Tennis

[abadani69]

"رافائل نادال" تنيس باز جوان اسپانيايي دوشنبه*شب با پيروزي مقابل حريف استراليايي خود به مرحله يك چهارم پاياني پيكارهاي تنيس آزاد فرانسه (رولند گاروس) صعود كرد.

به گزارش خبرگزاري فرانسه، در اين ديدار نادال بخت شماره دو كسب عنوان قهرماني در سه ست متوالي و با نتايج ۶بر ۳ ، ۶بر يك و ۷بر ۶از سد " ليتون هيوويت" گذشت و به مرحله بعدي گام گذاشت.

در ساير ديدارها، "كارلوس مويا" از اسپانيا با نتيجه ۳بر صفر "يوناس بوركمن" از سوئد را شكست داد، "نواك دكوويچ" از صربستان با همين نتيجه بر "فرناندو ورداسكو" از اسپانيا به پيروزي رسيد و " ايگور آندروف" روس در سه ست پياپي بر "ماركوس باگداتيس" از قبرس غلبه كرد.

برنامه ديدارهاي دهمين روز اين مسابقه*ها به شرح زير است :
.................................................. ......

سه*شنبه ۸۶/۰۳/۱۵

* بخش مردان
روژه فدرر از سوييس با تامي روبردو از اسپانيا
نيكولا داويدنكو از روسيه با گيلرمو كاناس از آرژانتين

* بخش زنان
آنا ايوانويچ از صربستان با استالانا كوزنتسوا از روسيه
ژوستين هنين از بلژيك با سره*نا ويليامز از آمريكا
يلنا يانكوويچ از صربستان با نيكول واديسوا از جمهوري چك
آنا چاكوتادزه از روسيه با ماريا شاراپووا از روسيه

[abadani69]

Serbia has limited tennis infrastructure and little state support for the sport. It also has three singles players left in the French Open.

Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic advanced to the French Open semifinals for the first time with victories Tuesday, and Novak Djokovic will join them if he beats No. 125th-ranked Igor Andreev in the men's quarterfinals Wednesday.

Last week, Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia beat former No. 1 Marat Safin to make the third round.

"Wherever you go, it's just Serbians all over the place, winning all these matches," the fourth-seeded Jankovic said after beating Nicole Vaidisova 6-3, 7-5. "It's just incredible."

Ivanovic, who beat 2006 runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-0, 3-6, 6-1, said she drew inspiration from her fellow Serbs.

"We can all use others' successes as motivation," Ivanovic said. "People back home are very proud of us, and that makes us feel very good."

Jankovic play No. 1 Justine Henin on Thursday, while Ivanovic plays No. 2 Maria Sharapova.

The Serbs have been approached to play for other countries -- Djokovic for Britain, Ivanovic for Switzerland, and Jankovic for the United States. All declined, despite obstacles facing budding tennis talent in Serbia.

The war-wracked nation of 8 million touts a modest tennis tradition aside from nine-time Grand Slam champion Monica Seles, who was born in Novi Sad but is an ethnic Hungarian and an American citizen.

"All that we have in tennis here came from mud, from nothing," Tipsarevic said.

Djokovic, Jankovic and Ivanovic say their parents were their main financial backers -- and they've spent time elsewhere. Djokovic was in Munich, Germany, for two years before returning to Belgrade, while Jankovic is based in Bradenton, Fla., and Ivanovic lives in Basel, Switzerland.

DOUBLE SURPRISE: The teams that met in the past two French Open men's doubles finals both lost Tuesday.

The top-seeded pair of American twins Bob and Mike Bryan -- the champions at Roland Garros in 2003 and the runners-up in 2005 and 2006 -- were upset in the quarterfinals by Lukas Dlouhy and Pavel Vizner of the Czech Republic 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Two-time defending champions Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden and Max Mirnyi of Belarus were knocked off by Mahesh Bhupathi of India and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (6). Bjorkman and Mirnyi were seeded second this year.

Also advancing to the semifinals with victories Tuesday were Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and Daniel Nestor of Canada, along with Fabrice Santoro of France and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia.

WORK HARD, PLAY HARDER: Maria Sharapova works hard for her rewards -- and enjoys them.

"I wake up and I practice, and it's about four or five, six hours of the day where I commit myself to my career and what I'm doing," Sharapova said Tuesday after beating Anna Chakvetadze 6-3, 6-4 to reach the French Open semifinals.

"When I'm done with that, I'm able to enjoy the place where I live -- my house, and my car, and probably those things I wouldn't be able to have without tennis," Sharapova said.

The 20-year-old Sharapova, who was born in Siberia and began training in Bradenton, Fla., at age 9, said she grew up in a secluded environment.

"I didn't know what the other life could have been like," Sharapova said. "I went to a private school for two years, but other than that, I've always been home-schooled most of my life."

Only a few people really knew Sharapova when she was growing up, she said.

"I've never really been that social," Sharapova said. "I've never had to go to class every single day. So I don't really don't know what that life is all about."

LOSING RUN: Nikolay Davydenko has lost to top-ranked Federer on clay, hard courts and carpet, at the U.S. Open, the Australian Open and even the 2004 Olympics.

Federer has won all eight of their matches. Davydenko will try again Friday in the semifinals of the French Open.

"I need to ask Coach what I need to do now in semifinal against Federer," Davydenko said. "He has different level."

