NADAL'S PAIN

 

24 June 2009

He withdrew from defending his Wimbledon title because of his bad knees. But Rafael Nadal has also been nursing a more personal hurt.

For many weeks there have been whispers that all was not well in the Nadal household, and yesterday it was confirmed that the world number-one's parents Sebastian and Ana Maria have separated.

Nadal's family is hugely important to him. The 23-year-old still lives in the family home in Majorca and is coached by his uncle Toni.

A source close to the Nadal camp said: 'Rafa is devastated. All through the past couple of months he has been trying to get his tennis back on track, but his heart has been elsewhere.

'In public he has put on a brave face, but in private he has been hoping for a reconciliation and fervently wishing this wasn't happening. Now he has returned home and is catching up with his family.

'He talked about resetting his body after withdrawing from the championships and yet he has a more difficult task - resetting his entire life.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1195122/Rafael-Nadals-heartache-parents-split.html#ixzz0Mqbh3vOz

NADAL UNCERTAIN

Rafael Nadal, the former top-ranked tennis player sidelined with a knee injury since the French Open, isn’t certain when he’ll return to the ATP World Tour.

“I have to wait and see how I continue to recover because I’ve only been back training for a week and a half and you always feel a bit happier,” the 23-year-old told Spanish broadcaster TVE yesterday in an interview at his summer house in Porto Cristo, Majorca.

“You start with lots of hope,” Nadal, who was unable to defend his Wimbledon title because of tendinitis in both knees, said. “But again, the real test would be to see how I go when I really push my knees and I think that’s likely to happen in the coming days. So I hope it’s all good.”

Nadal played his last match May 31 in the fourth round of Roland Garros against Robin Soderling of Sweden, who handed him his first loss at the French Open.

“I would like to come back in Montreal in a week and a half,” he said. “I have to force the knees and just see how far I can go.”

BLOOMBERG

ROCKET'S RED HAIR

First he couldn't feel his right leg. Then he couldn't feel his right arm. Rod Laver thought perhaps the bright lights that had been set up for the television interview that July afternoon in 1998 were making him dizzy. They weren't—he was having a stroke. Fortunately for Laver, the interview, for an ESPN segment on the 20th century's greatest athletes, was being taped just down the street from UCLA Medical Center. He spent the next month there.

For the first few weeks after the stroke, the two-time tennis Grand Slam winner struggled to even read a clock. He also suffered memory loss and couldn't speak coherently. "Mainly [the challenge of rehab] was trying to get the brain to absorb more things, because it was frustrating when you found yourself not being able to accomplish simple tasks," says Laver, 70, who worked with occupational, speech and conditioning therapists for four months and did daily therapy on his own. "Love from the family was the thing that got me through it."

His wife, Mary, realized he'd have to rebuild his tennis game from scratch, so she called Laver's longtime friend Tommy Tucker, the tennis pro at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif. "I would go to his house to pick him up, and he would be in the garage, practicing the footwork drills we'd done the day before," says Tucker, now pro emeritus at the club. "Each day he knew he got better. It was thrilling to see, actually."

In 1969 Laver, a lefty nicknamed the Rocket (for his Australian hometown of Rockhampton), thrilled tennis crowds worldwide when he completed his second Grand Slam. He'd accomplished the feat—winning the Australian, French and U.S. opens and Wimbledon—as an amateur in '62 (the first man to do so since Don Budge, in '38), then turned pro and did it again one year after the beginning of the Open era, which allowed professionals to compete alongside amateurs at the major tournaments. No male player has won a Grand Slam since. He retired from competition in 1979, then played on the senior tour and traveled extensively.

Described by fellow Aussie and former rival John Newcombe as one of "the most humble champions you'd ever want to meet," Laver has turned to golf to satisfy his competitive urge. Though he recovered his speech, memory and mobility within a year after the stroke, he has arthritis in his wrists and finds it easier to swing a golf club near his home in Carlsbad, Calif., than a racket. "We played [golf] back when we were amateurs," says Laver, a 10 handicap. "I was down to around a four or five before the stroke." He adds with a good-natured chuckle, "That stroke took all those strokes away from me."

