Nadal offers rivals some hope
Source: Agencies |
May 4, 2010, Tuesday
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Ernests Gulbis offered rivals of Rafael Nadal a crumb of hope heading into this month's French Open even though the former world No. 1 safely secured his fifth Rome Masters title on Sunday.
The Latvian, ranked 40th in the world, gave four-time Roland Garros champion Nadal a nasty scare in the semifinals after dispatching Roger Federer earlier in the week.
"I thought he was going to be much tougher on my backhand against his left-handed forehand," Gulbis told a news conference after the semifinal which he lost in three sets.
"But actually I got into the game and didn't have any problems going into rallies with him."
If Nadal's booming forehand is not the same as before knee problems interrupted his dominance of the ATP Tour's claycourts, the other players he met in Rome, including final opponent David Ferrer, were unable to take advantage.
On the other side of the equation, there are no shortage of positive signs for the Spaniard.
He looks in impressive physical shape after an injury-hit 2009 and the fact he survived the test against Gulbis suggests the stamina is there.
Nadal also repeatedly showed his remarkable speed and movement in the Italian capital, scrambling superbly to recover many of the drop shots his opponents tried to surprise him with.
"I didn't have any problems with my knee and that's an important thing," Nadal told reporters.
The world No. 3 conceded his performances in Rome were not as good as during his Monte Carlo tournament win last month, highlighting problems in the first set of his quarterfinal against Stanislas Wawrinka as well as against Gulbis.
But Nadal can take comfort from the fact that if he still prevails when below his best, he should be unstoppable when he gets his "A" game back.
"I'm probably more happy about winning without playing my best than with my best tennis," he said.
Or, in the words of his in-form compatriot Fernando Verdasco: "If Rafa plays good tennis, then nobody can beat him on clay."
Nadal beat fellow Spaniard Ferrer 7-5, 6-2 in Sunday's rain-hit final.
Meanwhile, Justine Henin was inspired to return to tennis by Federer and the decision was rewarded on Sunday when she beat Australia's Samantha Stosur in the final of the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart for her first title since her comeback.
It was the Belgian's first tournament on clay, her favored surface on which she has won four French Open titles, since she ended her 19-month self-imposed exile at the start of the year. Henin, runner-up at Brisbane and the Australian Open in January, won 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 to end Stosur's 11-match winning run.
"I never thought I would be back here," said Henin. "On clay, it means a lot to me.
"When I saw Roger Federer winning the French Open (in 2009), I had a lot of respect. That brought back the fire that wasn't there any more. It's been a lot of work to get back and it's not over."
The Latvian, ranked 40th in the world, gave four-time Roland Garros champion Nadal a nasty scare in the semifinals after dispatching Roger Federer earlier in the week.
"I thought he was going to be much tougher on my backhand against his left-handed forehand," Gulbis told a news conference after the semifinal which he lost in three sets.
"But actually I got into the game and didn't have any problems going into rallies with him."
If Nadal's booming forehand is not the same as before knee problems interrupted his dominance of the ATP Tour's claycourts, the other players he met in Rome, including final opponent David Ferrer, were unable to take advantage.
On the other side of the equation, there are no shortage of positive signs for the Spaniard.
He looks in impressive physical shape after an injury-hit 2009 and the fact he survived the test against Gulbis suggests the stamina is there.
Nadal also repeatedly showed his remarkable speed and movement in the Italian capital, scrambling superbly to recover many of the drop shots his opponents tried to surprise him with.
"I didn't have any problems with my knee and that's an important thing," Nadal told reporters.
The world No. 3 conceded his performances in Rome were not as good as during his Monte Carlo tournament win last month, highlighting problems in the first set of his quarterfinal against Stanislas Wawrinka as well as against Gulbis.
But Nadal can take comfort from the fact that if he still prevails when below his best, he should be unstoppable when he gets his "A" game back.
"I'm probably more happy about winning without playing my best than with my best tennis," he said.
Or, in the words of his in-form compatriot Fernando Verdasco: "If Rafa plays good tennis, then nobody can beat him on clay."
Nadal beat fellow Spaniard Ferrer 7-5, 6-2 in Sunday's rain-hit final.
Meanwhile, Justine Henin was inspired to return to tennis by Federer and the decision was rewarded on Sunday when she beat Australia's Samantha Stosur in the final of the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart for her first title since her comeback.
It was the Belgian's first tournament on clay, her favored surface on which she has won four French Open titles, since she ended her 19-month self-imposed exile at the start of the year. Henin, runner-up at Brisbane and the Australian Open in January, won 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 to end Stosur's 11-match winning run.
"I never thought I would be back here," said Henin. "On clay, it means a lot to me.
"When I saw Roger Federer winning the French Open (in 2009), I had a lot of respect. That brought back the fire that wasn't there any more. It's been a lot of work to get back and it's not over."
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