Chile is perhaps the sentimental favorite this weekend after the country suffered from a devastating earthquake. Despite the widespread wreckage, the Chileans were able to still stage the event but at a one day delay.

After slow starts, Nicolas Massu and Fernando Gonzalez won their openers to the hometown crowd’s delight. Chile now leads Israel 2-0.

Gonzalez and Massu will team up tomorrow against the Israeli doubles team of Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich. The Israeli doubles team could be trouble for the Chileans. Even with a doubles loss tomorrow, Gonzalez and Massu should be able to shut it down in the reverse single rubbers on Monday.

Saturday’s Results
R1 – Nicolas Massu (CHI) def. Dudi Sela (ISR) 4-6 6-2 6-2 6-4
R2 – Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) def. Harel Levy (ISR) 2-6 6-3 6-4 6-4

(Images: AP)

In the upset of the week, Thomaz Bellucci rallied to ouster Fernando Gonzalez 3-6 6-4 6-3. Gonzalez was playing in front of the hometown crowd and was defending the title for the second year in a row. The win is quite a coup for the Brazilian.

The 22 year old is growing as a player. He has broken into the top forty and is starting to beat the players he is supposed to beat. The world no. 35 now needs to start beating the top 25 players.

Tonight’s win is his largest scalp to date by taking out the world no. 11. His largest scalps were Stanislas Wawrinka and Igor Andreev in Gstaad last year when they were ranked 24 and 27 respectively. Bellucci went on to win that tournament, which is his only title. The Brazilian will meet Juan Monaco on Sunday.

Monaco had an easier time dismissing Brazilian qualifier Joao Souza in the first semifinal of the day. After his 6-1 6-4 victory, the Argentine booked another final visit at this tournament. His last visit was in 2008 when he pulled out of the final against Fernando Gonzalez.

Monaco and Bellucci have never played one another. This final should be an interesting one. I now have to see this match live. Damn you Tennis Channel!

Saturday’s Results
Singles Semifinals
1 Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) vs. 3 Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) 3-6 6-4 6-3
2 Juan Monaco (ARG) def. Q Joao Souza (BRA) 6-1 6-4

Doubles Final
1 L. Kubot (POL)/O. Marach (AUT) def. P. Starace (ITA)/H. Zeballos (ARG) 6-4 6-0

Sunday’s Order of Play

(Images: Cèsar Pincheira/Movistar Open)

Brazilian qualifier Thomaz Bellucci grimaces after a losing point during his 6-3 6-4 loss to Fernando Gonzalez.

(Image: Eugene Hoshiko/AP)

No thanks to the tournament, Nadal took charge of his destiny today at the US Open in just 33 minutes. The Spaniard was locked in the dogfight with Fernando Gonzalez when rain suspended his match at 7-6 6-6(3-2) after 2 hours and 3 minutes of play on Thursday.

After being rained out all of yesterday, the tournament resumed play this afternoon. The question would be which player could come out immediately and resume his level of play without having chance to play his way into the match. This would be most important since the match would resume in the middle of the second-set tiebreak.

Unfortunately for Gonzalez, he came out rusty. His biggest weapon, his forehand let him down. Gonzalez missed three forehands in a row and immediately found himself 2-6 in the tiebreak. Nadal won set point when Gonzalez could not return his serve and was able to wrap up the second set in less than two minutes.

After losing the second set, the Chilean was visibly frustrated and inconsolable. He never got his head back into the match and basically melted down in the third set. Nadal, on the other hand, managed his points well by playing conservatively. He allowed Gonzalez to make all the errors that lead to him bageling the 29 year old and winning the match at 7-6(4) 7-6(2) 6-0.

Nadal secured the final spot in the semifinals and will meet Juan Martin del Potro tomorrow. Nadal is 4-2 over del Potro, but the Argentine has won their last two meetings. Sometimes the stats are useless when you are talking about grand slams.