SI

YOUNG FEDERER HAD NOTHING

By Darren Cahill
Professional tennis coach

January 15, 2007

BASLE, Switzerland - a typically beautiful Swiss city that's split in two by the Rhine river, rich in history and home to many of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies.

Time has the ability of standing still in Basle. Spend a week there and it'll feel like a month.

So, in the middle 1980s when a close friend of mine, Peter Carter, decided to take an offer to play club tennis for TC Old Boys in Basle, I was horrified.

Peter based himself in Switzerland and quickly became a local. He took a job as one of the coaches at the club and nestled into the Swiss way of life.

Thirteen years ago I was back at the club to catch up with Peter and spotted him on court working out his bright young hope, Roger Federer.

We had spoken about the 13-year-old, but not in great depth, so I sat and watched as they went through their training routine.

No question, he looked good. The kid had a fast arm with a strong forehand and a good feel for the ball. But he was far from perfect, and to be perfectly honest, I thought there was a kid back in Adelaide who was potentially better.

"Whaddya think of him?" Peter asked, stepping from the court. "He looks OK," I replied.

"That's it, just OK?" he said.

"Carts, you could drive a bus through that backhand. Look at that thing. He shanks it half the time, his slice sits up, he takes a huge step when it's outside the slot and he's not stepping to the left on the neutral ball," I said.

"Yeah, but he's gonna be good, isn't he?" Peter said with confidence.

With that, Roger was quickly forgotten.

Two years on in 1995 and it was back to Switzerland to look after Australia's 16-and-under world youth cup team and a first glimpse at the best juniors around the world.

There was some kid from Chile beating the life out of forehands that left dents in the back fence (Fernando Gonzalez) and another from Peru who looked 25 and sported chest hair that would have made Austin Powers purr with admiration (Luis Horna).

Australia drew Switzerland in the first round and two 15-year-olds were about to have their first look at each other.

Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) v Roger Federer (Switzerland).

And parked in the captain's chair for Switzerland was none other than Peter Carter.

I sat confidently as I expected Lleyton to bury this kid's backhand and Peter was going to cop an earful after the match.

Problem was, Roger had improved. He had improved a lot.

But the match quickly turned from a potential lesson in tennis development to a lesson in kid management.

Both guys were setting new records for racquet bouncing, arguing, smashing balls and just straight out whingeing. Roger would even swear in English and I could assume only that he wanted Peter to have no misunderstandings about his frustrations.

The end result? Federer defeated Hewitt in three sets.

It turned out to be a rare victory for Roger over Lleyton in the early years as Roger's development into a top player was stuck on the rollercoaster ride of expectation.

Then in 2002, Peter died in a car accident while holidaying in South Africa. Those close to Carts were gutted, and still are by the loss of our friend.

Maybe it was Roger's wake-up call, maybe it put some life lessons into perspective or maybe it was just plain coincidence, but Roger started to mature.

The regular glimpses of brilliance mixed with occasional signs of negativity and self-doubt were replaced with a guy starting to feel comfortable in his own skin.

Then came the 2003 Masters Championship in Houston. Even though he had broken through at Wimbledon earlier that year, this week would define him.

Just before Roger stepped on the court to play his first match against Andre Agassi, he was pulled aside by a gentleman with a vested interest in the tournament and given a verbal dressing-down.

It shocked Roger and it was obvious to all that he was clearly shaken.

Roger had apparently made some negative remarks about the event in Houston to which the gentleman took personal offence. He was probably within his right, but the timing was extremely questionable.

History would suggest this occasion was going to be too much for Roger. A bad record against many of the top players, lack of success in the US, matched by the recent controversy, were all ingredients for a poor Federer showing.

The records will show that Roger saved a match point that day against Andre and found a way to win when all the odds were stacked against him.

What it doesn't show is the respect he earned from a legend that day. Andre believed we had just seen what truly lies deep inside Roger.

Minutes after the match, disappointed and soaked in sweat, Andre muttered these words with his head down in the locker-room: "This kid is a genius. He's going to change our game."

Roger went undefeated to win the 2003 Masters Championship, beating Andre again in the final.

His record since that event speaks for itself. But more significantly, his domination over players who previously had caused him trouble has been simply staggering.

There are two things I believe.

