Rafael Nadal

[alysha]

oh my gosh im real excited

[maratisgr8t]

Love him or hate him, Nadal is a real threat for this year's FO title (but of course I want Marat to win). This is obviously going to be his year on clay. It'll be interesting to see if he sustains his good form on surfaces other than clay, cant see him winning anything on grass and on hard courts he's pretty good but it remains to be seen whether he'll win many titles on this surface like he does on clay. And to whoever posted that pic of Agassi - that was certainly wierd!

[annie]

[annie]

Gasquet-Nadal: Clash of the young pretenders
By Guillaume Baraise and Georges Homsi
Thursday, May 26, 2005

Fourth seed Rafael Nadal faces Richard Gasquet (30) Friday in what promises to be an epic struggle between two of the outstanding young talents in the men's game. Nadal has been in astonishing form this season, dismissing all-comers with his high-octane power game, but Gasquet has such natural ability that he just might have the wherewithal to counter the Spaniard. Whatever the outcome, both 18-year-olds are sure to put on a memorable show.

Strengths
Rafael Nadal's deadliest weapon is his crunching forehand, Gasquet's his sweet backhand. Each will obviously try to use his best shot as often as possible, so the way they employ their contrasting styles should make for fascinating viewing.

"Rafa" likes to run around his backhand and find killer angles for his forehand. That requires speed and stamina, but these are qualities the teenager possesses in abundance. Once he gets out wide, the Iberian either punishes you cross-court, or fires unstoppable bullets down the line.

The young Frenchman is more measured in his approach, often preparing his kill meticulously with a series of cross-court backhands before performing the coup de grace with a backhand down the line. Both are adept at the drop shot, Gasquet with more finesse, but Nadal is less prone to all-round error. Gasquet's first serve has more snap, but the Spaniard's second ball is trickier to handle, often rearing up off the clay.

Nadal is in incredible shape, able to chase down lost causes all match long. He never, ever, crumbles under pressure either. In contrast, many doubted Richard Gasquet's ability to rise to the big occasion until recently. His win over Roger Federer at Monte-Carlo went a long way to silencing those doubters. A win over Nadal in the pressure-cooker atmosphere of the French Open could be the making of the man.


Weaknesses
Such has been the dominance of Nadal in recent months that it has been difficult to pick out an area where he needs to improve. On his backhand side, maybe, and, with his serve, which rarely earns him easy points. Gasquet has never played a five-setter, so one wonders whether he will stand up to a long, gruelling match in the hot sun. His game needs to click, so should he fail to get into a groove he could, like so many before him this year, get steamrolled by the merciless Nadal.

Context
Nadal is most people's favourite for the title, which must give him confidence, but it also releases the pressure on Gasquet. Easy wins in his first two rounds should give him encouragement too, and with the fans cheering his every move, he might get on a high and take his game to new levels.

Head to heads: 2-1 Nadal
Gasquet and Nadal meet for the fourth time. Their first match, in 2003 at the Saint-Jean de Luz Challenger, ended with Nadal retiring hurt, but the Spaniard got even at Estoril in 2004, winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 on clay, despite getting injured again. Their third match came this year at the ATP Masters Series in Monte-Carlo. Gasquet led their semi final 7-6, 2-0 before conceding the last two sets 6-4, 6-3. The Frenchman simply ran out of steam that day, exhausted by his win over Roger Federer in the quarter final.


Translation: David Tutton (Sportstranslations)

[annie]

Tennis heaven on fabulous Friday at the French
By Christian Lacaze
Thursday, May 26, 2005

The third round kicks off on Friday with a host of potentially thrilling matches all competing for top billing. That honour probably has to go to the face-off between two of the most exciting young prospects on the tour, Rafael Nadal and Richard Gasquet, but Rolandgarros.com has picked out four other cracking matches for closer inspection.

Lindsay Davenport (1) - Virginie Razzano
The world number one has shown admirable steel to survive this far. A set and a break down in both her matches, the experienced American has had to dig deep. Never truly comfortable on the French clay, Davenport now finds herself facing a player who has been progressing nicely over recent months. Ranked 39 in the world, Virginie Razzano recently reached her first-ever semi-final of a Tier I tournament at Amelia Island (United States). A Roland Garros junior champion back in 2000, Razzano has what it takes to cause an upset here, especially as she is not the type to be intimidated at the thought of a confrontation with the top seed. Now aged 22, a win would see her reach the fourth round for the first time, after third round appearances back in 2000 and 2001.