In the last four years, Federer and Nadal have had the advantage and had a basic monopoly over the other players. Some players play well all year and then get to the slams and crumble. It will be interesting to see if del Potro is able to overturn the Spaniard’s big advantage. The same will be true for Novak Djokovic in his semifinal against Federer. He did it once at the Australian Open in 2008, but will he reassert himself and do it again? We will see tomorrow.

(Image: Emmanue Dunand/AFP/Getty Images)

Rafael Nadal and Gael Monfils have to be two of the most entertaining and athletic players on tour. It was a lot of big hitting, long rallies and ridiculous gets. As billed, this match did not disappoint, at least for two sets.

Monfils came out hitting big and running down everything. The Frenchman was getting into long rallies with Nadal and winning them. His defense-to-offense was amazing. The question of the evening would be if the Frenchman could sustain that kind of play for three to five sets.

On the other side of the net, Nadal looked tentative and made a lot of forehand errors. The Spaniard started coming into the net. It looked like he was trying to shorten points because of his physical condition since there were lots of questions about it before the match.

Early in the first set, Monfils struck first by breaking Nadal during his second service game, and he quickly jumped out to a 4-1 lead. Things looked bleak for the Spaniard until he changed rackets in game eight and started finding his range with his shots. Nadal broke back in the ninth game and then held serve to level the set at 5-5. In the tiebreak, Nadal made two costly errors, and Monfils came up with some really big shots. This allowed the Frenchman to win the tiebreak and the set.

All was even in the second set. In game five, the Frenchman has a bad game, and you know who took advantage. Next game, it was Nadal’s turn for a sloppy game, and Monfils accepted the charity. After a set and a half of pounding it out with the Majorcan, Monfils was tired and was keeling over at the end of points. On cue, Nadal broke back and served for the set at 5-3. Nadal held to win the set. Most importantly, Nadal already wore Monfils down.

Nadal drew blood first in the third set and was off to the races. The Spaniard was back to wearing his opponent down, and then steamrolling his way over him for the victory. The former no. 1 eventually chopped down Monfils 6-7(3) 6-3 6-1 6-3 to advance into the quarterfinals and sent home the lone Frenchman in the draw.

This was the first match since his return where Nadal started to look like his own self and seemed more confident. He was back to his deep, penetrating shots and pushing his opponent around. Hopefully, he can continue to play his way into the tournament.

In the short-term, he will have to contend with Fernando Gonzalez and his big forehand in the quarterfinals. The Chilean played really well in his fourth-round match with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Nadal leads their matchup 6-3. It will be another challenge for him, but he will definitely win if he is up to it. With his win and Murray’s loss yesterday, the Spaniard is now back in the number two slot.

At the end of his match, a fan ran onto the court and tried to kiss him. The fan would later be arrested for interfering with a sporting event. Nadal was a sport about it. When asked about the incident in his press conference:

Rafa: For me, it wasn’t a problem. The guy was really nice.
Question: Did he say anything?
Rafa: Yes, he was a great fan. He said, “I love you,” and he kissed me.
Question: Was he speaking in Spanish or English?
Rafa: No, in English but I understand that.

(Image: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

City: New York, NY USA
Surface: Outdoor Hard
Championship Points: 2000
2008 Singles Champion: Roger Federer
2008 Doubles: Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan

This is the final grand slam of the year, and Roger Federer will go for his sixth-consecutive US Open title. Between Rafael Nadal’s rehabilitation and everyone else just flaking out, this is the first tournament in two years where I am pretty certain Roger Federer will win. Federer is the most consistent player on tour at the moment. He has also won 16 grand slam titles, so he knows he has that advantage over the others in the slams, with the exception of a top-form Nadal.

Once again, Federer has an easy quarter where he could possibly take meet Robin Soderling or Nikolay Davydenko in the quarterfinals. Davydenko had problems this week in New Haven with his wrists, so he should not really be a threat. Soderling is capable of being dangerous, but it looks like he does not know it yet.