In more than 30 years of being a fan, spectator, player and coach of this game, Roger is the best tennis player I've seen.

He probably needs to complete his career by winning in Paris to be regarded as the best in history, but even that can be debated.

Secondly, Peter would be damn proud. Not just for what Roger has achieved inside the lines, but more importantly, for the man he's matured into outside the lines.

Roger holds the most important job in our game as the world's best player and he carries that responsibility beautifully - much like the way he plays.

CRAZIER

"I think Safin could be a real contender again because I like the way he plays, but he's crazy. He's crazier than I am I think. That's part of the reason why he is so good because he plays so crazy." - Nastase.

Don't flatter him, Ilie.

He's not as crazy as you.

FRANK LOVES INDIANAPOLIS

Top-seed Dmitry Tursunov of Russia was upset in the quarterfinals of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships on Friday, losing 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 to Frank Dancevic of Canada. Dancevic, unseeded and seeking his first ATP title, will face Sam Querrey of the U.S. or Marc Gicquel of France in Saturday's semifinals. Dancevic defeated fifth-seed Benjamin Becker of Germany to make the quarters. Tursunov, ranked No. 27, received the top seeding after Andy Roddick withdrew because of a hip injury.

ANCIC AND NALBANDIAN OUT OF US OPEN

David Nalbandian of Argentina and Mario Ancic of Croatia have withdrawn from the U.S. Open.

The United States Tennis Association said Friday that the 15th-ranked Nalbandian is recovering from hip surgery and the 90th-ranked Ancic is battling mononucleosis for the last 2 years.

Ivan Navarro of Spain and Karol Beck of Slovakia will replace Nalbandian and Ancic in the main draw of the Grand Slam tournament that runs from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13

TWINS FOR MIRKA AND ROGER

The 27-year-old Swiss world tennis number one has named the girls Myla Rose and Charlene Riva and hailed their birth as the best day of his life.

In a statement released on his Facebook page, Federer said: "I have some exciting news to share with you. Late last night, in Switzerland, Mirka and I became proud parents of twin girls.

"We named them Myla Rose and Charlene Riva and they are both healthy and along with their mother they are doing great.

"This is the best day of our lives."

The twins are first children born to the couple, who were married in April.

Mirka Federer was heavily pregnant as she watched her husband beat Andy Roddick in a the nerve-wracking Wimbledon final earlier this month.

The win was Federer's 15th grand slam title, breaking the previous record of 14 held by American tennis ace Pete Sampras.

Federer met his wife-to-be — born Miroslava Vavrinec in Slovakia — in 2000 when they were competing for Switzerland in the Sydney Olympic Games.

Mirka, 31, emigrated with her family to Switzerland as a small child. Formerly a tennis player herself, she became one of Federer's managers after retiring early due to injury.

TELEGRAPH UK

SLAM DRAWS - US OPEN

SLAMS have a draw of 128 players. Major tournaments are given a draw of 96.

The top ranked 104 players are offered direct entry into the tourney.

In addition to the total of 104 men who received direct entry into the field based on Monday's rankings, eight will get wild cards [allotted by the USTA with some trading with other Slam tournaments] and 16 will earn berths in Aug. 25-28 qualifying.

As an example of the trading between Slam tournaments, the Oz may give Donald Young a wild-card if the US OPEN gives Chris Guccione [Aus] a wild card into the US OPEN.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a

NADAL STARTS IN MONTREAL

Rafael Nadal announced Tuesday on his Web site that he will resume practice on Monday and play his first tournament since his fourth-round loss at the French Open in Montreal, Aug 8-16. This is great for the the Rogers Cup , considering Nadal graces many of its promotional posters.

It does, however, leave a lot of questions about how ready Nadal will be for the United States Open, which begins Aug. 31. When Nadal’s injury was first announced, he was going to try to play Wimbledon, which would have meant he would be back for the entire hard-court season leading into the Open. His Wimbledon return was scrapped because he said he was not 100 percent. Considering it will take him almost another month to return indicates he was quite a bit under 100 percent. The Open is the one Grand Slam tournament Nadal has not won, and even he has admitted how difficult hard courts are on his body. He reached the semifinals last year, his best performance there.

