Nadal out of US Open

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/18/603729header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/18/603729header.jpg" /></a></div> Defending US Open champion Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the final grand slam of the tennis year with a wrist injury.<br /> <br /> The world number two's participation at Flushing Meadows was always in doubt after he pulled out of ATP 1000 events at the Rogers Cup and Cincinnati Masters last month.<br /> <br /> He had initially hoped to be fit for the US Open but announced on Monday that he had lost his race against time.<br /> <br /> Nadal – winner of 14 grand slam titles – beat current world number one, Novak Djokovic, in four sets at last year's final in New York.<br /> <br /> The Spaniard posted on his official Facebook page: "I am very sorry to announce I won't be able to play at this year's US Open, a tournament on which I've played three consecutive finals in my last participations.<br /> <br /> "I am sure you understand that it is a very tough moment for me since it is a tournament I love and where I have great memories from fans, the night matches, so many things.<br /> <br /> "[There is] not much more I can do right now, other than accept the situation and, as always in my case, work hard in order to be able to compete at the highest level once I am back."<br /> <br /> Nadal also beat Djokovic in four sets to win the 2010 US Open final.<br /> <br /> The 28-year-old's withdrawal will mean he ends the year with just one grand slam title – achieved in Paris at the French Open, a tournament he has won nine times.

championship news sports Rafael Nadal SPORTS US Open Nadal out of US Open

Defending US Open champion Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the final grand slam of the tennis year with a wrist injury. The world number...

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Benneteau, Ferrer enjoy rankings boosts

<a href="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/18/603913header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/18/603913header.jpg" /></a>Julien Benneteau is one place off a career-high ranking of 26 after his run to the semi-finals of the Western and Southern Open.<br /> <br /> The Frenchman reached the final four of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event before bowing out to David Ferrer who, in turn, lost to Roger Federer in the final.<br /> <br /> However, his semi-final effort ensured he moved up 14 places to 27th in the world with Ferrer also jumping up a place into the top five thanks to his final appearance.<br /> <br /> Poland's Jerzy Janowicz is another big climber, moving 13 places to 52nd having reached the last 16 in Cincinnati before losing to Benneteau.<br /> <br /> While the world's top four remain unchanged, Ferrer and Milos Raonic occupy fifth and sixth respectively while Tomas Berdych drops to seventh after a tough time in Ohio.<br /> <br /> The Czech, seeded fourth for the competition, bowed out at the first hurdle to Lu Yen-hsun.<br /> <br /> In the WTA rankings, Ana Ivanovic replaces Victoria Azarenka in the top ten after the Serb contested the Western and Southern Open final on Sunday.<br /> <br /> Despite losing out to world number one Serena Williams, she moves into ninth while Azarenka drops seven places having lost in the quarter-finals to Agnieszka Radwanska.<br /> <br /> Svetlana Kuznetsova sits just outside the top 20, having reaching the last 16 before losing to Ivanovic in Cincinnati.<br /> <br /> Like Kuznetsova, Roberta Vinci moves up three places despite bowing out at the first hurdle against Sabine Lisicki at the hard-court event in the United States.

ATP World Tour Julien Benneteau news sports Southern Open SPORTS tennis Western Benneteau, Ferrer enjoy rankings boosts

Julien Benneteau is one place off a career-high ranking of 26 after his run to the semi-finals of the Western and Southern Open. The Frenc...

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Goffin ends Melzer´s title defence

<a href="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/19/604473header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/19/604473header.jpg" /></a>David Goffin's winning streak hit 23 matches on Monday, as he dumped out defending champion Jurgen Melzer at the Winston-Salem Open.<br /> <br /> Belgian qualifier Goffin ousted Melzer 6-3 6-4 in their first-round affair at the ATP 250 event in North Carolina - the last hard-court warm-up event for the US Open, starting Monday.<br /> <br /> Only six of Goffin's streak wins have come at ATP World Tour level, with the run including Challenger Tour events and qualifying but his formline is nonetheless imposing heading towards the year's final major.<br /> <br /> Conversely, Melzer's results of late have been poor, with the 33-year-old Austrian losing his sixth straight match as the left-hander limped into Flushing Meadows devoid of confidence.<br /> <br /> Seeds Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Jarkko Nieminen won their first outings of the tournament, moving into the last 16 with second-round victories.<br /> <br /> Garcia-Lopez, the fifth seed from Spain, came from behind to down Germany's Dustin Brown 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-2.<br /> <br /> Finland's Nieminen - seeded 15th - defeated another German Benjamin Becker 7-5 6-4 to progress.<br /> <br /> All 16 seeds were given first-round byes.<br /> <br /> In first-round results, Poland's Jerzy Janowicz had a 6-1 6-4 victory over Argentine Carlos Berlocq.<br /> <br /> Janowicz, whose ranking has plummeted to 52nd after peaking at 19th earlier this season, hit seven aces and saved all five break points he faced to advance.<br /> <br /> Sam Querrey was the only American through to the second round, as each of Wayne Odesnik, Robby Ginepri and Marcos Giron lost.<br /> <br /> Querrey served 16 aces as he eased past Spain's Pere Riba 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.<br /> <br /> Qualifiers Odesnik and Giron - both wildcard recipients for the US Open main draw - had their final competitive hit-outs before the New York major.<br /> <br /> Odesnik fell 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 to Slovenia's Blaz Rola, while Giron - the world number 433 - was humbled 6-4 6-4 by Kazakh Aleksandr Nedovyesov.<br /> <br /> France's Paul-Henri Mathieu dumped out wildcard Ginepri 6-3 7-5.<br /> <br /> Canada's Frank Dancevic held off Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci 7-5 3-6 6-2 in two hours and five minutes, while France's Adrian Mannarino outclassed Bosnian qualifier Damir Dzumhur 6-2 6-2.<br /> <br /> Federico Delbonis of Argentina progressed with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 win over Slovakian Martin Klizan, and Dutchman Igor Sijsling accounted for Kazakh Andrey Golubev 7-6 (7-5) 6-3.

