Ana Ivanovic, New World Number One Female Tennis Player

Ana Ivanovic

Residence: Basel, Switzerland

Date of Birth: November 6, 1987

Birthplace: Belgrade, Serbia

Height: 6'1 (1.86 m)

Weight: 152 lbs. (69 kg)

Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Status: Pro (August 2003)

Career Highlights

SINGLES
Winner (7): 2008 - Indian Wells, Roland Garros; 2007 - Berlin, Los Angeles, Luxembourg; 2006 - Montreal; 2005 - Canberra; 2004 - ITF/Mallorca 2-ESP, ITF/Gifu-JPN, ITF/Fukuoka-JPN, ITF/Fano-ITA, ITF/Batumi-GEO.
Finalist (3): 2008 - Australian Open; 2007 - Tokyo [Pan Pacific], Roland Garros 2007
Semifinalist: (8): 2008 - Sydney, Berlin; 2007 - Amelia Island, Wimbledon, Year-End Championships; 2005 - Warsaw, Zurich, Linz.
Quarterfinalist (15): 2008 - Dubai; 2007 - Gold Coast, Sydney, Antwerp, s‘Hertogenbosch
2006 - Sydney, Indian Wells, Warsaw, s'Hertogenbosch; Los Angeles; Linz, Hasselt
2005 - Miami, Roland Garros; 2004 - Luxembourg.

DOUBLES
Finalist (1): 2006 - 's-Hertogenbosch (w/Kirilenko).
Semifinalist (2): 2006 - Tokyo [Pan Pacific], Warsaw (both w/Kirilenko).

Career in review

2003 - Made pro debut on ITF Circuit (played four events), also Tour debut (l. in Luxembourg qualifying).

2004 - Top 100 finish in first full season on the Tour, making the biggest ranking jump of any player in 2004 (608 spots); as world No.156 qualifier at Zürich (in third career main draw after Vienna, Birmingham earlier in season), upset No.29 Golovin 75 67(2) 76(3) in 1r (overcame 5-1 third-set deficit, 2mp), l. to V.Williams 76(11) 76(6) in 2r (held five set points in first set and three in second set tie-break); the next week, made Tour QF debut at Luxembourg (l. to Medina Garrigues), afterwards on November 1 made Top 100 debut (at No.96); started season winning first 21 matches and three titles, $10,000 ITF/Mallorca 2-ESP, $50,000 ITF/Gifu-JPN (as qualifier) and $50,000 ITF/Fukuoka-JPN (as qualifier); won two more $50,000 ITF Circuit titles (ITF/Fano-ITA, ITF/Batumi-GEO) just prior to qualifying for Zürich.

2005 - Breakthrough season, highlighted by career-first Tour singles title at Canberra and first Top 20 finish; captured title in first event of year at Canberra (as qualifier, d. LL Czink in final, had defeated Czink in final round of qualifying, believed to be a Tour first; 26th qualifier in Tour history to win a title); reached QF or better at five other events, incl. QF at Miami (d. world No.7 Kuznetsova en route for first Top 10 victory, falling to Mauresmo in first Tier I QF), SF at Warsaw (d. No.10 Zvonareva en route to first Tier II SF, losing to eventual champion Henin-Hardenne), QF at Roland Garros (on debut, d. No.3 Mauresmo en route for best match win of career to date, falling to Petrova in first Grand Slam QF), and consecutive SF in the fall at Zürich (l. to Schnyder in first Tier I SF) and Linz (l. again to Schnyder); in addition to Roland Garros, made debuts at all other Grand Slams, at Australian Open (l. in 3r to Mauresmo), Wimbledon (l. in 3r to Pierce) and US Open (as No.18 seed, upset in 2r by Vento-Kabchi in 3s; at No.16, was highest ranked player to make her debut at the US Open since No.14 Capriati in 1990, bettered only by No.12 Seles in 1989 since inception of computer rankings in 1975); reduced ranking to less than one-fifth between beginning and end of season, ranked No.100 in first event at Canberra, making Top 50 debut (at No.50) on March 7, Top 20 debut (at No.20) after Wimbledon, and rising to current career-high No.16 on August 29; withdrew from Toronto [Canadian Open] prior to 3r match vs. Clijsters w/right pectoral muscle strain, withdrew from Luxembourg w/right shoulder injury and from Moscow w/left wrist strain.

