NADAL-FED IN HAMURG FINALS

Rafael Nadal fought off a challenge from Novak Djokovic 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 Saturday to set up another final against defending champion Roger Federer at the Hamburg Masters.

The top-ranked Federer overwhelmed Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-1 in the other semifinal. He won his fourth Hamburg title last year by beating Nadal in the final.

Nadal's No. 2 ranking was at stake against Djokovic but the Spaniard prevailed in an often spectacular match that had both players clenching fists and thumping chests after amazing winners.

Djokovic was seeking back-to-back titles after winning last week's Rome Masters, where Nadal lost in an early round after suffering from a painful blister in his foot.

POINTS RACE

Singles - Quarterfinal: (1) R Federer def.
F Verdasco 6-3 6-3 This was the day's first match, and from the
beginning, Roger Federer seemed to be intent on showing that, yes, he
wants to stay #1. The win did not absolutely block Novak Djokovic from
taking the #1 ranking at Roland Garros, but it meant that Djokovic had
to win the French Open and reach at least the Hamburg final -- and
that's if Federer loses his next match. If Federer wins it, then
Djokovic has to win everything, and hope Federer loses very early in
Paris.


Singles - Quarterfinal: (2) R Nadal def. (11) C Moya 6-1 6-3 Talk about
a horrid situation for two friends to be in: Both guys needed this for
Roland Garros. If Carlos Moya won, he would be a Top 16 seed; if he
lost, the #17 ranking was his fate. For Rafael Nadal, a win didn't
actually guarantee anything, but a loss would drop him to #3. By the
looks of things, the pressure induced Nadal's best play.


Singles - Quarterfinal: (3) N Djokovic def. A Montanes 6-2 6-3 And so
it comes: Nadal versus Djokovic, with the #2 ranking on the line. And
Djokovic will go into it with an eight match winning streak. If that's
an advantage; he's admitted to being a little tired.


Even if Djokovic loses on Saturday, he will still have a pretty good
chance for #2 at Roland Garros. After all, Nadal has 550 more points to
defend there than Djokovic.

NADAL, FEDERER, JOKER INTO SEMIS

Defending champion Roger Federer cruised into the semifinals of the
Hamburg Masters by beating Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3 on Friday.

Novak Djokovic also made the last four, beating Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-3.

Rafael
Nadal needs to defeat mentor and friend Carlos Moya later Friday to
protect his No. 2 world ranking. If Nadal loses, Djokovic would leap
over him when the new rankings come out Monday. Nadal has been ranked
second for a record 147 consecutive weeks.

The top-ranked Federer, seeking his fifth title in Hamburg, broke Verdasco's serve once in the first set.

Verdasco,
who lost in the first round to Federer in Hamburg three years ago in
their only previous encounter, had his right foot taped after taking a
3-2 lead in the second set and didn't win another game.

He lost his sixth match of 2008 in the Rome Masters quarterfinals
last week, to Radek Stepanek, but has eased through his first three
matches in Hamburg without dropping a set.

The tournament is a major warmup for the French Open later this month, the only Grand Slam title that Federer has yet to win.

GUGA GIVEN FRENCH WILD-CARD

Three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten was given a wild-card entry into this year's tournament by the French tennis federation on Thursday.

The 31-year-old Brazilian will be playing his final tournament at
Roland Garros, where he won his only majors in 1997, 2000 and 2001.

The clay-court tournament begins May 25, with the main draw two days before.

Once ranked No. 1 in the world, Kuerten announced earlier this year he
would retire after the French Open because of a chronic hip injury that
required surgery in 2002 and 2004.

GUGA GIVEN FRENCH WILD-CARD

Three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten was given a wild-card entry into this year's tournament by the French tennis federation on Thursday.

The 31-year-old Brazilian will be playing his final tournament at
Roland Garros, where he won his only majors in 1997, 2000 and 2001.

The clay-court tournament begins May 25, with the main draw two days before.

Once ranked No. 1 in the world, Kuerten announced earlier this year he
would retire after the French Open because of a chronic hip injury that
required surgery in 2002 and 2004.