Nadal said he traveled to Barcelona for tests Monday that apparently showed improvement in his knees. His doctor has said he has tendinitis in both knees.

NY TIMES

TENNIS ELBOW SYNOPSIS

A simple and inexpensive way to alleviate the pain of tennis elbow may be just around the corner.

A rubber bar and easy wrist strengthening exercises may be the key to pain relief from this common tennis ailment that often affects 3 percent of the population, not just tennis players.

The therapy involves twisting the bar with the uninjured arm and untwisting with the injured arm. This is done with three sets of 15 repetitions.

This exercise  has many advantages over the common treatments of cortisone shots or nitric oxide. The bar exercise is cheap and not limited by the patient having to come to a clinic at regular visits.

Though this study was conducted on only 21 patients, the results were dramatic with improvement in pain by as much as 81 percent.

TENNIS ELBOW

For those who suffer tennis elbow, wrist-strengthening exercises with an inexpensive rubber bar may relieve pain and restore function, a small trial revealed.

Adding these exercises to home care dramatically increased the number of patients with reduced disability scores, compared with standard care alone.

Pain and tenderness likewise improved at least fourfold more with the addition of isolated eccentric wrist extensor strengthening.

His group had been searching for a way to make the therapy work in the home when they happened across a solid rubber bar -- similar to the baton passed by relay runners but flexible enough to be twisted.

To test it, they enrolled a group of 21 patients who had reported chronic symptoms of lateral epicondylitis -- a.k.a. tennis elbow -- for at least six weeks, but had no prior surgical treatment for it.

During physical therapy visits, these patients' standard treatment involved wrist extensor stretching, ultrasound, cross friction massage, heat and ice. At home, they were randomized to either isotonic wrist extensor or isolated eccentric wrist extensor strengthening exercises.

For the investigational exercise, patients were given a Thera-Band FlexBar to twist with the wrist of their uninjured arm and then slowly untwist with eccentric wrist extension of the injured arm over a period of about four seconds. Three sets of 15 repetitions were scheduled each day.

After seven weeks of physical therapy in both groups, pain scores improved to an average of about 5 on the 10-point Visual Analog Scale in the standard treatment group -- but dropped all the way to about 1 point in the isolated eccentric exercise group.

The mean improvement in pain was 81% in the group that used the bar compared with 22% in the control group.

The researchers cautioned that their study was limited by the small sample size, but noted that the treatment for home use was practical, inexpensive, did not require direct medical supervision, and had no significant side effects.

Among the wide array of treatments for tennis elbow -- ranging from strengthening and stretching to cortisone injections and extracorporeal shockwave therapy -- all have been shown to be, at best, equivocal in efficacy.

THE PAIN IN SPRAIN

How to Fix Bad Ankles

Ankles are the most commonly injured body part — each year approximately eight million people sprain an ankle. Millions of those will then go on to sprain that same ankle, or their other ankle, in the future. “The recurrence rate for ankle sprains is at least 30 percent,” McKeon says, “and depending on what numbers you use, it may be high as 80 percent.”

A growing body of research suggests that many of those second (and often third and fourth) sprains could be avoided with an easy course of treatment. Stand on one leg. Try not to wobble. Hold for a minute. Repeat.

NY TIMES

HE'S BAAACK!

Wimbledon, the oldest tennis tournament in the world, with its affinity for tradition, has a new tradition of producing classic men’s finals. Federer needed five sets to defeat Rafael Nadal of Spain in 2007, five more sets to lose to Nadal last year and then required the longest fifth set in terms of games in the 132-year history of Grand Slam finals to beat Roddick, 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14.

Though Federer often made it look easy to win major trophies in the early years of his career, no one can accuse him of making it look easy anymore. He had to fight through two five-setters this year to get to the French Open final, where he won his 14th Grand Slam singles title. On Sunday, he had to serve, serve and serve some more to hold off Roddick and win his record-breaking 15th.

It is a men’s record with an asterisk in the sense that, before the open era, many of the game’s luminaries played in only a few Grand Slam tournaments before turning professional. For a better sense of where the record may stand, it is useful to look at the numbers for women, who rarely left the amateur ranks. The record for singles titles there, held by Margaret Court of Australia, is 24.

