Day - 7

My fav Rafael Nadal, the four-time defending champion at Roland Garros - I was sure that he will win and created this blog - has lost to Robin Soderling of Sweden in four sets on Sunday, 31 May, 2009 in the fourth round of French Open Tournament. With this loss, Nadal's unbeaten run at the French Open is over.

Rafa lost to Robin Soderling of Sweden 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-6 (2) Sunday in the fourth round, ending his record 31-match winning streak at Roland Garros.

It seemed as if Nadal's left arm had shortened overnight as the Spaniard often failed to retrieve his opponent's groundstrokes in a one-sided first set.

Robin Soderling, seeded 23rd at this year’s tournament, ran Nadal ragged on center court with his hard serve and booming forehand.

Soderling broke in the third game when Nadal scooped the ball long and did it again in the eighth to seal the set after moving the Spaniard from left to right.
Nadal broke for 2-1 in the second set, firing a backhand from behind the baseline that Soderling failed to control.

Soderling broke back for 5-5 with a diving volley winner, forcing Nadal to a tiebreak which the Spaniard easily took 7-2.

The top seed was not out of trouble, though, as it was not enough to break the Swede's resilience.
Soderling broke in the seventh game of the third set when Nadal's attempted lob went long.

He then held serve confidently and took the set when Nadal netted a forehand. The Spaniard closed his eyes as if he refused to believe what was happening.

Following an early exchange of breaks, both players held serve to take it to another tiebreak. A string of Nadal unforced errors earned Soderling a 6-1 lead.

The Spaniard saved the first match point with a forehand winner down the line but he volleyed wide on the second.

Nadal has dominated the French Open since his first match on the red clay at Roland Garros. In his 31 previous matches, he had lost only seven sets - the last one coming against Roger Federer in the 2007 final.

Defending women’s champion Ana Ivanovic also lost, while top-seeded Dinara Safina advanced to the quarterfinals with another easy win.

Also on the men’s side, No. 3 Andy Murray of Britain and No. 12 Fernando Gonzalez of Chile made the quarterfinals.

Nadal had won three of the last four major titles, missing out only on the U.S. Open. Because he won the Australian Open, he had been the only man with a chance to complete a Grand Slam.
He had also been trying to become the first man to win five straight French Open titles.
Instead, the draw has completely opened up for three-time finalist Roger Federer. The former No. 1 needs only to win the French Open title to complete a career Grand Slam, and his road got clearer Saturday when potential semifinal opponent Novak Djokovic was eliminated.

The eighth-seeded Ivanovic did little right on Court Suzanne Lenglen, converting only two of five break points and making 20 unforced errors in her 6-2, 6-3 loss to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

Day - 6

Rapidfire Rafa ousts Hewitt

Nadal breezed past Lleyton Hewitt for the third time in four years at Roland Garros on Friday as the four-time champion took another confident step closer to a record fifth French Open title.

Nadal won 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 to clinch a 31st consecutive win at the tournament. Fernando Verdasco edged closer to another showdown with Nadal after taking the hard road to see off Spanish compatriot Nicolas Almagro 6-2, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (10/8) in their third round clash.

Serbian Novak Djokovic reached the third round with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 win over Ukrainian qualifier Sergiy Stakhovsky. Djokovic will face German 29th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber who put out Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 2003 champion, for a place in the last 16.

Ivanovic, Safina cruise Defending champion Ana Ivanovic and top seed Dinara Safina moved a step closer to a quarterfinal showdown as both brushed aside third round opponents. The Serb trumped Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic 6-0, 6-2 while the Russian blasted beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova with a near identical score of 6-2, 6-0.

There was heartache for another favourite as Venus Williams lost 6-0, 6-4 to Agnes Szavay of Hungary.

At 16, the youngest player left in the women's draw, Larcher de Brito lost 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 to France's Aravane Rezai in a bad-tempered clash.



Rafael Nadal of Spain hits a backhand during his Men's Singles Third Round match against Lleyton Hewitt of Australia on day six of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 29, 2009 in Paris, France.

Day - 5

Venus Williams knocked out of French Open

Third seed Venus Williams was eliminated in the third round of the French Open, beaten 6-0 6-4 by Hungary's Agnes Szavay on Friday.

The American did not recover from a miserable start as Szavay, seeded 29th, advanced to meet Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova after 81 minutes.

