AN ATP MASTERS SERIES EVENT
11th - 19th OCTOBER
ATP News : 2007
LONDON: AFTER THE RAIN
A rainy Saturday at Wimbledon postponed on-court action at the 2007 Championships as last year's runner-up Rafael Nadal prepared to take Centre Court against Swede Robin Soderling, forcing the players to wait until Monday for their third-round meeeting
www.atptennis.com Of the eight men's singles matches slated for Saturday, only Czech Tomas Berdych and Korean Hyung-Taik Lee managed to squeeze in some court time following an initial four-hour hour rain delay. The seventh-seeded Berdych took the first set 6-4 before play was suspended after 75 minutes, with the two on serve in the second. Meanwhile, eight men's doubles matches were halted. Defending champions Bob and Mike Bryan, the No. 1 seeds, and third seeds Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor were each up a set in their second-round matches, and 10th-seeded Frenchmen Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra were locked at 9-9 against the American duo of Amer Delic and Bobby Reynolds. Nadal is attempting to join Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg as the only players in the Open Era to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles in the same season, and confidently opened his 2007 Wimbledon campaign by making quick work of American Mardy Fish and Austrian Werner Eschauer. He enters his third-round match with a 1-0 career edge over his opponent, having eased his way to a straight-sets victory past the 50th-ranked Soderling in their 2006 Roland Garros opener. Since then, the 22-year-old Swede has rapidly risen up the ATP Rankings to a career-high No. 23 in 2007 (currently No. 28). He reached three semifinals through the first two months of the season, and also matched his best Grand Slam showing by advancing to the third round this week. |