ESPN 2007 French Open

(Editor's note: Can Roger Federer complete the career Grand Slam? Will Rafael Nadal win at Roland Garros for the third time in as many years? One of these things will happen on Sunday as Federer and Nadal will meet in the final for the second straight year. ESPN.com has followed Federer and Nadal daily and, on Saturday, final predictions will be made by those at Roland Garros.)

PARIS -- Roger Federer, a citizen of the world, is unfailingly polite. Rafael Nadal, a PlayStation aficionado who is nearly five years younger, is sometimes a little rough around the edges.

On Saturday, 24 hours before their anticipated French Open final, Federer patiently fielded questions for the eighth time in two weeks, describing in some detail his innermost thoughts.

"I'm ready for good crowds," Federer said. "I'm ready for a tough opponent. I'm ready for rain, if it has to be, and I'm ready for a five-hour match. So it's no problem."

Nadal, who had grown testy in Friday's post-match interview, canceled his media session.

These parallel events will be widely parsed for meaning, sifted for an insight into the psyche of the respective players. Come Sunday, it won't matter. The over-arching question is, does Federer think he can beat Nadal at Roland Garros?

When he was practicing on Saturday, was he feeling confident? In the quiet moments at his hotel, does he believe? When his head hits the pillow Saturday night does he see himself hoisting the silver cup?

This, we cannot know. Certainly, Federer wants to win very badly. Whether he can is open to question. He is ranked No. 1 in the world and is well on his way to becoming the best player ever. Federer won the Australian Open and will be a heavy favorite to win at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

To this point, the French Open has eluded him. Last year, in his first final at Roland Garros, Federer lost to Nadal in four sets.

"It's an easier situation this year than last year," Federer said. "Because last year was the first time I was in this unbelievable situation to be holding all four Grand Slam titles at the same time. I think once you experience something, the second time around is always easier."

Few people in and around tennis are willing to pick Federer in this match. In fact, a surprising number of analysts believe Nadal will win in straight sets. Nadal has won all 20 of his career matches here, but there is another even more compelling statistic that favors the 21-year-old Spaniard.

In best-of-five matches on clay, Nadal is 33-0. Only twice -- the finals in Rome in 2005 and 2006 -- has he been extended to five sets.

The pressure in this match is all on Federer. He's the one who would make history by holding all four Grand Slam singles trophies simultaneously. A win here would guarantee an unprecedented (and oppressive) media assault as Federer attempts to close the back half of the single-season Grand Slam, a feat that would confirm his greatness in the context of history.

"It was the same last year," Federer said. "I could feel such a pressure. I really wanted to win that match against Nadal, because I knew what it meant for my career, for myself.

"And it's just the same thing, one year later."

Friday, June 8
PARIS -- It has been a long, taxing journey.

Thirteen days, and a total of 126 men's matches, only one of them -- Novak Djokovic's five-set comeback against Frenchman Olivier Patience in the third round -- truly memorable.

Finally, on a cool, gray Friday evening, we have arrived at our destination: The French Open men's final that everyone hoped for.

Roger Federer survived Nikolay Davydenko 7-5, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7) in the first semifinal and Rafael Nadal handled Djokovic 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 in the second. Both losers fought extremely hard; the champions managed to raise their games in the critical moments.

"There's days you can do it," Federer said. "Days you can't. I could have lost each set, basically."

But he didn't. Neither did Nadal, whose match against Djokovic was eerily similar.

Between them, Federer and Nadal have played 12 matches and dropped only a single set. That's 36 of 37, for those of you scoring at home. There have been times when they've seemed almost bored.

Federer and Nadal have met 11 times before, with Nadal winning seven times. Federer, however, has won three of the last four. This is the third time in the last five Grand Slams that both have reached the final.

This one set for Sunday feels like a tipping point.

While Nadal won the 2006 final here at Roland Garros, Federer returned the favor at Wimbledon. Both players held serve on the surface that best suits their games, and both losers managed to win only a single set.

