting started.

Tomas Berdych: 8/10
Few would have picked Berdych to emerge from Nadal's half of the draw to play in the final, but the Czech put in solid performances all week. He pushed Federer hard in the final, but still has some maturing to do before he can consistently challenge the top players week in and week out.

Alexander Dolgopolov: 7/10
The Ukrainian's unusual style continues to confuse his opponents, and he played well throughout the week. If he can build on his solid performance in Madrid, this youngster might just be a Top 10 player in the near future.

Novak Djokovic: 4/10
Djokovic was unrecognizable this week, and simply couldn't cope with the tough conditions. Yes, the clay was slippery, but his lackluster performance against Tipsarevic can only be blamed on one person – himself. With Federer in incredible form, he'll have to get better quickly if he wants to stay number one.

Rafael Nadal: 3/10
The King of Clay turned into the Prince Of Complaints in Madrid, never uttering a sentence without slamming the condition of the courts. While he certainly had valid points, one wonders how things would have turned out if he put his energy into his matches instead. Losing to Verdasco from such a commanding position in the third set is inexcusable, especially for the King of Clay.

Roger Federer will return to number 2 on the ATP World Tour rankings on Monday, after the Swiss beat Tomas Berdych to win the Madrid Masters 1000 event on Sunday.

Rafael Nadal, who had reached the final last year, dropped out in the third round this time around, and with Federer picking up points on the win, he now has enough to surpass his Spanish rival in the rankings.

Federer will, however, still be seeded third at this week's Masters 1000 event in Rome.

The Swiss has said in the recent past that he hopes to one day regain the top spot in the rankings, and with Djokovic also bowing out early in Madrid, the Swiss is relatively close to achieving that dream once again.

Roger Federer had to pull out all the stops against Tomas Berdych in Madrid on Sunday, but managed to eventually edge out a thrilling 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 win over the Czech.

Berdych broke in the second game of the match, and never relinquished that advantage to eventually win the first set 6-3. In the second, Federer broke early and had a chance to serve out the set but Berdych broke back. Two games later, however, the Swiss broke to secure the critical break and take the set.

The third set was also a tight affair, with Federer facing four break points on his serve. He was broke once, but managed to break Berdych twice to take the final set and the match.

He will now move up to number 2 in the rankings.

Federer has won a Tour-leading four titles so far this year.

Serena Williams won the title in Madrid on Sunday, with a convincing 6-1, 6-3 win over Victoria Azarenka.

Williams was in control throughout the match, and proved to the rest of the WTA Tour that Azarenka is not as invincible as she has appeared at times this season.

'I can still do better,' Williams assessed afterwards. 'This is really good. I have been working hard. I had some tough battles and really unfortunate circumstances so I really love this.'

Williams made headlines throughout the week with her comments about the blue clay and the ITF rules regarding the Olympics. Williams wants to play in the London Games, but the rules, which require her to have played a certain number of Fed Cup matches, currently stand in her way of competing.

Azarenka, clearly upset with her poor performance, said little after her loss.

'I want to congratulate Serena for a great week,' she said afterwards. 'She did a great job.'

After receiving a dream draw in Madrid last week, Rafael Nadal has been handed a relatively tough one for Rome.

The Spaniard will likely face off against Milos Raonic in his first match, with Feliciano Lopez waiting in the third round. The in-form Tomas Berdych will likely be his quarter-final opponent, while Andy Murray or David Ferrer will probably see him in the semi-final.

Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic will probably advance to the final from the other side of the draw.

Nadal lost to Fernando Verdasco in the third round of Madrid last week.

Andy Murray's tough start to the clay court season will not get any easier in Rome next week, where he was handed a tough draw yesterday.

Murray, who didn't play in Madrid this week thanks to injury, will probably start off against David Nalbandian, before playing Richard Gasquet in the third round. Favid Ferrer is seeded to make it to the quarters in Murray's section, and Nadal likely awaits in the semis should Murray manage to get that far.

The final will probably see either Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic on the other side of the draw.

Murray has not reached the final of a clay court event so far this year.

Roger Federer received a relatively favorable draw for the ATP 1000 event in Rome next week, and will look to capitalize on the opportunity to close the gap between him and the top spot in the rankings.

Federer will likely face off against Carlos Berlocq in his first match, before playing Gael Monfils in the third round and Janko Tipsarevic in the quarter-finals.

Should he reach the semi-final, he will probably play Novak Djokovic, and the final will probably involve Rafael Nadal.

Federer is playing in the Madrid final today.

Novak Djokovic was dealt a tough draw to the ATP 1000 event in Rome next week, and will have to bounce back strongly from a poor week in Madrid if he is to defend his title.

The Serb will likely face off against rising Australian start Bernard Tomic in his first match, before playing Juan Monaco in the third round.

He will then probably face Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarters, before playing Roger Federer in the semis and likely Rafael Nadal in the final.

Djokovic lost to Janko Tipsarevic in the third round this week.

Australian Sam Groth hit the fastest serve ever recorded this week, smashing a 263 km/h ace at a Challenger event in Busan, South Korea.

The previous fastest serve was 251 km/h by Ivo Karlovic in a Davis Cup match.

The ATP does not recognize speed records, since radar guns often give inaccurate results. However, the governing body did confirm that the event was using approved equipment.

Roger Federer beat Jank Tipsarevic 6-2, 6-3 to reach the final of the ATP Madrid Open on Sunday.

Federer will meet Tomas Berdych in Sunday'a final. The Swiss will also be playing for the no. 2 ranking which he will relcaim if he wins the title on Sunday.

Federer also crossed $70 million in career prize money with the win.

The Swiss owns a 10-4 record against Berdych on tour.

Tomas Berdcyh has reached the finals of the ATP Madrid Open masters series event.

World no. 6 Berdych beat the world no. 10 Juan Martin del Potro 7-6, 7-6. Berdych came from a break down in the first set to hand the Argnetine his first defeat in 11 matches on clay this year.

Berdych will take on Roger Federer in the final

Serena Williams overcame a stiff challenge from unseeded Lucie Hradecka in the first set and then routed her in the second to advance to the final of the WTA MAdrid Open on Sunday.