SHARAPOVA no.1 IN OUR HEARTS

Maria Sharapova will assume the No. 1 ranking in tennis because of Justine Henin’s retirement.

The 25-year-old Henin, who retired Wednesday, asked to be removed from the rankings, the WTA Tour said Thursday. Sharapova will automatically become No. 1 when the next rankings are released Monday.

It will mark the fourth time the Russian has held the top ranking. She has been No. 1 for a total of 14 weeks in her career, the last in 2007.

“The ranking has never been a big deal for me,” Sharapova said Wednesday after defeating Dominika Cibulkova in the second round of the Italian Open. “Whether I’m No. 1 or 5, my main goal is just to keep winning tennis matches and the ranking will take care of itself if I keep winning.”

Henin, winner of seven Grand Slam titles, is the first woman to retire while holding the No. 1 ranking. This is the Belgian’s 117th nonconsecutive week in the top spot, the sixth-longest reign at No. 1 since the computer rankings began in 1975.

After an injury-plagued 2007, Sharapova started 2008 by winning the Australian Open for her third Grand Slam title. She was 24-2 this year.

FED CRUISES

Defending champion Roger Federer breezed past Robin Soderling 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals of the Hamburg Masters.

The top-ranked Federer is seeking his fifth title in Hamburg and will next play Fernando Verdasco, who upset fifth-seeded David Ferrer 7-6 (2), 6-2.

Federer lost in the Rome Masters quarterfinals last week to Radek Stepanek but has looked very comfortable in his first two matches in Hamburg, one of his favorite events.

Federer has only one title so far this year, at a relatively small clay-court tournament last month in Estoril, Portugal. He has a 24-6 match record.

He had won all five previous matches against Soderling, but three of them were tight. There was nothing close Thursday, with Federer hitting 24 winners compared to 10 unforced errors. Soderling was nearly the exact reverse, hitting 12 winners and 23 unforced errors.

Verdasco, ranked No. 28, reached his second quarterfinal of the year after Valencia, where he lost to Ferrer in three sets.

In other matches, Albert Montanes rolled past Janko Tipsarevic 6-2, 6-1 and Andreas Seppi upset 12th-seeded Juan Monaco 6-0, 6-3.

HAMBURG ON TSN

Be sure to check the alternate TSN channel [402 for Bell] for additional coverage.

HENIN RETIRES

 

Top-ranked Justine Henin will make a major announcement about her career Wednesday amid reports she will quit professional tennis.

The 25-year-old Belgian has always said she sought a long career and despite injuries and a divorce, she had a sterling 2007 with two Grand Slam victories and eight other tour titles.

However, after winning her home tournament in Antwerp in February, she has been on one of her worst skids of her career and failed to go beyond a quarterfinal since.

This year she lost to Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Italy's Francesca Schiavone, and some were lopsided. Last week she was ousted from the Berlin Open in the third round and this week she pulled out of the Italian Open.

Throughout her career, Henin has had to beat the odds.

She had to battled the giants in the game and with a superlative one-handed backhand, amazing speed and endless determination, she won seven Grand Slam titles and an Olympic title. The only major to escape her is Wimbledon.

She lost her mother to cancer when she was 12 and only reunited with her father and close family last year after almost a decade of separation. During that difficult youth, tennis gave her a sense of mission and it became all-encompassing.

At the outset of her productive 2007, she also divorced from Pierre-Yves Hardenne, a Belgian to whom she had been married for four years.

.

DJOKOVIC AND BRYANS

Djokovic won the 10th title of his career Sunday, rallying to beat unseeded Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 at the Rome Masters.

"I was aiming for Rome and Roland Garros as my two priorities on clay courts this season," Djokovic said. "Now I have more confidence approaching big events on clay, and other surfaces as well."

This tournament was an important warmup for the French Open, which begins in two weeks.

The third-ranked Djokovic won the Australian Open in January for his first Grand Slam tournament title, then captured the Masters Series event in Indian Wells, Calif., in March.

