Nadal gambol pays off

That is the difference between winning and losing a major final against your biggest rival — the victor can ride the wave of energy it gives you while the vanquished feels like he has been dumped in the surf.

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So the 21-year-old Spaniard felt quite happy to fulfil his commitment to the Artois Championships, and yesterday opened his campaign with a fresh-legged 6-4, 6-4 victory over towering Argentine teenager Juan Martin del Potro.

Having won the French Open there was no doubt he would arrive here and join the likes of Andy Roddick, who will today take on a rather less celebrated left-hander in Britain's Alex Bogdanovic, the last home player standing after ousting Scotland's Jamie Baker.

Certainly, Nadal will feel better right now than Federer, who chose to rest in Switzerland instead of taking his usual route to Wimbledon via Halle, northern Germany.

Better, too, than Lleyton Hewitt, beaten 7-6, 7-6 by French qualifier Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, whose joyful enthusiasm won him raucous support from the Queen's Club crowd.

World No 1 Federer will not have taken the decision to skip Halle lightly, because his four triumphs at the All England Club have been preceded by winning the German event — and the top players are creatures of habit.

There are those who, remembering his flaky temperament earlier in his career, feel this week's withdrawal signals an increased chance of there being a new Wimbledon champion this year. Nadal may be among them but, as someone who knows what it is like to be a hot favourite for a Grand Slam, he can understand his logic.

"If I lose tomorrow it does matter, but it is not the same as if Roger was to lose in Halle," said Nadal. "There is pressure on him to win there. It's like me going to Barcelona and losing in the second round on my favourite surface (clay).

"He wants to recover and go to Wimbledon with a better mentality. When you play for two weeks with big concentration every day it's tough to play the next week, especially if you lose the final."

The same considerations of fatigue do not seem to affect Nadal, who regardless of his third triumph at Roland Garros has every reason to be exhausted. That he is tackling his most alien surface with such gusto is worthy of commendation.

"I played yesterday in the doubles and was really terrible, I wanted to move but just could not," said Nadal, whose baseline game benefits from the slower conditions that prevail on grass these days.

"Today I woke up with a much better feeling. I went to breakfast and for the first time in my life I was up and prepared ahead of my coach and physio."

The world that his fellow southpaw Bogdanovic inhabits is very different, but today he will step on to the 7,000 capacity centre court to tackle world No 5 Roddick. He earned the right by overcoming Baker, the spirited Scot, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 in two hours and 20 minutes of intense struggle.

Brit beating Brit always carries a hype warning, but there is no question that Bogdanovic possesses unusually good handskills.

At 23, his progress up the rankings has been agonisingly slow, but he is now within touching distance of the top 100.

Born in Belgrade before his parents emigrated to London when he was eight, this may be his year because the force in tennis seems to belong to anyone born in Serbia.

The problem has been a lack of application and tussles over the years with the hierarchy at the Lawn Tennis Association.

His dismal display in the 2005 Davis Cup tie against Israel earned him a slating from Jeremy Bates, then captain, and led to a decision to make himself unavailable, which has been rescinded.

Back in the fold, he has felt more comfortable with the expensively-assembled coaching staff at the LTA's base in Roehampton and has been working with Davis Cup coach Peter Lundgren, also receiving loquacious mentoring from Brad Gilbert.

"I didn't play well today, he was better throughout but I hung in the match," said Bogdanovic, who came back from a break down in the second set. "Six months or a year ago I would have crumbled, but Peter has helped me a lot mentally. In the last few years, going back to when I was a junior, they said I was talented but had this attitude. Lately, it has had nothing to do with that. There's a team behind me and people believe in me and that gives me more confidence."