Day 5 of the French Open

Only a few matches were able to be played on Day 5 (Thursday).  Rain delayed the start of all the matches by a few hours.  One good thing is that all the matches that were postponed on Wednesday, managed to be completed on Thursday.

Justice was served on Day 5 when Gael Monfils and Fabio Fognini walked onto Court Phillipe Chartier.  Fognini who was trying to be "jobbed" by the suits at the French Open managed to stick it up their asses when he took out the flambouyant Frenchman, Monfils 9-7 in the 5th set.

Jelena Jankovic needed 3 sets to beat a game, Kaia Kanepi...My upset special of Ana Ivanovic over Alisa Kleybanova was completely wrong.  Kleybanova crushed Ivanovic 6-3, 6-0.... Elena Dementieva defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues in straight sets...  Francesca Schiavone had no trouble taking out Sophie Ferguson of Australia...Kateryna Bondarenko was upset by Aleksandra Wozniak... The other Bondarenko sister, Alona faired much better in her win over Magdalena Rybarikova...  Jarmila Groth ended the tournament of 39 year old Kimiko Date Krumm... #11 seed Na Li got by Stephanie Cohen-Aloro... #21 seed Vera Zvonareva was a upset victim to Anastasia Rodionova... and Shahar Peer came back from down a set to beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

On the mens side Andy Roddick took out Blaz Kavcic in 4 sets... Andy Murray completed his win over Juan Ignacio "cha cha" Chela on Thursday... Marcos Baghdatis needed 4 sets to send Marcel Granollers home... After a night to sleep on it, John Isner was able to figure out how to beat Marco Chiudinelli... and Teimuraz Gabashvili won the battle of the "jobbers" over Grega Zemlja.

These are all the matches that were able to be completed.  All the remaining matches scheduled have been pushed to being played on Friday.

What to watch for on Day 6 (Friday):

Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal, along with Roger Federer will all be playing on Friday.  Due to all the matches being pushed back a day many players who won yesterday will be playing today.

Match of the day:  There are a couple matches that should be really competitive.  The Soderling - Montanes match should be interesting.  Montanes loves to play on clay, and has a win over Roger Federer just a few weeks ago.  Soderling is last years mens runnerup.  This one could get interesting...But the match of the day will be #4 seed Andy Murray vs. #25 Marcos Baghdatis.  Baghdatis is solid on clay and has been looking like he is in some decent form, while Murray has struggled of late, but is starting to come around.  I'd have to say that this is an even match between two big personalities.  Should be a fun one.

Upsets of the day:  I have only a couple, and they really aren't upsets in my mind.  But going by the seeds it would be an upset.  My mens upset of the day is #17 seed John Isner beating #15 seed Tomas Berdych... on the womens side look for #17 seed Francesca Schiavone to end the tournament of the #11 seed Na Li.  Yeah, I know, not really upsets.  I agree.

Hopefully no more rain in Paris for a while.

Review of Day 4 and Preview of Day 5

The Gael Monfils - Fabio Fognini match is the big story of the day.  Well actually its how the match referee totally played favorites and made the French Open look like a joke. 

In the match Monfils cruised to a 2 sets to none lead.  It was looking like it would be a short, easy day for the Frenchman.  But in true Monfils fashion he would rather "hotdog" his way to a win, and play dumb tennis, well this got him into trouble and he opened the door wide open for Fognini to make a comeback and take the next 2 sets to even the match.

Now this is when the fun starts, tied at 4 games a piece in the 5th set, all the other courts were stopped due to darkness.  Well earlier in the set Monfils was down a break, but managed to break back to even up the set and the crowd was fully behind him and the momentum was definetly in Monfils corner.  So instead of the match referee or whatever he is (lets just call him a asshat in a suit) he comes onto the court to probably stop the match for the night.  That wasn't the case, it was almost as if he was influenced the the crowd and should I say it, influenced that it was a French player in the French Open, because Monfils still wanted to play.  Well Fognini wanted nothing to do with continuing the match.  He pleaded his case to the asshat in the suit and the chair umpire, even Monfils was chirping in his ear.  The fans knew what was going on and started to get all over the Italian for wanting to quit for the night.

