Federer v Nadal Center Stage; Navratilova in Mixed Final
Posted on June 3, 2005
Henin-Hardenne, Pierce Advance to French Open Dream FinalWhile the men's final at Roland Garros will most likely be a one-sided affair, organizers of the French Open have to be delighted with the women's fare on tap for Saturday, with homecountry favorite Mary Pierce facing resurgent former No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne.
It will be the first women's final to boast two former Roland Garros champions since 1998 when Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario won her third and final French crown, defeating Monica Seles.
Henin-Hardenne steamrolled Russian Nadia Petrova 6-2, 6-3 in the first semifinal Thursday, with the occasion proving too much for the No. 7-seeded Russian who failed to keep her composure.
"She kept me in trouble all the time, very aggressive," said Petrova, whose forehand side was an ATM machine for the weakness-seeking Belgian. "It's just one of those days where everything works in her favor -- she had one of those days today. I must say, she just didn't give me time to do much, to change much, she just made me run."
Petrova noted the difficulty she had with her "mental quietness" as compared to the concentration and will of Henin-Hardenne.
"She's come out of injury very strong, very mentally strong as well, playing very good tennis," Petrova said.
The two exchanged breaks of serve early in the match, then Petrova's wheels began to come off while Henin-Hardenne dug in and made the Russian earn most every point.
"I was very determined, I was patient and I was aggressive when I needed to be," Henin-Hardenne said. "I'm very satisfied. I'm getting a bit tired but I keep winning and that's a good feeling."
In the final the diminutive Belgian will face the explosive baseline game of Pierce, who the crowd will be pushing to repeat her heroics of 2000 when she defeated Conchita Martinez in the final.
The No. 21-seeded Pierce rolled over an overwhelmed Elena Likhovtseva 6-1, 6-1 in the second semifinal Thursday, with the Russian managing only 15 points in the entire contest.
"She moves better than she used to," said Likhovtseva of Pierce. "She was dictating the game. So I couldn't, you know, I couldn't put myself into the game. I didn't dictate it. So I think I didn't put her in defense, and that was the key moment."
For Pierce, reaching the Roland Garros final is the result of a combination getting back in top shape and finally experiencing a rare period where she is not beset by various injuries.
"I've worked very hard," Pierce said. "I believe in myself, and the few people that believe in me that I have in my life have really helped me a lot to get where I am. That's why I'm here today, is because I had something inside of me when I had my injuries that was telling me, 'You know, you're not done. There's still something for you do in tennis, still some things for you to accomplish, still some things for you to accomplish in tennis.'"
Henin-Hardenne has won all three of her career meetings with Pierce in straight sets, most recently at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
"It's definitely going to be a really tough match," Pierce said of the final. "It's going to be a really exciting match. It's going to be a lot of fun. I almost really couldn't ask for anything better, to be playing against Justine in the finals. It's going to be fantastic. Great test for me. She's one of the best players in the game right now. I've had nothing to lose, like I've had nothing to lose in the last few matches. I'm really just going to enjoy it -- enjoy being on the court, enjoy every moment, the crowd cheering for me, my family supporting me. It's the last match and I'm going to give everything that I have."
Petrova says the crowd and atmosphere will be to Pierce's advantage, but tips the Belgian in the end.
"(Henin-Hardenne) might have trouble if she's going to be playing Mary because, you know, the crowd I think would stay behind Mary, and that maybe can little bit frustrate her," Petrova said. "I don't see anyone else winning this tournament instead of Justine."
The Belgian said the key against Pierce, who will be looking to end points quickly, will be to suck her into long rallies and get the Frenchwoman's unforced error-counter rolling.
"I think she's in great shape right now. And mentally she's very strong because she loves to play here at the French Open," Henin-Hardenne said. "She won it a few years ago, so she has a great motivation...I will have to be patient, but not playing very long, too, because she's going to try to take every opportunity and go for the winners. She's not going to go for the long rallies, so it's going to be my job to make the points a little bit longer."
On the Friday women's schedule is the doubles semifinals in (8) Morariu/Schnyder vs. Black/Huber, and (1) Ruano Pascual/Suarez vs. (5) Petrova/Shaughnessy.
Federer-Nadal to Meet; Bryan Brothers Upset No. 1 Seeds at French Open
The No. 3-seeded Bryan brothers advanced to the French Open doubles final Thursday when the top-seeded team of Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor retired in the second set with a wrist injury to Nestor.
