There aren’t enough words to describe how unbelievable Sunday’s Wimbledon men’s final was between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. That it featured three rain delays and more twists and turns which explained a tournament record four hours and 48 minute marathon featuring some of the most spectacular tennis ever played at the All England Club was a credit to just how special both the No.1 ranked 26 year-old Swiss and the No.2 ranked 22 year-old Spaniard played.

In over two decades of watching tennis, this just might’ve been the best match ever seen. Particularly with so much history on the line. Nadal dethroned the five-time defending champion ending one of the greatest runs ever. Federer’s 65-match win streak on grass finally ended as did his run of 41 in a row at tennis’ most prestigious grand slam.

It looked like Rafa would make it easy on himself by stunning Federer by coming back from 1-4 down in the second set breaking him twice in taking the final five games to go up a commanding two sets. But the proud champion who’s won 12 slam titles didn’t go down easily using the first rain delay to rally back fighting off triple break point to hold before taking a third set tiebreaker on a perfect ace out wide to make it interesting.

It would only get better from there as both players who had been slugging the ball as hard as possible making each other come up with ridiculous shots on the run while playing great defense elevated their elite games even more. Neither faced a break point in set four which was destined for another breaker.

This one was unpredictable as each server had problems winning points. When Nadal jumped out to a two mini-break 5-2 lead, the end seemed in sight with a changing of the guard about to happen. But not so fast as Federer got a rare double fault and then took the next point with a huge forehand to get back on serve. He would save one championship point and then be forced to save yet another in heroic fashion. Trailing 8-7 with Rafa serving, he came up with a very tough backhand pass down the line to ward off defeat. After going up 9-8, a service winner gave a pumped up Roger the set leveling the match before an even more excited crowd which loved every minute.

The quality was that special. Even when Federer dropped the first two sets by identical 6-4 scores, it wasn’t because he was playing poorly but rather spoke to how well Nadal was playing. The kid from Mayorga who’s won four French Opens in a row including three straight versus the world No.1 was much better on the bigger points. If there was a difference in the match, Federer only converted on one of 13 break chances while his younger opponent broke three more times in the same amount of chances (4/13).

Still, Federer had drawn even showing the heart of a proud champion who wouldn’t hand over his crown that easily and looked determined enough to complete a remarkable two set comeback against his equal. There was even more drama as the rain came again delaying play another half hour at two apiece in the final set at Deuce on Roger’s serve making one ponder if they’d be able to finish the match before darkness.

They would get back out there and Nadal again seemed on the verge of cementing that break which would mean what could’ve happened last year had he converted one of those couple of break points early in that fifth set. But Federer again valiantly fought them off to keep it on serve. Would he pull this off and give tennis history by becoming the first player to win six straight in over a century since 1886?

Nadal never blinked serving harder and at a higher percentage. When a Federer forehand went just long in the 15th game finally giving the hungry two-time runner-up the break. The question was could he serve out the championship? He setup a third championship point but yet again was thwarted by a great backhand slice return just out of his reach making it Deuce.

A big serve gave him a fourth opportunity to cash in and this time, Federer couldn’t pull another rabit out of his magic bag of tricks netting a forehand to give Nadal the thrilling victory for his first ever Wimbledon becoming the first Spanish male player to win there since 1966. He immediately slid to the ground by the baseline before getting back up to receive congrats from a gracious champ who really took the defeat tough. Who could blame him? He worked so hard to get back in it and was so close.

The match which started half an hour late due to the first batch of rain ended at 9:15 London time with little light left making for a fantastic scene. Watching a jubilant Nadal climb up and go across to greet his family in the player’s box was a special treat. His Dad had been so emotional throughout. It really was great stuff and theater at its best.

Former three-time Wimbledon champion and current NBC tennis analyst John McEnroe who once went five in another epic some 28 years prior before losing to Bjorn Borg termed it:

 ”the best match I’ve ever seen.”

Pretty strong stuff coming from one of the best American players and someone I always admired. I have so much more to say and will do so later today because it truly was special.

Both players deserve congratulations for putting on a show worthy of an encore which is sure to run on ESPN Classic. This was tennis at its finest.

Congrats also goes out to the Williams sisters, who won the women’s doubles crown after older sis Venus got the better of Serena to repeat and win her fifth Wimbledon. Just remarkable. And it was a very good match too unlike past all-Williams finals with each sister slugging it out and hitting tons of winners and not many errors.

Great to see.