2006 - Second consecutive Top 20 finish; season highlighted by capturing second and biggest Tour singles title at Tier I Montréal (as No.13 seed, d. No.9 seed Safina in SF and No.7 seed Hingis in final); clinched US Open Series victory with the title; seven-time quarterfinalist, at Sydney (upset No.2 seed Mauresmo en route, falling to No.6 seed Kuznetsova), Indian Wells (l. to Dementieva in 3s), Warsaw (upset No.2 seed Schnyder en route, falling to Chakvetadze in 3s), ‘s-Hertogenbosch (l. to Dementieva), Los Angeles (l. to Jankovic), Linz (l. to Sharapova) and Hasselt (l. to Krajicek); win over world No.3 Mauresmo at Sydney was equal-biggest career victory, and win over world No.8 Schnyder at Warsaw was second Top 10 win of season, fifth of career; reached 4r twice, at Miami (l. to Mauresmo) and Wimbledon (as No.19 seed, d. No.14 seed Safina in 3r, falling to top seed and eventual champion Mauresmo); 3r three times, incl. Roland Garros (as No.19 seed, l. to No.10 seed Myskina) and US Open (as No.16 seed, l. to WC S.Williams); 2r three times, incl. Australian Open (as No.21 seed, upset by Stosur), and fell 1r three times, incl. Berlin (ret. vs. N.Li w/left hamstring strain); notched 100th career singles match win in Warsaw 1r (vs. Domachowska), also surpassed $1 million in career prize money earnings; on September 11 (after US Open), moved from No.17 to No.15, her career Top 15 debut; on October 16, moved up to No.13, a new career-high; reached first Tour doubles final at ‘s-Hertogenbosch and a semifinals at Tokyo [Pan Pacific] and Warsaw (all w/Kirilenko); withdrew from Rome w/left hamstring strain and from Stuttgart, Zurich w/right shoulder tendonitis.

2007 - Another breakthrough season of sorts, culminating in first Top 10 finish, highlighted by third, fourth and fifth career Tour singles titles and first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros; won titles at Berlin (as No.12 seed, d. No.3 seed Kuznetsova in final; second career Tier I title), Los Angeles (as No.3-seeded WC, d. No.2 seed Jankovic 46 63 75 in SF after trailing 4-1 in third set and saving 2mp down 5-4; d. No.4 seed Petrova in final) and Luxembourg (as No.2 seed, d. No.4 seed Hantuchova 36 64 64 in final, having trailed 63 30); two-time runner-up, at Tier I Tokyo [Pan Pacific] (as No.5 seed, d. No.4 seed Jankovic en route; l. to No.2 seed Hingis) and Roland Garros (as No.7 seed, d. No.3 seed Kuznetsova in QF and No.2 seed Sharapova in SF before falling to top seed Henin in final; was first player representing Serbia, male or female, to reach a Grand Slam singles final); SF three times, at Amelia Island (as No.6 seed, d. No.2 seed Jankovic en route; l. to No.8 seed Golovin in 3s), Wimbledon (as No.6 seed, overcame 3-1 third set deficit to d. No.11 seed Petrova 61 26 64 in 4r and 5-3 third set deficit and 3mp trailing 5-4 to d. No.14 seed Vaidisova 46 62 75 in QF; l. to No.23 seed and eventual champion V.Williams) and finally first Tour Championships - having qualified at No.4 in Race, compiled 2-1 RR record (d. Kuznetsova and Hantuchova; l. to Sharapova) to reach SF (l. to Henin); notched 12 Top 10 wins during season, at Tokyo [Pan Pacific] (No.10 Jankovic), Amelia Island (No.9 Jankovic), Berlin (No.4 Kuznetsova), Roland Garros (No.3 Kuznetsova, No.2 Sharapova), Wimbledon (No.9 Petrova, No.10 Vaidisova), Los Angeles (No.3 Jankovic, No.9 Petrova), Luxembourg (No.10 Hantuchova) and Tour Championships (No.2 Kuznetsova, No.9 Hantuchova); wins over Sharapova and Kuznetsova were career-best wins; having begun year No.14, made Top 10 debut on May 14 (moving from No.16 to No.8 after Berlin), Top 5 debut on July 9 (moving from No.6 to No.5 after Roland Garros) and reaching career-high No.4 on August 13 (after Los Angeles); four more QF, at Gold Coast (l. to Peer), Sydney (l. to Vaidisova), Antwerp (l. to Clijsters) and 's-Hertogenbosch (l. to Hantuchova); suffered eight pre-QF losses in 19 regular season events, incl. at Australian Open (as No.13 seed, l. 3r to No.22 seed Zvonareva) and US Open (as No.5 seed, l. 4r to No.12 seed V.Williams); surpassed both $1 million and $2 million in career earnings, in fact earning over 60% of her career prize money this season alone; withdrew from Rome w/ankle injury and from San Diego w/knee injury.

