Tennis Capsules: Federer 1 win from tying Sampras' Grand Slam mark

PARIS - Fresh off a ragged, rugged, five-set French Open semifinal victory Friday, Roger Federer was leaving for the night when a dozen or so fans drew his attention.

They wanted photos and autographs, and Federer obliged, signing hats, a poster, even one guy's white polo shirt. As Federer ambled off, a man shouted: "Win on Sunday! Please!"

Pausing for a moment before sliding into a car, Federer turned and, with a quick wave of his skilled right arm, replied, "OK." Ah, if only it were that simple. For all his accomplishments, for all his trophies and records, Federer now wants - needs? - to do something he never has: win a final at Roland Garros.

By coming back to beat No. 5-seeded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina 3-6, 7-6 (2), 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Friday, Federer moved within one victory of his first French Open championship - and of so much more.

If he can beat No. 23 Robin Soderling of Sweden on Sunday, Federer also will tie Pete Sampras' career mark of 14 Grand Slam singles titles. And he will become only the sixth man with a career Grand Slam, at least one title from each of tennis' four majors.

"There's still one more step," Federer said.

He's come exactly this close in the past, losing each of the past three French Open finals to Rafael Nadal, along with a semifinal four years ago. But this time, Nadal is not around to torment him, having been stunned by Soderling in the fourth round.

"Obviously," Federer said, "it's nice to see someone else for a change."

Since the start of the 2005 French Open, Federer is 0-4 against Nadal at Roland Garros, 29-0 against everyone else. Similarly, over the course of his career, Federer is 2-5 against Nadal in Grand Slam finals, 11-0 against all other opponents.

Federer just so happens to have a 9-0 career record against Soderling, who will be playing in his first Grand Slam final. He'd never been past the third round in 21 previous majors but reeled off the last five games of a 6-3, 7-5, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4 victory over No. 12 Fernando Gonzalez of Chile in Friday's first semifinal.

Does Soderling believe he has a chance against Federer?

"He's going to be the favorite, by far," the big-serving Soderling said. "But I think Nadal was the favorite against me as well."

Soderling's first Grand Slam championship match will be Federer's 19th, matching Ivan Lendl's record, and the Swiss star's 15th in the past 16 major tournaments.

Then again, Federer held similar edges in experience and head-to-head matchups against del Potro, a 20-year-old playing in his first major semifinal. Federer was in his 20th consecutive Grand Slam semifinal - double the second-longest streak any man compiled - and had won all 12 previous sets across five matches with del Potro.

Yet early on the 6-foot-6 del Potro played fantastically, using his long legs to speed around the court and his long arms to whip winners punctuated by loud grunts.

"He came out of the blocks really strong," Federer said.

Federer did not, even slapping himself in the face after one poorly executed point. Five miscues by a suddenly tight del Potro in the tiebreaker ceded the second set, and it took Federer 2½ hours to convert a break point.

When he did, it put Federer ahead 3-1 in the fourth set and really got him going. He broke del Potro twice more to level things at two sets apiece.

"A five-set match is a test," Federer said.

The light was fading, the wind was swirling, and the temperature dipped below 60 degrees. Not surprisingly, Federer dealt with the conditions better than del Potro.

"That match escaped me," a subdued del Potro said. "I really wanted to be in that final, and now I'm going to have to watch it on TV."

After double-faulting to hand Federer a 4-3 lead, del Potro trudged to the sideline with head bowed, while many spectators rose to yell, applaud and serenade their man: "Roh-zher! Roh-zher!"

Three games later, Federer served it out, closing with consecutive forehand winners. He whirled around and glanced at the guest box - at his pregnant wife, at his parents, at pal Anna Wintour, Vogue's editor-in-chief - then walked to the net, placed both hands on the tape and leaned over, looking at the clay court that has bedeviled him in the past.

Surely he was thinking: One more to go. One more to go.

"It feels great coming through tough matches like this," said Federer, who also needed five sets to get past Tommy Haas in the fourth round. "It's more emotional. It's more satisfaction."

Del Potro threw an arm around Federer and told him, "Everybody wants you to lift the trophy."

Safina ready to win 1st major title at French Open

PARIS - Thinner, mentally tougher and No. 1 in the rankings, Dinara Safina feels ready to win her first Grand Slam title.

The top-seeded Safina is half of the third all-Russian major championship match. She needs to beat Svetlana Kuznetsova in Saturday's French Open final to claim one of the four biggest titles in tennis.

"It's one step easier because I'm already No. 1, so nobody can take it away from me," Safina said Friday, referring to her losses to Serena Williams in this year's Australian Open final and to Ana Ivanovic in the 2008 French Open final. "Just one more step I need to do."

Safina took over as the top-ranked player in April, and she has reached the final in the four tournaments she has played, all on clay. In her 21 matches since then, she has lost only once - to Kuznetsova.

She credits much of that rise to her coach, Zeljko Krajan.