Fognini is complaining to anyone with a pulse, Monfils is standing at the service line with his arms stretched out as if to say "c'mon man", Fognini's coach and trainer in the stands are giving him the "cut" sign to say "no more, don't play".  The asshat in the suit then walks off the court saying to continue play in darkness, when 10 minutes ago all the other courts were shut down due to darkness.  Why would they make this ruling?  Its simple there is a French turd on the verge of winning in his home tournament and the crowd was whipped into a frenzy.  The dude didn't have the sack to pull the plug, like he should of.

After the asshat walks away Fognini continues to make his case in the corner where the asshat in the suit is standing with his walkie talkie.  This continued on for almost 8 minutes.  Finally the chair umpire penalizes Fognini a point for delay of game.

It was so dark that the ball could hardly be seen.   Both players looked like a couple old geezer playing baby ball out there.  Neither one would hit it very hard just because they were scared to whiff.  Fognini ended up holding his serve to make it 5-4, well play still continued to Monfils serve.  Fognini had 3 match points on "monchichi's" serve but could not convert, and Monfils held to even it at 5-5.  Finally after going 5-5 in the 5th they decided to stop play.

Fognini on his way to his chair and packing his bags made sure to tell the chair umpire what he thought of him in Italian.  I'm sure calling him a dumb piece of shit was mixed in there.  Walking off the court Fognini made sure to scream at anyone who would listen.  I don't blame the guy, the tournament suited asshats were trying to fuck him over.  Well it didn't work, and this match will continue tomorrow.  Hopefully Fabio puts it to all the dipshits who tried to screw him over.

Defending womens champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova was very close to being knocked out by Andrea Petkovic of Germany.  The Kuz lost the first set and had 3 match points against her in the 2nd, and thankfully to Petkovic getting nerves, let Kuznetsova come back to take the set and send it to a 3rd set.  Kuznetsova then was able to take the third set and get a shaky win.  She better up her game, or she will not be around to see week 2.

Some dude wearing neglige beat Arantxa Parra Santonja....Aravane Rezai needed 3 sets to take out Angelique Kerber...Caroline Wozniacki got a easy win over Tathiana Garbin....Flavia Pennetta destroyed fellow Italian, Roberta Vinci...Nadia Petrova had no problem beating Agnes Szavay....Dominika Cibulkova, Maria Kirilenko, and Alexandra Dulgheru were all seeded women who won on Wednesday.

There was one upset on the womens side, and yes I did call it (check yesterdays blog)  Polona "boss" Hercog took out #24 seeded Lucie Safarova.

Not all of the mens and womens matches were completed on Wednesday,  showers came and go all day long causing many delays in the action.

Lets get to the mens side of things.  I want to toot my horn once again, I predicted that Thiemo De Bakker would upset the 32nd seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.  Well that is exactly what happened, the Dutchman beat the Spaniard in 4 sets.

Roger Federer disposed of Alejandro Falla in straight sets...Robin Soderling bitch slapped Taylor Dent around 6-0, 6-1, 6-1...Jo-Wilfried Tsonga smoked Ouanna in straight sets...Marin Cilic, Mikhail Youzhny, Tomas Berdych, Albert Montanes, and Stanislas Wawrinka are all seeds who had little trouble moving on to the 3rd round.

John Isner, Monfils, Marcos Baghdatis, and Andy Murray are among some others who had to delay the completion of their matches to Thursday.

Day 5 Preview:

After play on Thursday, all the 2nd round games will hopefully be completed.  Andy Roddick, Rafa Nadal, Justine Henin, Jelena Jankovic, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Fernando Verdasco, Maria Sharapova, and the great David Ferrer will all be in action.

Match of the day:  The completion of the Monfils-Fognini match will be interesting to see. 

Upset of the day:  Ana Ivanovic, the winner at this tournament just 2 years ago will take out the #28 seed Alisa Kleybanova.  I do not have a mens upset pick, I think it will stay to form on the mens side, but one in the process to watch is the completion of the John Isner - Marco Chiudinelli match.  Chiudinelli was up a set and tied 5-5 in the 2nd when darkness halted the match.  He may finish off the upset, but I doubt he will. 

