Federer v Nadal: The Fast Facts
Saturday, June 10, 2006ROGER FEDERER (SUI, No1 seed)Road to the FinalRound 1: d. Diego HARTFIELD (ARG, Q.) 7-5 7-6(2) 6-2 (2h 35')
Round 2: d. Alejandro FALLA (COL, L.L.) 6-1 6-4 6-3 (1h 28')
Round 3: d. Nicolas MASSU (CHI, No32) 6-1 6-2 6-7(4) 7-5 (2h 35')
R16: d. Tomas BERDYCH (CZE, No20) 6-3 6-2 6-3 (1h 46')
1/4: d. Mario ANCIC (CRO, No12) 6-4 6-3 6-4 (2h 17')
1/2: d. David NALBANDIAN (ARG, No3) 3-6 6-4 5-2 ret. (1h 38')
Roger Federer has played 19 sets (17 won - 2 lost) in six matches and 12h 19'.
N.B.: Based on official score card times.
10 things about Roger…• He is bidding to become only the sixth man in history to win all four Grand Slam titles (after Andre Agassi, Don Budge, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver and Fred Perry).
• He is bidding to win his eighth Grand Slam title in his eighth Grand Slam final. If he wins against Nadal, he will become the only player to win their first eight Grand Slam finals.
• He is the only Swiss man in the Open Era to reach the final at Roland Garros.
• He has a 44-3 win-loss record for 2006, all of his three losses coming to Nadal.
• He is coached (part-time) by former Australian great Tony Roche. In January 2006 at the Australian Open, Roche introduced Roger to one of his heroes - Rod Laver. Laver went on to present him with the winner's trophy at the tournament.
• His girlfriend is former player Miroslava (Mirka) Vavrinec. He teamed with her in the 2002 Hopman Cup. She is also his agent.
• In 2003, he started his own foundation - the Roger Federer Foundation - which supports disadvantaged children and promotes sports for youth. He was appointed as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in a ceremony at the UN in New York in April 2006.
• He was the flag bearer for the Swiss Olympic team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
• At 2004 Gstaad, after defending his Wimbledon title, he was presented with a 3.6m long Alpine horn. At 2003 Gstaad, he was presented with a cow called Juliette in recognition of his Wimbledon title. He will get cheese from the cow for as long as she lives.
• He chose tennis over football at around age 10-12. At 14, he went to Switzerland's National Tennis Center and gave up school at 16 to concentrate on his game.
Some quotes from Roger…On what he has to do to beat Nadal: "Got to play like I did in Rome, as usual, aggressive, patient and everything. That seemed that was the way to go at it. We'll speak to Tony (Roche) and see what he thinks now. We have another few weeks in the legs on clay, if I have another option to play against him."
On Nadal being labeled a claycourt specialist: "I think that Nadal has been so strong these last few years. He's shown also on other surfaces, not only on clay. So a number of persons are saying that he can only play on clay, but they have absolutely no idea of tennis, in particular those also who say I can't play on clay, they don't understand tennis either. You've got to be aware that he's won Madrid indoor, Toronto outdoor against very good players. He has a little bit of difficulty on grass, but maybe he hasn't had too many opportunities."
On Rafael Nadal's and Roger Federer's dominance: "In the end, it's being consistent that makes a difference. This is probably our great strength, his and mine. "
On Nadal's road to the final: "He's never had a fifth set. He's had tough matches, that's certain, but it's normal. You don't expect 6 2, 6 2, 6 2 from the very first round until he holds the cup. That's not the way things happen in tennis. Usually, you have to fight a bit more. So I've heard a number of comments on his tennis. Some people think he doesn't play very well. But in any case, the conditions are always changing. You don't always play your best. I think that until now he's been playing the way he needed to play, and he's been winning his matches. I don't see any weaknesses in his game."
On his progression on clay this season: "It's a general progression. I am more used to the matches now. I found some solutions. This means it's easier for me on clay than last year."
RAFAEL NADAL (ESP, No2 seed)Road to the FinalRound 1: d. Robin SODERLING (SWE) 6-2 7-5 6-1 (2h 08')
Round 2: d. Kevin KIM (USA, L.L.) 6-2 6-1 6-4 (1h 57')
Round 3: d. Paul-Henri MATHIEU (FRA, No29) 5-7 6-4 6-4 6-4 (4h 53')
R16: d. Lleyton HEWITT (AUS, No14) 6-2 5-7 6-4 6-2 (3h 17')
1/4: d. Novak DJOKOVIC (SCG) 6-4 6-4 ret. (1h 54')
1/2: d. Ivan LJUBICIC (CRO, No4) 6-4 6-2 7-6(7) (2h 49')
Rafael Nadal has played 19 sets (17 won - 2 lost) in six matches and 16h 58'.
10 things about Rafael…• He saved two match points in his last match against Federer (at AMS Rome), when serving at 5-6 15-40 in the fifth set, and went on to win the match.
• He is attempting to become the first man to successfully defend his Roland Garros title since Gustavo Kuerten in 2001.
• He is bidding to become the youngest back-to-back champion at Roland Garros since Bjorn Borg, who was a year younger in 1975 when he successfully defended his 1974 title.
• If he wins on Sunday, it will be his 100th claycourt career victory.
• In 2005, he became only the second man in the Open Era (after Mats Wilander in 1982) to win Roland Garros on his debut.
• He has not lost on clay since April 8, 2005, when he fell to eventual champion Igor Andreev 7-5 6-2 in the quarterfinals at Valencia.
• He was awarded 'Newcomer of the Year' at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Barcelona on May 22, 2006.
• He made his ATP debut at 2002 Mallorca, as a wildcard.
• He practises with Carlos Moya back home in Mallorca.
• He stayed on the island of Mallorca to train rather than moving back to Barcelona, because his parents wanted to be involved in his education and progress. He lives in an apartment building with his parents and uncles, all occupying different floors.
Some quotes from Rafael…On Ivan Ljubicic's claim that everybody wants Roger Federer to win the men's final: "Everybody is free to say whatever they want. I know that everybody does not want Federer to win. You've got to learn to control yourself when you lose a match, not after you lose a match you can just go about saying anything. I get on well with Ljubicic. I don't want to lose that good relationship with him. I don't think that will be the case."
On playing Roger Federer in the final: "I am excited because I play the final of Roland Garros, sure. Is same thing if you play No1 against No2, so that's nice. But maybe the final of Grand Slam always is exciting, no? "
On the advantage of being a left-handed against Federer: "Always is the same. Always the same question: Is advantage or disadvantage to play with the left handed? I don't know. For me, is not a special advantage and not disadvantage. For me is the same because I because always you had the forehand against his backhand."
On his time spent on the court compared to Federer's: "The last two matches were the shortest I played. So I have the last days I can improve in my physical performance, so for Sunday. I will be at 100 per cent."
On his relationship with Federer: "He's a normal guy. He's one of the best of the history. He's a superstar of the world not just in tennis, in all sports. I have a good relation with him. He's a good guy. I admire that he is humble."
On possibly playing at the Playstation with Federer: "I don't think he can beat me in the PlayStation. I don't think he trains enough for that."
TAKEN FROM www.rolandgarros.com/
Right now it looks like that Rafa will win in 4 sets but I´m just hoping for a 5th. 5 setter in Grand slam final thats exciting plus I´m hoping that Roger is very tired in Halle ;D ;D 
Right now it looks like that Rafa will win in 4 sets but I´m just hoping for a 5th. 5 setter in Grand slam final thats exciting plus I´m hoping that Roger is very tired in Halle ;D ;D 
but i was hoping that federer would make it to five sets and then lose 