Personal

Began working with Scott Byrnes (strength and conditioning coach) in July 2006 ... Started playing tennis at age 5 after watching it on TV (in particular Monica Seles), remembering the phone number to a local tennis school and begging her parents to take her; was given a racquet for her fifth birthday and immediately fell in love with the game ... Mother, Dragana, is a lawyer; father, Miroslav, is a businessman; brother, Milos, is four years Ana's junior, and likes playing basketball; all the family likes sports, but none played tennis before Ana ... Trained in a disused swimming pool at the Jedanaesti April 11 sports center in Belgrade ... Best shot is forehand; likes all surfaces ... Likes watching movies (especially thrillers) either at the cinema or on DVD at home; also likes to read (especially about history and Greek mythology) and to listen to music (pop and R&B) ... Loves the TV shows 24, Lost and Prison Break ... Enjoys shopping, fashion ... Favorite food is sushi ... Favorite drink is water, fresh orange juice ... In September 2007 began studying finance at a private university that allows her to take exams online ... Admires Federer for his professionalism on and off the court ... Superstitions are to not walk on lines of the court, and at some tournaments to eat at the same restaurant each night ... Sometimes prepares for matches by playing Sudoku or backgammon in locker room ... Favorite places to visit are Melbourne, where she has some family, London and Paris ... Self-described as strong-willed, sensitive, determined and extremely competitive ... Most admires her family for all the support they give her ... Speaks fluent English, Serbian and some Spanish ... One of her off-court goals is to learn how to surf ... Most memorable experiences to date are reaching 2007 Roland Garros final and playing a charity match against Agassi.

Awards, etc.

Junior Wimbledon runner-up 2004

Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Most Improved Player 2005

US Open Series champion 2006

Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Most Improved Player 2007

Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Karen Krantzcke Sportmanship Award 2007

UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia

Nominated for U.S. Secretary of State's 2007 International Women of Courage Award

Trivia

Most embarrassing moment in tennis is when she took another player's racket bag onto court after mistaking it for her own

The President of Serbia, Boris Tadic, attended her 20th birthday party

Was featured on a Serbian postage stamp during the run-up to the 2008 Olympics

One of her proudest achievements is winning 16 matches in 15 days as she captured back-to-back titles on the ITF Women's Cicuit when she was 16

Has won the tennisreporters.net Sexiest Female Player award for the last three years

Finished 23rd on FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2008 list

Named the best-looking tennis player of all-time by The Age newspaper

Has the most-visited website of any sportswoman (according to www.alexa.com, on 14 June 2008)

Source: www.anaivanovic.com

Cutie Little Doggies

Henin To Call it Quits

By Tennis Week

Justine Henin is ready to walk away from professional tennis. The World No. 1 will make an announcement about her future at a press conference in Belgium today.