Williams won 7-6, 6-0 over the Czech qualifier, who is currently ranked just outisde the top 100.

Serena will meet world no. 1 Victoria Azarenka in the final.

Serena will move to no. 6 in the rankings next week.

World no. 1 Victoria Azarenka has moved into the final of the WTA MAdrid Open beating world no. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska for the sixth time in 2012.

Azarenka beat the Pole 6-2, 6-4 to advance to her fifth final in 2012.

Azarenka will meet Serena Williams in the final on Sunday.

The worlds top ranked players had contrasting fortunes on the blue clay of Madrid on Friday but both were unanimus in their criticism of the courts being used at the event this week.

''I want to forget this week as soon as possible and move on to the real clay courts,'' Djokovic said follwing his loss to Tipsarveic on Friday. ''Here you can't predict the ball bounce or movement.They can do whatever they want, but I won't be here next year if this clay stays.''

''You feel unstable sometimes, actually, a lot of times,'' Azarenka said after reaching the semis. ''But right now there is no point on talking about it. After the tournament, all the players can get together and discuss it.''

Roger Federer beat David Ferrer for the 13th consecutive time to reach the semi finals of the ATP Madrid Open.

Federer beat the world no. six 6-4 6-4. 'I'm always pleased beating a local hero in their own country, it's never an easy thing to do,' commented Federer. 'I'm extremely pleased to be in the semi-finals because it's really been a tough draw for me.'

Federer will meet Janko Tiparevic next, who upset world no. 1 Novak Djokovic in anotehr quarter final. Federer could become world no. 2 if he wins the ttile on Sunday

Former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro beat no. 16 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov  6-3, 6-4 to reach the semi finals of the ATP Madrid Open.,

del Potro is now 10-0 on clay this year.

Potro will meet Tomas Berdych in the semi finals on Saturday.

World no. 6 Tomas Berdych has reached the semi finals of the ATP Madrid Open.

Berdych beat no. 15 seed Fernando Verdasco of Spain  6-1, 6-2.

'I feel great,' commented Berdych. 'I'm in another semi-final, [the] second in a row. To beat Fernando made me feel great. It is always tough to beat Fernando, even though the score looks quite easy. It's not easy to beat a Top 20 player and he played great yesterday [against Rafael Nadal].'

He will meet world no. 10 Juan martin del Potro next.

Friends turned rivals Victoria Azarenka and Ageniszka Radwnaska will meet for the sixth time on tour this year afetr reaching the semi finals of the WTA Madrid Open.

Azarenka leads Radwanska, 10-3 and has won all five clashes this year.

'We play in almost every tournament now,' Azarenka commented. 'I've played her five times this year, but every match is different and I never look back on any of these matches. She's a very tough opponent whenever we play and I have a lot of respect for her game. She has been showing incredible tennis this year.'

'Vika is No.1 and playing very good tennis, so for sure I'll have to play 100% to beat her,' Radwanska commented. 'I didn't play well enough the last couple of times, but we've had good matches in the past and I will try my best tomorrow again.'
 

Czech qualifier Lucie Hradecka upset Sam Stosur 7-6, 7-6 to reach the semi finals of the WTA Madrid Open.

Hradecka, who earlier beat Petra Kvitova, hit 19 aces in the match.

'I was concentrating on my serve today, then just trying to play my best after that,' Hradecka said. 'It's an amazing feeling. I've never had this feeling from my singles before - I had a similar feeling winning the French Open last year in doubles, but it's different in singles because you're alone on the court.
 

A day after Rafael Nadal fell to Fernando Verdasco, an upset just as big involving the world number one took place in Madrid.

Novak Djokovic, the defending champion, fell to his friend and countryman Janko Tipsarevic 7-6, 6-3 in a contest that saw the latter man play out of his skin, while the former struggled to keep the ball in the court.

Djokovic has seemed out of sorts all week, and while the blue clay didn't bother him, he wasn't able to totally impose himself in any of the matches he played.

Tipsarevic will now go on to face either Roger Federer or David Ferrer.

With Andy Murray not participating in the event, Roger Federer is the only Top 4 player left in the draw.

Serena Williams recorded a commanding win over Maria Sharapova in Madrid on Friday, beating the Russian 6-1, 6-3 to advance to the next round.

Williams dominated from the start, and with Sharapova struggling mightily on her own serve, it was only a matter of time until Williams closed out the match.

In other action, Victoria Azarenka beat Li Na 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, while Agnieszka Radwanka beat Varvara Lepchenko 6-4, 6-4.

Following some harsh comments from Rafael Nadal, who threatened to boycott Madrid next year if they use blue clay again, Juan Martin Del Potro has said that the court is the same for everyone and therefore no one can complain.

'The conditions are very harsh,' he said of the surface, but this applies to all players. I must be able to be aggressive and take command of the exchange before my opponent, trying to hit as hard as possible. It's really hard to move and feel good on the court. But I must try to play my game and be aggressive throughout each match.'

He next plays Tomas Berdych in the semi-final.

Serena Williams thinks Ion Tiriac's idea to use fluorescent balls instead of the traditional yellow is a good idea.

'Didn't they use white balls once? I like the idea of fluorescent colors. I think it would be exciting,' she said on the matter.

Tiriac caused quite a stir by using blue clue in Madrid this year, and it seems he isn't done tinkering with tradiotion just yet.

After Rafael Nadal threatened to boycott the ATP 1000 event in Madrid next year if they stuck with blue clay, the tournament hit back by saying it will not change the color of the courts.

Carlos Moya, assistant director of the event, was defiant in his statements on the matter, though he did say they will work to make the courts less slippery

'We achieved what we set out to,' he said of the courts. 'We managed to improve visibility for everyone watching on television. The only problem we have is that the surface appears to be more slippery than usual. The goal of a tournament is to be the best and we will certainly learn from our mistakes this year and improve the courts. '

Roger Federer might not play in the upcoming ATP 1000 event in Rome.

The Swiss star is playing his first event on clay this year in Madrid, but has said he isn't sure if he will play in Rome.

'I might play next week,' he said of the situation. 'But I am taking it week by week, so we'll see how it goes. This is what I want to do this year.'

