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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 2019)
SPORTS Saturday, June 8, 2019 Federer can’t handle wind or Nadal in 3-set French Open loss We’re all part of Umatilla County history. SHARE YOUR PHOTOS By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer PARIS — It’s rough enough for Roger Federer — well, let’s be honest, anyone holding a tennis racket — to try to deal with Rafael Nad- al’s unfl inching excellence on the French Open’s red clay. Mix in a wild wind, and Federer, so great for so long, against anyone else and any- where else, morphed into merely good. And good, even Federer’s brand of good, was not nearly enough Friday. Nadal made quick work of Federer in their fi rst meeting at Roland Garros since 2011, outperforming his rival 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in air whipping at more than 20 mph (12 kph) to reach his record 12th fi nal in Paris as he pursues his record 12th championship. This was Federer’s most lopsided Grand Slam defeat since he gathered a mea- sly four games in a loss to — guess who? — Nadal in the 2008 French Open title match. “He makes you feel uncomfortable the way he defends the court and plays on clay. There is nobody who even plays remotely close to him,” said Federer, who hadn’t entered the tourna- ment since 2015. “I don’t even know who I need to go search for, to go practice with some- body who plays like him. I was thinking that during the match.” Nadal has never lost a semifi nal at the clay-court major. Never lost a fi nal, either. When told of those facts, Nadal replied, mat- ter-of-factly: “It’s incredible, being honest.” He’s also never lost to Federer at Roland Garros, improving to 6-0. Over- all, Nadal leads their series 24-15. Federer had won their past fi ve meetings, but those were all on hard courts. It’s a whole different task to take on Nadal on clay, in general, and at the French Open, in particular, where he is 92-2 for his career. In Sunday’s fi nal, the No. 2-seeded Nadal will play No. 1 Novak Djokovic or No. 4 Dominic Thiem. Their semi- fi nal, played second Friday, was suspended for the day in the third set because of rain in the evening. Thiem was lead- ing 6-2, 3-6, 3-1 when play was halted. About 45 minutes later, offi cials announced the match would resume Satur- day. That means whoever wins would be competing for a fourth day in a row in the fi nal against a well-rested Nadal. This was the fi rst time since 2011 the four top- seeded men were in the Roland Garros semifi nals. In the women’s fi nal Sat- urday, No. 8 Ash Barty will East Oregonian AP Photo/Michel Euler Spain’s Rafael Nadal clenches his fi st after scoring a point against Switzerland’s Roger Federer during their semifi nal match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium on Friday in Paris. face unseeded 19-year-old Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic. It’s the fi rst time either has played for a major title. Nadal, meanwhile, is bid- ding for his 18th. Among men, only Federer has more, with 20. Like so many times before, it was Nadal’s topspin-heavy lefty forehand, his relentless ball-chasing and his return game that gave Federer fi ts. Even frustrated the guy so much that the generally stoic Federer smacked a tennis ball toward the stands after get- ting broken to trail 2-1 in the third set. It would soon be over. “It’s just amazing how he plays from deep and then is able to bounce back and forth from the baseline,” Fed- erer said. “I didn’t play a poor two fi rst sets, in my opinion. I thought Rafa really had to come up with the goods to make the difference, and the difference was a passing shot here, a pickup there.” Blithely put. The fact is, Nadal’s passes and pickups — not to mention his refl exes — are not of this world. More than once, he slid to his right, beyond the doubles alley, to extend a point by retrieving the seemingly irre- trievable with a backhand, then followed it up by sprint- ing to his left for a jaw-drop- pingly precise forehand that fl ew out of Federer’s reach and veered to land near a line. And more than once, Nadal punctuated the point by pumping his fi st and yell- ing, “Vamos!” The wind was so unchecked that it knocked a tarp off its moorings behind a baseline. It tossed loose dirt from the court into both players’ eyes, so much so that Federer joked it felt as if they were playing in a sand- box. There was also drizzle and temperatures of about 60 degrees (15 Celsius). Enough to make one wish the retractable roof due to be installed before the 2020 French Open were already in place. Even Nadal described the conditions as “so hard, so dif- fi cult to manage.” “It’s just really compli- cated, you know,” Federer said. “So you’re trying to see how much can you do — or you cannot do. Are you play- ing fl atter or with more spin? Are you keeping the ball in play? Are you going for stuff?” With an aggressive, charge-to-the-net style, he had been broken a total of only four times by his fi rst fi ve opponents. But Federer was more hesitant against his nemesis, and Nadal won 6 of 13 return games. The 37-year-old Federer was serenaded off the court by spectators’ chants of his fi rst name. He raised his right arm for a quick wave as he walked away — perhaps for the fi nal time. He missed the tournament in 2016 with a bad back, then skipped the entire clay-court circuit the next two years to prepare for grass and hard courts. “I surprised myself, maybe, how deep I got in this tournament and how well I actually was able to play