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.