Federer already holds the three other Grand Slam titles -- Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open. If he wins the French Open, what's left for the rest of the men in this profession? Federer would be the unchallenged No. 1 and well on his way to destroying the records of Pete Sampras and Rod Laver.

If Nadal wins and challenges Federer again at Wimbledon, at least there's still a conversation.

Federer has been careful to keep his keen desire for this one Grand Slam title that has eluded him out of public view. On Friday, he was asked what winning the French Open would mean in the context of his career.

"It would mean a lot," he said flatly, getting a laugh from the assembled media. "There's not much more I can say, really. I mean, I've put myself in position, now I just have one match to go.

"Hopefully, I can do it this year."

Thursday, June 7
PARIS -- While Court Philippe Chatrier was filling rapidly in anticipation of the women's semifinal matches, an intimate crowd of less than 100 watched a master at work.

In the obscurity of Court 4, Roger Federer, despite cool temperatures and an overcast sky, already was sweating through his white t-shirt. He spent an hour on Thursday -- the second of his two days off between quarterfinal and semifinal matches -- in a spirited workout, trading shots with Edouard Roger-Vasselin, son of Christophe Roger-Vasselin, a semifinalist here in 1983.

There was particular attention to high balls on the backhand side. At one point, Federer worked on a series of offensive lobs from that compromised position. The shot might come in handy should he reach the French Open final on Sunday against Rafael Nadal. Federer has hit here with 17-year-old French junior Jonathan Eysseric, a lefty with a serious kick on his balls.

On Friday, Federer meets Nikolay Davydenko and Nadal faces Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.

Much has been made -- and rightly so -- of Federer's 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 victory over Nadal three weeks ago in the Hamburg final. But there are several reasons that result might not be repeated at Roland Garros.

It's been well-documented that Nadal was tired from too many matches. And, yes, there is Nadal's motivaton to win his third straight title here and, at the same time, deny Federer a chance to win the all-inclusive Grand Slam. What hasn't been talked about much is the nature of the courts in Hamburg and Paris. While they both feature red clay, players say that Hamburg's was far slower than the more famous stuff here. As a result, the balls bounce a lot higher in Paris. In Hamburg, most of Nadal's shots stayed down -- right in Federer's strike zone.

Nadal likes to hit his left-handed, spin-heavy forehand to Federer's backhand, his weaker wing, which usually leads to less precise shots and, therefore, less court to cover for Nadal.

"He is playing very deep," said Carlos Moya, after Nadal beat him in straight sets in the quarterfinals, "and even when his shots hit the middle of the court they bounce so high that it is very difficult to attack him."

John McEnroe, working here for the Tennis Channel and NBC, gives a slight edge to Federer. "If he wins the French Open, he'll be the greatest player of all time, ahead of [Rod] Laver, ahead of [Pete] Sampras," McEnroe said. "If there's a guy that can beat Nadal, it's Roger. He's been sharper than Nadal through most of this tournament."

Wednesday, June 6
PARIS -- They are the world's two best tennis players, but their success goes beyond pure talent.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are lethally consistent, which is why they are destined to meet in Sunday's final here at Roland Garros. Sure, they still have to get by Novak Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko, respectively, but they enter the semifinals as overwhelming favorites.

Every match seems to bring another record for Federer, but this one is truly remarkable: 12 consecutive appearances in a Grand Slam singles semifinal.

Since losing in the third round of the 2004 French Open, Federer has won each and every one of his matches from the first round through the quarterfinals, a streak that now stands at 60. Through wind and rain, sickness and health, Federer managed to win each of the three-set matches he was supposed to capture.

Tuesday's win over Tommy Robredo underlines just how impressive Federer's streak is. The fact that the world No. 1 actually lost his first set prompted the media to probe Federer's psyche.

Was his second-set failure a source of concern?

"Not for me, it's not a source of concern," Federer replied. "Might be a source of concern to you, but not for me."

And he laughed.

