After his dissapointing showing at the Australian Open Marcos Baghdatis managed to regain some confidence by capturing the second title of his career in Zagreb. Baghdatis denied top seed Ivan Ljubicic the chance to grab the second successive title in his home country.

Quarterfinal results Zagreb:

Ivan Ljubicic (CRO,1) d. Thomas Johansson (SWE) 7-6(8) 6-7(8) 7-6(4)
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS,4) d. Marc Gicquel (FRA) 7-5 6-2
Alexander Peya (AUT,Q) d. Michael Llodra (FRA) 6-3 6-3
Marcos Baghdatis (CYP,2) d. Arnaud Clement (FRA,8) 6-2 6-7(2) 7-6(5)

Semifinal results Zagreb:

Ivan Ljubicic (CRO,1) d. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS,4) 2-6 6-3 7-5
Marcos Baghdatis (CYP,2) d. Alexander Peya (AUT,Q) 6-4 6-3

Final result Zagreb:

Marcos Baghdatis (CYP,2) d. Ivan Ljubicic (CRO,1) 7-6(4) 4-6 6-4

Final doubles result Zagreb:

Michael Kohlmann/Alexander Waske (GER) d. Frantisek Cermak/Jaroslav Levinsky (CZE,4) 7-6(5) 4-6 10-5 (match tie-break)

World number 1 Roger Federer claimed his fourth Wimbledon title in a row by defeating World number 2 Rafael Nadal in 4 hard fought sets. The Swiss master showed that he is still the man to be on the hallowed turf of Wimbledon.

Rush
Federer started off in a rush, claiming first break on his second breakpoint with an excellent forehand down the line after an epic rally. Federer got another break at 3-0 up, with an excellent backhand that Nadal was incapable of returning.

Federer got a chance to get his third break and take the set at 5-0 and 30-40. Nadal managed to take care of the first breakpoint with an excellent chipped lob over the advancing Federer. Federer got another breakpoint soon after, one that Nadal averted with an ace.

Bagle
Finally, at the third breakpoint Federer managed to convert it, putting a lovely crosscourt backhand past Nadal. This first set, 6-0, seemed put Federer firmly in control of the match.

Fightback
The second set show a complete turn around in the match, with Nadal immediately breaking the world number 1 to take a quick 2-0 lead.

Federer got a chance to break back at 3-1 down, but he failed in his attempt when he put an unbalanced forehand outside the lines. The match went on serve until 5-3 to Nadal, at which point Federer managed to fight himself back in the set and come back to 5-4.

Tie break
Both players then hold on to their serves to forge a second set tiebreak. The tiebreak was back and forth with Nadal grabbing an early mini-break at 2-1 up, Federer getting one back at 3-2 down. And with Federer finally taking the tie break at 6-5 up, when Nadal put a backhand in the net after some good Federer pressure.

Equal terms
The match was, after a quick first set, still very much on equal terms, with both players keeping their serves for the entire third set going to an inevitable tiebreak. Nadal got one chance to break at 3-2 up, but Federer took care of it with an unreturnable serve.

The tiebreak was now do or die for Nadal, who played like it was his last chance when he took a quick mini break with some excellent forehand pressure. Federer got the mini-break right back at 2-1 down, passing Nadal with a nicely played backhand after luring him to the net.

Turning on the engine
At 2-2 Nadal really started to turn on the engines, taking 2 mini-breaks at 3-2 up, with a Federer backhand error and forehand return winner on the line by Nadal himself. Nadal then eased to an important third set tiebreak win, winning the it 7-2 after a Federer forehand error.

The tiebreak win sparked an enthousiastic reaction from the Wimbledon crowd, who were hoping for more from a match that clearly showed who are today’s top players in tennis.

Taking control
Federer, however, was having none of it, as he broke Nadal at 2-1 up, after trying to put a lobbed backhand return over Nadal, who scuffed his volley and put it miles behind the baseline. Federer then practically put the match away with another break at 4-1 up, taking the initiave in the rally and volleying it away.

With Federer serving for the match, Nadal wasn’t done, however, running towards a quick break with a crosscourt backhand that forced Federer into a forehand error.

Federer got another chance to serve out the match at 5-3 and quickly moved to a 40-0 lead. Federer immediately converted his first matchpoint when Nadal floated a backhand outside the line.

Worthy adversary
This match showed that men’s tennis has finally found a worthy adversary for Federer, as Nadal pushed Federer all the way, sporting his new and improved brand of grasscourt tennis. With this win Federer put himself on equal terms with Pete Sampras and Bjorn Borg, with 4 Wimbledon wins in a row.

