Spain's Rafael Nadal plays a shot to André Agassi of the United States during their match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London on Saturday. - REUTERS
WIMBLEDON, England (AP):
RAFAEL NADAL talks a lot about how he hopes to contend for a Wimbledon title in three or four years, once he gets used to the odd bounces and tricky footing that come with playing on grass.
Could it happen much faster than he - or anyone else - thought?
Andre Agassi got a too-close-for-comfort view of Nadal from across the net at the All England Club, and he was duly impressed by the two-time French Open champion.
"I'm getting better day by day," the No. 2-seeded Nadal said. "The good thing is I'm gaining confidence on this surface."
PHENOMENAL PLAYING
He lost the first two sets and was within two points of defeat against American qualifier Robert Kendrick in the second round, but Nadal somehow escaped that jam and looked downright dominant against Agassi.
Nadal tracked down ball after ball, instantly going from defence to offence, and won 16 of the 21 points that lasted 10 strokes or more.
"His movement," Agassi said, "is just out of this world."
One question about Nadal's game on grass has been whether he has enough of a serve to steal points. He answered that by reducing Agassi, one of the best returners ever, into something of a spectator: Nadal won 64 of the 79 points he served.
"His serve really has an awkward movement through the air, so you never get a real clean swing at it unless you're able to give it time to settle down. And if you do that, you have to back up and you're really giving him position on the court," Agassi said. "But more than that, if you don't hit a good return - a really good return he's going to take hold of that first shot."
UNIQUE TREAT
One big improvement for Nadal is his second serve, which he's worked on cranking up from under 85 mph (135 kph) a year ago to about 95 mph (155 kph) nowadays.
The Spaniard even played one serve-and-volley point against Agassi, winning it.
After the middle Sunday's traditional day of rest for everyone yesterday, Wimbledon's second week starts today with a unique treat in tennis, with three-time champion Roger Federer vs. No. 13 Tomas Berdych, 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt vs. No. 23 David Ferrer, No. 7 Mario Ancic vs. Novak Djokovic, and Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis vs. Britain's Andy Murray, who knocked off Andy Roddick in the third round.
For Federer, the feisty Berdych represents another test even though the top-ranked Swiss star has won their last three meetings.
"To have already beaten him is certainly a small advantage," Berdych said. "Many players have lost before they even take to the court because they don't believe they can win."
Only four of the top 12 men are still around after a surprise-filled first week, and zero U.S. men reached the fourth round for the only second time since 1922.
The women's tournament has had more stability and the only American singles player left at the All-England Club is Shenay Perry.
She's a 21-year-old based in Coral Springs, Florida, who is ranked 62nd, is unseeded, and never had been this far at a Grand Slam tournament.
"I don't think it's hit me yet," Perry said, "but it is the biggest accomplishment of my career so far."
She'll play two-time major finalist Elena Dementieva today, when other matches include No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo vs. No. 19 Ana Ivanovic, No. 2 Kim Clijsters vs. Agnieszka Radwanska (only the fifth women's wild card to reach the fourth round in Wimbledon history), 2004 Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova vs. No. 16 Flavia Pennetta, and 2004 French Open champion Anastasia Myskina vs. No. 26 Jelena Jankovic, who knocked off Williams on Saturday.
Jankovic, Ivanovic and Djokovic give Serbia three times as many remaining players as the United States has.
"That's a really strange stat," Jankovic said. "We're such a small country."
