Saturday Preview - Top Trio Advance To Semi-Finals For First Time Since 1981

The top three seeds – three-time Rome champion Rafael Nadal, two-time finalist Roger Federer and defending champion Novak Djokovic – are into the semi-finals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, the fourth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the season. All three players have yet to drop a set in their first three matches. The other semi-finalist is No. 12 seed and 2007 runner-up Fernando Gonzalez. This marks the first time since 1981 the top three seeds are in the semi-finals in Rome. That year, the top trio of Guillermo Vilas, Ivan Lendl and Jose-Luis Clerc along with No. 12 seed Victor Pecci advanced to the semi-finals. In the first semi-final Federer has won seven of the past 10 meetings with Djokovic but the Serb won their last encounter. In the second semi-final, Nadal takes a 5-3 career advantage against Gonzalez, winning the past four meetings. This is the third time in the past four years they are meeting in Rome. Here are the semi-final match-ups:

No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 12 Fernando Gonzalez Nadal leads 5-3 (3-1 on clay)
No. 2 Roger Federer vs. No. 3 Novak Djokovic  Federer leads 7-3 (2-0 on clay)
2009 ATP WORLD TOUR MATCH WINS LEADERS – Here are the ATP World Tour match wins leaders this season:
                         W-L Titles
1) Rafael Nadal     36-3   4
2) Andy Murray     29-4   3
3) Novak Djokovic 29-9   1
4) Andy Roddick    26-5   1
5) Tommy Robredo 26-9   2

CLAY STREAK UPDATE – Nadal has won 28 straight matches on clay (14 in a row this year) going back to May 7, 2008 when he lost to countryman Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round (after a bye) in Rome. During the winning streak, he’s won 67 of 71 sets. Since 2005, Nadal has compiled an outstanding 145-4 match record on clay. He also has won 25 straight semi-final matches on clay (25-1 lifetime).

SEMI-FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS –

(3) Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs (2) Roger Federer (SUI) Federer Leads 7-3
06 ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo  Clay R64 Roger Federer 6-3 2-6 6-3
06 SUI v. SCG WG PO (Switzerland) Hard RR Roger Federer 6-3 6-2 6-3
07 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R16 Roger Federer 6-2 7-5 6-3
07 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard QF Roger Federer 6-3 6-7(6) 6-3
07 ATP Masters Series Montreal Hard F Novak Djokovic 7-6(2) 2-6 7-6(2)
07 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard F Roger Federer 7-6(4) 7-6(2)6-4
08 Australian Open (Australia) Hard SF Novak Djokovic 7-5 6-3 7-6(5)
08 ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo  Clay SF Roger Federer 6-3 3-2 ret
08 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard SF Roger Federer 6-3 5-7 7-5 6-2
09 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami Hard SF Novak Djokovic 3-6 6-2 6-3

 Novak Djokovic Roger Federer
 Sets Won: 10 20
 Tiebreak Sets Won: 4 2

 Match Wins By Surface:
 Clay: 0 2
 Hard: 3 5

DJOKOVIC FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
· The 21-year-old defending champion (10-1 mark) has yet to drop a set en route to the semi-finals…He beat No. 5 ranked Juan Martin del Potro 64 63 on Friday and the previous day ousted No. 13 seed Tommy Robredo 61 61…He opened on Tuesday with a 76(5) 60 victory over Spaniard Albert Montanes
· In the first three rounds has won 14 of 25 return games and converted the same number of break points
while holding serve 22 of 26 games (85%)
· Last year, rallied to defeat Stanislas Wawrinka 46 63 63 in the final and went through the tournament without facing a seed…Posted wins over Belgian Steve Darcis (64 60), Igor Andreev (63 36 63), Nicolas Almagro (61 1-0 ret., right wrist injury) and Radek Stepanek (60 10 ret., heat stress)
· Made his debut two years ago and reached the quarter-finals (d. Soderling, Baghdatis, l. to eventual champion Nadal 62 63)
2009 Highlights:
W: Dubai (d Ferrer); F: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Murray); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Nadal); SF: Sydney (l Nieminen); Marseille (l Tsonga); QF: Australian Open (l Roddick); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Roddick)

