BATTLE FOR FIRST

Singles - Quarterfinal: (1) R Federer def. (6) D Nalbandian 5-7 6-2 6-2

This may be the best evidence yet that Roger Federer is at, or near, his full form, given how much David Nalbandian has tortured him over the years.

The loss leaves Nalbandian still stuck at #7, with a long way to go to catch Andy Roddick.

And it's big for Federer -- his magic number to stay #1 up to Roland Garros is now one. That is, any combination of one Federer win or one Nadal loss or withdrawal will assure Federer the #1 ranking through Roland Garros.

That means that Nadal will have to win 17 matches in the space of 23 days, and even then it won't do him any good unless Federer loses all his remaining matches.

 

Singles - Quarterfinal: (2) R Nadal def. (5) D Ferrer 6-1 7-5

Of course, if Rafael Nadal now has almost no chance of making #1 before Roland Garros, he could still become #1 after the French -- because Roger Federer has 700 points to defend in Paris.

Which means that Federer needs 740 more points through Roland Garros to stay #1 - - - - - - if Nadal wins Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, Hamburg, and the French Open.

Assume Federer loses to Djokovic here. Grant him a final and a semifinal at Rome and Hamburg (it doesn't matter which). That's 575 points. A Roland Garros quarterfinal would give him 250 more, and clinch it.

So Federer needs roughly ten wins in his next three and a half events (counting Monte Carlo as half an event) to clinch #1 through Wimbledon.

Ferrer, since he loses ground on Nikolay Davydenko, is now almost out of the race for the #4 Roland Garros seed. He's 830 points behind Nikolay Davydenko with a maximum of 1300 still available to be earned.