Day 3 in review, and Day 4 preview

Dinara Safina's comeback struggles continue.  With a new coach in her box, Safina struggled, serving up 16 double faults to her opponent Kimiko Date-Krumm.  Krumma a 39 year old who was retired for 12 years, yes 12 years.  She isn't one of these pansy retiree's like Clijsters or Henin.  Krumm was retired for 12 years and decided to make a comeback "just for fun".  Well her fun earned her a monumental upset of the womens runnerup of the past 2 French Opens.  Safina was up a break in the 3rd set, when the wheels came off and she couldn't serve.  Dinara after the match said "you have to get through the rainy times of life, but then comes the sun."  I guess she is taking it well, and hopefully she keeps working hard and gets back her game.  She's a good player, with a great attitude.  I'll be rooting for her to make a comeback of her own.

Andy Roddick had to come back from a 2 sets to 1 deficit to defeat Jarkko Nieminen of Finland.  Roddick playing his first match on clay didn't look all that comfortable in the match.  He was just good enough, or just lucky enough to get by Nieminen who has struggled all year himself with injuries.  Roddick will need to pick his game up a few more notches if he wants to be a factor this year.

Rafa Nadal had no trouble at all with Gianni Mina of France.  Mina is a younger version of Gael Monfils, and should be someone to watch in the future. Nadal won in straight sets and will now face Horacio Zeballos in the 2nd round.

Justine Henin was given a standing ovation as she made her return to court Philippe Chatrier.  Henin then easily disposed Tsvetana Pironkova in straight sets.

A rundown of some of the other interesting matches of the day:

Marion Bartoli defeated Maria Elena Camerin...Lleyton Hewitt took out Frenchman, Jeremy Chardy in straight sets...Fernando Verdasco had no problems with Igor Kunitsyn...Maria Sharapova got a straight set win over young Russian, Ksenia Pervak...My upset special of Alize Cornet over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova did not ring true as Pavlyuchenkova won handily 6-4, 6-2....The man, the myth, the legend David Ferrer pounded on David Guez 6-1, 6-3, 6-1...Juan Carlos Ferrero, Yanina Wickmayer, Daniela Hantuchova, Jurgen Melzer, Shahar Peer, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Jie Zheng, and Vera Zvonareva were all seeded players that also won their matches on Tuesday. 

There was a couple upsets on the mens side on Day 3.  Juan Monaco the #26 seed laid an egg out on court 7 as unknown Slovak, Grega Zemlja dispatched of him in 4 sets.

The other upset was Sam Querrey losing to fellow American, Robby Ginepri in 4 uninspiring sets.  Querrey seems to be turning into a typical American douche like Andy Roddick.  Querrey in his post match press conference said that while he was on the court, he didn't want to be there and that he "tanked a few points".  Just to get it over with.  When asked if he would participate in the doubles, Querrey said "I'm in the doubles right now, but I won't be in an hour."  He then withdrew from the doubles leaving partner John Isner high-and-dry.  If I was Isner I'd tell this "knob" to F off the next time he asks to play some doubles with him.  So poor Sam is probably home in California now.  Way to choke again, chode.  Next time do it with class.

Preview of Day 4:

The weather situation does not look good for tennis on Wednesday.  Hail and thunderstorms were expected for Tuesday night and into most of the day on Wednesday.

If there is tennis on Wednesday, the 2nd round begins for both the men and the women, as well as mens doubles 1st rounds...Federer, Venus, Kuznetsova, Tsonga, and Soderling are just a few of the big names that are scheduled to play.

Best match of the day will be?: Andy Murray coming off a 5 set win over Richard Gasquet  vs.  Juan Ignacio "cha cha" Chela.  Murray is struggling to find his form, and Chela was and still could be a top 20 talent who specializes on clay.  I can totally see Murray struggling with Chela in this one, but will still find a way to win. 

Upset picks of the day:  On the womens side look for Pelona Hercog to upset the #24 seed, Lucie Safarova... and on the mens side Thiemo De Bakker the big Dutchman will overpower the #32 seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

Hopefully the rain stays away and all the matches will be played.

French Open Day 2 in Review, and preview of Day 3.

Well ESPN managed to not F up the coverage of the matches today...thats right, they didn't show any matches today.  Must of been Chris McKendry's day for botox, so "killer" Cahill, BG, and the rest of the crew couldn't go on.  Or maybe they were helping with the injections, who knows.

The match of the day had to be the Andy Murray - Richard Gasquet face off.  Gasquet came out tough taking it to Murray, and getting a 2 sets to love lead.  Then Gasquet seemed to fade off and start day dreaming about doing coke off some sluts boobs in Miami, and dancing with more whores in Romania.  His leg also started to bother him, and he grabbed at his stomach like he was getting cramps.  Gasquet just can't hang with the big boys, and when Murray saw Gasquet laboring he took the 3rd set and easily won the 4th and 5th sets... check my blog from yesterday, told you this was going to be a good one.

