Blake Beats Nadal; Legends Downplay Federer Competition

Posted on November 14, 2006

Blake Remains Perfect Against Nadal with Masters Win

James Blake ousted world No. 2 Rafael Nadal 6-4, 7-6(0) in his opener Monday at the Masters Cup in Shanghai, putting the Spaniard's forehand on the defense to send Nadal to an 0-1 record in round robin play.

"The problem is not the tennis," said Nadal, who has not reached a semifinal since the Wimbledon final. "The problem is confidence. Win one of the matches, all changes, no? So I hope I win the next on Wednesday."

Blake improved to 3-0 career against Nadal.

"I had a lot of fun out there today and to have fun at your job is pretty rare," Blake said. "Also, to make about $120,000 in a day's work, even for a Harvard grad, that's not easy...You don't beat him by playing conservatively."

Nikolay Davydenko also beat Tommy Robredo 7-6(8), 3-6, 6-1 in his opening match of the event.

Federer was presented with the ATP Champions Race trophy for finishing the year at No. 1 for a third straight season, presented before Nadal's match.

"Another fantastic year is almost over -- I have one more week to go," Federer said.

In doubles No. 2 seeds Jonas Bjorkman and Max "The Beast" Mirnyi beat Poles Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski, and No. 3 seeds Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor beat Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro and Nenad Zimonjic in their opener.

DAILY TENNIS-X E-NEWSLETTER
What if we sent you all the day's tennis news directly to your in-box -- a complete round-up of what's going on in the sport each morning? Could you even imagine? Read what tennis industry insiders read each morning to get their heads around the latest news, insight and opinion on pro tennis. Sign up for the net's most complete daily e-newsletter at http://www.tennis-x.com/subscribe.php

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Israel's Shahar Peer makes her Top 20 debut this week on the WTA Tour Rankings, and France's Aravane Rezai makes her Top 50 debut...James Blake and Lleyton Hewitt have committed to returning to the ATP stop in Las Vegas, The Tennis Channel Open. The event will be one of five in the U.S. experimenting with the ATP's new round robin format. "Tennis Channel Open ticket holders, TV audiences and players alike are going to love this fantastic new tournament format, which is great for Las Vegas, this event and the sport overall," said Ken Solomon, chairman and CEO, The Tennis Channel. "We're thrilled and appreciative that the ATP selected the Tennis Channel Open as the second tournament in the United States to showcase this groundbreaking tennis evolution, and the first in the world to have round-robin play on national TV. We are more committed than ever to the growth of tennis and helping to build the profile of Las Vegas as a leading player in world-class sporting events."...From the TennisWorld blog: "There were two funny moments in that press conference, courtesy of two veteran Italian reporters. Michael Chang is even more famous in China than in the U.S. He's been here for six weeks now, learning Mandarin. He was at the presser, and he asked Federer a really long question about his tournament scheduling. Ubaldo Scanagatta, a titan of Italian journalism, reacted immediately and said, "That was quick." This prompted laughter and made poor Chang blush! And while Roger was saying that the big difference between him now and years ago was the ability to get a hold of himself and a hold of his opponents' games, the irreverent Gianni Clerici asked him if that experience had come from himself or with the help of "Some experts like Dr. Freud." Much to our surprise, Federer responding by asking who Freud was! "He was an expert in psychology", Clerici explained. "Nope, never needed him," retorted Federer."...From Tennis.com: "Henin-Hardenne's coach Carlos Rodriguez tells DPA Madrid gave too much of its organizational focus (and scheduling advantages) to Sharapova, a player he says does little but hit the ball hard and grunt, and whose tennis he contrasted with that of Henin and Mauresmo. The WTA is too focused on money, he added, also critcizing the "hypocrisy" of the Clijsters camp in saying negative things about Henin in the past and then behaving as if nothing had happened."...From Dale Robertson writing for the Houston Chronicle: "The eight seniors who played at River Oaks for the past week share the utmost respect for Roger Federer's talents and all concede he's one of the greatest players. But none is ready to pronounce him the greatest. Why? Mostly because they aren't enamored with the quality of Federer's competition. Names such as Nikolay Davydenko, Ivan Ljubicic and Tommy Robredo -- all ranked in the top 10 and all part of the elite Masters Cup field in Shanghai this week -- don't send too many shivers down their spines. "When Tommy Robredo makes (the Masters Cup)," the outspoken Goran Ivanisevic said, "something's wrong." Added Wayne Ferreira, who retired with a 10-6 career record against the Masters Cup participants (and beat Federer in two of their three meetings, all in 2001): "I won't mention any names, but when you see some of the guys at the top and you remember how they played...it's hard to believe they could have improved so much."...From Matt Cronin writing for Inside Tennis: "The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour is making a headstrong charge to alter its makeup and its schedule by 2009 and it's possible that some U.S. tournaments -- California events in particular -- might be left out in the cold. The USTA, which is heavily invested in American tournaments, is more than upset. "We've told the WTA that if they persist with these plans that we will be forced to consider all alternatives," USTA president Franklin Johnson told IT. With its Roadmap 2010 (which may actually come into play by '09), the tour is looking to streamline its tournaments and reduce its schedule. With mounting player injuries and a confusing calendar, there has been a consistent outcry for change, but some are worried that the tour is going too far in attempting to divide the tournaments from four tiers into two -- "A's" and "B's" -- and by changing the rules so that the stars will have a hard time playing anything but an occasional non-A level tournament.'...From Tennis Week: "Early arrival in Shanghai has given one Grand Slam champion plenty of practice for this week's Tennis Masters Cup and results of his efforts are evident every time his lips move. Former French Open champion Michael Chang is spending the week working as a tennis television analyst for China's local G-Sports Channel and its coverage of the Tennis Masters Cup. Chang, who was born in Hoboken to parents of Chinese descent, spent several weeks brushing up on his Mandarin in preparation for the Chinese telecast. "I spent the last, you know, five weeks in Beijing, trying to get more fluent in Mandarin so that I can communicate with people that I love," Chang said in comments published by Shanghai Daily.com. "I feel before it was such a burden for me. I see the warmth of the Chinese people here. For me not to be able to communicate the things I want to communicate to them is heart-breaking."