We’ll have much more on Nadal becoming the first player to win the French and Wimbledon in the same year since Borg (1980) later on. Plus analysis on Federer.

They’ll do it again. No.1 vs No.2 for all the marbles at a third consecutive Wimbledon at the All England Club on Centre Court tomorrow.

Some more history will be on the line when five-time defending champion Roger Federer tries to become the first tennis player to win six in a row for the first time in over a century (1886) with his biggest nemesis standing in the path in four-time French Open conquerer Rafael Nadal, who blitzed the Swiss world No.1 holding him to four games leading many to make the younger Spaniard the favorite to win a fifth major on grass following up an impressive run at Queen’s Club.

The 22 year-old Nadal will once again be attempting to become the first male tennis player to win both the French and Wimbledon in the same year since tennis legend Bjorn Borg accomplished the feat some 28 years ago. In last year’s rematch, he came awfully close to dethroning Federer losing in an ultra competitive five sets with Borg returning to the place he once owned for the first time since he played to present the trophy to the Swiss Maestro.

Having battled mono early in the season when eventual Australian Open champ Novak Djokovic straight setted him in the semis, Federer suffered some tough defeats including to Andy Roddick in a close three sets down in Miami. But he even lost to Mardy Fish making people wonder if his brilliant level was dropping off leaving the door open for either Nadal or Djokovic to overtake him for the ATP’s top spot.
Though he made the final at Roland Garros, once again he was thwarted in an effort to become the sixth male tennis player to complete a career grand slam by a dominant Nadal, who made it look so easy that many pondered if a changing of the guard was on the horizon. Given how well Federer’s responded in not dropping a set while losing serve only twice and not since the third round, we won’t know until Sunday if the speedy and powerful Spaniard is ready to overtake him for the world’s top spot.

While Federer was taking care of business making Mario Ancic look normal and even frustrating Marat Safin to the point where the unpredictable 28 year-old Russian broke his racket and made some of the funniest challenges (they weren’t even close), Nadal was working his way through the field dropping just a set back in Round 2 to big server Ernest Gulbis while making quick work of tough foes such as Russian Mikhail Youzhny and Scot Andy Murray en route to a third straight final.

He sounds ready for the challenge but so does Federer. Whoever prevails, they’ll earn it. Get ready for some history.

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Roger Federer should get his first challenge today when he faces an opponent from the past. The Swiss world No.1 who’s captured five Wimbledons in succession will take on the last player to defeat him at the All England Club on grass. That’s hard slugging Croatian Mario Ancic, who’s had a successful return back from sickness making the quarters.

The 24 year-old former top 10 player’s latest big win came at the expense of No.22 seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco rallying from two sets back to pull out a lengthy five setter prevailing 13-11 in the final set on Court 11 Monday.

Now he’ll step up in competition and try to duplicate his 2002 second round shocker when he beat Federer as an unknown 18 year-old qualifier. Since then, all the popular 26 year-old Swede has done is reel off a record 63 straight on grass. He’s continued to look like the player to beat having swept through former ‘02 Wimbledon champ Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-2. He still hasn’t dropped a set and looks very focused on making history by becoming the first player in more than a century to win six in a row.

Still, given how Ancic is playing, it promises to be an intriguing match. His all court game and big serve could make things interesting. A couple of tiebreakers aren’t out of the realm of possibility. It will be his biggest match since losing to American Andy Roddick in a very competitive five set semi a few years ago on this very same surface in London.

We’ll see if he can threaten the greatest grasscourt male player later today.

Also in action will be British (Scottish) hope Andy Murray, who will look to continue a great run when he takes on No.2 ranked Spaniard Rafael Nadal. Nadal has looked very sharp and set on making a third consecutive finals appearance having dropped just one set. Murray valiantly fought back from two sets down and a break to comeback and beat last year’s French semifinalist No.8 seeded Richard Gasquet. The lanky Scot served extremely well and returned superbly also tracking down some balls which defied logic like his around the net backhand winner to capture the third set electrifying a pro-Murray crowd.

It’s no secret who a vast majority of the supporters will be pulling for.

Also in action will be 28 year-old veteran Russian Marat Safin as he looks to make his first ever Wimbledon semi against Spanish big lefty serve and volleyer Feliciano Lopez who fought off three match points against Marcos Baghdatis in the fifth set before coming back to advance. It promises to be a very good match with five sets not out of the question.

The other quarter features the biggest surprises in vets Rainer Schuettler and Arnaud Clement. The winner will make the semis and draw either Nadal or Murray while the Safin-Lopez winner gets either Federer or Ancic.

