Nadal up to No. 2

Rafael Nadal takes his customary bite out of the Cincinnati Masters winner's trophy after defeating John Isner in the final at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre in Ohio on Sunday. PHOTO: AFP

Rafael Nadal won the Cincinnati Masters for the first time on Sunday, his ninth title of 2013 lifting him to number two in the world and stamping him a US Open favourite.
The fourth-seeded Spaniard, whose season didn't start until February when he returned from a seven-month injury absence, proved again the eight-time French Open champion is back in peak form after his shock first round exit at Wimbledon.
He beat unseeded American John Isner 7-6 (10/8), 7-6 (7/3) to add the Cincinnati crown to the Montreal Masters title he won a week before, his first ever back-to-back hardcourt trophies.
Nadal said that winning back-to-back Masters 1000 titles was uniquely demanding.
"We play from the first round against the best players in the world, the top 50 players. In other tournaments, you can have good draws, here you cannot.
"Winning back to back tournaments is difficult because the courts are not exactly the same, the weather conditions are not exactly the same.
"You test your body and your tennis to the limit. You need to be 100 percent focused during the two weeks and playing every day."
Victoria Azarenka toppled world No. 1 Serena Williams 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) to claim the Cincinnati WTA title and establish herself as a contender for the US Open.
The two-and-a-half-hour epic featured multiple momentum shifts after Azarenka, the second seed from Belarus, began the afternoon with two double faults to lose the opening set in under 30 minutes.
She managed to steady herself and held on to beat the top-seeded Williams for only the third time in 15 matches. It was her second victory over the American this year, after a triumph in the final at Doha.