Here's another way to look at Federer's consistency: Since the 2003 Wimbledon event, he has been to the semifinals in 14 of the 16 Grand Slams contested. Add Nadal's total of four Grand Slam semifinals in the last nine and the two have a total of 18 Slam semifinals. The next eight in the ATP's top 10 have a combined 17 -- and Andy Roddick has eight of those.

Federer was asked what the semifinal run meant to him, and his answer was more micro than macro.

"If I can break some records, that's fantastic," Federer said. "But I would say that I want to stay focused on each match, each set, each point, each game. So it's a matter of details."

At Roland Garros, of course, Nadal has been better than consistent. He has been perfect. On Wednesday he beat his mentor, Carlos Moya 6-4, 6-3, 6-0.

Nadal is now an astounding 19-0 on the red clay here.

"[I'm] happy for making semifinals for the third time," Nadal said. "Very happy about my game, especially after the first set. I am playing so much better, especially after the first three rounds.

"Now I am close to the finals, so I play my best against Djokovic. It is a very, very tough match."

Moya already was looking forward to a Nadal-Federer final.

"I think Nadal has a good chance here," Moya said. "If he wins here, if he's able to do the same as he did last year, win here and [reach the] final in Wimbledon, I think he will have a good chance to be No. 1.

"But we have to see what's going to happen."

Tuesday, June 5
PARIS -- This just in from Roland Garros: Roger Federer is human.

Yes, this news flash comes courtesy of Tommy Robredo who, wonder of wonders, took a set from the stylish Swiss champion Tuesday. Federer played a tactically poor second set, and doubts actually crept into his head.

Naturally, Federer rallied with some unnatural tennis to win 7-5, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 and advance to the French Open semifinals.

"I don't lose sets 6-1 that often," Federer said later. "I was not very optimistic. I was like, 'OK, this could start becoming really bad here.' Thank God, I played a good third and fourth set."

A little later, there was more good news for those eagerly anticipating a final pitting No. 1-seeded Federer and No. 2 Rafael Nadal. Nikolay Davydenko, the nearly invisible Russian, upended Guillermo Canas 7-5, 6-4, 6-4.

It was Canas who beat Federer twice earlier this year in back-to-back tournaments in March and was viewed as a major threat if he reached the semifinals. Davydenko, let the record show, is a grim 0-for-8 in his career against Federer.

Robredo beat Federer the first time he faced him, the 2002 Hopman Cup, then lost the next seven. They had met most recently in the Australian Open quarterfinals, with Federer prevailing in straight sets.

Yet there Robredo was, hanging around in the first set, even at 5-all, seemingly intent on forcing a tiebreaker. But Federer, whose sense of timing is impeccable, jumped on Robredo and won the first three points on his serve. Then, after a too-strong forehand from Robredo, Federer took a 6-5 lead and, eventually, the set.

The second set was a rare black hole for Federer.

Robredo ran out to a 5-1 lead but couldn't close the deal for the longest time. Federer, suddenly fighting, saved four set points before Robredo finally worked a corner-to-corner sequence that ended with a forehand winner.

Federer said he didn't react quickly enough when the wind started to whip up in the second set.

"I was hitting too flat and not using the wind," Federer said. "I was playing wrong at that point in time. I couldn't really react to it."

The key, he said, was fighting back at 1-5.

"I reacted at 5-1 in that set," Federer said. "It gave me some hope for the third set, and once I got that, I got on a roll again."

Somewhere, John McEnroe, an announcer here for Tennis Channel, was smiling.

Although Federer managed to break McEnroe's record of 35 consecutive Grand Slam sets won -- pushing it to 36 -- the two remain tied for first in the record books with 11 consecutive straight-sets match victories.

On Wednesday, Nadal meets his mentor, Carlos Moya, in the second men's quarterfinal match on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Monday, June 4
PARIS -- Rafael Nadal's backhand soared long and his fans at Court Philippe Chatrier, perhaps for the first time this tournament, felt the beginning of a gnawing doubt.