Seeded sixth, Davydenko advanced Tuesday by beating No. 19 Guillermo Canas 7-5, 6-4, 6-4.

Federer won in straight sets when they met in the semifinals of the U.S. Open last year. Davydenko has won only one set in their past five matches.

Still, he thinks he may have figured out the formula to beat Federer.

"Hit ball, make winners," Davydenko said. "Easy."

[abadani69]

Roger Federer found himself in an unfamiliar position at the French Open: tied with an opponent at one set apiece.

That Federer lost the second set of his quarterfinal against No. 9-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain on Tuesday qualified as a "Stop the presses!" moment -- not only because Federer won his previous 36 Grand Slam sets to break an Open era record, but also because of the margin.

"I don't lose sets 6-1 that often, you know," Federer said, "so you're like, 'Oh, come on."'

Robredo looked at his mini-victory this way: "It was as if I had said, 'Hello! Wake up!"

That was certainly the effect the one-set slip-up had on Federer, who quickly returned to his customary level of play for a 7-5, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory, reaching the semifinals at a record 12th major tournament in a row.

"In the second set, for some reason, I just couldn't really figure out how to play him or the way I want to play him," Federer said. "I didn't figure it out."

He started the third set poorly, too, missing a forehand wildly to fall behind 15-40 while serving the opening game. But Robredo then pushed a backhand into the net, and Federer was on his way, taking 17 of 19 points.

Federer wound up with a 26-5 edge in winners over the final two sets.

"He just started playing so good," said Robredo, who won his first career match against Federer back in 2002 but has lost the eight meetings since.

Now Federer takes on someone else he's dominated: No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko, who reached his second French Open semifinal by beating No. 19 Guillermo Canas of Argentina 7-5, 6-4, 6-4.

While Canas defeated Federer twice this season, Davydenko is 0-8 over his career against the Swiss star heading into Friday's semifinals.

"If Canas beat me today, Federer (would) have more trouble," Davydenko said. "Against me ... he has more confidence."

While Davydenko never has been to a Grand Slam final, Federer has a chance to play in his eighth in a row, something no man has done. And Federer, who already owns 10 major titles, is trying to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win four consecutive Grand Slam tournaments.

The other men's quarterfinals are Wednesday, when two-time defending champion Rafael Nadal plays 1998 champion Carlos Moya, and No. 6-seeded Novak Djokovic faces 125th-ranked Igor Andreev.

In his previous match, Federer tied two Open era records, with his 11th straight-set Grand Slam victory in a row and by running his consecutive-sets streak to 35. Both marks were established by John McEnroe at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 1984.

Until the second set Tuesday, Federer had not dropped a set at a major tournament since the second set of last year's U.S. Open final against Andy Roddick. Federer took the next two sets to claim that title, then won all seven of his matches at this year's Australian Open and his first four matches at the French Open in three sets.

But after taking the opener against Robredo, Federer had quite a lapse.

Missing all sorts of shots, some off his frame, Federer got broken at love to fall behind 2-0, and broken again to make it 5-1.

"Not looking for excuses, but you know, it was windy. And I didn't play well in that set, that's for sure," Federer said. "But he played solid. Didn't miss much. Used his forehand very well."

Federer also acknowledged a strategic error, saying he was "hitting too flat instead of looping the ball a bit more and using the wind."

Still, he made Robredo earn it, saving four set points before the Spaniard closed it.

"I turned it around," Federer said, "and then it didn't really matter."

[abadani69]

Befuddled all match, Serena Williams reacted to one flubbed backhand by spiking her racket to the court, drawing full-throated boos from spectators.

It was as spirited as Williams -- or the crowd -- got during her lopsided French Open quarterfinal loss to No. 1 Justine Henin, the one moment Tuesday when the last U.S. singles player in the tournament truly appeared to want to turn things around.

Too many mistakes and too little fight followed from Williams, though, and Henin beat her 6-4, 6-3 to close in on a third straight title at Roland Garros. This meeting bore no resemblance to their infamous 2003 French Open semifinal, a three-set tussle that featured far more drama, acrimony and, well, competitive tennis.

"All she had to do was show up," said Williams, who won the Australian Open in January for her eighth major championship. "I thought that she did well, but I've played against her when she's played even better."

Told of those comments, Henin took the high road.

"Well, it's her opinion," the Belgian said. "I thought I did a good job. I see it from my point of view, and I did everything I could to control the match."

She certainly did, and in the process extended her record streak to 31 consecutive sets won at the French Open.

A set was lost by -- gasp! -- Roger Federer against No. 9 Tommy Robredo of Spain. But Federer quickly righted himself to win 7-5, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 and reach the semifinals at a record 12th major tournament in a row. The first set Tuesday was the 36th in a row won by Federer in Grand Slam action, eclipsing the Open era mark John McEnroe set in 1984.

"If I can break some records, that's fantastic," said Federer, trying to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win four straight Slam titles. "But I would say that I want to stay focused on each match, each set, each point, each game."

His opponent Friday will be No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, who reached the semifinals by beating No. 19 Guillermo Canas of Argentina 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 despite making 64 unforced errors to Canas' 15.

In the women's semifinals Thursday, Henin will face No. 4 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, who defeated No. 6 Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5. The other women's semifinal pits No. 2 Maria Sharapova against No. 7 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia.

Henin is trying to win her sixth Grand Slam and fourth French Open title; the other women never have been to the final four at the clay-court major.