Meanwhile, the Williams sisters moved one step closer to facing each other by both prevailing in their quarterfinals in straight sets. Defending champion Venus will take on the highest seeded player remaining in No.5 Russian Elena Dementieva while Serena faces surprise wildcard Jie Zheng from China.

The women get a day off. 

It should be a fun day of tennis.

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Their names both start with ‘M’ and it would be easy to point out how physically gifted each player was entering this year’s Wimbledon. What wasn’t known about either Croatian Mario Ancic or Russian veteran Marat Safin was how they would perform.

That’s been the case for the two-time former slam winner Safin for quite a while. Where you just never know what kind of game he’ll bring to the court. As he’s proven this first week at the All England Club, the always entertaining Marat has made plenty of noise thus far eliminating third seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic from the second round in straight sets.

So, how would he follow up such a big win? That answer was provided late in the day as he completed a hard fought four set win over Italian Andreas Seppi 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 to advance to the second week of a major for the first time in nearly two years. In fact, it was only the second time in the moody Russian’s career that he’s advanced to Week Two of Wimbledon with the previous one coming seven years ago when he got to the quarters on his least favorite surface.

Despite a pesky opponent who made him work for every point, the 28 year-old still had enough big shots to take the third and fourth sets after they split the opening two. The third set saw the server in control with a second tiebreaker needed to decide matters. In the opening one, Safin stepped up when he needed to for a mini break and then a service winner to close it out.

This time, he got off to a quick 4-0 two mini break lead before Seppi closed within 4-3. But the former 2005 Australian Open winner made a couple of tough shots and closed out the breaker by taking the last three points for a one set lead.

After trading early breaks in the fourth, Safin held and then broke again. It looked like he would not be threatened on serve. With a chance to close it out, he faced three break points. When he needed it most, his bigger ground strokes came through as did an underrated net game (26/35, 74 percent) to get him out of trouble and to the finish line in spite of darkness which he afterwards complained about despite pulling through.

“At the end of the match it was pretty tough because we both, I think, couldn’t see the ball anymore,” a relieved Safin expressed during a postmatch interview of the third round match which concluded at 9:17 PM London time. “I was a little bit worried … at the score 3-2, I just couldn’t see.”

In a competitive match where not much separated the two players, he saw well enough to play the bigger points better to advance to a Round of 16 meeting with 13th seeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka.

While one happy comeback story unfolded, yet another took place with Ancic, who was given a wildcard into the tournament. The 24 year-old talented Croat had dealt with a rash of injuries and sickness over the last year which dropped his ranking but finally appears fully recovered ready to make a dent and possibly fulfill expectations.

The last man who defeated Roger Federer on grass at this very event six years prior continued his resurgence with an impressive four set triumph over gritty fifth seeded Spaniard David Ferrer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3). Playing an all court game which included his huge serve which produced 18 more aces (Ancic-23, Ferrer-5) than his opponent, he jumped out to a two set lead against one of the ATP’s most consistent performers.

If Ancic thought it was going to be easy, forget it because the word quit isn’t in Ferrer’s vocabulary. Instead of wilting despite not being able to break his tough opponent’s serve (0-for-6 on break points), the 26 year-old baseliner upped his game a couple of notches to force a third set breaker.

In it, when push came to shove, the determined Ferrer made it happen by hitting penetrating groundstrokes including a huge forehand inside the baseline which drew an Ancic error for 6-5 setting up set point. A big first serve out wide wasn’t returned giving the emotional Spaniard the set and momentum.

Both players continued to play despite dark conditions past 9 as was the case in the other match. They each held serve throughout an ultra competitive fourth set which featured some of the best grasscourt tennis you’ll see. With each player very fit, there were plenty of crowd pleasing extended rallies along with winners and most notably, not many errors. They combined for just 45 unforced which is a very good number for the kind of high calibre tennis they played.

In the breaker, it was Ancic’s bigger serve and game which made the difference. He imposed his will and made the shots when he needed to including a very cool backhand stab volley winner on a net cord from a difficult position. It was that kind of play which allowed him to avoid having to go five against one of the game’s most fit players.

When it ended, an emotional Ancic kissed the grass at Centre Court.

“It was an incredible match from first point to last point. The crowd was going crazy,” he later admitted. “It was just a couple of points that went to my side. I was looking forward to playing on Centre Court. That was my dream. I’m so, so happy I’m back again.”