Rafa will play third Round match against Lleyton Hewitt of Australia on Day - 6.

The above picture of Rafa is from Vague advertisement. His angry young man looks made this picture a rare collection.

Day - 4

Nadal powers on

Title-holder Rafael Nadal blasted his way intothe last 32 on Wednesday with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia. He will next go up against former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt, a player he has beaten twice already at Roland Garros in 2006 and 2007.



Rafa hits a forehand during his Men's Singles Second Round match against Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia on day four of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 27, 2009 in Paris, France.




Nadal acknowledges the crowd after claiming victory in his Men's Singles Second Round match against Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia on day four of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 27, 2009 in Paris, France. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)




Rafael Nadal of Spain acknowledges the crowd after claiming victory in his Men's Singles Second Round match against Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia on day four of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 27, 2009 in Paris, France.

Great escapes for Federer, Venus

Roger Federer was lucky to keep alive his dream of winning a maiden Roland Garros crown and Venus Williams used a good night’s sleep to spare herself from a French Open nightmare in the second round on Thursday.

Federer appeared to be heading for his earliest grand slam defeat since 2003 when he struggled to find his touch for three sets on a damp day in Paris but found his range in the nick of time to subdue Argentina’s Jose Acasuso 7-6, 5-7, 7-6, 6-2. “I was not afraid to die, so everything was okay. It was sort of a fun match to be part of with so many ups and downs. I could have won the first three sets. Could have lost them also. (So) I’m thrilled to be through,” Federer said.

It was a sentiment shared by Williams. The third seed’s second-round tussle was suspended on Wednesday due to bad light after she had lost the first set. She returned to save a match point before crawling over the finishing line with a 6-7, 6-2, 7-5 win over Czech Lucie Safarova.

Her sister, Serena, enjoyed an easier outing with a 6-2, 6-0 destruction of Spaniard Virginia Ruano Pascual. Jelena Jankovic snuffed out the challenge of Slovak Magdalena Rybarikova 6-1, 6-2 and Russian seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova was at her ruthless best in a 49-minute 6-0, 6-2 demolition of Kazakhstan’s Galina Voskoboeva.

Day - 3

MURRAY, SAFINA ADVANCE

Brit Relies On Brains For Win; Russian Banks On Brawn

Andy Murray relied on brains and Dinara Safina banked on brawn to reach the third round of the French Open on Wednesday.

World No.1 Safina followed up her 6-0 6-0 walloping of Britain’s Anne Keothavong in the first round with a 6-1 6-1 demolition of luckless fellow Russian Vitalia Diatchenko.

Murray overcame a midmatch wobble by changing tactics to eventually tame Italian Potito Starace 6-3 2-6 7-5 6-4. After losing the second set, Murray ran around aimlessly chasing shadows and looked in danger of going two-sets-to-one down as Starace streaked 5-1 ahead. Guile and deft shot-making allowed the Briton to save two set points as he dug himself out of a hole.

Sharapova, Ivanovic through

Maria Sharapova battled into the French Open last 32 as Roland Garros glimpsed the future of women’s tennis in the shape of high-volume, big-hitting, 16-year-old Michelle Larcher de Brito.

Triple Grand Slam title winner Sharapova, playing only her second tournament following a 10-month lay-off to recover from shoulder surgery, shook off the cobwebs with a bruising 6-2 1-6 8-6 win over Russian compatriot Nadia Petrova. Reigning champion Ana Ivanovic eased past Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand 6-1 6-2.

Portuguese teenager De Brito only turned 16 in January and, like Sharapova, is a graduate of the Nick Bolletieri academy. Making her Grand Slam debut, de Brito came through qualifying and on Wednesday made sure of a place in the last 32 with a 6-4 6-3 win over Zheng Jie.

Santoro signs off after 20 Opens

Fabrice Santoro walked off the court at the French Open for the last time Wednesday, ending his record-tying run of 20 straight appearances at Roland Garros. The 36-yearold Frenchman played only eight minutes Wednesday before completing a first-round loss to Christophe Rochus of Belgium 6-3, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.

The match had been suspended Tuesday. “When I started my career on court No. 10 in 1989, I did not imagine at all that I would hold the microphone in my hands 20 years later in front of you,’’ Santoro said to the crowd at Court Suzanne Lenglen. “Those were extraordinary and fantastic years that I will never forget.’’

