As Nadal stumbles, rivals see a crack in his invincibility

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It was unsettling to see Rafael Nadal suddenly looking like a flesh-and-blood earthling despite the clay beneath his feet this week. It was strange to see his wicked forehand hooks dip and miss their target, weird to watch him arrive late to the ball, and even weirder to watch the resignation creep into his regard and the belief gradually seep into that of Juan Carlos Ferrero.

It was only one defeat, and a logical one for anyone who saw the size of the open blisters on Nadal’s right foot that looked ugly even by tennis standards and required treatment midway through the second set. Understandable, too, when you consider that Nadal had already played and won back-to-back clay-court tournaments that matter in Monte Carlo and Barcelona and had sounded none too content at the prospect of having to play two more weeks in a row on clay.

But Nadal has hustled and muscled his way through greater adversity in the past on his favorite surface, and now the French Open, which begins in two weeks, looks a bit more intriguing.

For Nadal, one of the most positive-minded competitors in any sport, it has been a grumpy period, with the Spaniard leveling public criticism at the structure of the clay-court calendar, at the men’s tour chief, Etienne de Villiers, and at the Spanish Tennis Federation president, Pedro Muñoz, over the federation’s consideration of Madrid as a site for the Davis Cup semifinal against the United States in September. (Nadal and his teammates think the moderate altitude would help Andy Roddick and the Americans, even on clay.)

But the altitude at Roland Garros remains negligible. No matter who wins the Masters Series event in Rome on Sunday - and it won’t be Roger Federer - Nadal deserves to be the favorite to win his fourth consecutive title in Paris. The unexpected respite he is getting now could even help him arrive at Roland Garros feeling fresher and quicker than if he had slogged his way to yet another final or title in Rome.

Nadal’s exit gives Federer chance of a Roman triumph

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The Foro Italico, home of the Rome Masters, looks very different this year. The main stadium is being rebuilt and temporary seating has been erected around what was the second court, concealing most of the huge statues that were central to Benito Mussolini’s vision of the park.

Rafael Nadal’s rivals have been relieved to see that the new look has spread to the tournament draw. The world No 2, winner for the last three years, went out on Wednesday, which means that this will be the first clay-court Grand Slam or Masters Series event that Nadal has started and not reached the final of since Hamburg in 2003.

Roger Federer will be hoping to take advantage, the Swiss having lost to his great rival in seven of their eight meetings on clay. Federer has looked in good form in his two matches here and moved into the quarter-finals yesterday with a victory over Ivo Karlovic that was more comfortable than the 7-6, 6-3 scoreline might suggest.

Andy Roddick to face Rafael Nadal in quarter-finals of Dubai Championships

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American Andy Roddick will face Rafael Nadal of Spain in the quarter-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.Roddick had 13 aces in his 6-3, 6-4 win over Paul-Henri Mathieu of France, and the second-ranked Nadal easily beat Mikhail Ledovskikh of Russia 6-4, 6-0 on Wednesday.

“It’s going to be a tough one,” Roddick said.

Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Britain’s Andy Murray also reached the quarter-finals.

Djokovic advanced with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory over Fabrice Santoro of France, who won their last match at the Paris Masters.

“I started losing my hair in the second set,” Djokovic said. “But it was OK, you know, to play such a magician with a racket. He’s a very special player and for me it was an honour to play again against him.”

Djokovic will face Igor Andreev of Russia, who defeated Richard Gasquet of France 6-3, 6-4.

Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray advance to quarterfinals at Dubai Championships

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afael Nadal and Andy Murray reached the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Wednesday.

The second-ranked Nadal cruised past Mikhail Ledovskikh of Russia 6-4, 6-0, while Murray defeated Fernando Verdasco of Spain 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5).

“Today, I didn’t know this player, but he has a very good potential,” Nadal said of his 171st-ranked opponent.

Murray, who stopped top-ranked Roger Federer on Monday in the first round, led 6-2 in the third-set tiebreaker but needed four match points to win. Verdasco finally hit the ball long after a lengthy rally.

“It was a pretty ugly point, actually,” Murray said. “I was just making sure I kept the ball in play, because I think he’s the sort of guy if you can make a lot of balls against him, keep him in the back of the court, he can get a bit impatient, and luckily he missed one at the end.”

