Nadal crushes Federer to reach 12th French Open final
Paris: Rafael Nadal reached the French Open final for the third time in a row, and a record extending 12th overall, with a straight set win over arch-rival Roger Federer, here on Friday.
The Spaniard beat the Swiss legend 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 at the Philippe-Chatrier Court in the 39th meeting between the two stalwarts.
While Federer was playing the French Open for the first time since the 2015 edition, it was Nadal who re-established himself as the best player in the world on clay court after a brief slump due to injuries.
The 11-time champion will now face either world No. 1 Novak Djokovic or Austrian fourth seed Dominic Thiem who will clash in the other semifinal later in the day.
It was a windy day in Paris and despite water being poured on the court to keep the clay down, the wind kept kicking up the dust. Nadal raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set before Federer fought back with a hold and a break to make it 3-2. Nadal responded by breaking back and then went on to win the next two games to pocket the set.
Federer took a 2-0 lead in the second set as Nadal struggled to adjust to the dust that was being blown due to the wind, but soon levelled up the set. It was an even contest until 4-4 before Nadal broke Federer and then served out the set.
The third was a more one-sided affair, although Federer did initially take a 1-0 lead. His next win in the set, however, came only to delay Nadal's victory as the Swiss held his serve at 5-2. Nadal eventually served for the match and raised his arms to soak in the applause from the crowd at the Philippe-Chatrier Court.
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