The Bryans won the first set 6-3 before Nestor received treatment for his wrist in the second set. Nestor double-faulted his service away to give the Bryans a 3-2 lead in the second, then retired from the match.
In the final the American twins will face No. 2 seeds Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi, who defeated Chile's Fernando Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
The Bryans will have the edge over the Swedish/Belarus combo in the final, with previous wins over the pair this year at the Australian Open and Masters Series-Rome.
For Knowles and Nestor it was another Roland Garros disappointment, with the Bahamian/Canadian pair finishing runner-up at the event in 1998 and 2002.
The Bryan twins won their lone French title in 2003.
On tap Friday on the men's schedule are the singles semifinals in (12) Davydenko vs. Puerta, and (1) Federer vs. (4) Nadal.
"He's showing really that he deserves to be No. 1," Nadal said of Federer reaching the semis, his best effort to-date at Roland Garros. "And even on clay, he's really good. But now I'm in the semifinal, and so I've got my own objective...I think I might be able to win."
Federer and Nadal have met only twice on tour, both times on hardcourt, with the Spaniard shocking Federer in straight sets in their first meeting at Miami in 2004, and this past March again in Miami where the Swiss pulled the escape act of the year with a 2-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-1 win in the final.
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Justine Henin-Hardenne has won her last 23 matches...Mary Pierce is a perfect 5-0 in Grand Slam semifinal matches...Nadia Petrova has never won a title, and is now 0-2 in Slam semis...TV Update: NBC has caved amid the pressure and will apparently show the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal semifinal live followed by tape on ESPN of Mariano Puerta-Nikolay Davydenko...Word is Roger Federer didn't come to the Roland Garros site on Thursday to practice...Marat Safin is the only player to beat Roger Federer in a Slam SF or F...Weather Friday: Warmer with a chance of showers late...Mary Pierce says she has reconciled with her father who has in the past been banned from WTA events for abusive behavior, was accused of past abusive behavior toward his wife and kids, punched a spectator at the 1993 French Open, and sued his daughter for breach of contract after she took out a protection order against him: "The relationship with my dad is great...My dad has been coming out on the courts, he'll comes to practice like every day. He just loves it, and he loves tennis...Off the court, we'll do stuff together, too. I go and eat lunch almost every day at his apartment." Good luck with that...Justine Henin-Hardenne says she has not yet pulled from Eastbourne (as her coach said), but that, essentially, organizers shouldn't hold their breath...Nikolay Davydenko is the sixth different Russian player to reach the last four of a slam, joining countrymen Alex Metreveli, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Marat Safin, Andrei Chesnokov and Alexander Volkov. Davydenko, who will make his Top 10 debut Monday, is the only player besides Roger Federer to reach the semis or better at the first two slams of the year...Here's the problem with the ATP having two ranking systems, confusing tennis writers such as David Prentice of the Liverpool Echo, writing about Ivan Ljubicic: "The six feet four inch Croatian is currently flying high at number nine in the ATP singles rankings..." -- unfortunately that's his "ATP Race" standing, his actual ranking is No. 14...The Mariano Puerta File: If Puerta reaches the final, at No. 37 he will be the lowest-ranked player in the Open Era in the final at Roland Garros. Puerta was suspended for nine months (beginning Oct. 3, 2003) for testing positive for Clenbuterol, a Class I substance, at 2003 Vina del Mar and returned to the tour in July 2004. An independent Tennis Anti-Doping Program tribunal determined that Puerta was prescribed Clenbuterol by his physician to treat an acute asthma attack and that the use had no performance enhancing benefits. Ten years ago this week Puerta finished runner-up in the 1995 Roland Garros boys' singles, losing to countryman Mariano Zabaleta...From the X-Discussion Board: "So, how come I know all these bodybuilders, powerlifters, and athletes who are using clen? If they have asthma, how come I don't see any asthma puffer-things around? (Bronchiodialators they're called or something?) Oh, wait a minute -- seems that some "side effects" of Clenbuterol include increased metabolism, a delay in the onset of fatigue, increased fat-burning, and possible increased strength and muscle-hypertrophy. Oh, well golly gee, I'm sure Puerta and all the others had no idea of its thermogenic and possible anabolic qualities..."