On Monday, Australian Lleyton Hewitt, a legendary scrapper, actually forced Nadal into a third-set tiebreaker. Yes, in this French Open that has failed to make much news, this is what passes for a headline. At one point, the crowd actually began to clap sympathetically, a gesture usually reserved for losers.

Naturally, Nadal escaped. Hewitt, leading the tiebreaker 5-4, made three consecutive errors -- hitting two forehands and a backhand too big -- and the 21-year-old Spaniard was through to the quarterfinals 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (5).

How dominant have the top-two seeds, Nadal (No. 2) and Roger Federer (No.1), been? They have combined to win all of their matches (eight) in straight sets, a tidy total of 24-for-24.

Federer faces Tommy Robredo in a quarterfinal on Wednesday and a victory would send him against the winner of Guillermo Canas-Nikolay Davydenko. Nadal faces fellow Spaniard Carlos Moya and, presumably, would meet the winner of the Novak Djokovic-Igor Andreev match.

Those would be tasty semifinal matchups, since Canas beat Federer earlier this year in back-to-back Tennis Masters events, and both Andreev and Djokovic have posed problems for Nadal. Andreev was the last man to beat Nadal on clay before he took off on his 81-match victory streak on the surface. Djokovic lost to Nadal in the final at Indian Wells but came back days later to beat him on the way to taking the title in Miami.

Hewitt, who took Nadal to three sets in the Hamburg semifinals, didn't say who he was picking in the final -- he didn't have to.

"Early on, he was sort of on his own," Hewitt said. "It was hard for me to press or do anything against him. Obviously, the way he takes a cut off both sides, it was really [bouncing] up.

"He just hits the ball so much differently to anyone, really, out there. Just the spin off his forehand. It's quite amazing."

Sunday, June 3
PARIS -- The stately procession to the men's final continues.

On Sunday, Roger Federer forcefully put down Russian Mikhail Youzhny 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals, where he'll meet Tommy Robredo of Spain, a 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 winner over Filippo Volandri.

Federer, who beat Youzhny in the third round of the Australian Open, beat Robredo two rounds later, in the quarterfinals.

Youzhny actually had a sniff at the first set, but Federer won five straight points in the tiebreaker to win the extra session going away. That 55-minute exercise in concentration landed Federer in an increasingly familiar place -- atop an all-time list.

It was the 11th consecutive Grand Slam match Federer won in straight sets. That equals the Open era record of John McEnroe, who fashioned his streak in 1984, at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Federer, the Australian Open champion, hasn't dropped a set since the second set of the 2006 U.S. Open final, when he defeated Andy Roddick in four sets.

In addition, Federer has won 35 consecutive Grand Slam sets in that span, equaling McEnroe's mark. Prospects for a new record are good because Robredo has won only a single set from Federer in seven career matches.

In his postmatch interview, Federer said he didn't know about the records.

"So it hasn't happened for quite a long time," he said. "It is true that during this period I could have lost some sets. And I have some service points and, all of a sudden, there is a streak."

No. 2-seeded Rafael Nadal will get his chance to advance to the quarterfinals Monday, when he plays Australian Lleyton Hewitt. On Sunday, Nadal celebrated his 21st birthday.

"I saw him briefly," Federer said. "By the time I heard it was his birthday, he was gone. So if I would see him, I will congratulate him, but I guess not through the media."

Saturday, June 2
PARIS -- There was drama at the French Open on Saturday.

French favorite Amelie Mauresmo lost in straight sets to Lucie Safarova. And later, a 27-year-old Frenchman named Olivier Patience threw a charge into the grounds here at Roland Garros, battling Novak Djokovic to the five-set end on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

If you are a two-time defending champion, drama -- especially in the first week -- is a bad thing.

While Lenglen was in a state of hysteria for several hours, Rafael Nadal continued his earnest march to the final in the dignified air of Court Philippe Chatrier. The 20-year-old Spaniard, ruthless and relentless as ever, whipped fellow countryman Albert Montanes 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the round of 16, where he'll play Lleyton Hewitt for the second straight year.

