SB Nation Seattle - French Open 2012: Rafael Nadal Defeats Novak Djokovic, Wins Recrod 7th French Open Title

2012 French Open: Rafael Nadal Wins Record 7th French Open Title

2012-06-11T23:58:00Z

Rafael Nadal won his seventh French Open Championship on Monday, defeating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 2-6 and 7-5. The match was delayed by rain on Sunday evening with Nadal down 2-1 in the fourth set, but he came back immediately when play resumed to even things 2-2.

Even was how the day developed, with Nadal repeatedly taking a small advantage and Djokovic battling back each time. It went 3-2 for Nadal, then 3-3, Nadal went up by a game again, then Djokovic tied it at 4. Nadal again won to take the lead, but a short time later Djokovic made it 5-5 again. Nadal took the next game to go up 6-5, and when he found himself on the right side of 30-40, he was just one point away from his seventh title. Incredibly, that point came on a double fault by Djokovic, an error by his opponent giving Nadal the win.

Djokovic was denied his bid to hold all four tennis majors at the same time, something not done since Rod Laver in 1969. Nadal seemed to allude to that in his comments to the official French Open site:

"I had already lost three Grand Slam finals against him so it was important to win mentally," he explained. "The mental part is also more important on clay and my game naturally adapts very well to this surface... Novak plays fantastic and is having a great season. But you can't be perfect all the time."

Nadal's seventh Roland Garros title is a record, and his 40 wins for the season are more than any other player. As a consolation prize, Djokovic is the only man to have taken a set from the champion in the 2012 French Open. A full scoreboard for the tournament can be found at SI.com.

For all things tennis, check out SB Nation's tennis hub.

2012 French Open: Men's Championship Delayed Until Monday

2012-06-10T22:34:33Z

Tennis fans will have to wait one more day for the champion of the 2012 French Open to be crowned. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal began their match on Sunday afternoon at beautiful Rolland Garros, but rain showers caused a suspension in action during the fourth set. After an hour-long delay passed tournament officials decided it was best to stop play completely and pick things back up on Monday morning.

Nadal and Djokovic are expected to return at 4 a.m. PST, which is 7 a.m. on the east coast. NBC Sports Network will broadcast the conclusion of the match live.

As for what has happened thus far, Nadal won the first two sets with relative ease, 6-4 and 6-3. Djokovic rallied in the third set to win 6-2, and he currently leads the fourth set 2-1. We'll see how much of an effect the wet conditions and delay in play have on the two players tomorrow morning.

The full French Open scoreboard, including Men's Legends under 45, Men's Doubles, Girls' Doubles, and Boys' Doubles can be found at SI.com.

Stay tuned to this storystream for more from the 2012 French Open, and for full time tennis news and analysis, head over to SB Nation's tennis hub.

French Open Results: Maria Sharapova Defeats Sara Errani In Finals, Collects Career Grand Slam

2012-06-09T21:19:02Z

Maria Sharapova's victory over Sara Errani was the big story out of Saturday's action at the 2012 French Open. Sharapova overwhelmed Errani, driving the pace and making the most of her size and power advantage to win in straight sets, 6-3 and 6-2. With the victory Sharapova becomes the 10th woman in the history of tennis to collect a career Grand Slam. Errani doesn't go home with nothing, however, entering the tournament as the no. 21 seed and making it to the final will surely send her up the ranks.

The fourth round of the Men's Legends and Women's Legends tournaments took place on Saturday as well. That saw John McEnroe and Patrick McEnroe beat Mikael Pernfors and Mats Wilander and Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis defeat Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna.

The full French Open scoreboard, including Men's Legends under 45, Men's Doubles, Girls' Doubles, and Boys' Doubles can be found at SI.com.

Stay tuned to this storystream for more from the 2012 French Open, and for full time tennis news and analysis, head over to SB Nation's tennis hub.

2012 French Open: Women's Finals Action Headlines Saturday

2012-06-09T12:00:47Z

The 2012 French Open is down to just four competitors, two men and two women. Maria Sharapova, the world's No. 2 ranked player, and Sara Errani, ranked No. 21 entering the tournament, are just one match away from the championship. Most believe Sharapova will win convincingly given her recent success these last few weeks, but Errani has shown a ton of heart getting to this point against some very tough competition.

Saturday's title match is scheduled to begin at 6 a.m. PST and will be televised live by NBC and NBC HD. That's a 9 a.m. start for those living on the east coast. They will also air the trophy presentation and include post-match analysis for those interested.

