Interviewing Rafael Nadal
--!>
Djokovic Crashes Out Of Wimbledon 2008
Marat Safin is through to the third round of Wimbledon 2008 after he sent third seed Novak Djokovic packing. The Russian showed his experience with a 6-4 7-6 6-2 win over the Serb.
This might be the comeback tournament for Safin- he is currently ranked 75th in the world but back in 2005 he was a world number one, an Australian Open champion and a US Open Champion- but has not won a title since then.
It was a shameful defeat for Djokovic, who was a firm favourite to win Wimbledon 2008 after Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The 21-year-old made it to the semifinals of Wimbledon last year, but could not make it through this years second round.
Safin feels that this win came at just the righ time, “I’ve been lacking confidence but to beat Djokovic on Centre Court is a great win,” said Safin who has a lousy 2008, only twice winning back-to-back matches before Wimbledon.
“I haven’t had a win like this for a long time. I had to play really well and concentrate and be with him game by game and just go for it.
“But he was under pressure. He’s fighting for the number one spot by the end of the year while nothing was expected of me.
“I didn’t look at the draw after Djokovic but the way I’m playing I think I can go far.”
When Djokovic and Safin met in the Australian Open in 2005, Safin beat the Serb, who admitted back then, he has given Safin to much respect. Well, it seems respect was due to him.
“It was a very bad day for me. I didn’t do anything I was supposed to do. I made too many mistakes and had no momentum,” said the 21-year-old who was runner-up to Nadal at Queen’s two weeks ago.
“I didn’t expect to lose in straight sets. But he’s a tough opponent especially on Centre Court. He’s a big talent but unpredictable.
“He’s a great player. He was one of my idols when I was a junior. I have a lot of respect for him and maybe that played a role today.” Read the rest of this entry »
--!>Nadal Aces His Way to Second Round
Rafael Nadal beat Andreas Beck 6-4 6-4 7-6 in his first round match at Wimbledon 2008 on Tuesday Evening. The Spaniard, runner up to Roger Federer at the Wimbledon Championships for the past two years, never looked alarmed or frightened at any stage against the German.
Nadal has made a smooth start to the Wimbledon fortnight on Centre Court and will hope to keep things as smooth and relaxed as possible for the rest of the Wimbledon Championship.
Beck kept Nadal on his toes with same accurate serving but the World Number Two counter-attacked with 17 aces and a big smile at the end of the match.
Rafael Nadal will meet Ernests Gulbis from Latvia in Wimbledon 2008’s Second Round and one feels that this match will be no “walk in the park”.
While calmly waiting for Wimbledon 2008 to arrive, Nadal was warming up at the Queen’s Club Tournament where he succeeded in winnning his first grass-court trophy. Nadal beat Andy Roddick in the semifinals and Novak Djokovic in the Finals- excellent practice prior to Wimbledon 2008.
Nadal’s performance (and trophies) has increased so rapidly that even Bjorn Borg believes the Spaniard will be the man to bring down the mighty Federer. That’s saying something!
The 2008 French Open Champion beat Beck with great effect, having popped 17 aces past him, every player in the Wimbledon 2008 tournament (even Federer) will be “shaking in their Nike, Adidas and Reebok Boots.”
Its obvious that Nadal’s delivery has improved and he had the following to say:
“Yeah, today I served well. My second best for aces on grass after I hit 18 two years ago against Agassi here, and today 17,I’m happy with my serve.
“In my opinion, I am a more complete player because I have more options, no?”
But Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here- the way Nadal conquers Clay is not the same way conquers he conquered Tuesday’s game- There where times when Nadal struggled to dominate. Although most of his serves did reach 120 MPH and more, one feels that he should concentrate on accuracy and not speed.
The beginning of the opening set saw both players climb to 3-3, but Nadal’s experience kicked in and saw him lead the set 6-4. the spaniard broke again in the second set at 1-1.
Nadal struggled to get rid of Beck in the third set and this is an example of Nadal’s Grass vs Clay performance. At Roland Garros, he dominated the third and fourth sets often, by winning them by 3 or 4 matches. It seems Nadal’s gas dies out on grass by the time he reaches the third set. Nadal and Beck’s third set lasted 64 minutes, with the World Number two winning 7-6.
Nadal seemed frustrated in the first set at 3-3. Beck was serving big aces to save a few break points. Many people believe it will be Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal in the Wimbledon 2008 mens final.
“I have a difficult draw,” Nadal said. “I’m gonna play against a very tough opponent, one of the worst opponents I could play in the second round.”
For Nadal news, Wimbledon 2008 news, Wimbledon results, Wimbledon mens Final scores and more visit MyWimbledon2008!