The world number 1 will by no means rest on his laurels next year, as he knows that he will find Nadal on his path to history next year.

In what can be described as one of the best matches over the last years, if not ever, Rafael Nadal grabbed the Rome title and equalled Guillermo Vilas’ longstanding record. Nadal did need more than 5 hours to overcome Federer and also had to save 2 matchpoints, however.

The match cannot be described as anything else but a worthy way of equalling a record. The match swung back and forth, with Federer seemingly in control after winning the first set tie-break and leading 4-2 in the second set tie-break.

However, Nadal then took over control, scoring 4 points in a row to win the second set tie-break and then also winning the third set 6-4.

Then it was Federer’s turn to gain the upperhand, as he raced to an excellent 6-2 fourth set win.

The world number 1 seemingly had the Spanish youngster on his knees, gaining an important break at 2-1 up.

Adding a hard-fought servicegame to that, Federer was now leading 4-1 and needed only 2 more games for a famous victory.
After Nadal pegged one game back, Federer then began struggling with his servicegame, gifting away his advantage, now leading 4-3.

This break clearly increased Nadal’s confidence with the youngster clearly showing to his older opponent that he wasn’t going to be defeated.

Federer had a chance to win the match at 5-6 and 15-40, playing some of his best tennis on clay along the way. But the world number 1 failed to convert both opportunities, making 2 poor forehand errors.

Nadal then went on to claim his own servicegame, and eventually, also the match, as Federer continued to struggle on the important points.
The world number 1 gave away the match on a forehand that sailed long in the tie-break at 6-5 down, on his own serve.

In this match Federer did show that he is actually capable of defeating Nadal, promising a very interesting Roland Garros tournament, but will need to show more confidence on the crucial points.

Nadal, meanwhile, continues to go from strength to strength, having now equalled Guillermo Vilas’ longstanding 53-match winning streak on clay.
In order to extend the record Nadal will have to defeat German Tommy Haas in the first round of the Hamburg tournament in the upcoming week.

Semifinal results Rome:

Roger Federer (SUI,1) d. David Nalbandian (ARG,4) 6-3 3-6 7-6(5)
Rafael Nadal (ESP,2) d. Gael Monfils (FRA) 6-2 6-2

Final result Rome:

Rafael Nadal (ESP,2) vs. Roger Federer (SUI,1) 6-7(0) 7-6(5) 6-4 2-6 7-6(5)

Semifinal doubles results Rome:

Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram (ISR,6) d. Fernando Gonzalez/Nicolas Massu (CHI) 6-3 5-7 10-5 (match tie-break)
Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor (BAH/CAN,3) d. Jonas Bjorkman/Max Mirnyi (SWE/BLR,2) 6-3 7-6(5)

Final doubles result Rome:

Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor (BAH/CAN,3) d. Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram (ISR,6) 6-4 5-7 13-11 (match tie-break)

Despite being pushed to the limit by local favourite Potito Starace, world number 1 Roger Federer managed to keep his cool and grinded out an important win in the Rome second round. Rafael Nadal had no such problems against the Italian number 1 Filippo Volandri, leaving Volandri with only 3 games to show for his efforts.

4th seed David Nalbandian continued his excellent form after last weeks title in Estoril by easing past Paul-Henri Mathieu, who feels very much at home on the grinded brick.

5th seed Andy Roddick managed to avert another early defeat by outlasting Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, a player who had upset the American at the Australian Open.

The match seemed to be one between the limp and the blind, as both players showed a considerable amount of tiredness during their match, making it somewhat of an error-fest.
Roddick managed to keep his cool, however, and grinded out a morale-boosting win.

Roddick will face Briton Greg Rusedski in the third round, another player who seems to be finding his claycourt feet after having despised the red clay for most of his career.

Another Brit, Tim Henman, who already reached the semifinals of Roland Garros once, will have a chance to take a crack at a real claycourt specialist in world number 2 Rafael Nadal. This match will provide an interesting test for both players, for one to see how Nadal will cope with the unorthodox claycourt game of Henman.

