Теннис

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03 июня 2005, 23:42

Гантухова и Санторо победили в финале «Ролан Гаррос» среди смешанных пар

Даниэла Гантухова и Фабрис Санторо победили в финале смешанных пар на открытом чемпионате Франции. Словацко-французский дуэт в трех сетах одолел опытную пару Мартина Навратилова/Леандер Пайес.

Открытый чемпионат Франции. Париж (Франция)

Микст (Смешанные пары)

Финал

Даниэла Гантухова/Фабрис Санторо (Словакия/Франция) – Мартина Навратилова/Леандер Пайес – 3:6, 6:3, 6:2

[Vardan]

04 июня 2005, 19:04

Жюстин Энен-Арденн выиграла «Ролан Гаррос»-2005

В воскресенье в Париже состоялся женский финал «Ролан Гаррос», в котором десятая «сеянная» бельгийка Жюстин Энен-Арденн встречалась с француженкой Мари Пьерс.

Матч закончился победой бельгийской теннисистки в двух сетах. Напомним, что для выхода в финал Жюстин Энен-Арденн, уже побеждавшая на «Ролан Гаррос» в 2003 году, последовательно обыграла трех россиянок: Светлану Кузнецову, Марию Шарапову и Надежду Петрову.

Открытый чемпионат Франции. Париж (Франция). Призовой фонд 13 459 125 евро

Женщины

Финал

Жюстин Энен-Арденн (Бельгия, 10) – Мари Пьерс (Франция, 21) – 6:1, 6:1

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Two lefties, one trophy

Saturday, June 4, 2005

A year ago, Rafael Nadal and Mariano Puerta could only watch the men's final at Roland Garros. Sunday, the 19-year-old Spaniard and journeyman Argentine will square off for the Coupe des Mousquetaires, hoping to put an exclamation point on their compelling Parisian campaigns.

The first all-left-handed French Open final since 1946 and the first at a Grand Slam since the 1998 Australian will either be the coronation of the game's newest star or vindication for a 26-year-old fighting to rebuild his career.

Nadal, the fiery teenager with lighting groundstrokes and unwavering confidence, is in his first French Open, unable to play the last two because of injury. The last man to win here in his debut was Mats Wilander in 1982, four years before Nadal was born.

He has stormed through the draw in Paris, highlighted so far by his four-set triumph over world number one Roger Federer Friday. Nadal has played 20 sets over six matches and won 18 of them.

Puerta, meanwhile, maybe the fifth or sixth name you would give if asked to pick an Argentine to reach the final, is in the midst of resurrecting himself from a nine-month steroid suspension. From a career-high of 18th in August 2000, his ranking plummeted as low as 440 last summer thanks to a lazy mistake.

To fight an asthma attack two years ago, a doctor gave Puerta clenbuterol, a Class I substance prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency code. Puerta might have escaped punishment had he informed the ATP, but he did not, so when he failed a drug test later in the year, he received a two-year ban (reduced when he proved that the drug had no performance-enhancing benefit).

This year, Puerta has won in Casablanca and reached the final of Buenos Aires to pull his ranking back into the Top 40. He predicted his semi-final run here, as long as he took care of 13th-seeded Ivan Ljubicic in the opening round, and made good with consecutive wins over Guillermo Canas (9) and Nickolay Davydenko (12) after trailing two sets to one.

"When I came back, I was prepared for very tough moments, prepared to be able to play anywhere. This is what I wanted," Puerta said Friday.

While the two perform best on dirt, their games are not necessarily similar. Both are adept defenders, but Nadal can win points with his quickness and powerful, well-placed shots, while Puerta wants to survive them. The short but stout South American will hope to outlast the muscular Spaniard with his retrieving skills.

Against Federer Friday, Nadal handled the Swiss' wide array of tactics. There will be no variety against Puerta, who is more than content to slug things out from the baseline - he went to the net just 17 times in his five-set semi-final victory over Nickolay Davydenko.

"He'll be difficult, you know, because it's Roland Garros," Nadal said in Spanish. "He's been playing very good tennis to be in the final. It will be a very complicated match. I'll have to play my best tennis, and only like that will I be able to win."

"With Nadal, it would be a battle, a battle because we're both left-handers. We both have the same kind of strokes," Puerta said after beating Davydenko Friday, unaware at the time whom he would play in the final. "We would both arrive at that match with huge self-confidence."

Nadal, now riding a 23-match winning streak that dates back to early April and includes tournament victories at Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome, plans to speak with Carlos Moya before his first career Slam final.