Djokovic's third victory of 2008 will move him within 310 points of second-ranked Rafael Nadal in the ATP rankings.

Daniel Nestor and Serbia's Nenad Zimonjic lost the Rome Masters doubles final after a lengthy tiebreaker Sunday, falling 3-6, 6-4, 10-8 to American twins Bob and Mike Bryan.

It was the second championship loss at the elite Masters level for the second seeds, who also lost in the Indian Wells final last March.

''We were playing well as a team, it was a couple of shots here and there in the final that made the difference,'' said Nestor.''We like our form now. We won some important matches this week which we would not have done a few weeks before.

''We had lost some tough three-setters and we won them this week. Things are turning around and hopefully we just need to build on them.''

Nestor and Zimonjic joined forces after the U.S. Open last year and took the first set with a late break. They failed to hold the momentum in the second as the Americans recovered with a break in the final game.

The tiebreaker third was a lottery.

Nestor and Zimonjic were unable to capitalize on a 4-1 lead, with the Bryans making up the gap and taking a 5-4 advantage. They rebounded to go up 8-7 only to lose the contest three points later when the top seeds converted their first match point.

The Bryans now look ready for the French Open after also winning a trophy in Barcelona last week on clay. They won their first Rome title after runner-up finishes in 2005 and 2007.

The teams next head to Hamburg for another Masters Series event, the last major tuneup before the May 25 start of the French Open.

Nestor and Zimonjic hadn't won a match since Indian Wells, falling in subsequent opening matches in Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona before Rome.

''The difference was we had two double-faults and they had none,'' said Nestor. ''Other than that it was pretty even.

''Every point was close, it went back and forth. They're the best and  you have to go for it. Unfortunately it didn't work out.''

NESTOR IN ROME FINALS

Daniel Nestor of Toronto and Serbia's Nenad Zimonjic defeated Richard Gasquet and Fabrice Santoro of France, 6-3, 3-6, 10-8 tiebreak in Saturday's action at the Rome Masters.

They will face American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan in the final.

For Zimonjic, this is his second straight year in the Rome finals. At the 2007 event, Zimonjic won the title with French partner Fabrice Santoro. Nestor was a semifinalist with former court-mate Mark Knowles (Bahamas).

DJOKOVIC-WAWRINKA IN FINALS

Andy Roddick and Radek Stepanek retired from semifinal matches at the Rome Masters on Saturday, setting up a final between Stanislas Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic.

Roddick pulled out with a back problem after falling behind 3-0 in the first set against Wawrinka.

"I felt a little something last night in my back when I was getting treatment. Then, one wrong movement and I had a complete spasm," Roddick said. "I can't really move my left arm right now. You can't really play around that."

Stepanek stopped while trailing Djokovic 6-0, 1-0 with an apparent wrist injury and also looked affected by the heat. Stepanek called for a trainer after the first set, then retired one game later.

On Friday, Stepanek eliminated top-ranked Roger Federer in this clay-court tuneup for the French Open.

Roddick pulled up awkwardly after Wawrinka hit a forehand winner in the third game, then asked for a trainer on the changeover. He came back out and double-faulted, then quit.

Wawrinka reached his second final of the year. He is ranked a career-high 24th this week after reaching the semifinals of the Barcelona Open last weekend, and will move into the top 10 next week.

The Hamburg Masters begins Monday, and Roddick isn't sure how his back will react.

STEPANEK BEATS FED

FEDERER AND DJOKOVIC WIN

ARRIVEDECI ROMA: NADAL OUT

Rafael Nadal lost for only the second time in his last 105 matches on clay, falling to Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-1 Wednesday in the second round of the Rome Masters.

Nadal, who won the past three French Open titles, was bothered by a blister on his right foot and called for the trainer late in the second set.

The blister began bothering Nadal on Sunday, when he won the Barcelona Open.

"Today when I woke up, I said it was impossible to play," Nadal said. "I spoke to the doctor today and yesterday, and they put special protection on it and cream, but it was still tough."

