Federer v Nadal Again; Womens French Open Final Today

"The match with Davydenko, at 3-2 in the fourth set, I feel something in the abs when I was serving," Nalbandian said. "After everything that, we think with the doctors and we think with two days off will be recover for that. I do a lot of treatment and everything. In the beginning of today, I feel hundred percent, I feel perfect. And then in the middle of the second set, I feel it again much worse than Davydenko match. So was tough."

Nadal also came through in a match that should leave him with plenty of energy for the final, straight-setting big-serving No. 4-seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(7).

"It's been a serious match, especially with my service," said Nadal, who had three aces in the tiebreak. "I've never lost my concentration, and he was serving well. He was also putting pressure when I was serving, but I reacted well. The third set, I had a good backhand. I've improved my game and, yeah, I think I'm at a very good level."

After the match Ljubicic had no hesitation when asked who he would like to see raise the trophy Sunday.

"I would love to see Roger win it," Ljubicic said. "I think everybody will because it would be nice. He is the best player probably ever in tennis and it would be, I think, nice to see him lifting the trophy here."

The win extended Nadal's record claycourt streak to 59 matches, one away from defending his title from 2005 when he made his first appearance at Roland Garros after missing the event the previous two years with untimely injuries. It is the first time since 1984, and John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl, that the French Open final has featured the top two seeds.

French Open Womens Final Preview, Doubles Round-Up

On paper the match-up is a series of contrasts.

Last year Svetlana Kuznetsova failed to convert match points against Justine Henin-Hardenne in the fourth round of the French Open, then watched as the Belgian went on to raise the trophy.

Yet overall Henin-Hardenne has beaten the Russian in 10 of their total 11 meetings.

"We have never met in this kind of situation, in a Grand Slam final," the 24-year-old Henin-Hardenne said of the former US Open winner. "So the record does not mean anything. She is back at her best, at the same level as when she won the US Open. She is very powerful. When she has her back to the wall she is able to turn a lot of situations around."

The two-time French winner powered past countrywoman Kim Clijsters in the semifinals, and has yet to drop a set in the event.

The 20-year-old Kuznetsova by contrast lost the first set to opponent Francesca Schiavone, and against Dinara Safina went into a mental funk that found her down 1-5 in the opening set before she turned things around for a straight-set win.

Kuznetsova will try and avoid the nervous heebie-jeebies against Henin-Hardenne on the big stage Sunday, all the while trying to set up her Howitzer-like forehand to punish anything the Belgian leaves short during rallies.

"She has a very good forehand, and in the semis, she showed once again that she really is a fighter," Henin-Hardenne said. "I'm sure that she will be looking to get her own back after losing to me here last year."

A win would also put the Belgian in the same category as her idol Steffi Graf, the last player to win back-to-back Roland Garros titles in 1996.

"I do not own Roland Garros," said the defending champion Belgian. "I love coming here. I love playing here. I've had a lot of success here at the French Open, but each match is different. If I could win the third time here in Roland Garros, that would be fantastic."

In women's doubles semifinal action, top seeds Lisa Raymond/Samantha Stosur advanced to the final with an easy 6-2, 6-2 win over No. 15 seeds Eleni Daniilidou/Anabel Medina Garrigues. They will meet No. 5 seeds Daniela Hantuchova/Ai Sugiyama, who outlasted No. 4-seeded Chinese Zi Yan/Jie Zheng 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

X-CORRECT
Rather than ESPN USA, it was NBC showing both French Open men's semifinals Friday on tape.

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Andy Roddick's agent Ken Meyerson, who allegedly set up the coupling of his ward with Jimmy Connors as part-time coach according to The Times Online, speaking with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Charlie Bricker before the deal was formally announced: "There is nothing to it. Absolutely nothing. But hey, I love Jimmy. If he called me (he hasn't) and said he wanted to help Andy, I'd tell him to call Andy (he also hasn't)." Bricker wrote: "Meyerson had already heard about the story and he wasn't certain if should laugh it off and hit the damage control button. Actually, there was no damage. It was one of those stories you throw at the wall to see how long it will take to slide to the floor." -- Guess it stuck to the wall...David Nalbandian elaborating on his abdominal injury: "I was perfect in the beginning and I didn't feel like I can continue playing for three, four hours. Doesn't matter the score. Maybe if I lose the first set, I mean, and I didn't have these kind of problem, I want to continue until the end. I mean, I don't mind the score; I mind the health, the body. I don't mind if I'm beating 6-1, 6-1 or losing 6-1, 6-1, but I'm gonna fight until the end. I'm gonna fight if I'm okay. If I'm not okay, I mean, fight against what? It's impossible...This injury, I've already had two or three times already, and normally it happens in very long tournaments with very tough matches with many sets, where I spend a lot of time on court. You feel very bitter about it. You feel very bitter having to retire like that, with that type of problem."...Ivan Ljubicic on if Rafael Nadal was receiving illegal coaching from his Uncle Toni in the stands during their match: "No, not today. I have to say that, I mean, it's too far away, you cannot say. But I had bad experience in Miami when I lost to him. Toni was telling him a lot what to do, yes. But not today. Today, maybe yes. The stadium is so big, you cannot realize that. In Miami we played on a grandstand, so it's so small you can actually hear everything."...From Marat Safin's website: "Marat is fine and will play at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle next week. He will go to Halle later this week." -- Guess that depends on your definition of "fine."...From Tennis Week: "They have fallen from the top 10 of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings, but when it comes to ranking the nation's most popular sports stars Venus and Serena Williams top the list. Reigning Wimbledon champion Venus has reclaimed her spot as America's favorite female sports star followed by sister Serena, who ranked second in a Harris Poll. Tennis made a strong showing as four of the nation's top 10 favorite female athletes are current or former tennis players: Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, who ranked eighth and Anna Kournikova who placed ninth in the top 10. Tiger Woods ended Michael Jordan's 12-year run as the nation's favorite male athlete by taking the top spot for the first time. None of the 10 men in the poll are tennis players."...Katarina Srebotnik and Nenad Zimonjic won the French mixed troubles title...From the Rafael Nadal blog: "I had a very late lunch on site. I had a big, big dish of pasta with salmon. When I say 'big' I mean really, really big. At lunch I also had a chance to see on the computer the feature ESPN did for Roland Garros. I have to say they did a good job, so congrats guys."...Good news from the BBC for those who'd like to see Brad Gilbert out of the ESPN booth: "American Brad Gilbert could become Andy Murray's new coach after holding talks with the British number two and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). Gilbert, who used to coach Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick, met Murray's agent Patricio Apey and LTA boss Roger Draper in a Paris hotel on Wednesday morning. Murray, 19, needs a new coach after parting with Mark Petchey in April. The LTA also needs someone to head its performance programme after sacking David Felgate last month. The three-way meeting has fueled speculation that a possible joint arrangement, for the benefit of both the LTA and Murray, has been discussed. Murray ideally needs a full-time advisor, but the chance of getting help from Gilbert, one of the most successful and respected coaches on the tour, would be appealing."