The men's championship, Novak Djokovic vs. Rafael Nadal, will be played on Sunday morning.

For continued updates on the 2012 French Open be sure to check out the SB Nation Seattle StoryStream. Head over to the SB Nation Tennis Hub for all-things related to the game.

2012 French Open: TV Schedule, Matches And More For Friday

2012-06-08T11:00:25Z

The 2012 French Open has been great up until this point and Friday promises to bring us some tremendous tennis action. After a day off on Thursday we will have the semifinals portion of the tournament on Friday morning from beautiful Rolland Garros. Four of the world's six-best players will be playing, and there will be tons of emotion flowing through the arena as a spot in the championship match will be on the line.

Let's take a look at the today's schedule:

Matches & Start Times:

2. Rafael Nadal vs. 6. David Ferrer, 4 a.m. PST

1. Novak Djokovic vs. 3. Roger Federer, 7 a.m.

TV Schedule: Finding the right station for the semifinals portion of the tournament will not be easy, but it's doable and both will be aired. The Tennis Channel will televise the first match, Nadal vs. Ferrer, live on their station. Then, at 11 a.m. locally all across the country, NBC will take over and air the Djokovic vs. Federer match. Those of you living on the west coast will be forced to watch it tape-delayed, but those on the east coast will see most of it live.

For more on the French Open be sure to check out the SB Nation Seattle StoryStream.

2012 French Open Schedule: Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova Headline Wednesday's Quarterfinals

2012-06-06T11:00:29Z

The 2012 French Open has been a great one thus far and we are down to just a handful of competitors in the hunt for a championship. Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer advanced on Tuesday in thrilling fashion, needing five sets to win each of their matches.

We can expect plenty of exciting tennis on Wednesday with some big names playing in the quarterfinals stage of the tournament. Here is the schedule for the day's events.

TV Schedule: You can find all of Wednesday's matches televised live on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD.

Matches & Start Times: The first matches will begin around 5 a.m. and carry on throughout the day.

Women's:

Maria Sharapova vs. Kaia Kanepi, 5 a.m. MST

Petra Kvitova vs. Yaroslava Shvedova, 5 a.m. MST

Men's:

Rafael Nadal vs. Nicolas Almagro, 7 a.m. MST

Andy Murray vs. David Ferrer, 7 a.m. MST

Check out the complete scoreboard for the French Open here.

For continued updates on the tournament be sure to check out the SB Nation Seattle StoryStream.

French Open 2012 Schedule: Quarterfinals Today At Roland Garros

2012-06-05T11:00:23Z

There are four matches taking place in the 2012 French Open on Tuesday in Paris, with two of them being men's, the other two being women's.

There will be two ATP matches, Novak Djokovic will be meeting Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Also Roger Federer goes at it with Juan Martin del Potro. Djokovic and Federer are pretty much likely to be semifinalists. Two WTA matches will be taking place to put two individuals in their semis, as Angelique Kerber takes on Sara Errani in one quarterfinal, and Samantha Stosur faces Dominika Cibulkova in the other.

You can watch most of the action on the Tennis Channel and ESPN2, as well as checking out online streams at ESPN3.

Look at this updated scoreboard from Sports Illustrated for the latest updates.

For more on the French Open be sure to check out the SB Nation Seattle StoryStream.

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French Open Results: Rafael Nadal Cruises To Victory Over Eduardo Schwank

2012-06-02T18:35:40Z

A wild day of action from Rolland Garros is wrapping up on Saturday afternoon and we are finally getting down to just a few remaining competitors on both sides of the tournament.

Rafael Nadal, the No. 2 seed for the French Open, cruised to a quick victory over Eduardo Schwank, 6-1, 6-3 and 6-4. Andy Murray, the fourth ranked player in the event, also won 3-0 over Santiago Giraldo.

The big upset of the day came from Julien Benneteau. He knocked off eight-seeded Janko Tipsarevic in three sets, 6-3, 7-5 and 6-4.

Maria Sharapova swept her two sets against Shuai Peng to advance. No. 4 seed Petra Kvitova defeated Nina Bratchikova in three sets, although she faced a battle all day. Vavara Lepchenko rallied late against 14th ranked Francesca Schiavone in three sets, 6-3, 3-6, 8-6.

There are a few more matches currently in progress. Check out an updated scoreboard here for the latest updates.

For more on the French Open be sure to check out the SB Nation Seattle StoryStream.