He’ll next get 22nd seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco. If Ancic wins, there’s a very good chance he’ll meet Federer in the quarters. The rating five-time champ made quick work of Frenchman Marc Gicquel posting a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win to setup a Round of 16 Monday date with former 2002 winner Lleyton Hewitt, who has been rejuvenated under the world No.1’s former part/time coach Tony Roche. The Aussie eliminated Italy’s Simone Bolelli 6-1, 6-1, 7-6 (2) and was very much looking forward to another meeting with Federer despite little recent success. He’s dropped the last 11 with the last win dating back to the 2004 Australian Open.

Ivanovic bows out: In a week which saw so many big names fall by the wayside including women’s No.1 Ana Ivanovic yesterday to comebacking China’s Jie Zheng 6-1, 6-4, it was refreshing to have a couple of good stories such as Ancic and Safin making the second week intriguing in spite of some of the game’s biggest stars who won’t have a shot at winning the trophy.

For the 20 year-old Ivanovic who captured her first major earlier this month at Roland Garros winning the French, she couldn’t avoid the upset bug like in the second round when she used a net cord to save match point against veteran Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy before rallying to pull out an epic three set marathon which went more than three hours. Perhaps it took something out of the Serb.

“It was a very emotional last couple of weeks for me and it took a bit of a toll,” a disappointed Ivanovic later said. “I didn’t have great preparation.”

Upset Thursday continued as Serb Janko Tipsarevic eliminated American Andy Roddick by posting a hard fought four set victory getting the better of the No.6 seed in a fourth set tiebreak 7-4 to capture the last three sets for a big upset win into Round Three.

It was another disappointment for the former two-time runner-up who was hoping to make a big run and possibly meet Rafael Nadal in the semis and Roger Federer in the final. Instead, he’ll pack his bags and have to regroup preparing for the hard court season with the U.S. Open Series next month before the final grand slam of the year here in Flushing Meadows.

In watching that fourth set closely, the difference was Tipsarevic’s backhand which produced at least 15 more winners from that side than Andy’s. There were a couple of key moments late during extended rallies which Roddick made the wrong choice in where the 24 year-old talented Serb flattened it out a la Marat Safin going down the line for big winners.

If there was a game which summed up the level of frustration for the Roddick camp, it had to be the 10th game of the set when Tipsarevic couldn’t make a first serve and practically handed him the fourth on a silver platter. But on two break points, Andy couldn’t even make him play a ball coming up with awful returns which didn’t come close. Sadly, he tanked. There’s no other way to put it. These were not hard second serves. His indecisiveness cost him.

He also blew a third set point in the 12th game allowing his opponent to get into the breaker where he completed a 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-5, 7-6 (4) win advancing to a third round meeting against Russian Dmitry Tursunov.

From our vantage point, Roddick’s tactics and not his will were the reason he lost today. At times, he didn’t use the right plays during pivotal moments. Whether it was going the wrong way right into a backhand reply down the line or missing a return because he couldn’t decide whether to chip and charge or stay back, he just didn’t make the right choices.

Andy always gives his best on the court. If he improved tactically, he could win another major. The clock is ticking.

His beautiful fiancee SI swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker sure looked concerned. Maybe she can tell him what he’s doing wrong before it’s too late.

Nadal advanced to Round Three with a four set win over hard server Ernest Gulbis 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (2), 6-3.

Also avoiding the upset bug was defending women’s champion Venus Williams who was a straight set winner. Tenth seeded Slovakian stunner Daniela Hantuchova wasn’t as fortunate falling in three to Russian Alisa Kleybanova (try pronouncing that a few times) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.

One thing you can conclude is that players who had injuries and missed the French haven’t performed well in London as both Roddick and Hantuchova were out and didn’t have much match play coming into Wimbledon. Though in Andy’s case, he did reach the semis at Queen’s Club before losing a competitive match to Nadal.

I definitely think having matches underneath your belt helps. Especially on a surface players aren’t used to due to how brief the grasscourt season is.

Veteran former champ Lindsay Davenport withdrew from her second round match against Gisela Dulko due to a bad knee.

We’ll have more on Wimbledon later.

They’re only in the fourth day at the All England Club in London but already we’ve seen some big names fall by the wayside.

Yesterday, No.3 seeded Serb Novak Djokovic was upset in the second round by veteran Russian Marat Safin. Surprisingly, it took the two-time slam winner straight sets to oust the 2008 Australian Open champ. Safin is still a threat whenever he plays due to his mammoth ground strokes and big serve. He also has good touch for a big guy.

