-Rafael Nadal took another step closer to the No.1 ranking by defeating veteran German Nicolas Kiefer 6-3, 6-2 to capture the Rogers Cup in Toronto yesterday for his ATP Tour leading seventh title of the year. It also marked his fifth consecutive tournament win and extended his match win streak to 29 straight. The 22 year-old No.2 ranked Spaniard also captured a fourth straight French Open and first ever Wimbledon becoming the first male tennis player to win both since Bjorn Borg in 1980. He defeated Scot Andy Murray in straight sets to reach the final after Murray had upset No.3 ranked Serb Novak Djokovic in the quarters of an upset marred tournament which saw top ranked Roger Federer, No.4 Russian Nikolay Davydenko, No.5 Spaniard David Ferrer and No.6 American Andy Roddick all bounced in the third round.

Nadal was able to avoid the upset bug to capture his first hard court tournament of the season. Though Kiefer raised his level early in the second set getting a few break points in the fifth game, the resilient Nadal fought them off and held serve before breaking the German’s spirit with two breaks to take the last four games for the championship.

If he continues to get solid results on the hard courts, then Nadal has to be considered a serious U.S. Open contender. He now believes he can win on any surface:

“I win on every surface, no? I win on grass, on hard, on indoor, and on clay, too. So if I am playing my best tennis I can win on every surface, no?”

In his career, Nadal’s now won 30 titles, making him the third youngest player to win that many behind Borg and Jimmy Connors.

He now trails Federer by just 300 points in the rankings boasting an impressive 61-7 record in 2008. So, can he finally overtake the 12-time slam winner who’s held the top spot a record 234 weeks in a row?

“Every player wants to be No. 1, no? I would love to be No. 1, but I am No. 2 right now. I’m very happy for be No. 2. Because with my titles, with my points, in a normal situation I, well, would have been No. 1 before. So I think I have to be happy, very happy anyway if I am No. 1 or No. 2. Because if I am No. 2 it’s because in front of me there is amazing player like Roger (Federer).”

We’ll see how Rafa follows up all his success in Cincinnati this week.
-This Brett Favre Saga has gotten out of control. Now, ESPN’s Bottom Line is giving a daily synopsis of the on-goings filled with quotes from the Green Bay QB as if it matters more to sports fans than the scores which is what it’s supposed to fill us in on. I highly doubt most NFL fans outside the crazies in Milwaukee care about every life detail of Favre’s existence. What’s next? ESPN Bottom Line fills us in on the little details of Favre’s day:
“After talking about how he won’t report to camp, Favre then milked his cows on his farm before having a balanced lunch with a homemade salad filled up of veggies freshly picked and washed it down with some fresh squeezed lemonade.”
Why can I actually see this happening?
-In a fun baseball season filled with pennant chases, it’s easy to overlook the season San Diego first base slugger Adrian Gonzalez is having. Despite playing for a last place team with not much else around him, the 26 year-old former Marlins’ 2000 No.1 pick is hitting .280 with 25 homers, 82 RBI’s and 63 runs scored. He needs just five dingers and 18 RBI’s to match last year’s total. His 25 long balls are tied for fifth in the NL and 82 knocked in are tied for second. Just imagine if he was on a good team with more productive hitters. He’s become one of the more productive hitters in the game since coming over from Texas three years ago. Isn’t it about time he got his due?
-I don’t care what comes out of his mouth. The Red Sox would be crazy to trade Manny Ramirez. Few sluggers are more dangerous in crunch time than the kid from Washington Heights.
Add to Yahoo Add to Google Furl this Add to Spurl Save to Del.icio.us Digg IT! Live Bookmarks! Blogmarks