The jobber marathon match between Michael Yani and Lukas Lacko finally came to an end today.  Lacko won the match when he took the 5th and final set 12-10.  The final score was 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 7-6, 12-10.  The 71 total games is a French Open record.

Now lets take a look at how the womens seeds faired today:  Caroline Wozniacki crushed Alla Kudryavtseva...Serena Williams got off to a slow start, but still beat Stefanie Voegele in straight sets...#11 seed Na Li advanced....Jelena Jankovic had no troubles with Alicia Molik...Elena Dementieva advanced easily....Both of the "Flying Bondarenko Sisters" won their matches today...Radwanska beat Baltacha...Lucie Safarova, Sam Stosur, Alexandr Dulgheru, Francesca Schiavone, and Alisa Kleybanova all advanced...and overrated American, Melanie Oudin got bounced in straight sets by Anabel Medina Garrigues.

There were no major upsets on the womens side today, all the seeds won their matches.

Although there was no upsets on the womens side, there was a couple on the mens side.  Feliciano Lopez the #27 seed not only lost, but got his ass handed to himself by German, Julian Reister.  Lopez probably had other things on his mind, like whether his ex wife was banging Cristiano Ronaldo again, or possibly he was worried about his next modeling shoot... The other upset was one that I called yesterday, and it was Viktor Troicki taking out the #21 seed Tommy Robredo.

All the other seeds won their matches, and that includes:  Roger Federer, Gael Monfils, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Thomaz Bellucci, Stanislas Wawrinka, Fernando Gonzalez, Ivan Ljubicic, Marcos Baghdatis, Victor Hanescu, John Isner, Nicolas Almagro, and Tomas Berdych.

Preview for Day 3 (Tuesday):

Day 3 wraps up the first round for both the men and women.  Also the womens doubles starts on Tuesday as well.

So that means big names like Henin, Nadal, Roddick, Safina, Sharapova, Verdasco, and Ferrer will be featured on the bigger courts.

A couple matches to keep your eye on will be the Roddick - Nieminen  and the Safina vs. Date-Krumm matches.  Just to see how well Andy Roddick will play coming off of a injury and ailment, and having no time to play in a clay court tuneup event.  Also watch to see how healthy Safina is playing, and if she is even going in the right direction to finding her form from a year ago.

Like Monday, Tuesday will probably not bring too many upsets if any.  I don't see any of the mens seeds losing their matches, but I do like one upset on the womens side.  Get out your pen and paper, write it down:  Alize Cornet will beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.  Cornet has been playing some decent tennis this past month and Pavlyuchenkova is coming off of a injury.  This is a perfect recipe for the number 29 seed Pavlyuchenkova to fall.

Review of Day 1 of the French Open and a Preview of Day 2.

Day 1 started off with defending womens champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova taking the court against Sorana Cirstea.  Cirstea who was a solid top 30 player, but has been struggling all this year jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, but the "Kuz" seemed to settle in and take the next 6 games to win the first set 6-3.  The 2nd set was all Kuznetsova as she took the 2nd set and match 6-1.

Robin Soderling the mens runner up last year also was in action.  He cruised to a 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Laurent Recouderc.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had a major scare on Sunday as young German, Daniel Brands pushed the Frenchman to 5 sets.  Tsonga didn't play his best, but it was enough to squeak out a 5 set victory 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5.

There was a few upsets on day one, and the most surprising was womens #10 seed Victoria Azarenka getting smashed by Gisela Dulko  6-1, 6-2....#20 womens seed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, a player who won a WTA premier event just a couple weeks ago couldn't get her game going, losing to Akgul Ammanmuradova 6-2, 6-4...Ernests Gulbis was upset when he had to retire in his match against Julien Benneteau.  Gulbis was starting to crack into his high upside and was a darkhorse to do a lot of damage in this tournament, but that all came to an end when he slid on the clay late in the 2nd set and when he slid he lost his balance and did the splits.  Well that didn't suit too well and immediately he cringed and reached at his groin.  Gulbis tried to continue playing but after only a few games he had to throw in the towel losing by the score of 4-6, 2-6, 0-1 (ret.)