But Federer, all caveats aside, has passed the target available, and it could have been expected that when he did pass it, he would drop to his knees on the grass. Instead, Federer stayed on his feet and met Roddick quickly at the net.

“I know the pain Andy must have gone through, and that’s also I guess one of the reasons I didn’t go overly crazy about the victory on the court,” Federer said.

His 15th came at the same place he won his first, in 2003, when Federer had thick stubble on his face and wore his hair in a short ponytail.

The logical assumption is that a tennis player who now has just about everything and is about to become a father is ripe for a motivational lapse. But Federer argues that he takes too much pleasure in the game and, perhaps just as important, the nomadic life of a tennis professional, to start winding down quite yet.

That said, he does not plan to play again for five weeks, with Mirka expected to give birth during that span. He intends to return for the World Tour 1000 tournament next month in Cincinnati, where Nadal also plans to make his return after missing Wimbledon with tendinitis in his knees.

“I definitely have to regroup after this victory and put my mind in the right frame of mind for the rest of the season,” Federer said. “I definitely want to finish the year at No. 1.”

Parenthood could, of course, change matters, for a champion who will turn 28 on Aug. 8. But Federer — a multilingual global villager with a former tennis player for a spouse — is better equipped than most of his predecessors to endure.

“I can’t just be at home for the next six months; I want to travel,” he said. “Mirka said she has no problem traveling with me, so we’ll see how possible that will all be. It’s good times, you know, and I’m not worried. I’m not going to be like: ‘What now? I’ve reached everything, and there’s no more point of playing, it’s better to just retire.’ ”

Despite his unimposing, light-framed physique (or perhaps because of it), Federer has been remarkably durable, something underscored by Nadal’s missing Wimbledon and by the hip surgery of another longtime rival, David Nalbandian of Argentina.

Roddick is already paying the price for Sunday’s marathon, during which he slipped late in the fourth set and then rose slowly, limping before continuing. On Monday, citing a hip flexor injury, he withdrew from the United States team for this week’s Davis Cup quarterfinal, scheduled to start Friday in Croatia.

Federer has played in 39 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments, and he has won the last two after being forced to take an extended break in February because of lower back pain that he said hindered him during his loss to Nadal in the Australian Open final. That defeat left him inconsolable during the awards ceremony.

Federer said the problem with his back was muscular, not structural, and was linked to the biomechanical pressures of playing tennis. “When you play a lot of matches, you always make the same movements over and over again,” he said. “Yesterday, I hit 50 aces. It’s just not healthy for your body.”

Federer said he felt the “defining moment” of his resurgent summer came when he was practicing in April to get ready for the clay-court tournament in Rome.

“I’ve always been pushing myself in practice, but I told my team that we needed to do something completely extreme,” Federer said. He said he told his team to push him all over the court to truly test his back.

“The truth is, I was scared playing with my back sometimes,” Federer said.

Confident again, he has won three tournaments in a row — in Madrid, Paris and now Wimbledon.

 He is back at No. 1 for the first time since last August.

CHRISTOPHER CLEAREY

NY TIMES

MOZART AND FEDERER

"I am coal, that this diamond may shine even more brightly."

Paraphrased - Salieri in AMADEUS.

            The smart money, the safe bet, even as Andy Roddick began his steady climb at this latest Wimbledon was on a short, surgical win by Roger.

When the tall and rangy American beat British hope Andy Murray in Friday's semifinal, a momentous upset, there remained little doubt: Come the finals, he would wilt against greatness. Didn't Roddick have just two wins out of 20 matches against Federer?

This, we now know, was the same old Roger; rock solid, with a magician's panache. Steady as a metronome. It was his seventh straight Wimbledon final, his 19th Grand Slam final since 2003. He'd just won his record-tying 14th Grand Slam in Paris. Now he was going for the all-time record.

But a different Andy Roddick showed up.

It was Roddick who made this match happen, Roddick who forced the tension and the steady surge of emotion. His game sizzled with half-volley winners, forehand blasts, backhands and serves that touched chalk and went dipping, diving and dancing -- unreturnable.

