Great Tennis Photos: Rafa writes history in Monte Carlo, wins 5th straight title

Posted by Lana On October 24 2010

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Serena Williams on the Cover of August 2010 Harper Bazaar

Posted by Lana On July 04 2010

Serena Williams is featured on Cover of August 2010 Harper's Bazaar, which hits newsstands July 20th. In the photo spread, Serena showcases her stylish self in a Fendi dress and sports a swimsuit by Eres. Inside the monthly magazine, Serena talks about how she came to accept her body, about the difficulties, and importance, of accepting her own physical differences, and dating, revealing the reason behind breaking up with rapper Common.

Photos: Brooklyn Decker, Kim Sears, Bec Cartwright and Mirka Vavrinec on Day Seven at Wimbledon

Posted by Lana On June 29 2010

Here are the photos of Brooklyn Decker, Kim Sears, Bec Cartwright and Mirka Vavrinec supporting their husbands/boyfriends on Day Seven of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on June 28, 2010 in London, England. Enjoy!

Rafael Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 to become the first player who won five straight Monte Carlo Masters titles. The match lasted two hours and 43 minutes!

Rafa won his third ATP World Tour title of the 2009 ATP World Tour season and is the first player to win an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament five consecutive years and at 22 years of age he joins Roger Federer with 14 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles, second only to Andre Agassi’s record haul of 17. He is also the first ATP World Tour No. 1 to win the Monte-Carlo title since Ivan Lendl in 1988.

"First of all, congratulations to Novak anyway. A fifth victory here is a dream coming true. Thank you to everybody and see you next year," Nadal said in his post-match speech.

This was Rafa's 12th victory in their 16 meetings, including seven for seven on clay. And Rafa lost his first set here since the 2006 final against Roger Federer.

"Confidence was important, I had to fight all the time and put the balls inside the lines," said Nadal.

"I needed to play aggressively without mistakes. I was very focused on the moment, that's why I was able to win," said the four-time Roland Garros champion who will now travel to Barcelona to attempt five in a row at the Catalan venue next week.

"It is very emotional for me here, winning five in a row. I'm very, very happy."

Rafa's victory was his 29th of the season and leaves him a near-flawless 29-1 at Monte Carlo, where he suffered his only loss in 2003 against Guillermo Coria.

Novak, who took treatment for a back muscle tweak in the second set, fought through to the end in style in an encounter lasting for just under three hours on the clay.

"Congratulations to Rafa and his team. You guys are unbelievable, well done again," said Djokovic.

"I played a really good match, but I'm disappointed with the loss." said Nole "It was close out there and I was playing the right game. But I was rushing some of the points and trying to end them too quickly. Rafael used his strength and experience on the surface to win again."

"He's stronger than me, but I felt well throughout the match," added Djokovic. "Even if I lost I"m happy the way I've started my season on clay."

(photo/Getty Images)