Am at work today, have quite a few things to catch up on, though I hope to be able to have a peek at the Hewitt-Nadal match later.

Jonas down two sets to love :(

Djokovic up two sets against Verdasco.

So far Nadal is handing Hewitt a lesson and his ass - major statement of intent serving at 3-0 in the first set....

This could be the quickest ever Nadal match at this rate, 5-1 now

Hewitt seems to have decided he doesn't want to lose so embarrassingly, and gets one of the breaks back.

He'll still have to hold and break again to avoid losing the set though, but gets broken immediately.

Nadal takes the 1st set 6-3

Hewitt serving at 1-4 down in the second. Nadal has won 4/5 bps to Hewitt's 1/2 bp conversion.

This looks routine for Nadal unless there is one hell of a comeback.

I'm following this via internet radio at the mo so can't really see how Hewitt is handling this. He obviously isn't able to handle Nadal like he did in Hamburg a few weeks back. To those who are watching any ideas why ?

Yes, the bounce! It s as simple as that.

I am surprised to see that this match generated so few comments. But at the same time there was not much to say, except that Hewitt did too little too late. He missed a relatively easy FH to lead 6/4 in the tie break....and that was it.

So with the bounce being so different how do you think Roger will handle Nadal here compared to Hamburg?

That is a good question Gav! ;)

I think it will be pretty tough for Fed and won't be favourite. He needs a good day at the office. Another possibility would be to drag nadal to a fifth set, then anything is possible.

But then again, we could have a cool and wet day and the conditions could b closer to Hamburg.

Federer's going to have to play unbelievable tennis to beat Nadal now. As of today, Nadal has raised the bar at RG ;)

There's only one way Federer can beat Nadal at RG.
All out attack
Get to net
Serve and volley (as an element of surprise)

Fed's not going to win from the baseline. He must shorten the points as much as possible.
Remember Tim henman vs G.Coria a few years ago?

Federer can win from the baseline but he is more likely to lose his timing sooner or later which is essential to his game. He simply needs to time the ball well. If he does he can make Nadal run to exhaustion or simply shorten the pont at will.

Chet you are right inthat from the baseline, he is more likely to have his timing breaking up like it did last year.

As I said, he simply needs a good day at the office.

I've checked the longterm weather forecast; it ain't looking good for the Fedster. It will be at least 25 degrees (probably closer to 30) out there.

To me Fed chances depended largely on Rafa possibly entering the final somewhat tired. The opposite is the case; Rafa's getting stronger every day. Specially now he took care of his biggest hurdle rather easily on the road to the final. This frequency of 3 sets in 2 days is like vacation for Rafa.

Anyone else notice how good Rafa's drop shots were today especially! Nice touches :D

Didn't get to see the match, but it sounds like Nadal was superb. It also sounds (and looked like it over the weekend) as if the weather has really gotten better, which is good for Nadal as well.

So it looks like it will be a tough ask for Fed --- but given what he is trying to achieve, surely it shouldn't be any different. Although I'll be honest and say I wouldn't have minded if there was *a little* something going his way, such as the weather not being quite as hot as it was last year.

On the other hand, if the weather at least stays consistently good this week, then he should be able to get used to the conditions. I'm still remembering the ninth commandment, and will not doubt that he can do it! :pray:

It would help Fed if Nadal could be slightly tired before the final, but what really tires is the running and hitting on the day. Like Rafa today was not as fresh in the 3rd than in the 1st....Unfortunately Hewitt was even more exhausted. I would have fancied Hewitt's chance had he won that 4th set but it wasn't to be.

I haven't seen the match today, Tenez, but this amazes me as it was in Hamburg the other way around.
Well at least the air will be thicker (relative humidity) than it was last year. Will that be any kind of help?

But to be honest i'm also worried for a possible match up against Canas.

Absolutely Greasepipe! That worries me even more than a final against Nadal. He beat Nadal last time they met,. but Canas beat him the only two times they met this year, and what will that do to Fed's mental state :yikes: Anyway, we're not there yet :D

nevertheless; i rather see Roger lose in the semi against Canas than another heartbreaker in the final. But that's something personal (BTW; as a Fed fan i like to see him to have a few days off before the grass season kicks off ;) )

I have no worry at all about Canas. Canas hasn't got the weapons to beat Federer on clay...nor on hard for that matter....and certainly not over a 5 set match....I see an easy 3 setter for Federer like it was relatively easy for Djoko. Davydenko should make Canas run more than Canas really wants too.

you could be right, i remember how easily Chela beat Canas in Hamburg. Chela didn't do anything but being patient. Nonetheless that was exactly the problem for Fed in Miami and Indian Wells this year.
Fed needs to think "you wanna run? run then, for more than 3 hours if you wish"

Also, Fed had a chance to beat Canas in Miami, I thought.