Federer has already played a lot of matches so far this season, having won three titles. It's unclear if his concern is about his fitness.

Juan Martin Del Potro remains undefeated on clay this season, after recording yet another strong win in Madrid on Friday.

The Argentine has been dominant this week, and had little trouble in dismissing Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the semi finals.

There, Del Potro will play Tomas Berdych, who has been equally destructive so far in the tournament.

Del Potro is looking for his third event win this year.

A day after Fernando Verdasco recorded the biggest win of his career, beating Rafael Nadal in the the third round of the ATP 1000 event in Madrid, he was trounced by Tomas Berdych 6-1, 6-2.

Verdasco was clearly exhausted after his heroic exploits yesterday, and never manged to challenge Berdych.

Berdych has not been broken at all this week, and will next meet Juan Martin Del Potro for a place in the final.

Novak Djokovic overcame a spirited challenge from Stanislas Wawrinka in Madrid last night, but managed to outlast his Swiss opponent to eventually clinch a 7-6, 6-4 victory.

Though it was a straight sets victory, it was far from straightforward for the world number one. He was unable to distance himself from Wawrinka in the first set, and in the second failed to serve out the match at the first time of asking.

Djokovic will next play his friend and countryman Janko Tipsarevic.

After surviving a thriller of a match later last night, Roger Federer made up for lost time by quickly dismissing Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-2 in Madrid today. 

The Swiss did not mess around on court, and was clinical from the start. Federer fired 10 aces, didn't hit a single double fault and boasted a stellar 70% first serve percentage.

Federer will regain the number two ranking should he win this event, after Rafael Nadal lost to Fernando Verdasco earlier today.

He will next face David Ferrer.

Rafael Nadal made headlines on Thursday, after he lost to Fernando Verdasco for the first time ever on his beloved clay.

However, he generated headlines elsewhere as well, with a threat to boycott the Madrid event if it is held on blue clay ever again.

'If next year the courts do not change, I will have one less tournament on my calendar,' he said simply.

However, to fend off accusations of sour grapes, he quickly added that the surface was not to blame for his loss today.

'I did not lose to the surface,' he said. 'Even though I could not move well, my opponent was greater today.'

One of the biggest upsets in recent tennis history unfolded in Madrid on Thursday, when Fernando Verdasco beat his friend and countryman Rafael Nadal 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to advance to the quarter finals of the event.

Verdasco had never beaten Nadal before, and has already been schooled by the world number two a few times this year.

Nadal had enjoyed an easy week so far, breezing through his first match against Nikolay Davydenko, but looked out of sorts from the start against Verdasco.

Nadal was broke in his very first service game, and though he broke back he was broken again to lose the first set. Though he fought back in the second, Verdasco hung tough in the third to finally break a 12-match losing streak against his compatriot.

The match lasted more than three hours, and saw a combined 11 double faults.

Roger Federer has denied that there is any tension between him and rival Rafael Nadal over issues over the way the game is run.

In Australia, Nadal criticized Federer, who is the ATP Players Council president, for not taking enough public stands. 'It's very easy to say, 'I say nothing'. Everything is positive, I am a gentleman and burn the rest, ' Nadal said at the time.

Federer told reporters in Madrid that over the past six months the two have not had a chance to talk, but that they do intend to have a conversation.

'I am happy that all these political issues are a thing of the past,' commented Federer. '[But] there has been no damage to our relationship. All we're trying to do both is to get the best for our sport. That's the key. For me, with respect to Rafa, nothing has changed. I still respect him the same way as before. It was the first time we disagreed. How do you face that? Talking. And we have not had the chance. For me everything is fine.. What he said in the press in Australia did not hurt one bit, honestly. I think it was unfortunate for him because he had to backtrack and apologize. Rafa did not need to do it, to apologize. What happened ... happened. I know he is great for the sport and I’m sure that we will get it to work again.'
 

The ITF is changing the rules for players to qualify for the next Olympic Games - saying players must make themselevs available for a Fed Cup or Davis Cup tie atleast once in each of the four years preceding the Olympics.

Serena Williams is the latest to come out against the rules.

'I think that tennis is one of the few sports in which you play so long and you play all year for your country and then you still have to prove yourself playing for your country again,' Serena said. 'I do enjoy playing Fed Cup, I love the Fed Cup captains. I loved working with Mary Joe Fernández, I loved working with Zina Garrison and had the privilege of working with Billie Jean King. So it is not an issue of whether I am playing or not, it is more an issue of forcing players to play on top of the required weeks, having to play additional weeks. For instance, me having to travel to Ukraine where I couldn't play a tournament like [Stuttgart]. I wanted to play there but I couldn't because of my Fed Cup commitment. I mean, it is an extra commitment for the players and it is nothing that the WTA ... We all really agree that it's not cool and its not really fair. It's always been an issue and it wasn't handled the way it should have been handled.'

Ricardo Sanchez, former coach of Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Jankovic, has come out and lambasted several of the top women's players.

Sanchez is now coaching Russian Nadia Petrova.

'The thing about Venus and Serena is they do not want to play [tennis],' Sanchez told the newspaper El Pais. 'They compete now just to make the London Games. They are more into celebrity and fashion. If Serena [played consistently] she would be the best in the world. The Williams are like sprinters—they cannot stand the long rallies, and if you get four balls back, they can’t play. When you go from there, they die.'

Sanchez also said that Maria Sharapova 'hasn't improved anything in the last five years.' He also said that he likes No. 3 Petra Kvitova's forehand and serve, but that her backhand is weak and that on clay, she has mobility problems because of her size.
 

Ion Tiriac is not happy with just the new blue clay sruface for the Madrid Open.

Tiriac has another innovation in mind - phosphorescent green or orange balls.

'We will improve the ball well,' Tiriac said. 'We think it fluorescent green or fluorescent orange, which grabs more light and works best in contrast with the blue clay.'

 

World no. 2 Rafael Nadal told reporters in Madrid that he asked the ATP to allow him to play with grass-court shoes on the blue clay surface this week but his request was denied since the rules do not allow it.

Several players have complained that the blue clay surface is very slippery and has evoked several strong reactions from the players.