"He had to start with everything from zero," Safina said. "First, it was believe, and then I started to play better. And then I was overweight. He was like, ‘OK, now if you want to improve, you have to lose weight.' So we started to work on (that) and I lost my weight.

"He's like, ‘OK, now the third part is mentally. In the tough moments you're breaking down, so we have to improve mentally.'"

Her inner toughness came through in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. After dominating four straight opponents - losing only five games in the first four rounds - Safina lost the first set to Victoria Azarenka 6-1. But in the semifinals, she was back to her dominating self after a slight blip at the start, beating Dominika Cibulkova 6-3, 6-3.

Now, it's time for a rematch against Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open champion who has been a friend and rival since their days as juniors.

"She was a funny girl. I remember her coming to the match with a two-liter Pepsi," Safina said. "I mean, you would look at her, and it was like, ‘No way she can be one day like winning (a) Grand Slam.'

"But then she moved to Spain and she changed completely. She became much more professional."

The two have met twice on clay this year, with Kuznetsova winning the title in Stuttgart, Germany, and Safina doing the same in Rome.

"It was definitely two different matches," said Kuznetsova, who is 4-7 overall against Safina. "In Stuttgart I was a little bit fresher. I played good, and I (took) advantage of my speed and I was moving Dinara around well. In Rome, I think Dinara played much better, but I played worse."

Kuznetsova was part of the second all-Russian Grand Slam final, beating Elena Dementieva at the 2004 U.S. Open. Earlier that year, Dementieva lost to Anastasia Myskina in the French Open final.

"I have less pressure," Kuznetsova said. "She's No. 1. She has to win it, not me. I just want to go out there and enjoy it."

Safina and her brother Marat Safin are the only sister and brother to have been ranked No. 1 in tennis. Safin has won two Grand Slam titles, but he wasn't offering any new advice to his younger sister ahead of Saturday's match.

"I don't think he's going to send me something," Safina said. "I had enough advice from him."

-- Chris Lehourites

Medina Garrigues, Ruano Pascual win French doubles

PARIS - Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain have won their second consecutive French Open women's doubles title by beating Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Elena Vesnina of Russia 6-1, 6-1 on Friday.

It's Ruano Pascual's 10th Grand Slam women's doubles title, but only the second with Medina Garrigues, both at Roland Garros. The other eight - including four more at the French Open - came with the now-retired Paola Suarez.

"We complete each other," Ruano Pascual said of Medina Garrigues. "She gives me the power I lack in my shots, and I give my strategic view."

The 12th-seeded pairing of Azarenka and Vesnina were bidding for their first Grand Slam title, but they lost nine games in a row to trail 5-0 in the second set.

"I never had the feeling that they could hurt us," said Ruano Pascual, who has also won a mixed doubles title with Tomas Carbonell. "I never felt any pressure, and I never felt we were going to be in trouble."

French Open at a glance

PARIS - A look at the French Open on Friday:

Weather: Partly cloudy. High of 68 degrees.

Attendance: 16,890.

Men's Semifinals: No. 2 Roger Federer def. No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro 3-6, 7-6 (2), 2-6, 6-1, 6-4; No. 23 Robin Soderling def. No. 12 Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 7-5, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4.

Stat of the Day: 19 - The number of Grand Slam finals Federer has reached, tying Ivan Lendl's career record.

Quote of the Day: "I've played against him 20 times, so it's always nice to play against somebody else." - Federer, speaking about Rafael Nadal, who beat him in each of the past three French Open finals.

Women's Final Saturday: No. 1 Dinara Safina vs. No. 7 Svetlana Kuznetsova. Safina is trying for her first Grand Slam title, Kuznetsova for her second.

Saturday's Forecast: Cloudy, with a chance of rain. High of 64 degrees.

Saturday's TV: NBC, 8 a.m.-11 a.m.

Rafael Nadal pulls out of Queen's due to injury

LONDON - Rafael Nadal withdrew on Friday from next week's grass-court tournament at Queen's Club because of knee trouble but hopes to defend his title at Wimbledon.

The top-ranked Spaniard is "struggling with ongoing knee problems and has been advised to rest by doctors," tournament organizers said in a statement.

"I have been having some problems in the past months with my knees, that's no secret, that did not allow me to compete always at 100 percent," Nadal said. "I need to work with my team to recover well, work on my physical condition to be at my top form and get ready for the grass to play at Wimbledon. I hope I can be ready to compete by then."

Wimbledon starts on June 22.

On Sunday, Nadal lost in the fourth round of the French Open to Sweden's Robin Soderling. It was the first loss at Roland Garros for the four-time French Open champion.

Nadal was also coming off a loss to Roger Federer in the final of the Madrid Open.

Nadal has played at the Queen's tournament in west London every year since his first appearance in 2005. He won the title last year, beating Novak Djokovic 7-6 (6), 7-5 in the final.

Kei Nishikori also withdrew Friday because of an elbow injury. No. 82-ranked Marco Baghdatis was given a wild card to replace him.