In the end, he has been really focussed on RG since winning the AO. I always thought that was a bit of a factor in IW and Miami --- i.e., he was already on clay in his mind.

Of course you never know, and Canas is a tough competitor. I just can't see Fed fall to him so close to his goal.

I think that is the key. Over 5 sets and on clay, I think Federer will deal with Canas.

Exactly and Federer wil be just too happy to get one back of him.

I saw Nadal v hewiit. Have to say that Hewitt did little wrong really, rafa just played too good. I really enjoyed the 3rd set, I'm nto a rafa fan but the set was exciting and high quality from both. Shame that Hewitt narrowly missed the comack to take that set in the tie break, as things were warming up nicely and I wanted to see more. nice to see that hewitt does appear to be getting back to his streetfighting ways again.

I am not a fan of Hewitt but I must say that when he faces a tough guy like Rafa or Roger, I really admire his fighting spirit. Look at the way he managed to get Federer to a tie-break in that USO 2004 final despite having been completly outplayed by an majestic Federer for a set and a half. And even today, being dominated 63 61 against an imperious Rafa, how many players would have believed in their chances in the third set? Hewitt is one of the very few who did.

What I like also is his post match interviews. He is really good at analysing the conditions, the opponents chances, etc….

Here it is:

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/news/int...0978295453.html

I enjoyed a lot of the Rafa Lleyton match, and found myself backing Lleyton because I wanted to see him challenge Rafa, just test him out a bit!

I agree with SB that Lleyton didn't play badly at all. It's those high bounces that look very dificult to deal with and I think that any player under 6 foot in height will struggle in getting on top of those, unless they are able to hit the ball early, and their timing is spot on...

Rafa played very well today, yes, and his game is perfect for clay. It's the same as Roger though in that he has a formula that works. I want to see both of them forced to mix things up a bit and change their gameplans. That's partly why Rafa playing on grass is interesting, and Roger on clay when he doesn't try to play it too much like a hardcourt! He's in a hurry to finish the points too often, when although it's ideal to take the initiative early where possible against Rafa, sometimes it is necessary for him to be a little more clever, especially when the opportunity to gain the upper hand in the point is not coming easily and he has to work for an opening to claim the point. Controlled and sustained attack against Rafa.. the attacker versus the counterpuncher. mix things up, pull the king of clay out of his gameplan, force him (if possible) to revise his usual formula (easier said than done, I know).

Anyway, back to the match. I was disappointed that Lleyton didn't win the 3rd set, and thought that he had a chance at 5-4 in the tie break, but as I said he played pretty well. He broke Rafa's serve superbly when Rafa was serving for the match, and played some fabulous points in the tie break, as indeed did Rafa..

So kudos to Hewitt and congratulations to Rafa.. :)

I used to dislike Hewitt a lot, mainly as he kept beating Tim! :D However, over the last few yeas he has grown on me because he is one of the few players who you could (and I say could rather than can because he has had form problems in the last couple of years) rely on to play his heart out and make a match fo things, even from 2 sets down.

What is great about Hewitt is that he hangs in there consistently and is always ready to grab any chance he gets, putting pressure on his opponent not to make mistakes. And if his opponent does, he is there to capitalise. He played like that against Rafa, and whilst the scoreline overall doesn't look great for him, he really did hang in there waiting for his chances. Many players simply give up at that point, but remarkably being down and almost out doesn't affect Llleyton, in fact I think it probably brings out the best in him. I'm sure he will get criticised by his detractors, but I wonder how many players would have been able to play to his level yesterday against Rafa, who played at a scarily high level!, and also how many would have been able to push and still demonstrate belief that they could turn it around even at the end. Most would have wilted if you ask me. Of course we see players going for it cos they have nothing to lose, they hit a few flash shots in the finals stages, maybe save a matchpoint, but they merely delay the inevtiable - we know they are going to lose. But the way Lleyton does it is different because he BELEIVES he can do it, and makes the spectators believe too.

And yes you are right, he does have a great way of analysing conditions and the match. A much more intellgient player than he's given credit for.

Yeah you are right. The height of the ball was very tricky for Lleyton to play yesterday, you could see him struggle at the start. I think he did comment that the way Rafa strikes the ball gave him extreme problems, with the rise and the spin, and I think he said that rafa's forehand was the toughest shot on clay to return.