2007 Tennis Season

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Nadal defeats Gonzalez to win Rome Masters for third straight time

Rafael Nadal became the first player to win the Rome Masters three consecutive times by beating Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 6-2, 6-2 on Sunday.

The victory extended his winning streak on clay to 77 matches. By reaching the final, the Spaniard had already broken John McEnroe's record for most victories on one surface.

The second-ranked Nadal needed only 1 hour, 24 minutes to overcome his opponent, who was never in contention against the two-time defending French Open champion.

It was Nadal's fourth ATP title of the year. He also won in Indian Wells, Calif., Monte Carlo and Barcelona, and has 21-3 career record in finals.

[Thuggishh_E]

Federer and Nadal rally to set up final in Hamburg Masters


Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal rallied to win their semifinals Saturday and set up a showdown between the top-ranked players for the Hamburg Masters championship.

Nadal defeated Lleyton Hewitt 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 to extend his clay-court winning streak to 81 matches and Federer beat Carlos Moya 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Federer has gone four straight tournaments without a title, his worst run since he became No. 1 in February 2004. The Swiss star has won three Hamburg championships in his last four visits.

He takes a 16-match winning streak in Hamburg into the final, his fourth this season.

[Sirius]

Finally Federer! Roger Wrecks Rafa's Clay Court Streak

Roger Federer avenged two years of clay-court torment at the hands of Rafael Nadal Sunday, snapping the Spaniard's 81-match clay winning streak and denying him a historic sweep of the clay ATP Masters Series titles to win a fourth Hamburg title, 2-6, 6-2, 6-0.

Federer claimed his first win in six career clay court meetings with Nadal and also avenged a loss to the Spaniard in the Masters Series Monte-Carlo final early in the clay swing. Federer has won three of their past four meetings, but still trails 4-7 lifetime.

Federer's third title from his past three appearances in Hamburg (he did not play in 2006) took his winning streak in Germany to 37 matches, which also includes four grass court titles in Halle. He is 9-0 lifetime in finals in Germany. Hamburg now becomes Federer's joint most successful hunting ground along with Halle, Wimbledon and Dubai, tournaments he also has won four times.

How Federer Won

After being broken twice in the first set, Federer conceded just six points on serve in the second set and seven points on serve in the third set as he hit peak form in his last appearance before Roland Garros, where he hopes to complete a career Grand Slam. Federer had gone four tournaments without lifting the trophy - the longest title drought of his 172-week reign as ATP World No. 1.

After a lackluster first set in which he faced break points in his first three services games and lost five consecutive games, Federer changed course and took the attack to his arch rival. The Swiss stepped into the court to respond more aggressively to high topspin groundstrokes directed to his backhand, and clipped a steady stream of crushing forehand winners. He hit 31 winners to Nadal's 20, including six aces, and made fewer unforced errors (31 to 34). He regularly came to net and often had Nadal pinned deep behind the baseline and running side to side.

In a telling statistic that reflected Federer's aggressive approach, only seven points in the final two sets lasted 10 strokes or more.

Federer was in danger of going down an early break in the second set when he faced break points on his serve for the fourth time in his first six service games. But he rallied from 15-40 to hold serve and then broke Nadal in the next game as he won 11 of the last 12 games of the match.

In the third set Nadal suffered just his third 'bagel' in 134 career clay court matches. (He was bageled by Gaston Gaudio in the 2005 Buenos Aires quarterfinals and by Guillermo Coria in the 2005 Monte-Carlo final - a match Nadal recovered to win.)

The Wash-Up

Federer has now won 48 ATP titles, six on clay. Federer and Nadal have appeared in the same clay court tournament nine times and this is the first time that Federer has won the title. (Nadal has won seven of those nine tournaments).

Nadal was attempting to become the first player in history (since 1990) to win all three clay court ATP Masters Series titles in the same year, following earlier victories in Monte-Carlo and Rome. He also was bidding to join Marcelo Rios and Gustavo Kuerten as the only players to win all three clay court ATP Masters Series titles throughout their careers.

Nadal now sets his sights on Roland Garros, starting next Sunday, where he is the two-time defending champion.