...Rafael Nadal's career tiebreak record is 19-21...Roger Federer is looking to join Andre Agassi as the only players to win career Grand Slams in the Open Era (since 1968)...The last man to win Roland Garros without losing a set was Bjorn Borg in 1980...Rafael Nadal is 6-6 career vs. Top 10 opponents (5-2 on clay)...There have been eight all left-handed Grand Slam finals in the Open Era, but it has never occurred at Roland Garros...Only four teenagers have had win streaks of 20 matches or more: Andre Agassi (23), Rafael Nadal (22), Boris Becker (21), and Mats Wilander (20)...Roger Federer received the Orange Prize for fair play as voted by the public during Roland Garros while Rafael Nadal earned the Bourgeon Prize for the most promising player...Born in Canada to an American father and a French mother, Mary Pierce is American when she loses at Roland Garros but French when she wins...Jim Courier is picking Roger Federer to advance to the final, while Mats Wilander is going with Rafael Nadal..."Grinning" Greg Rusedski lost to Daniele "Choppin'" Bracciali on grass at the Surbiton Challenger...Clay Iles, former Tim Henman coach: "Everyone thinks Tim Henman is a choker. He's not. In fact, his main problem is a lot, lot worse than that. Put quite simply, his tennis just isn't good enough. You see, contrary to popular belief, determination has never been Tim's problem. And you'd be hard pushed to find a fitter 30-year-old. It's just that there are players out there who are always going to muscle him out. Tim's game is outdated. His tennis exists in a time warp; he plays a wooden racket game with modern technology. Take him back to the sixties and he might well have won Wimbledon. But no longer."...Martina Navratilova and Leander Paes will face Daniela Hantuchova and Fabrice Santoro in the Roland Garros mixed doubles final...The Chilean Tennis Federation has chosen former Chilean player Hans Gildemeister as the new captain of the Chilean Davis Cup team, replacing Argentine Horacio de la Pena...Lacoste USA announced the seizure of more than $1 million worth of counterfeit Lacoste merchandise in raids conducted as part of a sweep of illegal wholesale and retail warehouses in mid-town Manhattan this week -- some of which were rented to one "Andrew Roddick" -- just kidding. Lighten up, it's Friday...A tennis blogging lover's spat was averted by TR.net's Matt Cronin: "My colleague and occasional drinking (and eating) buddy Peter Bodo reported on his entertaining and insightful blog on Tennis.com that I am opposed to an ELS. I'm not completely opposed, but want everyone involved not to rush into it and make sure that the entire system (which includes challenges) is properly worked out beforehand. Tennis does not need endless delays, nor daily protests from the players who feel that they have been slighted because they lost on a court that wasn't equipped with an ELS. Everyone has to be on board because it's a radical change."...The South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Charlie "Brick" Bricker on Mary Pierce's crazy dad: "...Not long afterward Mary and her French mother, Yannick, estranged themselves from her father. But he tracked them down to a hotel in Italy, where he got into a fight with their bodyguard. "I walked toward him and he put his hand on me to stop me," Jim Pierce told me in an interview in September 1993. "I drilled him with a left. The guy's a sucker for a left. But as he got up he pulled a can out of his back pocket and Maced me." Once inside Mary's room he got a towel, wiped his eyes and threw the towel at the bodyguard's feet. "When he looked down, it was hammer time. I must have hit him with four good shots," Pierce said. "When I hit him the fifth time, he pulled a knife and cut me across my arm. He cut me to the bone. "The hell of it was, it was my own knife. I guess my wife had given it to him." That's what her life used to be like, and that was just the beginning of years of ups and downs, mostly downs, both personally and professionally." Nice....Mariano Puerta is 0-3 career on grass, for you punters lining up your Wimbledon bets. Shocking...Scotland's Andy Murray and France's Gael "Force" Monfils will receive Queen's wildcards...Yevgeny Kafelnikov will play at the Russian national amateur golf championship to be held later this month at the Moscow Country Club, hoping to qualify for the $1 million Russian Open, which is part of the European PGA Tour: "I'm serious about golf," Kafelnikov told Reuters. "I know it takes countless hours of practice before you learn all the intricate parts of this game but I'm prepared to give it a try. I was told the winner of the amateur championship will qualify for the Russian Open, so we'll see how it goes." Can a player tank in golf? We'll see...