Nadal v Fish at Queens; Federer Makes Lawn Debut at Halle

Other players completing matches before rain halted play for the day were No. 15 Dmitry Tursunov (d. (WC) Bogdanovic), No. 16 Paradorn Srichaphan (d. Norman), and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut (d. countryman Benneteau).

The former Top 10 Srichaphan was another player happy to see the claycourt season end, upping his 2006 win-loss record to 12-13 with his first-round victory.

Seeds in action Wednesday at Queen's on the rain-backed-up schedule are (3) Roddick vs. (Q) Dancevic, (1) Nadal vs. (WC) Fish, (8) Hewitt vs. Vicente, (11) Grosjean vs. Minar, (2) Ljubicic vs. Sabau, (16) Srichaphan vs. Lu, (6) Gonzalez vs. (Q) Dupuis, (10) T.Johansson vs. Mirnyi, (13) Monfils vs. Reynolds, Mahut vs. (7) Stepanek, Udomchoke vs. (15) Tursunov, then (4) Davydenko vs. Wang or Bjorkman, Bracciali vs. (10) T.Johansson or Mirnyi, (9) Ginepri vs. Murray or Tipsarevic, and (WC) Philippoussis or Moodie vs. (11) Grosjean or Minar.

"I'm not with the best freshness," Nadal said after getting some grasscourt practice. "But it's okay, no? I was practicing yesterday. I want to practice, I want to practice a little bit because I want to feel the grass. But I feel a little bit dizzy on court. The legs very tired. So, no, is not easy. I need to change a lot of things. Maybe now is not the best moment for speak about that because I just arrive yesterday. I need to change a lot of things of my head. I need change a lot of my game and my mentality, too."

Federer Debuts on Grass Wednesday at ATP Halle

The seeds went 2-for-2 Tuesday at the ATP stop in Halle, where No. 5 Tomas Berdych defeated German qualifier Benjamin Becker, and No. 6 Tommy Haas beat Gilles Simon, both in straight sets.

Highlights among the unseeded players were former No. 1 Marat Safin downing France's Florent Serra, and last year's Nottingham grasscourt title winner Richard Gasquet defeating qualifier George Bastl, the answer to the trivia question 'Who was the last player to beat Pete Sampras at Wimbledon?'

Other unseeded winners were France's Fabrice Santoro (d. Youzhny), Swiss qualifier Marco Chiudinelli (d. C.Rochus), and German Florian Mayer (d. countryman Phau 7-6 in the third).

Homecountry favorite Nicolas Kiefer pulled from the event with a wrist injury.

Scheduled for Wednesday in Halle are Clement vs. (LL) Pless, (1) Federer vs. (Q) Bopanna, (8) Vliegen vs. (Q) Chiudinelli, and Mayer vs. (3) Nieminen.

Mirza Beats Rain, Bondarenko at WTA Birmingham

Only four matches were completed Tuesday due to rain at the WTA grasscourt stop in Birmingham, with No. 14 seed Sania Mirza turning her slumping season around with a comeback win over the Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

"I like playing on grass much more than on clay," Mirza said. "I hope to have more success in the next few weeks. Grass really suits my game as it's so fast and I like the bounce. It helps as I take risks to win matches. I've had a few injuries this year and I'm coming back from an injury now (low back and wrist) so that's what's held me back this year."

The win raised Mirza's win-loss record to 6-10 on the year.

Other players into the second round were Slovak Jarmila Gajdosova (d. Meng), China's Peng Shuai (d. (Q) Pratt from a set down), and American lucky loser Bethanie Mattek (d. Schruff 6-1 in the third).

Some players will be doubling-up in matches Wednesday due to the rain, with highlights including Sharapova vs. Rolle, Mirza vs. Perry, and Peng vs. Jankovic.

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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Marat Safin in Halle: "I'm still struggling with confidence, I was missing my rhythm at the start. It's difficult playing my first match on grass to find a way. But I'm feeling pretty fit, my knee doesn't hurt."...Fernando Gonzalez blogging about his day at Queen's on the ATP website: "I didn't do anything today, just got a little treatment on my leg. It's a little tight, but it's okay. I had breakfast in my room, spent a little time on the internet and then came on site. We couldn't practice so I went back to the hotel and slept a little bit and then a little bit more internet." -- Don't overdo it Gonzo...Alicia Molik pulled from Birmingham with a neck injury...Headline from The Times: "Nadal must prove he is no one-surface wonder" -- Huh? You mean the player who has won Masters Series events on both outdoor hardcourts and indoors, and has a winning record over Roger Federer on hardcourts? That one-surface wonder? Stop perpetuating misconceptions...Martina Navratilova pulled from Birmingham with a knee injury, but the 49 year old is still planning on playing at Wimbledon...From X-Discussion boarder consafos: "Bud Collins, despite having seen a lot of the game in his life and being major source of tennis history, is basically a quack. Nadal has never even made the quarters in another slam. I expect that will change, but old flower pants should slow down with proclaiming him #1."...One more week at No. 1 and Amelie Mauresmo will tie Kim Clijsters at 19 weeks atop the WTA Rankings...Daniela Hantuchova (wrist), Maria Kirilenko (knee), Chanda Rubin (knee), Meghann Shaughnessy (hip), and Karolina Sprem (illness) were among the eight players pulling from Birmingham this week...Lindsay Davenport, Mary Pierce and Patty Schnyder are Top 10 players who aren't planning on playing any grasscourt tournaments before Wimbledon...At No. 5 Martina Hingis is ahead of Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters in the 2006-only WTA "Race" standings...Brit wildcards were 1-4 in the qualifying at WTA Birmingham...Ivan Lendl in 1984 was the last player to win the French Open then play Queen's...Martina Navratilova asked by The Guardian if there is any hope for the future of British women's tennis: "Not at the moment. I just got here [to England], so maybe there are some beautiful young athletes waiting in the wings but it seems they get to a certain level and then they stagnate. That would have to be a reflection on the system, not on the players, because that's not an accident. You have countries like France and Spain who have produced a much higher number of quality players...What do they do with that money? Where does it go?"...Nicolas Kiefer pulled from Halle with a wrist injury...Tennis Week on the injured Taylor "Acci-" Dent: "Dent, who has tried virtually every form of back-relief ranging from minor surgery to acupuncture to reiki, continues to consult doctors in an effort to remedy his aching back. He initially sustained two fractures after years of bending his back in an extreme arch during serving. The pain is primarily caused by damaged nerves now, which continue to flare up virtually every time he tosses the ball up in the air to begin his service motion. "As soon as I find a solution, then I'm ready to go," Dent said. "It's just a matter of finding a solution and I mean that could be in the next couple of days, it could be in a week or two or a month or two. I'm not 100 percent sure when it will be, but I'm talking to a lot of doctors and they have a lot of ideas. I just want to make sure I proceed in the direction that's best for my short-term and long-term health."