Nicolas Almagro News

Davis Cup holders Spain qualified for the quarterfinals of the competition this Saturday as doubles pairing Marcel Granollers and Marco Lopez won their doubles match 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 against Kazakhstan duo Yuri Schukin and Evegny Korolev.

Reigning champion Spain began defense of its Davis Cup title with a pair of singles wins Friday in an opening-round Davis Cup matchup with visiting Kazakhstan.

Former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero will begin Spain's Davis Cup defence against Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan on Friday in a Davis Cup first-round series.

This weekend sees 16 nations contest the 2012 Davis Cup World Group first round, with five Top 10 players in the South African Airways ATP Rankings representing their countries.

Grigor Dimitrov of Russia returns the ball during his second round men`s singles match against Nicolas Almagro of Spain during the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 18 January 2012.

The status quo has been maintained at the top of the men's rankings after Novak Djokovic's dramatic win over Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open, unlike the situation on the women's tour.

New captain Alex Corretja included 11th-ranked Nicolas Almagro, Marcel Granollers, former No.

"Not to his drive, his strongest shot. Losing your concentration means going to the net and hitting the ball to his forehand, or omitting in a rush of blood to serve to his backhand always to his backhand or going for a winner when it's not time." It may seem strange that Rafa's strategy against Federer could be so simple, but it is.

To erase the memory of the worst night in his career, Andy Murray will summon up what he terms the 'brutal' approach of new mentor Ivan Lendl for his Australian Open semi-final showdown with Novak Djokovic.

Tennis's legendary hell-raisers gave way long ago to on-court politeness and gentlemanly behaviour, but the bad boys are back with a vengeance at the Australian Open.

It should be a great night tennis today from Melbourne. The quarterfinals begins with a terrific four-pack of matches headlined by the Roger Federer-Juan Martin Del Potro showdown.

Tomas Berdych, you big wimp. Come on. Or, in the trendy words of some of the more hard-boiled women politicians out there, "Man up." Big Bird got slammed in the upper arm at close range by Nicolas Almagro during a four-set, three-tiebreak win over the Spaniard in the fourth round at the Australian Open on Sunday and, incredibly, fell to the ground.

BERNARD Tomic has predicted he will be ready to take down the world's best players inside the next 18 months.

Down four match points and hobbling with an ankle injury, defending champion Kim Clijsters somehow rallied for a dramatic 4-6, 7-6 , 6-4 victory over Li Na in the Australian Open on Sunday.

Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic makes a backhand return to Nicolas Almagro of Spain during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan.

Rafael Nadal is into the Australian Open quarterfinals for the sixth straight year and a step closer to a possible semifinal showdown with Roger Federer after beating fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 on Sunday.

The first of the Australian Open's men's matches in the sweet sixteen take place today and, of the eight players, we'll see three Grand Slam champions, a Grand Slam finalist and the hometown favorite trying to being a hometown hero.

Bulgaria's two top tennis players Grigor Dimitrov and Tsvetana Pironkova both exited the Australian Open in the second round on January 18.

WINNERS: Men: No. 2 Rafael Nadal, No. 3 Roger Federer, No. 7 Tomas Berdych, No. 8 Mardy Fish, No.

Due to his incredibly high standards, 2011 was not a year that would have caused Rafael Nadal to jump for joy.