Nadal Three-peats French; Federer, Roddick Take to Grass

Posted on June 11, 2007

Nadal Thwarts Federer Again for French Open Three-peat

Roger Federer, so close to greatness, continues to be held at arm's length by the bulging biceps of Rafael Nadal, who on Sunday beat the Swiss for the third consecutive year at the French Open to claim his third consecutive Roland Garros title.

A potential crowning as "The Greatest Player Ever" for Federer will have to wait another 12 months, with his resume still void of the only Slam title to elude his grasp.

Nadal's high-kicking, heavy forehands to Federer's backhand again proved the difference in a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win, which saw the Swiss convert on only one of 17 break point chances.

"I couldn't really impose my game like I wanted to and tried to make the game happen with my forehand," Federer said. "He didn't allow me to do that too well today. So, credit to him."

Nadal improved to a career 21-0 at Roland Garros.

"It's an incredible dream to be able to play this well in front of such a great crowd," Nadal said. "I wanted to play on his backhand at first but I had to change my tactic a little. I hit my forehand down the line more and that worked. We kept putting the ball in a 20 centimeter zone but it was a high risk strategy, and we couldn't keep that up for four sets. The turning point wasn't the break points in the first set. But after the break in the fourth set, I knew I'd won."

Bjorn Borg, who won four French Open titles in a row, is Nadal's next goal.

Nadal finished the match with only 28 unforced errors to 60 from Federer, and was presented with the trophy by three-time champion Gustavo Kuerten.

Nadal, Roddick Highlight Artois at Queens Club

There's no rest for the weary this week as French Open champion Rafael Nadal jets directly to London and the Queen's Club for The Artois Championships on grass.

Nadal is the top seed, joined by fellow Top 8-ranked seeds Andy Roddick, Fernando Gonzalez, Novak Djokovic, Ivan Ljubicic, Lleyton Hewitt, Dmitry Tursunov and Marat Safin.

"I couldn't wait to get to London from Paris and it's good to come back where you have happy memories, like I do at the Artois," Roddick said. "I feel as though I'm hitting form and I'm having a blast on the grasscourts here."

Nadal will open against either his French Open victim Juan Martin Del Potro or former Aussie Open winner Thomas Johansson.

Other first-round match-ups of note are (16) Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco vs. Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, (11) Jonas Bjorkman vs. blogger Justin "Time" Gimelstob, (9) Mardy Fish vs. "Dr." Ivo Karlovic, (12) Paul-Henri Mathieu vs. Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez.

Hewitt faces a potential third-round match-up with local boy Tim Henman.

"Tim is a tough player on any surface, and particularly this one," Hewitt said. "It would be great to play him in the third round if it came off -- it's great practice for both of us at Wimbledon, although it would be worthy of more than a third-round match, that's for sure."

In last year's Queen's Club final Hewitt beat James Blake 6-4, 6-4.

Federer Top Seed at ATP Gerry Weber Halle

World No. 1 Roger Federer will try and forget his claycourt troubles this week when he returns to his favorite grasscourts at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany.

Federer has a potential quarterfinal meeting against former Wimbledon runner-up David Nalbandian.

Seeds joining Federer on the lawns are Nikolay Davydenko, James Blake, Tomas Berdych, Richard Gasquet, Mikhail Youzhny, Nalbandian and Marcos Baghdatis.

First-round match-ups of note are (1) Federer vs. Olivier Rochus who the Swiss beat 7-6 in the third last year in Halle, (4) Berdych vs. (WC) Nicolas Kiefer who returns from injury, (3) Blake vs. American countryman and fast-riser Sam Querrey, and (2) Davydenko vs. Austrian Jurgen Melzer.

Sharapova Tests Shoulder at WTA Birmingham

Maria Sharapova continues to plow ahead despite the shoulder tendinitis that plagued her at the French Open as the top seed this week at the DFS Classic in Birmingham.

"I can't even begin to say how happy I am when this time of the year, the grass season, comes around," Sharapova said. "It has a special place in my career and my heart."

The Russian's serve, shaky due to the shoulder injury, will be tested during the Wimbledon tune-up event.

Sharapova won the DFS Classic before winning Wimbledon in 2004, and took a late wildcard into this year's event.

Joining the Russian former No. 1 among the Top 8 seeds are Serb Jelena Jankovic, Slovak Daniela Hantuchova, China's Na Li, France's Marion Bartoli, the Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko, Japan's Ai Sugiyama, and Italian Mara Santangelo.

In last year's all-unseeded final Russian Vera Zvonareva beat American Jamea Jackson 7-6(12), 7-6(5).

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
From the New Haven Register on women's golf needing to follow the lead of women's tennis: "The behavioral meltdown by 17-year-old Michelle Wie is precisely why 13 years ago, the WTA, under then CEO Anne Worcester, instituted a policy to severely curb 14-year-old prodigies from playing the tennis tour on a regular basis. There are many differences between the demands of the women's tennis tour and the LPGA, but the principle of preventing 13-14-15-year-olds from having to endure the pressures of that viciously competitive adult world is the same. Essentially, what Worcester, now the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament director, achieved with the WTA policy in 1994 is that it took the decision-making process away from parents who think it cool to live vicariously through their daughter's stardom. Three years ago, Wie was this charming ingenue and golf prodigy. Now -- thanks to the cockeyed guidance of her dad, B.J. -- she's being called out for lack of professionalism by the game's best player, Annika Sorenstam, and for being unsociable to amateur playing partners during two recent tournament pro-ams."...Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal have won the last nine Grand Slam finals...Last week 36-year-old back-from-retirement Brenda Schultz-McCarthy won the $25,000 ITF grasscourt event in Surbiton...Roger Federer was 1-for-17 on break point opportunities in the French Open final loss against Rafael Nadal...Lots of observations about Roger Federer losing weight and those skinny arms, and not just because he's standing next to Rafael Nadal. Time to get stronger Rog, maybe hit the weight room so you can get a little more sting behind that backhand...Journalists/bloggers picking Roger Federer to beat Rafael Nadal in Sunday's final: Bud Collins, Stephen Tignor, Richard Evans...Reuters on dog biting man: "Five-time Wimbledon champion Bjorn Borg has been forced to pull out of his first grass-court singles match in England for 26 years after being bitten by a dog. The 51-year-old Swede was scheduled to play in the Liverpool International tennis tournament but organizers said on Sunday that Borg was hurt trying to stop a dogfight at his home in Sweden. The tournament Web site said Borg's Golden Retriever had been attacked by a German Shepherd and the former French Open champion was severely bitten on his right leg after stepping in to separate them."