Federer’s possible semifinal matchup could be with Novak Djokovic or Andy Roddick. We know Djokovic is still flakey, and Roddick just cannot beat the Swiss champion for a host of reasons. This quarter of the draw is also chalked full of people. Tommy Haas and Fernando Verdasco should be in the mix. Anyone of the fore-mentioned players could end up in the semifinals, so this is the hardest part of the draw.

Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray anchor the second half of the draw. Nadal has a good quarter for his predicament since he is still trying to find his original form. His first-round match is with Richard Gasquet, who is probably rustier than Nadal is, so that is a good scenario for him. In the round of 16, the Spaniard could possibly have to contend with Gael Monfils. The Musketeer has been tame this year, but he could start feeling it at any time.

The top half of his quarter is littered with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Tomas Berdych and Fernando Gonzalez. These four players are going to have to duke it out for the chance to possibly play Nadal in the quarterfinals. Nadal’s trouble begins here because he has to meet one of them. The old Nadal would have no problem, but the more vulnerable Nadal could have trouble with anyone of these four.

Murray’s quarter is kind of precarious. This first part of it will be very manageable, but his possible quarterfinal meeting with Juan Martin del Potro could be a giant headache for him. Whoever is left standing will have to possibly deal with Nadal -- who could find his form at anytime -- and then head to the final. For this reason, it is probably better for Nadal that he is seated third rather than second.

At the end of the day, the tournament is really Federer’s to lose. Nadal is still nowhere near where he needs to be to be a real threat. The Spaniard probably will not be better until next season to be realistic. When he was playing in Cincinnati, the announcers pointed out that he was still gingerly moving on his forehand side.

As for Murray, he should win this tournament, but he is going to have to stop flaking out in the slams. He wins everything else, so it is time. If we are going to have to be subject to Brad Gilbert, Darren Cahill and Robbie Koening go on-and-on about him, the Scotsman better get it done this year. I still think he should have won Wimbledon this year, but he pulled a flakey-jake routine.

It would be nice if Verdasco found his Australian Open form. It would also be nice to see Andy Roddick solve his Federer riddle. It would be really nice to be pleasantly surprised about Nadal’s form. It would be really, really nice if Juan Martin del Potro took the whole enchilada. I guess a girl can dream. Let’s hope this fortnight is exciting and chalked full of surprises.

Tournament Draw
Singles / Doubles

Tournament Evils (formerly Tournament Malfeasance)
3 Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Richard Gasquet (FRA)
4 Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)
13 Gael Monfils (FRA) vs. Jeremy Chardy (FRA)
26 Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) vs. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)
Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs. Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)
Michael Llodra (FRA) vs. Nicolas Kiefer (GER)

(Image: Rob Loud/usopen.org)

The world no. 6 player and world no. 11 player met in an all-South American semifinal today in Washington D.C. Argentine Juan Martin del Potro had never beaten Chilean Gonzalez and his forehand before this match.

The 20 year old is at a crossroads in his career where he needs to ratchet it up a notch to seriously contend with the top-tier players. Luckily for him, he is the most talented youngster at the moment. Right now, he wins the matches he should win but needs to win the big matches against the top players. He was 2-6 against the top four and 3-6 against the top eleven this year before this match.

In the beginning, the Argentine started to move Gonzalez around court, which was trouble for the Chilean. He was also better at going from defense to offense in points. Del Potro was able to strike first with a break in game five, but Gonzalez returned the favor in eighth game to level the set at 4-4.

Gonzalez and his forehand got hot and began to make crazy shots that left the Argentine flat-footed. Unfortunately for the Chilean, unforced errors crept into his game because of the risk-taking. After fighting off three set points, del Potro was able to hold serve to take the opening set into a tiebreak.

In the tiebreak, Del Potro was aided by unforced errors from Gonzalez. He took the advantage on the fourth point of the tiebreak with a minibreak. The Argentine was just more consistent and cut down on the errors and cruised to take the first set 77 minutes into the match.

In the second set, Gonzalez completely lost steam and del Potro took advantage. He immediately struck first again in the second game and quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Gonzalez took one break back in the sixth game of the set, but it was a little too late to make a charge. The Argentine was able to wrap up the match and end his drought against Gonzalez for the win at 7-6(2) 6-3 after 126 minutes of play.