"I didn't come off the court and go, 'Wow, I'm in the semifinals.' That wasn't really the feeling that I had," said Sharapova, who needed rest and a cortisone shot for her injured right shoulder before coming to Paris. "In any tournament that I play -- whether it's on clay or mud or whatever it is -- I know what I'm capable of."

She beat No. 9 Anna Chakvetadze of Russia 6-3, 6-4, while Ivanovic got past No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova, last year's runner-up, 6-0, 3-6, 6-1.

Ivanovic dumped a backhand into the net on the very first point, then won 25 of the next 32 points, prompting this postmatch analysis: "I would say I was pretty good."

Kuznetsova, who won the 2004 U.S. Open, made things more interesting until aggravating an abdominal muscle injury while serving in the second set's final game. Ivanovic took 15 of the last 16 points.

"Everything was happening really fast," Ivanovic said, "and I didn't have time to think much."

Williams didn't seem to think Henin's play had much to do with the way things went in their match, played on the same court four years to the day after their last French Open showdown. Back in 2003, Williams was No. 1 and owner of a 33-match Grand Slam winning streak. Nowadays, it's Henin who tops the rankings and owns Roland Garros.

That other match featured a flap over whether Henin tried to call time, and Williams also fired up the crowd by arguing line calls. Williams lost, was jeered off the court, then teared up while talking about the rough experience.

Once again, there was more support in the stands for the French-speaking Henin, and several black-yellow-and-red Belgian flags flapped in the wind. But the only time the fans really gave Williams a hard time was when she treated her racket like a football.

Her outburst came when she executed a sliced backhand so badly the ball bounced before it got to the net, allowing Henin to break in the second set's opening game. Williams then won 10 of the next 12 points to go up 2-1.

But serving at 2-2, 40-15, Williams fell apart, making errors on five of the next six points to get broken again.

"I never play like that," she said. "Sometimes you've got to just step back and say, 'OK, try this, try that, or try Plan B.' But I think my Plan B was to make errors."

It didn't help that Henin determined the tempo of rallies, switching speeds and angles at will, something Williams referred to as "her little tactics."

Henin used those tactics to wrap things up in a hurry, taking eight of the final nine points.

"She didn't look very aggressive," Henin said. "So I just understood, if I was mentally and emotionally under control today, I was going to win this match."

[donsaeid]

از فردا

هفتمين دوره ليگ برتر تنيس برگزار مي*شود


هفتمين دوره ليگ برتر تنيس ايران تحت عنوان جام خليج فارس با حضور هشت تيم از صبح فردا آغاز مي شود.


در اين دوره از مسابقات يك تيم بيشتر نسبت به سال گذشته حضور خواهد داشت و در هر بازي تيمي به جاي سه بازي پنج بازي برگزار مي شود.

بر اساس قرعه كشي انجام شده تيم هاي گاز خوزستان و مزرعه گل خادم در ورزشگاه شهيد كشوري ديدار افتتاحيه را انجام مي دهند.

روز جمعه در ادامه هفته اول تيم هيئت تنيس كرمانشاه به مصاف البرز گاز كيش مي رود كه اين بازي در كرمانشاه صورت مي گيرد.

در آخرين بازي اين هفته نيز شهيد پازوكي در ورزشگاه خود ميزبان تيم نيك ورزش مشهد خواهد بود.
ديدار دو تيم دانشگاه آزاد اسلامي و سيمين سپاهان اصفهان نيز با تعويق انجام خواهد شد.

از ديگر نكات جالب توجه اين ليگ، اجباري بودن دو بازي انفرادي و دوبل براي نفرات زير 20 سال هر تيم و افزايش آن از سه به پنج بازي است.

هما، قهرمان فصل گذشته و مس كرمان از غايبان اين دوره از مسابقات هستند كه به دليل تغيير مديريت حضور ندارند.
*انقلاب ميزبان تنيس جايزه بزرگ

مسابقات تنيس جايزه بزرگ گراميداشت بنيانگذار جمهوري اسلامي ايران از شنبه آينده با حضور برترين هاي اين رشته برگزار مي شود.

در همين راستا روز جمعه ثبت نام تيم ها براي شركت در اين رقابت ها صورت گرفته و از روز شنبه آينده رقابت تيم ها در جدول مقدماتي و اصلي آغاز مي شود.

اين ديدارها در مجموعه ورزشي انقلاب برگزار مي شود و در پايان به برترين ها جوايزي اهدا مي شود.

[abadani69]

Carlos Moya was glad to rediscover his game at the French Open.

Where had it been?

"Well," he said Wednesday, "it disappeared for a couple of years."

The former French Open champion was once ranked No. 1, but until he made a run at Roland Garros this year he hadn't been to the quarterfinals at a major since 2004.

Trying to become the oldest French Open men's semifinalist since Jimmy Connors in 1985, the 30-year-old Moya lost to Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

"He played a very good tournament," Nadal said. "I'm very happy for him, because he's coming back ... to his best level, no?"

In addition to his 1998 French Open title, Moya reached the final at the 1997 Australian Open and the semifinals at the 1998 U.S. Open.

But his ranking slid from No. 5 at the end of 2004 to No. 43 at the end of last year.

"I always believed that I had a lot of tennis inside of me that didn't come out yet," Moya said. "And now it looks like finally this tennis is coming out."

DOUBLE TROUBLE:@ Defending French Open women's doubles champions Lisa Raymond of the United States and Samantha Stosur of Australia were upset in the semifinals Wednesday.

