Saturday, April 11, 2009

Nadal returns to defend Queen's Club title

LONDON (AP) -Rafael Nadal will return to defend his title at the Queen's Club tournament for what should be his first grass court match since he beat Roger Federer in last year's Wimbledon final.

The top-ranked Spaniard has played in the west London tournament every year since his first appearance in 2005. Last year, he beat Novak Djokovic 7-6 (6), 7-5 in the final.

The June 8-14 tournament comes near the start of the short grass-court season and is immediately after Nadal defends his French Open title on red clay in Paris.


"It is nice to come back to a place where you are the last champion,'' said Nadal, who went on to beat Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7 in the longest Wimbledon final in history. "I love to play these two tournaments. To arrive as the last champion is going to be a really nice experience.''




East Notes: Rough start for Crew
Nadal returns to defend Queen’s Club title