He is now 1-3 against Gonzalez and 4-6 against the top eleven. The Argentine youngster now awaits the winner of the Roddick-Isner match and books a spot in his second final of the year.

(Image: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Tommy Haas was on a streak of late, but it ended today. Fernando Gonzalez topped the German 7-5 6-4 after almost 90 minutes of play. The Chilean now awaits the winner of the Soderling-del Potro match.

Update: Robin Soderling pulled out of the tournament today due to an elbow injury. Juan Martin del Potro received a walkover and will face Gonzalez in a South American semifinal. Gonzalez is 3-0 over the young Argentine.

Their last meeting occurred at the Australian Open two years ago when del Potro was just eighteen years old. A lot has changed with del Potro since then, so their semifinal should be interesting tomorrow.

(Image: AP)

Tommy Haas was able to surpass Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5 2-6 6-1. Both players have been playing well of late, and unfortunately someone had to win today. Now, Haas will play Fernando Gonzalez in the quarterfinals. Gonzalez is 2-1 over the German, though Haas won their last meeting at Indian Wells two years ago.

This should be a good match if you can catch it.

(Image: AP)

City: Washington, D.C., USA
Surface: Outdoor Hard
Championship Points: 500
2008 Singles Champion: Juan Martin del Potro
2008 Doubles: Marc Gicquel and Robert Lindstedt

Second-seed Juan Martin del Potro will defend his title. This year, he will have stiff competition from Andy Roddick and Robin Soderling. The Argentine could have his hands full with Robin Soderling, who currently has the hot hand on tour, in the quarterfinals.

Top-seed Andy Roddick has a good draw. Luckily for him, all of the real threats are on del Potro’s side of the draw. In addition to Soderling, Fernando Gonazalez could get the hot hand this tournament. The Chilean has a good quarter of the draw could cruise into the semifinals.

Roddick should not take his draw for granted, as he has some real sleepers on his side of the draw. Tomas Berdych is perfectly capable of surprising people and putting together a run. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga returns to the tour after taking a break after Wimbledon. He has struggled this year, but he can turn his season around at anytime.

It should be a good tournament and a taste of things to come in the run up to the US Open.

Tournament Draw
Singles / Doubles

Sunday's Order of Play

(Image: Getty Images)

Tommy Haas and Juan Carlos Ferrero both upset seeded players to advance into the second week of Wimbledon. Both players have had problems with injuries and have not consistently played on tour over the last couple of years. Now, it seems both players have put together runs that have now moved them into the round of 16.

Tommy Haas concluded his epic match with eleventh-seed Marin Cilic by upsetting the Croat 7-5 7-5 1-6 6-7(3) 10-8 after 4 hours and 28 minutes of play over two days. The last six games of their match were played today.

The German will meet Igor Andreev on Monday. Andreev leads their head-to-head 1-0, but it was a Davis Cup match on clay in 2007. Haas has played well since Roland Garros and went on a tear during the grass-court season. Their rematch should be an exciting one.

Juan Carlos Ferrero ended up getting into the other exciting match today with tenth-seed Fernando Gonzalez – even though Boris Becker kept calling him Francisco if you were watching it online. Ferrero upset the Chilean 4-6 7-5 6-4 4-6 6-4 after 3 hours and 1 minute of play.

Gonzalez, who is known for his big forehand and serve, pummeled Ferrero throughout the match. Instead of relinquishing the match to Gonzalez, Ferrero went for his shots and managed to outmaneuver his opponent on the court. Gonzalez rained down 24 aces on the Spaniard and held his serve easily, but Ferrero took care of his serve and broke when he needed to.

Ferrero will now meet play Gilles Simon in the round of 16. Surprisingly the two players have never played in ATP competition. Both players are playing well, so it should be a good one.