Nadal's last loss on clay came against No. 1 Roger Federer in the Hamburg Masters in May 2007. Before that, Nadal had won a record 81 consecutive matches on the slow, red surface, a streak that began in April 2005.

The second-ranked Nadal had never lost at the Foro Italico, winning the Rome tournament each of the previous three years. The 23rd-ranked Ferrero took the Rome title 2001, two years before he was the French Open champion.

Coming off an appearance in the Barcelona Open final, fifth-seeded David Ferrer lost to Radek Stepanek 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. Spanish clay-court specialist Nicolas Almagro upset seventh-seeded David Nalbandian 6-4, 7-5. Igor Andreev knocked off No. 13 Juan Monaco 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, and Stanislas Wawrinka ousted No. 14 Andy Murray 6-2, 7-6 (5).

Fourth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko beat Croatian wild card Mario Ancic 6-2, 6-2; No. 8 James Blake held off Andreas Seppi of Italy 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-1; and No. 12 Fernando Gonzalez -- last year's runner-up -- defeated Russian qualifier Evgeny Korolev 6-3, 6-2.

ROME AND HAMBURG SKEDS

FED AND CANAS

 

39 minutes is what Roger Federer needed to capture the first set versus his "dark horse" Guillermo Canas. The Swiss seemed extremely fit on the court.

6 aces and one break allowed for the Swiss an easy first set win. Which is exactly what he needed to get the confidence level needed when facing an opponent he does not like to face on a surface he doesn't necessarily like to play on.

In the second set, "Willy" held serve and picked up some momentum which he clearly lacked of in the 1st set. He even forced Roger to defend a break point when serving down 2-3. The Swiss however, defended successfully and squared the score at 3 all. Up 40-15 on his serve Canas saw himself comfortably moving up 4-3. Unfortunately, for him, that is when Federer decided to take control of things. He came back and broke Canas to go up 4-3 and serving. Despite some nice defense on behalf of the Argentine, it was all about "Rogde". Canas would not score another game as Federer goes through to the third round.

POT AND THE KETTLE

Andy Murray claims Juan Martin Del Potro insulted his mother during a first-round match at the Rome Masters.

"Someone saying something about your mother who is one of the nicest ladies you're ever going to meet? I don't think that's really that cool," Murray said after Del Potro retired while trailing 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 late Monday.

Judy Murray provided vocal support for her son from the stands during the match. Andy Murray did not elaborate on the nature of the alleged insults by Del Potro, an Argentine qualifier.

Tempers started to flare after Del Potro nearly hit Murray in the head with a ball in the second set.

"I played a serve-and-volley and hit a bad volley in the middle of the service box and he came in and hit a full-power backhand straight at my head," Murray said. "I would have thought it's normal to apologize for something like that, and not to get an apology was a little bit disappointing.

"After that, the next two or three points I was maybe shouting, 'Come on,' a little bit more than I usually do," Murray said.

The British player was warned at one point for bad language.

From whom did Murray get his well known nastiness?

ROGER BEATS CANAS IN ROME

6-3, 6-3

Even though most consider Canas to be a Roger-killer, two of his victories [2007 Indian Wells and 2007 Miami] were the result of Roger playing with a sprained ankle [known only to a few in Roger's entourage and , of course, your humble obedient servant, myself].

Mirka's insistence that he play those two tourneys, against the wishes of Tony Roche, his coach, led to Tony's resignation.

FED'S SUMMER

Federer, slowly but surely working his way back from mono, can't wait to tackle the next five months.

Who knows, maybe the lack of tennis early in the season will turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Federer needs two more majors to tie Pete Sampras's men's record of 14 and is seeking that elusive Roland Garros crown.

"It's such an interesting time for me," Federer told England's Independent. "I'm chasing Olympic gold, my sixth Wimbledon, my fifth U.S. Open, my first French Open. If I win any of those, I'll be such a happy person. I believe I can do it all."

When it comes to his relationship with new coach Jose Higueras, Federer said things have started off brightly.

"Jose seems like a nice guy, and we get on well," he said. "We like talking."