2009 in Review:
· The World No. 3 has a 29-9 record on the season (7-3 on clay) and he is coming off a runner-up effort at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo where he lost in three sets to ATP World Tour No. 1 Rafael Nadal…It was his first clay court tournament of the year
· Trying to reach his third straight ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final, ninth of his career (4-4), overall fourth of the season (1-2) and 21st of his career (12-8)
· He must defend his title or Andy Murray will move to No. 3 on May 11 when the 2008 Rome points drop
· Last month he reached the final at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami on Apr. 5 (l. to Murray)
· Since opening the year with a first round loss to Ernests Gulbis in Brisbane, has reached the quarter-finals or better in his next eight tournaments (including Rome)
· Has a 4-5 mark vs. Top 10 opponents this year (24-35 in his career)
· In March at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, came in as defending champion and lost to Andy Roddick in the quarter-finals…Earlier in the month lost both of his singles matches on clay in a first round Davis Cup tie in Spain, falling to David Ferrer and Nadal in fourth rubber, which clinched the tie
· Prior to Davis Cup, defeated No. 8 Gilles Simon (SF) and David Ferrer (on Feb. 28) in the Dubai final for his first ATP World Tour title of the season
· In first month of action advanced to the semi-finals in Sydney (l. to Nieminen) and was one match win away from becoming No. 2 ranked player…Followed with a quarter-final at the Australian Open where he retired vs. Roddick in the fourth set due to heat illness…Also reached the semi-finals in Marseille (l. to Tsonga) before winning first ATP World Tour title of the season following week in Dubai (d. Ferrer)

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
· He is appearing in the semi-finals or better for the 12th time in an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament…Has an 8-3 in semi-final matches
· Has a 71-26 career match record and 4-4 in finals, winning two titles in each of the past two years…In Monte-Carlo he was appearing in his sixth different ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final
· Defeated Tsonga and No. 2 Federer back-to-back to reach the final in Miami (l to Murray) on Apr. 5
· In 2007, reached his first final in Indian Wells (l. to Nadal) and followed with his first title at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami (d. Canas)…Later that year, won the title in Montreal, defeating the Top 3 players in succession – No. 3 Roddick (QF), No. 2 Nadal (SF) and No. 1 Federer (F)
· Last year, won titles in Indian Wells (d. Fish) and Rome (d. Wawrinka) while reaching the final in Cincinnati (l. to Murray)

Miscellaneous:
· In 2008, the young Serb finished No. 3 for a second straight season...The last player to do that was Pete Sampras in 1999-2000…Has ranked No. 3 every week since July 9, 2007 except one (Aug. 6, ’07)
· Captured four titles in six finals, winning Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai as well as his first Grand Slam crown at the Aust. Open (d. Federer in SF, Tsonga in F)...Only dropped one set, that coming in the final
· In March, reached semi-finals in Dubai (l. to Roddick) and followed with title in Indian Wells (d. Nadal in SF, Fish in F)…After a 17-4 start in first three months, played well on clay (16-3) with SF at Monte Carlo (ret. to Federer), won title at Rome (d. Wawrinka) and reached semi-finals at Hamburg and Roland Garros (l. to Nadal both times)...Had chance to move to No. 2 in last two events with a win over Nadal
· On grass, advanced to final at Queen’s (l. to Nadal), before losing in 2nd Rd. at Wimbledon to Safin
· During summer hard court circuit, reached QF in Toronto, final at Cincinnati (l. to Murray both times), won bronze medal at Beijing Olympics (d. Blake) and advanced to SF at US Open (l. to Federer)
· Qualified for second straight Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, defeating Davydenko for the title

FEDERER FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
· The 27-year-old Swiss native is appearing in the semi-finals or better for the third time in nine appearances (19-8 record)…He reached the final in 2003 (l. to Mantilla) and 2006 (l. to Nadal), his best results
· He opened the tournament with a 64 64 victory over Ivo Karlovic on Wednesday and followed with a 64 61 win over No. 16 seed Radek Stepanek on Thursday and 76(3) 62 over German qualifier Mischa Zverev on Friday…Leads the tournament in service games won (97%, holding 28 of 29 games) while saving seven of eight break points
· Last year posted wins over Canas and Karlovic en route to the quarter-finals (l. to Stepanek)
· Two years ago he lost in the third round to Italian Filippo Volandri 62 64
· Made his debut in 2000 and lost to Andrei Medvedev in the first round…Also lost in the first round two years later to Italian Andrea Gaudenzi