(Images: AFP)

There are quite a few today:

Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) def. 10 Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) 4-6 7-5 6-4 4-6 6-4
24 Tommy Haas (GER) def. 11 Marin Cilic (CRO) 7-5 7-5 1-6 6-7(3) 10-8
20 Tomas Berdych (CZE) def. 12 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) 6-2 6-3 6-2
23 Radek Stepanek (CZE) def. 16 David Ferrer (ESP) 7-5 7-5 3-6 4-6 6-4

(Images: AP, AP, AFP/Getty Image, AP)

Fernando Gonzales has advanced to the semifinals by upsetting third-seed Andy Murray 6-3 3-6 6-0 6-4 after two hours and fifteen minutes of play. Gonzales has quietly gone through the draw and has now clocked in his best performance at Roland Garros -- he made it to the quarterfinals in 2003 and last year.

Gonzales will now meet Robin Soderling in the semifinals. The Chilean is 4-3 against the Swede and has won their last four meetings. Soderling has turned up his play in the last few days, so we will see if he can keep it up against Gonzalez.

(Image: FFT)

Marat Safin and Josselin Ouanna were involved in quite a shootout in Phiippe Chartrier stadium. After 4 hours 34 minutes, Ouanna won his second ATP match of the year by besting the Russian, who is playing in his final French Open, 7-6(2) 7-6(4) 4-6 3-6 10-8.

Safin started out playing well and was in control of the match. In grand Safin style, he let the Frenchman get back into the set. Ouanna managed to sneak off with the first set in the tiebreak. From there, the Russian went into self-destruction mode and lost the second set.

It looked like he had given up, but Safin persevered and stayed with the Frenchman. In a reversal of fortunes, Safin became more consistent, and Ouanna looked like Safin had worn him down. The Russian was able to win the next two sets.

In the final set, Safin struck first with the break. All the big man had to do was hold on. Ouanna was able to break back and tie the set at 3-3. At 4-5, Safin fought off two match points to even the set at 5-5. The two players raised their level of play, and the match became more exciting. They battled to hold serve, and both players started serving and hitting bigger.

It was nice to see Safin not give up and rise to the occasion. The French neophyte did not shrink under the pressure either and really started hitting bigger and bolder forehands.

In the end, Ouanna had another two match points in game 18. Safin saved one match point, but the Frenchman converted on the next match point after a Safin forehand error.

Ouanna will now meet Fernando Gonzalez from Chile in the third round. The two players have never met in ATP competition. Gonzalez is stealthily cruising through his quarter of the draw, and I think he could cause trouble later in the draw. Ouanna will have his hands full with the Chilean.

(Images: FFT)

City: Roland Garros, France
Surface: Outdoor Clay
Championship Points: 2000
2008 Singles Champion: Rafael Nadal
2008 Doubles Champions: Luis Horna and Pablo Cuevas


The French Open is finally here and caps off the European clay-court season. Rafael Nadal will try to go for a record-breaking, fifth-consecutive title. He should be able to do it if he is healthy over the next two weeks.

The only two players who can stop him are Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer -- I would pick Djokovic over the two if I was forced to. It would be great to see Nadal and Djokovic battling it out in the final to change things up.

Nadal’s quarter contains Fernando Verdasco and Stanislas Wawrinka. Verdasco and Wawrinka will have to duke it out in the round of 16 to possibly play Nadal in the quarterfinals. Nadal should still be able to take either one of them.

The Spaniard then could have to meet Andy Murray in the semifinals. Of the top four, Murray is the player most likely to be upset, as clay is his weakest surface. To play Nadal, he will have to get past Fernando Gonzalez, his biggest obstacle, in the quarterfinals. The Chilean has a good chance of upsetting the Scot on clay this year.

Of course Federer has the privilege of having an easy quarter, as he usually does in the grand slams. Federer could meet Tomas Berdych in the round of 16. The Czech gave Federer trouble at the Australian Open and should have won the match but could not seal the deal. Federer’s other challenge could be Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals. Roddick still his Rogeritus, so the Swiss maestro should have an easy time advancing into the semifinals, where he could meet Djokovic. This may be the battle he will lose this year if I may be so bold.

