May 2009 Archives

Robin Soderling shocks Nadal in the 4th round of the French Open.  Soderling stormed through the 4th set tiebreaker to capture the match, and record, most likely the biggest upset in French Open history.  Personally, it's very disappointing to see Nadal out of the tournament this early, losing to a player like Soderling.  This isn't good for the sport of tennis....but congrats to Soderling, he earned it.  Roger Federer can't believe his eyes...but he better not rest too soon, Roddick is on the rise in France!

So Rafael Nadal more or less "tooled" Lleyton Hewitt, with the exception of a close second set.  What's really starting to make me think, is the exceptionally strong play of Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic.  I predicted that Maria would make the second week in Paris, due to her extreme "fight" and determination.  This prediction appears to be totally accurate, although, it also seems that she may prove me wrong and go a lot deeper in the draw than expected!  Sharapova is using her veteran experience/grit to grind through the competition; and now I'm beginning to wonder if, in fact, Serena Williams will be the one who has stamina issues, opposed to Sharapova.  Furthermore, Safina looks unbeatable, Ivanovic is playing with fire, and Roddick is playing the best clay court tennis of his life....all leading up to an amazing French Open on NBC...GO TENNIS!

I am not 100% sure when the last time Roger played on Lenglen was, but I do believe that his recent win over Jose Acasuso was anything by smooth. Jose is very accomplished on clay, so I do give Federer credit for earning the win; however, he will have to play much cleaner tennis in order to compete with Nadal in the finals (if Fed gets to the finals). On the other hand, Andy Roddick is playing amazing tennis right now; as predicted, he is in the zone, and will continue to be a sleeper as the event continues. Andy's trainer, Doug Spreen, is in very high spirits and optimistic after his second round match. Rafa gets stronger as the tournament goes on, which is uncanny, and exhibits his heart and unprecedented determination. Roland Garros at it's greatest.

We got a few things right, Rafael Nadal looks amazing on clay, and Maria Sharapova will be ousted due to lack of stamina and adequate preparation on clay, despite recently upsetting Petrova.  Venus seems to be in a jam as she dropped the first set of her second round match.  Federer's first round win was the most impressive clay court performance that I've ever seen from the veteran.

Tiffany Simons and I will be back at NBCSports.com on Monday to recap the action, stay tuned!

Nadal better get some rest before the French Open, he lost to Federer due to fatigue (7-6 in the third verses Djokovic will do that to anyone on red clay).

RESULTS - SUNDAY, 17 MAY, 2009

Singles - Finals
[2] R Federer (SUI) d [1] R Nadal (ESP) 64 64

Doubles - Finals
[2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d S Aspelin (SWE) / W Moodie (RSA) 64 64

