IHT Global Sports Forum With Christopher Clarey: French Open 2008; Part Three - The Men's Tournament -
Parte Tre: Il Torneo Maschile

CHRISTOPHER CLAREY: Welcome back to our forum. The topic this time is the French Open, which begins on Sunday, and most of the focus when it begins will be on three men instead of the usual two: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer AND Novak Djokovic. With me to discuss those three and a few others are Philippe Bouin, lead tennis writer for the French sports daily L'Equipe, Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated magazine, Swiss tennis writer Rene Stauffer and Tom Tebbutt of Toronto's Globe and Mail, who will be covering his 32d French Open this year.
The question to start is simple. Can anyone really beat Rafa in best-of-five sets on his favorite surface in his favorite tournament? And I would remind everyone that no one has managed to push him to a fifth set yet in the three years he's been coming (and winning) here.
PHILIPPE BOUIN, L'EQUIPE: He can be beaten by his body. But not by his buddy Roger.
JON WERTHEIM, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Not likely that he'll lose, but can anyone see a few guys softening him up a bit in the middle rounds, leaving him with little left against a grinder such as David Ferrer?
BOUIN: Please no. I do not want to have to interview Ferrer after the title.
TOM TEBBUTT, THE GLOBE AND MAIL: Anyone who has won so much is vulnerable to having things just not go his way on a certain day and have trouble processing that. I think Djokovic, if his conditioning allows, is the main threat. Though he lost to Nadal in the Hamburg semifinals, I thought he played great.
RENE STAUFFER, TAGES-ANZEIGER: Unfortunately, I can't see Roger beating Rafa in Paris either. Would be a nice surprise, but I don't believe in it, after all the defeats Roger has had against Rafa on clay.
CLAREY: It looks like it's more belief than anything technical at this stage. That final in Hamburg last week was in the head. He had him to rights in both sets. He just missed when it mattered and Nadal, in general, did not.
BOUIN: I think it is true that Roger knows now how to beat Rafa on clay, but that he also knows it requires too much from him It is a little like the surfer and the wave. As soon as he loses just a little of his balance, he is overwhelmed.
WERTHEIM: You wish Federer had more momentum because with the combination of Nadal's blisters and the disappearance of potential threats like Richard Gasquet, he would seem to have a decent chance this year.
CLAREY: Roger certainly wants it as badly as ever, if not more, after a very difficult season so far by his standards. All those bellows of frustration on big points in Hamburg were extraordinary. It has to be tough for a maestro to take when his violin keeps squeaking. […]
WERTHEIM: Not having been to an event since Miami, can one of you comment on the impact of him hiring Jose Higueras as his coach?
STAUFFER: Very slim so far. They spent two weeks together and tried to get to know each other.
BOUIN: "I Roger." "You Jose?"

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Global Sports Forum con Christopher Clarey: il torneo maschile del Roland Garros.

CHRISTOPHER CLAREY: La domanda è semplice: può qualcuno battere Nadal in un torneo al meglio dei cinque set, tenendo presente che nessuno, nei tre anni precedenti in cui ha vinto, lo ha portato a giocare al quinto?

PHILIPPE BOUIN, L'EQUIPE: può essere battuto dal suo fisico, ma non dal suo amico Roger.

JON WERTHEIM, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Non dico uno che lo batta, ma c’è qualcuno che lo possa impegnare nei primi turni, togliendogli energie per un match contro un arrotini come Ferrer?

BOUIN: Non vorrei intervistare Ferrer dopo il suo titolo.

TOM TEBBUTT, THE GLOBE AND MAIL: Penso che Djokovic sia la più grande minaccia. Ad Amburgo ha giocato bene, pur perdendo.

RENE STAUFFER, TAGES-ANZEIGER: Purtroppo non vedo Roger che batte Nadal a Parigi. Sarebbe una grande sorpresa, ma non ci credo, dopo tutte quelle sconfitte.

CLAREY: Sembra che sia qualcosa di mentale più che di fisico. Ad Amburgo era avanti i n entrambi i set, ed è mancato quando contava, al contrario di Rafa.

BOUIN: Ci credo quando Roger dice che sa come battere Rafa, ma è anche vero che è una cosa che richiede troppo da lui. E’ come il surfer con l’onda: appena perde un po’ l’equilibrio, sarà scaraventato via.

WERTHEIM: Speriamo che Federer colga l’attimo, tra le vesciche di Nadal e gli appannamenti di minacce come Gasquet, avrà più chances.

CLAREY: Roger lo vorrà più di ogni altra volta, vista l’annata difficile. Dopo le frustrazioni di Amburgo, è come un maestro che deve far suonare un violino stridulo. […]

WERTHEIM: Che ne pensate dell’apporto di Higueras?

STAUFFER: Molto scarso finora. Hanno passato insieme due settimana e hanno provato a conoscersi.

BOUIN: “Piacere, Roger. Sei Josè?”