Santoro has played in a record 67 Grand Slam tournaments, making the fourth round three times - at the French Open in 1991 and 2001 and at the Australian Open in 1999. “Twenty years. That counts for something in a lifetime,’’ Santoro said. “It has been a long road, a fantastic career. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot.’’ Santoro and Rochus started their match Tuesday, but it was suspended by darkness with the Belgian leading 5-3 in the fourth set.

The pair came back out onto the court after Dinara Safina’s easy win and finished the match quickly. “I’m saying to myself that the story is over, that a page is being turned,’’ Santoro said. “I will no longer be on court next year. But I think that it is time to go.’’ Santoro plans to play other tournaments before retiring at the end of the year. Besides tying Francois Jauffret’s record for appearances at the French Open, Santoro also holds the record for the longest match at the Paris tournament in the Open era.

“That was in 2004. A match lasting 6 hours, 33 minutes on this same court,’’ said Santoro, who beat Arnaud Clement in the first round that year 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 3-6, 16-14.

World number one Rafael Nadal will play against Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia tomorrow.



Hope he will advance one more step towards title with easy win.

Day - 2

World number one Rafael Nadal will set a record for the number of successive matches won at the French Open if he beats Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili in the second round on Wednesday.



By winning a 30th consecutive match, the Spaniard would eclipse Chris Evert's mark of 29 which the American set between 1974-81. She did not compete at Roland Garros in 1976-78.

Nadal, seeking a record fifth successive crown at the clay-court Grand Slam, is scheduled to play last on Suzanne Lenglen Court while women's number one Dinara Safina opens up the billing on that same showcourt.

Safina, hoping to go one better than last year's runner-up spot in her bid for a first Grand Slam title, meets fellow Russian Vitalia Diatchenko feeling fairly fresh after her 6-0, 6-0 first-round demolition of Briton Anne Keothavong.

Her brother Marat, who plays Frenchman Josselin Ouanna later in the day, was confident his younger sister could go all the way this year after coming to Paris on the back of wins on clay in Madrid and Rome.

"I think she has a chance here this year. Especially, she's coming with great confidence, final and two times winner in a row. She's playing really well," Safin said.

The day's other highlights include third seed Andy Murray opening proceedings on the main Philippe Chatrier Court against Italian Potito Starace with the Briton hoping for a repeat of Sunday's first-round showing when he dropped just five games.

"If I played that well in all my matches, I've got a good chance of winning comfortably," he said after knocking out Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela.

Women's third seed Venus Williams takes on Czech Lucie Safarova, while last year's champion Ana Ivanovic faces Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn.





(I've small doubt here. Why is that Marat "Safin" and Dinara "Safina" called so, even though they are siblings?? )

Day - 1

The modern day King of Clay Rafael Nadal eclipsed another mark on Monday, this time breaking the French Open men’s record for consecutive wins.


Rafael Nadal, sporting a bright pink shirt, began his campaign for a historic fifth successive French Open title on Monday. He will now face either Igor Kunitsyn or Teimuraz Gabashvili, both Russians, for a place in the last 32.




The Spanish star, who came into the French Open having lost his 33-match clay court winning streak to Roger Federer in Madrid, was forced to battle against the 30-year-old Daniel, especially in the first two sets.

Top-seeded Rafael Nadal looked his usual dominant self in the first round, beating Marcos Daniel of Brazil 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 for his 29th straight in on the red clay at Roland Garros.

The win bettered the mark held by Bjorn Borg, who won 28 straight from 1978-81. Nadal also equaled the overall tournament record, matching the 29 straight that Chris Evert won between 1974-75 and 1979-81. Evert did not play at the French Open from 1976-78.

Nadal was broken three times by Daniel, but the top-seeded Spaniard remained perfect on the French Open’s red clay as he tries to become the first player to win five straight titles at Roland Garros.

Dinara Safina, the top-seeded player in the women’s draw, and No 3 Venus Williams also advanced. Safina routed Anne Keothavong of Britain 6-0, 6-0 by spraying shots to all parts of the court. On the men’s side, 10th-seeded Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, No 12 Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, No 23 Robin Soderling of Sweden and No 30 Victor Hanescu of Romania advanced. Keothavong had a couple of chances against Safina on centre court, but she wasted two break points in the third game of the first set, and led 40-0 in the fourth game of the second but couldn’t hold on.