Venus Williams (11) - Sesil Karantancheva
Ranked 98 in the world, Sesil Karatantcheva is a star in the making. Not 16 until 8 August, the Bulgarian won the juniors tournament here last year, and plays her first third round match in a Grand Slam against former world number one Venus Williams. Karatantcheva is quite a character, full of confidence and a cute grasp of English picked up from listening to Spice Girls songs. The protégé of Nick Bolletieri also happens to wield one of the most devastating forehands in the game, and will test Williams. The American made heavy weather of defeating Fabiola Zuluaga in the last round, but has won six straight on clay, following her triumph in Istanbul last week. The former champion is still a long way off her very best form, though, so Karatantcheva will believe she has a chance.

Roger Federer (1) - Fernando Gonzalez
Just like last year, Roger Federer has yet to drop a set on the way to the third round. Looking remarkably composed on the Parisian clay, the brilliant Swiss has been in ominously good form. The dry and sunny weather should speed up the courts nicely over the coming days, so the world number one must be feeling confident of lifting the trophy a week from Sunday, 39 years after his coach Tony Roche did. Gonzalez will, as ever, hope he can trouble Federer with his thunderous forehand. The Chilean is a former Roland Garros junior champion, but has failed to beat Federer in three previous encounters. Two of those came on clay, so the Swiss is a clear favourite, but will not need reminding that he was shocked by Gustavo Kuerten at this same stage last year.

Gaston Gaudio (5) - Felix Mantilla
Gaston Gaudio is probably looking forward to the workout he will get against wily Felix Mantilla. After a comfortable victory over Julien Benneteau, Gaudio then had a walkover after Dmitry Tursunov withdrew due to a knee injury. The Argentinean reigning champion has beaten Mantilla three out of three on clay, so must be tipped here, but the 31-year-old semi-finalist of 1998 has a superb backhand and bags of experience, so it won't be easy. Fatigue may play a part, as the Spaniard took five long sets to defeat Jiri Novak in the last round.

Translation: David Tutton (Sportstranslations)

[lau]

maratisgr8t said:

Love him or hate him, Nadal is a real threat for this year's FO title (but of course I want Marat to win). This is obviously going to be his year on clay. It'll be interesting to see if he sustains his good form on surfaces other than clay, cant see him winning anything on grass and on hard courts he's pretty good but it remains to be seen whether he'll win many titles on this surface like he does on clay. And to whoever posted that pic of Agassi - that was certainly wierd!

I think that Nadal can do it pretty well on other surfaces (not grass), but I think it`ll be interesting to see if he sustains his good form the next year (he had lots of injuries in the past), and if he`ll be able to do it as he gets older. He runs too much!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D That`s a lot of energy spent on court!!!! Even if that´s OK for him now, maybe he`ll have to change his tennis a little for keeping this level through the years... If he improves his serve, he`ll be mortal!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D

[annie]

lau said:

I think that Nadal can do it pretty well on other surfaces (not grass), but I think it`ll be interesting to see if he sustains his good form the next year (he had lots of injuries in the past), and if he`ll be able to do it as he gets older. He runs too much!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D That`s a lot of energy spent on court!!!! Even if that´s OK for him now, maybe he`ll have to change his tennis a little for keeping this level through the years... If he improves his serve, he`ll be mortal!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D

Oh absolutely!!!!!!!! He plays like it's always the last game of his life!!!!!!! Every ball he turns into a mega job...incredible!!!!!!! I hope he doesn't burn out...and God help them all if he improves his serve

[annie]

Very funny photo of Rafa

[lau]

hahaha, Yes, funny. I wanted Grosjean to win when that match started. But now...... I don`t know. It was something awful what the crowd and Grosjean did .

[annie]

just random comment: that should be a funny picture for me and usually, i would be laughing...but, i can't....not right now...

[alsl]

found these pics of rafa at arthur ashe kids day..

[annie]

OH MY GOSH!! is that Anna Kournikova? and is she actually HOLDING A RACKET? WOW....that's a rare find nowadays....

[alsl]

lorl annie whats with nadal's shirt though..its so 'superman'..imagine if marat wore it

[annie]

i think it would look even better on Marat...but to tell you the truth i don't like this shirt very much....

[Annie]

Seriously..what is this outfit?? This is tennis not surfing or anything...I dont understand this silly dress style