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Post by Brinyi on Jun 6, 2006 12:03:48 GMT -5
CHATRIER Début à 12:00
Novak Djokovic (SCG) contre Rafael Nadal (ESP)[2]
Julien Benneteau (FRA) contre Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)[4]
Maria Kirilenko (RUS)/Leander Paes (IND) contre Martina Navratilova (USA)[6]/Bob Bryan (USA)[6]
LENGLEN Début à 11:00
Pauline Parmentier (FRA)/Camille Pin (FRA) or Liga Dekmeijere (LAT)/Patty Schnyder (SUI) contre Nathalie Dechy (FRA)/Vera Zvonareva (RUS)
Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)[5]/Ai Sugiyama (JPN)[5] contre Cara Black (ZIM)[2]/Rennae Stubbs (AUS)[2]
Anna Chakvetadze (RUS)/Elena Vesnina (RUS) contre Zi Yan (CHN)[4]/Jie Zheng (CHN)[4]
Court 1 Début à 12:00
Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)[8]/Nenad Zimonjic (SCG)[8] contre Team "We're Horny" (Gisela Dulko (ARG)/Fernando Gonzalez (CHI))
"So Are We" Lisa Raymond (USA)[1]/Samantha Stosur (AUS)[1] contre Kveta Peschke (CZE)[10]/Francesca Schiavone (ITA)[10]
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Post by Brinyi on Jun 6, 2006 20:20:24 GMT -5
Will Nalbandian ruin the expected Federer-Nadal party?
BY CHARLES BRICKER
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
PARIS - Everything stayed right on course Tuesday for the French Open men's final almost everyone wants to see - defending champion Rafael Nadal against No. 1 Roger Federer.
But David Nalbandian, who hasn't had much to say these two weeks, is lurking behind those two men and there is a growing number of people who think he can ruin the Sunday party.
With the weather getting slowly warmer and the courts getting faster, Federer survived four break points in the opening set Tuesday and defeated Mario Ancic, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, to be the first man to reach the final four.
An hour and a half later, Nalbandian had ground down Nikolay Davydenko, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, with a classic showing of his physical strength from the backcourt and he will now play Federer for the third time in the past eight months Friday, with the winner reaching the championship match.
Federer will be favored. He has played exceptionally the second week here, and his relatively brief matches have worked greatly in his favor and against Ancic, who admitted to fatigue after going five sets with Tommy Robredo on Sunday.
"That can sometimes cost you a tournament or a match. You come out and you feel like you maybe have to shorten the points and change your tactics. That's the worst," Federer said.
Ancic had the Grand Slam trainer at his changeover chair twice - the first to rub ointment into his sore right shoulder and the second to deal with blurred vision, which was attributed to fatigue.
While Federer is now one step from the final, Nadal can get to that point by beating unseeded 19-year-old Serbian Novak Djokovic in one of the two quarterfinals played this afternoon.
Fourth-seeded Ivan Ljubicic, who hasn't had to play a seed during the tournament, faces Julien Benneteau in the quarter, and the winners also will play Friday.
Nalbandian has had no easy road to the semis, but few think he won't be physically ready for Federer with two days off, and the recent history between these two men suggest it will be a difficult match.
Nalbandian defeated Federer in fight sets last November at the ATP Championships in Shanghai, though Federer played the tournament with a slightly injured foot.
Then, at Rome three weeks ago, Federer won in a third-set tiebreak, 7-4. It was a match filled alternately with brilliance and sloppy play. Federer committed 50 unforced errors and Nalbandian had 53.
The challenge for Federer in this match is in finding the right moments to play aggressively. Nalbandian is among the best retrievers in the game and, though his serve doesn't intimidate anyone, he has excellent ground strokes. His backhand down the line can be a decisive weapon against Federer, who likes to go deep to his backhand side to hit forehands, leaving his right side vulnerable.
Clearly, Nalbandian and not Nadal is currently on Federer's mind. "Look, I think we all would love to see me playing Rafa in the final, except two other players," he said. "They stand in our way."
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Post by vaiva on Jun 7, 2006 7:23:44 GMT -5
Why did Djoko retire? I lost my cabel tv feed  |
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Post by Brinyi on Jun 7, 2006 7:57:55 GMT -5
Why did Djoko retire? I lost my cabel tv feed "back injury" It figures, he's Andy Murray's best friend! |
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Post by Traveling Man on Jun 7, 2006 8:05:52 GMT -5
I want a Benneteau - Nalbandian final, dammit!
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Post by janie on Jun 7, 2006 8:55:40 GMT -5
WHAT?? Are you serious, Djoko RETIRED?? I thought this was live tennis on ESPN2!   Now that I know, of course, I can see the ad breaks are much, much longer. And the "LIVE" logo at the top of the screen is not there. Why did they do this!  |
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Post by GoDom on Jun 7, 2006 9:26:11 GMT -5
Quarterfinals always suck.
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Post by shenaynay on Jun 7, 2006 10:15:28 GMT -5
I have no idea why ESPN2 wasn't live today...
What's the difference between starting at 6am or 8am EST?
Either way, today sucked hard.
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Post by shenaynay on Jun 7, 2006 11:55:14 GMT -5
Anyway, now it's a matchup of the real #2, vs. the self-proclaimed #2 despite being behind the real #2 by like 2000 points.
And it will be ugly. The end.
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Post by Grarliner on Jun 7, 2006 12:09:43 GMT -5
8 posts. For all you guys bash women's tennis, you don't seem too interested in the men ...  |
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Post by janie on Jun 7, 2006 12:20:45 GMT -5
It just wasn't very thrilling today. |
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Post by Grarliner on Jun 7, 2006 12:22:26 GMT -5
It just wasn't very thrilling today. Hasn't been for quite a while.  I hope Ivan beats Rafa ... |
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Post by The Chloe on Jun 7, 2006 12:38:26 GMT -5
He won't.
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Post by molala on Jun 7, 2006 12:41:18 GMT -5
Julien |
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Post by shenaynay on Jun 7, 2006 13:34:52 GMT -5
8 posts. For all you guys bash women's tennis, you don't seem too interested in the men ... I'm much more interested in the men's this year. There's just not much to talk about. |
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Marcos Baghdatis 