New world no. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska is through to the quarter finals of the WTA MAdrid Open after beating Italian Roberta Vinci 7-6, 6-4 in a hard fought battle.

Radwanska has been in grea form in 2012, beating everyone on tour besides Victoria Azarenka who she has lost to five times in 2012.

Radwanska could meet Azarenak again this week in the semi finals.

Also, unseeded Czech Lucie Hradecka continued her dream run this week, beating Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 7-6 to reach the last eight.

World no. 2 Maria Sharapova advanced to the quarter finals of the WTA Madrid Open when her opponenet Lucie Safarova had to withdraw due to injury.

Safarova had beaten Sharapova in their last encounter.

The Russian, who won the Stuttgart title last week, is through to meet former world no. 1 Serena Williams in the last eight

Serena Williams has reached the quarter finals of the WTA Madrid Open after a three set win over Caroline Wozniacki.

Serena will take on Maria Sharapova next. She leads the Russian 7-2 in career meetings.

Serena won 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Williams has now won ten straight matches and has beaten Sharapova the last 6 times.

Alexandr Dolgopolov upset fourth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(2) to reach the quarter finals of the ATP Madrid Open masters series event on Thursday.

The match lasted two hours and 19 minutes.

Dolgopolov will meet Argentinean 10th seed Juan Martin del Potro or Marin Cilic of Croatia in the last eight
 

World no. 6 Tomas Berdych defeated No. 12 seed Gael Monfils of France 6-1, 6-1 to reach the quarter finals of the ATP Madrid Open.

The match lasted only 50 minutes.

Berdych has won 24 of 30 matches this season..

Berdych will next wither Rafael Nadal or No. 16 seed Fernando Verdasco.

Roger Federer won a nail-biting contest in Madrid on Wednesday, barely scraping past Milos Raonic 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4).

The Swiss had to withstand an onslaught of big serving from the youngster, which included 21 aces, before sealing victory with a solid tie-break performance.

'I had a tough first set and one bad game that cost me the set really,' Federer assessed afterwards. 'He could swing big on my service games and I couldn't do that much on his but I was getting more balls back as the match went on. I played a good tie-breaker overall.'

This was the second time that Raonic pushed Federer to the edge, as he also nearly won their previous meeting. 

Ryan Harrison's campaign in Madrid came to an end on Wednesday, when the American lost 6-2, 7-6 to Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Harrison has never played particularly well on clay, and looked rather out of sorts from the start of the match. Though he put up a good fight in the second set, Tsonga confidently dealt with every challenge Harrison could come up with.

Both players hit four aces and fared well on first serve, but Harrison managed to win only 31% of his points on second serve.

Serena Williams made headlines on Wednesday when she bucked the trend of condemning the blue courts in Madrid.

'I am moving very well on the courts,' she said. 'I'm very happy with my game but I feel I can do even better. I love the courts and I want to keep winning.'

This comes on the back of more complaints from various other players about the slippery courts. 

Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon both said the courts were incredible slipper, while Stanislas Wawrinka said they were 'terrible.'

Rafael Nadal continued to be the most vocal critic of the event, saying:

'It's hard to get a grip, it is very slippery. I asked the ATP if I could play with the shoes I use on grass, but there is a rule that prevents it.'

After Victoria Azarenka struggled in her match yesterday, many pundits wondered if an upset was in the offing when Azarenka met Ivanovic today.

However, it turned out not to be, as Azarenka easily dealt with her Serbian opponent, handing her a 6-4, 6-4 defeat.

It was a good day for the top seeds overall, with Agnieska Radwanksa also advancing with a solid 6-0, 6-1 win over Sara Errani.

However, third seed Petra Kvitova was upset by Lucie Hradeck, who beat the Wimbledon champion 6-4, 6-3.

SECOND ROUND RESULTS:

[1] V Azarenka d. [13] A Ivanovic 6-4 6-4
[4] A Radwanska d. S Errani 6-0, 6-1
[Q] L Hradecka d. [3] P Kvitova 6-4, 6-3
d E Makarova. M Kirilenko 6-4, 6-4
Win R d. Y Wickmayer 6-1, 6-2

RESULTS THIRD ROUND:

[8] Na Li d. [12] Kerber 7-5, 6-4
[5] S Stosur d. P Cetkovska 6-3, 6-2 

Legendary former pro, Manolo Santana, who is now the director of the Masters 1000 event in Madrid, has admitted that the courts are way too slippery.

This follows complaints by several players, as well as in-depth analysis on the issue by several journalists.

'Something is not going the right way, we recognize that there is a problem, of course,' he admitted today. 'The courts are very slippery, but we worked until 4 AM to try to resolve the issue.'

It's unclear whether more work will be done on the courts after play finished on Wednesday,

Serena Williams has blasted the ITF for its rules regarding the Olympic Games. 

According to the rules, players have to participate in at least two Fed Cup ties leading up to the Olympics if they want to play in the latter event. Serena failed to comply with those rules, and is now lashing out at tennis' main governing body for their decisions.

'I like to play in Fed Cup, I love the captains,' she said of the situation. 'But it depends on how you can reconcile this commitment with those of the circuit. For example, I went to play in Ukraine, but I had to skip the tournament in Stuttgart, where I wanted to participate. This is very unfair, because it's always been a problem, but has never been addressed properly.'

Williams is playing in Madrid this week.

Rafael Nadal blasted past Nikolay Davydenko in Madrid on Wednesday, crushing the Russian 6-2, 6-2.

Davydenko has held Nadal's number so far in his career, but has never beaten the Spaniard on clay. Any hopes of doing so was quickly crushed, as Nadal broke early and often.

Nadal will next face another person who has never beaten him on clay, Fernando Verdasco, after he beat Alejandro Falla 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 in a tight contest.

In other action, Alexandr Dolgopolov beat Belgrade champion Andreas Seppi 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, and Richard Gasquet beat Victor Troicki 7-5, 6-3.

David Ferrer easily advanced to the next round of the ATP 1000 event in Madrid on Wednesday, beating Radek Stepanek 7-6, 6-2.

The Spaniard has enjoyed a great start to the season (17-2 on clay), and is enjoying himself on the blue clay.