Other mens seeded winners on Sunday were:  Marin Cilic, Mikhail Youzhny, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, and Albert Montanes.

Other womens seeded winners were:  Aravane Rezai, Venus "penis" Williams, Flavia Pennetta, Maria Kirilenko, Dominika Cibulkova, and Nadia Petrova.

Dear Venus,

Your black and red neglige looking tennis outfit isn't cute nor sexy.  You look like a flat chested cross dresser in it.  Dude, quit trying to draw more attention to yourself.

And after just a few hours, I can already tell ESPN's tennis coverage is going to suck royal ass.

And with that the match of the day award goes to a couple of jobbers.  Michael Yani of the United States and Lukas Lacko of Slovakia battled for 4 and a half hours and there still was no winner.  The match was called at 8-8 in the 5th set.  The scoreboard read this as it was halted due to darkness. 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 7-6, 8-8.  The match will be completed Monday on court 17.  Do you think ESPN took any time to show any of this marathon?  Shit no, they were too busy re-showing matches already completed earlier in the day....assholes. 

Preview for Monday (Day 2) of the French Open.

#1 seeds Roger Federer and Serena Williams are both in action on Monday.  Big named high seeded players like Caroline Wozniacki, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Jelena Jankovic, and Elena Dementieva will also start their tournaments on Day 2.

Matches to watch will be the conclusion of the Yani-Lacko match, also Andy Murray vs. Richard Gasquet.  A good womens matchup to watch will be Samantha Stosur vs. Simona Halep, just to see what kind of form Stosur is in since she is the winningest woman on clay so far this season, and also a good reason to check out this match is to see what Halep looks like since having her breasts "lopped" off.

Upset picks of the day:  Viktor Troicki to defeat #21 seed Tommy Robredo on the mens side and Vera Dushevina to take out #27 seeded Alona Bondarenko on the womens side.

Look for a review of Day 2 and preview of Day 3 on Monday evening.

French Open Preview

The second Grand Slam event of the tennis season begins on Sunday, May 23rd.  A few injuries, both on the mens and womens side has weakened the field a little bit, but most of the top players will be participating.

Womens Preview:

What:  French Open

Where:  Paris, France

Surface:  Red Clay

Event:  Grand Slam

Defending Champion:  Svetlana Kuznetsova

Top 8 seeds and world ranking:
1. Serena Williams (#1)
2. Venus Williams (#2)
3. Caroline Wozniacki (#3)
4. Jelena Jankovic (#4)
5. Elena Dementieva (#5)
6. Svetlana Kuznetsova (#6)
7. Samantha Stosur (#7)
8. Agnieszka Radwanska (#8)

Other notables in the field:  Basically anyone in the top 100 and not injured is in the 128 player field.

Midland "Jobbers" making the field:  Katie O'Brien, Vania King, Sofia Arvidsson, Elena Baltacha, Stephanie Dubois, Anne Keothavong, Lucie Hradecka,

My Picks, and my girlfriend Katies picks:

My semifinal pairings are Justine Henin  vs.  Jelena Jankovic  and Flavia Pennetta  vs. Venus Williams.  With Justine Henin defeating Venus Williams in the final.

Katie's semifinal pairings are Justine Henin vs. Dinara Safina and Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Venus Williams.  She has Justine Henin defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final.


Mens Preview:

What:  French Open
Where:  Paris, France
Surface:  Red Clay
Event:  Grand Slam
Defending Champion:  Roger Federer

Top 8 seeds and world rankings
1. Roger Federer (#1)
2. Rafael Nadal (#2)
3. Novak Djokovic (#3)
4. Andy Murray (#4)
5. Robin Soderling (#7)
6. Andy Roddick (#8)
7. Fernando Verdasco (#9)
8. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (#10)

Other notables in the field:  Basically anyone in the top 100 and not injured is in the 128 player field.

Katie and I's picks.

My semifinal matchups are Roger Federer vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and David Ferrer vs. Rafael Nadal, with Rafael Nadal beating Roger Federer for the championship.

Katie's semifinal matchups are Roger Federer vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and David Ferrer vs. Rafael Nadal.  She has Roger Federer defeating Rafael Nadal to become back-to-back champion.

The verdict on Wayne Odesnik is in.

A little background:  Wayne Odesnik is a "scrub" American tennis player.  A total "jobber" on the circuit and a first round casualty in many a tournament.  His ranking lingers around 100, but is about to drop off tremendously.  His career is probably over.  He was busted in Australia for having HGH in his bags, and the ITF has come down with his punishment.