Andy Roddick brought his own magic for five unforgiving, unforgettable sets. We know about his bad luck. The tense, missed volley in the second set tie-breaker. The break points lost late in the match. We also know about the good fortune he produced; from the opening stroke, when bright light filled the game's greatest stage, to the last point, when shadows fell once again on Centre Court.

There was a moment, there were many moments, when it seemed like he would produce what would have been the most stunning upset at a Wimbledon final.

Then we remembered who was on the other side. Roger is not like the rest.

This, truth be told, is still Roger Federer's time. And here he has just played yet another match that will stand the test of time. In men's tennis at Wimbledon, today's tilt now sits right beside all the other greatest, most memorable ones. Beside Borg beating McEnroe in 1980. Beside 41-year-old Pancho Gonzalez turning back young Charlie Pasarell in 1969's first round: five hours and 12 minutes, a 22-24 first set. Beside, among a handful of other matches, Andre Agassi's startling five-set win over Goran Ivanisevic in the 1992 final

But that's the long view. The shorter view, focused on just this last final, speaks solely to the immediate brilliance of two men.

The way these two were playing -- Roddick never backing off, Federer scratching and crawling and defending -- a few more hours of tennis seemed a possibility. Every time one man came close, the other turned him back. Remember that there were, aside from the set points Roddick lost early on, two break points saved by Federer in the opening chapter of the fifth set.

If Federer had lost just one of those fifth-set points, Andy Roddick probably would have won. What a story that would have been. But this wasn't that kind of story: a thrilling, long-march upset that would finish somewhat conventionally.

No, this was Shakespeare. On and on and on they went.

We watched in awe, surprised as it became clear 2009 was mirroring 2008, which mirrored 2007.

We watched in agony, hearts heavy and sad as Andy Roddick bowed his head after that final miss.

We watched in joy, marveling at a beautiful performance from the greatest men's champion of all time, a man who has delivered the sublime and supreme for so long it is now hard to remember life without Roger Federer.

L.A. TIMES

FED'S SLAM TITLES

2003

First title: Becomes first Swiss man to win a grand slam title after beating Mark Philippoussis 7-6 6-2 7-6 in the Wimbledon final.

2004

Second title: Wins Australian Open by defeating unseeded Russian Marat Safin 7-6 6-4 6-2.

Third title: Retains Wimbledon title by taming big-serving American second seed Andy Roddick 4-6 7-5 7-6 6-4.

Fourth title: Wins U.S. Open final by thumping Australian fourth seed Lleyton Hewitt 6-0 7-6 6-0.

2005

Fifth title: Completes a hat-trick of Wimbledon triumphs with a 6-2 7-6 6-4 over second seed Roddick.

Sixth title: Defends U.S. Open title with a 6-3 2-6 7-6 6-1 victory over sentimental American favourite Andre Agassi.

2006

Seventh title: Defeats unseeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 5-7 7-5 6-0 6-2 in Australian Open final.

Eighth title: Keeps up winning streak at Wimbledon by thwarting Rafael Nadal 6-0 7-6 6-7 6-3 in showpiece match.

Ninth title: Downs Roddick 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-1 to clinch U.S. Open crown.

2007

10th title: Wins Australian Open with a 7-6 6-4 6-4 masterclass over Chilean 10th seed Fernando Gonzalez.

11th title: Becomes only the second man in professional tennis, after Bjorn Borg, to win five in a row at Wimbledon with a 7-6 4-6 7-6 2-6 6-2 success over Nadal.

12th title: Beats Serbia's Novak Djokovic 7-6 7-6 6-4 to capture U.S. Open.

2008

13th title: Demolishes Britain's Andy Murray 6-2 7-5 6-2 to win fifth consecutive title at U.S. Open.

2009

14th title: Emulates Pete Sampras by winning a record-equalling 14th grand slam title after beating Sweden's Robin Soderling 6-1 7-6 6-4 at Roland Garros, his first French Open success.

15th title: Breaks Sampras's record with a 15th grand slam win in the Wimbledon final against American Andy Roddick 5-7 7-6(6) 7-6(5) 3-6 16-14.

REUTERS

FEDERER TAKES 15TH AT WIMBLEDON

Switzerland's Roger Federer beat inspired American Andy Roddick 5-7 7-6 7-6 3-6 16-14 in a marathon Wimbledon's men's singles final on Sunday to claim a record 15th grand slam title of his extraordinary career.