Considering his youth -- Nadal will turn 21 on Sunday -- he is frighteningly consistent. He has won each and every one of his 17 career matches at Roland Garros and he's 9-for-9 in sets in '07. Since allowing Juan Martin del Potro five games in his first set, Nadal hasn't been past four.

When Montanes sent one last forehand into the net, Nadal tore off his turquoise headband and trotted to the net. Funny, he didn't look surprised.

Last year, despite the fact that 10 of 11 previous champions had failed to defend their title at Roland Garros, Nadal managed to do it. Against a guy named Federer in a four-set final.

On Sunday, Federer makes his bid for the quarterfinals against sometimes-dangerous Russian Mikhail Youzhny.

Friday, June 1
PARIS -- They've been playing the French Open here since 1925, and only one man has managed to win three straight titles.

No, fans of fashion, it's not Rene "The Crocodile" Lacoste.

Bjorn Borg played the event eight times between 1973-81, and took home the silver trophy six times, including four straight, from 1978-81. Rafael Nadal, the two-time defending champion, is attempting to become the second man to three-peat.

Guess who Borg likes to win this year?

"I know that a lot of people think that Rafa is still the big favorite, but I disagree," he told London's Daily Telegraph. "I am going to pick Roger as the winner. I watched the first match of the tournament on television, and he looked really sharp, he was playing some fantastic tennis, and I think it would be great for the sport if Roger won this year and beat Rafa."

Federer, the reigning Australian Open champion, has never won the French Open, but after beating Nadal for the first time on clay two weeks ago in Hamburg, Germany, he has a chance to make some history. Borg, who won Roland Garros and Wimbledon from 1978-80, never gave himself much of a chance at the Slam because he only played the Australian Open once.

"Nadal definitely has a chance to equal my record of six titles, and maybe even go past it," Borg said to the Telegraph. "He is still so young, just 20, so he has many years ahead of him. I see a lot of similarities between myself and Rafa on clay. You can compare us both mentally and physically. My opponents knew when they went out on the court with me that they would have to be out there for a long time if they wanted to try to defeat me, and that's no different with Rafa now."

Federer, the No. 1 seed, defeated Italian Potito Starace 6-2, 6-3, 6-0 on Friday. It was his first relatively normal match here after seeing his first-round contest split over two days because of rain; it rained constantly throughout his second-round match. Still, Federer has yet to lose a set here. He advanced to the round of 16, where he'll play Russian Mikhail Youzhny, who defeated 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero in four sets.

In nine career matches against Federer, Youzhny has won all of two sets. His breakthrough came at last year's U.S. Open, when he defeated Nadal in the quarterfinals and lost to Andy Roddick in a four-set semifinal match.

"He's always been very famous for playing exceptionally well in practice, but for some reason couldn't tie it really together in a match situation," Federer said. "He usually also plays better against the better players.

"So I have to definitely be careful."

Nadal meets fellow Spaniard Albert Montanes, the No. 25 seed, on Saturday to secure his spot in the round of 16.

Thursday, May 31
PARIS -- Everyone is blogging these days, even two-time defending French Open champion Rafael Nadal.

You can find his daily entries, complete with photographs, on www.rafaelnadal.com and www.atptennis.com.

This might come as a surprise, but, like a lot of players here, Nadal hits many, many tennis balls and fills in the gaps with a lot of eating and sleeping. The blog offers revelations on a daily basis. Witness this post from Wednesday:

I took a quick shower after practice and went to eat with my uncle Tony and [trainer] Rafa Maymo once again. I had a plate of white pasta with fish. To tell you the truth, I must say that you don't eat very well in the players' restaurant at this tournament, but you don't have to complain about it, either. There are worse things in the world, and I don't like to complain nor criticize.

Thanks for holding back, Rafa.

On the court, Nadal continues his unrestrained play. On Thursday, he waxed Italian qualifier Flavio Cipolla 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 on Court Suzanne Lenglen. Cipolla was playing in only his third ATP-level match.