However, this wasn’t expected to happen. Djokovic was having a great season having won his first major and two other ATP tournaments threatening Rafael Nadal’s No.2 ranking and quite possibly challenging Roger Federer for No.1. The 20 year-old was so cocky entering the grass court tournament that he had some candid remarks about how the rating five-time Wimbledon champion was looking more vulnerable and was worried about whether he could make it a remarkable six in a row.

The tables were stacked for Djokovic, who was a semifinalist last year to meet Federer in the same round and then possibly beat Nadal in the final. Instead, he bowed out in disappointing fashion 4-6, 6-7 (3), 2-6 against his childhood idol. Maybe next time, he’ll keep his mouth shut before such a prestigious event.

Djokovic wasn’t the only big name to lose in the first week. Today, former 2004 champ Maria Sharapova stunningly joined him by dropping her second round match in straight sets to 20 year-old countrywoman Alla Kudryavtseva 2-6, 4-6 on Court 1.

The 21 year-old three-time slam winner just never found a rhythm against an equally hard hitting opponent who played the bigger points better after cruising in the first set. As usual when she falters, double faults (8) and unforced errors (22) were Sharapova’s undoing. When she had opportunities to get back in the match, the Russian just couldn’t deliver despite a nervous unranked foe who gave her looks.

What Kudryavtseva did well was keep the ball in play hitting deep strokes which drew errors. She only committed nine unforced errors for the match. Sharapova had a couple of points to square the second set but she was outhit from the baseline and then doubled to setup match point. After a short second serve which had her on the run, the younger Russian struck a perfect crosscourt forehand which fell out of Maria’s reach to clinch the stunning upset.

For Sharapova, this was a bitter pill to swallow because her part of the section was weak and should’ve been an easy route to a potential quarterfinal date with either four-time Wimbledon champ Venus Williams or Jelena Jankovic.

Instead, she exits quietly in a year which was wide open.

On the men’s side, American James Blake also lost in five sets to German Rainer Schuettler 3-6, 7-6 (8), 6-4, 4-6, 4-6. The No.9 seed who’s the most talented player to never reach a grand slam final had five set troubles again blowing a two sets to one lead against a rejuvenated opponent who outslugged him.

Is it a shock that Blake’s out on grass? Hardly. On a surface you’d assume would help him do better, for whatever reason his big court game just doesn’t translate. He and Andy Roddick could’ve met in the Round of 16. But that’s not happening. In fact, Roddick is locked in a tight battle against Serb Janko Tipsarevic at a set apiece on serve in the third set.

If anyone recalls, Tipsarevic is the same player who gave Federer all he could handle in an epic five set battle down under. He has huge serve and hits big kind of like Roddick. So, it’s no surprise that it’s close.

I figure Andy will pull it out. We’ll see.

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Has Roger Federer lost it? Are the naysayers right about the world’s top ranked player because he’s lost a few more matches this season including failing to win at the first two grand slams?

Back in late January, the Swiss Maestro was straight setted in the semifinals by eventual first-time slam champion Novak Djokovic. However, word eventually spread that the 12-time slam winner wasn’t right due to a bout with mononucleosis. Still, unusual things began to happen including a rare defeat to former top rival American Andy Roddick.

Federer even lost to Radek Stepanek in a Rome quarterfinal on clay. Though he’s not a bad player by any stretch, the Czech is best known for dating former tennis champion Martina Hingis. There was also a blowout loss to American Mardy Fish but that was his second tournament back following a six week layoff. Top 10 Scot Andy Murray also defeated him in Dubai prior.

Federer’s closest rival No.2 ranked Spaniard Rafael Nadal continued his mastery by going three-for-three on his favorite surface. Most disheartening though was that after Roger pushed Rafa in two warm-ups for the French Open, he was uncharacteristically routed in the final at Roland Garros only able to muster four total games leading to even more questions.

What’s wrong with Federer? Perhaps nothing. He got beaten good by a great player who never gave anyone a blink in a third straight run to the French Open title. Just cause he was once again runner-up in falling short of becoming the sixth male tennis player to complete a career grand slam doesn’t mean the world’s best grass court player should be doubted.

Instead, you have even tennis legend Bjorn Borg along with gung ho No.3 rated Serb Djokovic concluding that a player who’s dominated on grass five years running is more vulnerable with Wimbledon about to get underway this morning at the All England Club.

“It’s maybe a time where some people talk a little bit too much,” Federer answered to critics a day before playing the first Centre Court match in pursuit of history. He’s aiming to become the first player in more than a century to win a sixth consecutive Wimbledon title. It only happened some 122 years earlier when William Renshaw accomplished the remarkable feat from 1881-1886.

