Big two look set for inevitable showdown

TENNIS FRENCH OPEN: FOR THE third successive year the main interest in the men's singles at the French Open centres almost exclusively on whether Roger Federer, the winner of 12 slams but not this one, will be denied by Rafael Nadal, the Spaniard who has won the title for the past three years, beating the world number one on all three occasions, including the last two finals. Fast forward to a week on Sunday, and forget the rest.

Yesterday Nadal, who will be 22 next Tuesday, reached the last 32 with a 6-4, 6-0, 6-1 second-round win over France's Nicolas Devilder, while Federer, after a soggy false start, beat the Spaniard Albert Montanes 6-7, 6-1, 6-0, 6-4. "Playing the first 10 games in the rain wasn't a whole lot of fun," said the Swiss, who next meets Croatia's Mario Ancic, the last player to beat him at Wimbledon, way back in 2002.

Fortunately the rain eased, but Argentina's David Nalbandian, the number six seed, and James Blake of the US, the number seven, disappeared under the clouds. Andy Murray, after his second-round victory over Argentina's Jose Acasuso, talked about the shifts in momentum on clay that can radically affect a match, and the same applies to the draw, where Nalbandian's defeat yesterday potentially eased Murray's passage towards a possible quarter-final against Nadal.

Nalbandian was a semi-finalist in Paris in 2004 and 2006 and is the best player in the top 10 not to have won a slam, his best run coming at Wimbledon six years ago when, as a largely unknown 20-year-old, he was runner-up to Lleyton Hewitt. He is immensely talented and has won eight of his 17 matches against Federer. However, he is not known for the assiduity of his training regime and consequently has had a series of injuries.

He succumbed again here, taking a two-sets lead against the French wildcard Jeremy Chardy before a groin strain so restricted his movement that he lost 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2. So, if Murray beats Spain's Nicolas Almagro today, he will face either the inexperienced Chardy or Russia's Dmitry Tursunov, over whom he holds a 4-0 career lead, for a place in the last eight of a slam for the first time.

Almagro, like Murray, has too often been inclined to let his emotions impair his performance on court. Then came this year's Davis Cup tie in Peru when Spain's captain, Emilio Sanchez, took the 22-year-old aside and spent careful time explaining to him that if he wished to get the best out of his game he would need to change his attitude. So cries of "Parrot!" from the Peruvian crowd, a reference to Almagro's nose, and further less flattering references passed him by as he blanked out all outside distractions.

The young Spaniard had listened and inwardly digested, the result being that he immediately went on to win two clay-court tournaments in Brazil and Mexico and break into the top 20 for the first time.

"I'd put him there with the top players on clay," said Murray. "He's got a big serve, a big game, and although he doesn't move particularly well he plays very aggressively and dominates the majority of his points."

The always slender thread that is Amelie Mauresmo's link to the French Open duly snapped yesterday, and the collective sigh emanating from Roland Garros as she lost 6-3, 6-4 to the Spanish qualifier Carla Suarez Navarro in the second round of her home slam was more muted this year. Since winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon singles titles two years ago she has been in gentle decline, and here she has reached only two quarter-finals in 14 attempts.

Mauresmo's slender hopes of winning her home grand slam were left in tatters by a 19-year-old upstart ranked 132nd in the world.

Before arriving in Paris, Suarez Navarro had never played at a grand slam. That did not stop the Spanish qualifier from embarrassing the 22nd seed Mauresmo.

For a woman who had never before experienced the imposing surroundings of the Philippe Chatrier Court, Suarez Navarro remained undaunted and turned into public enemy number one as she handed Mauresmo her earliest defeat at her home grand slam for seven years after 72 minutes of one-sided action.

The Frenchwoman, who made 40 unforced errors, bowed out by shovelling a backhand long on match point.

Former champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario was among the Spaniard's entourage which applauded her moment of triumph as a crestfallen Mauresmo was left to digest her 14th flop in Paris.

"Frankly, I don't know what to say right now, because there was nothing much on my side," said a demoralised Mauresmo, who has never progressed beyond the last eight here. "All I can say is that I feel sorry about the way I played."

Venus Williams, runner-up to her sister Serena in 2002, recovered from a break down in each set to beat Tunisia's Selima Sfar 6-2, 6-4.

Williams trailed 2-1 in the first set after being broken to love before taking five straight games. She let a 40-0 lead slip in the second set's opening game, but held on to win it, and survived a break point in the third game.

Sfar did break to lead 3-2 but Williams responded in the next game, as she had done in the first set, and took three of the next four games. "I think I played well and I just tried to improve literally on every point," Williams said.

Guardian Service