The Serb needs to be in shape and make sure that he does not stay on the court too long over the next two weeks. Djokovic’s part of the draw is trickier. He could meet Juan Martin del Potro in the quarterfinals. The young Argentine has stepped his game up lately, so he might give the Serb some trouble. Even if del Potro loses, he might keep Djokovic on the court for a while and wear him down before a possible semifinal appearance with Federer – like Djokovic and Nadal in Madrid last week. Hopefully, the Serb has it together enough to make it to his maiden French Open final.

Tournament Draw
Singles / Doubles

Sunday's Order of Play

Tournament Malfeasance
Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) vs. Michael Llodra (FRA)
Viktor Troicki (SRB) vs. Lukasz Kubot (POL)
Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs. Igor Andreev (RUS)
Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) vs. Arnaud Clement (FRA)
Julien Benneteau (FRA) vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero
Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) vs. Novak Djokovic (SRB)

And The Qualifiers Are . . .
Kevin Anderson (RSA), Sebastien De Chaunac (FRA), Benoit Paire (FRA), Lamine Oahab (ALG), Fabio Fognini (ITA), Daniel Brands (GER), Marcos Daniel (BRA), Lukas Rosol (CZE), Paolo Lorenzi (ITA), Ilia Bozoljac (SRB), Santiago Giraldo (COL), Victor Crivoi (ROU), Flavio Cipolla (ITA), Leonardo Mayer (ARG), Jean-Rene Lisnard (MON)

(Image: FFT)

Preview: BMW Open
City: Munich, Germany
Surface: Outdoor Clay
Championship Points: 250
2008 Singles Champion: Fernando Gonzalez
2008 Doubles Champions: Michael Berrer and Rainer Schuettler

Fernando Gonzales was set to defend his title this year but has pulled out of the tournament. He sprained his ankle in his Roman quarterfinal match with Juan Monaco. He did play in the semifinal against Rafael Nadal, but his ankle was still sore. The Chilean was playing well and would have been the odds on favorite this year.

The withdrawal now opens the draw. Marin Cilic, the second seed, should be the favorite, but he is not as proficient on clay as some of the others. He should have a good shot at the semifinals, but I would not be surprised if he was tripped up in the earlier rounds.

Lleyton Hewitt is back on tour after taking a break from the tour after his first round loss in Monte Carlo. He did win on clay in Houston and should have no trouble getting to the quarterfinals. From there, he could meet Andreas Beck or Mischa Zverev in the quarterfinals, and I think the Aussie might lose that battle. It is a shame these German upstarts have to play each other in the first round. They are both looking to breakthrough and what better time than in front of an eager German audience. Berdych is also in this quarter and could do well.

Julien Benneteau now breathes a sigh of relief, as he was scheduled to play Gonzalez in the first round, but now plays a lucky loser. Clay is not really his surface, and I would not be surprised if someone tripped him up in the early rounds. His portion of the draw is now the least predictable.

The main beneficiary of the Gonzalez withdrawal is Nicolas Almagro. He is an excellent clay court player and the most proficient in the tournament, but has not had a great year. He did successfully defend his title in Mexico, but his European clay season has been a disaster. This could be a good opportunity for another title and build some confidence for Madrid. His only problem is Mikhail Youzhny, who he could meet in the second round. If he can pass the Russian, he has a pretty good shot at the title.


Tournament Draw
Singles / Doubles

Tournament Malfeasance
Andreas Beck (GER) vs. Mischa Zverev (GER)
Nicolas Kiefer (GER) vs. Ernest Gulbis (LAT)
Evgeny Korolev (RUS) vs. Jeremy Chardy (FRA)

Monday’s Order of Play

(Image: Getty Images)

You know the story. Nadal plays opponent X. Opponent X stays with Nadal in the first couple of games and might even get a break. Nadal runs him around the court. After game four or five, opponent X is visibly huffing and puffing and starts hitting more unforced errors which leads to a Nadal break. The Spaniard is then off to the races and bags the first set easily. The final set either ends with Nadal cruising with a break to take the set or a very special Nadal beatdown leaving opponent X emotionally scarred.