"It's always good to get the support of people who have gone through the same thing," Nadal said, a protégé of his fellow Mallorca native. "I might need some of his advice. I spoke to him before the tournament started and I know that he always supports me."

Nadal and Puerta have met three previous times - a Challenger event and Umag in 2003, Acapulco this year - with the Spaniard winning the last two in straight sets.

"I suppose we'll both be rather nervous in the final," Nadal admitted, "but I've played a lot of finals this year."

"Most import thing is that I'm not feeling that tired," Puerta said, even though he has spent 90 more minutes on court than Nadal. "I'm very happy because I've trained very well. I'm not a favourite in the final, but I might upset."

[Vardan]

[Vardan]

Henin-Hardenne Wins Roland Garros

Capping a phenomenal comeback from illness and injury, Justine Henin-Hardenne (left) beat Mary Pierce 61 61 Saturday to win her second Roland Garros singles title. The former No.1, a winner here in 2003 but absent for much of last season, captured her fourth career Grand Slam title with a dominating display, defeating the French veteran and 2000 champion in just 61 minutes.

Henin-Hardenne completed a perfect clay court season in which she won 24 consecutive matches, taking titles in Charleston, Warsaw and Berlin prior to her victory in Paris.

[Vardan]

1 L. DAVENPORT

2 M. SHARAPOVA

3 A. MAURESMO

4 S. WILLIAMS

5 P. SCHNYDER

6 K. CLIJSTERS

7 J. HENIN-HARDENNE

8 N. PETROVA

9 E. DEMENTIEVA

10 N. DECHY

WTA TOUR 2005

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June 4, 2005

Henin-Hardenne Dominates Pierce To Win Second French Open

PARIS - Playing near-flawless tennis from start to finish, 23-year-old Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne claimed her second Roland Garros title Saturday with a 61 61 demolition of home crowd favorite and 2000 champion Mary Pierce.

Watched by Prince Philippe of Belgium, along with hundreds of vocal supporters who drove across the border to cheer her on, the former world No.1 capped a perfect clay court season and an amazing comeback from illness and injury. In just 61 minutes, she secured her fourth career Grand Slam title and 24th consecutive win of the year.

What turned out to be a one-sided final started quite promisingly, with Pierce confidently holding serve to open the match, much to the delight of the Parisian crowd. But as the skies turned greyer, Pierce's groundstrokes quickly deserted her as Henin-Hardenne took control of the match with baseline aggression accompanied by bold net charges.

"I think it wasn't an easy situation for her," said Henin-Hardenne of Pierce. "She had to deal with a lot of pressure. Being here in the final in France, I think it's not easy for her. And probably she didn't play her best tennis and she didn't play the best match of two weeks.

"But I think I've pushed her a lot. Especially at the beginning of the match, I put on her a lot of pressure, and then she started to do a lot of unforced errors. But I played very well, very aggressive at the beginning. I served very good during the whole match."

The first set was claimed after just 24 minutes when Pierce served her second double fault of the game. It certainly wasn't the same Pierce on Saturday that knocked out world No.1 Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals and Elena Likhovtseva in the semis.

The 30-year-old Frenchwoman, seeded No.21, was aiming to become the oldest Roland Garros champion since a 31-year-old Chris Evert reigned in 1986. With the occasional glorious return she had glimmers of hope in a couple of Henin-Hardenne's service games, but the No.10-seeded Belgian wriggled her way out of those minor troubles with impeccable serving, something that had let her down at various stages of her previous six matches. A smash dumped into the net early in the second set seemed to sum up Pierce's situation.

"I wasn't nervous, which wasn't good I think," said a dejected Pierce, who broke down in tears during the trophy presentation. "I felt like I made a lot of mistakes today. Just wasn't my day; just didn't really feel like it was working my way. Justine played really good, very solid match from her side. I was just trying to get into it. It just wasn't happening for me today."

Umbrellas went up as the rain came down heavier in the first game of the second set, but play continued. Henin-Hardenne continued her string of consecutive games, reeling off nine in a row before Pierce held for 3-1. Despite this, her error count rose, 29 for the match to 15 for Henin-Hardenne.

Racing through the second set in a similar fashion to the first, Henin-Hardenne quickly found herself serving for the match at 5-1. Despite serving a double fault on her first match point, she wasn't to be denied on the second as Pierce pushed a backhand into the net, Henin-Hardenne becoming the lowest-seeded champion in the Open Era. It was the most one-sided final since Steffi Graf whitewashed Natasha Zvereva 60 60 in the 1988 final.