'I won the first set by a small margin,' Ferrer assessed afterwards. 'In the second one I was able to play more calmly and better and I've left with good feelings in the end.'

In other action, Stanislas Wawrinka trounced Jurgen Melzer 6-1, 6-4.

John Isner had a golden opportunity in Madrid this week. He was in the only quarter of the draw without a Top 4 player in it, and he had a clear path to at least the semi-final.

However, what might been a breakout tournament for the American turned into a nightmare on Wednesday, when he lost 7-6, 7-6 to Marin Cilic.

Isner played well on his own service games, but wasn't able to make the most of his opportunities in the tie-breaks.

'I need to play aggressive,' he said afterwards. 'I felt like I did that today and I just wasn’t making my shots. When I didn't play aggressive I felt like I was just running back and forth. I served fine, served very well actually. I've got to get back to the drawing board and try to play better in Rome.'

Cilic will likely face Juan Martin Del Potro next.

Novak Djokovic survived quite a scare in Madrid on Tuesday, and had to fight hard to beat the unheralded Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.

The Serb easily took the first set, and looked on course for a routine victory, but utterly collapsed in the second to allow his opponent more than just a glimmer of hope. 

The world number one managed to compose himself again in the third, but still hit an unusual amount of unforced errors and never quite managed to put the match out of Traver's reach.

Djokovic is the defending champion, and is in the same half of the draw as Roger Federer.

Estoril champion Juan Martin Del Potro continued his winning ways in Madrid on Tuesday, destroying Florian Mayer 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the next round of the tournament.

Del Potro is coming off his second title of the year, and says he feels very good about his game at the moment.

In other action, Fernando Verdasco continue his decent start to the season, beating the talented but inconsistent Denis Istomin 7-5, 6-2.

Gael Monfils made a rusty start to his clay court campaign in Madrid on Tuesday, but eventually managed to compose himself and beat last week's Munich winner, Philipp Kohlschreiber, 7-5, 6-7, 6-3 in a tight contest.

Monfils has not played since Miami, and never really got much of a rhythm. However, he took advantage of Kohlschreiber's fatigue to advance to the next round.

In other action, last week's Munich finalist, Marin Cilic, continued his winning ways by ousting clay court specialist Albert Montanes 6-3, 6-3.

Feliciano Lopez became an early seeded casualty in Madrid on Tuesday, when the Spaniard fell to Jurgen Melzer 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.

Lopez has been enjoying a good start to the year, but was never able to impose his huge serve on his opponent, and struggled with unforced errors throughout the match.

Gilles Simon also had a rough time of it Monday, but managed to survive a stern test against Italy's Fabio Fognini to scrape together 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 win.

Simon won the title in Bucharest last week, and looked somewhat jaded on court. However, he managed to compose himself and advance to the second round.

With just about everyone having an opinion about the blue clay at Madrid this year, Novak Djokovic was oddly quiet about the subject.

When pressed, he simply said that he wants to focus on what is in his control.

'It's the first time in history that this event is played on blue clay. I will just try to prepare myself to the best of my ability,' he said of the situation.

He did, however, say that he believes players should have been consulted.

'Certainly it would have been better to seek the approval of the players,' he added

Novak Djokovic missed a press conference yesterday due to a minor health scare, but he was back in action again today and was quick to reassure fans that he is fit and ready to defend his title.

'I feel good, I am 100%,' he said. 'I got a little more to rest, and now I am ready. I am happy to be in Madrid , and I want to do well here and a in Rome.'

The last tournament Djokovic played was in Monte Carlo, where he lost to Nadal in the final. He took last week off to grieve for his grandfather, who passed away during Monte Carlo.

While most players have been diplomatic about the blue clay being used in Madrid this week, Nicolas Almagro came out strongly against the surface yesterday.

'I've always been very clear,' he said of the matter. 'The role that a Masters 1000 event has is to prepare us for Roland Garros...you cannot accept what they did. On these courts you slide a lot. It's a different surface that is not used in any other tournament. It's very close to Paris and that's why we would have preferred red clay. The courts are in excellent condition, but you slip a lot - I hope that there are no accidents.' 

Almagro won his match today.

Maria Sharapova enjoyed yet another easy match in Madrid on Tuesday, easily beating Klara Zakopalova 6-4, 6-3. 

While the Russian was not quite as clinical as she was in her first match, she still managed to dominate on the big points, never allowing her opponent to get a foothold in the match.

World number one Victoria Azarenka also won her match, but in less convincing style. Her 6-3, 7-6 win over Andrea Hlavackova saw a host of unforced errors and double faults, and she didn't quite seem herself for much of the match.

Canadian youngster Milos Raonic raced into the second round in Madrid on Monday, beating fan favorite David Nalbandian 6-4, 6-4 to book a spot against Roger Federer in the next round.

Nalbandian looked out of sorts from the start, and was broken in his opening service game. Raonic never looked in trouble on his own delivery, and easily served out the first set.

The second was a bit tighter, with the decisive break coming at 4-4. After that, Raonic had no problems closing out the match.

In other action, Radek Stepanek continued the struggles of promising youngster Bernard Tomic, beating the Australian 6-2, 7-5. Tomic had his chance to break back when Stepanek served for the match, but was unable to press his case and eventually faltered. After enjoying a bright start to the year, Tomic has struggled to win back-to-back matches.

RESULTS:

[9] G Simon d. F Fognini 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-3
[12] G Monfils d. P Kohlschreiber 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-3
[15] F Verdasco d. D Istomin 7-5, 6-2
[16] Dolgopolov d. P Andujar 7-6 (5), 6-4
M Raonic d. D Nalbandian 6-4, 6-4
d A Seppi. M Llodra 7-5, 6-4
[Q] F Delbonis d. A Ramos 6-3, 6-2
S Wawrinka d. O Rochus 6-4, 7-6 (4)
[Q] I Andreev d. J Ferrero 6-4, 7-6
M Cilic d. [WC] A Montanes 6-3, 6-3
R Stepanek d. B Tomic 6-2, 7-5
[WC] G Garcia-Lopez d. M Baghdatis 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 

Rafael Nadal was handed a relatively tame draw this week in Madrid, as the Spaniard will not have to play a Top 4 opponent until the final.