2009 Highlights:
F: Australian Open (l Nadal); SF: Doha (l Murray); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Murray); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Djokovic)

2009 in Review:
· The World No. 2 comes into the semi-finals for the fifth time in six tournaments with a 21-5 match record on the season (4-1 on clay)…Four of his losses have come in the decisive set (third or fifth) –  to No. 1 Rafael Nadal, No. 3 Novak Djokovic and twice to No. 4 Andy Murray
· Looking to reach his second final of the year and breakthrough to win his first ATP World Tour title since winning in his hometown of Basel last October…Since capturing his first ATP World Tour title in February 2001 in Milan, he has never failed to win a title in the first four months of the season until 2009
· Two weeks ago, lost to countryman Stanislas Wawrinka 64 75 in the third round in Monte-Carlo
· In the first two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events, lost in the semi-finals at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells (l. to Murray) and at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami (l. to Djokovic)
· He opened the first month with a semi-final in Doha (l. to Murray) and followed with runner-up at the Australian Open, falling to rival Rafael Nadal in five sets two months ago
· It was his first loss in a Grand Slam hard court final (8-1) and he fell short of tying Pete Sampras' all-time record of 14 Slam titles (13-5 in finals)…All five Grand Slam final losses have come to Nadal
· Has reached a record 19 straight semi-finals or better in Grand Slam play since a third round loss to Gustavo Kuerten at Roland Garros in 2004
· Then withdrew from Dubai and first round Davis Cup tie vs. the U.S. to back injury, which first surfaced last fall during indoor circuit
· Married long-time girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec on Apr. 11 in his hometown of Basel…In March he announced they are expected to become parents later this summer

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
· Has a career record of 190-58 since playing his first Masters tournament in Miami (falling first round to Carlsen) in 1999…Began in 1999-2000 with a 2-10 mark
· Last year was the first time since 2003 he didn’t win at least one Masters 1000 title…His last Masters 1000 title came in Cincinnati in August 2007 (d. Blake)
· Has won 14 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles, including 10 since ‘05, second all-time (w/Nadal)  behind Andre Agassi’s 17… Has a 14-9 record in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 finals
· Has won six different tournaments - Hamburg (four times), Indian Wells (three times), Cincinnati (twice), Miami (twice), Toronto (twice) and Madrid - and also a finalist in Monte-Carlo (three times) and Rome (twice)…He and Nadal are the only players to reach finals in eight different tournaments (except Paris)…Nadal (except Cincinnati)

Miscellaneous:
· In 2008, the Swiss native’s four year run at No. 1 came to an end but he extended his streak of winning at least one Grand Slam title to six straight years…Ranked No. 1 for a record 237 straight weeks
· Captured four titles in eight finals, including his fifth straight US Open crown...Each of his runner-up showings came to rival Rafael Nadal, in Monte Carlo, Hamburg, Roland Garros (for third straight year) and Wimbledon
· Began year with a SF at Australian Open (l. to Djokovic) where he was coming off lingering effects of a mononucleosis bout dating back to latter part of 2007...Hit a career-high 39 aces in a 3rd Rd. win 10-8 in fifth set over Tipsarevic in Melbourne
· Opened clay court circuit with title in Estoril (d. Davydenko, ret. with leg injury) and followed with runner-up in Monte Carlo...Then reached QF at AMS Rome (l. to Stepanek) and finals in Hamburg and Roland Garros…Won a career-best 21 of 25 matches on clay, losing to Nadal three times and Stepanek
· Then moved to grass and won Halle title (d. Kohlschreiber) without dropping serve in 49 games...Fell short of winning a sixth straight Wimbledon title as Nadal prevailed in a 4:48 marathon (9-7 in fifth set) in longest final in tournament history...It also ended a record 65-match winning streak on grass and it was his first loss in a grass court final (10-1)
· Returned to hard courts and lost in 2nd Rd. to Simon in Toronto, 3rd Rd. to K Became only fourth player since 1973 to end year at No. 1 at least four consecutive years, joining Pete Sampras (6), Jimmy Connors (5) and John McEnroe (4)
· Also first player in history to reach all four Grand Slam finals in back-to-back years and advanced to an all-time record 10 consecutive Slam finals (8-2 during streak) before falling short in the semi-finals at the ’08 Australian Open
· Has a 57-22 career record in finals and is tied for No. 8 (w/Nastase) on Open Era titles list