*
--!>Federer Will “Rage, Rage Against The Dying of the Light”
Everyone knows that when it’s Wimbledon time, It Federer time! If Roger Federer wins Wimbledon 2008, he will become the 1st man in History of the Wimbledon Championships to win six successive Wimbledon Titles- beating Bjorn Borg’s (and Federer’s own) of five. Not a bad achievement. But can it be done? Looking at Rafael Nadal’s performance, many avid tennis fans believe this is the end of the awesome ‘Federer Era’.
Federer finds himself in a battle to keep his reputation, but with Rafael Nadal right behind him, watching his every move (even on grass), the question will be… Does Federer still feel at home at Wimbledon and even more so, can Federer win Wimbledon 2008?
It seemed to go down-hill for Roger Federer when he lost the 2008 Australian Open. While Federer might have had glandular fever during Aus Open, there was no fever to blame when he lost to Nadal at the 2008 French Open. The Spaniard thrashed Federer, whilst handing him his worst defeat ever.
There is, however, a ray of light at the end of the road for Federer: The Swiss legend has not lost a match on grass in over 6 years; The World number one secured a trophy at Halle to show he has what it takes to win every grass tournament; Federer has not lost at Wimbledon in five years and he believes he is the favourite going into Wimbledon 2008.
“I haven’t lost on grass for six years. I still definitely feel very strong about my chances and being the big favourite going into grass,” he said.
Nadal has failed to beat Federer in the previous two Wimbledon encounters. The World number two won his first ever Grasscourt trophy last week at The Queen’s Club and looking at the Federer vs Nadal meetings, Nadal leads 11-6.
Some tennis fans say Nadal’s turn will come to win a Wimbledon Championship. The Spaniard is only 22. Another youngster not to be forgotten is Novak Djokovic, who stole Federer’s Aus Open Title in January this year.
“It’s motivating to see all these young players coming up, but I’m quite confident the second half of the season is going to be better than the first,” said Federer.
Bjorn Borg would love to see Federer overtake his record, but feels Nadal should be watched.
“If he survives the first two or three rounds, then I pick Nadal to win Wimbledon,” said Borg.
“He’s playing really good on the grass. He’s feeling very comfortable.” But Federer has an ally in Andy Roddick who he beat in the 2004 and 2005 finals.
“Playing the final on red clay against Nadal is not the same as playing on a grasscourt,” said Roddick.
“If anything, it’s going to annoy him to where he wants to prove everybody wrong. Maybe if he wins it six times, people won’t question him. People are sitting here saying, ‘Can Roger win Wimbledon?’ Yes, he can. He’s won it five times.”
Some are hoping Federer will “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” while others hope he “will go gentle into that good night”. What do you think? Leave us a comment.
For all your latest wimbledon 2008 news, Wimbledon 2008 player profiles, Wimbledon 2008 live scores and more visit MyWimbledon2008.com
--!>
Name: Rafael Nadal
Country:Spain
Date of Birth: 1986,3 June
Place of Birth: Manacor, Mallorca
Height: 1.85
Weight: 85.5 kg
Current Rank:2
Current ATP Champions Rank:1
Career Titles (Single): 28
Career Titles (Doubles): 4
Matches won:302
Matches Lost:73
Career Prize Cash: $18 million
Grand Slam Wins: French Open (2005,2006,2007,2008)
--!>Queen’s champion Rafael Nadal to play one more match on grass before competing at Wimbledon 2008.
Nadal, World No 2, will be up against Marat Safin at an exhibition match at the Fortis Tennis Classic on Friday at the Hurlingham Club in London.
Nadal stole the Artois title with a 7-6, 7-5 power win over Djokovic just 7 days after winning the French Open 2008.
“I’m a little bit tired but I think with a few days’ rest I’m going to be ready for Wimbledon,” said Nadal.
“And if not, it does not matter, because Wimbledon is very important and the motivation is 100%.”
Nadal is planning to become the first man to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year since Bjorn Borg did so in 1980.
“I’ve made it to two Wimbledon finals so sure, I can win, but it’s a lot of work”, said Nadal
The other big names to be playing at Hurlingham will be Tomas Berdych, Tommy Haas and James Blake.
Spain’s Carlos Moya, Argentines Juan Monaco and Juan Ignacio Chela, and Japan’s Akiko Morigami have pulled out of Wimbledon with injuries.
They will be replaced by Argentines Martin Vassallo Arguello and Brian Dabul, Croatian Roko Karanusic, and Renato Voracova of the Czech Republic.