While his half of the draw includes dangerous characters like David Ferrer, John Isner and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, nobody in his section has beaten him on clay in more than half a decade.

Despite this, the Spaniard is taking nothing for granted, and says every tournament at this level is always tough.

“It is impossible to have an easy draw in a Masters 1000,” he commented when asked about the draw. “The best players of the world are here, there's no possibility of having an easy draw. If you play well you will have your options but if you don't, you won't. It's quite easy to be out of the tournament early so the options are just taking it day by day.”

He will face Nikolay Davydenko in the second round. The Russian has struggled this year, winning only 9 matches.

Ryan Harrison scored a tough win in Madrid on Monday, beating Sergiy Stakhovsky 7-6, 7-6.

Harrison dominated on server, hitting seven aces and winning 80% of his first serves. The American hasn't traditionally played well on clay, but seemed at home on the faster blue clay and the high altitude of Madrid.

Mikhail Youzhny got his Madrid campaign under way on Monday with a solid 6-3, 6-2 win over Javier Marti. The Russian, who has been playing well lately, was rarely troubled on serve, and broke his opponent easily and often.

Serbia’s Viktor Troicki also won his first match advanced, ousting Donald Young 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.

Young has been struggling this season, rarely winning back-to-back matches.

Maria Sharapova breezed through her first match in Madrid on Monday, beating Irina-Camelia Begu 6-0, 6-3.

The Russian is looking to build momentum with the French Open on the horizon, and got off to a good start with such a dominant performance in her Madrid opener.

The new blue clay didn't seem to bother Sharapova, who looked totally at home on the strange new surface.

'The blue clay is obviously different, visually,' she said after the win. 'When you play on red clay for so many years you get used to it, but as tennis players we're always adjusting to different things and different conditions, so it is what it is. There are some parts of the courts that maybe have a little more clay than other parts, but it's just the first year, so I'm sure they're still working kinks out.'

Victoria Azarenka continued her incredible start to the 2012 season by beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6, 6-4. 

Azarenka had never beaten Kuznetsova on clay, and was delighted with the win.

'I was really looking forward to the start of this tournament,' she assessed afterwards. 'Anywhere I go my goal is to win the tournament, and it's the same goal here. I did pretty well here last year and hopefully this year I'll do a little bit better.'

In other action,  Agnieszka Radwanska easily beat Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino 6-3, 6-1.

Action got underway at the ATP 1000 event in Madrid on Sunday, with two main draw matches being played. 

Nikolay Davydenko edged the big-serving Ivo Karlovic 7-6, 6-3, setting up a clash against Rafael Nadal. The Russian has never beaten Nadal on clay.

“On the clay I have never beaten him,' he said, looking ahead to the match. 'He is the best player on clay for sure. That's where he starts to fight and play different tennis. He runs different and it's very tough to beat him on clay.”

In the other match of the day, Kevin Anderson beat Alexander Bogomolov 6-3, 6-2.

