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Rafael Nadal led the men’s elite into the third round of the ATP-WTA Madrid Masters on Wednesday as the major names swept to solid victories and Roger Federer was made to struggle.
Nadal led the way for rivals Novak Djokovic, Federer, Andy Murray and Robin Soderling on a full day’s ichristianlouboutinboot programme at the Caja Magica.
While the rest won without problems, Federer had to come through a huge battle to wear down Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (15/13), 6-7 (1/7), 7-6 (9/7), taking nearly three hours and firing 25 aces outside a Grand Slam event for the first time in his career.
“I’m relieved to get through,” said the Swiss, who has only hours to recover for a meeting with Xavier Malisse. “It was not easy at all.
“But it all came together for me in the end nicely. It didn’t feel like a clay match, it was bang-bang. I was playing OK. It got more and more difficult to return his serve.
“It was a tough match. I guess it will help me for the French Open, I did spend three hours on clay.”
Federer took 70 minutes and nine set points to win the opening set only to see his long-time rival Lopez claw back the second.
The third was a lottery, with Federer finally prevailing on a second match point as Lopez returned long.
The top-seeded holder Nadal won a 35th consecutive clay match, dispatching Marcos Baghdatis 6-1, 6-3 in just under 90 minutes.
Nadal has not lost on clay since 2009, in the French Open fourth round to Soderling.
“I played well, it was a solid match with not many mistakes,” said the Spanish world number one. “It was very positive to beat an opponent against whom I last lost (in August 2010 in Cincinnati).”
Nadal faces a high-voltage third-round showdown with Argentine Juan Del Potro, who thrashed Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-0 after complaining of hip pain a day earlier.
“I will need all of the crowd support when I play Del Potro,” said Nadal. “The winner of this match will get confidence for the rest of the tournament.”
Djokovic kept his 2011 winning streak alive as he claimed his 28th straight victory of 2011 with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of South African Kevin Anderson.
He will next face Spain’s Guillermo Garcia Lopez as he tries to equal the 29-0 season start of Ivan Lendl, achieved in 1986.
Djokovic’s victory tally now stands at 30 consecutive matches, as his two Davis Cup finals wins are also counted.
“Where there is altitude it’s tough to control the ball, there are more mistakes,” said Djokovic, who has won five titles this season.
“It’s crucial to stay really focused for each point. You don’t get that much time on this court and serving well is an advantage.
“It’s a fact that I’m playing the best soccer jersey tennis of my life. I’m definitely happy about it.”
Two-time Roland Garros finalist Soderling followed number four seed Murray into the third round.
Fifth seed Soderling beat Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo 6-3, 6-3; Murray struggled but got past Gilles Simon of France 6-4, 3-6, 6-0, taking almost two and a half hours.
In the women’s event, China’s Li Na defeated Czech Iveta Benesova 6-1, 6-4 to set up a match with Italian Roberta Vinci, who beat Russian Alisa Kleybanova 6-2, 6-2.
Li secured her win in 58 minutes with five aces and three breaks of serve.
In the third round, Czech 16th seed Petra Kvitova upset second-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-4 to earn the first of the quarter-final spots.

But by day’s end, that hit would seem like a mere love tap. And already, the Miami-Boston series is boiling over with emotion.
Dwyane Wade scored 38 points on 14-of-21 shooting, James Jones set a Miami postseason record with 25 points off the bench, and the Heat beat the Celtics 99-90 on Sunday to open their Eastern Conference semifinal series in a game marked by five technical fouls, one flagrant foul and the ejection of Boston’s Paul Pierce with 7 minutes remaining.
“We’re going to have to fight for every inch, every game we get,” Wade said. “Right now, we won Game 1. We’re supposed to. We’ll go back and focus on winning Game 2. We’re at home, we have home-court advantage. They’re just trying to come in and steal one like they’ve done in the past. So it’s our job to come out with the same mentality in the next one.”
Game 2 is Tuesday.
Within minutes of Sunday’s game ending, workers began turning AmericanAirlines Arena from a basketball facility into one that’ll get used Monday night for a professional wrestling card.
Seemed fitting after Sunday’s show.
There was plenty of hitting and jawing, even a spectacular leap from by one of the stars into the seats — yes, Wade dove headfirst into a sea of Heat fans behind the baseline in the final minutes, an attempt to save a ridiculously overthrown pass by Mario Chalmers.
Pierce wasn’t around to see that play.
He got a pair of technicals 59 seconds apart for taking too much exception to fouls by Jones and Wade, and pulled his jersey over his head on the way to the Boston locker room.
“We can’t worry about other players and if they want to throw dirty shots or anything like that,” Celtics forward Glen Davis said. “Yeah, we want to protect ourselves, stand up for ourselves, but at the same time we have to keep our composure and play the way we need to play.”
