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Rafa taking it one win at a timeRafael Nadal is keeping his feet firmly planted and his eye solely on the next prize after sweeping his first three clay events of another soaring season as he takes aim at a fifth straight Roland Garros title.
But it's a week off followed by Madrid from Monday, which now has Nadal's attention after lifting his fourth trophy in five years in Rome over Novak Djokovic - a repeat of his Monte Carlo title of a fortnight ago. "No matter what the result on Madrid and Roland Garros, the clay season is unbelievable," said the world No.1. "I'm very happy for everything."
And even the king of clay can admit: "It's a big surprise for me to win three titles in a row in three weeks. I've never done it in the past, so it's a good thing for me to know I can do it."
But there's no comparing any one event with another. "Every tournament is completely different, not like the one before. Right now I'm focused on Madrid.
¿Roland Garros is in three weeks, so first Madrid. Later in Roland Garros. The important thing is to play well. If I'm doing that I'm gonna have a lot of chances for good results in both tournaments. But you never know what can happen, tennis is always like this."
Ivanovic's job isn't just confined to the court
Ana Ivanovic has come to realise that her job in tennis doesn't end on the court. And the smouldering Serbian has become quite accustomed to the glamour and photo shoot demands that come with the WTA territory.
The world No.7 and reigning French Open champion is hoping to start her final tune-up for Roland Garros in Rome this week. But she won't shy away from extracurricular demands either. "It's nice to do both, I think it's important," she said at the Foro Italico. "When I first started on the tour, it was very hard for me to do interviews because I'm very shy person. I don't like to open up.
"You learn over time that it's very important part of the job. It's the same with the camera. I didn't feel so comfortable, but you realise it's part of your job." But she admits serving as a role model can be tiring. "Sometimes it can be harder than practice actually, it takes more energy out of you."
Serena knows who's No.1
No-one has ever mentioned Serena Williams and modesty in the same sentence. She's always the best, even when she has come second in a match and isn't. It is extremely rare for her to congratulate an opponent that has beaten her, and when she does it is usually with a throw-away "She played well", spoken with zero sincerity. Now she is No.2 in the world. Except in her eyes she isn't.
"We all know who the real number one is," Williams said before beginning play at the Italian Open. "Quite frankly, I'm the best in the world." Actually, she's the No.2, but she points to her 10 Grand Slam titles contrasting with the lack of titles, so far, of the real No.1, Dinara Safina. The 23-year old Russian says give her time.
"She can say this because she won many more Grand Slams than me," said Safina. "But she's also older than me so she has more experience. So let's see when I'm her age how many titles I have and then we can say. It's not luck . Nobody gave it to me. I played two Grand Slam finals and last year I won four titles. This didn't come out of the sky."
Safina says Marat is "unpredictable"
It could be the understatement of the year. "He's a little bit unpredictable."
That is world No.1 Dinara Safina talking about her brother, Marat. After his opening round defeat in Rome last week to Tommy Robredo she is questioning his motivation.
He has already declared his intention of retiring at the end of the year, and Dinara suggests that if he isn't committed then perhaps he should hang up his racquets now. "He knows he's going to retire this year, so it's tough," Safina said in Rome. "I would say that if you want to retire, either you do it or you play. He doesn't. So he should make a decision if he wants to play or if he wants to retire. He was supposed to have already retired last year and he's still going."
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