Queens roundup ...

Rafa stepped out on to the hallowed turf - this time at Queens - in his preparation for Wimbledon ... and the English "summer".


His first opponent was Daniel Marcos and he despatched of him in rapid fashion with a scoreline of 6-2, 6-2.


Next up was Denis Istomin and the day that Rafan and I eagerly attended. We weren't, however, treated to much of a tennis show. The weather was particularly bad. It was freezing cold, there was a squally wind, and the match was interrupted for a rain delay. Rafa eventually prevailed in a 7-6, 4-6, 6-4, but it was a dreadful match and one of the worst I have ever seen him play. There was a bit of a scare as Rafa took a medical time out, which has since proved to be a slight hamstring strain. Tricky conditions, but ordinarily he should have put this guy away with better ease.

Rafa's quarter-final opponent turned out to be the dream ticket ... Feliciano "Deliciano" Lopez. Feli is twice a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon, so knows his way around a grass court. And so it proved in this match. It was, actually, a delight to watch. Massive variety of shots, some lovely rallies and tremendous serving by Feli. Feli's serves and aces and his great application of 'slice' ultimately did for lovely Rafa as he finally lost to a Spaniard for the first time in 700 thousand, million years. The scoreline read 7-6, 6-4 to Feli.

So what to make of this tournie? Well ... I think it proved that Rafa was a bit mentally fatigued which is hardly surprising considering the run he has just been on. I always pity that there isn't enought of a break from the clay season before the grass starts, as Rafa for 5 out of the last 6 years has come from a French Open final straight onto it. He also immediately pulled out of the doubles following the loss and probably took the first flight home for a couple of days golf and rest before back to practice next week. In a bizarre sort of way, the defeat was probably the best result as it means 10 days before Wimbledon starts and a chance for him to relax and re-group. Enjoy your rest Rafa, and come back blazing for Wimbers ...