The top-seeded Raymond and Stosur lost to No. 7 Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia and Ai Sugiyama of Japan 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.

There was a surprise in the other semifinal, too, when No. 17 Alicia Molik of Australia and Mara Santangelo of Italy beat No. 2 Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Liezel Huber of South Africa 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Srebotnik and Sugiyama will play Molik and Santangelo for the title Friday.

ANDREEV'S PROGRESS: Igor Andreev reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time at the French Open, and he anticipates he'll repeat the achievement.

"A good experience," he said. "I think for the future, it's not going to be my last quarterfinal."

Andreev lost Wednesday to Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. The Russian beat No. 3-seeded Andy Roddick in the opening round and No. 16 Marcos Baghdatis in the fourth round, and he said the clay-court grind took a toll.

"I won a few very good matches with great players," Andreev said. "It's both mental and physical. When you are a little nervous, these two things make you feel much, much tired."

At No. 125, Andreev was bidding to become the lowest-ranked French Open semifinalist since 1992, when Henri Leconte was No. 200. Andreev climbed to 24th in the rankings a year ago before a knee injury sidelined him for more than six months, and now he's on the rise again.

"Matches like this give you much more experience, and you're just getting stronger for the future," he said.

[abadani69]

Speaking about the sport she plays so well, Justine Henin coined an aphorism as elegant as her beautiful backhand.

"With tennis," she said, "it's a kind of permanent failure."

Weekend hackers can appreciate the humble sentiment, especially coming from someone ranked No. 1 and closing in on a third consecutive French Open title. Henin knows what it's like to lose, even though she seldom does.

The slender Belgian takes an Open era record winning streak of 31 consecutive sets at Roland Garros into Thursday's semifinal against Jelena Jankovic. The risk of failure in such circumstances seems to bring out the best in Henin.

"I like when there is pressure, and I like this kind of situation," she said. "I think it's more interesting, more exciting, and that's why I play tennis."

Henin seeks her fourth French Open title, and is bidding to become the first woman to win three times in a row since Monica Seles in 1990-92.

Henin missed this year's Australian Open because she was separating from her husband, but she has reached the final in her past four major events. Another Grand Slam title would be her sixth, moving her ahead of Venus Williams and Martina Hingis.

Such achievements aren't what make Henin's job appealing to her.

"I love playing tennis because of the emotions that it gives me on the court," Henin said. "I don't want to be part of the history. I just want to do it because I love it so much, and because I love to fight, and I love to win. I'm a real competitor. And I just want to push my limits.

"I don't pay attention to records. I mean, this is not my objective. When I pack up my shoes, basically, records won't make me happy."

Those shoes are now caked with clay collected during five rounds of fine work in Henin's favorite tournament.

She arrived in Paris with uncertain prospects. She curtailed her schedule early this year, and a loss to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Berlin semifinals four weeks ago was her final match before the French.

Henin negotiated a difficult draw in the early rounds, with every opponent ranked 72nd or higher, and beat eight-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams on Tuesday.

"Justine had a hard week last week, lots of doubts," said Carlos Rodriguez, Henin's coach. "It was the first Grand Slam following a big change in her life. Her preparation was also a big question.

"But now she's here, to play against champs, because that's what a Grand Slam is all about."

Jankovic is touted as a champion in the making. Also a semifinalist at the U.S. Open last year, the 22-year-old has climbed to fifth in the rankings and is one of several Serbs to make a big splash at Roland Garros.

Another, 19-year-old Ana Ivanovic, plays Maria Sharapova in the other women's semifinal. Serb Novak Djokovic reached the men's semifinals with a victory Wednesday.

"Serbian power or something," Jankovic said with a laugh. "Wherever you go, you see just Serbians."

And one Siberian: the No. 2-seeded Sharapova, whose best showing yet at Roland Garros represents a breakthrough on clay, her least-favorite surface. Only last week she complained clay made her feel like "a cow on ice."

But Sharapova found her footing and is not surprised to be in the final four.

"I'm more proud and excited about it," she said.

She'll have an edge in big-match experience against Ivanovic, a first-time Grand Slam semifinalist who has climbed from 14th to seventh in the rankings since the start of the year.

"I'm really excited to get so far," Ivanovic said, "and the tournament is still not over."

The biggest threat to Henin's reign may be Jankovic, who's 23-3 on clay this year. But two of her losses came against Henin.

The Belgian has won all five of their matches, although she was pushed to three sets every time, most recently in the Berlin quarterfinals. Henin won that match by taking the final set 6-4.

"I was falling off in the third set, so I was very close to losing that match," Henin said. "She improved so much. She's a great player. She can play very well on the clay.

"I don't know why I won all my matches in three sets. It has been a long fight every time. Is it going to be different on Thursday? No answer. We'll see."

[abadani69]

Friend or foe, mentor or up-and-comer, Rafael Nadal treats everyone on the other side of the net at the French Open with the same amount of courtesy.

He beats them, soundly and quickly.

Carlos Moya, Nadal's pal and the 1998 champion at Roland Garros, was the 19th opponent for the kid with the clamdiggers at the clay-court Grand Slam -- and the 19th to lose. Nadal overwhelmed Moya 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 Wednesday in the quarterfinals to close in on a third consecutive French Open title.

Was that any way to treat a guy who took Nadal under his wing because both are from the island of Mallorca? A guy Nadal practices tennis with, plays video games with, hangs out with?