Second round results Rome:

Roger Federer (SUI,1) d. Potito Starace (ITA,WC) 6-3 7-6(2)
Radek Stepanek (CZE,14) d. Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) 6-4 7-6(5)
Nicolas Almagro (ESP,Q) d. Jose Acasuso (ARG) 6-4 2-6 6-4
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS,6) d. Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 6-1 3-6 6-0
David Nalbandian (ARG,4) d. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) 6-2 6-4
Alberto Martin (ESP) d. Nicolas Kiefer (GER,13) 6-3 7-6(3)
Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo (ESP,Q) d. Marat Safin (RUS) 0-6 7-6(6) 7-6(3)
Mario Ancic (CRO) d. Florent Serra (FRA) 3-6 7-6(10) 6-0
Andy Roddick (USA,5) d. Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) 3-6 6-1 6-2
Greg Rusedski (GBR) d. Stefano Galvani (ITA,Q) 7-6(4) 6-4
Gael Monfils (FRA) d. Robby Ginepri (USA,16) 6-1 4-6 6-4
Fabrice Santoro (FRA) d. Dominik Hrbaty (SVK) 7-6(2) 6-3
Tomas Berdych (CZE) d. Xavier Malisse (BEL) 6-2 6-1
Fernando Gonzalez (CHI,10) d. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) 6-4 5-7 6-3
Tim Henman (GBR) d. Thomas Johansson (SWE,15) 7-6(8) 6-1
Rafael Nadal (ESP,2) d. Filippo Volandri (ITA) 6-1 6-2

Third round draw Rome:

Roger Federer (SUI,1) vs. Radek Stepanek (CZE,14)
Nicolas Almagro (ESP,Q) vs. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS,6)
David Nalbandian (ARG,4) vs. Alberto Martin (ESP)
Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo (ESP,Q) vs. Mario Ancic (CRO)
Andy Roddick (USA,5) vs. Greg Rusedski (GBR)
Gael Monfils (FRA) vs. Fabrice Santoro (FRA)
Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs. Fernando Gonzalez (CHI,10)
Tim Henman (GBR) vs. Rafael Nadal (ESP,2)

In the first round of the Estoril Open top seeds David Nalbandian and Nikolay Davydenko both had tough matches but managed to overcome their struggles. 4th seed Gael Monfils, 5th seed Dmitry Tursunov, 6th seed Carlos Moya and 7th seed Carlos Moya all had a considerably easier time, winning their respective matches in 2 quick sets.

The only seed to crash out was 8th seed Christophe Rochus, who got annihilated by Luxembourg native Gilles Muller, winning only 2 games in their match.

Other interesting results were the win of Marat Safin, who defeated 18-year old Italian qualifier Fabio Fognini, and the victory of 19-year old French lucky loser Jeremy Chardy, who won his first ATP match against Yeu-Tzuoo Wang of Chinese Taipei.

First round results Estoril Open:

David Nalbandian (ARG,1) d. Nicolas Mahut (FRA) 7-5 7-5
Jeremy Chardy (FRA,LL) d. Yeu-Tzuoo Wang (TPE) 7-5 6-1
Frederico Gil (POR,WC) d. David Luque (ESP,LL) 1-6 7-6(5) 6-4
Dmitry Tursunov (RUS,5) d. Gastao Elias (POR,LL) 6-2 6-1
Gael Monfils (FRA,4) d. Razvan Sabau (ROM) 6-1 6-2
Albert Portas (ESP) d. Juan-Antonio Marin (CRC) 6-3 6-4
Justin Gimelstob (USA) d. Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) 3-6 7-5 6-3
Nicolas Massu (CHI,7) d. Raemon Sluiter (NED) 6-0 7-5
Carlos Moya (ESP,6) d. Flavio Saretta (BRA) 6-3 6-4
Gustavo Marcaccio (ARG,Q) d. Tomas Zib (CZE) 6-4 6-2
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) d. Leonardo Azzaro (ITA,Q) 6-4 4-6 6-4
Carlos Berlocq (ARG) d. Didac Perez (ESP,LL) 6-0 6-1
Gilles Muller (LUX) d. Christophe Rochus (BEL,8) 6-2 6-0
Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) d. Michal Przysiezny (POL,Q) 6-7(3) 6-4 6-4
Marat Safin (RUS) d. Fabio Fognini (ITA,Q) 6-1 6-4
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS,2) d. Vincent Spadea (USA) 7-6(3) 6-3

Second round draw Estoril Open:

David Nalbandian (ARG,1) vs. Jeremy Chardy (FRA,LL)
Frederico Gil (POR,WC) vs. Dmitry Tursunov (RUS,5)
Gael Monfils (FRA,4) vs. Albert Portas (ESP)
Justin Gimelstob (USA) vs. Nicolas Massu (CHI,7)
Carlos Moya (ESP,6) vs. Gustavo Marcaccio (ARG,Q)
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) vs. Carlos Berlocq (ARG)
Gilles Muller (LUX) vs. Nicolas Lapentti (ECU)
Marat Safin (RUS) vs. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS,2)