1 1 Azarenka, Victoria 31/07/89 BLR 8600 19
2 2 Sharapova, Maria 19/04/87 RUS 8260 16
3 4 Radwanska, Agnieszka 06/03/89 POL 6750 21
4 3 Kvitova, Petra 08/03/90 CZE 6295 18
5 5 Stosur, Samantha 30/03/84 AUS 5805 21
6 6 Wozniacki, Caroline 11/07/90 DEN 5310 21
7 7 Bartoli, Marion 02/10/84 FRA 5065 26
8 8 Li, Na 26/02/82 CHN 4550 17
9 9 Williams, Serena 26/09/81 USA 4300 14
10 10 Zvonareva, Vera 07/09/84 RUS 3755 21
11 11 Schiavone, Francesca 23/06/80 ITA 3300 22
12 12 Petkovic, Andrea 09/09/87 GER 3271 16
13 13 Lisicki, Sabine 22/09/89 GER 3201 19
14 14 Kerber, Angelique 18/01/88 GER 3125 21
15 15 Ivanovic, Ana 06/11/87 SRB 2850 22
16 16 Cibulkova, Dominika 06/05/89 SVK 2495 22
17 18 Hantuchova, Daniela 23/04/83 SVK 2490 24
18 17 Jankovic, Jelena 28/02/85 SRB 2480 23
19 19 Kirilenko, Maria 25/01/87 RUS 2465 23
20 23 Vinci, Roberta 18/02/83 ITA 2220 26
21 24 Pennetta, Flavia 25/02/82 ITA 2180 23
22 25 Peng, Shuai 08/01/86 CHN 2115 22
23 21 Safarova, Lucie 04/02/87 CZE 2075 23
24 27 Errani, Sara 29/04/87 ITA 2040 24
25 22 Pavlyuchenkova, Anastasia 03/07/91 RUS 1997 22
26 34 Kanepi, Kaia 10/06/85 EST 1995 18
27 20 Goerges, Julia 02/11/88 GER 1945 25
28 26 Kuznetsova, Svetlana 27/06/85 RUS 1927 18
29 28 Cetkovska, Petra 08/02/85 CZE 1830 22
30 32 Medina Garrigues, Anabel 31/07/82 ESP 1795 25
31 35 Petrova, Nadia 08/06/82 RUS 1771 19
32 29 Wickmayer, Yanina 20/10/89 BEL 1770 19
33 33 Zheng, Jie 05/07/83 CHN 1745 24
34 30 Niculescu, Monica 25/09/87 ROU 1740 22
35 31 Barthel, Mona 11/07/90 GER 1732 23
36 36 McHale, Christina 11/05/92 USA 1621 22
37 37 Hercog, Polona 20/01/91 SLO 1565 27
38 38 Pervak, Ksenia 27/05/91 KAZ 1440 23
39 45 Erakovic, Marina 06/03/88 NZL 1355 22
40 41 Clijsters, Kim 08/06/83 BEL 1311 12
41 39 Makarova, Ekaterina 07/06/88 RUS 1308 20
42 49 Voskoboeva, Galina 18/12/84 KAZ 1284 20
43 43 Pironkova, Tsvetana 13/09/87 BUL 1278 20
44 46 Zakopalova, Klara 24/02/82 CZE 1271 27
45 58 Suarez Navarro, Carla 03/09/88 ESP 1263 22
46 40 Cirstea, Sorana 07/04/90 ROU 1231 28
47 47 Halep, Simona 27/09/91 ROU 1230 25
48 48 Martinez Sanchez, Maria Jose 12/08/82 ESP 1225 17
49 51 Martic, Petra 19/01/91 CRO 1216 23
50 44 Benesova, Iveta 01/02/83 CZE 1215 24
51 42 Scheepers, Chanelle 13/03/84 RSA 1201 24
52 50 Paszek, Tamira 06/12/90 AUT 1173 22
53 54 Peer, Shahar 01/05/87 ISR 1165 23
54 57 Wozniak, Aleksandra 07/09/87 CAN 1128 21
55 56 Begu, Irina-Camelia 26/08/90 ROU 1125 19
56 60 Zahlavova Strycova, Barbora 28/03/86 CZE 1080 30
57 52 King, Vania 03/02/89 USA 1074 19
58 53 Arvidsson, Sofia 16/02/84 SWE 1070 24
59 55 Gajdosova, Jarmila 26/04/87 AUS 1017 23
60 66 Soler-Espinosa, Silvia 19/11/87 ESP 989 19
61 61 Oprandi, Romina 29/03/86 SUI 978 20
62 62 Bondarenko, Kateryna 08/08/86 UKR 977 22
63 59 Parmentier, Pauline 31/01/86 FRA 940 27
64 64 Babos, Timea 10/05/93 HUN 936 26
65 65 Daniilidou, Eleni 19/09/82 GRE 930 29
66 68 Hsieh, Su-Wei 04/01/86 TPE 926 15
67 63 Baltacha, Elena 14/08/83 GBR 908 23
68 78 Vesnina, Elena 01/08/86 RUS 904 22
69 81 Tatishvili, Anna 03/02/90 GEO 882 30
70 67 Krajicek, Michaella 09/01/89 NED 879 19
71 69 Arn, Greta 13/04/79 HUN 871 21
72 70 Williams, Venus 17/06/80 USA 870 10
73 72 Dushevina, Vera 06/10/86 RUS 850 20
74 79 Date-Krumm, Kimiko 28/09/70 JPN 845 28
75 71 Govortsova, Olga 23/08/88 BLR 829 28
76 74 Cadantu, Alexandra 03/05/90 ROU 821 31
77 73 Lepchenko, Varvara 21/05/86 USA 819 25
78 75 Keothavong, Anne 16/09/83 GBR 806 31
79 76 Panova, Alexandra 02/03/89 RUS 794 27
80 77 Morita, Ayumi 11/03/90 JPN 793 27
81 80 Larsson, Johanna 17/08/88 SWE 776 22
82 83 Stephens, Sloane 20/03/93 USA 769 20
83 82 Foretz Gacon, Stephanie 03/05/81 FRA 765 26
84 85 Minella, Mandy 22/11/85 LUX 743 33
85 87 Gallovits-Hall, Edina 10/12/84 ROU 736 19
86 88 Cornet, Alize 22/01/90 FRA 730 29
87 91 Rus, Arantxa 13/12/90 NED 726 26
88 90 Johansson, Mathilde 28/04/85 FRA 725 28
89 86 Hampton, Jamie 08/01/90 USA 723 19
90 89 Dulgheru, Alexandra 30/05/89 ROU 722 20
91 92 Bertens, Kiki 10/12/91 NED 716 26
92 93 Rodionova, Anastasia 12/05/82 AUS 705 30
93 96 Radwanska, Urszula 07/12/90 POL 701 27
94 95 Yakimova, Anastasiya 01/11/86 BLR 700 31
95 100 Pous-Tio, Laura 01/10/84 ESP 697 20
96 94 Rybarikova, Magdalena 04/10/88 SVK 694 21
97 104 Brianti, Alberta 05/04/80 ITA 690 28
98 84 Tanasugarn, Tamarine 24/05/77 THA 685 19
99 101 Mayr-Achleitner, Patricia 08/11/86 AUT 670 27
100 97 Falconi, Irina 04/05/90 USA 661 30