"Not very nice?" Nadal said, repeating the question. "No. Yes. No. ... I was just trying my best."

His best is as good as it gets on clay, and he's yet to drop a set in the tournament. Nadal won 16 of the 24 points that lasted at least 10 strokes against Moya and dominated down the stretch, taking the last eight games.

"It's a little bit painful when you lose a set 6-0," the 23rd-seeded Moya said. "It felt very uncomfortable, and I couldn't do much about it."

Nadal improved to 32-0 in best-of-five-set matches on clay. Next up is No. 6 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, who eliminated Igor Andreev of Russia 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 to get to his first Grand Slam semifinal.

Djokovic knows what to expect Friday: He quit with a back injury after losing the first two sets against Nadal in last year's French Open quarterfinals.

"He's the best player in the world on this surface," Djokovic said. "He plays with a lot of motivation and confidence. Physically he's very ready."

Moya's no slouch, either. He led all active players with 15 titles on red clay -- until Nadal won two this year to get to 16. Moya also reached the 1997 Australian Open final and the 1998 U.S. Open semifinals and was briefly ranked No. 1 in 1999, the first Spaniard to claim the top spot.

Some think Nadal, who turned 21 on Sunday, could get there, too, one day, although there's a certain someone standing in the way at the moment: Roger Federer, who'll play No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia in the semifinals.

The No. 1-ranked Federer has won 10 of the last 15 majors and is bidding to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to claim four consecutive Grand Slam titles. The French Open is the only major Federer hasn't won; he lost to Nadal in the final last year and the semifinals in 2005.

"Four play in the semifinals and four have chances for the title, no? I don't think about Roger," said Nadal, whose record 81-match winning streak on clay was ended by Federer at last month's Hamburg Masters. "I know Roger is the best in the world, and Roger beat me last time, so in my opinion, he's the favorite for the tournament."

In the women's semifinals Thursday, top-seeded Justine Henin plays No. 4 Jelena Jankovic, and No. 2 Maria Sharapova faces No. 7 Ana Ivanovic. Jankovic, Ivanovic and Djokovic give Serbia three semifinalists at a major for the first time.

"Phenomenal for such a small country," the 20-year-old Djokovic said. "Especially with no tennis tradition."

He and Andreev were tied at 3-3 when Djokovic began to assert himself, reeling off five consecutive games to go up by a set and a break. He broke again in the final game of the second set and was on his way.

"I was aggressive from the start," Djokovic said, "and that was the key."

Djokovic's all-around game led to 52 forced errors by Andreev, who is ranked 125th and knocked off No. 3 Andy Roddick in the first round.

Suffice it to say, Djokovic made an impression.

"He has no bad shots. He does everything very well," Andreev said. "Defending very well, serving very well. Mentally, he is so strong for a young age."

The same could be said of Nadal, who marveled Wednesday about just how long he's already been on the pro circuit.

"Five years? Unbelievable. Very old," he said with a smile. "On the tour, very old. But the age is not."

Moya is 30, but it's not as though the disparity played much of a role. Instead, it was, as usual, Nadal's ability to track down ball after ball, and his high-bouncing, full-of-spin forehand, a shot two-time major champion Lleyton Hewitt called "quite amazing" after losing to the Spaniard in the fourth round.

Nadal also hurt Moya by repeatedly going after his backhand, particularly with serves. That's part of the reason Nadal faced only four break points, saving three.

They met back when Nadal was 12, and even Moya has been wowed by the progress his buddy's made.

"I knew that he was going to have a good career," Moya said, "but nobody expected him to be as good as he is right now."

[abadani69]

Defending champion Rafael Nadal pummelled fellow-Spaniard Carlos Moya into submission at the French Open on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals with a crushing 6-4 6-3 6-0 victory.

Good friends they may be off the court, but a rampant Nadal showed no mercy to a player nine years his senior, burying the 1998 champion under an avalanche of topspin.

The 21-year-old has not lost a set during these championships and is on course to emulate Bjorn Borg's three consecutive French Open titles in 1980.

Twenty-third seed Moya, the oldest player of the eight quarter-finalists, cut a forlorn figure long before yet another brutal Nadal forehand ended the contest on his second match point just past the two-hour mark.

"The match was better for me than it was for him, that's for sure," said Nadal who faces Serbian dangerman Novak Djokovic in Friday's semi-final. "I'm very happy because I'm playing better here than last year."

For Moya, who once presented a 12-year-old Nadal with trophy at a junior tournament, it was a chastening experience.

"I didn't play my best tennis today. I could not play my game at all," Moya told reporters. "He was playing very deep, very high. It bounces with such spin that it's difficult to attack him."

"I don't see too many players who can take a set off him. Of course Federer is one and Djokovic. I don't know if (Djokovic) can beat him but he has a chance."

FOUGHT GALLANTLY

Moya fought gallantly early on to stay in touch, mixing up his game with some clever angles in a bid to negate Nadal's forehand. Nadal struck first, however, a dipping drive forcing Moya to fumble a volley into the net.

It was all square quickly as Moya hit back to break the Nadal serve after seizing on a poor drop shot.

At that stage the Centre Court crowd's wish for a real battle between the two Spaniards seemed a possibility but Moya surrendered his serve tamely in the next game and Nadal made no mistakes to close out the first set.