It's been a phenomenal comeback by Henin-Hardenne, who had three stints on the sidelines in 2004 due to an energy-sapping virus. Then on the eve of the 2005 season she suffered a right knee injury in training which delayed her return until March.

Henin-Hardenne now boasts a 27-1 record for 2005, her only loss to date coming in her return event at Miami, falling in the quarterfinals to Maria Sharapova.

"I think I enjoy probably more my game than before my illness, so that's the biggest key," said Henin-Hardenne on her love of the game since her comeback. "I enjoy every moment I'm on the court. Every ball I hit, it's with my heart. I really enjoy it.

"It's a great achievement. It's been a very difficult time last year and a lot of questions, and I have a little bit of an answer. So that's very good."

Taking a 17-match win streak into the tournament following clay court victories at Charleston, Warsaw and Berlin, Henin-Hardenne started somewhat slowly in Paris. She was taken to three sets in three of her first four rounds, against Conchita Martinez (first round), Anabel Medina Garrigues (third round) and Svetlana Kuznetsova (fourth round), winning that match 76(6) 46 75 in three hours, 15 minutes, having trailed 5-3 and saved two match points in the third set. She also saved a set point in the first set.

In winning the title, Henin-Hardenne became the second woman in the Open Era (fourth all-time) to win the Roland Garros women's singles title after saving match point en route to victory. Coincidentally, the first Open Era champion to achieve this feat was last year's winner Myskina, who also saved her match point against Kuznetsova in the fourth round.

Henin-Hardenne is projected to rise from No.12 to No.7 on Monday's Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Singles Rankings, her first time in the Top 10 since January, having been No.43 on April 11 due to her inactivity.

"I was telling my coach and my husband before coming here, if I would have only one Grand Slam to win, that would be this one," added Henin-Hardenne. "So I did it today, and I'm really, really proud of it."

While Henin-Hardenne rewrote a few new records this fortnight, one was actually taken away from her. Her second round loss to Tathiana Garbin last year was the joint-earliest loss of the Roland Garros women's champion in the Open Era alongside Arantxa Sanchez in 1990.

Anastasia Myskina now holds that dubious honor. The Russian, who revealed on the eve of the tournament her mother is seriously ill, lost in the first round in three sets to Spaniard Maria Sanchez Lorenzo.

Despite her disappointing loss on Saturday, it was a wonderful return to form for Pierce, who was appearing in her fifth Grand Slam final (same for Henin-Hardenne), but the first since her victory in Paris five years earlier. Her quarterfinal win over Davenport was her third over a reigning world No.1 at Roland Garros (fifth overall), and she is projected to rise to No.13 on Monday's Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings, her highest since April 2001. A variety of injuries (including back and abdominal) saw her ranking bottom out at No.295 in April 2002.

"It's very disappointing for me because I've had just such great matches over the last two weeks, and I really felt like my game was improving with every match," said Pierce. "And then, you know, to play today's match and not play so well, it's just a difficult feeling.

"I'm happy with my tournament, of course; fantastic tournament. I've had some great wins, beat the No.1 in the world, made the finals here in my favorite tournament. So there's so many great things and so many positive things for me to look back on. I know that I'm on the right path; I'm improving every day."

The latter stages of the tournament were dominated by experienced Tour players. Along with two former champions contesting the final, Petrova made her second semi appearance here in three years and Elena Likhovtseva, at age 29, made her debut in the final four of a major, ousting 2004 runner-up Elena Dementieva in the fourth round.

However, much of the headlines for the first week-and-a-half were taken by the young brigade. Maria Sharapova, who turned 18 in April, was aiming to become the fourth-youngest No.1 in the history of computer rankings. In order to replace current No.1 Davenport in the top spot, she needed to better last year's quarterfinal finish and rely on the American losing early.

Neither eventuated as she again fell in the quarterfinals (to Henin-Hardenne), the same round as Davenport, who won four consecutive three-setters to reach her first quarterfinal here in six years. In the second round, she was two points from elimination against China's Peng Shuai before winning, and in the fourth round she ended a six-match losing streak to Kim Clijsters, having trailed the Belgian 61 31.

More teenagers stole the limelight in Week 1, as 17-year-old Serbian Ana Ivanovic stunned world No.3 and French hopeful Amelie Mauresmo in the third round. In the same round, 15-year-old Bulgarian Sesil Karatantcheva upset former No.1 and 2002 runner-up Venus Williams in three sets. Both women went on to reach their first Grand Slam quarterfinals.

