Nadal Wins an Epic Over Coria; Henin Wins 3rd BerlinPosted on May 9, 2005
Spanish teen Rafael “The Prodigy” Nadal proved too tough and too fit for Argentine Guillermo Coria in the final Sunday in Rome. Nadal overcame a 3-0 deficit in the fifth set to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6) in an epic 5-hour, 14-minute cliffhanger. The victory for the 18-year-old Nadal was his 17th straight match win, and second straight Masters Series title following Monte Carlo last month, when he also beat Coria. Nadal also moves within just 10 points of 2005 ATP Race leader Roger Federer for whatever that is worth, it isn’t the real rankings afterall. “It’s the toughest match I have ever played in my life, more than five hours; I won thanks to the support of the crowd. It was unbelievable out there,” Said Nadal, who collected his fifth title on the year, and sixth of his young career. “I have won three consecutive titles,” Nadal added. “I don’t know how to explain that. I am playing well and I have a lot of confidence obviously. I just want to continue at this level. Every time I win a match they ask me if I am the favorite for Roland Garros but the favorite for Roland Garros will be the player who plays the best there.” The big question for Roland Garros will be just how full Nadal’s gas tank will be. Nadal has played a lot of clay tennis in the last month – 17 matches in 27 days - and has more to go with Hamburg starting Monday. Thinking is, to remain fresh for Paris, which starts in just two weeks, Nadal may either pull out of Hamburg or simply lose early. Nadal does has a bad left index finger should he need to go to the injury card. Coria, a French finalist last year, shouldn’t feel too down after playing a heck of a match, but he was. "I'm a little bit disappointed because I ran for five hours just to lose with two points. Actually, I am very disappointed," said Coria, who had a game point for 4-0 lead in the fifth set. “It's normal but, you know, I lost with a top player who played a great match. So that's it, now I have to move on." In the doubles final, the French team of Michael Llodra and Fabrice Santoro got the best of the Bryan kids posting a 6-4, 6-2 win to earn them their first Masters Series title as a team. Henin Wins Third Berlin Title Former world No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne continued to make the most of her comeback to the sport by winning her third straight clay title and third Berlin crown with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Nadia Petrova. In doing so, Henin-Hardenne becomes just the second woman to win at least three titles in Berlin, joining legend Steffi Graf, who captured a remarkable nine titles at the event during her career. Henin-Hardenne won back-to-back title in 2002 and 2003 at the event before taking the 2005 championship. She also earned his 17th straight match win, and now since returning to the tour in March after a lengthy bout with illness, the Belgian has won 20 of her 21 matches. Henin-Hardenne was able to survive multiple three-set matches, along with the cold and a rainy finale in Berlin to produce her 22nd career singles title. "It's tough conditions for everyone," Henin-Hardenne said afterward. "But coming here after the victory last week, then having a lot of trouble in my first matches here. At that point, I didn't think I was going to win here in Berlin. "I've been really positive during the whole week. That's what probably helped me to win this tournament. Because even if I wasn't playing good tennis, I kept fighting on every point," she said. Rain interrupted Sunday's final on two different occasions, including at 5-3, 30-love in the third set. After the delay, Henin-Hardenne returned to the court and finished the match in the next two points played. "Those were probably the two most important points in the match," Henin-Hardenne said. The victory allowed Henin-Hardenne to avenge her loss to the Russian player in the fourth round of last year's US Open. She has now won six of the seven meetings against Petrova. "I was not as focused today," said Petrova, who is still seeking her first WTA title. "That’s why you could see I was missing by a centimeter or two. I couldn’t really get the lines today. I think that’s why she ended up beating me." In the doubles final, Russian pair Elena Likhovtseva and Vera”Warren” Zvonareva won their first title as a team on Sunday, defeating No.2 seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Federer Returns in Hamburg Federer, meanwhile, will have his hands full right from the get go with heavy-hitting lefty Fernando “Pass The” Vardasco. Should Club Fed prevail, he’ll then likely get the goods from the underrated David Ferrer, with yet another Spaniard, Tommy Robredo, looming and then Guilermo Coria waiting in the wings in the quarters. Of course Federer beat Coria in the Hamburg final in 2004, but Coria this year may have a bit more fire in the belly especially after suffering a stinging loss to Nadal Sunday in Rome. With that loss, Coria has fell in the final of the last four clay “majors” – 2004 Hamburg, 2004 Roland Garros, 2005 Monte Carlo, 2005 Rome. Ouch! Andre Agassi is not a big fan of Hamburg as this is just his fifth career appearance but he did have a great draw until rising Spanish qualifier Nicolas Almagro got placed to possibly face the former No. 1 in the second round. Safin also lurks in the Agassi quarter but we’ll take qualifier (that’s right, qualifier) Juan Carlos Ferrero to prevail in this section to meet Coria in the semifinals. As for the Nadal SF opponent (or Tommy Haas), look for an Argy like Davide Nalbandian to come out. Serena, Sharapova Headline Rome Safina, Koukalova Lead Prague DAILY TENNIS-X E-NEWSLETTER TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS |
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Nadal Defeats Coria in Epic Rome Final