Federer also brings in an Open Era record 59-match winning streak on grass including another win at Halle, Germany a week ago. Though he didn’t face stiff competition unless you consider that former Aussie Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis is a good grass court player (semis and quarters past two yrs in London), the 26 year-old still didn’t drop a set in the tune up.

So, is his perfection in jeopardy? The last defeat Roger had on grass came to Croat Mario Ancic in 2002 at Wimbledon in the first round a year removed from stunning seven-time champion Pete Sampras.

No question Federer will get tested. He could see surprise French Open semifinalist Gael Monfils in the third round and either former Wimbledon champ Lleyton Hewitt or hard hitting Chilean Fernando Gonzalez in the Round of 16. Streaky Czech Tomas Berdych is also in his section as is an unseeded Ancic, who if finally right could shake up the bottom of the bracket.

Federer is projected to face Djokovic in a semi clash. Boy. Would I love to see what happens if that comes down. Novak has said a little too much for a guy who’s won one major.

While his draw is tough just to make the final, Nadal is the odds on favorite to come out and reach a third straight Wimbledon final. He could get tested early though by Latvian big server Ernest Gulbis in Round Two. If he’s going to lose, it’s more likely to come early in the tournament before he gets his teeth into the surface.

It’s worth noting that Nadal became the first Spanish player to win a grass court warm-up in 36 years impressively besting Roddick and Djokovic on his way to the title at Queen’s Club in London. So he enters with even more confidence that he has what it takes to win a fourth slam on another surface and close the gap on Federer.

Assuming Nadal makes the second week, he could see either Murray or Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the quarters with either Roddick or possibly often overlooked Russian Nikolay Davydenko looming in the semis.

So, who are our picks? Let’s break it down from quarters on:

Section 1 Qtr: (1) Federer over (11) Berdych

Section 2 Qtr: (3) Djokovic over (10) Baghdatis

Section 3 Qtr: (6) Roddick over (4) Davydenko

Section 4 Qtr: (2) Nadal over (12) Murray

FINAL FOUR

Semifinal 1: (1) Federer over (3) Djokovic

Semifinal 2: (2) Nadal over (6) Roddick

Wimbledon Championship: (1) Federer over (2) Nadal

Many like Nadal to win this time but it’s awfully hard to go against history. Roger has much to prove and will be out to silence his critics.

Later today, we’ll take a look at the women’s draw where much is possible. American Venus Williams looks to defend her crown and win a fifth Wimbledon. But she should get strong competition from younger sis Serena Williams along with former 2004 champ Maria Sharapova plus Serbs Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic.

It all gets underway today.

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No mas once was used to describe a super welterweight championship rematch between Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran. It definitely applied to Rafael Nadal’s latest French Open win at Roland Garros where earlier today he not only defeated world No.1 Roger Federer but dismantled the classy 12-time grand slam champion.

Just how thorough was the 22 year-old Spaniard’s domination in becoming the first man since tennis legend Bjorn Borg to win four in a row on the red clay? Against one of the best players the sport has to offer, the No.2 ranked Nadal dropped only four total games easily defeating Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 before a stunned Philippe Chatrier crowd in Paris.

Quite frankly, this was one of the best performances you’ll ever see by a tennis player in a championship. To hand the 26 year-old Swiss No.1 arguably his worst defeat with so much at stake was stunning to say the least. For a third straight year, Federer was attempting to become the sixth male tennis player to complete the career grand slam by adding the French Open title to his distinguished repertoire. On this day however, it wasn’t to be as he couldn’t muster much against tennis’ most dominant clay court performer.

Unlike the last two finals they played there in which Federer got a set off Nadal before dropping the final couple to fall in four sets, he couldn’t make it competitive despite some strong support from a pro-Roger crowd who wanted so badly to see the popular player make history. Instead, what they got for their money was a virtuoso performance by the No.2 ranked player in the world who matched Borg by four-peating improving to a remarkable 28-0 at Roland Garros.

In  fact, his huge victory ranked as one of the most lopsided French Open finals in history bringing back visions of Borg taking apart Guillermo Vilas. Rafa also became the first men’s champion to not drop a set since the aforementioned Swede did it back in 1980.

Much like he was on hand at The Championships to present Federer a fifth consecutive Wimbledon crown, Borg was on hand to personally congratulate Nadal for matching another one of his records making it the first time he was back on that court in 27 years.

