LONDON -- Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal -- and sometimes both -- appeared in all 10 Wimbledon finals from 2003-12, combining to claim nine of those titles. Toby Alderweireld Belgium Jersey . Neither made it that far in 2013. Not even close. Federer lost his second match at the All England Club. Nadal exited in the first round, a year after bowing out in the second. With play at Wimbledon starting Monday, Federer and Nadal are eager to return to the heights they once reached with regularity at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament. They sound certain that they are prepared to fare better than 12 months ago -- and, as might be expected from a seven-time champion, Federer came right out and called himself "a contender." "I feel like, yeah, if things click here, I should be able to win the tournament," Federer said Saturday. "I feel I have a very good chance again this year. I hope to utilize my fitness, the amount of matches Ive played this year," he added. "So Im really coming in with a much better feeling." Federer tuned up for Wimbledon, where he is seeded fourth, by winning a title on grass at Halle, Germany, last weekend. That showing gave Federer all the assurance he needed that his game is in prime form at the moment, especially on the slick surface he dominated for a decade. Last season, Federer explained, there were "certain things I wanted to do, but I couldnt figure out or couldnt do it." "This year," he continued, "I feel all the options are there. Return, serve, serve and volley, come in, my backhand -- everything is working to my liking. For that reason, I feel Im a bit more relaxed mentally, because I know it is there. I clearly want to do better than last year, theres no doubt about it." So does the second-seeded Nadal, of course. He reached five Wimbledon finals and earned a pair of trophies, including by edging Federer 9-7 in the fifth set in 2008. They met in three consecutive title matches at the All England Club from 2006-08, and could meet in the semifinals this year. First things first, though. Nadal has a test in the first round against big-hitting Martin Klizan, then could face Lukas Rosol, the man who stunned the Spaniard in 2012s second round. The third round could bring a challenge from tough server Ivo Karlovic. For now, Nadal is most pleased with the state of his left knee, which acted up during his 7-6 (4), 7-6 (8), 6-4 loss in 2013 to 135th-ranked Steve Darcis, saying it "hurts less this year than last year." Thats allowed Nadal to put in longer hours than usual on the practice courts this week, a key as the nine-time French Open champion transitions from clay to grass, on which he has lost three matches in a row. A year ago at Wimbledon, a 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5) loss to 116th-ranked Sergiy Stakhovsky ended Federers streak of getting at least to the quarterfinals at 36 consecutive major tournaments. It was Federers earliest Grand Slam defeat since May 2003. Somber that day, at least Federer can joke about it now. He said that when he ran into Stakhovsky on Friday, they kidded around about how they could only meet in the final this year, because they were drawn into opposite sides of the bracket. "So its all good for both of us," Federer said, then paused before delivering the punch line: "For me, at least." Dries Mertens Belgium Jersey . Bryce Harper? He also came into Wednesday without a long ball and hadnt driven in a run. He was hitting .160, had nearly three times as many strikeouts as hits and was dropped to seventh in the batting order. Thomas Meunier Belgium Jersey . Showing more spark after not taking enough challenging shots on goal in their 1-0 loss Friday night, the Bruins had 18 shots in the first period after managing just 25 in the entire opener. Luke Glendening cut Bostons lead to 2-1 at 13:20 of the second period before Milan Lucic scored late in the second and Zdeno Chara added a power-play goal early in the third.Ross calling a Jadeveon Clowney hit:Ross calls DeAndre Jordan posterizing Brandon Knight:Ross calls LeBron James dunking on Jason Terry: Cheap Jerseys 2020 Discount Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Discount NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Throwback Jerseys Discount NFL Jerseys ' ' '
LONDON -- Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal -- and sometimes both -- appeared in all 10 Wimbledon finals from 2003-12, combining to claim nine of those titles. Toby Alderweireld Belgium Jersey . Neither made it that far in 2013. Not even close. Federer lost his second match at the All England Club. Nadal exited in the first round, a year after bowing out in the second. With play at Wimbledon starting Monday, Federer and Nadal are eager to return to the heights they once reached with regularity at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament. They sound certain that they are prepared to fare better than 12 months ago -- and, as might be expected from a seven-time champion, Federer came right out and called himself "a contender." "I feel like, yeah, if things click here, I should be able to win the tournament," Federer said Saturday. "I feel I have a very good chance again this year. I hope to utilize my fitness, the amount of matches Ive played this year," he added. "So Im really coming in with a much better feeling." Federer tuned up for Wimbledon, where he is seeded fourth, by winning a title on grass at Halle, Germany, last weekend. That showing gave Federer all the assurance he needed that his game is in prime form at the moment, especially on the slick surface he dominated for a decade. Last season, Federer explained, there were "certain things I wanted to do, but I couldnt figure out or couldnt do it." "This year," he continued, "I feel all the options are there. Return, serve, serve and volley, come in, my backhand -- everything is working to my liking. For that reason, I feel Im a bit more relaxed mentally, because I know it is there. I clearly want to do better than last year, theres no doubt about it." So does the second-seeded Nadal, of course. He reached five Wimbledon finals and earned a pair of trophies, including by edging Federer 9-7 in the fifth set in 2008. They met in three consecutive title matches at the All England Club from 2006-08, and could meet in the semifinals this year. First things first, though. Nadal has a test in the first round against big-hitting Martin Klizan, then could face Lukas Rosol, the man who stunned the Spaniard in 2012s second round. The third round could bring a challenge from tough server Ivo Karlovic. For now, Nadal is most pleased with the state of his left knee, which acted up during his 7-6 (4), 7-6 (8), 6-4 loss in 2013 to 135th-ranked Steve Darcis, saying it "hurts less this year than last year." Thats allowed Nadal to put in longer hours than usual on the practice courts this week, a key as the nine-time French Open champion transitions from clay to grass, on which he has lost three matches in a row. A year ago at Wimbledon, a 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5) loss to 116th-ranked Sergiy Stakhovsky ended Federers streak of getting at least to the quarterfinals at 36 consecutive major tournaments. It was Federers earliest Grand Slam defeat since May 2003. Somber that day, at least Federer can joke about it now. He said that when he ran into Stakhovsky on Friday, they kidded around about how they could only meet in the final this year, because they were drawn into opposite sides of the bracket. "So its all good for both of us," Federer said, then paused before delivering the punch line: "For me, at least." Dries Mertens Belgium Jersey . Bryce Harper? He also came into Wednesday without a long ball and hadnt driven in a run. He was hitting .160, had nearly three times as many strikeouts as hits and was dropped to seventh in the batting order. Thomas Meunier Belgium Jersey . Showing more spark after not taking enough challenging shots on goal in their 1-0 loss Friday night, the Bruins had 18 shots in the first period after managing just 25 in the entire opener. Luke Glendening cut Bostons lead to 2-1 at 13:20 of the second period before Milan Lucic scored late in the second and Zdeno Chara added a power-play goal early in the third.Ross calling a Jadeveon Clowney hit:Ross calls DeAndre Jordan posterizing Brandon Knight:Ross calls LeBron James dunking on Jason Terry: Cheap Jerseys 2020 Discount Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Discount NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Throwback Jerseys Discount NFL Jerseys ' ' '