That didn’t happen with Pierce.
Jones fouled him hard — his arm ended up around Pierce’s neck — with 7:59 left, and Pierce got a technical for making contact with him after play had been stopped, crew chief Dan Crawford said. On Pierce’s second technical, he set a screen for Wade — who collided with him at nearly a full sprint.
Wade stepped toward Pierce, who Crawford said was guilty of a verbal taunt. That merited the second technical and ejection.
“James Jones was a clear flagrant,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “He went right for the head and grabbed. And I thought Dwyane Wade’s was an absolute flagrant. He had no intentions … he was just trying to run through Paul. I told Paul, ‘You still don’t react.’”
Ray Allen scored 25 points for Boston, which lost for the first time in five games this postseason. Pierce scored 19 and Delonte West finished with 10 for the Celtics, while Rondo and Kevin Garnett were held to a combined 14 points on 6-for-19 shooting.
“There’s so many things we need to do to get better,” Allen said. “I think everybody in that locker room knows that, just from a small conversation we just had.”
Pierce did not speak with reporters postgame.
After he departed, the Celtics tried to rally. Allen made a 3-pointer to get within 90-82, but Chris Bosh and Wade had Miami’s next two baskets, restoring a double-digit lead that wasn’t again seriously threatened.

FIFA Women’s World Championship hosts and defending world champions Germany started with a 2-1 victory over Canada into the tournament thanks to a powerful first half in front of approximately 74,000 spectators on Sunday at Berlin Olympia stadium.
The German squad smoothed the way for the 2-1 victory over Canada with only ten minutes into the match when midfielder Kerstin Garefrekes utilized a perfect cross from left wing to nod home the opener into open goal.
The host retracted with the ichristianlouboutinboot lead behind but Canada was unable to exploit that phase of weakness. Subsequently, Germany doubled the lead three minutes before interval to stun Canada through midfielder Cecila Okoyino da Mbadi, who exploited a pass into path to slot home into left bottom after a 30-meter run.
After the break Germany started with offensively minded soccer to press Canada into their own half. Germany frantically pressed for another goal but they were short of accuracy as they missed a couple of golden chances.
Nine minutes before the end of the match Canada cut the deficit when striker Christine Sinclair scored with a magnificent free kick from 20 meters into top right. The Germans remained shocked but Canada failed to force a draw before the final whistle.
Germany lead group A with one victory and two goals, followed by France with one victory and one goal, Canada with one defeat and one goal, Nigeria with one defeat and no goal.
Group B will start into the tournament with the following fixtures on Monday with Japan vs. New Zealand and Mexico vs. England.
In that time it was not allowed to make changes, so only 11 players were summoned. One of the players saw forward Huracan Jose Laguna in the audience, so Laguna was invited to play and replaced the injured player.
Laguna was the one who scored the goal for the 1-1 tie with Brazil.
During the same match, the referee was Chilean Carlos Fanta, who was also the coach of the Argentine team.
In that tourament, during the inauguration match between Uruguay and Chile, Uruguay won 4-0. So, at the end of the match, the directors of the Chilean team denounced that Uruguay had included “two professional Africans” into its team.
The Africans, Chile were referring to were Isabelino Gardin and Juan Delgado, who were African descendants.
Later on May 17,1919 in a soccer jersey match between Uruguay and Chile, Uruguayan goalkeeper Roberto Chery was injured when crashing against one of the pole, but he continued playing.
The match ended 2-0, wining Uruguay. At the end of the match Chery was taken to a hospital in Brazil, where he died two weeks later.

