The Djokovic-Nadal showdown is as hot as any rivalry in the modern era. Federer vs. Nadal has been spectacular but, come on, we all pretty much knew Rafa has had the upper hand from the get-go.

With Djokovic and Nadal it’s different. It’s more evenly balanced. Djokovic won the last match, Rafa the previous three and Djokovic the previous seven in a row.

Can Djokovic complete the career slam?

US Open final 2006. Maria had just beaten Amelie Mauresmo in a tough semi-final and we had a quick turnaround for the final the next night against Justine Henin.

Maria had played Henin and lost the previous five matches and she was pretty much dominating the WTA Tour at that point. Although the previous matches had all been pretty close it was very clear that Maria had to make a few changes. I remember having a late dinner and a few drinks with Yuri (Sharapov) and going over what Maria needs to do to give her, her best shot in the Final.

"Make her change grips."

SHOULD RAFAEL NADAL BE THE TOP SEED AT ROLAND GARROS?
Text and Photos by Henk Abbink

I would say, Why not? Wimbledon, in their seeding, prides itself to not follow the official ATP ranking, looking at a combination of ranking and past results on their holy grass and other grass tournaments. So why would the French Open not do the same when it comes to clay?

Roland Garros decided not to make any exceptions and will follow the ATP rankings. Rafa himself couldn’t care less whether he is (now, after beating Ferrer in the quarterfinal ) the no. 4 or no. 1 seed. He knows that to win in Paris or anywhere else, he needs to beat every player anyway. His uncle Toni, rival Roger and other players felt it would be correct and fair to seed him at no. 1 or 2.

Rafa and Roger meet for 30th time today

1996 Lipton Championships in Key Biscayne. I was playing Michael Stich at the time he was ranked number 2 ATP. I hadn’t beaten a top 10 player at that point. I remember clearly my dad calling me from LA before the match and telling me he was up all night watching countless matches of Stich on video. It was well known that Stich had a huge serve and was very good around the net. I think he won Wimbledon the year or two before. He told me first time he comes to net hit the ball as hard as you possibly can right at him,

"Put a hole through his chest"

When Benoit Paire plays Roger Federer in the semifinals of Rome tomorrow afternoon, it will be the Frenchman’s first semifinal appearance in a Master Series event.

So far Paire has played Federer twice and lost both matches, in Basel last year and Australia this year.

"Federer is the most perfect player"

So Berdych takes out Djokovic in three sets. Didn’t see that upset coming.

Berdych might be ready to bust his way into the elite after so many years of hanging around the fringe, and coming up short to Federer, Nadal, Murray and Djokovic so many times.

T-Berd loves to compete against the best

Took a peek at Gulbis vs. Nadal in Rome and Gulbis is dominating Rafa. And making it look easy. Just beating him on clay from the baseline, pulling him out wide and when the court is open he strikes the winner. Rafa looks like a league beneath Gulbis right now.

The fifth game was interesting because Gulbis couldn’t get a first serve in but he still won it comfortably….

Nadal helpless on clay?

I collected the perspective of Peter Haas, father of Tommy, of Roger Federer for my “Facing Federer” book…

Peter Haas (Father of Tommy Haas): “I know Roger very well. Tommy trains with him sometimes in Switzerland and other places. I’m a total, big-time Federer fan. Basically speaking, Tommy plays just like Roger, they both have the same old school backhand. That automatically makes me a Federer fan. They basically have the same basic type of game from an aesthetic point of view.”

"It's almost unbelievable that this type of person exists"

I was reading Jack Kramer’s old bio this weekend and one chapter had the former great American champion discussing the hypothetical Earth vs. The Universe Davis Cup team.

Right now, I’d select Djokovic and Nadal

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I ran into Richard Williams in the VIP parking lot at the Sony Open in Miami, about 20 minutes after his daughter Serena won the title defeating Maria Sharapova. I gave him a copy of my Rios book, which he thanked me for, and then he voluntarily shared his compliments for Rios, a player he obviously respects highly.

“Marcelo Rios, in my opinion, is one of the greatest guys to play tennis.

"Rios was unreal"