With injury forcing former champions Jennifer Capriati (shoulder) and Serena Williams (ankle) out of the tournament, and the emergence of new stars on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, 2005 Roland Garros featured somewhat of a changing of the guard in women's tennis, with more certain to follow.

[Vardan]

WTA SONY ERICSSON WTA Singles Rankings

1 (1) DAVENPORT, LINDSAY USA

5105.00 1737.00 17

2 (2) SHARAPOVA, MARIA RUS

5014.00 1569.00 20

3 (3) MAURESMO, AMELIE FRA

4477.00 1434.00 19

4 (4) WILLIAMS, SERENA USA

3991.00 1545.00 14

5 (5) DEMENTIEVA, ELENA RUS

3807.00 1359.00 20

6 (6) MYSKINA, ANASTASIA RUS

3371.00 1164.00 21

7 (7) KUZNETSOVA, SVETLANA RUS

3212.00 912.00 20

8 ( MOLIK, ALICIA AUS

2470.75 930.00 19

9 (9) PETROVA, NADIA RUS

2258.00 848.00 28

10 (10) SCHNYDER, PATTY SUI

2160.00 707.00 25

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June 4, 2005

Justine's Amazing Comeback

PARIS - Justine Henin-Hardenne's victory at Roland Garros on Saturday completed a phenomenal comeback by the Belgian, who endured illness and injury for much of the past year and in the process surrendered her No.1 ranking and three Grand Slam titles.

Her efforts in Paris and over the past few months is testament to her will to regain her place among the game's elite, having seen her ranking fall to outside the Top 40 earlier this year. Season 2004 was largely a frustrating one for the 23-year-old, having performed so brilliantly in 2003, gaining the Roland Garros and US Open titles and the world No.1 ranking.

Just months after winning the Australian Open title in 2004, the first signs of the energy-sapping cytomegalovirus emerged, a result, says Henin-Hardenne, of constant training over the previous few years. It would ultimately force her off the Tour three times in 2004, and still remains a threat to this day.

Henin-Hardenne ended her first spell off the Tour to defend her 2003 Roland Garros title last May, but her campaign ended in the second round against Italian Tathiana Garbin. It was the joint-earliest loss of a Roland Garros defending champion in the Open Era alongside 1989 champion Arantxa Sanchez's loss in 1990 to Mercedes Paz. That dubious honor was transferred to Anastasia Myskina this year following her first round loss to Maria Sanchez Lorenzo.

After that loss in Paris last year, Henin-Hardenne continued to suffer the effects of the cytomegalovirus, and didn't return until the Athens Olympics in August. It was a triumphant return as she swept to the gold medal, beating Myskina in the semifinals after trailing 5-1 third set and Mauresmo in the final.

In her next event, Henin-Hardenne was again weakened by the virus, and she surrendered her title in the fourth round to Nadia Petrova. It was the last event of the season as she announced she was taking as much time as she needed to fully recover. On September 13, Amelie Mauresmo replaced her as the world No.1.

At its worst, Henin-Hardenne would bed-ridden for all but a few hours each day and she was too tired to perform the most menial of tasks (especially for a world-class athlete), such as driving a car or going for a walk.

The only cure for the ailment was rest, and after a couple of premature returns to competitive tennis her third hiatus was certainly going to be the last, as far as Henin-Hardenne was concerned.

She began training again in November, with her sights set on defending her Australian Open title in January. Just when her career seemed to be back on track, Henin-Hardenne suffered a right knee injury while training in Florida in late December.

She made the trip down under with coach Carlos Rodriguez, but prior to her first match in the Sydney warm-up event she decided her knee wasn't ready for the rigours of tournament play. She returned home to Belgium immediately, unable to defend her Australian Open crown.

Making sure her body was fully fit, Henin-Hardenne didn't return until March at the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami. A fourth round victory over world No.8 Alicia Molik was an encouraging sign, as was her three-set tussle (but ultimate loss) to Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals, having saved match point in the second set.

Since that loss, and moving on to clay, Henin-Hardenne has proven invincable, compiling a 24-match, four-title win streak which saw her triumph in Charleston, Warsaw, Berlin and most recently Paris. She has already scored eight Top 10 wins this season, and is now back in the Top 10 herself for the first time since January.

"I was very nervous this morning," said Henin-Hardenne of her emotions before Saturday's final. "I didn't sleep well, as every day before a final of a Grand Slam. But it's an extraordinary feeling. This is the magic of this sport; it's having doubts, not knowing what is going to happen.

