Nadal Challenging Federer for Year-End No. 1; Grasscourt Season Begins

Posted on June 6, 2005

Nadal Fulfills French Open Destiny in First Try

Rafael Nadal's sixth claycourt title of the year came Sunday at the French Open where the 19-year-old No. 4 seed outlasted unseeded Argentine Mariano Puerta 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 to fulfill his destiny as an eventual winner at Roland Garros -- in his first attempt.

Touted as the future of claycourt tennis, but kept out of Roland Garros the last two years with injury, Nadal became the first player since Mats Wilander in 1982 to win the event in his first appearance, and now looks on course to eclipse Wilander's record of nine tournament titles during his teenage years.

"Yeah, won here for me is a surprise, no?" said Nadal, giving it a go in English at his post-match conference after the final. "So I play -- I am playing very good. Like now, I am playing good like January. Like now -- I play very good all season, and I won the last three tournaments before this one. I won in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome, and that is important for my confidence for in case this tournament, no?"

Puerta put Nadal on the defense early in the first set with his free-swinging forehand in the all-lefty, all-Babolat-powered match, with the ball jumping from the competitors strings like the poorly-digitalized rallies in last year's "Wimbledon" movie -- but with better acting.

Nadal won key breaks to take the second and third sets, but in the fourth Puerta held set points at 5-4, but the scampering Nadal fought them off while his Argentine opponent appeared a step slower in failing to close out his service.

"I had the possibility of going into a fifth set," Puerta said through a translator. "Unfortunately, it was not the case, but he must be given credit because there were three points where he really went to get the ball. I could have been a bit more lucky. One point was a couple of centimeters away...But it was a beautiful match all the same. I was ready to go into the fifth set. I was one point away."

Nadal fell to the court with arms outstretched after match point, then cried at his courtside seat.

"These moments are very strong," Nadal said through a translator. "These moments are moments when everything comes upon you. All the work you've been doing during all those years, the sacrifices. When you reach your goal, it's an extraordinary moment. For the first time I cried after winning a match. It never happened to me before. I believe it's perfectly normal."

Ruano Pascual/Suarez Win 2nd Straight French Open Title

Top seeds Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez came from behind to win their fourth French Open title Sunday, defeating Cara Black of Zimbabwe and South African Liezel Huber 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

It was the sixth consecutive Roland Garros final for the Spanish and Argentine pairing.

Ruano Pascual and Suarez hold the second-longest streak of consecutive slam finals reached at nine, behind the 11 by Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver.

Big Field Kicks Off Grass Season at ATP Queen's

Former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt and 2004 runner-up Andy Roddick head the annually strong lead-off to the grasscourt season this week at the Queen's Club, otherwise known as the beer-licious-sponsored Stella Artois Championships.

Also among the Top 8 seeds are perennial Wimbledon semifinalist Tim Henman, Czech rankings-climber Radek Stepanek, serve-cracker Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, Swede Thomas Johansson, Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean, and Chilean fish-out-of-water Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez.

"My results have been average this year," Henman said. "I do feel good about certain aspects of my game and obviously with coming onto the grass, that has been a happy hunting ground for me."

Sixteen players are seeded in the 56 draw, with early-round matches of note including (1) Hewitt vs. former Wimbledon semifinalist Xavier "X-Man" Malisse in the second round, (8) Gonzalez vs. "Dr." Ivo Karlovic in the second round, Gael "Force" Monfils vs. Brit Jamie Delgado in an all-wildcard, (14) "Grinning" Greg Rusedski vs. Brit wildcard John Goodall, (12) Mariano Puerta vs. (WC) James Blake, (16) Karol Beck vs. Wayne "The Serving Machine" Arthurs, and (2) Roddick vs. (WC) Mark Philippoussis in the second round.

Returning champs in the field are the two-time defending champ Roddick (2004-03), the three-time winner Hewitt (2002-00), and Philippoussis (1997).

On tap for Monday at Queen's are H.-T. Lee vs. Malisse, (14) Rusedski vs. (WC) Goodall, (Q) MacKin vs. (13) Andreev, (11) Srichaphan vs. K.Kim, Draper vs. Hanescu, (16) Beck vs. Arthurs, Ventura vs. (WC) Murray, in doubles (WC) Hewitt/Philippoussis vs. Leach/Parrott, Garcia-Lopez vs. Lisnard, Phau vs. Sanguinetti, (Q) Guccione vs. Vliegen, Burgsmuller vs. Ginepri, and Sargsian vs. (Q) Carraz.

Federer Shoots for 3rd Straight ATP Halle Grass Title

After a disappointing semifinal loss to eventual champ Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal at the French Open, world No. 1 Roger Federer returns to the grass at Halle where he attempts his third consecutive title with most of the other ATP stars competing this week at Queen's.

Federer is joined among the seeds by the grass-hating Marat Safin, the Swiss' newfound nemesis Nadal, Argentines Guillermo Canas and David Nalbandian, big-serving Swede Joachim "The Jackhammer" Johansson coming off a shoulder injury, German Tommy Haas, and the rare grass-loving Spaniard Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez.

Opening-round matches of interest are (1) Federer vs. the giant-killing Swede Robin Soderling, (3) Nadal vs. German wildcard Alexander Waske (punter alert!), (7) Haas vs. Jiri Novak, (5) Nalbandian vs. former German threat Rainer Schuettler, (4) Canas vs. Spain's Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco, and (2) Safin vs. German wildcard Alexander "My Serve Has" Popp.

The third wildcard went to former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, who faces a qualifier in his opener.

Former champs in the field are Federer (2004-03) and Nicolas Kiefer (1999).

On court Monday in Halle are Verdasco vs. (4) Canas, Youzhny vs. Mayer, (WC) Popp vs. (2) Safin, Novak vs. (7) Haas, Melzer vs. A.Martin, (8) Lopez vs. Carlsen, and Saulnier vs. O.Rochus.

Sharapova, Molik Headline WTA Birmingham

Defending Wimbledon champ Maria Sharapova and Aussie comer Alicia Molik are the lone stars at the 56-draw Birmingham event this week, with the Russian product-shilling icon looking to defend the title that set her on a grasscourt tear in 2004.

"What happened to me last year was amazing. I was playing really great tennis here and then went off to win Wimbledon," Sharapova said. "It brings back good memories. I can't believe it's been a whole year already. It is a really good warm up for Wimbledon just because it's a low key tournament. I've always enjoyed playing here."

Sharapova planned to skip the event before Chanda Rubin withdrew with a knee injury, opening up a spot in the draw.

The remaining Top 8 of the 16 low-rent seeds are Serb Jelena Jankovic, Russian Elena Likhovtseva (who may also withdraw), Frenchwoman-girl Tatiana "Hot Pants" Golovin, Japan's Shinobu Asagoe, Slovak Daniela Hantuchova, and Japan's Ai Sugiyama.

Opening-round matches of interest are virtually non-existent, with the Top 8 seeds receiving byes, and none of the bottom eight seeds facing a Top 50 player in their openers.

Former champs in the field are Sharapova (2004) and Lisa Raymond (2000). 

On court Monday are Foretz vs. Groenefeld, An.Serra Zanetti vs. Stosur, Janes vs. Morigami, A.Bondarenko vs. Baltacha, Gullickson vs. Razzano, Linetskaya vs. Spears, Perebiynis vs. Kremer, Panova vs. Washington, Parra Santonja vs. Camerin, Mirza vs. Schaul, and Chakvetadze vs. Sanchez Lorenzo.

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