TENNIS: Spanish sensation Rafael Nadal vowed he "will be prepared for Wimbledon" despite a stunning, first-round exit at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle. Three days after clinching his first Grand Slam title at the French Open, a tired Nadal lost his first game in 25 matches when unheralded wild-card entry Alexander Waske handed him a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, defeat.
"I don't think I will lose any confidence because I was very confident before Roland Garros," Nadal said afterwards. "The second half of the season is very important for me and I will definitely be prepared for Wimbledon. Today I just couldn't keep up my concentration."
Nadal will travel to London next Wednesday after taking two days off and spending some time with his family in Mallorca.
Nadal looked set to continue his dominance as he comfortably won the first set, but fortunes changed after he wasted four break points at 1-1 in the second.
He revealed: "I really felt tired afterwards and also had problems with my thigh. I thought of retiring but decided against it."
Nadal then played a "horrible" last service game in the second set which Waske won to 15.
The local favourite, a strong-serving wild-card entry, gained another break in the eighth game. He then converted his second match-point, but not after three straight service errors.
Second seed Marat Safin saved one match-point against Fabrice Santoro before a thigh injury forced the Frenchman to retire in the third set. Down 6-3 and 6-5 in a second set tiebreaker, Safin held his nerve to prevail 9-7.
The Russian, after squandering all of his first 10 break-points, finally broke his opponent's serve to go up 3-2 in the third, which prompted Santoro to retire.
"He almost made me crazy by deflecting all those break-points but I kept my cool," Safin said afterwards.
The 2005 Australian Open champion insisted he will try to play Wimbledon despite a nagging knee injury that has left him in pain for two months. "It's not like I need a wheelchair to play but I'm in pain," stated Safin.
Meanwhile, Andy Roddick began his quest for a hat-trick of Stella Artois titles by outclassing Australian wild card Mark Philippoussis 6-2, 6-4 yesterday to reach the third round. While the second-seeded American handed Philippoussis a 57-minute masterclass in grasscourt tennis, Greg Rusedski and Andrew Murray gave the British fans plenty to cheer.
Rusedski crafted a 6-1, 6-7, 6-4, win over Russia's Dmitry Tursunov, and US Open junior champion Murray underlined his growing stature by stunning American ninth seed Taylor Dent 6-3 6-3.
Roddick, whose only two defeats on grass since 2003 have been to Swiss Roger Federer, proved to be in a different league.
Philippoussis kept pace until 2-2 in the first set when Roddick left him flat-footed behind the baseline with a series of scorching serves and stinging returns to win four games on the trot. The Australian tried to make it a contest in the second set by toning down his erratic range of shots.
The move only delayed the inevitable. Roddick followed up a break that gave him a 4-3 lead by unleashing a 151 mph delivery, his eighth ace, in the next game.
Philippoussis, clearly lacking match practice after three months on the sidelines with an ankle injury, bowed out when he tamely stroked a backhand wide on the second match point.
Australian second seed Alicia Molik stumbled to a 6-4, 6-2 defeat by Laura Granville of the US in the second round of the pre-Wimbledon Edgbaston grasscourt tournament yesterday.
Molik, making her return after eight weeks out following an ear infection, failed to impose herself against an opponent ranked 100th in the world.
On a day of surprises Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova, the 2002 Wimbledon quarter-finalist and seventh seed, suffered a marathon 6-4, 6-7, 7-6, defeat by Spain's Arantxa Parra Santonja.
Fifth seed Tatiana Golovin of France remains on course for a semi-final meeting with top seed and defending champion Maria Sharapova after beating South African qualifier Natalie Grandin 6-4, 7-5.
