The 2013 Wimbledon Championships take place between 24 June and 7 July this year, with Roger Federer returning to SW19 to defend his title and hoping to win an amazing eighth crown at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

The Swiss is priced at 9/2 to once again be victorious at Wimbledon, while Britain’s Andy Murray will be hoping to go one better than last year when he lost in the final to Federer after taking the first set.

Murray’s victory in the 2012 US Open means he has the monkey off his back as far as winning a Grand Slam title is concerned, although he might have spent much of the preceding weeks recovering from a back injury which threatens to rule him out of the French Open.

Perhaps the rest and recuperation might stand Murray in good stead and Ladbrokes offer 3/1 that we see the 26-year-old claiming victory at SW19 which is likely to see him scoop the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in the process.

Novak Djokovic is the favourite to walk away with a second Wimbledon title, having triumphed at SW19 in 2011 and the Serbian can be backed at 2/1 with Ladbrokes to claim victory, with the world number one having lost to Federer in the semi-final last year.

As for Rafael Nadal, the Spaniard has recently looked impressive on his return from injury and had the misfortune of playing an inspired opponent last year, with Lukáš Rosol playing magnificent tennis to beat a player who has two Wimbledon titles to his name.

Rafael Nadal is one of the members of the ATP’s unofficial but fully recognised ‘big four’, and he has the opportunity to make his ranking reflect this at the Rome Masters this week. Should Rafa win the title at the Foro Italico he’ll be guaranteed to leapfrog his compatriot David Ferrer, who is having another great season, but remains the No. 4 by ranking alone.

It would be senseless to rule Nadal out of achieving his goal in Rome. He’s reached the final of all of the seven events that he’s played this season, winning the final in five of them. To add to this, his recent Madrid Masters title success makes him the ATP’s man of the moment, and his arguable status as the favourite to win the French Open has been bolstered further.

One telling factor is that Nadal seems happy with how he’s playing. Like many other ATP professionals, Rafa can be a bit of a perfectionist, so if he says he’s playing well then he means business.

“Since we started playing on clay in Europe, I’ve realised that my drive is working again at its high level,” said Nadal in a recent interview. “I’m able to open the angles and play a lot of winning points. I couldn’t do that in Barcelona or Monte Carlo; over here I could… It’s true these last matches I have been able to reach that place where I want to be playing, the kind of play that I’m aiming for.”

As far as tennis is concerned, it really doesn’t get much better than this. The early rounds of the Madrid Masters have concluded, and the focus now shifts towards the big guns and their hopes of winning this prestigious Masters 1000 series event.

This year’s competition features all of the ‘big four’ – the elite quad formed of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal. Nole entered the event as the title favourite having dethroned King of Clay Nadal in Monte Carlo this year. If he can get through an early test against Grigor Dimitrov he’ll have every chance of topping this world class field.

Nadal also has his eyes on the prize. He’s reached the final in all six of the events that he’s entered this year, chewing metal at the end on four occasions. The knee injury that blighted his 2012 season appears to have gone away, and whilst he won’t directly admit it, Rafa appears to be close to 100 percent.

Federer’s participation here has attracted a lot of attention. This is his first tournament since his Indian Wells exit earlier in the year. During his two-month absence from the tour, Fedex has done more than just relax with his family. He’s also worked on plenty of things in training, and this was evident when he took down Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-3 in round two.

Murray was another second round winner, though his title charge doesn’t seem to be attracting much hype right now. The Scot was beaten routinely by Stan Wawrinka in Monte Carlo, and could only scrape past Florian Mayer in the second round at the Magic Box. Still, it would be absurd to completely rule out the US Open champ.

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer currently hold something of an oligopoly on the slam titles right now, and the chances of anyone else picking up a major appear to be very slim. Talking to reporters ahead of his title charge at the Magic Box in Madrid, Djokovic offered his opinion on why the big four have the edge over their rivals.

