Print

Mail

wiki links

Doctor, doctor, give me the news

France's Amelie Mauresmo hits a shot to Serbia-Montenegro's Jelena Jankovic during the third round of the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris, Saturday. PHOTO: AP

Rafael Nadal found his latest win at the French Open so taxing that he took a seat in the middle of a game and called for a doctor.

The problem wasn't serious: A bite of banana had caught in his throat. The bigger issue for Nadal was Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu, who traded ground-strokes with the defending champion for 4 hours, 53 minutes before losing in the third round Saturday, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Among Nadal's record 56 consecutive clay-court wins, the latest ranked with the most memorable -- and it came on his 20th birthday. The epic first set alone lasted 1 hour, 33 minutes, and one game took 15 minutes.

``I was tired -- I played five hours,'' Nadal said. ``But maybe Mathieu, too. Every person is tired after four hours.''

A stadium filled with partisan Parisians hung on every point, rooting for an upset. Instead, Nadal improved to 10-0 at Roland Garros and remained on course for a much-anticipated showdown in next Sunday's final against top-ranked Roger Federer.

It included a curious interruption at a pivotal moment, with Nadal serving for the third set at 5-4, 15-all. He hurriedly took a seat in his changeover chair, waved a banana peel at the umpire and pointed to his throat, indicating a bite he'd eaten during a changeover was lodged there.

``I started being a little bit frightened,'' Nadal said. ``I didn't want to stop in the middle of the game. I didn't think it would look very good. Then I lost the next point, and I was paying more attention to my throat than to the tennis.

``I thought, `I've got to stop, because I don't want anything serious to happen, and never mind if I don't look good.'''

Appearing anxious, Nadal conferred with a trainer and a doctor, then resumed play and closed out the set four points later to take the lead for good.

The crowd jeered Nadal for the banana break.

``Not my fault,'' he said. ``I'm sorry.''

Mathieu said he found the timing of the break strange, but his coach, Thierry Tulasne, absolved Nadal of any gamesmanship.

``He certainly did have something stuck in his throat and needed a minute to get it out,'' Tulasne said. ``I don't know how he got it out. But Paul-Henri played very well even after the pause, so I don't think it mattered.''

Even in the final set, the grinding nature of the rallies never slackened -- the first game took 10 minutes. The wear of the match could make Nadal's fitness an issue in the fourth round Monday against two-time Grand Slam winner Lleyton Hewitt.

``You have to show him that you're there on the court to beat him,'' Mathieu said. ``He's very, very good on clay, but I don't think it's impossible to beat him.''

Also advancing were six players who earned fourth-round berths at a Grand Slam event for the first time -- Shahar Peer, Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Alberto Martin, Julien Benneteau, Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo and Novak Djokovic.

The 19-year-old Peer became the first Israeli woman to reach the round of 16 at a Grand Slam event since Anna Smashnova did it at the French Open in 1998. Seeded 31st, Peer advanced by upsetting 2004 runner-up Elena Dementieva 6-4, 7-5.

``We have maybe four clay courts in Israel,'' Peer said. ``The rest is just hard courts. But I think the way I play and the way I move, I can improve and play better and better on clay.''

Others advancing included defending champion Justine Henin-Hardenne, whose opponent Sunday will be 2004 winner Anastasia Myskina.

No. 12 Martina Hingis, playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2001, and No. 2 Kim Clijsters also won. No. 32 Gisela Dulko beat Shenay Perry 6-1, 6-1 in 52 minutes, leaving one American -- Venus Williams -- in the women's draw.

No. 8 James Blake, the lone American left in the men's draw, won a tiebreaker to pull even with Frenchman Gael Monfils at 2-6, 7-6 (2) when their match was suspended because of darkness.
This story has been viewed 1293 times.