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THE TR NEWSLETTER: FRIDAY, JUNE 8, NO. 227

Federer shows backhand weakness Nadal loves to exploit

Davydenko was more challenge to Fed than Djokovic was to Rafa

By Chris Bowers, Special to TennisReporters.net

FROM ROLAND GARROS – It's 25 years since a 17-year-old Mats Wilander beat Guillermo Vilas in the Roland Garros final. The relative youth of Rafael Nadal who won his first French Open title at 19 has made it easy to forget that Wilander was the first of three 17-year-old men's singles champions in the 1980s – the others being Boris Becker at '85 Wimbledon and Michael Chang here in 1989.

At a youthful if slightly craggy 42, Wilander has become something of a guru at this year's French Open. Signed up by the European sports television channel Eurosport as a resident expert, he has even had his own show, the neatly named Game Set and Mats in which he gives his views on the action of the day and delivers a nightly Swedish Message (a corny play on Swedish massage, if you didn't get it).