Star-struck Nadal targets Agassi final in Montreal Masters
El País;, Espa�a
August 13th, 2005
Rafael Nadal may be French Open champion, but the current world number two is still a simple tennis fan at heart. Having moved into the quarterfinals of the Montreal Masters after beating Sebastien Grosjean on Thursday night, the 19-year-old spoke of his desire to make it to the final - not for the prize money or even for the ranking points, but simply to play against Andre Agassi.
"For me to play the final here would be unbelievable, and if I play Andre Agassi it would be unbelievable, too," Nadal said after his straightforward win over France's Grosjean. The player from Majorca again showed a more solid service game to avoid breaks in either set, instead breaking Grosjean's service in the third game of each set for a 6-4, 6-4 win. Nadal must now play Argentine Mariano Puerta, his opponent in the final at Roland Garros, while Agassi next takes on Gaston Gaudio, also of Argentina.
"I want to play him because he's a legend of tennis, and I've never played him," Nadal said of the 35-year-old winner of 60 titles. "I hope to play him before he retires," the young Spaniard added.
In Montreal, Nadal is looking to win his ninth tournament of the year, but it would be his first-ever triumph on a hardcourt, with the US Open just a few weeks away. Following the withdrawal of world number one Roger Federer through injury, Lleyton Hewitt's stomach bug and Andy Roddick's shock first-round exit, the teenager appears to have everything going in his favor.
Nadal became on Thursday the last Spanish player in the tournament, after Tommy Robredo lost 6-3, 7-6 to Gaudio and Juan Carlos Ferrero lost 6-4, 6-2 to Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty. In women's tennis, Spain's Conchita Mart�nez reached the quarterfinals of Los Angeles' JPMorgan Chase Open, where she will play Italy's Francesca Schiavone.
� The Canadian Press 2005
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