1 Djokovic, Novak (SRB) 12,020 0 18
2 Nadal, Rafael (ESP) 9,615 0 19
3 Federer, Roger (SUI) 8,520 0 18
4 Murray, Andy (GBR) 7,860 0 19
5 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried (FRA) 4,885 0 24
6 Ferrer, David (ESP) 4,280 0 22
7 Berdych, Tomas (CZE) 3,990 0 22
8 Tipsarevic, Janko (SRB) 2,820 0 27
9 Fish, Mardy (USA) 2,750 0 22
10 Isner, John (USA) 2,725 0 24
11 Del Potro, Juan Martin (ARG) 2,655 1 21
12 Simon, Gilles (FRA) 2,500 -1 26
13 Almagro, Nicolas (ESP) 2,255 0 28
14 Monfils, Gael (FRA) 2,120 0 21
15 Monaco, Juan (ARG) 1,970 0 23
16 Lopez, Feliciano (ESP) 1,840 0 27
17 Nishikori, Kei (JPN) 1,760 0 22
18 Gasquet, Richard (FRA) 1,735 0 20
19 Verdasco, Fernando (ESP) 1,675 0 24
20 Dolgopolov, Alexandr (UKR) 1,575 0 28
21 Wawrinka, Stanislas (SUI) 1,505 1 23
22 Cilic, Marin (CRO) 1,505 2 22
23 Raonic, Milos (CAN) 1,460 0 21
24 Mayer, Florian (GER) 1,435 -3 25
25 Kohlschreiber, Philipp (GER) 1,405 9 27
26 Stepanek, Radek (CZE) 1,340 -1 25
27 Roddick, Andy (USA) 1,280 1 20
28 Benneteau, Julien (FRA) 1,250 -2 26
29 Granollers, Marcel (ESP) 1,250 -2 24
30 Troicki, Viktor (SRB) 1,220 -1 25
31 Tomic, Bernard (AUS) 1,210 2 21
32 Seppi, Andreas (ITA) 1,185 14 33
33 Melzer, Jurgen (AUT) 1,182 2 24
34 Youzhny, Mikhail (RUS) 1,175 2 26
35 Anderson, Kevin (RSA) 1,170 -4 27
36 Chela, Juan Ignacio (ARG) 1,165 -6 25
37 Andujar, Pablo (ESP) 1,160 1 31
38 Berlocq, Carlos (ARG) 1,076 -1 31
39 Ramos, Albert (ESP) 1,063 3 32
40 Haase, Robin (NED) 1,026 3 26
41 Baghdatis, Marcos (CYP) 1,025 -2 27
42 Bogomolov Jr., Alex (RUS) 996 -1 32
43 Nalbandian, David (ARG) 995 6 21
44 Nieminen, Jarkko (FIN) 993 0 29
45 Istomin, Denis (UZB) 992 0 31
46 Soderling, Robin (SWE) 985 -14 15
47 Fognini, Fabio (ITA) 930 1 28
48 Kubot, Lukasz (POL) 901 2 25
49 Ferrero, Juan Carlos (ESP) 870 3 21
50 Young, Donald (USA) 846 1 24
51 Kukushkin, Mikhail (KAZ) 842 3 26
52 Chardy, Jeremy (FRA) 834 8 24
53 Giraldo, Santiago (COL) 828 0 26
54 Davydenko, Nikolay (RUS) 825 2 25
55 Muller, Gilles (LUX) 804 7 26
56 Falla, Alejandro (COL) 789 -1 27
57 Llodra, Michael (FRA) 785 -10 22
58 Lu, Yen-Hsun (TPE) 785 -1 29
59 Soeda, Go (JPN) 785 0 29
60 Karlovic, Ivo (CRO) 760 1 20
61 Harrison, Ryan (USA) 757 -3 24
62 Sela, Dudi (ISR) 752 1 27
63 Darcis, Steve (BEL) 735 4 28
64 Montanes, Albert (ESP) 725 5 26
65 Lacko, Lukas (SVK) 723 0 25
66 Rochus, Olivier (BEL) 715 0 29
67 Paire, Benoit (FRA) 685 29 34
68 Mayer, Leonardo (ARG) 681 3 24
69 Bellucci, Thomaz (BRA) 680 -29 23
70 Ebden, Matthew (AUS) 677 2 25
71 Volandri, Filippo (ITA) 675 2 35
72 Malisse, Xavier (BEL) 660 -8 28
73 Ramirez Hidalgo, Ruben (ESP) 657 24 28
74 Dodig, Ivan (CRO) 655 0 28
75 Starace, Potito (ITA) 648 2 30
76 Querrey, Sam (USA) 645 0 23
77 Andreev, Igor (RUS) 637 1 28
78 Lorenzi, Paolo (ITA) 637 4 31
79 Cipolla, Flavio (ITA) 636 -9 30
80 Gulbis, Ernests (LAT) 635 4 24
81 Ito, Tatsuma (JPN) 633 -1 23
82 Stakhovsky, Sergiy (UKR) 630 -14 29
83 Kamke, Tobias (GER) 628 -2 31
84 Roger-Vasselin, Edouard (FRA) 622 -1 28
85 Phau, Bjorn (GER) 620 2 24
86 Jaziri, Malek (TUN) 613 -1 27
87 Machado, Rui (POR) 612 3 31
88 Tursunov, Dmitry (RUS) 608 -2 23
89 Kunitsyn, Igor (RUS) 606 -1 33
90 Mahut, Nicolas (FRA) 604 -1 27
91 Stebe, Cedrik-Marcel (GER) 600 0 27
92 Petzschner, Philipp (GER) 582 1 26
93 Rosol, Lukas (CZE) 578 -14 31
94 Garcia-Lopez, Guillermo (ESP) 576 -19 28
95 Blake, James (USA) 572 -3 19
96 Dimitrov, Grigor (BUL) 571 -2 24
97 Ungur, Adrian (ROU) 568 -2 31
98 Pospisil, Vasek (CAN) 545 1 29
99 Bachinger, Matthias (GER) 543 4 30
100 Klizan, Martin (SVK) 542 1 21

Philipp Kohlschreiber won his fourth title on the ATP World Tour on Sunday, when he beat Marin Cilic 7-6, 6-3 to triumph at his home event.

The crowd was treated to some magnificent tennis, with both men playing at their best at times. Cilic, however, who was looking to break a long title drought, was unable to overcome the crowd and the local favorite.

'I think we had a tight and great first set. I was a little more lucky in the important moments,' Kohlschreiber said after the victory. 'Maybe that was the key to the whole match. I had a good start in the second set, making a break and I held it until the end.'

Both men will now head to Madrid to play in the ATP 1000 event there.

Andreas Seppi won the ATP 250 in Belgrade on Sunday, after he easily dealt with first-time finalist Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-2.

Seppi was the favorite to win the event after Novak Djokovic withdrew, and played solid tennis throughout the week. 

'I think my play was really solid this week,' Seppi said after the win. 'Maybe yesterday, the first set was under my expectations, but the rest was very good, so I can be very happy about this victory.'

It is Seppi's second title, but his first on clay. 

Despite losing, Paire said he was happy with his best week so far on Tour.

'It was a great week for me but of course I'm disappointed that I couldn't do better in my first final,' he said. 

Juan Martin Del Potro cruised to victory in the final of the ATP 250 event in Estoril on Sunday, beating Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-2.

The Argentine was the defending champion, and faced little competition throughout the week as he breezed to the title match and the trophy.

'I felt I played well really well today,' Del Potro said after the win. 'I felt it was my best match of the week, so I am very glad for that to get another title in Estoril. I am getting closer and closer to my best form. I have worked really hard at home and now I have another important tournament next week to improve further.'

It is Del Potro's second title of the year, after he also won in Marseilles earlier this year.

Rafael Nadal received a rather favorable draw in Madrid, and with Andy Murray having withdrawn, the Spaniard will not have to have a Top 4 player until the final.

Nadal will likely face the struggling Nikolay Davydenko in his first match, before playing his friend and countryman Fernando Verdasco. He'll then probably play Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals, before facing John Isner in the semis and either Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic in the final.

Nadal lost in the final here last year, when the tournament was still played on red clay and at a later stage of the season.