Published: Friday June 19, 2009 MYT 8:22:00 AM
Updated: Friday June 19, 2009 MYT 12:12:35 PM

As Nadal struggles on grass, Federer aims at sixth Wimbledon victory(update)

Updates with what Federer is doing about Wimbledon

LONDON (AP) - Rafael Nadal looked hampered by his injured knees in an unsuccessful transition to grass Thursday and will decide Friday whether he is fit enough to defend his Wimbledon title.

Nadal played without tape on his sore knees but frequently looked a step slow in losing 6-4, 6-3 to Lleyton Hewitt in an exhibition match at the Hurlingham Club in London.

It was Nadal's first match after losing to Robin Soderling in the fourth round of the French Open. He pulled out of last week's grass-court tournament at Queen's Club to rest his knees.

However, Nadal looked increasingly frustrated against the hard-serving Hewitt as he repeatedly failed to get to balls he would normally reach and struggled with unforced backhand errors.

Nadal did not speak to reporters, but his uncle and coach Toni said it was still uncertain whether he can play at Wimbledon, which starts Monday.

Nadal plays another two-set exhibition match against Stanislas Wawrinka on Friday, and Toni Nadal said the top-ranked player will make a decision after that.

"It's the first match (on grass), and we'll have to wait until tomorrow," Toni Nadal said.

"I don't know. We'll have to wait until tomorrow, and we'll see then."

When pressed about Nadal's chances of playing at Wimbledon, his coach did not sound optimistic.

"If it's me, I'm (flying) to Mallorca," he said, referring to Nadal's island home.

If Nadal doesn't play, he will be the first men's champion not to defend the title since Goran Ivanisevic, who retired before the 2002 tournament.

Nadal has struggled with knee problems for months and missed last year's Davis Cup final after being diagnosed with tendinitis in November.

Toni Nadal said his nephew's main problem was in bending his legs properly, and that wearing some kind of support wouldn't help. He said Nadal has continued getting treatment during his week in London, but that "it's not enough."

Hewitt challenged Nadal from the start at the small private club by the bank of the River Thames, forcing the Spaniard to save two break points in the first game before holding serve.

The 2002 Wimbledon champ managed to break to love for a 3-2 lead after three unforced errors from Nadal, and held his next service game to love behind a barrage of aces.

Nadal frequently muttered to himself in Spanish after missing shots, and often had to rely on his topspin forehand to bail him out of trouble.

Nadal had his first break point in the first game of the second set, but Hewitt saved it with a service winner.

Nadal set up another break point at 2-2 with a good forehand volley, but Hewitt made a forehand winner down the line before holding.

Hewitt then broke again for a decisive 4-3 lead after Nadal sent a forehand long, and the Australian converted his second match point after Nadal sent a lunging backhand long as well.

In the other singles match Thursday, Tomas Berdych beat Marat Safin 7-6 (7), 6-4.

Roger Federer meanwhile is building something of a reputation as an on-court crier, and he remembers well the first time he wept after winning a match.

It was July 2, 2001, at Wimbledon, the tournament that means more to him than any other.

Federer was 19, up-and-coming and making his Centre Court debut in the fourth round when he stunned Pete Sampras, who was 29, seeded No. 1 and seeking an eighth Wimbledon title.

"I used to cry almost after every single match I lost as a junior. It's not at all a feeling like it's the end of the world - of course not, because tennis is not everything - but some people can control it, some people can't," Federer said.

"Crying after a victory is something that started when I beat Pete."

Back then, Federer had yet to reach the semifinals, let alone win a title, at any Grand Slam event.

Eight years later, as Wimbledon begins on Monday with a roof over Centre Court for the first time, Federer arrives at the All England Club bidding to break Sampras' career record of 14 major championships.

Federer will be aiming for his sixth Wimbledon title one year after a tear-inducing loss to Rafael Nadal in the longest singles final in tournament history, a 4-hour, 48-minute test of skill and will that ended 9-7 in the fifth set as darkness descended.

That disappointment notwithstanding, Federer eagerly awaits returning to the grass-court Grand Slam.

"When you get there, you start to get into your frame of mind: It's just, like, 'All right, let's go again here. I know what it takes. Settle in. Enjoy being a member,"' Federer said with a little laugh.

"I love going there, so it takes only a couple of hours almost to feel, like, at home."

There was something apt about the way he tied Sampras' Grand Slam mark by completing a career Grand Slam at the French Open, a tournament the American never won and that the Swiss star came so close to winning, year after year, before finally breaking through this month.

There also would be something fitting if Federer surpasses Sampras at Wimbledon, a tournament that means so much to both men - and where their paths crossed all those years ago.

On the day Federer won at Roland Garros, Sampras said he expected Federer to get No. 15 "in the next couple of weeks."

Asked whether he would travel to the All England Club this year, Sampras replied: "We'll sort of see what happens."

Many current players believe Federer is set to re-establish his supremacy at Wimbledon.

As 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt put it: "Roger's going to be the one to beat."

The same must be said of the Williams sisters, particularly Venus.

Just as it has been with Federer in recent years, Wimbledon is their turf.

Venus has played in seven finals at the All England Club, winning five championships, including the past two.

Serena has played in four finals, winning two.

Pay no heed to the rankings, which have both sisters behind No. 1 Dinara Safina.

Here are the numbers that really matter: Serena has won 10 Grand Slam titles overall, and Venus seven, while Marat Safin's little sister is winless in three major finals.

Maria Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion, can't be counted out, even if her serve has been a trouble spot in her return from shoulder surgery, while a teenager such as Victoria Azarenka or Caroline Wozniacki could be ready for a breakthrough.

It seems far less likely that someone who isn't a household name will win the men's championship on July 5.

For Federer, there are other laurels at stake this fortnight: He could match Nadal's feat from 2008 of winning the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season - that hadn't been done since Bjorn Borg in 1980.

Plus, Federer can reclaim the No. 1 ranking if he wins Wimbledon and Nadal, who is nursing sore knees, loses before the semifinals.

That, Federer said, doesn't concern him. Right now, he is focusing on adding to his haul of major championships.

He bawled during the postmatch ceremonies after another five-set setback against Nadal at the Australian Open this year, then shed tears of joy when he won the French Open.

Now comes Wimbledon.

"I do think I'm the favorite, actually, with the success I've had and how close I came again last year," said Federer, whose wife is due to give birth to their first child this summer.

"Without any disrespect to any of the other players - because I think this year's field is going to be very difficult to topple."

There's Nadal, of course, if healthy. Remember: Federer is the only man Nadal has lost to at Wimbledon over the past three years.

Then there is Andy Murray, the 22-year-old from Scotland who gives local fans a real chance for the first British male champion at the All England Club since Fred Perry in 1936.

Murray reached his first Grand Slam final at last year's U.S. Open, and he showed how his versatility is growing by making the French Open quarterfinals.

Then, as if the expectations and pressure weren't going to be onerous enough during Wimbledon, Murray went out and won the grass-court tournament at Queen's Club last weekend, making him that event's first British champion since 1938.

"The buildup beforehand is a little bit more stressful than other tournaments," Murray said, "but once it starts, it's like all the other Slams."

In running down the list of contenders, Federer mentioned Nadal and Murray, of course.

He also named two-time Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick (although that was before the American hurt his foot at Queen's Club), 2008 Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and French Open runner-up Robin Soderling, who ended Nadal's 31-match winning streak at Roland Garros.

Still, it all comes back to Federer, even as far as he is concerned.

"I feel like I've got the game, I've got the mental approach and I've got the experience ... to win at Wimbledon many more times," Federer said.

"But I'd like to get this one, this year." - AP

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