“Well, there is definitely a gap. You know, the four players are the ones who are winning all the Grand Slams and major tournaments,” said Djokovic to the press. “Men’s tennis is in a very high level; competition is getting stronger. But we cannot count out all the other players outside of the Top 4. Players like Ferrer, Berdych, Tsonga, these kind of players have shown in the past that they’re able to win against the Top 4.”

If there’s one area that Nole pinpoints as the difference-maker, it’s confidence. “That’s why men’s tennis is now very interesting. I guess the experience that we have playing on a top level and winning that many major titles helps us get that necessary confidence, and also I guess emotional stability in some crucial moments during the match. Maybe the other players don’t possess that kind of confidence.”

Demonstrating that confidence doesn’t mean bravado (are you taking notes Bernard Tomic?), Novak refused to talk too much about his status as the favourite at the Madrid Masters, and potentially at Roland Garros too. “I’m taking one tournament at a time,” stated the world No. 1. “I will try to get as far as I can in Madrid. Then I will see how it goes after that.”

Roger Federer has been a regular feature at the Swiss Indoors Basel, with his participation adding to the event’s reputation and making it one of the most popular sporting competitions in Switzerland. Federer was a ball boy at the event when he was in his teens, and this has added to the appeal of having the former world No. 1 headline the tournament.

The relationship between Federer and the tournament organisers has always seemed to be a good one, but this year there were some fiery words made by tournament organiser Roger Brennwald, who publicly stated that it had been incredibly difficult to negotiate an appearance fee with Federer, adding that he’d been frustrated by the fact that he was unable to speak to Federer personally.

Inevitably, reporters at this week’s Madrid Masters were keen to quiz Fedex on the subject, and asked whether or not he’d received an apology from Brennwald. “It doesn’t matter,” said Federer. “I don’t discuss those things in the press like he does. For me, it’s really important to keep these things outside of everything. I did the utmost, and that’s all I need to know. And nobody, the fans in particular and myself, we don’t get hurt in the process.”

Shedding further light on the situation, Federer had earlier remarked: “I announced that I’m playing the tournament some weeks ago, months ago maybe. Because I always said I was going to play the tournament.  That was, for me, the most important thing, is that I had an opportunity to play in front of my home city where I grew up, my home fans.”

“For me personally, it’s a place I look back on with a lot great emotions as a ball boy, winning the title there eventually, and making my second finals there on tour. So I’ve had a great time there always, and I don’t want that to change just because of some business situation that couldn’t get solved, you know. So I wanted to diffuse the situation and announce that I’m going to play without getting paid and just enjoy myself over there. So that, for me, is the most important thing above everything.”

Billing itself as the fifth slam, the Miami Masters holds an important place in the tennis calendar. Currently known as the Sony Open, the tournament at Crandon Park is a key stop for the elite players from the ATP and WTA, who all arrive with intentions of adding their names to the star-studded list of former champions.

2013’s edition of the Sony Open promises to be one of the best of all-time. The ATP main draw, to be headlined by Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, surely can’t fail to deliver on the entertainment front. Even with the notable absence of Roger Federer and Rafaen Nadal, the field here contains a selection of the Open Era’s greatest competitors.

We can look forward to seeing Juan Martin Del Potro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych attempting to dislodge the top trio. Berdych has been in very good form of late, whilst Del Potro is closing in on the impeccable standards that made him the US Open champion in 2009.

The WTA draw also boasts the promise of a battle of the titans for the trophy. Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova, who have all traded places at the top of the rankings over the past year, are all scheduled to be in attendance. Serena will be fresh after skipping the BNP Paribas Open, but there are questions lingering over Vika’s participation as she was forced to pull out in Indian Wells with an ankle injury.

The rest of the WTA field, which includes defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska, shouldn’t be overlooked. Aga started the 2013 season very brightly and is undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with. Aussie Open runner-up Na Li is another title hopeful. Angelique Kerber, Sara Errani, Petra Kvitova, Sam Stosur and Caroline Wozniacki will also be worth keeping an eye on in Miami.

