Federer, Mauresmo Make Themselves into Roland Garros Favorites

Hamburg's King Roger: 'Now, I know what it takes to get through'
Rome Queen Amelie: 'I feel perfectly prepared for RG'

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

The Federer Express is destined for Paris.

The Swiss played aggressive and heady yellowball and didn't get impatient early when Coria was locking into his speedy counter puncher routine. Amazingly, it was the first time that two had played each other in the pros. Now the question for Roger is whether he can bring the same type of mentally superior tennis that he showed in Hamburg to Roland Garros, a locale where he has defined the word 'implosion' over the past two years.

roger rocks the clay court specialists
Federer beat a slew of talented baseliners to win Hamburg (Gaudio, N. Lapentti, Gonzalez, Moya, Hewitt and Coria) and the road to his first French title likely won't get much more difficult, save for the three-out-five set format and the enormity of the tournament.

"I'm more relaxed now," Federer said. "The last two years, I went to Paris with very high hopes. I thought, if I had been in the quarters in 2001 and had won Hamburg in 2002, I can do better at the French. That was what was tough for me mentally in the last two years. A tough opponent in 2002 [Hicham Arazi], a mental breakdown after the first set. Now, I'm more relaxed and know how to approach Grand Slams. Before I was hoping to squeeze through the first round, but now, I know what it takes to get through. I'm a better player because I'm mentally and physically stronger. I know a best of five match is not going to kill me. And if it should be an unbelievable long five-set match, I know I have a day to recover and will be fresh again the next day. Obviously, I shouldn't do it every match. And if I should lose early, it's not a disaster because I know that my opponent must have played well. This year I won't be there just for the stats."

Coria – who was bothered by a broken blister on his hand – credited the Swiss with being "physically on a higher level." But, interestingly, he went on to say, "I'm a bit sad because the final is the only match you're not supposed to lose." That shows that Argentine is still brimming with confidence, which makes a potential re-match with Fed at the French very enticing.

Rome Queen Amelie: 'I feel perfectly prepared for RG'

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

Fly the French colors high for Amelie Mauresmo's assault on Roland Garros.

That Mauresmo became the only player outside of Monica Seles and Steffi Graf to win back-to-back titles in Berlin and Rome. This shows just how fearsome of a player she is when healthy. There's no need to go into her laundry list of injuries, or why she has nearly perfect weaponry on dirt, the only thing in Paris that matters is her nerves.

She had a great week in Rome, crunching Vera Zvonareva in the semis and then besting Jennifer Capriati 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in a two-and-a-half hour final. The level of Rome final was far better than last week, when Mauresmo blew her apart 6-2, 6-0 in the Berlin semis. "This match couldn't have been any closer. The level from both of us was unbelievable right from the first point," Mauresmo said.

When Graf went back to back in Berlin in Rome in '87 and Seles did in '90, they went on to win the French. That's a terrific sign for Mauresmo. But it's important not to forget that those two Hall-of-Famers never had long-term (or even medium term) problems with chocking, while Mauresmo has made a career of it at RG.

Sure, she reached the quarters there last year (her best showing ever) and notched some very decent wins to get there (i.e., Zuluaga and Serna), but she completely embarrassed herself in a 6-1, 6-2 loss to Serena Williams. Her entire nation buried their heads. She framed the entire Louvre with balls in the first set.

But Amelie says that with each passing year, playing the French gets easier. With Serena having lost Capriati to Saturday, Venus battling an ankle injury, Clijsters out all together and Justine Henin-Hardenne not having played a match in seven weeks, a strong case could be made for Mauresmo.

"I feel perfectly prepared for Roland Garros now with these two tournaments," Mauresmo said.

NO. 9 is a charm
Believe it or not, just a day after Capriati scored her first win over Serena in what feels like a century – it was eight in a row dating back to '01 – she let go of a 4-2 in the third set and a match point at 5-4 against Mauresmo. Still, the American is feeling much better about her tennis than she has at any time this year. This is the first week where she showed signs of reaching her '03 US Open level.

"I didn't lose; she had to win the match," Capriati said. "The difference between last week's and this week's was I am a different player now. I was on a roll here and really wasn't ready to play her at that level last week. You have to bounce back from those losses. I made her really earn it today."

Perhaps Capriati's spirit remained high because she finally turned the corner against Serena, the player with whom she has had her closest and most dramatic matches against, but also the one who has bested her late time and time again. If you are looking for the genesis of Jennifer's "closing problems" over the past three years, you can almost begin and end with her losses to Serena.
That's why her 6-4, 6-4 victory over her foe on Saturday was so huge.

"She's 'the one to beat,' and I've lost to her so many times in a row," Capriati said. "So she's one of the girls that would be a lot off the back if I would be able to win. It's a personal victory for me. It's the satisfaction of working hard and having it come out and playing well. It really should be the same almost when you win or lose, but of course that's easy to say."

No doubt. Now can '01 RG champ Capriati easily say "I'm a favorite again, too?"