Murray said he had to overcome a sore knee in the second set and gusty wind.

Djokovic closes gap on Federer, Nadal in tennis rankings

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Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic has closed the gaps on long-time ATP World Rankings leaders Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.The 20-year-old Serb’s Melbourne triumph, his first in a Grand Slam tournament, sees him move to just 815 points behind the Spaniard, who will be looking forward to the claycourt season in the spring.

Federer, who lost to Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals, retains the rankings leadership 650 points clear of Nadal who could have deposed him had he won in Melbourne.

The biggest mover among the top players was made by losing finalist in Melbourne Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France who climbs 20 places to 18th while the man he beat in the fourth round, Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, is up six to a career-best eighth.

Nadal out of business

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STILL reeling from his Australian Open pummelling at the hands of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal was further humbled yesterday when he arrived at Melbourne Airport.

The Barcelona-bound Nadal could only get a business-class seat as far as Singapore and was facing being pushed to the back of the plane for the connecting journey to Frankfurt.

The triple French Open champion was placed on waiting lists with both Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines for the flight out of the city state.

“The business class is full out of Singapore. He has a business-class ticket out (but) he is only in economy,” Nadal’s agent said.

Nadal’s travelling frustrations came less than 24 hours after the 21-year-old admitted he’d been powerless to stop Tsonga in a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 semi-final defeat at Rod Laver Arena.

The world No. 2 had stormed through his opening five matches without dropping a set. But his campaign was suddenly over in a blur in less than two hours.

Rafael Nadal, nursing knee injuries, takes himself out of Thai Open

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World No. 2 Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the upcoming ATP Thailand Open in Bangkok, citing knee injuries that have bothered him since the U.S. Open.The withdrawal of the French Open champion was announced Sunday at the draw ceremony at the Impact Arena, where the tournament starts Tuesday.

Nadal lost in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer. Nadal injured his left knee during a practice session the day before the tournament began and considered withdrawing.

He struggled through the first round, then looked much fitter in his next two matches before losing to Ferrer.

Replacing Nadal is Carlos Moya of Spain, the former world No. 1, who also played at Bangkok in 2003.

World No. 3 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, No. 5 Andy Roddick of the U.S., No. 10 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic and No. 11 Tommy Haas of Germany are the top four seeds.

No. 2 Rafael Nadal upset by No. 15 David Ferrer in U.S. Open’s 4th round

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A worn-out Rafael Nadal winced and dropped to the court, sitting with legs stretched out and head bowed.The No. 2-seeded Spaniard was moments away from a fourth-round loss at the U.S. Open to No. 15 David Ferrer, but far more surprising than the result was the mere sight of the indefatigable, irrepressible Nadal, down and out.

Nadal is a three-time French Open champion and a two-time Wimbledon finalist, but he has yet to solve the hard courts of Flushing Meadows, and Ferrer ran him ragged, winning 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-2 in a match that ended at 1:50 a.m. Wednesday.

“I prefer not to speak about my body right now,” Nadal said afterward, saying he thought it would sound as if he were making excuses. “He played very good and he beat me.”

So much for a third consecutive Grand Slam final between Nadal and No. 1 Roger Federer.

“Sure there is disappointment for me, but that is tennis,” Nadal said.

He wound up on the ground after failing to handle an on-the-run shot in the next-to-last game. Earlier in the fourth set, Nadal grimaced between points and sometimes reached down to grab his foot, as though it might have been cramping.

After missing a shot late in the third set, the left-hander flexed his racket hand repeatedly. Then, with Ferrer serving at 1-1, 40-30 in the fourth, Nadal called for a trainer and had him put some ice on that left finger.

Nadal injured his left knee during a practice session the day before the tournament began and considered withdrawing. He struggled through the first round, then looked much fitter in his next two matches.

He wore thick strips of white tape below both knees against Ferrer, but that didn’t appear to be an issue this time.

Ferrer, however, was.

He leads the ATP in most returning statistics and on this night he broke Nadal seven times, including to go up 4-2 in the fourth set. He also matched Nadal’s court coverage and big groundstrokes throughout, often ending points with a flick of his wrist and a loud grunt.

“To beat Rafa, I have to run a lot. Tonight is very special,” Ferrer said.