According to bookmaker Bovada, Rafael Nadal is almost a 2/1 pick now to win the French Open. The King of Clay hadn’t been an underdog in a clay match in close to a decade until facing Novak Djokovic a week ago in Monte Carlo. Now the Spaniard continues to slide in the French Open betting odds.

Djokovic, who is seeking his first French Open title, is at 11/10 favorite …

“When you’ve been at the top of the game for so long, how do you stay there?”

Mercedes-Benz released a new spot featuring pitchman and tennis great Roger Federer. The car is the 2016 Mercedes-AMG GLE63 S Coupe, and it sounds great. Vrooom.

“The best doesn’t come easy,” Federer says near the end of this extended ad, “but the best is always worth it.”

Both reigning French Open champions Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova lost today in their respective tournaments. Nadal suffered his second straight loss to Italian Fabio Fognini losing to the Italian 6-4, 7-6(6).

“I think today I played really solid tennis,” said Fognini. “I was hitting the ball really well in both sets. The key of course was winning the second set. It would have been difficult playing him at one-set-all, especially …

I said at the start of the clay season that despite his poor start to 2015, it wasn’t time to worry yet about Rafa, the clay was here. He’d do well in Monte Carlo and probably come away with a 9th Barcelona title. Well, after a lackluster loss to Novak Djokovic in the Monte Carlo semis followed by today’s stunning straight set less to Fabio Fognini in the …

A day after stunning 2010 champion Fernando Verdasco, youngster Andrey Rublev was at it again on the red clay courts of Barcelona, leading another former Top 15 player, Fabio Fognini. But a set a 2-0 lead in the second wasn’t enough as the Italian came back to end the 17-year-old’s run 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.

The flashy Fognini now has a rematch with Rafael Nadal, who he beat in the semifinals at …

Just a month after beating Rafael Nadal in Miami, Fernando Verdasco was stunned today in Barcelona by 17-year-old qualifier Andrey Rublev 7-6(4), 6-3 in the opening round. It was the young Russian’s biggest career win, and fifth of his career on the ATP tour.

The No. 329-ranked Rublev moves on to face Fabio Fognini tomorrow. Rublev won the 2014 French Open juniors.

Verdasco won the Barcelona title in 2010.

Ruso,

…

Novak Djokovic’s sweep of the first three Masters events plus the Australian Open has increased his ATP Ranking lead over Roger Federer this week by 5,640 points. For some perspective, Rafael Nadal doesn’t even have 5,640 points! So adding Nadal’s points to Federer’s wouldn’t even match Novak’s total.

Remember just last fall Federer and Djokovic were dueling for the No. 1 ranking. Now the Serb has built a massive …

What DIDN’T happen during this Fed Cup weekend?

The U.S. discovered that a world No. 1 alone doesn’t make a team, Canada’s Genie Bouchard continued sliding down the charts, the Czechs and Russians rose to the Fed Cup final (come back Maria Sharapova!), and Martina Hingis is a decoy for the new Swiss Miss.

Here are the crazy results from this weekend:

WORLD GROUP SEMIFINALS

Czech Republic d. France 3-1

The Czechs sweep …

PORSCHE TENNIS GRAND PRIX
Stuttgart, Germany; Surface: clay

Seeds: Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki, Ana Ivanovic, Ekaterina Makarova, Agnieszka Radwanska, Carla Suarez Navarro

Floaters: Angie Kerber, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Andrea Petkovic, Lucie Safarova, Sara Errani, Garbine Muguruza

Notes: All eight seeds are Top 10 ranked…The top four seeds all receive byes but tough possible early openers include (1) Sharapova vs. Angie Kerber, (3) Kvitova vs. Kuznetsova, (8) Suarez Navarro vs. Petkovic, (4) …

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic showed he is the player to beat during the 2015 claycourt season, on Sunday turning back a red hot Tomas Berdych 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 to win a career second Monte Carlo title.

The Serb extended his winning streak in early 2015 to 17 straight matches, and is the first player in ATP history to win the first three Masters events in a season following Indian Wells …

Despite suffering a one-sided loss yesterday to main rival Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal was upbeat in his post-match presser, saying that he feels after an injury-marred 2014 he’s close to returning back to his old self.

Nadal picked up his first Top 10 win since the French Open Friday beating David Ferrer, and showed some glimpses of his old self yesterday against Djokovic.

Nadal will now head to Barcelona where he is …

That’s karma. Eugenie Bouchard’s forgettable 2015 continued this weekend in Fed Cup on Montreal. The Canadian, who opted back in late to the team, created a stir by not shaking the hand of her opening round opponent from Romania, Alexandra Dulgerhu, during the draw ceremony.

“It’s nothing personal towards her. I just don’t believe in wishing my opponent good luck before the match. After we play I will shake her hand, …

It’s not often someone beats Rafael Nadal on clay. And it’s even less often that someone does it easily. But that’s what Novak Djokovic did today brushing away Nadal 6-3, 6-3 in two pretty comfortable sets to reach the Monte Carlo final.

Nadal began with purpose jumping out to a quick break with a 2-0 lead in the first. Djokovic would wake up, holding then breaking back and eventually running away …

Tomas Berdych has reached just his fourth ATP Masters final today dismissing Gael Monfils 61, 64 in the Monte Carlo semifinals.

Berdcyh, who turns 30 later this year, has been a stalwart in the Top 10, but has only one Masters title to show for it (2005 Paris) and just one Grand Slam final (2010 Wimbledon). When asked of the perceived shortfall in results, the Czech pointed to the dominance of …

As Rafael Nadal readies for another showdown with Novak Djokovic later today in the Monte Caro semifinals, the King of Clay admitted that he prefers playing the easier guys, not the best.

“I prefer to win,” Nadal said after beating David Ferrer in the quarterfinals. “I not stupid. Playing against the best players, the chances to win are less than playing against another players, no? I don’t believe the players who …