Ivan Basso won the white jersey for best young rider in the 2002 Tour de France, setting up what looked like a glittering career for the Italian. It’s been a long nine years. Far from a favorite this year, the 33-year-old Basso was fifth overall after two weeks, just over a minute behind Andy Schleck and 44 seconds ahead of defending champion Alberto Contador. Basso and Contador are the only riders among the group vying for the title who’ve won a major tour before — the Italian is a two-time winner of the Giro d’Italia — and he knows that experience could be invaluable. “In the final week, the legs are important but the head makes the difference,” Basso said. “It’s been one of the hardest tours, for the weather, for the route, for the new sprint rules,” he added, pointing out that the lack of a dominant team of the sort that existed when Lance Armstrong was racing has meant no one is really controlling the race. Basso has made the Tour podium twice, in 2004 and 2005. But he was excluded from the 2006 race because of his involvement in the Operation Puerto doping affair, and was given a two-year doping ban. He returned to cycling following the ban, but chose not to race the Tour in 2009. In 2010, following his victory in the Giro d’Italia, he failed to shine, finishing 32nd overall. Very few riders have managed to do well in both the Giro and the Tour in the same year, and maybe the fact that he chose not to defend his Giro title this year should have been the clue that it was far too soon to leave him off the list of Tour favorites. Nonetheless, there was little talk of Basso’s chances when he began the race. But his performances in the mountains have brought him into the spotlight. Basso credits much of the success to his Liquigas team. “We’ve only had one black day and that was the team time-trial,” he said. “Apart from that, the team has done everything to allow me to dream of the yellow jersey.” Basso isn’t underestimating his opponents. He sees Cadel Evans as possibly the favorite — the Australian is ahead of his major rivals in the standings, so could win without doing anything dramatic. Brothers Andy and Frank Schleck have the substantial advantage of being able to rely on each other — though Basso warns that there can only be one victor, so at some point there will have to be a shakeout. Contador, nursing an injury and facing that problem of trying to win the Giro and the Tour back-to-back, has struggled. But he’s still up there, and Basso says you ignore him at your peril. “He is the only one at this moment that can change this race with one attack,” Basso said. Basso also has good words for current leader Thomas Voeckler, whom many — including the Frenchman himself — have ruled out as the final victor. “He’s not only had a great race, he’s had a great season,” Basso said. “He has an advantage that isn’t easy to overcome. The yellow jersey is really strong motivation.” The doping issues have haunted Basso for a long time, and he’s still living with the consequences — Italy’s cycling federation recently announced that any rider banned for doping for more than six months cannot wear the national team jersey or compete in a national team championship, excluding him from all future Olympics and the world championships. But Basso is being positive and looking at the opportunities ahead of him. “It was a page of my life. And now everything has changed,” he said

Jessica Hardy knows only too well what it’s like for an athlete to have a doping investigation hanging over them ahead of a major championship, so she thinks it’s good for Olympic and world champion Cesar Cielo to have his case heard in Shanghai next week.
Cielo’s case will be heard next ichristianlouboutinboot Wednesday, days before the swimming portion opens at the aquatic world championships, which begin this weekend.
Swimming’s governing body FINA challenged a Brazilian federation decision to give Cielo only a warning after he tested positive in May for furosemide, a banned diuretic, and blamed it on a contaminated batch of a food supplement he regularly used.
Hardy withdrew from the U.S. team ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was later ordered to serve a one-year ban despite the Court of Arbitration for Sport accepting that she was not at fault for a contaminated dietary supplement.
“He deserves a fair trial,” Hardy said Friday at the U.S. swim team’s pre-championship training base on Australia’s Gold Coast. “It’s a fair thing that they have an expedited hearing for him so that he can at least make his case before the world championships.”
Several high-profile athletes have claimed that positive doping cases have been the result of food contamination, including Tour de France champion Alberto Contador. But Hardy said despite the seemingly similar circumstances, each case has to be treated individually.
“There are a lot of differences in our cases,” she said when asked to compare her case with Cielo’s. “The problem that surrounded him initially was that the Brazilian federation didn’t take the appropriate sanctions. At least CAS and FINA have stepped in and I’m grateful that that’s happening.”
With another shot at the Olympics on the radar, Hardy is meticulous with all parts of her preparation.
“From what I went through, I’ve had my eyes opened extremely and learned a lot of stuff that I didn’t know,” she said. “Now I’m aware of a lot more that people aren’t doing. I’m focussing now on what risks there still are. A lot of teams can improve on that.”
Hardy, a multiple world champion and world record-holder in 50- and 100-meter breaststroke, will compete in the 50 breastroke and 50 freestyle and relays at the world championships, which she is using as a springboard for a shot at the 2012 London Olympics.
“I’ve been shooting to make an Olympic team for a long soccer jersey time. I feel like a veteran but I’ve still never been to the Olympics before, which is a humbling thing and a motivating thing,” she said. “I’m looking forward to having this as the last stepping stone before I give next year a good try.”
Cielo, the world and Olympic 50 freestyle champion, could miss the next Olympics if he’s banned for more than six months when CAS hands down its decision by Friday next week.

New Zealand sealed a dramatic 2-2 draw with Mexico as the Foootball Ferns fought back to steal a point with literally the last kick of the game in their final Group B match on Tuesday.
Mexico took a 2-0 lead after 30 minutes thanks to Stephany Mayor and Maribel Dominguez, but the Kiwis hit back as captain Rebecca Smith scored with time almost up before teenager Hannah Wilkinson equalised in the 94th minute.
Smith, who plays her football in Germany for VfL Wolfsburg, looked to have scored no more than a ichristianlouboutinboot consolation goal as she was left unmarked in the area and headed home in the 90th minute.
