Roger Federer

Tennis did its best to serve up a classic dish Thursday night in the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. But a dash of this and a pinch of that were missing. We expect plenty of spice every time Roger Federer plays Rafael Nadal. It is a legacy built on their previous 28 matches, most of them thrillers, over nearly a decade. But minus the usual paprika, Nadal still managed to slap out a 6-4, 6-2 victory. It was somewhat convincing. Also somewhat unsettling. When these two play, we expect some 7's in the score line.

Tennis did its best to serve up a classic dish Thursday night in the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. But a dash of this and a pinch of that were missing. We expect plenty of spice every time Roger Federer plays Rafael Nadal. It is a legacy built on their previous 28 matches, most of them thrillers, over nearly a decade. But minus the usual paprika, Nadal still managed to slap out a 6-4, 6-2 victory. It was somewhat convincing. Also somewhat unsettling. When these two play, we expect some 7's in the score line.

WIMBLEDON, England  -- Showing no signs of an achy back that had seemed to bother him in the fourth round, six-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer did something he hadn't been able to do the last two years. Federer didn't lose in the quarterfinals. Bothered by nothing Wednesday, not even a brief rain delay and certainly not by his opponent, Federer advanced to his eighth Wimbledon semifinal appearance with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory in only 1 hour 32 minutes over 26th-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny.

It would be hard to determine whether tennis gave itself a shot in the arm or shot itself in the foot Wednesday night. The BNP Paribas Open is a premier event, played in a gorgeous stadium at a gorgeous time of the year in the Southern California desert. It is one of the truly prestigious sports events in the world. Its top officials are talking about total attendance reaching 400,000 in a few years. Wednesday brought a dream schedule. Set to start in the afternoon were separate matches involving Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, two truly marquee stars.

The declining career of Roger Federer appears to be a figment of the imagination of the media, especially in the wake of his straight-set victory in the final of Sunday's BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament at Indian Wells. Federer handled the big serve of American John Isner with ease and won, 7-6 (7), 6-3. It was Isner's first Masters Series final; it was Federer's 19th Masters title. At 30, Federer has not won a Grand Slam event -- he holds the record with 16, generally granting him the claim as the best player of all time -- since the 2010 Australian Open.

A death threat against Roger Federer, in the form of an Internet posting, has resulted in the tightening of security around the tennis star in China, according to reports. Federer is scheduled to play in a Masters Series event in Shanghai, starting Monday. A tournament official told the Shanghai Youth Daily that the recent threat was being taken seriously and that security around Federer would be upgraded. A posting late last month on the Chinese website baidu.com by a user with the screen name "Blue Cat" contained a death threat against Federer and a graphic image of an execution, the AFP news agency reported.

Serena Williams remained the last U.S. singles tennis player standing Thursday in the London Olympics at Wimbledon. But John Isner gave it a great try, losing to yet another Roger Federer magic moment. Williams coasted past former No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, 6-0, 6-3, continuing her dominance of the women's bracket. She hit 30 winners, including six aces, and will face off in the semifinals against current No. 1 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. Azarenka beat Germany's Angelique Kerber, 6-4, 7-5. Isner, the 6-foot-9 rising U.S. men's star, stretched No. 1 Federer to a second-set tiebreaker, but lost, 6-4, 7-6 (5)

Top-seeded Roger Federer reached the ABN Amro World Tennis final at Rotterdam, Netherlands, with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Nikolay Davydenko on Saturday. Federer, playing in Rotterdam for the first time since capturing the 2005 title, will play for the championship Sunday against Juan Martin del Potro . The third-seeded Argentine downed second-seeded Tomas Berdych , 6-3, 6-1, in the other semifinal. Defending champion Nicolas Almagro of Spain defeated countryman Albert Ramos , 6-4, 7-6 (4)

TODAY'S MEN'S FINAL Roger Federer, Switzerland (2), vs. Robin Soderling, Sweden (25) Federer defeated Michael Chang, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (5), in an obscure first-round match at the Australian Open on Jan. 18, 2000, for his first Grand Slam match win, at age 18 and with a ranking of No. 62. Federer defeated Mark Philippousis, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (3), in a Wimbledon final on July 6, 2003, for his first Grand Slam title.

Andy Murray defeated James Blake, 6-2, 6-2, Thursday to set up a semifinal meeting with Roger Federer at the inaugural Capitala World Tennis Championship at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In the other first-round match, Nikolay Davydenko ousted Andy Roddick, 6-4, 6-4, and will face Rafael Nadal in today's other semifinal.

