Nadal Passes McEnroe in Record Book
Mired in his worst slump in three years, Roger Federer, left, is parting ways with coach Tony Roche, right.
(By Jonathan Wood -- Getty Images)
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Sunday, May 13, 2007
Rafael Nadal extended his winning streak on clay to 76 matches and broke John McEnroe's record for victories on one surface by defeating Nikolay Davydenko, 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (10-8), 6-4, yesterday in the semifinals of the Rome Masters.
McEnroe had a 75-match winning streak on indoor carpet between September 1983 and April 1985.
"It's nice to have these records, but the important thing for me is to be in the final right now," Nadal said.
In the final, Nadal will meet sixth-ranked Fernando Gonzalez, who ended Filippo Volandri's run, 6-1, 6-2.
Nadal was broken while serving for the set in each of the first two sets and lost the second set -- the first time he has lost a set in 14 matches on clay this season. But the Spaniard eventually wore out Davydenko and won the match in 3 hours 38 minutes.
"He tried for every ball -- it's amazing," Davydenko said. "It was my body. My shoulder was tired. I'm not like Nadal physically. I need to improve physically."
Nadal visited the hospital Thursday to check a dizzy spell and stomach problem and didn't look full strength during long stretches against Davydenko. Considered the fastest player on tour, the second-ranked Spaniard arrived late to balls and his baseline shots did not travel deeply into his opponent's court.
· FEDERER, ROCHE SPLIT: Mired in his worst slump in more than three years, Roger Federer is dropping coach Tony Roche. He announced the change on his Web site yesterday, saying it was a mutual decision. Federer lost in the third round of the Rome Masters, his fourth consecutive tournament without a title, his longest such drought since he rose to No. 1 in the rankings in February 2004.
· GERMAN OPEN: Top-seeded Justine Henin rallied from 4-0 down in the final set against Jelena Jankovic to reach the semifinals with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win in Berlin. A few hours later, Henin faced third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals. Downpours stopped the match with Henin trailing, 6-4, 5-7, 3-2. They will finish today, and the winner will take on 12th-seeded Ana Ivanovic later in the final.
