REUTERS - Sixteen-year-old Croatian Donna Vekic was denied her first WTA title as she lost 7-6(5) 6-4 to Tour stalwart Daniela Hantuchova in the Aegon Classic final in Birmingham on Sunday. Vekic, the youngest player in the top 350 in the rankings, fell in her second final of the year as Hantuchova's greater experience …

HALLE, Germany (Reuters) - Roger Federer clinched his first title of the season before the start of his Wimbledon defence when he battled back from a set down to beat Russia's Mikhail Youzhny 6-7(5)6-3 6-4 and win the Halle Open on Sunday. The world number three, who has now won the Wimbledon warm-up event on grass six …

HALLE, Germany (Reuters) - World number three Roger Federer clinched his first title of the season when he battled back from a set down to beat Russia's Mikhail Youzhny 6-7(5)6-3 6-4 and win the Halle Open on Sunday. Federer, who has now won the Wimbledon warm-up event on grass six times, needed to dig deep for his 77th …

Results from squash world team championships on Saturday:

By Toby Davis LONDON (Reuters) - Neither a revved up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga nor the awful British weather could prevent Andy Murray reaching a third Queen's Club final on Saturday as the world number two battled back from a set down to win 4-6 6-3 6-2. Local favourite Murray now faces champion Marin Cilic in Sunday's final …

HALLE, Germany (Reuters) - Roger Federer edged closer to his first title of the season when he came from a set down to beat defending champion Tommy Haas 3-6 6-3 6-4 and book a place in Sunday's Halle Open final against Mikhail Youzhny. After a patchy start on Saturday the Swiss looked sharp on the grass as he prepares …

By Martyn Herman LONDON (Reuters) - Something about the lawns of London bring out the best in Australian veteran Lleyton Hewitt and he gave a glimpse of the grasscourt arts to beat Juan Martin del Potro in Friday's quarter-finals of the Aegon Championships. The 32-year-old mixed skidding slices, sharp volleys and accurate …

BERLIN (Reuters) - World number three Roger Federer whitewashed German wildcard Mischa Zverev 6-0 6-0 in just 39 minutes on Friday to set up a Halle Open semi-final with fellow 30-something and defending champion Tommy Haas. in a rematch of last year's final. The 31-year-old Swiss, without a title so far this season, was …

LONDON (Reuters) - Andy Murray emerged unscathed as he completed back-to-back wins at a blustery Aegon Championships on Thursday in his first matches following a four-week break caused by a back injury. Gusting winds and two awkward opponents could not blow Murray off course as he first completed a rain-delayed 6-3 7-6 …

MADRID, June 13 (Reuters) - Lionel Messi's picture was on the front pages rather then in the sports sections of the Spanish media on Thursday, after the World Player of the Year and his father were accused of tax fraud. The news is damaging to the Argentina and Barcelona forward's image, and he joins a long list of top …

PARIS (Reuters) - Former world number seven Gael Monfils has pulled out of this month's Wimbledon tournament for "personal reasons", the French tennis federation said on Twitter on Wednesday. The Frenchman, who beat fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych in the French Open first round, had looked to have found his feet on grass as …

LONDON (Reuters) - Former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt gave Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov a grasscourt masterclass in a second-round victory at the Aegon Championships at Queen's Club on Wednesday. The 32-year-old Australian needed little more than an hour to win 6-4 6-3 as 10th seed Dimitrov struggled to cope with his …

PARIS (Reuters) - Frenchman Nicolas Mahut has been given a wild card for this month's Wimbledon, still reaping the fruits of his record 11-hour-five-minute match against American John Isner in 2010. "Very grateful to receive the wildcard @Wimbledon," Mahut wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. "A big thank you to the (All England) …

MADRID (Reuters) - Rafa Nadal believes he still has a very long way to go before he can match or overtake the record haul of 17 grand slam singles titles amassed by his great rival Roger Federer. Spaniard Nadal won his eighth French Open crown on Sunday and having just turned 27, has 12 grand slam singles titles in total, …

REUTERS - Rafa Nadal has booked his place at the World Tour finals after winning a record eighth French Open title, the ATP said on Monday. Nadal has staged a spectacular comeback after being sidelined for seven months with a knee injury from June last year. Since returning in February, he has reached the final in all of …

By Julien Pretot PARIS (Reuters) - Rafa Nadal believes he can finish the year as world number one after dropping to fifth in the rankings on Monday, changing places with David Ferrer, the man he beat to win the French Open for a record-extending eighth time. Due to the ATP's 12-month rolling ranking system that awards no …

By Julien Pretot PARIS (Reuters) - French Open organisers defended their security arrangements after anti-gay marriage protesters, one letting off a flare and running on court, briefly interrupted the final between Spaniards Rafa Nadal and David Ferrer on Sunday. A police source told Reuters that seven people had been formally …

By Julien Pretot PARIS (Reuters) - Having achieved the glittering distinction of becoming the only man to win eight singles titles at the same grand slam tournament, French Open champion Rafa Nadal was soon dreaming of another priceless thing on Sunday - to be left alone. A 6-3 6-2 6-3 victory over fellow Spaniard David …