For all your latest Wimbledon 2008 news, tickets, updates, live scores, and results visit www.mywimbledon2008.com
Nadal or Federer? Sharapova or Williams? Who will be king and queen of Grass Heaven? Who will win Wimbledon Tennis 2008 Fortnight? Let’s be honest here- a Wimbledon Title is sweeter than a French Open Title… would you not agree? Its a difficult task to judge.
Federer will be firm favourite going into Wimbledon 2008 but now that Nadal has whipped up another French Open Title.. who can tell? According to Betting Sites, Federer’s odds are roughly 1.3 to 1.
Make sure to visit www.mywimbledon2008.com during Wimbledon tennis 2008 for tennis updates, latest scores, player profiles, and more!
--!>
Roger Federer claims it will be a difficult task for Rafael Nadal to succeed in winning his fourth consecutive French Open at Roland Garos beginning at the end of may.
Federer failed for the eighth time on clay against the Spaniard in the Hamburg Masters final on Sunday. This could have been the worste possible start for Federer as he prepares himself for the French Open.
Nadal has an amazing record in Paris- having won the last three tournaments, beating Federer in the 2006 and 2007 finals, and will be defending a perfect 21-match winning record at Roland Garros.
But the Mallorcan had to battle a hamstring strain in the first set of Sunday’s final before going on to depose Federer as Hamburg champion winning 7-5, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2 after nearly three hours.
“I wish I could have won in Hamburg, that would have given me an even better feeling for Roland Garros,” said Federer after his tenth loss on all surfaces to the Mallorcan.
“To have won here would have just confirmed that I am definitely playing well. I can definitely say I am feeling good, the three hours wasn’t a problem, from the physical standpoint.
“But from Rafael’s standpoint, he is perhaps struggling a bit more due to the stress with the levels of the last few weeks. I am completely fine and I will be ready for the tournament.”
Nadal had bizarre blisters after winning the Barcelona final earlier this month against compatriot David Ferrer and could barely run at the Rome Masters where he lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round.
It was only his second defeat on clay since April 2005.
But he proved his fitness in Hamburg by beating world number three Novak Djokovic in the semifinal, before recovering from 5-1 down in the first set to beat Federer.
And despite suffering the hamstring problem, the Spaniard says he is confident of being fit to defend his Roland Garros crown.
“I am optimistic of playing Roland Garros, I will have to see how the leg settles down,” said Nadal.
“The final (in Hamburg) was tough for me, especially after the hard semifinal, I felt a bit of pain in my hamstring and it was difficult to concentrate.
“But it helps to beat the world number one (Federer) and the best player this year (Djokovic), it’s always important for confidence.
“The most important was to win Hamburg for the first time, regardless that it was the last event before Roland Garros.”
--!>Roger Federer, top seed, skipped past unseeded Italian Andreas Seppi 6-3 6-1 in the Hamburg Masters on Saturday. He will face Spain’s Rafael Nadal in the final,for the second year in a row.
Nadal’s semifinal match, on the other hand was a crazy one- the number 2 seed, won a superb 3 hour battle against serb, Novak Djokovic, beating him 7-5 2-6 6-2. What a match that was.
If Djokovic had beat Nadal last night he would have taken over Nadal’s numbr 2 world ranking, but Djokovic could not hold his nerve when he won the second set 6-2.
Their were some amazing rallies that kept the crowd on their seat in Centre Court last night Nadal saved 15 of 19 break points against him and broke serve in the first and seventh games of the deciding set.
He managed to finaly win on his fifth match point when Djokovic netted an attempted drop shot at the end of an amazing final game lasting more than 15 minutes.
“It was an amazing match,” Nadal told a news conference. “I am a little bit tired right now so let’s see how I feel tomororow.”
Hamburg is the only Masters Series title on clay that eludes Nadal and he said the slower court here took some of the sting out of his booming top-spin drives.
“I’ll need to be 100% if I want to have a chance of beating Roger,” Nadal added.
Djokovic described Nadal as one of the Best Defensive Tennis players in History and said, “It was unfortunate it finished as a loss for me but I have to take the positives out of the match,” he told reporters.
“I feel that with this performance and the match in general I am getting closer to him on clay and hopefully next time I can get a win.”
For all your latest Tennis, Wimbledon News, scores, updates, tickets, results Visit www.mywimbledon2008.com
--!>Mauresmo withdraws from German Open
Amelia Mauresmo has been battling with a ribcage injury for some time now and was forced to withdraw from the German Open on Monday. It seems Mauresmo has been so unlucky with injuries especially last season as she missed alot of action and we all know what she is capable of having won Wimbledon 2006 and the Australian Open.
Amelia Mauresmo was due to play compatriot Aravane Rezai on Tuesday.
For all your Wimbledon news, tickets, updates, scores, videos and more visit http://www.mywimbledon2008.com
--!>