FINAL NOTES - FEDERER ENDS TITLE DROUGHT IN STYLE

• ATP World Tour No. 2 Roger Federer ended his title drought in style on Sunday with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over rival and reigning ATP World Tour Champion Rafael Nadal in the final of the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tennis tournament.
• Four-time former Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Champion Federer earned 1000 South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings points towards his bid to qualify for the season finale for a seventh time, while Nadal - who is virtually assured of his participation at the O2 Arena in London - received 600 points and €270,000.
• The 27-year-old Federer clinched his first ATP World Tour title since winning his hometown title in Basel (d. Nalbandian) in October 2008. The Swiss was contesting his 80th tour-level final and improved to a 58-22 lifetime mark after capturing his 15th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy. Andre Agassi holds the all-time record with 17 of the coveted shields, while Nadal is tied with Federer on 15.
• Federer was contesting his second tour-level final of the season after finishing runner-up to Nadal in an epic Australian Open final, a loss that denied Federer the chance to equal Pete Sampras' all-time record of 14 Grand Slam singles titles. The newly-married Federer, who is expecting his first child with wife Mirka Vavrinec in the coming weeks, also reached the semi-finals at Doha (l. to Murray) and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells (l. to Murray), Miami (l. to Djokovic) and Rome (l. to Djokovic).
• The victory over ATP World Tour No. 1 Nadal marked Federer's first success against a Top 4 player since defeating No. 3 Novak Djokovic in the US Open semi-finals last August.
• Early in the match, Nadal showed no ill-effects from his gripping semi-final with Novak Djokovic - which lasted four hours and three minutes and saw the Spaniard save three match points - as he created a break point in Federer's first service game courtesy of a couple of wayward forehands from the Swiss.
• Federer was able to alleviate the danger on that occasion, and later in the seventh game when Nadal had a second break point chance, before turning the tables on the left-hander as he broke him in the ninth game at his first opportunity. The Bottmingen resident then confidently closed out the set with a love service game, a backhand into the net from Nadal handing the Swiss three set points, and Federer secured the one-set lead with an unreturnable serve.
• With the prospect of becoming the first man to defeat Nadal on clay in over a year and the chance to stem a five-match losing streak against his rival, Federer kept his focus in the second set and capitalised on Nadal's ever-increasing fatigue with a drop shot that the Spaniard could not chase down in the fifth game to earn a break point, which he converted as Nadal fired a forehand long.
• As Federer continued to raise his level, Nadal fought hard to stay within touching distance of the Swiss and forced Federer to serve for the victory at 5-4. A forehand winner from the Spaniard, yearning to win his second title in Madrid (also 2005), gave him a 15-30 lead and as cries of "Rafa, Rafa, Rafa" echoed round Manolo Santana court, Federer's forehand found the net to present the Mallorcan with a lifeline in the form of two break-back points.
• Undeterred, 2006 Madrid champion Federer played strongly on the break points, forcing Nadal to go for an extra shot and reaping the rewards as the Spaniard made two backhand errors. Federer was denied on his first match point, born from a second-serve ace, as he netted the volley from Nadal's dipping return. A strong forehand in the ensuing point forced Nadal out wide and his return shot into the net granted Federer a second chance to clinch victory, which he converted with his sixth ace of the match after one hour and 26 minutes.
• It was Federer's second victory over Nadal on clay and closed the gap in their head-to-head standings to 13-7 in Nadal's favour. Federer's previous clay-court victory over Nadal came in the 2007 Hamburg final, ending the Spaniard's record streak of 81 matches unbeaten on clay. He and Gaston Gaudio (three times) are the only players to have defeated Nadal on clay at least twice.
• The 22-year-old Nadal saw his current clay-court winning streak end at 33 singles match wins, dating back to his second-round loss to Juan Carlos Ferrero at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome on 7 May, 2008.
• The Manacor native was bidding to become the first man to win all three clay-court ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles in the same season and earn his fourth Masters 1000 title of the year (also won four in 2005) after triumphing at Indian Wells (d. Murray), Monte-Carlo (d. Djokovic) and Rome (d. Djokovic).
• Nadal was contesting his seventh tour-level final of the season in his eighth tournament this year. Together with his three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 victories, he captured his sixth Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open (d. Ferrer) and won his fifth successive title in Barcelona (d. Ferrer); he finished runner-up to Andy Murray in Rotterdam. The Spaniard dropped to an ATP World Tour-best 41-4 match record (19-1 on clay, 42-4 in sets).

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

Federer: "I am very happy that I remained positive and I got the win I needed badly because I have had some rather bad losses this year in terms of the way I played but I think that everything is falling into place and I felt it coming the last few weeks so it is the right time to get a victory like this.

"In other years it didn´t matter whether I won or lost, I was always one of the top two or favourites. This year it looked like other guys might come moving up but I always knew that I was going to get stronger week by week on clay.

"It´s not the moment to get carried away but it is definitely good for my confidence, especially beating Rafa in the final so it definitely proves that I am doing the right things and I am working extremely hard and it is paying off so it´s a nice feeling. I am very excited about going to Paris, whereas a couple of weeks ago I was still a little bit unsure about my game and not sure if I could win the French Open.