The Belgian media reports Henin will either announce her retirement or reveal plans to take an extended break from tennis.

The seven-time Grand slam champion withdrew from this week's Rome tournament citing fatigue, incurring a $20,000 fine. Henin has posted a 22-4 record on the season. She won two of the first three tournaments she entered — beating Svetlana Kuznetsova, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to win the Sydney title in her first tournament of the season and crushing Karin Knapp, 6-3, 6-3, to win the Antwerp title in her native Belgium — but since that strong start her tradedmark tenacity and competitive spirit has been lacking. A weary Henin has gone 5-3 in her last eight matches and looked lethargic in a 6-2, 6-0, quarterfinal loss to Serena Williams at the Sony Ericsson Open as well as a 7-5, 3-6, 1-6, setback to Dinara Safina in the third round of last week's German Open in Berlin.

Henin is only 25 years old, but the accelerated pace of the pro circuit prompted her to consider life after tennis. Henin hinted at her desire to retire in a press conference with the media in Berlin last week.

"I'm young in life, but starting to get old on the tour," Henin said. "I'm growing up and I need different things. Even physically I don't recover as well as I did when I was 20. That's normal. Now I've been playing tennis for 20 years and it's been my whole life but as a woman, as you get older, you need to think about the future. I'd love to go back to study. It would be a good challenge and I've been thinking about it a lot recently."

Source: http://www.tennisweek.com/news/fullstory.sps?inewsid=4018162

Ferrero Snaps Nadal's Streak

By Richard Evans
Rafael Nadal did not want to repeat himself after he had lost the Italian title he had held for three successive years. He did not want to appear a sore loser but, in reality, there was no chance of that.

Nadal, who lost here today to compatriot Juan Carlo Ferrero 7-5, 6-1, has been saying it loud and clear ever since the Miami, before the compressed and impossibly tough European clay court season ever started. He has been saying that the calendar during this part of the year is ridiculous for any top clay court player trying to grab all the ranking points he can on his favored surface. He told us after winning Monte Carlo two weeks ago; he told us again after winning Barcelona on Sunday.

And when he woke up after that last victory and was unable to put his blistered feet on the carpeted floor of his hotel room, he knew he had been right. But, of course, he was asked his opinion on the matter anyway and, in answer to whether he would try once more to talk to ATP boss Etienne de Villiers, he said, "I have nothing more to say to this man. We spoke to him last year, trying to understand why he is doing these things but it is impossible; it is a waste of time. But when I lose I do not want to talk about these things. I want to congratulate Juan Carlos. He is a fine player and a nice person and this was an important win for him."

Nadal, whether winning or losing, is a credit to this sport and it was sad to see him so obviously hobbled by his condition against Ferrero. He had the trainer on at the end of the first set to tear great strips of taping off his feet and apply more antisceptic cream but it was no good.

"I could only put my foot down like this, at an angle, because of the pain, no?" he explained after his 17-match Rome winning streak came to an end. "I try to try my best but it was impossible."

In the end, Ferrero just had to put the ball out of Nadal’s reach and the man who has covered acres of court these past few weeks, reaching balls that no one else would even contemplate chasing, could only stand and stare balefully at the ball as it sped away from him.

This unexpected defeat has ruined the chance of another Nadal final against Roger Federer which is sad for the tournament; sad for tennis and very bad for the image of the ATP. To be fair to those who try to make sense of the highly complicated calendar, finding a solution to the problem that Nadal and other clay courters feel so strongly about is far from easy, especially when Miami is played a week later. Next year, of course, the situation will be exacerbated by Madrid moving into May from October with a ten day men’s and women’s event to take the place of Hamburg which is being pushed into a slot after Wimbledon. However, even that is dependent on the ATP successfully defending the lawsuit, slated for Delaware in July, against the German Federation who are furious at the treatment they have received from the men’s governing body.

But, in the meantime, Nadal is heading home to Mallorca for a well earned rest. "I will try to go with best feelings to Hamburg," said Nadal. Our best feelings are with him.