Today, Nadal played Fernando Gonzalez who has played well over the last two weeks. The story is the same, but Nadal broke in game five and Gonzalez broke back. Nadal struck again in game seven and then won the next two games to take the set.

In the second set, Nadal broke Gonzalez in his first service game and jumped out to a 3-0 lead. The Spaniard then cruised to victory 6-3 6-3 after 75 minutes of play. Nadal will now meet Novak Djokovic in the final.

The victory today marks the Spaniard’s 29th consecutive victory on clay. This is his fifth final of the year. He already has two Masters titles and is going for his third of the year. Nadal is also vying for his fourth Roman championship. He held the title for three-consecutive years until Juan Carlos Ferrero derailed him last year, allowing Djokovic to go on to win the title.

This is Nadal and Djokovic’s second final together this year after their final in Monte Carlo. Nadal is currently 12-4 against Djokovic in their head-to-head match-up and has won their last three meetings. The surface breakdown is 7-0 on clay, 2-0 on grass and 3-4 on hard. Djokovic is looking to defend his title tomorrow and is the first person this year to take a set off of Nadal on clay. It should be an extra contentious battle.

(Image: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images)

The top three advanced easily into the semifinals. Rafael Nadal did enough to beat compatriot Fernando Verdasco, who was pestered by a leg injury throughout the match. Roger Federer ended Mischa Zverev’s run by sneaking passed the German qualifier in the first set tiebreaker and winning easily in the second set. Novak Djokovic played great against Juan Martin del Potro. The Argentine could not raise his game to really challenge the Serb.

The match of the day was Fernando Gonzalez versus Juan Monaco. It turned into quiet the battle. Gonzalez has been playing well for the last two weeks, and Monaco is resurging after returning to the tour from injury. The two players split sets, and battled it out in the final set. Gonzalez was able to break in the last set to take the match.

Friday’s Results
Singles Quarterfinals
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. 6 Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 6-3 6-3
2 Roger Federer (SUI) def. Q Mischa Zverev (GER) 7-6(3) 6-2
3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. 5 Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) 6-3 6-4
12 Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) def. Q Juan Monaco (ARG) 2-6 6-3 6-4

Doubles Quarterfinals
1 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) def. 7 M. Mirnyi (BLR)/A. Ram (ISR) 4-6 6-4 11-9
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) def. 8 J. Coetzee (RSA)/J. Kerr (AUS) 6-4 6-4
4 M. Bhupathi (IND)/M. Knowles (BAH) def. 6 M. Fyrstenberg (POL)/M. Matkowski (POL) 6-3 6-4
5 B. Soares (BRA)/ K. Ullyett (ZIM) def. 3 L. Dlouhy (CZE)/ L. Paes (IND) 7-5 6-3

Saturday’s Matches
Singles Semifinals
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. 12 Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)
2 Roger Federer (SUI) vs. 3 Novak Djokovic (SRB)

Doubles Semifinals
1 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) vs. 5 B. Soares (BRA)/K. Ullyett (ZIM)
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) vs. 4 M. Bhupathi (IND)/M. Knowles (BAH)

Saturday’s Order of Play

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(Image: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images)

The weather behaved today, and the tournament was able to complete all of its singles matches. Three first-round matches had to be played in the afternoon, and the winners had to play again in the evening. The completion of matches was not good news for some of the seeded players. Five seeds were sent home, and some received scares.

Paul-Henri Mathieu defeated last week’s Barcelona Open’s finalist. This is one of the first-round matches that was not completed yesterday. Mathieu upset the eleventh-seed David Ferrer 6-3 2-6 6-2 in their first-round match.

The veteran Frenchman turned around in his second-round match and was upset by German qualifier Mischa Zverev 3-6 7-6(5) 6-0. The 21-year-old already denied Juan Carlos Ferrero in the qualifying rounds and beat Tomas Berdych in the first round. He is probably this tournament's troublemaker.