Moya's last real chance came at 1-0 in the second set when he earned two break points. On both occasions his brittle backhand was found wanting as Nadal kicked serves out wide.

A double fault gifted Nadal a break in the next and although Moya held serve to trail 4-3 in the second set, Nadal changed up a gear to roar through the last eight games.

[abadani69]

Maria Sharapova's serve was shaky and her strokes were off. Her customary grit was nowhere to be found.

Time and again, she'd shank an easy shot, turn her back to the court and fiddle with her racket strings, searching for an answer. She never found one.

Playing little like a two-time major champion, Sharapova failed to put up much resistance Thursday at the French Open and lost 6-2, 6-1 to Ana Ivanovic, who was as steady as anyone making her Grand Slam semifinal debut could be.

"Once you start off slow -- and I started off slow in the beginning of the first set and the second set -- the train's already in London," the No. 2-seeded Sharapova said. "I mean, it's gone."

The 19-year-old Ivanovic will be the first player to represent Serbia in a major final when she faces two-time defending champion Justine Henin on Saturday. Henin ran her consecutive-set streak at Roland Garros to 33 by beating No. 4 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-2, 6-2.

Henin is aiming for her sixth Grand Slam title and trying to become the first player since Monica Seles in 1990-92 to claim three straight French Open championships.

"I just hope," the Belgian said, "I can keep going."

Ivanovic had made it only as far as the quarterfinals at one Grand Slam tournament before arriving in Paris, and she's won only three career titles on tour.

"Coming in here," she said, "I didn't expect any of this."

After dispatching Sharapova, Ivanovic spoke about her days in Belgrade when she honed her tennis skills during winter by practicing on the floor of a drained indoor swimming pool.

"And it was impossible to play cross-court because (the sideline) was this far from the wall," she said, holding her hands about 18 inches apart. "So we had to keep playing down the lines."

The No. 7-seeded Ivanovic felt no such limitations against Sharapova, yanking her this way and that on the red clay with a varied display of baseline defense and shotmaking.

Sharapova didn't conjure a forehand winner until match's 32nd point and finished with a total of only nine clean winners. Compare that with her unforced error total: 25, a whopping 14 more than Ivanovic.

Earlier in the tournament, Sharapova complained that playing on clay made her feel like "a cow on ice" -- and Ivanovic noticed.

"I knew she was not a great mover on the clay," said Ivanovic, who won six of the eight points that lasted 10 or more strokes, "so I tried to play more deep balls and put her under pressure and move her little bit more."

The stands were less than half full when play began at 2:11 p.m., with plenty of spectators still enjoying a meal before settling into their seats. Not too many people saw Ivanovic take all of 11 minutes to grab the first three games.

"I would have loved to be having lunch then, too," Sharapova said with a chuckle. "I don't blame them. I'd rather be having a chocolate croissant than being down 3-0."

It was reminiscent of her last Grand Slam exit, a 6-1, 6-2 drubbing against Serena Williams in the Australian Open final in January. Not quite the big-match credentials the Russian displayed when winning Wimbledon at 17 in 2004 and the U.S. Open last year.

And as new as Ivanovic was to the setting, it was Sharapova who looked bewildered, double-faulting five times, although she didn't blame her balky right shoulder for her problems.

"I didn't feel like I quite had the rhythm today," Sharapova said.

She repeatedly made mistakes when a short ball or high bounce presented the opportunity for a putaway. By the end, her father and coach, Yuri, was running his fingers through his gray hair or covering his face with his hand.

Sitting nearby in the guest section and rooting for Ivanovic was Novak Djokovic, a 20-year-old Serb who plays in the men's semifinals Friday against two-time defending champion Rafael Nadal. No. 1 Roger Federer, trying to complete a career Grand Slam, meets No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko in the other semifinal.

Ivanovic said she didn't notice Djokovic's show of support.

"I was really focused on my match," she said. "But that's very nice of him. And tomorrow, I'm going to try to see some of his match. He's a great player -- and great friend of mine."

And Jankovic is rooting for Ivanovic.

"I wish her the best of luck," Jankovic said. "Hopefully she can beat the best out there, which is Justine."

Unlike Sharapova, Henin had no problems at the start Thursday, holding at love in the first game and winning seven of the first eight points that lasted at least 10 strokes. Henin compiled a 25-11 edge in winners and 12-2 edge in break points.

In sum, this wasn't nearly as close as Henin's previous five matches with Jankovic, which all went three sets. Henin, however, continued one pattern: She's 6-0 against Jankovic.

"I love to win here. It's my favorite event," said Henin, whose first Grand Slam title came at the 2003 French Open. "It was a dream for me to win it one time, and then I did it three times. And I have another opportunity."

[abadani69]

French Open finalist Ana Ivanovic likes to play on all surfaces -- clay, grass, hard court, even swimming pool.

Growing up in wartorn Serbia, Ivanovic would hone her game in the wintertime at a club with an Olympic pool.

"It was very expensive to keep it warm during the winter, and there was not many people using it," she said. "So they emptied the swimming pool, and they put carpet inside, and they placed two tennis courts, and that's where I grew up practicing."

The walls were only 18 inches from the sidelines, making crosscourt shots risky to pursue. But Ivanovic escaped serious injury and grooved her game, even though her native Belgrade was hardly a tennis hotbed in the 1990s.

"There is no facilities, and it's very hard for us to practice," said the 19-year-old Ivanovic, the first player to represent Serbia in a major final. "But tennis is becoming much more popular sport now."