One of Nadal's off-court obsessions is PlayStation. He and Carlos Moya, David Ferrer and David Nalbandian love to play soccer. On Monday, Nadal reports there was an "UNBELIEVABLE!" match.

Ferru [Ferrer] and I won the first two [best-of-five] matches and in the third one, which should have been the decisive one, we marked the Golden Goal. It looked like we had won. We started to jump around and all, when suddenly we saw that they had cancelled our goal for being offside. Golden Goal and the referee overturned it. Unbelievable. In the end, as you might imagine, we lost the three matches. This is the story -- so sad and so unfair, hahahaha.

Rafa's fans are hoping he will have the last laugh in the final against Roger Federer.

Wednesday, May 30
PARIS -- Clay gets a bad rap.

Sure, it's thick and slow -- and dirty -- but unlike those pristine hard-court surfaces, you can play on it in the rain.

Thus, the Claude Monetesque scene on Wednesday as dusk gathers over Court Suzanne Lenglen. Umbrellas -- yellows, oranges and blues -- dotted the half-empty stand and seemed to blur together pleasantly in the steady drizzle.

The hallmark of Roger Federer's game is the numbing calm he brings to the court. He never seems in a hurry, never seems to have anything approaching a sense of urgency. In his second-round match with Thierry Ascione, however, the top seed at the French Open rushed through his soggy match with the idea of earning a day off.

It was sort of like watching speed chess -- if the board was the size of a football field.

That, combined with the disparity in rankings -- Federer has been No. 1 for three years and three months, while Ascione is ranked No. 168 among the ATP's players -- made for swift work. The first set took only 22 minutes -- and that was only because Federer threw the Frenchman and his fans a bone, contriving to lose an Ascione service game at love.

The second set was more competitive. Ascione lasted 25 minutes this time, won two games and created a nice memento. One day, he'll tell his grandchildren about the time he aced the world No. 1 with a 200-kilometers-per-hour serve out wide.

In an effort to end points earlier, Federer kept rushing to net and his silly hand-eye-coordination resulted in a dazzling array of drop volleys so sublime they might have evaporated.

In the third set, Federer failed to convert on two match points, serving at 5-4, and Ascione took him to a tiebreaker. Federer eventually prevailed 6-1, 6-2, 7-6 (8), but it wasn't without difficulty. The set lasted 63 minutes, longer than the first two combined. Needless to day, the world No. 1 was happy to move on before darkness postponed the match for the day.

Next up Italian Potito Starace, who was a straight-sets winner over Carlos Berlocq.

Tuesday, May 29
PARIS -- While 18-year-old Juan-Martin del Potro -- in way over his head -- was serving for the first set at 5-3, the two-time defending champion on the other side of the net scowled. This was not the way to open a bid for a three-peat.

Rafael Nadal seized the moment, of course, just as del Potro, the gaunt Argentine, shrank from it. Nadal won the next eight straight games and took the first-round match going away, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2.

And so, after the first round, the Nadal-Roger Federer collision in the 2007 French Open final is still on course. Nadal, the No. 2 seed, has won all 15 of the matches he has played as a professional at Roland Garros.

Del Potro relaxed in the third set when he knew it was over. After Nadal returned a missed forehand back over the net -- with some serious steam on it -- del Potro deftly headed the ball right into the hands of a ball boy in the corner.

Earlier, Federer defeated American Michael Russell 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, completing a match that was halted Monday by rain. Even though he must win five more matches to reach the final, Federer was asked about a possible matchup with Nadal.

"Not quite there yet, so I'm thinking of my next round opponent," Federer said. "Of course, it would be a dream for all of us to be playing against each other. And then, obviously, depends how you play until you get there.

"But we are not there, so it doesn't matter."

Federer's next opponent will be Thierry Ascione of France, who beat Croatian Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-2, 6-1.

Monday, May 28
PARIS -- The day's third band of showers descended on Court Philippe Chatrier and Roger Federer looked up at the heavens with disdain.