(1) Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs (12) Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) Nadal Leads 5-3
03 Stuttgart (Germany) Clay R32 Fernando Gonzalez 6-2 3-6 6-2
04 ATP Masters Series Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Fernando Gonzalez 7-6(1) 4-6 6-2
06 ATP Masters Series Rome (Italy) Clay QF Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-3
07 Australian Open (Australia) Hard QF Fernando Gonzalez 6-2 6-4 6-3
07 ATP Masters Series Rome (Italy) Clay F Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-2
07 ATP Masters Series Hamburg  Clay QF Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-4
08 Beijing Olympics (China) Hard F Rafael Nadal 6-3 7-6(2) 6-3
09 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R16 Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-2 6-4

   Rafael Nadal Fernando Gonzalez
 Sets Won:  14 7
 Tiebreak Sets Won: 1 1

 Match Wins By Surface:
 Clay:   3 1
 Hard:   2 2

NADAL FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
· The three-time champion (2005-07) enters the semi-finals with a 20-1 record, including 6-0 against Top 10 opponents…He and Austrian Thomas Muster are the only players to win three titles in Open Era
· On Wednesday, opened with a 62 63 win over top Italian Andreas Seppi and followed with a 61 60 victory over Swede Robin Soderling in the third round…On Friday, beat countryman and No. 6 seed Fernando Verdasco 63 63, saving five of six break points
· Leads the tournament this week in return games won (14 of 24) and points won returning first serve (46%) and No. 2 in service games won (92%, held 22 of 24 games, saving 12 of 14 break points)
· Last year lost in the opening round (after a bye) to Juan Carlos Ferrero 75 61 and since then has won 28 in a row on clay
· Two years ago defeated Fernando Gonzalez 62 62 in the title match and in 2006, prevailed in a fifth set tie-break over No. 1 Federer (saved two match points in 5:05 marathon)…In 2005, defeated Argentine Guillermo Coria in a fifth set tie-break (in five hours, 14 minutes)

W: Australian Open (d Federer); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (d Murray); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (d Djokovic); Barcelona (d Ferrer); F: Rotterdam (l Murray); QF: Doha (l Monfils); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Del Potro)

2009 in Review:
· The Mallorca native is appearing in the semi-finals or better for the sixth time in eight tournaments this year…Has compiled an ATP World Tour-best 36-3 record (14-0 on clay, 32-1 in sets) this season with four titles, winning at the Australian Open and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells last month and Monte-Carlo two weeks ago…Last Sunday won the Barcelona title for the fifth straight year
· Has won 28 straight matches on clay since losing to countryman Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round in Rome on May 7, 2008 (winning 67 of 71 sets during the streak)
· He has an outstanding 145-4 match record on clay since 2005 and in his career is 24-1 in clay court finals…In addition, since the beginning of Monte-Carlo last year when he captured his first ATP World Tour of 2008 through Rome quarter-finals, he owns an overall record of 96-8 with 12 titles
· Has a 34-3 career record vs. Top 10 opponents on clay, including 27-1 while in the Top 10 on clay…
His only loss while in Top 10 came to No. 1 Federer in the final of Hamburg in May 2007
· He is also 14-4 lifetime in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 finals, trailing only Andre Agassi (17)…Tied with Federer (14)
· This is the first time in his career he’s won two hard court titles in the first three months of the season
· In March, he captured his 13th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells (d. Murray) and followed with a quarter-final showing at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami (l. to del Potro in third set TB)
· Has already surpassed $3 million in prize money, the earliest in a season in men’s tennis
· Began March by leading his country to a 4-1 first round Davis Cup win over Serbia in a home clay tie
 Posted straight-set wins over Janko Tipsarevic and No. 3 Djokovic, losing only serve once in six sets
· Began the season by reaching the quarter-finals in Doha (l. to Monfils) and winning the doubles title (w/M. Lopez) over last year’s No. 1 team of Nestor-Zimonjic
· Then captured his sixth career Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, his first on hard courts, with a five-set victory over rival Roger Federer...In semi-final win over countryman Fernando Verdasco, won a tournament record 5:14 battle in five sets
·  He became first Spaniard to win Australian title and third player at age 22-under to win three of four Grand Slam titles, joining Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras...Also first player to win Aussie Open title winning five-set SF and F matches since Mats Wilander in 1988
· On Feb. 15 reached his third career ATP World Tour indoor final (1-2) in Rotterdam and injured his right knee in three-set loss to Murray...Withdrew from Dubai before returning for Davis Cup tie
· Has ranked No. 1 for 37 consecutive weeks since first taking over the top spot on Aug. 18, 2008

