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Serena Williams won her fourth consecutive title of the year in dominating fashion Sunday, beating third-seeded Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-3 in the Italian Open final, while Rafael Nadal beat rival Roger Federer in the men's final by the identical score.

A week out from the French Open, Serena Williams is only one victory away from winning her fourth consecutive title this year.

Novak Djokovic can't seem to find any consistency on clay courts. And with the French Open less than 10 days away, he will enter Roland Garros on the back of two early defeats.

Six-time champion Rafael Nadal overcame one of the worst opening sets of his career to edge Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 Thursday and reach the Italian Open quarterfinals.

Rafael Nadal began his bid for a seventh Rome title by cruising past local hope Fabio Fognini of Italy 6-1, 6-3 in just 61 minutes, and two-time defending champion Maria Sharapova eased past Spanish qualifier Garbine Muguruza 6-2, 6-2.

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer appear back on track after early losses in Madrid last week. Serena Williams, meanwhile, is maintaining her dominance.

Are today's rivalries soft? Are the players more interested in the size of their bank accounts? Jimmy Connors thinks so.

The thing about the Serena Williams-Maria Sharapova rivalry? It's not really a rivalry.

Rafael Nadal won his fifth title since returning from a knee injury by beating Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 6-4 Sunday for the Madrid Open championship.

Serena Williams is still No. 1, and has No. 50 to go along with it.

Rafael Nadal reached his seventh consecutive final since returning from a knee injury, cruising past Pablo Andujar at the Madrid Open.

Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova will play for the No. 1 ranking and the Madrid Open title after winning semifinals in straight sets Saturday.

Rafael Nadal fought back to beat David Ferrer 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-0 in Friday's quarterfinals of the Madrid Open, keeping alive his bid to reach a seventh straight final since returning from injury.

Roger Federer was ousted by Kei Nishikori of Japan with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 loss Thursday in the third round of the Madrid Open.

Victoria Azarenka lost her temper, broke her racket and argued with the chair umpire in an exit Wednesday from the Madrid Open, where she's been runner-up the last two years.

Grigor Dimitrov stunned Novak Djokovic in the second round of the Madrid Open on Tuesday, beating the top-ranked Serb 7-6 (6), 6-7 (8), 6-3 for the biggest win of his career.