Victoria Azarenka and Ana Ivanovic won 6-0, 6-0 at the French Open last year, and Serena Williams did it in 2003.

Safina took over as the top-ranked women’s player in April, but she has yet to win a Grand Slam title. She lost in last year’s French Open final, and also came within a match of winning the Australian Open this season. Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, survived a sudden second-set slump to beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-1, 4-6, 6-2. She won the match’s first five games, while Mattek asked for a medical time-out during the first set so a trainer could look at her right wrist.

No 15 Zheng Jie of China, No 22 Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain and No 29 Agnes Szavay of Hungary also advanced to the second round of the women’s tournament, but No 23 Alisa Kleybanova of Russia was upset by Polona Hercoq of Slovenia 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.

Murray advances
Briton Andy Murray looked every inch a seasoned claycourt campaigner during a 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 first-round demolition of Argentine dangerman Juan Ignacio Chela. Unfortunately for 2004 men’s champion Gaston Gaudio, there was very little to get excited about. Handed a wildcard into the Paris draw since his ranking has plummeted to 359th, he was bounced out 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 by Czech 18th seed Radek Stepanek.

France’s Mathilde Johansson was looking for a place to hide after she blew eight match points in a 2-6, 6-2, 10-8 defeat by Vitalia Diatchenko. Spanish eighth seed Fernando Verdasco compounded a miserable day for the home nation by humbling Florent Serra 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 before French number one Gilles Simon produced a stirring comeback to beat American Wayne Odesnik 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Amelie Mauresmo’s French Open dreams turned to dust in the first round on Sunday when she was beaten 6-4, 6-3 by Germany’s Anna-Lena Groenefeld.

French Open results:

Men:

Rafael Nadal (Spain) beat Marcos Daniel (Brazil) 7-5, 6-4, 6-3;

Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) beat Stefan Koubek (Austria) 6-2, 6-1, 6-4;

Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) beat Gilles Muller (Luxembourg) 7-6 (2), 6-1, 6-4;

Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) beat Nicolas Devilder (France) 6-3, 5-7, 2-6, 6-4,

Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) beat Jiri Vanek (Czh R) 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.

Women:

Aravane Rezai (France) beat Ai Sugiyama (Japan) 6-3, 6-2;

Dinara Safina (Russia) beat Anne Keothavong (Britain) 6-0, 6-0;

Venus Williams (United States) beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands (US) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.

Who is the Big Threat??

Four-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal believes his Madrid Masters final defeat to old rival Roger Federer demonstrated that the Swiss superstar remains a serious Roland Garros threat.

Nadal, who has never lost here and is bidding for an historic fifth successive Paris title, said Friday he never doubted the strength of Federer's character even when he reduced his great rival to tears in the Australian Open final earlier this year.

Many in the sport interpreted that emotional collapse to be conclusive evidence that Nadal, having already taken his Wimbledon title, was now the sports's only real superpower.

"He was always there. He didn't have a bad loss this year. He lost to me in Australia, Murray in Doha and Indian Wells, Djokovic in Miami and in Rome," said Nadal, whose 33-match winning streak on clay was halted by Federer in Spain.

"He's doing well. It's always difficult to be perfect for five years, six years. I think everyone would like to have his problems with 13 Grand Slams."

Nadal also shrugged off his experiences in Madrid where he reached the final only after a four-hour semi-final win over Novak Djokovic where he had to save three match points.

He was physically and mentally shattered by the time he played Federer the next day.

For the world number one, the events of Madrid's Magic Box will have no bearing whatsoever on the French Open when it gets underway on Sunday.

Not only has Nadal won all 28 matches he has played here, he has also defeated Federer in the last three finals.

"I am very happy with my claycourt season. I won in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome and made the final in Madrid. It's almost a perfect claycourt season," he said.

"Madrid was a difficult tournament. The court was fast, the balls were flying a lot. It was very difficult to control the ball and I didn't play that well in the competition.

"I played OK for a set and a half against Djokovic. The rest I didn't play well. Here you can feel the ball. You have more control."

World number three Andy Murray, who is seeded to face Nadal in the semi-finals, also believes the events in Spain could help Federer.

"The altitude in Madrid does make a difference," said the Scotsman. "But anytime you beat Nadal on clay is going to be big for your confidence. "I would expect Rafa to make the final here. I think Roger will probably have some tough matches if he is to make the final."