Ferrero will now play Stanislas Wawrinka who defeated Britain’s Andy Murray 6-2, 7-6 under the lights on Court One.

Source: http://www.tennisweek.com/news/fullstory.sps?inewsid=2134784

Erik Spoelstra (Phil-Am) -- New Miami Heat Head Coach

On April 28, Pat Riley announced that he decided to step down as Head Coach of the Miami HEAT but will continue to serve as team President, ending a Hall of Fame coaching career. On Monday, Managing General Partner Micky Arison and Riley jointly announced that Assistant Coach/Director of Scouting Erik Spoelstra has been elevated to Head Coach. Spoelstra becomes the sixth Head Coach in franchise history. Following his introductory press conference, HEAT Insider got a chance to catch up with the HEAT’s new Head Coach:

HEAT Insider: Your father, Jon Spoelstra, is a long-time NBA executive, who spent time as General Manager for the Portland Trail Blazers. How much influence did he have on inspiring you to become a Head Coach?

Erik Spoelstra: “He’s been involved in the NBA since I was four or five years old. He didn’t necessarily introduce me to coaching directly, but indirectly he did because I was always around the game, particularly the NBA game. When he worked for the Portland Trail Blazers, I remember going to 41 home games every year. I think I was the only kid that went to every single home game. I went to all the practices. When it was convenient with my schedule, I went to all the summer practices. He kind of opened the door and stoked the fire.”

HI: Your father was an innovator in finding certain numbers and statistics in analyzing the game. Are you the same way?

ES: “To be frank, I’m many different things with this organization, but I’m a computer geek, stats and information collector. That’s my comfort level. I really find comfort in watching film and obtaining knowledge and I use statistics and computer generated stuff to help me get those stats. That was probably a result of my father’s influence on me at a young age. We’re always trying to evolve and find more efficient ways, more fluent ways to evaluate our players, evaluate our opponent and evaluate our prospects.”

HI: How did your family react when you broke the news of becoming the new HEAT Head Coach?

ES: “My parents were thrilled. My mom was beside herself – she could barely speak. My pops was very happy for me, very proud. Then he ended the conversation the way he normally does: He said, ‘Time to get to work.’”

HI: Do you have any good stories growing up in the Portland Trail Blazers organization?

ES: “Steve Colter was almost a cult figure in Portland when he played for the Trail Blazers. One time, he came over, I must have been in the 7th grade, and we played one-on-one (at my parent’s home in Portland, OR). He actually dunked on me and broke our hoop. Until this day, we still haven’t fixed the hoop. We bent it upward. It’s still there, and it’s a constant reminder of that one-on-one experience.”

HI: You and Stan Van Gundy are still good friends. Are you going to be asking him for advice because he is a guy who knows what it’s like to replace Pat Riley?

ES: “Absolutely. He’s been a huge influence on me and my career. More importantly, he’s been a great friend. I will pick his brain as much as he’ll allow me to until it gets to training camp, where I’m sure he’ll pull the plug on that. He’s been a great resource. Even now, we still talk on the phone and I’ll ask him his opinion on a lot of stuff.”

HI: How much of your personality do you have to change now that you’re Head Coach?

ES: “My voice will change a little bit, but I have to be me. I believe strongly in the culture and the way we’ve done things, particularly the kind of person we bring into the family and into the organization. I’ve done that as an assistant coach. I know the dynamic will change a little bit when I’m sitting in the head seat, but I’m going to still try to do the things that I’ve done while assisting the head coach.”

HI: How would you describe your coaching personality?

ES: “That will work itself out. I have to be true to myself, and that’s what I know for sure. I can’t try to be anybody else. That’s what I’ve done as an assistant coach. I’ve been put into a lot of positions where I had to coach. When you work for Pat Riley, you’re not just putting your hands on the basket and hanging out during practice. He puts you in positions where you have to coach. You have to be enthusiastic and fierce with your preparation and work ethic. As we move forward, I think that will all work itself out.”