"At a certain time of my life, I wasn't able to manage that situation. I thought I would never manage that situation because I thought I was too weak mentally. But I believe I proved several times now that I was at ease at the end of the tournaments."

Roland Garros holds a very special place in Henin-Hardenne's heart. It was there as a young girl she made a promise to her mother, sitting in the stands of Court Central. Just a few years later she would lose her mother to cancer, and she dedicated her first victory in Paris two years ago to her memory.

"I think I play tennis because I love it so much," said Henin-Hardenne. "That's my passion; and for sure my parents helped me at the beginning to come to tennis, and a lot of members in my family were playing.

"But then after that I had pretty hard times in my life. And I think that made me stronger. So I have no idea if it's part of my success, but I wouldn't be the same person with the same personality if I wouldn't have lose my mom pretty early and all these kind of things.

"So it's bad in a way; very sad in a way, but that made me stronger, unfortunately."

With only two more tournaments to defend the rest of the season, don't be surprised if you see Justine Henin-Hardenne's name atop the season-ending rankings. Her No.1 challenge to Lindsay Davenport and Maria Sharapova will most likely take centre stage in the coming months.

Henin-Hardenne has said she's not the same player as she was before her layoffs. She's enjoying herself on-court a lot more, and much more careful in her training off it.

"It's going to be also a key in the next few months," noted Henin-Hardenne. Because everybody knows what happened in the last few months, with the hard work I did in the past, never stopped, keep working all the time. So I think it's been very clear with my coach and my doctors that we won't do the same mistakes in the future. So never play more than three weeks in a row, and take the rest I need when I need it. And that's the main important thing right now. If I'm healthy, I can play, and everybody's happy.

"I enjoy every moment I'm on the court. Every ball I hit, it's with my heart."

[Vardan]

Nadal survives Puerta to win title

Sunday, June 5, 2005

Spanish teen Rafael Nadal capped an amazing fortnight by overcoming a game Mariano Puerta 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 to win the his first Roland Garros men's title. "Its' always been my dream to win this tournament," said Nadal, who became the first man to win in his debut since Mats Wilander in 1982. "It was such a tough match and a great final."

In a highly competitive and entertaining match between two talented left-handers, Nadal put up a defensive wall against the streaky Argentine, pulling off amazing shots on the run when it looked like he was totally out of points.

The 19-year-old Spaniard and the 26-year-old Argentine wowed the sold-out crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier, going end to end chasing down each other heavily top-spinned blows. But in the end, it was Nada's ability to exhaust Puerta that keyed his victory, as he mixed in deft drop shots, slapping backhands and heavy forehand to every part of the court.

Puerta had won two heroic matches against Guillermo Canas and Nicolay Davydenko coming into the final, but couldn't muster up enough magic in the fourth set.

The Argentine held three sets points serving at 5-4 in the fourth set, but the Spaniard wouldn't quit, running wide and punching a backhand passing shot; taking a rapid exchange at the net where Puerta dove for a forehand volley and was unable to lift it over the tape; and then watching the Argentine dump a forehand into the net.

"I wonder how he was able to get that ball," Puerta said. "He has very strong legs. He moves so well. He runs so fast. He surprised me a lot."

After holding to 6-5, a pumped up Nadal seized the moment, ripping a backhand down the line, rifling a forehand winner that Puerta could only stare at and then winning the match when the Argentine erred on a forehand.

Nadal then slid on his back, threw his headband into the audience and pumped his fists. He then shook the hand of Spain's King Juan Carlos, who was seated behind the baseline, and went up into the Friend's Box to embrace his parents, his sister and his coach/uncle Toni.

"The way I played today, if it had been another player, I could have won," Puerta said. "But I played the best player in the world, and he played at a maximum level. I am surprised that he's able to play so well so young. He's able to face very difficult situations. He reacts in a very natural way. Today he never doubted his game. Agassi started the 1999 final being very nervous. Gaston Gaudio last year started very poorly the first two sets. He was very nervous. Well, today Rafael was very calm from the start. It's admirable."

Just before the trophy ceremony, the 19-year-old from Mallorca wept tears of joy into his towel.

"These moments are very strong," Nadal said. "These are moments when everything comes upon you. All the work you've been doing during all those years, the sacrifices. When you reach your goal, it's an extraordinary. For the first time I cried after winning a match. It never happened to me before. I believe it's perfectly normal."