Tale of the Tape

Federer won his first ATP Masters Series title of the year but 13th of his career, second only to Andre Agassi's record 17 titles. (Nadal was chasing a fourth ATP Masters Series shield of 2007 and the 10th of his career.)

Federer moved into a tie for second for the most ATP Masters Series clay court titles won. Nadal and Thomas Muster head the list with six, followed by Federer, Andrei Medvedev and Gustavo Kuerten with four.

By winning his third title of 2007 (Australian Open, Dubai, Hamburg), Federer improved to 23-4 on the year; Nadal slipped to 36-6.

Nadal suffered just his fourth loss in 25 career finals, slipping to 21-4.

Nadal also suffered just the 13th defeat of his career on clay, with his clay record slipping to 121-13. His perfect record in clay finals was broken. He is now 16-1 in career clay finals.

Nadal has ranked No. 2 behind Federer for a record 94 consecutive weeks (since July 25, 2005).

For the first time in the history of Masters Series Hamburg the ATP World No. 1 and No. 2-ranked duo contested the final.

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

Federer: "He just had 81 wins in a row on clay, that’s phenomenal. He gets the highest respect for that. If you know how physical it is you could think that once you got the upper hand over the guys on clay you never lose again and that’s how it looked like. But eventually it’s going to get you. Today, which is great for myself and the rest of the guys, I got him. Now it will be interesting going into the French Open to see both reaction.

"For me it’s nice to play well again after last week’s disappointment. I don’t think I played bad in the last months, just because I haven’t won a title. I was in the finals in Monaco and now I won a clay court tornament again after a couple of years. For me, that’s very good. I played excellent tennis today. I had a bit of a struggle throughout the week, because I had tough opponents. For my side I’m going to the French Open very good. I have a few days off, and then I’m excited that the French Open is coming around now.

"I fought hard, played well and played right against him. Before I always thought he played very dictating on clay, and today I was.

"He was missing once in a while, but I don’t think that he was playing bad. I think we played with so much pressure that you kind of have to make an error once in a while. We know why we miss against each other. We cover the court so well that it’s very hard to hit winners. That’s why you have to go for your shots. On clay you have to go for it at some stage. He’s the best on clay, but today I had a great day, so to win at the end was just fantastic.

Nadal: On the end of his streak: "Well, I start another time. I don’t know if I will have more than 81 (laughs). The record is 81, so anyone can try to beat that, but it will be difficult to get more than 81. I’m very happy for the record. If you remember, 3 or 4 months ago, I was in a press conference like this and everybody was asking me why I wasn’t winning. Now I played a lot of finals in the last two months and I’m very happy about that. I’m playing my best tennis, better than ever. So I can’t be sad because I lost one match to the best of the world."

"The truth is I had a chance at the 2-1 in the second set, but he played very well. Maybe I was not the same as always mentally. I feel a little bit tired, true. Physically it was perfect. It was a lot of matches in a row... I congratulate Roger. He was playing very good tennis. Well, I lost against the number one and one of the best in history."

"I think I made more mistakes than usual. I played very short and he has a very good feeling for the ball. He played better than me and he beat me.

"I have some days off at home in Mallorca now, that will be important for my preparation for Roland Garros. Then I’ll be 100% for that tournament. The pressure is always the same."



- Copyright © ATP Tour, Inc. 2007

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Henin eyeing 3rd consecutive French Open title, Ivanovic her 1st Grand Slam trophy


The top-ranked Belgian player heads into Saturday's French Open final against seventh-seeded Ana Ivanovic.

She could become the 1st woman to win 3 consecutive titles at Roland Garros since Monica Seles in 1990-92, and only the 5th to win the title at least 4 times overall since 1925.

Henin leads Ivanovic 32-3 in singles titles, 5-0 in Grand Slam trophies, and 10-1 in Grand Slam finals.

The 25-year-old Belgian has won 33 consecutive sets at Roland Garros, and is 3-0 in Paris finals. Her other title was in 2003.

Like Henin, Ivanovic is playing in her first Grand Slam final at the age of 19. Henin lost the Wimbledon final to Venus Williams in 2001.










No. 1 Federer vs. No. 2 Nadal in French Open final


For the third time in the past five Grand Slam finals, it'll be Roger vs. Rafa, No. 1 vs. No. 2. With so much at stake.

