Nadal is not facing a radically depleted or wounded Roger Federer in the final. Federer won all 10 sets he played in picking up his 5th Halle title. Marcos Baghdatis and Nichols Kiefer stand out as solid wins in the quick transition from clay to grass. The Fed has also posted straight set wins over Robin Soderling, 2002 Wimbledon Champion Lleyton Hewitt, 2004 Wimbledon semifinalist Mario Ancic, and the enigmatic talent of Marat Safin. Nadal made a similarly quick and impressive transition from clay to grass, but he did so with the wind of victory at his back not the sting of humiliation. Federer has looked sharp at Halle and at Wimbledon.

WTA officials should add a tab to their website that explains patronymics in Eastern European languages. It might help fans understand why so many top players last names end with “ova” or some such variation.

“There is a burning desire in Roger to break my record, and when he does it I would like to be there,” Sampras told the BlackRock Tour of Champions. “I told Roger to just make sure it’s in New York or London! Australia is a long way to go! If it worked out like that, I would fly there. I would just let him enjoy it as it’s his moment but (I would want to be there) just to respect the record and what he was able to do and to just say ‘congratulations.’”

“I had obviously a strategy in mind, but I couldn’t do it because of Rafa’s play,” Federer said. “He’s so hard to stop once he’s on top of you. The moment I step off this court I will think of grass — I’m looking forward to the grass, that’s for sure.”

“I was lacking practice and matches,” said Baghdatis, who says he hasn’t been playing of late for personal reasons. “I was not making the appropriate choices at the right time. I wanted to play, but the problem is I didn’t know what to do.”

With apologies to Spike Lee, for the rest of the evening I had the best seat in the house. In the player guest lounge I caught all the action in brilliant high-definition on a couch with Ivan Lendl (one of seven hall of famers in attendance…with Roger a lock, make it eight) and former Top 10 player Tim Mayotte. Needless to say, we had our own commentary, plenty of stories and the banter between Ivan and Tim was not nearly as one-sided as Lendl’s 17-0 career record against Mayotte (and you thought Andy Roddick had it bad with Roger)!

The good news for Roger Federer is that he’s now a perfect 7-0 on the red clay this year. The bad news is that he hasn’t beaten anyone of significance and his next opponent in Monte Carlo just happens to be an in-form David Nalbandian.

After his shaky start to 2008, Roger Federer was supposed to be in serious trouble as the scene shifted to clay.

The ATP has reverse its rule instituted in 2004 that banned ads from alcohol companies on players’ clothes.

Sayonara North America hardcourts. Hello, European clay. For the Americans, it’s a time of anguish, when even such simple matters as making a phone call or ordering dinner exacerbate the tensions of playing on a less than familiar surface.