HI: Will you keep the current coaching staff?

ES: “Continuity is very important to me. I have an incredible trust level with those guys; we’ve worked together for so long. It’s unique. We’ve experienced a lot of good times, a lot of bad times, a lot of wins, a lot of losses and adversity. You really get to know someone when you win, but it goes to a whole other level when you’re losing. We have a very strong bond and I know I’m going to have to lean on them quite a bit.”

HI: What are your expectations for the upcoming season?

ES: “My expectations are to get to work immediately. We’re going to try to get a core group of guys who believe in our culture and are ready to work next year at training camp. Certainly, this time next year our plan is to be playing (in the playoffs) instead of watching.”

HI: Is it easier to take over a younger team than a veteran team?

ES: “I don’t know if it’s easier; you never know when your opportunity will come to be a Head Coach, if it comes at all. Last year when Pat would make comments like, ‘Be ready,’ you kind of go down that road and put yourself in that chair. Even last summer there were times where I had to get my train of thought right. I feel like I would have been ready to take on (a veteran team) just as I’m ready to take on this team right here. I feel comfortable with the core guys coming back. They know me and I know them. There’s a trust level there already. From that standpoint, there’s a little bit of a comfort level.”

HI: You have no NBA playing experience. Do you think not having NBA playing experience will affect your relationship with the players now that you’re Head Coach?

ES: “I think the connection, the trust level and experience and my 13 years working with players matter most to them. They all want the same thing; they all want someone who can help them be successful. They’re drawn to people who want to be successful and they’re drawn to people they feel have a certain level of competence, integrity and work ethic. I feel with the core people we have and the people who know me trust my work ethic and know that I’ll be fierce with my preparation and the time and thought that I put into my job.”

HI: In an era where many coaches get fired after one year, how much pressure do you feel in your first head coaching job?

ES: “I’m just focused on the opportunity. We have a huge summer ahead of us. We have a lot of work to do. It’s a big challenge. It starts first with the draft and then free agency and then evaluating our players and so forth. I’ve seen it, but if you talk to a coach 20 years ago, they’d say it was a volatile time then. I’m not sure if there’s ever a perfect time, there’s just the time, the time when you do get the opportunity.”

HI: Will you have a voice in free agency and the draft?

ES: “I think we’re going to work together. I’m not confused by my position. I’m hired as the head coach, to coach the team. Players who are there, I’ll coach them. I will have a voice on that. Pat is still my boss. He is the leader of this franchise. He will be hand picking the guys, but we’ve had several conversations, even when I was an assistant coach, about players we want to bring in. I think I’ll have enough of a voice.”

Source: http://www.nba.com/heat/

Rafa roars by Roger to win Monte Carlo

By Richard Evans

All the good and all the bad that have been part and parcel of Roger Federer’s performances this year were on view in the Monte Carlo sunshine — and it was the bad that condemned him to a ninth career loss to Rafael Nadal; the third in consecutive years in this very final.

Federer broke Nadal on four occasions and still lost 7-5, 7-5 after leading 4-0 in the second set. Everything seemed under control, at least as far as the set was concerned, at 4-1, 30 all when suddenly two forehands flew off his racket and way over the baseline. Then at 4-3, a forehand hit the tape and went wide to give Nadal break point and a wayward backhand handed the Spaniard the second break back to love.

Federer didn’t really have an explanation for that collapse. It will be something for Jose Higueras to ponder on the flight home to Palm Springs before the coach returns for a second spell with Roger at Roland Garros.

To this observer it all looked like opportunities lost. Federer had broken in the first game of the match, only to lose his own serve immediately and then the swap was repeated at 3-3. It is fundamental against as great a clay court player as Nadal to nail down the opportunities you carve out for yourself and this Federer obviously failed to do.

But he was not too downhearted.

"Maybe I am growing up," he said with just the faintest flicker of a smile. "I don’t take losses that bad any more. You know, I try everything I can. And when it’s not enough, it’s unfortunate. But, like I said it was good for me to play him here. I felt much more confident. Last year I felt like I was completely out of the match. So today was better. Maybe that’s why I am not that disappointed."