"I thought I played really well, I think you have to against Rafa on clay, there are no easy ways there. He is not going to hand it to you and that is what has made him so tough the last few years on this surface. I thought I mixed it up well; I served well and was dangerous on particular return games. I thought I took all the right decisions today and in the end it looked pretty comfortable so it was a perfect win for me."

Nadal: "I never tend to use an excuse and if I'm tired it's because I played longer than I should have yesterday and today I played less, that's the way that sport works. The court was very, very fast. When you are lacking that spark, if you're able to get into the game you can slowly get back and recover but he used his tactic. He went forth from the very beginning and he was better. That's all there is to it.

"On any court Federer is tough and the conditions here are more favourable for him and if you're not at a 100%, it's very difficult to beat him and I think he deserved to win much more than I did today."

A close scare for Nadal today in Madrid.  The fact Novak Djokovic came one point away from beating Rafael on clay is a wake up call, if you're a Nadal fan.  Secondly, that match forced Rafa to expend a lot of energy, which will make it harder to rebound against Roger Federer in the finals.  It's also concerning to think that Rafa is expending such energy leading up the Roland Garros.  Then again, Nadal is a machine on clay, so he will most likely be fine and not drop a match on his favorite surface in 2009. 

 

Singles - Semifinals
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d [3] N Djokovic (SRB) 36 76(5) 76(9) - Saved 3 M.P.
[2] R Federer (SUI) d [5] J Del Potro (ARG) 63 64

Doubles - Semifinals
[2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d J Del Potro (ARG) / M Fish (USA) 64 63
S Aspelin (SWE) / W Moodie (RSA) d [5] B Soares (BRA) / K Ullyett (ZIM) 36 76(3) 10-6

ORDER OF PLAY - SUNDAY, 17 MAY, 2009

MANOLO SANTANA start 1:30 pm
[1] D Safina (RUS) vs [9] C Wozniacki (DEN) - WTA

Not Before 4:00 PM
[1] R Nadal (ESP) vs [2] R Federer (SUI)

    Just enjoyed a great USTA men's open tournament, felt sick all week, and today, but was able to grind through the opening round, eventually losing in the semifinals.... However; of all the events that I've ever played, this was one of the most special, for what it represented.  To have missed 2 months due to a "tennis elbow" injury, and to have a sickness on "game day," I was 90% on the verge of withdrawing prior to the match, but decided to give it a shot, and ended up scoring one of the biggest wins of my career (despite throwing up on the court during the match).  

Going three sets with Federer proves that Andy Roddick will be a force to be reckoned with in Paris.  If Andy had won that match, it would've been a HUGE upset....Roddick most likely won't make it past the Quarter-finals at Roland Garros, but he is still playing good ball.

RESULTS - FRIDAY, 15 MAY, 2009

Singles - Quarterfinals
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d [7] F Verdasco (ESP) 64 75
[2] R Federer (SUI) d [6] A Roddick (USA) 75 67(5) 61
[3] N Djokovic (SRB) d [WC] I Ljubicic (CRO) 64 64
[5] J del Potro (ARG) d [4] A Murray (GBR) 76(4) 63

Doubles - Quarterfinals
[2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d M Granollers (ESP) / T Robredo (ESP) 46 63 10-8
[5] B Soares (BRA) / K Ullyett (ZIM) d F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) 75 62
S Aspelin (SWE) / W Moodie (RSA) d N Djokovic (SRB) / D Vemic (SRB) 46 63 11-9

ORDER OF PLAY - SATURDAY, 16 MAY, 2009

MANOLO SANTANA start 11:00 am
A Mauresmo (FRA) vs [9] C Wozniacki (DEN) - WTA

Not Before 1:00 PM
[1] D Safina (RUS) vs P Schnyder (SUI) - WTA

Not Before 4:00 PM
[1] R Nadal (ESP) vs [3] N Djokovic (SRB)

