Hardcore clay season begins: Tier Is in Rome, Berlin

Cynthia Lum/WireImage.comDavid Ferrer got one set off of Rafael Nadal in Barcelona. If Monte Carlo and Barcelona champ Rafael Nadal had a week off in between those two difficult draws and Rome, he'd be a standout favorite in Rome, where he is the three-time defending champion. But for the first time in his career, he'll attempt to win those three crowns without a breather and even for one of the most talented and tireless clay-courter ever, that mountain may be too big to climb.

While Nadal was impressive in his three-set dismissal of countryman David Ferrer in Barcelona, he probably would have liked to finish the match off in straight sets. Now he goes into Rome, where he owns a 17-0 record, with a manageable quarter, but not an easy one. He'll meet the winner of the match between Juan Carlos Ferrero and Nicolas Kiefer and then might have to face an in-form Stan Wawrinka, wildcard Marat Safin (the WC being Safin's one millionth this year), Andy Murray or Juan Martin del Potro.

Potential quarterfinal foes are James Blake, Carlos Moya or Fernando Verdasco. While Nadal will be favored in all those matches and owns his Spanish countrymen on clay, all those contests could go long and, by the time he reaches the weekend, Rafa might be too exhausted to dominate again. His semifinal foe may not be a classic, strong-legged dirt baller in the mold of a Guillermo Vilas, now-healthy Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Heck, it could even be American Andy Roddick, who has a very decent draw to the quarters against fast-court experts unless Italy's Simone Bolelli is able to sustain the level he showed in reaching the Munich final.

Roger Federer has had reasonable success at Rome, but has been stymied by Nadal before and last year was shocked by Filippo Volandri. Federer could have a brutal opener in Argentine Guillermo Cañas, who has won three of their previous five meetings and who has an easy first-round match. Then Fed could face No. 12 Paul-Henri Mathieu or possibly Ivo Karlovic, with the capable Ferrer his likely quarterfinal foe. Should he get to the semis, the Swiss might have another opportunity to step on No. 3 Novak Djokovic, who retired against him in Monte Carlo.

However, the Djoker has tough tussles before he gets there, with Juan Monaco or the enigmatic Igor Andreev possibly waiting. David Nalbandian, Nicolas Almagro and last year's runner-up and Munich champ Fernando Gonzalez are potential quarterfinal opponents, all difficult matches.
BTW: The last non-Spaniard champion was Andre Agassi in 2002.

Cynthia Lum/WireImage.comAna Ivanovic is now up to No. 2 on the Sony Ericsson
WTA Tour Singles Rankings. IVANOVIC LOOKS
TO DEFEND BERLIN
Maria Sharapova is, to some degree, the talk of Berlin, even though she pulled out last week. Sharapova did decide to send in a medical excuse, so she won't be fined an additional amount beyond the $125,000 she will lose from her year-end bonus pool.

But the tournament still has a standout field, as good as Berlin has had in recent memory. No. 1 Justine Henin, who has been contending with a right knee problem, will go for her fourth crown here on the red clay - amazingly her first appearance on dirt this year.

Due to her physical problems, the Belgian cannot be called a substantial favorite, but must be given a slight edge. Two other players could give her hell - Serena Williams, who butchered her 6-2, 6-0 in Miami, and who hasn't lost a match since Australia – and No. 2 Ana Ivanovic, who should be fairly fresh after playing very little in April. Henin may own Sveta Kuznetsova and Jelena Jankovic, but both are capable of pulling an upset if the Belgian isn't 100 percent.

By the very bad luck of the draw, Henin could face Williams in the quarterfinals, which would be the fifth time in the past year that those two all-time greats have been drawn and quartered. Henin has won three out of the last four. To get there, Henin also will likely have to get past Dinara Safina.

Serena, who won the green clay title at the Family Circle Cup, might have to face Francesca Schiavone, Alize Cornet and Agnieszka Radwanska.

The interesting bottom quadrant of the top half features Kuznetsova, the slumping Anna Chakvetadze, Fes finalist Anabel Medina Garrigues, Slovak up-and-comer Dominika Cibulkova, Prague finalist Victoria Azarenka and Nicole Vaidisova, who is back from a long stretch recovering from a right wrist injury and will have her new coach, David Felgate (Tim Henman's former tutor), at her side for the first time at a tournament. The Czech has a tough first-rounder in Argentine Gisela Dulko, who just won Fes over Medina Garrigues.

The bottom half is lead by defending champion Ivanovic and Jankovic. Ivanovic has a bye in the first round, but will have a major hurdle to climb in her opening match, as she'll face the winner of Amelie Mauresmo and Aravane Rezai. Should she win that match, though, the Serbian should be able to cruise to the semis unless Hungarian Agnes Szavay picks up serious steam.

Jankovic has a tougher quarter, with potential hurdles including Estoril champ Maria Kirilenko, Katarina Srebotnik and maybe, just maybe, the now wheezing Nadia Petrova, who has had an awful, injury-ridden year. Her quarterfinal foe should be Elena Dementieva, who has capably worked herself back into the Top 10.

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