|
|
發表於 2005-5-21 15:34:31
|
顯示全部樓層
No luck of the draw for fancied Nadal
By Guillaume Baraise
Friday, May 20, 2005
Today's draw at the Tenniseum was unkind to rising star Rafael Nadal. The young Spaniard faces a clash with fellow wunderkind Richard Gasquet as early as the third round. Top seed Roger Federer, in contrast, could have fared worse.
Fourth seed Nadal should have little trouble overcoming his first round opponent, Lars Burgsmuller, but will probably be rueing his luck come the third round. The Majorcan phenomenon is set to face his French alter ego, Richard Gasquet (30). That match between two extraordinarily talented 18-year-olds should be a sight to behold.
Should he overcome Gasquet, and then potentially Gaston Gaudio (5) in the quarters, Nadal will cross swords with Roger Federer in the semis. That is another fantastic encounter in the making, and the world number one looks well capable of reaching the last four this year. Federer's first-round opponent will be a qualifier or lucky-loser. Initially Federer had been drawn against Robin Soderling, but the Swede was seeded 33 after compatriot Joachim Johansson withdrew.
Spain's Nicolas Almagro should put up more resistance in the second round and Fernando Gonzalez (25), David Nalbandian (10) and Carlos Moya (14) are other potential obstacles on Federer's path to the semis.
Dream draw for Coria
World number-two Andy Roddick has every chance of going further than ever before at Roland Garros. His first adversary, local boy Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, will enjoy his day in the sun, but Argentina's Jose Acasuso should be a more dangerous proposition in the second round. Andre Agassi (6) has a similar outlook, with Igor Andreev likely to provide stiff opposition in the second round.
Guillermo Coria (8) could hardly have dreamed up a better draw. With no clay court specialist in sight until the quarter-finals, the feisty Argentinian should enter the second week with plenty of gas left in the tank.
In theory at least, Marat Safin (3) will stand in Coria's way for a place in the last four. Quite whether the Australian Open champion will get that far is very much open to question. The Russian has been struggling for form on clay and faces former French Open champ Juan Carlos Ferrero (32) as early as the third round.
The 32-seed system generally spares the leading players too stern an examination in the first round, but Carlos Moya (14) - Alberto Martin, Tim Henman (7) - Potito Starace, and Guillermo Cañas (9) - Gaël Monfils all stand out as potential banana skin openers for the seeds. Three-time French Open winner Gustavo Kuerten will have no room for complacency either, against Spain's David Sanchez.
Should the first two rounds go according to seed, here are a few of the exciting matches we can look forward to in the third round:
Potential third round matches
Roger Federer-Fernando Gonzalez
Dominik Hrbaty-Carlos Moya
David Nalbandian-Mario Ancic
Juan Ignacio Chela-Tim Henman
Rafael Nadal-Richard Gasquet
Sébastien Grosjean-Radek Stepanek
Robin Soderling-David Ferrer
Jiri Novak-Gaston Gaudio
Guillermo Coria-Mikhaïl Youzhny
Tommy Haas-Nikolay Davydenko
Tommy Robredo-Thomas Johansson
Juan Carlos Ferrero-Marat Safin
Andre Agassi-Nicolas Kiefer
Feliciano Lopez-Guillermo Cañas
Ivan Ljubicic-Nicolas Massu
Filippo Volandri-Andy Roddick
Translation: Sportstranslations |
|
IP卡
狗仔卡
提升卡
置頂卡
沉默卡
喧囂卡
變色å¡
顯身å¡
發表於 2005-5-21 09:45:57
)