Ivanovic advanced Thursday to her first major final by beating Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-1. Her opponent Saturday will be three-time champion Justine Henin, who beat Serb Jelena Jankovic 6-2, 6-2.

Another Belgrade native, Novak Djokovic, plays two-time defending champion Rafael Nadal in the men's semifinals Friday.

Three semifinalists in a Grand Slam is a first for Serbia.

"This never happened before," Ivanovic said, "so I'm very lucky to be one of them."

DECHY'S DELIGHT: France's Nathalie Dechy and Israel's Andy Ram made quite a debut as a team, upsetting defending champions Katarina Srebotnik and Nenad Zimonjic 7-5, 6-3 to win the French Open mixed doubles final Thursday.

Ram approached Dechy about pairing up for the tournament because his regular partner, Vera Zvonareva, is hurt.

Dechy agreed on one condition: that they also play Wimbledon together. Ram said that would be OK -- if they did well at Roland Garros.

So now?

"We're going to play Wimbledon in two weeks' time," Dechy announced after their victory.

The partnership might not last long, however.

"Zvonareva has priority," Dechy said. "I think that she will take over from me once her injury has healed."

Zimonjic was the third Serb to play on center court Thursday. Ana Ivanovic won her women's singles semifinal, but Jelena Jankovic lost hers.

FAIR-PLAY FEDERER: Add another award to Roger Federer's collection.

The 10-time Grand Slam singles champion was given the "Prix Orange" at the French Open on Thursday, honored for exhibiting fair play and being a good sport.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia, a 20-year-old who plays Rafael Nadal in the semifinals Friday, won the "Prix Bourgeon" as the "revelation of the year," while Paul-Henri Mathieu of France was given the "Prix Citron" as "the personality that stands out ... the player with the most zest."

[abadani69]

Andy Murray withdrew from the Queen's Club grass-court tournament with a wrist injury and is questionable for Wimbledon.

The 11th-ranked Murray, Britain's top player, pulled out of the French Open after injuring his right wrist in a first-round match at the Hamburg tournament on May 15.

Despite withdrawing from next week's Wimbledon warmup, he hopes to play some grass-court exhibition matches before the Grand Slam begins on June 25.

"My wrist is getting better every day, but it's just too soon to play," Murray said on his Web site. "I've been hitting balls softly and doing strengthening exercises for it, also been getting treatment every day and working out in the gym, so hopefully it will continue to improve."

[abadani69]

Even Roger Federer can use some luck at a Grand Slam, and he caught a break thanks to his next opponent in the chase for that elusive French Open title.

Guillermo Canas loomed as a formidable challenge for the top-ranked Federer in the semifinals Friday. But Canas lost in the quarterfinals to Nikolay Davydenko, a much better matchup for Federer.

"Against me," Davydenko said, "he never lose."

The Russian's English may be broken, but his math is perfect: Federer has won all eight of their matches.

Federer's 1-3 against Canas, including losses in both meetings this year.

"If Canas beat me, Federer has more trouble, because he lose already two times," Davydenko said. "Against me ... he has more confidence."

Canas ended Federer's 41-match winning streak in March at Indian Wells, Calif., then won again when they played at Key Biscayne, Fla. Those upsets came on hard courts, even though Canas' best surface is the clay that makes the French Open such a test of will.

So Federer was pleased to postpone a rematch.

"Now I will focus on Davydenko, not on Canas," he said. "That's perfect."

Almost perfect. Two-time defending champion Rafael Nadal still presents a likely obstacle in the final Sunday.

Federer earlier avoided facing Filippo Volandri, who won when they played on clay in Rome last month. Volandri lost Sunday to Tommy Robredo, who was then beaten by Federer in the next round.

Maybe things are finally falling Federer's way at Roland Garros. This year, for the third time, he's trying to become the sixth man to win all four Grand Slam events.

And maybe he'll catch another break from Novak Djokovic, who faces Nadal in the semifinals.

"Nadal's a big favorite, whoever he plays against on this surface," Djokovic said. "But I hope it's going to be a good match."

Federer vs. Nadal would be the match of the year because of the stakes. Federer seeks his 11th major title, which would tie Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver for third on the all-time list.

More significantly, he can complete the career Slam that eluded such Grand Slam champions as John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg -- none of whom won at Roland Garros.

"If he wins the French Open, he'll be the greatest player of all time," McEnroe said.

Federer is appearing in his 12th consecutive Grand Slam semifinal, a record. He seeks to reach his eighth consecutive major final, which would break the record he shares with Jack Crawford (1933-34).

He has won 26 consecutive Grand Slam matches, three shy of the record Laver set in 1969-70. Federer's last loss: to Nadal in the French Open final last year.

Nadal is 19-0 at Roland Garros, 32-0 in best-of-five-set matches on clay and bidding to become the first man to win three consecutive French titles since Borg in 1978-81. Nadal won a record 81 consecutive clay-court matches before losing to Federer in the Hamburg Masters final last month.

The rematch could come Sunday.

"I don't think about Roger, and I don't think about if I have chances against Roger (in) the final," Nadal said. "I know Roger is the best in the world, and Roger beat me last time, so in my opinion, he's the favorite for the tournament. But right now we are four in the draw."

A Djokovic-Davydenko final is unlikely, but both ride considerable momentum into the semis.