Standing in the way of Federe on the clay is Nadal, who holds a 7-4 career edge over Federer, including 5-1 on the slow, red surface.

That's because the Spaniard is hoping to become the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1978-81 to win three straight French Opens. Nadal improved to 20-0 at Roland Garros by eliminating No. 6 Novak Djokovic of Serbia 7-5, 6-4, 6-2.

Federer dominates everywhere but Paris. He's won a total of 10 titles at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open, but he's always come up short at Roland Garros, including losses to Nadal in the semifinals in 2005 and the final last year.

But win Sunday, and Federer becomes only the sixth man with a career Grand Slam, and the first man in nearly 40 years to win four majors in a row. It wouldn't be a true Grand Slam -- winning all four majors in a calendar year, accomplished by Don Budge in 1938 and by Rod Laver in 1962 and 1969 -- but call it a "Roger Slam," akin to the "Tiger Slam" that Tiger Woods fashioned with four straight golf majors across 2000-01.

Federer's lone victory over Nadal on clay came in their most recent encounter, last month's Hamburg Masters final. That ended Nadal's record 81-match winning streak on the surface.

[Sirius]

Go Roger!!! It is gonna be an extremely hard game... All what Roger needs to do is believe he could win over Rafa... His victory in Hamburg was very important to his morale, it proved to him that he can do it....

Hail to the King!

[Thuggishh_E]

Rafael Nadal's home-court advantage was again too much for Roger Federer.

Nadal won his 3rd consecutive French Open title Sunday, spoiling Federer's latest bid to complete a career Grand Slam.

By winning 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, the 2nd-ranked Nadal became the 2nd man since 1914 to win the tournament 3 consecutive times, and the 1st since Borg in 1978-81. Nadal improved to 21-0 at Roland Garros.

Still only 21, he's tied with 4 other men for 3rd on the list of most French titles. Borg leads with 6.

Nadal spoiled the top-ranked Federer's bid to win a 4th consecutive major title, something last done by Rod Laver in 1969. Federer has dominated the other Grand Slam tournaments, winning Wimbledon 4 times & the U.S. & Australian Open 3 times each.



Some Records for Stats lovers :


Nadal won his 3rd Grand Slam title in his 13th major event, which ties for 2nd-fastest behind Jimmy Connors & John McEnroe, who each needed 12 events to collect major championship No. 3.

At 21, Nadal has won 17 clay court titles, which ties Andres Gomez for 9th-most. Guillermo Vilas holds the record with 43.

Nadal is 21-0 at Roland Garros and 34-0 in best-of-5-set matches on clay. He's tied with 4 other men for 3rd on the list of most French titles; Borg leads with 6.

And while Nadal is still No. 2 in the rankings behind Federer, he leads the tour in 2007 with 5 titles & 43 matches won.








Henin completes French Open hat-trick

World number one Justine Henin completed a rare French Open hat-trick by crushing Serbia's Ana Ivanovic 6-1 6-2 in the women's final on Saturday.

Belgian Henin totally dominated her 19-year-old opponent, seeded 7th, to become the 1st woman to win 3 successive Roland Garros titles since Monica Seles in 1992.

Ivanovic, the 1st player representing Serbia to feature in the final of a grand slam tournament, challenged the top seed in the 1st couple of games but then collapsed.

The 25-year-old Henin, who also won here in 2003, soon took control and stayed on top until sealing victory with a forehand volley on the 1st match point after 65 minutes of a one-sided contest.

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Roddick wins 4th Queen's Club title

Andy Roddick won his fourth Queen's Club title Sunday, saving match point
in the second set before beating France's Nicolas Mahut 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (2) in the final of the grass-court tuneup for Wimbledon.
Roddick, seeded second, also won from 2003-05 and joined Lleyton Hewitt,
Boris Becker and John McEnroe as four-time winners of this event.


Jelena Jankovic won her fourth title of the year Sunday, beating Maria
Sharapova 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 to capture the grass-court DFS Classic.

