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Whit Sheppard 18y

Don't write off Nadal on grass

WIMBLEDON, England -- It's a matchup that might have seemed unlikely to most members of the tennis world when this tournament got under way 11 days ago on a rainy Monday.

There were so many questions about second-seeded Rafael Nadal's ability to make the adjustment from Parisian clay to Wimbledon grass -- and there was so little faith in the 20-year-old Majorcan's propensity for summoning his best tennis at the most opportune moments.

Nevertheless, Nadal clinched a spot Friday in his first Grand Slam final other than the French Open with a 6-1, 7-5, 6-3 win in 2 hours, 26 minutes over No. 18 Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus. He'll face top-seeded Roger Federer in Sunday's final, after the Swiss blew past unseeded Jonas Bjorkman to advance to the final here for the fourth consecutive year.

If Nadal wins Sunday, he will be the first man to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year since Bjorn Borg did so three years consecutively (1978-80), and the first Spanish winner here since Manuel Santana in 1966.

Afterward his semifinal, Nadal was asked by British television, "You normally beat Federer, don't you?" and answered, "No, I beat him sometimes but here it's his surface. I'm [just] going to try to play my best match in my career."

Nadal is now 9-2 lifetime at Wimbledon and on Sunday will attempt to end Federer's record 47-match winning streak on grass dating back to a first-round loss here in 2002.

Don't bet against that happening. Or rather, do so at your own peril.

After all, Nadal has owned Federer since losing to the Swiss in the
2005 Miami final, winning their last five matches -- including finals this year in Dubai, Monte Carlo, Rome and Paris.

True, grass is Federer's best surface, but an inordinate amount of attention has been focused on the court surface here. The fact is that almost all other factors -- the net, balls, lines, crowd, etc. -- will be similar Sunday. It's still a tennis court, the best player on the day will win, and Nadal has been that player on six of the seven occasions the pair have squared off.

Nadal took the Eurostar over to London the day after winning his second consecutive Roland Garros title in four sets against an overmatched Federer, and practiced later that day at Queen's Club. He ended up withdrawing midway through his quarterfinal match against Lleyton Hewitt with tightness in his left shoulder, flew back to Majorca to get treatment and then returned to London in time for the Wimbledon fortnight.

"[It was] very difficult to come here after Paris but I've had an unbelievable preparation, no?" said Nadal.

Seven-time Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras is among those impressed by the speed of Nadal's grass-court learning curve.

"I must admit, I'm a little surprised," Sampras said in a conference call Thursday. "Just after winning in Paris, his game is not suited for grass … on the other hand, I think he's mentally really positive on grass.

"A lot of the clay-courters kind of come into Wimbledon with a negative attitude [but] I think his attitude is great. He seems like he respects Wimbledon and he wants to do well there."

Friday's win was accomplished in vintage Nadal style, as he jumped out to a commanding lead after breaking Baghdatis three times in the opening set, fought through adversity in the second set and then closed out the match with style, sinking to his knees on the green turf after being congratulated at net by his opponent.

There were some terrific rallies in the second and third sets but every time the Cypriot appeared poised to gain the momentum, Nadal was able to come up with an antidote and keep control. Baghdatis squandered all nine of his break-point chances, many due to clutch shots from Nadal.

"I had some chances in the second set," said Baghdatis. "I was playing really aggressively and he didn't like it. He was under pressure, I think."

Baghdatis then inadvertently outlined a blueprint Federer would be wise to follow in the final.

"[Nadal] doesn't like it when you aggress him all the time. But it's not as easy to do as it looks outside the court," he said. "He brings the ball back one more time and you miss it because you're not ready."

Two-time Wimbledon winner (1974, '82) Jimmy Connors is here as a commentator for the BBC. Asked what Nadal can trouble Federer with on grass, he said, "Everything -- and I say that with admiration. Federer had to be watching today and saying, 'Wow, this is going to be brutal.' "

Connors added, "We've been waiting for someone to come along and challenge Federer, and Nadal believes now that he's a grass-court player. If Federer wins, he's going to have to earn it because Rafa's not going to give him one thing."

Still, it's easy in tennis to wind up the time machine and make historical comparisons across eras that may or may not be relevant to a contemporary trend or phenomenon.

Sampras did so when he said of Nadal, "Ten years ago, with a lot more serve-and-volleyers [playing], I think he'd have a harder time doing what he's doing today."

The fact is, though, that it's 2006 and we're all just living in Rafa's and Roger's world. Sunday afternoon on Centre Court, one of them will further etch his name into the annals of the game.

Just don't be surprised if Nadal's the guy.

Whit Sheppard is a Paris-based sportswriter who is covering Wimbledon for ESPN.com. He can be e-mailed at lobsandvolleys@yahoo.com.

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