Of course, it was extremely disappointing that such an anticipated rematch turned into a rout. Federer just wasn’t sharp getting broken right away in the opening game by a determined Nadal who amazingly broke two more times to easily take the opening set dropping just a game.

When he continued to control play with top heavy groundstrokes from both sides of the racket forcing Federer to do much more running than normally, it looked like the rout was on at 2-0 in the second set making it eight of the first nine games. But just when the top seed looked out of it, he picked up his game finally finding the lines to hold and break back for two all.

Following a rare narrow escape for Nadal during a service game, Federer again held for three apiece and then applied the pressure looking to go up a break in the set. However, like great champions often do, the world No.2 fought off a couple of break points to hold for 4-3. It took some steam out of his opponent who in the very next game dropped four points in a row from 30-Love up when Nadal scooped up a backhand down the line winner to take a 5-3 lead.

The feisty Spaniard didn’t have any trouble serving it out for a two set lead. From there, a mistake prone Federer couldn’t find the range suffering a rare bagel when a forehand went long to give Nadal a fourth straight French Open title.

Just how special was his performance against his best rival? He won the last nine games. Something almost unheard of against such a great champion.

Clearly, Nadal was in a rare zone. According to stat tracker, he committed just seven unforced errors to Federer’s 35. He also slugged 15 more winners (Nadal-46, Federer-31) and broke one of the game’s best servers a ridiculous eight times in 17 opportunities.

Federer, who usually is very stingy on serve won 49 percent of his first serve and just 21 percent on second serve (5 of 24). It’s rare that you see him so bewildered but that was exactly the case Sunday as he couldn’t find an answer against an unreal opponent.

Nadal’s triumph was so thorough that he didn’t even celebrate opting to just run to net and shake Federer’s hand out of proper respect.

Even stranger was that Federer didn’t pass on a live TV interview on court following his toughest loss with NBC’s John McEnroe instead exhibiting such class under difficult circumstances giving all the credit to his opponent. When McEnroe told Nadal he was the best player he’d ever seen on clay, the modest Spaniard deflected attention opting to say that Borg was still better having won six French Opens- two more than he has.

It could be just a matter of time though given how well he’s playing on that surface. Will anyone ever get the better of him?

This was about as disheartening a men’s tennis slam final as I can recall. Federer’s body language wasn’t good throughout. Even when he elevated his level, you never got the sense that he felt he could win and make history. Perhaps that’s how intimidating Nadal’s become on clay. He plays amazing defense going from D to offense better than anyone on that surface hitting sliding winners which defy logic.

Borg said if he played Nadal, he would be more patient. You wonder how a match between tennis’ two greatest clay courters would go. Maybe in a simulated match cause that’s not happening anytime soon.

The bigger question is can Nadal finally conquer Federer on grass at Wimbledon after losing in two competitive finals including a classic five setter last year? Borg indicated that he thinks the No.2 ranked player will win the tournament this time around which still would be an upset considering how special Federer is on his best surface. He’s every bit as special as Nadal on grass as Rafa is on the red surface.

Figure the top two players to get stiff competition from No.3 Novak Djokovic and big serving American Andy Roddick.

It all starts a couple of weeks from now.

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Here we go again. Roger Federer has a third shot at Rafael Nadal to complete the career grand slam in today’s men’s French Open final at Roland Garros in Paris.

So, can the 26 year-old 12-time slam winner finally get the better of the three-time defending 22 year-old Spaniard on the clay? We’ll know later on when the best tennis rivalry is renewed when No.1 takes on No.2 for all the marbles.

For the Swiss world No.1, Nadal has been his toughest foe keeping him from becoming the sixth man to win all four majors. The past couple of years, Roger only got a set off Rafa losing in four both instances. What was discouraging though the second time around is that he really was never in the match as the powerful Spaniard dominated play to win on the red surface for a third straight time.

With Nadal aiming for a bit of history of his own attempting to four-peat in Paris for the first time since tennis legend Bjorn Borg, he has been in unbelievable form dominating opponents more than ever not dropping a set entering another final at Philippe Chatrier. In fact, before his semifinal straight set win over No.3 ranked Serb Novak Djokovic, he had dropped only 25 total games.

Even with a rematch from a year ago and the No.2 world ranking on the line, Nadal took the play to his 21 year-old opponent who won his first slam in Australia earlier this year. Rafa ousted him 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (3). Following the match, Djokovic was disappointed in his performance the first couple of sets. Even though he stepped it up coming back to force a breaker, it wasn’t enough against the champion.