He is the world's No. 1-ranked player and the top seed here, but controlling the weather is one of the few things beyond his skill-set. Even though he told the chair umpire he wanted to continue, his match against American Michael Russell was called at 5:50 p.m. local time with Federer leading 6-4, 4-1.

Hoping to reach the final opposite Rafael Nadal and keep his Grand Slam hopes alive, Federer looked sharp before the court got soggy. He made a point of approaching net and knocking off -- the phrase is almost too crude for the stylish Swiss player -- some exquisitely angled volleys.

Russell is no accidental tourist on the biggest court at Roland Garros. Six years ago, he held a match point against eventual champion Gustavo Kuerten in the round of 16 -- a result that would have gone down as one of the biggest upsets in French Open history. But, somehow, Guga rallied to win the 2001 title.

To this day, Russell remains the last American man to reach the fourth round here.

Federer, of course, has his own designs on history. If the weather permits -- and the forecast is more hopeful than the two previous days -- the Federer-Russell match will resume on Tuesday.

If early returns -- particularly the backhand -- are any indication, Federer is already in fighting form.

Sunday, May 27
PARIS -- It's five minutes before 11 on this gray, blustery morning and already most of the seats in the modest four-row stands lining Court 8 already are taken. Serena Williams is about to take the court at Suzanne Lenglen and Marat Safin is the featured match on Philippe Chatrier, but Court 8 is where the heat is.

Michaella Krajicek and Jasmin Woehr are hitting on the adjacent Court 6 and Nicolas Mahut and Mathieu Montcourt are on Court 10, but all the people standing on the seats there are facing away from them.

"Rafa!" screamed a young French girl, catching sight of a famous 20-year-old face.

They have been playing the French Open since 1925, but only one man -- the impassive Swede, Bjorn Borg -- has won more than two consecutive men's singles titles. After going back-to-back in 1974-75, Borg won four straight titles from 1978-81. In fact, he won six of the eight tournaments he played at Roland Garros.

Rafael Nadal is off to a good start; he has never lost a match here. He's 14-for-14 and a two-time defending champion. If he can navigate his way through the maze again and, presumably, vanquish top-seeded Roger Federer in the final, he will distance himself from the four players since Borg who won back-to-back. Ivan Lendl (1986-87), Jim Courier (1991-92), Sergi Bruguera (1993-94) and Gustavo Kuerten (2000-2001) all failed to execute the three-peat.

An exhausted Nadal lost to Federer in the Hamburg final a week ago, but on Sunday he looked fresh. As the hitting session intensified, Nadal started grooving that heavy, heavy lefty forehand topspin that leaves opponents arm weary. With coach (and uncle) Toni Nadal standing in the doubles alley to his right, Nadal began to dial in.

He moves so well on the red clay, with such an economy of effort, it's like watching a seal splashing among the rocks of San Francisco Bay. This is Nadal's natural habitat, the place he seems most comfortable. Federer, meanwhile, seems unsettled and slightly skittish on the red clay, almost as if he is wearing skates on ice.

To beat Nadal here will be far more difficult than the Hamburg result suggests.

"In Hamburg, Roger finally figured out how to play against Rafa," said two-time Grand Slam winner Marat Safin after completing the first match of the day, in straight sets over Fernando Vicente. "[But] I don't think it's a result that will make a difference because Rafa was tired.

"It's 50-50 chances. It will come down to who's going to get scared first."

Saturday, May 26
PARIS -- Roger Federer, resplendent in a turquoise ensemble, hit enough sharply-angled forehands to leave his opponent grimacing on Saturday afternoon. Rafael Nadal, blazing guns set off by a sleeveless white shirt, played a typically muscular match.

Yes, Federer and Nadal were running around on Court Philippe Chatrier, digging balls out of the thick red clay.

Not on opposite sides of the court, mind you. That delicious potential matchup, which can only occur in the men's final 15 days hence, is the engine that drives this 2007 French Open.