Jurgen Melzer upset seventh-seed Nikolay Davydenko. Davydenko had played well last week in Barcelona, but Melzer dismantled the Russian 7-5 7-6(5). The Austrian will now play Fernando Gonzalez, who is playing well and coasted through his match.

Richard Gasquet took out ninth-seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in his first-round match. He and Radek Stepanek were able to win their first-round matches in the afternoon and then won their second-round matches in the evening. Gasquet then beat Ernest Gulbis in his second-round match after the Latvian rallied to get back into the match.

The Frenchman now advances to play Fernando Verdasco. Gasquet leads in their head-to-head matchup 4-2. Verdasco has won their last two meetings, but Gasquet has won all of their meetings on clay. The Frenchman played solidly today but has played a lot of tennis with the two matches. He may not have enough left in the tank to withstand the Spanish onslaught.

Gilles Simon, Juan Martin del Potro and Fernando Verdasco had scares, but all got it together enough to advance into the next round. Simon beat Italian Fabio Fognini in front of his hometown crowd.

Old faithfuls Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer won their respective matches quite easily. Nadal will play Robin Soderling in the next round. The two have not played since their infamous match at Wimbledon in 2007. Federer will play the Radek Stepanek in the next round. The Swiss leads 7-2 in their head-to-head matchup. The last time Stepanek beat Federer was last year in this very tournament.

With all the upsets in Federer’s quarter, he is almost guaranteed a spot in the semifinals. Gilles Simon is his only obstacle in the quarterfinals if the Frenchman can get past the German troublemaker Zverev in the third round. Simon will have to raise his level of play to stay undefeated against the Swiss.

(Images: AP, Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images)

After being out with a series of injuries, Nikolay Davydenko had a pretty good tournament in Monte-Carlo last week. This week, he is having a great tournament and is back to form.

Davydenko held easily in his first-two service games and had three break points in Nadal’s first-two service games. Unfortunately for the Russian, he did not convert. In game five, Nadal was presented with two break points, and the Spaniard converted on the second one. Nadal then ran off with the set.

It looked like Nadal would be off to the races instead the Russian hunkered down in the second set. The two players then slogged it out in each game with plenty of break points in each of their service games. Nadal eventually broke in game four giving the Spaniard a pathway for the match. He then cruised to take the match 6-3 6-2 after 106 minutes of play. Nadal will play in his fifth-consecutive Barcelona Open final and will play his compatriot David Ferrer.

Fernando Gonzalez and his forehand had dismissed two Argentines and a Spaniard on his way to the semifinal. Like yesterday, Gonzalez struck first and broke Ferrer in his opening service game. He trounced the Spaniard from the baseline to take the first set 6-2.

In the second set, Ferrer changed his game plan. He broke Gonzalez in the second game of the set and jumped out to a 3-0 lead. The 27-year-old won the set easily at 6-2.

In the third set, Ferrer struck first in the fourth game after it looked like Gonzalez would hold easily. He handed Ferrer the game with a couple of unforced errors. Ferrer was able to hold on. While Ferrer was serving for the match, Gonzalez finally broke back in game nine after having some break opportunities in Ferrer’s previous service game. The Chilean then held to even the set at 5-5.

In the tiebreak, Ferrer lead with a mini-break at 2-1. Gonzalez and his forehand returned the favor to level it. Ferrer scored another mini-break with a lob that just fell inside the line. Gonzalez and his forehand broke back in ninth point to get back on serve. Gonzalez double-faulted and gave Ferrer a match point. The Spaniard converted on the first chance for the match 2-6 6-2 7-6(5).

Ferrer will now meet Nadal for a rematch of the Barcelona Open final last year. The 22-year-old hopes to win his fifth-straight title. Nadal leads their head-to-head 6-3. Two of Ferrer’s wins come on hard surfaces. The third win was on clay, but it was against an 18-year-old Nadal in 2004.

(Images: AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)