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
· Has a sparkling 140-28 career match record and a 14-4 mark in finals, winning at least two titles in each of the past five years (2005-09)…Won a personal-best four in 2005 and three each in 2007-08
· He and Federer are the only players to reach eight different Masters 1000 finals…Prior to this year, the Spaniard has reached the final in every tournament except Cincinnati…Federer had reached every final except Paris (Bercy)

Miscellaneous:
· In 2008, the Mallorca native became the first left-hander to finish No. 1 since John McEnroe in 1984, in addition to becoming first Spaniard as year-end No. 1 in history of ATP Rankings (since 1973)
· Became first player since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles in same year
· Led the ATP World Tour with eight titles in 10 finals, 82 match wins, most matches (93) played and a 17-6 mark against Top 10 opponents ...Also helped his native country to Davis Cup title (vs. Argentina) by winning all three of his matches during year
· He advanced to the semi-finals or better in all four Grand Slam tournaments for first time in his career...
· Opened with runner-up effort in Chennai (l. to Youzhny) and reached SF at Aust. Open (l. to Tsonga)
· In March, reached SF at Indian Wells (l. to Djokovic) and followed with runner-up in Miami (l. to Davydenko)...Began year with a 22-6 record in first six tournaments before going 60-5 rest of season
· During clay court circuit, won titles at Monte Carlo (d. Federer) and Barcelona (d. Ferrer) for fourth straight year and for first time at Hamburg (d. Federer)...Lost his only clay match (24-1) in 2nd Rd. at Rome (l. to Ferrero)
· Captured his fourth straight Roland Garros crown (d. Federer) and became first player since Borg in 1978-81 to accomplish feat...Also first player since Borg in 1980 to win without dropping a set in Paris
· Then moved to grass and won titles at Queen’s (d. Karlovic, Roddick, Djokovic) and Wimbledon, defeating five-time champ Federer in a 4:48 marathon (9-7 in fifth set) in longest final at All England Club...Became first Spaniard to capture Wimbledon title since Manuel Santana in 1966
· Three weeks later in Toronto, earned his first hard court title of season (d. Murray in SF, Kiefer in F)...Following week in Cincinnati, reached SF (l. to Djokovic), ending his career-best 32-match winning streak...His result guaranteed No. 1 ranking on Aug. 18, which he obtained after earning gold medal at Beijing Olympics (d. Gonzalez)
· Spent a record 160 straight weeks at No. 2 from July 25, 2005 to Aug. 17, 2008
· Then advanced to first SF at US Open (l. to Murray)...Later in month, defeated Querrey and Roddick in Davis Cup SF to lead Spain into final...Clinched year-end No. 1 at Madrid with SF effort (l. to Simon)