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Federer managed to claw his way back, and eventually left the court with a 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-5 victory. “Today it was extremely close again. Okay, I should [have] maybe closed it out in the second set, but he did well to stay in it,” said Federer after the match.

“At the end, I don’t know what [got] me through. Maybe it’s the experience or maybe a bit more calm in those moments. I’m not sure. Today I think I was a little lucky to come through it in the end.”

Nadal also kept fans in Europe up late by getting dragged into a three set tussle with a reinvigorated Ernests Gulbis. The Latvian fought back from a set down, and matched Rafa blow for blow in the third. A late break for 6-5 put Nadal in the driving seat, and from there he was able to seal a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 success.

“To win matches in days like today are more important that ever for me, and I’m very happy about what I did on court,” revealed Rafa. “I’m happy about the attitude. With all the problems, I was able to keep being focused and keep winning.”

And now, to one of the most fiercely contested and enduring rivalries in the tennis world. Nadal holds an 18-10 record against Fedex and was even able to get the better of him at times when he had a stranglehold on the No. 1 ranking spot. Still, Federer won their last meeting in straight sets last year at this very event, so the Swiss maestro shouldn’t necessarily be considered the underdog.

Watch the match live online here

There have been plenty of talking points so far at the BNP Paribas Open. The implementation of the new time violation rules have already sparked controversy, drawing a particularly strong reaction from notorious ball bouncer and underwear adjuster Rafael Nadal.

Lleyton Hewitt has also grabbed a few headlines, albeit for more conventional reasons. The former world No. 1 has been rolling back the years in California, and managed to come back from a set down in round two to record an incredible win over title hopeful and fifteenth seed John Isner.

With just less than a week left to go we’ve got some big matches ahead of us and a roster worthy of the latter stages of a slam. The ATP’s ‘big four’ still have a lot left to give, and the WTA title battle between Azarenka and her rivals should provide plenty of entertainment.

Indian Wells is being live streamed this week at 365

Nikolay Davydenko had an upset Janko Tipsarevic at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday, by beating the number six seed in two sets 6-0 7-5.

Tobias Kamke, also defeated Mikhail Kukushkin in three sets as 4-6 6-4 6-4.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in great form on Tuesday evening, reaching the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships by beating Viktor Troicki in two sets 6-1, 6-4.

Fourth seed Juan Martin del Potro had a very close match against Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis. He saved three match points and then defeated Marcos Baghdatis by 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) in two and a half hours.

Third seed Tomas Berdych crashed Rajeev Ram in just 54 minutes by 6-1, 6-3. M Llodra of France defeated his country man Tsonga in two sets 7-6(3) 6-2.

Rafael Nadal vs David Nalbandian Brazil Open Final

Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-3 David Nalbandian Live Stream
Thank you for watching the live coverage of the 2013 Brazil Open Final. Congratulation to Rafael Nadal for the win!

Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-3 David Nalbandian Live Text Commentary
» ATP Sao Paulo: The Final is scheduled for 1pm Brazil time. That’s 4pm in the United Kingdom, 17:00 for Central Europe, 11am for the US East Coast and 8am for PDT. Tune in here and follow the Nadal vs Nalbandian live text commentary.

Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-3 David Nalbandian Live Score
You can get real time scores of this ATP Sao Paulo Final if you visit our dedicated tennis live score page at: http://www.livetennis.org/live-tennis-scores.

Rafael Nadal vs David Nalbandian Odds
The Nadal vs Nalbandian head to head score is 5-2 for the King of Clay. On the red surface Rafa won a single time, but the match was not contested due to a Nalbandian default. The Argentine won their first two ever meetings in 2007 on hard surface and carpet. Nadal won all the other encounters since. The last win was recorded during the 2012 Indian Wells. You can get a profit of up to $45 if you place a $100 stake on Rafa, while Nalbandian can bring you $175 for the same amount if he nails the upset.