throughout,” Federer said. “And next year? Just like with any other tournament, I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.” For Nadal, this was the lat- est impeccable performance in a recent resurgence. He entered May without a title in 2019, his worst start to a sea- son in 15 years. But the 33-year-old Span- iard began fi nding his form at last month’s Italian Open, beating Djokovic in that fi nal. In Paris, Nadal is up to his annual standards. “He’s been playing better and better every week,” said Nadal’s coach, Carlos Moya, the 1998 French Open cham- pion. “He’s been playing well in this moment, which is his main goal: Roland Garros.” One more victory to go for a dozen titles in Paris. The East Oregonian is proud to announce its partnership with Athena Public Library, City of Echo, Milton-Freewater Area Historical Society, Pendleton Round-up, Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, Umatilla County Historical Society and our readers on a new pictorial history book, “Umatilla County Memories: The Early Years.” YOU’RE INVITED We are excited to invite you, our readers, to participate in this unique project. Please bring your photos to one of our scanning sessions listed here — and be sure to check our submission guidelines. Photos will be scanned on-site and given right back to you. In order to keep things speedy, please fill out our simple photo submission form prior to the session. Forms can be downloaded at Umatilla.PictorialBook.com. Please plan to fill out one form for each photo you’d like to submit. Download submission forms and pre-order at Umatilla.PictorialBook.com SUBMISSION GUIDELINES General interest photos, such as: commerce, industry, transportation, rural life, public service, etc. Photos taken between the 1800s and 1939. Photos only — preferably original (no newspaper clippings or photocopies). Photos taken in Umatilla County. Limit 10 photos per family. No appointment necessary. If you’re a private collector, call 360-723-5800 to set up an appointment. SCANNING SESSIONS Saturday, June 22 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Tribal images only Tamástslikt Cultural Institute Keegan Bradley leads by 1 after fi rst round of Canadian Open 47106 Wildhorse Boulevard, Pendleton ANCASTER, Ontario (AP) — Keegan Bradley had a 7-under 63 for a one-shot lead after the fi rst round of the RBC Canadian Open on Thursday. “Today I was in complete control of my ball,” Bradley said. “Then when you couple that with feeling good on the greens, that’s when a 63 or a good, nice round happens.” Bradley was convinced that his clubhouse lead would not withstand the afternoon groups, but it did. Roberto Castro of the U.S., was the only player that teed off in the second wave to reach second, tying Can- ada’s Nick Taylor, Ireland’s Shane Lowry, South Korea’s Sungjae Im and South Afri- ca’s Erik van Rooyen. This year the tourna- ment has moved up in the golf calendar, making it a lead-in event to the U.S. Open and drawing a sig- nifi cantly stronger group of competitors. Defending tournament champion Dustin Johnson, the No. 2 player in the world, Monday, June 24 shot a 1-over 71. Last year Johnson pulled away from the fi eld after a nearly two- hour rain delay to win his fi rst Canadian Open, fi ring 6-under 66 in last year’s fi nal round to fi nish at 23 under. Brooks Koepka, fresh off his PGA Championship win, shot an even-par 70 and is tied for 84th. Taylor of Abbotsford, British Columbia, led the Canadian contingent, shoot- ing a 6-under 64. Taylor, who started on hole No. 10, made four birdies in a row to open his back nine at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club. Mackenzie Hughes was one of fi ve Canadians within three shots of Bradley. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford had a 5-under 65, while David Hearn of nearby Brantford, Ontario, and Drew Nesbitt of Shanty Bay, Ontario, both tied Hughes. As soon as Hughes’ part- ners were done teeing off at No. 13, he bent down, opened up a small bag and pulled out a jersey. It took a moment for fans to realize what he was doing, but as Hughes straightened out the familiar black and red of a Kawhi Leonard Toronto Raptors jersey, the cheers rose to a crescendo, with spectators pounding on the boards that surround the hockey-themed hole at the RBC Canadian Open known as The Rink. Like many Raptors fans, Hughes hopes that Toronto wins the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors and can re-sign Leonard, who will become a free agent this summer. “I don’t think my wearing the jersey infl uenced him at all, but I hope that he stays,” Hughes said. “I try to have some fun with that hole. Life’s short so, whatever, I’m just going to have some fun,” said Hughes, who donned a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey at last year’s version of the Rink at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ontario. “The crowd enjoys that stuff so it’s fun for me to do. Sunday, June 23 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. Echo Bank Building and Historical Museum 230 W. Main Street, Echo 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. Athena Public Library 418 E. Main Street, Athena Wednesday, June 26 10 a.m. – noon Umatilla County Historical Society Heritage Station Museum 108 SW Frazer, Pendleton Thursday, June 27 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. Milton-Freewater Area Historical Society and Frazier Farmstead Museum 1403 Chestnut Street, Milton-Freewater Not all photos submitted or used in ads will appear in the final book. B3