But the Kiwis were rewarded for their never-say-die attitude when second-half replacement Wilkinson controlled the ball from a long cross and held off the attentions of two defenders to score, just seconds before the final whistle.
Despite the point, both teams are going home as England progressed as group winners after their 2-0 win over Japan, who had already qualified, in Augsburg.
There was no clue of the drama that was to follow as Mexico started the match by flooring the Kiwis in front of a crowd of just over 20,000.
Having drawn their opening game with England, they then suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Japan in Leverkusen last Friday and Mexico came out determined to make amends.
The central Americans took the lead after just two minutes when 29-year-old forward Mayor netted her sixth goal on her 19th appearance.
Mexico doubled their lead when captain Dominguez netted a second after 29 minutes — her 69th goal for her country — but New Zealand never gave up.
The Oceania champions showed plenty of spirit and midfielder Rosie White picked up an early yellow card for a loose first-half tackle.
Left-back Anna Green worked tirelessly and came close with a couple of chances, particularly in the dying stages, but it was Smith who finally netted in the 90th minute to put her side back in the game.
That’s definitely been true — and it goes beyond Sundhage’s performing skills and foreign passport. She has built players up with constructive criticism rather than breaking them down by yelling and screaming. She has modified the style of play that had brought the U.S. success for so many years so the Americans can stay at the top of the game as the rest of the world improves.
Most importantly, she found a way to heal the bitterness and hard feelings that threatened to destroy the Americans following their ugly exit from the 2007 World Cup just a few months before she took over.
“She was everything we needed,” said goalkeeper Hope Solo, whose criticism of then-coach Greg Ryan was the flashpoint for the World Cup turmoil. “At that point in time, it almost didn’t matter who came in soccer jersey because we needed somebody to lead us and we needed somebody to believe in. Our team was broken, we were down and out, there were a lot of fires to be put out, and she happened to be perfect person because she could lead us.”
With a spot in the quarterfinals already secured, the U.S. women wrap up group play Wednesday against Sundhage’s native Sweden at the Women’s World Cup.
It was then left to 19-year-old Wilkinson, who showed maturity beyond her tender years to coolly slot home her half-chance as she found herself in front of goal

Mark Cavendish delivered a textbook sprint in the finale of the 193-kms 15th stage of the Tour de France on Sunday to snatch his fourth victory in this year’s event.
Perfectly set up by his lead-out man Mark Renshaw, the Briton surged with 200 meters to go before the finish line in Montpellier to easily beat American Tyler Farrar and Italian Alessandro Petacchi.
The win, his 19th overall in the Tour de France, strengthened the Manxman’s top spot in the race for the green jersey.
In the points classification, Cavendish now leads Spaniard Jose Joaquin Rojas by 37 points and Belgian champion Philippe Gilbert by 71 points before the second rest day in this Tour.
The overall leader’s yellow jersey remained on the back of Frenchman Thomas Voeckler, who finished within the main ichristianlouboutinboot pack.
Voeckler leads Luxembourg’s Frank Schleck by one minute and 49 seconds with Australian Cadel Evans third 2:06 behind.
The long ride along windy roads from Limoux included a long breakaway involving Dutchman Niki Terpstra, Russian Mikhail Ignatyev and Frenchmen SamuelDumoulin, Mickael Delage and Anthony Delaplace.
The last of the escapees, Terpstra, was caught two kilometers from the line.
The Russian diving team expects one or two gold medals at the FINA Swimming World Championships, said Anatoly Teplykov, the team leader, on Thursday.
Russia have sent a 12-member squad to take part in the diving events, including six women and six men.
“Maybe we can win one or two gold medals here if everything goes well,” said Teplykov. “We have very strong pairs in the men’s 3m springboard and 10m platform. They are all quite young and talented.”
Evgeny Kuznetsov and Ilya Zakharov will pair up to compete the men’s 3m springboard synchro while Zakharov will take part in the 10m platform synchro with Victor Minibaev.
The Russian team also eyes a medal from 2007 10m platform winner Gleb Galperin.
“Galperin is still recovering from his shoulder injury and not in his best form like in the 2007 Worlds, but we hope he can win a medal,” said the team leader. Glperin took the bronze at 2008 Beijing Games 10m platform.
Teplykov said their women divers are not as strong as the men. “They lack experience and need more time to improve their skills.”
Russia’s diving legend Dmitry Sautin will come to Shanghai to cheer for the national team, according to Teplykov.
“Sautin will come here the day after tomorrow to see the match,” he said.
According to the team leader, Sautin may have a chance to take part in the London Olympic Games.
“If he gets good results in the soccer jersey qualifiers, he will still have chance to compete in London. The chances are open,” he said.
The Shanghai Worlds will run from July 16 to 31.