Federer thought his attacking game didn’t really work but is hard to see how he would have prospered had he merely sat back and tried to slug it out with the game’s greatest slugger. He had to get in and frequently it paid off — bringing cheers from the Swiss supporters, all dressed up in the red T shirts with the white cross as perfect volleys skidded away, leaving puffs of dust from the red clay. Much of the match was certainly entertaining with both men bringing off remarkable winners but as soon as Nadal got back to 4-4 in the second set, one knew the die was cast.

The whole thing was over in one hour 43 minutes, short for a clay court duel and, asked about the ATP’s decision to restrict all finals to best of three, Federer was ambivalent once again. He admitted the advantage of the rule, which is meant to ensure the top players do not grind themselves into the ground but he, like the crowd, wanted more time on court. Unlikely as it would have been on this occasion, every champion thinks he would have a chance of coming back and when Federer was asked if he thought he could have lasted five sets, his answer was cutting. "I could have played seven sets if I had to, no problem. It’s a pity, best of three set finals. They’re over so quickly. I don’t think fitness mattered at all today because what, we had six, seven hours on court throughout the week? Normally we do twenty. So this is peanuts."

Of course, Nadal didn’t quite look at it that way as he left the Centre Court, laden with yet more glassware. Snapping a title drought that stretched back to his victory in Stuttgart last July, Nadal claimed his fourth consecutive Monte Carlo championship — an Open Era record — raised his career record in Monte Carlo to 23-1 and took a 9-6 advantage in his head-to-head series with Federer, the man who ended his record 81-match clay-court winning streak in the Hamburg final last May.

For him, there had been a lot more time on court despite the fact that he did not drop a set during an impressive run of victories against some pretty impressive clay court performers — Juan Carlos Ferrero, David Ferrer and Nikolay Davydenko. For Nadal, with Tommy Robredo alongside him, had fought his way into the doubles final. The young man, it seems, cannot get enough of his clay court tennis.
He has certainly left an indelible mark on this 108 year-old tournament and will be back for more. Anthony Wilding won it five times before World War I, four of them consecutively. Five on the trot seems very do-able for Nadal who, despite those dodgy knees, remains a powerhouse on clay.

Source : http://www.tennisweek.com/news/fullstory.sps?inewsid=549821

Federer Faces Tough Road To Title

Roger Federer defeated arch rival David Nalbandian 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 Friday to reach the Masters Series Monte-Carlo semifinals, but his tough path to the title likely runs through Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

Estoril champion Federer extended his clay-court winning streak to eight matches and avenged back-to-back ATP Masters Series losses to Nalbandian in Madrid and Paris at the end of last year with his best performance of the tournament to date. After a tense, energy-sapping first set, Federer's superior fitness proved decisive as the match wore on, particularly in the third set as the match broke through the two-hour mark.

But the ATP World No. 1 initially did not have things go all his way. In the first set at 5-5, Nalbandian produced a sublime chip/charge and drop volley combination off a Federer second serve to move to 0/40, and soon thereafter converted his third break chance of the game to take the first break of the match. The Argentine closed out the set on his first set point after surprising Federer with a serve and volley play.

After not facing a beak point in the first set, Nalbandian was broken in the opening game of the second set and twice more as a rejuvenated Federer raced away with the second set. In the third set Federer broke Nalbandian for 4-2 when the Argentine, perhaps emboldened by his attacking play on set point in the first set, made a strange decision to serve and volley on his second serve at 30/40, only to net a routine backhand volley. Federer held for 5-2 and broke again to close out the match. He faces the winner of World No. 3 Novak Djokovic and American Sam Querrey.

Federer, who has finished runner-up to Rafael Nadal the past two years in Monte-Carlo, improved to a 9-8 career record against Nalbandian.

Source: http://montecarlo.masters-series.com/1/en/news/newsarticle_1064.asp