GONZALEZ FASTFACTS

Tournament Highlights:
· The 28-year-old Chilean rallied for the second match in a row Friday against Argentine qualifier Juan Monaco to win 26 63 64…On Thursday came back to beat Austrian Jurgen Melzer 36 63 75…Has not faced a seed en route to the semi-finals…Has a 16-5 career record 
· The No. 12 seed defeated Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 64 61 and Serb Janko Tipsarevic 64 64 in the first two rounds…Has held serve 43 of 48 games (saving 13 of 18 break points) in four matches
· His last two losses in Rome have come to eventual champion Rafael Nadal, in the quarter-finals in 2006 and in the final in 2007
· Last year reached the third round and withdrew (vs. Almagro) due to a leg injury

2009 Highlights:
W: Viña del Mar (d Acasuso); SF: Barcelona (l Ferrer)

2009 in Review:
· The Santiago resident has a 17-4 record on the season (11-1 on clay)…He is appearing in his second straight ATP World Tour semi-final after advancing to that round last week in Barcelona (d.  No. 7 Verdasco in QF, l. to Ferrer)…Has a 1-2 mark vs. Top 10 opponents this year (25-40 in career)
· Has a 3-14 record against World No. 1s (d. Hewitt, ’03 Hamburg; d. Agassi, ’03 Washington; d. Federer, ’07 Tennis Masters Cup-Shanghai)
· He is attempting to reach his second ATP World Tour final of the year, the third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final (0-2) and 23rd title match of his career (11-11)
· Began the year by reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open (l. to eventual champ Nadal), then won 11th career ATP World Tour title in Vina del Mar (d. Acasuso) in February
· Did not play in first round Davis Cup tie vs. Croatia due to back injury
· Returned in March to reach the fourth round at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (d. Hewitt, Blake, l. to Federer) and followed with third round at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l. to Stepanek)

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 History:
· Has a career record of 79-60 with his best results a runner-up in 2006 at Madrid (l. to Federer) and in 2007 at Rome (l. to Nadal)...Has a 2-5 career mark in ATP Masters 1000 semi-final matches
· Also in 2006, reached semi-finals three times – Monte Carlo (l. to Federer), Toronto (l. to Federer) and Cincinnati (l. to Roddick)

Miscellaneous:
· In 2008, the Chilean finished in Top 15 for a fourth straight season highlighted by a silver medal showing at Beijing Olympics...Jumped off to a 20-5 start through Roland Garros where he reached QF (l. to Federer)
· In August, lost to Nadal in gold medal match in Beijing after saving three match points in 11-9 third set SF win over Blake ...Then reached 4th RD at US Open (l. to Roddick)...In September, lifted Chile into '09 Davis Cup World Group by winning both of his singles matches over Aussies Luczak and Guccione
· Last year went 2-3 vs. Top 10 opponents and compiled marks of career-best 18-1 on clay, 18-12 on hard and 3-2 on grass
· In 2007, the top South American was first Chilean to finish in Top 10 in back-to-back seasons since Marcelo Rios from 1997-99...Made breakthrough by reaching his first Grand Slam final at Australian Open, dropping only one set in wins over Hewitt (3rd RD), No. 5 Blake (4th RD), No. 2 Nadal (QF) and No. 12 Haas (SF) before falling to Federer in straight sets
· Reached as high as No. 5 (January 29, 2007) on South African Airways ATP Rankings
· Working with former ATP World Tour pro Martin Rodriguez of Argentina (since December ’08)

POSSIBLE FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS

(1) Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs (3) Novak Djokovic (SRB) Nadal Leads 12-4
06 Roland Garros (France) Clay QF Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-4 ret
07 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells Hard F Rafael Nadal 6-2 7-5
07 ATP Masters Series Miami (U.S.A.) Hard QF Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-4
07 ATP Masters Series Rome (Italy) Clay QF Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-3
07 Roland Garros (France) Clay SF Rafael Nadal 7-5 6-4 6-2
07 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass SF Rafael Nadal 3-6 6-1 4-1 ret
07 ATP Masters Series Montreal Hard SF Novak Djokovic 7-5 6-3
07 Tennis Masters Cup (China) Hard RR Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-4
08 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells  Hard SF Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-2
08 ATP Masters Series Hamburg  Clay SF Rafael Nadal 7-5 2-6 6-2
08 Roland Garros (France) Clay SF Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-2 7-6(3)
08 London / Queen's Club (Great Britain)Grass F Rafael Nadal 7-6(6)7-5
08 ATP Masters Series Cincinnati  Hard SF Novak Djokovic 6-1 7-5
08 Beijing Olympics (China) Hard SF Rafael Nadal 6-4 1-6 6-4
09 ESP vs. SRB WG 1st RD (Spain) Clay RR Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-4 6-1
09 ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo  Clay F Rafael Nadal 6-3 2-6 6-1