Rafael Nadal wore a bright aqua shirt and a scowl as he came onto Stadium 1 Court at the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday night to play his first hard-court tennis match in 346 days. Nadal has avoided hard surfaces as he has tried to rest his left knee that has been afflicted with tendinitis. After a tentative comeback at two clay court tournaments where the ground is more forgiving, Nadal made his debut at Indian Wells a winning one. Nadal nervously fell behind 20-year-old American Ryan Harrison in the first set, then the fifth-seeded Spaniard came back to win 7-6 (3)

— Andy Murray was sucking in deep breaths, trying to recover from his exhausting victory over Roger Federer in an Australian Open semifinal Friday night. Pain and Novak Djokovic were on both players' minds. Murray said he'll "need to be ready for pain" in the final, after beating Federer, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2, in a four-hour semifinal, the Scotsman's first victory over the 17-time major winner at a Grand Slam event. Federer, who yelled at Murray and showed rare bursts of anger in the loss, said he expected Djokovic, a two-time defending champion who is on a 20-match winning streak at Melbourne Park, to have the advantage in the final Sunday.

Even when Roger Federer had the lead, Novak Djokovic had the answers. The top-ranked Serb recovered from early breaks in both sets and beat Federer, 7-6 (6), 7-5, in the championship match of the ATP finals at London. Federer broke Djokovic's serve to take a 2-0 lead in the first set, and then again to open the second, but both times the world's No. 1 player rebounded to get back into the match. "Maybe a bit of regret because I had the lead twice first before him," Federer said.

Roger Federer opened his quest for a seventh season-ending tour title, looking like the man to beat again in the ATP finals at London. The 17-time Grand Slam champion won his record 40th match at the tournament, defeating Janko Tipsarevic, 6-3, 6-1, Tuesday in his opening Group B match. Federer lost only eight points on his serve under the roof of the O2 Arena while converting four of his nine break points in the event that features the top eight players in the world. In the other Group B match, David Ferrer beat Juan Martin del Potro, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. ETC. Steelers ' Brown probably will sit out The Pittsburgh Steelers will probably be without receiver Antonio Brown when they play host to reeling Kansas City on Monday night.

Juan Martin del Potro took Roger Federer's Swiss Indoors title on Sunday, beating the hometown favorite, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), in the final at Basel. Del Potro showed an impressive all-around game to help avenge a heartbreaking loss to Federer in the Olympic semifinals at Wimbledon in August. Federer, who had won the event in five of the last six years, was seeking his 77th title to tie John McEnroe for fourth on the Open era list. Federer later pulled out of his defense of the Paris Masters, which starts Monday, to rest and prepare for the ATP World Tour Finals in London the following week.

A death threat against Roger Federer, in the form of an Internet posting, has resulted in the tightening of security around the tennis star in China, according to reports. Federer is scheduled to play in a Masters Series event in Shanghai, starting Monday. A tournament official told the Shanghai Youth Daily that the recent threat was being taken seriously and that security around Federer would be upgraded. A posting late last month on the Chinese website baidu.com by a user with the screen name "Blue Cat" contained a death threat against Federer and a graphic image of an execution, the AFP news agency reported.

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic posted straight-set wins Friday to set up a semifinal meeting in the Rome Masters, and three-time champion Rafael Nadal advanced in the other half of the draw. Nadal cruised past eighth-seeded Fernando Verdasco, 6-3, 6-3, improving to 8-0 against his fellow Spaniard. He will play 12th-seeded Fernando Gonzalez, who struggled past Argentine qualifier Juan Monaco, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. Federer overcame net-charging Mischa Zverev, 7-6 (3), 6-2.

Roger Federer finds a lot to like about Cincinnati - the big crowds for his matches, the quiet time away from the court, the way his game seems to come together on the fast, blue courts. It probably helps that he often takes home the trophy too. Make it five for Federer. The world's top-ranked player won a record fifth Cincinnati title Sunday, dominating second-ranked Novak Djokovic in an unprecedented way at the start of a 6-0, 7-6 (7) win for the Western & Southern Open championship in suburban Mason, Ohio.

Tomas Berdych giggled after he hit good shots on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday night. Sometimes it almost felt as if a situation comedy were being filmed. The sixth-seeded Berdych, who had shocked Roger Federer at the Wimbledon quarterfinals two years ago, tickled and teased the top-seeded Federer with whipping forehands and timely volleys until he upset him again with a 7-6 (1), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open on Wednesday night. And then Berdych couldn't stop smiling.

NEW YORK — Serena Williams was scary good playing tennis Monday. The fourth-seeded Williams advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Andrea Hlavackova in which Williams won 60 of the 89 points played. Mardy Fish, a 30-year-old American who was scheduled to play top-seeded Roger Federer maybe left the U.S. Open a little scared. Fish, who grew up in Minnesota and who lives in Los Angeles, withdrew from the tournament before his scheduled match Monday, saying in a statement he was following a doctor's advice.