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Marion Bartoli stunned top seed Justine Henin to reach the Wimbledon final on Friday, beating the world number one 1-6 7-5 6-1.
The 22-year-old Frenchwoman, seeded 18th, produced a dazzling display to hit back from a torrid first set and book a Saturday showdown with three-times champion Venus Williams.
Venus Williams walloped and screamed her way into her sixth Wimbledon final with a 6-2 6-4 victory over Serbian teenager Ana Ivanovic on Friday.




Completing his first match in seven days, Federer overcame some rust from a long delay in dispatching Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, in the quarterfinals on Friday.

His next opponent will be No. 12 Richard Gasquet of France, who upended American third seed Andy Roddick, 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-3), 8-6.


While the world No. 1 faced his first main challenge of the grasscourt Grand Slam, Spanish star Rafael Nadal easily dealt with No. 7 seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4, 6-2.

After taking five sets to get past each of his two previous opponents, Nadal will be relieved to get the chance to put his feet up ahead of Saturday's semifinal Novak Djokovic, who overcame more back pain and a late rally by Marcos Baghdatis to claim a 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (11-9), 6-7 (3-7), 4-6, 7-5 victory.

[TMM]

Venus rises above Bartoli to capture fourth Wimbledon title

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - American Venus Williams captured her fourth title at Wimbledon after easily defeating 18th-seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli in Saturday's lucrative title match.

In the first-ever meeting between the two, Williams, the 23rd seed, dominated the match from the start and won 6-4, 6-1 on Centre Court.

Williams quickly went up 3-0 in the first set and ended up winning 6-4 on a backhand volley off Bartoli's serve.

With Williams up 3-0 in the second set, Bartoli called for medical attention for a blister on her foot. During the medical timeout, Williams also got treatment as her left thigh was wrapped after being stretched out.

After the injury timeouts concluded, Williams showed no ill effects and took care of business, putting Bartoli away 6-1 in the second set to close out the victory.

The 27-year-old Williams, who played in her sixth-career Wimbledon final, improved to an impressive 51-7 lifetime at the All England Club. She now owns six major titles, including Wimbledon championships in 2000, 2001 and 2005, and was the 2002 and 2003 runner-up here to her younger sister Serena.

Williams, the former world No. 1, also improved to 6-6 in her major finals and now owns 35 titles on the WTA Tour, including one in Memphis earlier this season.

The 22-year-old Bartoli's incredible run, which included a stunning semifinal victory over top-seeded and reigning world No. 1 Justine Henin in one of the biggest upsets in the history of women's tennis, came to an end as Williams was just too much in the Frenchwoman's first major final appearance.

Williams, who advanced to Saturday's final after downing sixth-seeded Serbian Ana Ivanovic in the semis, collected $1,400,000 for winning the tournament, while Bartoli went home with $700,000.

Saturday's final included the lowest combined ranking and seeding between two players since the inception of computer singles rankings in 1975.

07/07 1152 ET

[TMM]

Swiss tennis number one Roger Federer will once again meet arch rival, Spanish player Rafael Nadal, in the Wimbledon tennis final.

Four-time defending Wimbledon champion Federer stormed past Frenchman Richard Gasquet in 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 in Saturday's semi final on the grass courts of the All England Club.



A win for Federer in Sunday's final would allow him to equal Swedish tennis legend Björn Borg's five consecutive Wimbledon victories and 11 grand slam titles.



"It has become sort of a routine, but I'm still so excited to be back in the final," Federer said after the match.



Nadal, who lost to Federer in last year's final, set up a rematch when the injured number four Novak Djokovic retired while trailing 3-6, 6-1, 4-1 in the other semi final.



The replay of last year's final comes shortly after the Spaniard beat the Swiss for a second time at the French Open, the only grand slam to elude Federer. The Spaniard has won Roland Garros three times.



"I'm going to have a very difficult match tomorrow, but I'm going to try my best," said world number two Nadal.



Federer, whose game was watched by Borg from the stands, was never threatened by the 12th-seeded Gasquet after the Swiss edged a tight first set with a solitary break in game 12.



After unleashing 20 aces and a series of scorching passing shots, Federer ensured the match was over in just one hour and 44 minutes.



"The first set was crucial," Federer said. "He should have at least got to the tiebreaker. I came out somehow and played really well for ten minutes and was up a set and a break, and that was pretty much it after that."


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I think Federer will win this time ....