Federer was stretched to the limit in an unforgettable duel of enery-sapping tension, losing the first set and then trailing 6-2 in the second set tiebreak before digging himself out of trouble to win six consecutive points and level the match.

He could make no headway on the Roddick serve but remained solid on his own delivery to win the third set on another tiebreak. Roddick, beaten twice in previous finals here by Federer, refused to buckle and broke at a crucial moment of the fourth with a great backhand to set up an enthralling decider.

With American Pete Sampras, the only other man to win 14 slams, watching intently from the Royal Box, Federer kept his nose in front in a nerve-racking decider and clinched victory after over four hours when Roddick dropped serve for the only time in the match at 14-15 when he mishit a forehand.

REUTERS

FINAL'S STATS

NESTOR WINS WIMBLEDON

                                                 Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia won their second straight Wimbledon men's doubles title Saturday, beating top-seeded American twins Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6 (7), 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Nestor and Zimonjic were playing in their third Grand Slam final together. Besides winning the Wimbledon title last year, they lost in the 2008 French Open final.

This year's final was the first time that Nestor and Zimonjic have played the Bryan brothers in a Grand Slam tournament.

The Bryan brothers, who have won seven major titles together, entered the match on Centre Court without having dropped a set at the All England Club this year. Despite holding serve throughout the first three sets, the brothers were broken in the second game of the fourth set and Nestor and Zimonjic held the rest of the way.

STRUNG OUT

After supervising around 3,000 re-strings during the Wimbledon fortnight one might think Roger Dalton could put his feet up with a bowl of strawberries on Sunday and watch the men's singles final in peace.

Not a bit of it. The grand slam tournament's head racket stringer will be poised next to his machine, fingers twitching, primed for action.

Last year when Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal contested arguably the best final ever witnessed at Wimbledon, Dalton was the man keeping the Spaniard Nadal supplied with rackets.

"I was Nadal's stringer in last year's final," Dalton said from his busy office next to the practise courts.

"I did six for him in the morning, then after practise he sent some back again to be re-strung and during the match I did three for him.

"I was probably more stressed than he was. You're under pressure, the whole thing is going on out there and I was the only one working. Rafa has a habit of sending stuff back during the match which can be quite stressful."

Dalton and his large team of stringers can turn around a racket in about 15 minutes when pushed.

"Unless we have to we don't re-string rackets fast because we go for quality and a quick re-string is not generally a good re-string," he said while putting the finishing touches to a shiny white frame belonging to Serbia's Novak Djokovic.

During the first week of the tournament 12 machines are in permanent use from seven in the morning until long after the crowds have melted away from the All England Club.

"We look after around 500 players during a grand slam," said Dalton, who has been stringing during the Wimbledon championships for 12 years. "If you're not used to that workload it can be tough on the hands."

Getting the tension just right is vital, although players can also be particular about having the racket manufacturers logo stencilled in exactly the right place on each racket.

The Williams sisters, and he certainly does not want to upset them, hate having their new grips soiled by the sweating hands of the stringers.

"We have a team assigned to Venus and Serena, as soon as we see them put a racket down we are ready. We keep a machine free for them while they're on court.

"We wrap polythene round their grips so the guys don't get their grubby hands on them. The last thing they want is finding somebody's egg sandwich all over their grip!"

He also recalls 1992 runner-up Monica Seles asking for a frame-busting tension of 92 pounds (the average is just below 60) in her big-headed Yonex racket.

"That was pretty scary doing that one," he said.

Of his current customers American Vince Spadea has the highest tensions while five-times champion Roger Federer, who takes a dozen rackets on court, likes a mixture.

"Roger tends to like them fairly low although he will have a range so that he can go up and down."

The vast majority of players now use synthetic gut, although some have a mixture or use different quality strings in the mains for greater spin or power.

Natural gut is still requested, however, because it retains its tension longer, although with the innards of up to 15 cows needed to make enough high-quality string for one racket it does not come cheap.

REUTERS

MEN'S SEMIS ON FRIDAY

WEDNESDAY'S SCORES