David Goffin's news sports SPORTS tennis Goffin ends Melzer´s title defence

David Goffin's winning streak hit 23 matches on Monday, as he dumped out defending champion Jurgen Melzer at the Winston-Salem Open. B...

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Bouchard back on the winners list in New Haven, Cibulkova bundled out

<a href="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/19/604481header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/19/604481header.jpg" /></a>Eugenie Bouchard claimed her first win since July after dismantling Bojana Jovanovski 6-1 6-1 in the opening round at the Eugenie Bouchard.<br /> <br /> Bouchard - the Canadian third seed - overcame Simona Halep in the Wimbledon semi-finals but injuries have plagued her since losing the final to Petra Kvitova last month.<br /> <br /> However, the 20-year-old, who withdrew from the Citi Open and lost in the second round in both Montreal and Cincinnati after first-round byes, returned to the WTA Tour winners list with a straight sets demolition of Serbia's Jovanovski in just 52 minutes on Monday.<br /> <br /> Bouchard sent down four aces and won six break points as she earned a second-round showdown with Australian wildcard Samantha Stosur, who survived to beat Japan's Kurumi Nara 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (10-12) 6-2 in New Haven.<br /> <br /> The head-to-head record between the pair is level at one win apiece.<br /> <br /> "I'm looking forward to a battle," Bouchard said.<br /> <br /> "We've had tough matches in the past. I know she'll try to take control with her serve and forehand.<br /> <br /> "I'm going to look to try to take it early and control the point like I did today and really put pressure on her."<br /> <br /> Four-time champion Caroline Wozniacki also progressed to the next round.<br /> <br /> Wozniacki - the Danish fourth seed - lost the first set but fought back to topple Swiss qualifier Timea Bacsinszky 4-6 6-1 6-2.<br /> <br /> There was no such luck for Slovak fifth seed Dominika Cibulkova and seventh-seeded Italian Sara Errani.<br /> <br /> Cibulkova crashed out at the hands of Germany's Andrea Petkovic, losing 7-6 (7-2) 6-3.<br /> <br /> Errani, meanwhile, was ousted by Garbine Muguruza of Spain 6-2 3-6 6-1.<br /> <br /> In other results on Monday, Slovak Magdalena Rybarikova accounted for Spanish qualifier Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-4 6-3.<br /> <br /> Chinese qualifier Shuai Peng beat Ukraine's Elina Svitolina by the same scoreline.<br /> <br /> Belgian wildcard Kirsten Flipkens prevailed 6-3 4-6 6-2 against Japanese qualifier Misaki Doi.<br /> <br /> Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova emerged victorious against Swiss qualifier Belinda Bencic, winning 6-4 5-7 6-3 after more than three hours on court.<br /> <br /> Meanwhile, French lucky loser Caroline Garcia edged Romanian qualifier Irina-Camelia Begu 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4).

Eugenie Bouchard news sports SPORT SPORTS tennis Bouchard back on the winners list in New Haven, Cibulkova bundled out

Eugenie Bouchard claimed her first win since July after dismantling Bojana Jovanovski 6-1 6-1 in the opening round at the Eugenie Bouchard. ...

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Samsonov eyeing home comforts

All eyes will be on the evergreen Vladimir Samsonov when he attempts to win the ITTF Belarus Open on home soil this week.<br /> <a href="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/19/605085header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cache.images.core.optasports.com/news/tennis/2014/8/19/605085header.jpg" /></a><br /> The 38-year-old is the top seed for the event in Minsk, which starts on Thursday and will mark the first time a plastic ball is used in international competition rather than the celluloid model.<br /> <br /> Samsonov has played on the ITTF Tour every year since arriving on the scene in 1996, when he made a debut to remember by winning in Bolzano, Italy.<br /> <br /> That was a sign of things to come for the veteran, who has added another 22 titles since that victory 18 years ago, and he will be targeting another success this week.<br /> <br /> Now ranked 12th in the world, Samsonov will be out to ensure second seed Kaii Yoshida is unable to retain his title by taking his tally of tournament wins to 24 in what would be a hugely popular triumph in his homeland.<br /> <br /> Yoshida, the world number 36, beat Kohei Sambe in an all-Japanese final in Minsk last September and the 2013 runner-up - seeded 16 - will be eager to go one better this time around.<br /> <br /> Omar Assar won the Nigeria Open in June and the Egyptian is the third seed in Belarus following his success in Lagos.<br /> <br /> The top six seeds in the women's competition all hail from Japan and it is world number 14 Ai Fukuhara who takes the mantle as top seed.<br /> <br /> Big things are also expected of Sayaka Hirano and Yuka Ishigaki - seeded two and three respectively - in the Belarusian capital.<br /> <br /> Nadeen El-Dawlatly, meanwhile, heads into the event brimming with confidence after being crowned Nigeria Open champion.

ITTF news sports Vladimir Samsonov Samsonov eyeing home comforts

All eyes will be on the evergreen Vladimir Samsonov when he attempts to win the ITTF Belarus Open on home soil this week. The 38-year-old ...

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