Djokovic is part of the Serb surge in Paris that also includes women's finalist Ana Ivanovic and semifinalist Jelena Jankovic. At 20 he's the newest star in men's tennis, touted as a future Grand Slam champion because of his athleticism and all-around game.

"He has great confidence," Nadal said. "I see him as a winner because he wins many matches in difficult situations. And his potential is huge. He has a great serve, which is a great advantage, and he is young, which is also a great asset. He is a potential future No. 1."

Djokovic beat Nadal in the Key Biscayne final two months ago, but the slender Serb may lack the strength and stamina to stay with the muscular Spaniard in a grinding clay-court match.

"He plays much better on the clay," Djokovic said. "So it's not the same match, it's not the same player. On clay you have to do more and try more to earn the point, because the balls he doesn't get on the hard court, he gets here.

"So it's going to be difficult."

Like Djokovic, the 26-year-old Davydenko seeks his first berth in a major final.

"He has really improved over the years," Federer said. "He has gotten much more consistent from the baseline. His serve has improved a lot. He has always been a great runner from the baseline. He's very tough to play against -- very physical matches with him, and I enjoy playing against him."

For Federer, it might be a lot more enjoyable than facing Canas.

[donsaeid]

پيش*بيني*ها به حقيقت پيوست

يك فينال رويايي با شركت فدرر و نادال

ديدار نهايي آزاد فرانسه با حضور راجر فدرر و رافائل نادال برگزار مي*شود.



به نقل از يورواسپورت، سرانجام جايزه بزرگ پاريس هم فيناليست*هاي خود را شناخت و همانطور شد كه بيشتر كارشناسان يك ماه قبل از آغاز آن، پيش بيني كرده بودند.

راجر فدرر سوئيسي و رافائل نادال اسپانيايي به ترتيب با غلبه بر حريفان بزرگي چون داويدنكو و دايكوويچ، به ديدار نهايي اوپن فرانسه راه پيدا كردند.

فدرر كه به تازگي جايزه بهترين ورزشكار جهان را نيز تصاحب كرده، خيلي دوست دارد براي اولين بار، در رقابت هاي پاريس قهرمان 3 دوره مسابقات را شكست بدهد.

از سوي ديگر، نادال كه پس از 86 پيروزي پشت سر هم و 4 بار پيروزي مقابل فدرر، بابت شكست در فينال هامبورگ مقابل اين سوئيسي، به شدت ناراحت است، براي قهرماني كوهي از انگيزه به نظر مي*آيد.
فدرر كه به سختي از سد داويدنكو گذشته، براي بازي امروز به شدت خسته است.

[abadani69]

"روژه فدرر" سوييسي و " رافائل نادال" اسپانيايي، عصر فردا يكشنبه در فينال پيكارهاي تنيس آزاد فرانسه (رولند گاروس) به مصاف هم مي*روند.

به گزارش خبرگزاري فرانسه، فدرر و نادال در حالي دوازدهمين ديدار خود را برابر يكديگر برگزار خواهند كرد كه جمعه*شب درمرحله نيمه پاياني اين مسابقه*ها با پيروزي برابر "نيكولا داويدنكو" روس و "نواك دكوويچ" صربستاني به ديدار پاياني صعود كردند.

بر اساس آمار، فدرر و نادال تاكنون ۱۱بار برابر هم قرار گرفته*اند كه نادال (مدافع عنوان قهرماني اين رقابت*ها)، ۷بار برابر برترين مرد تنيس جهان به برتري دست يافته است.

نادال كه تبحر خاصي در بازي در زمين*هاي خاكي دارد در صدد كسب سومين عنوان پياپي قهرماني مسابقه*هاي تنيس آزاد فرانسه است.

اما فدرر كه تنها، جام قهرماني رولند گاروس را در ويترين افتخارات خود ندارد ماه گذشته براي نخستين بار در پيكارهاي تنيس هامبورگ برابر نادال در زمين خاكي به برتري رسيد تا اميدوار به كسب عنوان قهرماني باشد.

تاريخچه ديدارهاي اين دو تنيس باز به شرح زير است :
.................................................

هامبورگ ۲۰۰۷ميلادي : فدرر
مونت كارلو ۲۰۰۷ميلادي : نادال
شانگهاي ۲۰۰۷ميلادي : فدرر
ويمبلدون ۲۰۰۶ميلادي : فدرر
آزاد فرانسه ۲۰۰۶ميلادي : نادال
رم ۲۰۰۶ميلادي : نادال
مونت كارلو ۲۰۰۶ميلادي : نادال
دبي ۲۰۰۶ميلادي : نادال
آزاد فرانسه ۲۰۰۵ميلادي : نادال
ميامي ۲۰۰۵ميلادي : فدرر
ميامي ۲۰۰۴ميلادي : نادال
اسامي قهرمانان بخش مردان اين دوره از مسابقه*ها از سال ۲۰۰۰ميلادي به بعد به شرح زير است :
۲۰۰۰ميلادي : گوستاوو كوئرتن از برزيل
۲۰۰۱ميلادي : گوستاوو كوئرتن از برزيل
۲۰۰۲ميلادي : آلبرت كاستا از اسپانيا
۲۰۰۳ميلادي : خوان كارلوس فررو از اسپانيا
۲۰۰۴ميلادي : گاستون گواديو از آرژانتين
۲۰۰۵ميلادي : رافائل نادال از اسپانيا
۲۰۰۶ميلادي : رافائل نادال از اسپانيا