LONDON — Rafa Nadal has booked his place at the World Tour Finals after winning a record eighth French Open title, the ATP said Monday. Nadal has staged a spectacular comeback after being sidelined for seven months with a knee injury from June last year. Since returning in February, he has reached the final in all of the nine events he has played, winning seven titles including Indian Wells and the Madrid and Rome Masters Series. The 27-year-old is fifth in the world rankings, but is first in the Race standings that are based on the calendar year's results. He has already guaranteed a top-eight finish and a place at the end-of-season showpiece event in London. “Nadal has now qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals nine straight years,” the ATP said in a statement. Nadal has, however, dropped from No. 4 to No. 5 in the ATP rankings this week, swapping places with David Ferrer, the man he beat in the Roland Garros final. The World Tour finals will take place in London from Nov. 4 to Nov. 11. Federer expects 2nd half of year to be better It's nearly mid-June and Roger Federer is still without a title in 2013. Back on grass in one of his favorite tournaments in Germany, Federer is confident his best is yet to come. Federer is top-seeded in Halle, one of the grass-court build-up tournaments for Wimbledon, where he has won seven titles and where he will be the defending champion. Four of those Wimbledon titles came after Federer had also won the warm-up event in Halle. “Halle is one of my favorite places on the tour, and being successful there makes it even more likable,” said Federer, who will be seeking his sixth title in the cozy event, where players step on court practically from their hotel rooms. Federer is coming off a quarterfinal loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the French Open last week. “Paris has little to do with Halle or Wimbledon, but looking back I am really disappointed with my match against Tsonga,” Federer said. “There are days like that but fortunately there haven't been so many in my career and I hope there won't be that many to come.” “I now feel that the best time for me is still to come in the second half of the year. It's a very important phase of the year, leading to Wimbledon and the North American swing with the US Open,” the last Grand Slam of the year, Federer said. In the opening singles Monday, qualifier Jan Hernych defeated Daniel Brands 6-4, 6-2, Mikhail Youzhny beat Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-1, 6-2, eighth-seeded Florian Mayer swept past qualifier Martin Fischer 6-2, 6-2 and Mischa Zverev rallied past David Goffin 1-6, 6-4, 7-5. Dutch player banned, fined Dutch player Yannick Ebbinghaus has been suspended for six months and fined for betting illegally on matches, an anti-corruption body announced Monday. The Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) said the 23-year-old admitted breaching article D.1.a of anti-corruption rules 67 times between May 2012 and February 2013. The article outlaws any direct or indirect attempted or actual wager on the outcome of any aspect of tennis by players. — Agencies
