I woke up at 7:00am this morning to watch live coverage of the 2007 Hamburg Tennis tournament. It was the usual Rafael Nadal in another clay court finals against the world number one and GOAT Roger Federer. Nadal’s had Federer’s number on clay for the past six matches and it’s mostly been a psychological barricade for Federer. Federer is better than Nadal is every facet of the game but clay has been able to neutralize by his weapons by slowing things down. The first set was over quickly and I thought that Federer has going to lose again but he bounced back really well for the second and third sets. I can’t remember someone beating Nadal 6-0 on clay but that’s what happened in the third set. The final score was 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 for Federer’s fourth Hamburg title in his career and a nice paycheque for $458, 218.

What a cool looking tennis arena in Hamburg, Germany:

Things are going to be very interesting next week for the French Open Grand Slam. Nadal will still be the favorite because he’s the reigning champ but I’m sure the odds against Federer have dramatically decreased from today’s victor. It’s funny but every time Federer is without a coach, he seems to dominate. After his split with Peter Lundgren in 2003, he won 3 grand slams in a year. He just split with legendary coach Tony Roche last week and wins Hamburg.

One of the best serves in tennis:

Nadal is probably sweating in his pirate outfit now because the French Open will be difficult to win and the other players know that he’s beatable now.

“Hardy har har: I’m not winning the French Open this year because Federer is too good.”