Henin Wins, Bryans Lose Titles; Federer-Nadal Main Event

Posted on June 11, 2006

Federer-Nadal Preview; Bryans Beaten in Doubles Final

Rafael Nadal's Uncle Toni, also the world No. 2's coach, says he does no illegal coaching from the stands during his ward's matches.

Roger Federer and Ivan Ljubicic are among the players who say he does.

Illegal coaching or no, Toni Nadal says they already have a game plan in place for Sunday -- hopefully one that won't require extra tweaking from the stands.

"What I always say -- stick to the game plan that we set out," Toni Nadal told RolandGarros.com. "He has to be very strong psychologically, move about the court well, and if he manages to do that, then he'll have a chance of winning."

Nadal the nephew has won five of his six career meetings with the world No. 1 Swiss, but Uncle Toni says the margin of victory is always slim between the two rivals, and his nephew is constantly surprising him.

"It will be very tough for Rafael, but that's not to say that it'll be easy for Federer" Toni Nadal said. "But if Federer does turn out to be too strong for him tomorrow, then that's just the way it is, and there's nothing you can do about it. Each time the two of them play each other, I always think that it will be unbelievably tough for Rafael, but each time, for over a year now, he has shown me that he's capable of winning. He never ceases to amaze me. However well I may think I know him, he just keeps on surprising me. In sport, though, you can't always win, and sometimes you can play really well but it's not enough."

Federer has won 27 consecutive Grand Slam matches and is in his fourth straight Slam final, on the heels of winning three in a row. A win Sunday would be a non-calendar Grand Slam, and complete his Slam resume, as John McEnroe says, setting him up to be the greatest player in history once his career ends (or as McEnroe intones, even before).

Nadal has won 59 consecutive matches on clay, an Open Era record, and looks to defend his title in only his second French Open.

Federer reportedly hit with a left-handed junior Saturday in his final warm-up for the Spanish lefty on Sunday.

The Swiss has now reached the final in his last 14 tournaments. Look for Federer to attack the Nadal backhand with his net approaches as he last did in Rome, where he failed to convert on two match points in the final.

In the doubles final Saturday, No. 2 seeds Jonas Bjorkman and Max "The Beast" Mirnyi successfully defending their Roland Garros title with a 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-5 win over the top-seeded Bryan brothers.

"It's sweet to win back to back," Bjorkman said. "One or two points made the difference today. It was a big battle between two of the top teams. This is as good as doubles get."

It was the record sixth consecutive Slam final for the American twins, who are 2-for-6 in titles during the stretch.

It was the fourth title of 2006 for Bjorkman/The Beast, including Masters Series titles at Miami and Monte Carlo.

Henin Cruises to Third French Open Title

Justine Henin-Hardenne punched the clock in a ho-hum workman-like effort Saturday to win her second consecutive French Open title, defeating Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-4.

The Russian won the first 10 points of the second set to momentarily peak the interest of fans looking for a match, but Henin-Hardenne broke back twice then ran out the set and the match.

"I probably didn't play my best tennis during the match, but at very important games, that's what I did," Henin-Hardenne said. "That's been the same during all seven matches. I'm playing tennis because of these very close situations. Today, this tightness, when you're nervous, on the crucial points, on break points, that's what I love."

Kuznetsova made 38 unforced errors over the two sets, trying in vain to match the diminutive Belgian's at-times shocking power from the baseline.

"I kept the right tactics, I was just missing too much," said Kuznetsova of her spray-gun effort. "I build my game on hitting hard and moving my opponent around. Sometimes you make errors. I lost my chances. I had plenty of them in the match. If you don't take the chances, you don't win the matches."

Henin-Hardenne is the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1996 to successfully defend at Roland Garros.

"Now my results are starting to be more numerous, and it's wonderful because it's been more than 20 years I've been giving everything," H-H said. "Right now I cannot find the words to describe it. Right now I still can't realize I won the French Open three times."

On Sunday top seeds Lisa Raymond and Sam Stosur will face Daniela Hantuchova and Ai Sugiyama for the women's doubles title.

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