Fuente: © Roland Garros (English)
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ROLAND GARROS: Nadal rewrites clay court history

/noticias.info/ By Andrew Bogusch
Monday, May 29, 2006

Second seed Rafael Nadal overcame the elements and Robin Soderling on Monday to win his record 54th consecutive clay court match.

Nadal had been tied with Guillermo Vilas, who watched the defending Roland Garros champion deal with strong winds, a brief rain shower and the 21-year-old Swede in a 6-2 7-5 6-1 victory in two hours, eight minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.

"Is very difficult," Nadal said of his record. "A lot of tournaments, a lot of matches. It's very difficult. I am very happy for that. Is important for me to be in history."

Nadal's last loss on clay came on April 7, 2005 against Igor Andreev in Valencia.

"He's a fantastic person. He's a friend," Vilas said of Nadal. "If I had to lose that record, I'm pleased it was losing to someone like that."

But Vilas hopes Nadal leaves his other record alone, a 46-match overall winning streak.

"[I] will be very upset if he breaks that one," Vilas admitted with a smile.

Nadal had little trouble in the first and third sets, but lost his way for a spell in the second, clearly agitated by the swirling winds.

"One of the worst days for play on clay," Nadal said.

A poor drop shot helped Soderling break to 4-2 in the second. And while Nadal broke right back, he needed six opportunities to do so. Then, Nadal failed to convert his first two set points as Soderling levelled the set in the tenth game. But the Swede's own poor play finally did him in. At 5-5, three consecutive errors allowed Nadal to break at love and eventually win the set.

"I have a little bit of a lag" is how Nadal explained his second set, during which he committed 20 unforced errors.

After the record victory, Vilas presented Nadal with a glass-encased transection of a Roland Garros clay court and the crowd watched a video tribute to Nadal's exploits at last year's event.

"He will inspire a new generation of players," Vilas said. "He is very good for the sport. It's a blessing to have a player like this in our sport."

Nadal celebrated as usual with a series of hopping fist pumps. Considering the poor conditions and his subpar form, he seemed more relieved than anything to be in to the second round.

"Most important thing today is the win," Nadal said. "First round is always tough. These conditions - best thing is the victory."

Next up for Nadal is lucky loser Kevin Kim, who defeated Julio Silva in four sets on Monday night. notas_de_prensa_archivo