By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
Rafael Nadal wasn't too worried about playing on a hard court Monday night.
The 11-time Grand Slam champion feels encouraged about his comeback from injury after the past week, when he finally felt he could move freely. He dominated fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, the world's fourth-ranked player, to win the Mexican Open on Saturday.
Rafael Nadal beat Leonardo Mayer in straight sets on Thursday to reach the semifinals of the Mexican Open, setting up a meeting with Spanish compatriot Nicolas Almagro.
After beating Andy Murray to become the only man to win three consecutive Australian Open titles, the No. 1-ranked player didn't feel the need to celebrate immediately. Instead, he booked an early Monday flight home to start preparing for his next challenge: the clay courts of Europe.
In years past, Novak Djokovic marked his victories at the Australian Open with rowdy late-night celebrations and bleary-eyed photo shoots the next morning in downtown Melbourne.
Novak Djokovic became the first man in the Open era to win three consecutive Australian titles when he beat Andy Murray 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2 in Sunday's final.
The top-ranked Djokovic is the first man in the Open era to win three straight Australian titles — nine others have won back-to-back but were unable to win three in a row.
Novak Djokovic's win over Andy Murray in the Australian Open final Sunday has consolidated his No. 1 ranking.
Nicolas Almagro has withdrawn from Spain's Davis Cup first-round tie against Canada because of an injury.
Four-time winner Roger Federer and top-ranked Victoria Azarenka will defend their titles at the BNP Paribas Open in March, with the deep fields also including Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova.
Murray beat Federer for the first time in a Grand Slam event to advance to the Australian Open final against top-ranked Novak Djokovic.
Sloane Stephens didn't just achieve her best Grand Slam result by reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open _ she's also one up on her good friend Sam Querrey.
Serena Williams is out of the Australian Open after losing her quarterfinal match 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to 19-year-old American Sloane Stephens on Wednesday.
Spain will open the Davis Cup against Canada without injured star Rafael Nadal or regular member David Ferrer.
The top seed stayed clothed after beating Tomas Berdych 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 Tuesday to reach the semifinals in about half the time it took him to win his previous match against Stanislas Wawrinka, which prompted a shirt-ripping celebration.
"I have a great feeling about myself on the court at this moment," Djokovic said after beating Ferrer.
Djokovic beat Ferrer in an 89-minute semifinal he said he played "perfectly."