Federer, the top seed who has failed to win here in eight previous appearances, traded shots with a feisty Fernando Gonzalez and won in a tiebreaker. Nadal, the second seed and two-time defending champion here, toyed with French favorite Fabrice Santoro, beating him 6-1.

It was the French Tennis Federation's annual Programme Benny Berthet that features many of the marquee players in one-set exhibition matches on the three show courts. No one tries particularly hard, and it's a good way for everyone to ease into the tournament, which begins in earnest on Sunday. Last year's extra-day experiment of 12 singles matches on three courts has been expanded to 24 singles matches -- just like the prize money this year, a 50-50 split between men and women -- on six courts.

After Federer finally broke through against Nadal, winning the Hamburg final a week ago and ending an 0-for-5 career mark against the 20-year-old Spaniard on clay, the rare prospect of a Grand Slam seems to be in play. If Federer can beat Nadal -- a weighty task since Nadal is an impeccable 14-0 at Roland Garros -- he will be the first man since Australian Rod Laver to hold all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously. That happened in 1969, a dozen years before Federer was born.

The stunning Hamburg result (Federer lost the first set, then rallied in spectacular fashion to win, 2-6, 6-2, 6-0) has given wings to this talk of history and created some palpable drama on these leafy grounds. On Saturday, in his first comments to the media since the heat of his postmatch interview in Hamburg, Nadal added an asterisk to the celebrated result.

"I was a little bit tired mentally," Nadal explained. "And for that reason, I can't play with the best tactic all the time."

Indeed, Nadal's shots were often short and lacking pace. He was tired. In a span of five weeks, he played four tournaments and 20 matches. And that doesn't include nine doubles matches. He nearly lost a three-set match in the semifinals to Lleyton Hewitt, and by the time he reached those last two sets in Germany, small wonder there was nothing left in Nadal's tank. And so, his 81-match winning streak on clay was over.

Federer, meanwhile, played only three tournaments -- including Rome where he lost to Filippo Volandri in the third round -- and a total of 12 matches. Can you say fresh?

"I'm not going to beat him every time now," Federer acknowledged. "We'll see about that. It was just a good match for me. I played excellent in the second and third set, and I believed in my chance and beat him in the finals on clay. It was the first time he ever lost on clay-court finals."

The day after Hamburg, Nadal traveled to Barcelona and shot a commercial for Play Station, did an appearance with the soccer player Ronaldinho, then spent two days in his hometown of Manacor on the Spanish island of Mallorca. He played golf, visited with family and friends and watched a heavy sea end his plans to go fishing.

"Try to forget a little bit tennis for some hours," Nadal said. "Some rest with some calm. That's the thing, no?"

The two players sounded like boxing publicists, as they each tried to spin the end of the pre-French season as an overwhelming success.

Federer: "That's an excellent result for me and gets his streak to an end. It's maybe good for the entire field, especially, for myself."

Nadal: "I'm happy because 81 [straight wins] on clay is unbelievable. It's difficult to improve this record, no?"

Let the games(manship) begin.

The major question looming after Hamburg is whether Federer will bring a new level of confidence to this tournament. His answer would be yes.

"Approaching the French Open, I feel stronger mentally," Federer said. "I'm not scared of this tournament as I used to be before. Physically, also, I'm no longer afraid of playing five sets, compared to the beginning of my career. Now I am more as a favorite here because I played better on clay.

"I really feel eager to win this particular tournament."

Likewise, for Nadal. He knows Federer, who has won 10 of the last 15 Grand Slam singles titles, has never taken the title in Paris and fairly aches to hoist the Coupe des Mousquetaires. A win by Federer makes him the overwhelming favorite to capture the Grand Slam (he has, after all, won the last four Wimbledons and the last three U.S. Opens). This would put him far, far ahead of the field.

Nadal, whose only two Grand Slam titles came here at Roland Garros, understands the stakes.

"I have a lot of matches of experience," Nadal said. "And with a tournament like this, is important [to] arrive with the best confidence. And right now, I have the best confidence."

Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com.