While Nadal has made quick work of his opponents, Federer has had a more methodical approach dropping three sets in three of his victories before pulling them out in four including his quarterfinal unseeded opponent, Frenchman Gael Monfils. They split the first two sets before the No.1 seeded player captured the final couple to prevail 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 advancing to a third consecutive French Open championship date against his No.1 rival.

Federer still trails American legend Pete Sampras by two for the men’s grand slam singles record of 14. He’ll need to be at his absolute pinnacle to get the better of Nadal at a place where he hasn’t lost in 27 matches. That’s right. One more triumph and it will be a remarkable 28-for-28.

Last year at Wimbledon, we saw Roger make history needing five sets before beating Nadal to win a fifth straight time on the grass with Borg also in attendance to see it happen. Now, the former Swede 11-time slam champion will be watching with rooting interest to see if the younger player can match him on the clay at Roland Garros.

It sets up to be another intriguing final with plenty of suspense. Hopefully, the build up will live up to it when they take the court at 9 AM on NBC.

Ivanovic captures first slam: It was a memorable week for Ana Ivanovic. The second seeded 20 year-old Serbian with the good looks not only defeated countrywoman Jelena Jankovic in three close sets taking the final three games to advance to a second consecutive French Open final but she finally delivered by winning her first ever grand slam title defeating Russian Dinara Safina in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 Saturday.

Already having replaced Russian Maria Sharapova as the No.1 ranked female player in the world, Ivanovic still came in with the pressure of having not won a major. She twice had reached finals only to get dismantled by recently retired champ Justine Henin on clay and Sharapova in Melbourne this past January.

However, the third time was the charm for the happy-go-lucky Serb overcoming nerves to post a two set win. She did manage to blow a 4-1 lead in the opening set but recovered claiming the last two games ending the set with a trademark forehand winner down the line. On championship point, a short backhand fell just out of Safina’s reach giving a jubilant Ivanovic her first ever slam.

She certainly is a gifted player who can hit the ball with authority from both sides. So more majors should be coming to a player who once trained back home using an empty swimming pool to tone her skills. Amazing stuff.

Congrats to her on the big win. Now the pressure’s squarely on countrywoman Jankovic to finally deliver a major. Something we picked her to do at the expense of Ivanovic. The lefty fell a little short.

It should setup an intriguing Wimbledon later this month. Amazing to think that’s around the corner.

He still hasn’t won in Roland Garros but that hasn’t stopped world No.1 Roger Federer from reaching another grand slam semifinal. Yesterday in Paris, the Swiss Maestro cameback from a set down to beat Fernando Gonzalez 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 in the French Open men’s quarterfinal to setup a semifinal against Frenchman Gael Monfils.

It’s unusual whenever Federer drops a first set. Something he’s done twice during this tournament as he again attempts to complete a career grand slam. However, what can be overlooked is his feistiness and willingness to compete. Rarely will you see Roger fade out of a match which is why it was so shocking that he lost in straight sets to eventual Australian Open champ Novak Djokovic back in January. Though all three were close.

For the 21 year-old Serbian, he’ll try to unseat three-time defending champion and king of clay Rafael Nadal in one semi tomorrow while Federer attempts to advance to a third straight French Open final against surprising Frenchman Monfils, who ousted fifth seeded Spaniard David Ferrer 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Not only will Nadal’s perfect French Open record be on the line but the No.2 ranking as well when he plays No.3 Djokovic. A year ago, they met and Nadal worked the Serb hard forcing him to retire due to injury. Don’t expect a repeat. It should be a high quality match. Something the just turned 22 year-old Nadal hasn’t come close to seeing destroying opponents including fellow 19th seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 for an early birthday present.

Nadal will be the favorite but it should turn out to be an excellent match. Federer undoubtedly is expected to beat Monfils but the first Frenchman to make the semis in seven years will have the support of his countrymen.

On the women’s side, the Final Four are set with an all-Serbian battle probably for the No.1 ranking at stake when Jelena Jankovic battles Ana Ivanovic later today. The second semi features an all-Russian battle when Svetlana Kuznetsova takes on first time slam semifinalist Dinara Safina.

Safina fought off match points before coming back to stun countrywoman Elena Dementieva 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-0. She’s had a great tournament also saving match points against Maria Sharapova before prevailing in three. Can the younger sister of Marat Safin victimize a third straight player from her country to reach the final? We’ll see.

The picks are Jankovic and Kuznetsova. We’ll find out who prevails later today.