One wonders where this Roger Federer was a few weeks ago with backhand flying out and losing early. It seems Roger's priorities are to win Slams and that early losses are not bothersome to Roger, or for the conspiracy-minded, Roger selectively loses so as not to tempt injury or to keep some of what he
If you watch enough tennis, you see beyond the names most people know, beyond Federer, Nadal, beyond Tsonga, Roddick, beyond Querrey, and start to see names like Andreas Seppi, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Thomaz Bellucci. You'll see names like Victor Hanescu and Janko Tipsarevic. These are the guys whose ranks typically float in the 30s or 40s,
When the draw for the French Open came out, this was seen as easily the most difficult of the first round matches. Although Gasquet was ranked in the high 60s when the draw was made, a ranking that dropped into the low 40s by Monday when his win in Nice counted to his results, he
Most players on the tour aren't the glamor players, the players who contend for a title, the names you see in draws every day. They aren't Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. They aren't even Juan Monaco or Thomas Bellucci who routinely make the main draws of ATP events. Instead, they are like Daniel Brands of
Robin Soderling played a French wildcard and, as expected, didn't have too many issues. He beat Laurent Recouderc 6-0, 6-2, 6-3. Although his results in the clay season have not been exceptional (he reached the finals of Barcelona, but has lost early in other tournaments), Soderling feels he has trained well. Marin Cilic had a
I don't plan on doing too many previews, but here's the first. The French Open unlike other tournaments opens play on a Sunday. This allows them to schedule their rounds better and to have 3 Sundays, presumably to make more money. Let's look at a few key matches. I'll follow the convention that Wikipedia sets.
The French Open released the draws earlier today. Let's begin by seeing who is missing. Clearly, Juan Martin del Potro and Nikolay Davydenko are missing. del Potro reached the semis last year and pushed Roger Federer to five sets. Davydenko reached the quarters and lost to eventual finalist, Robin Soderling. Lower down, Radek Stepanek is
I'll do one preview now and maybe a modified preview once the draw is out. This preview is primarily based on how players are playing now. Let's start with the top contenders for the French Open. Favorites Rafael Nadal You have to give Rafa the nod heading into the French. Although there were some issues
Robin Soderling, in his speech after the match, said he was "yoking" with his coach, Magnus Norman, himself a finalist of the millenial French Open in 2000 (losing to Gustavo Kuerten in four sets), "yoking" that no one beats Robin Soderling 10 times in a row.This was a riff on the famous quote by Vitas
After two weeks of play and 126 matches, it comes down to one match. One match to decide who the 2009 champion of Roland Garros will be.For the first time in quite a few years, the finals will not feature the Spaniard, Rafael Nadal. Nadal lost to one of the finalists, Robin Soderling. And for
