ATPtennis.com 07-01-07

Rain Washes Out Nadal-Soderling Encounter

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A rainy Saturday at Wimbledon postponed on-court action at the 2007 Championships as last year's runner-up Rafael Nadal prepared to take Centre Court against Swede Robin Soderling, forcing the players to wait until Monday for their third-round meeeting.

Of the eight men's singles matches slated for Saturday, only Czech Tomas Berdych and Korean Hyung-Taik Lee managed to squeeze in some court time following an initial four-hour hour rain delay. The seventh-seeded Berdych took the first set 6-4 before play was suspended after 75 minutes, with the two on serve in the second.

Meanwhile, eight men's doubles matches were halted. Defending champions Bob and Mike Bryan, the No. 1 seeds, and third seeds Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor were each up a set in their second-round matches, and 10th-seeded Frenchmen Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra were locked at 9-9 against the American duo of Amer Delic and Bobby Reynolds.

Here's a look at the Top 10 players to resume third-round action on Monday:

[2] RAFAEL NADAL vs. [28] ROBIN SODERLING, Nadal leads 1-0 (Head-to-Head)
Nadal is attempting to join Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg as the only players in the Open Era to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles in the same season, and confidently opened his 2007 Wimbledon campaign by making quick work of American Mardy Fish and Austrian Werner Eschauer. He enters his third-round match with a 1-0 career edge over his opponent, having eased his way to a straight-sets victory past the 50th-ranked Soderling in their 2006 Roland Garros opener. Since then, the 22-year-old Swede has rapidly risen up the ATP Rankings to a career-high No. 23 in 2007 (currently No. 28). He reached three semifinals through the first two months of the season, and also matched his best Grand Slam showing by advancing to the third round this week.

[4] NOVAK DJOKOVIC vs. NICOLAS KIEFER, First meeting
Serb Djokovic eyes a return to the Wimbledon Round of 16 for the second straight year, and will attempt to curtail Kiefer's comeback from injury. Djokovic, the youngest player remaining in the draw at 20 years of age, is in the midst of a career-best season that has rocketed him to Top 10 status. He was ousted by the eventual champions at the season's first two Grand Slam tournaments, to Roger Federer in the fourth round at the Australian Open and to Nadal in the Roland Garros semifinals. Kiefer, meanwhile, sat out the last four Grand Slam tournaments following a wrist injury suffered at the 2006 Roland Garros. The 29-year-old German won his first ATP match in nearly 13 months when he defeated 30th seed Filippo Volandri in his Wimbledon opener.

[6] NICOLAS DAVYDENKO vs. GAEL MONFILS, Monfils leads 1-0 (Head-to-Head)
Russian Nikolay Davydenko, the World No. 4, faces a daunting task of winning three straight grass court matches for the first time in his nine-year career when he encounters French youngster Gael Monfils, who has yet to drop a set this week. Davydenko achieved his best Wimbledon showing by coming from two sets down to defeat Aussie Chris Guccione in the second round. Monfils reached the third round in his Wimbledon debut in 2005, and matched his best performance this year with wins over former semifinalist Thomas Johansson and Belgian Kristof Vliegen. He has a 5-9 career record against Top 10 opponents