(1) Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs (2) Roger Federer (SUI) Nadal Leads 13-6
04 ATP Masters Series Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-3
05 ATP Masters Series Miami (U.S.A.) Hard F Roger Federer      2-6 6-7(4)   7-6(5)  6-3  6-1
05 Roland Garros (France) Clay SF Rafael Nadal 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-3
06 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard F Rafael Nadal 2-6 6-4 6-4
06 ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo  Clay F Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-7(2)6-3 7-6(5)
06 ATP Masters Series Rome (Italy) Clay F Rafael Nadal 6-7(0) 7-6(5) 6-4  2-6  7-6(5)
06 Roland Garros (France) Clay F Rafael Nadal 1-6 6-1 6-4   7-6(4)
06 Wimbledon (England) Grass F Roger Federer 6-0 7-6(5) 6-7(2) 6-3
06 Tennis Masters Cup (China) Hard SF Roger Federer 6-4 7-5
07 ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo  Clay F Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-4
07 ATP Masters Series Hamburg  Clay F Roger Federer 2-6 6-2 6-0
07 Roland Garros (France) Clay F Rafael Nadal 6-3 4-6 6-3 6-4
07 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass F Roger Federer 7-6(7)4-6 7-6(3) 2-6 6-2
07 Tennis Masters Cup (China) Hard SF Roger Federer 6-4 6-1
08 ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo  Clay F Rafael Nadal 7-5 7-5
08 ATP Masters Series Hamburg  Clay F Rafael Nadal 7-5 6-7(3) 6-3
08 Roland Garros (France) Clay F Rafael Nadal 6-1 6-3 6-0
08 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass F Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-4 6-7(5) 6-7(8)9-7
09 Australian Open (Australia) Hard F Rafael Nadal 7-5 3-6 7-6(3) 3-6 6-2

 Rafael Nadal Roger Federer
 Sets Won: 40 27
 Tiebreak Sets Won: 7 9

 Match Wins By Surface:
 Clay: 9 1
 Hard: 3 3
 Grass: 1 2

(12) Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) vs (3) Novak Djokovic (SRB) Gonzalez Leads 2-1
05 ATP Masters Series Cincinnati (USA) Hard R64 Fernando Gonzalez 3-6 7-6(7) 6-4
06 Roland Garros (France) Clay R64 Novak Djokovic 6-4 6-1 3-6 4-6 6-1
06 ATP Masters Series Madrid (Spain) Hard QF Fernando Gonzalez 7-5 5-7 7-5

(12) Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) vs (2) Roger Federer (SUI) Federer Leads 12-1
04 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells  Hard R32 Roger Federer 6-3 6-2
04 ATP Masters Series Hamburg  Clay R16 Roger Federer 7-5 6-1
05 ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo  Clay R16   Roger Federer 6-2 6-7(3) 6-4
05 Roland Garros (France) Clay R32 Roger Federer 7-6(9)7-5 6-2
05 Wimbledon (England) Grass QF Roger Federer 7-5 6-2 7-6(2)
06 ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo Clay SF Roger Federer 6-2 6-4
06 ATP Masters Series Canada Toronto Hard SF Roger Federer 6-1 5-7 6-3
06 ATP Masters Series Madrid (Spain) Hard F Roger Federer 7-5 6-1 6-0
06 Basel (Switzerland) Carpet F Roger Federer 6-3 6-2 7-6(3)
07 Australian Open (Australia) Hard F Roger Federer 7-6(2) 6-4 6-4
07 Tennis Masters Cup (China) Hard RR Fernando Gonzalez 3-6 7-6(1) 7-5
08 Roland Garros (France) Clay QF Roger Federer 2-6 6-2 6-3 6-4
09 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells  Hard R16 Roger Federer 6-3 5-7 6-2