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Raphael - soil painter
Roland Garros debutant Nadal will play Federer on his birthday
Today at the French Open in Paris, the moment of truth will come for Russian tennis fans. In the semi-finals of the tournament in women's singles, two Russians will play against foreign opponents. Elena Likhovtseva will fight with the hostess of the court Marie Pierce, Nadezhda Petrova will have to sort things out with the former first racket of the world, Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne. Let us recall that a year ago, two other Russians, Anastasia Myskina and Elena Dementieva, met in the decisive match at Roland Garros. The first failed to defend the championship - Nastya was eliminated in the opening round, Dementieva, after losing to Likhovtseva, stopped fighting in the fourth round, but still the Russian tennis players remain in the spotlight in Paris. Last year's heroines were unexpectedly replaced by Likhovtseva and Petrova.It will be very difficult to repeat the Russian final, but it is quite justified to hope that at least one of our compatriots will reach the main match of the tournament. Henin-Hardenne has been in excellent form since April, with 23 wins in a row. Great endurance allows the Belgian to find the necessary solutions on the court in seemingly lost matches. At the current tournament, in three matches, she brought things to the third set and always acted impeccably in the endings. It will be extremely difficult for Petrova to cope with this machine. The result of the final match at the May clay tournament of the first category of the WTA in Berlin adds to our optimism - Petrova lost to the Belgian in a serious fight, where everything was decided by one break in the final game. Justine then won with a score of 6:3, 4:6, 6:3. The Belgian won three Grand Slam tournaments, including Roland Garros 2003. At the same time, Petrova entered the strongest quartet - this is her highest achievement.
Likhovtseva and Pierce are the same age (both born in 1975) and neighbors according to the BTA rating. The Russian woman is in 19th place, the French woman is four steps lower. In Pierce's career, there are much more significant titles than Elena, although lately Marie has not particularly shined, and Likhovtseva has been performing, perhaps not particularly brightly, but quite consistently. Ten years ago, Pierce became one of the three strongest players on the planet, winning the Australian Open. She achieved a triumph at Roland Garros in 2000, and in total during her sports biography she earned $7.2 million on the court; for our tennis player this figure is much less - $4.8 million. The rivals in the upcoming semi-final have met ten times between themselves, a slight advantage on the French side - 6:4. For two years in a row, the tournament paths of Likhovtseva and Pierce crossed at the same competitions in Berlin. Last season, Elena won in the first round on German clay, a month ago Marie took revenge - 6:2, 6:2.
Yesterday, the last two quarterfinals were played in the men's competition: Nikolay Davydenko - Tommy Robredo (Spain), Guillermo Canas - Mariano Puerta (both Argentina). The first semi-final pair was determined the day before: the best tennis player in the world, Swiss Roger Federer, defeated Romanian Victor Hanescu - 6:2, 7:6 (7:3), 6:3, and Spaniard Rafael Nadal easily defeated his fellow countryman David Ferrer - 7:5, 6:2, 6:0. The upcoming semi-final between Federer and Nadal on Friday carries great intrigue. Firstly, the Swiss’s collection includes victories at three Grand Slam tournaments - the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, but in France Roger did not advance beyond the quarterfinals (in 2000) - the clay is far from the most favorite coating of this magnificent master. Nadal turns 19 on the day of the match with a famous opponent. Why not give yourself a great gift? It’s hard to believe, but this is the debut Roland Garros tournament for the Spaniard. He has some experience of matches in Melbourne, Wimbledon and New York, although the surfaces used there are clearly not his element.
Nadal is progressing at a breakneck pace. At the end of last season, he helped the Spanish team win the Davis Cup, defeating American Andy Roddick in the final. This year, in 38 matches on clay, he left the court defeated only twice. Rafael won five ATP tournaments, including two Masters. At the moment, he is unbeaten in 22 consecutive matches played on clay. So the match between the Spaniard and Federer promises to be a spectacle of the highest order.