Nadal, who's the first left-handed champion since Thomas Muster in 1995, is the tournament's fourth-youngest champion.

Nadal had a remarkable run to the title, taking down France's Richard Gasquet and Sebastian Grosjean, the tough Spaniard David Ferrer, top-ranked Roger Federer and Puerta, who was playing his best tournament of his life.

"I think we are talking about someone who is going to write a page in the history of tennis," said Puerta. "He already wrote that page in the history of tennis. Personally, I think he's going to do beautiful things in tennis, like [Michael] Chang did in his own time, or [Andre] Agassi. He's going to become a legend of tennis."

Nadal will go to a career high number three when the rankings are released on Monday behind Federer and Andy Roddick. He's won six tournaments on the season, equal to that of Federer.

"What surprised me most today is the strength he showed, specifically in passing shots," Puerta said. "There were several passing shots in the tiebreaker in the first set, and he also hit passing shots when I had a set point, and it could have gone to a fifth set. He impressed me a lot then. The strength he has in his legs, the way he explodes when he steps into the court to hit a passing shot. He obliges you to volley, and you have to pass him twice. Also, he's very calm. He's cool. I think he has the mental strength to beat records."

Last year, Nadal was unable to play the tournament because of a stress fracture. During this fortnight, he lapped the field by a significant margin became the sixth Spanish male to win Roland Garros in the Open era.

"It means that I am now at the same level as other great players having won Roland Garros the ones I watched on television," he said. "To be on the same list as they are is a dream."

[Vardan]

Sounds of the Men’s Final

Sunday, June 5, 2005

The 2005 French Open men's final produced some of the best points of the entire tournament. The nearly 3-1/2 hour affair gave Rafael Nadal and Mariano Puerta plenty to discuss afterwards

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Rafael Nadal

On earning his first Grand Slam title…It's something you can't explain. These moments are very strong. These moments are moments when everything comes upon you. All the work you've been doing during all those years, the sacrifices. When you reach your goal, it's an extraordinary moment.

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On a possible fifth set…

In any kind of match in five sets, you are always 50/50 because you are two-sets-all. It's up to the one who will make the greatest efforts who will win. I was a bit nervous at that moment for the fifth set.

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What did King Juan Carlos tell him after the match?...

He congratulated me a lot. He said it's incredible what I did. He thanked me. He said that the Queen had to leave. But he congratulated me. He gave me best wishes for my future.

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On Mats Wilander comparing him to Björn Borg…

I would like to thank Mats Wilander for saying those things about me. I'm very pleased. But to compare me to Borg, it's not possible. My goal is to improve day after day on all surfaces. I hope that I will have a good result at Wimbledon. After that, I will keep working to improve all parts of my game

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On his childhood aspirations…

You can never think that you can become a great player. But since I was a little kid, I always wanted to be a tennis player. I was even dreaming to be a professional tennis player, but I was not thinking about a ranking. It was just a dream for me.

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Mariano Puerta (translated from Spanish)

On his performance…

I am very pleased. Well, not as much as I could be. I'm very proud, though, that I was the last Argentinean to be eliminated in this tournament… I believe that in a certain way I was resuscitated. I was able to achieve things that very few people would have been able to achieve.

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Shares his impression of Rafael Nadal…

The strength he has in his legs, the way he explodes when he steps into the court to hit a passing shot. He obliges you to volley and you have to pass him twice. Also, he's very calm. He's cool. I think he has the mental strength to beat records.

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On nearly pushing Nadal into a fifth and deciding set…I felt that if I won the fourth set, we would have been both at 50/50 [to win]. At that moment, I didn't consider he was any more the favourite. In the fifth set, it could have been either of us. We were 50/50.

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When I went onto the court, he was the favourite - it was clear to me. But at the end of the fourth, I didn't see him that way anymore.

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I could have handled a fifth set…

I'm not saying I lost today because I was tired. I was able to play three-and-a-half hours. If there was a fifth set, I would have been able to play it. I had the impression that physically I felt better than he did for a fifth set. I saw him have doubts at a certain moment, and I know that during those two weeks we never saw Nadal have any doubts at all.

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I'll be back at Roland Garros…

I hope to have a second opportunity because then I might be able to play like I did today. Because the way I played today, if it had been another player, I could have won. But against me I had the best player in the world and he played at a maximum level and he played an excellent match.

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Nadal - Puerta: the figures

Sunday, June 5, 2005

Check out all the figures from the magnificent 2005 French Open final between Spain's Rafael Nadal (n°4) and Argentina's Mariano Puerta.