Not Before 8:00 PM
[5] J del Potro (ARG) vs [2] R Federer (SUI)
[1] C Black (ZIM) / L Huber (USA) vs [3] K Peschke (CZE) / L Raymond (USA) - WTA

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO start 4:30 pm
S Aspelin (SWE) / W Moodie (RSA) vs [5] B Soares (BRA) / K Ullyett (ZIM)
J del Potro (ARG) / M Fish (USA) vs [2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) - After Suitable Rest

Venus Williams continues to struggle on the red clay, this could be a sign of an early exit in France?  I predict that Venus will sharpen up for Roland Garros.

Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open
Madrid, Spain
$4,500,000 (Premier)
Red Clay / Outdoors
May 9-17, 2009

Results - Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Singles - Second Round
(4) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 75 62
Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) d. (5) Venus Williams (USA) 63 36 75
(9) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. (Q) Varvara Lepchenko (USA) 63 61
Amélie Mauresmo (FRA) d. (15) Zheng Jie (CHN) 62 75
Agnes Szavay (HUN) d. (Q) Aravane Rezai (FRA) 26 75 62
Francesca Schiavone (ITA) d. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 64 62
Lucie Safarova (CZE) d. Anne Keothavong (GBR) 61 75
(Q) Vera Dushevina (RUS) d. (Q) Roberta Vinci (ITA) 46 61 64

Doubles - Second Round
(1) Black/Huber (ZIM/USA) d. Mattek-Sands/Petrova (USA/RUS) 36 64 104 (Match TB)
Hsieh/Husarova (TPE/SVK) d. Jans/Rosolska (POL/POL) 63 36 106 (Match TB)
Azarenka/Vesnina (BLR/RUS) d. Kudryavtseva/Makarova (RUS/RUS) 61 61

Doubles - First Round
(WC) Safina/Szavay (RUS/HUN) d. (WC) Domínguez Lino/Parra Santonja (ESP/ESP) 60 62

Order of Play - Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Manolo Santana (from 11.00hrs)
1. Azarenka vs. Peng
2. ATP: Djokovic vs. Hernández (NB 12.00hrs)
3. ATP: Nadal vs. Melzer (NB 16.00hrs)
4. Safina vs. Li (NB 20.00hrs)
5. ATP: Roddick vs. Haas

Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario (from 12.00hrs)
1. ATP: del Potro vs. Berdych
2. ATP: Fognini vs. Simon
3. ATP: Blake vs. Karlovic
4. ATP: Ferrer vs. Mónaco
5. ATP: Serra vs. Davydenko

Stadium 3 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Dushevina vs. Schiavone
2. A.Bondarenko vs. Kuznetsova (NB 13.00hrs)
3. Schnyder vs. Petrova
4. Mauresmo vs. Dementieva (NB 17.30hrs)
5. Chuang/Mirza vs. Medina Garrigues/Ruano Pascual

Court 4 (from 12.00hrs)
1. ATP: Seppi vs. Querrey
2. ATP: Huss/Hutchins vs. Bhupathi/Knowles
3. ATP: Fisher/Parrott vs. Bolelli/Seppi (after suitable rest)
4. ATP: Djokovic/Vemic vs. Coetzee/Kerr

Court 5 (from 12.00hrs)
1. ATP: Chardy vs. Wawrinka
2. ATP: Kohlschreiber vs. Cilic
3. ATP: Fyrstenberg/Matkowski vs. del Potro/Fish
4. Bondarenko/Bondarenko vs. Hantuchova/Sugiyama

Court 6 (from 12.00hrs)
1. Stosur/Stubbs vs. King/Niculescu
2. ATP: Mirnyi/Ram vs. Granollers/Robredo (NB 13.30hrs)
3. ATP: Hernández/Montañés vs. Cermak/Mertinak (NB 16.00hrs)
4. ATP: Bryan/Bryan vs. Aspelin/Moodie