This story is from tennis.com.

The ITF has suspended Wayne Odesnik for two years for HGH possession. Australian customs officials found eight vials of the banned hormone in his luggage when he arrived Down Under for the Brisbane tournament in January.


The incident became public in March, when Odesnik pleaded guilty to illegally trying to import HGH in an Australian court and was fined over $10,000. The American subsequently played Houston before accepting a voluntary suspension while the ITF completed its investigation.

Odesnik's suspension is backdated to 29 December, the date he says he purchased the HGH, and runs till 28 December 2011.

A statement from the ITF said:

"Mr Odesnik asserted that he had purchased the human Growth Hormone on professional advice to treat a recurring injury, and that he intended to apply for a therapeutic use exemption prior to using it. Mr Odesnik denied ever using any of the human Growth Hormone.

The ITF has no evidence to contradict that denial, but Mr Odesnik did not in fact obtain or apply for a therapeutic use exemption for the human Growth Hormone prior to obtaining it. Accordingly, Mr Odesnik’s possession of the human Growth Hormone is an anti-doping rule violation under Article C.6 of the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme."

Though ITF and Australian anti-doping officials were notified shortly after Australian customs officials made the discovery, Odesnik was allowed to continue competing because tennis anti-doping rules allow for provisional suspensions only when players have tested positive for a banned sustance, not for possession. However, today's decision means that Odesnik, who took part in eight events since the bust, will lose all ranking points and prize money earned during that time.

Odesnik has now come out with a statement of his own, released by his attorney:

"I accept the ITF's decision regarding my sanction for being in possession of a banned substance. I made an honest mistake and I regret the impact that my actions have had on the sport of tennis; a game that I have loved since childhood and one which has given me many great opportunities and memories. The sole reason I was in possession of this banned substance was under doctor's advice for treatment of a recurring shoulder injury. I was unaware at the time that this would be considered an anti-doping violation. I never have taken nor tested positive for any banned substance in my career. Finally, I want to thank all my family, friends, and fans who have been so supportive of me throughout this difficult time. During my time away from tennis, I will try to give back to the game in a positive way and use this experience to motivate me to work harder than ever."

Del Po out until after the U.S. Open....and more French Open withdrawals

Juan Martin Del Potro will not be defending his U.S. Open title this August.  His surgically repaired wrist will not be ready for match play until after the U.S. Open.  He is looking towards a November return to the tour.

"If all goes well, I'd return after the U.S. Open," said Del Potro, according to Reuters. "The tournament is and always will be very special for me, all my life but I don't want to rush things."

---------------------------------

More players announced today that they will not be playing at Roland Garros next week.  Radek Stepanek, Ivo Karlovic, Igor Andreev, and Carlos Moya will not participate.

Stepanek is basically in love and is too busy "boning" and/or making wedding plans with Nicole Vaidisova.  Dr. Ivo is  uhhhh i dunno, too tall?  Andreev and Moya pretty much suck and wouldn't be a factor, so no big losses there.

Preview for this weeks tournaments.

This is the last week of clay tuneups before next weeks French Open.

What:  Polsat Warsaw Open

Where:  Warsaw, Poland

Surface:  Red Clay

Event:  WTA Premier

Defending Champion:  Alexandra Dulgheru

Prize Money:  $98,500 to the winner

Top 4 seeds & World Ranking:

1. Caroline Wozniacki (#2)

2. Elena Dementieva (#6)

3. Na Li (#13)

4. Marion Bartoli (#15)

Other notables in the field:  Jie Zheng, Both of the "Flying Bondarenko Sisters" Alona & Kateryna, Melanie Oudin, and defending champion Alexandra Dulgheru

Midland "jobbers" in the field:  Marta Domachowska

What:  Internationaux de Strasbourg 2010
Where:  Strasbourg, France
Surface:  Red Clay

Event:  WTA International

Defending Champion:  Aravane Rezai
Prize Money:  $37,000 to the winner

Top 4 seeds & World ranking:

1. Maria Sharapova (#12)

2. Elena Vesnina (#34)
3. Virginie Razzano (#47)
4. Anabel Medina Garrigues (#54)

Other notables in the field:  Sybille Bammer, Anastasjia Sevastova, Jill Craybas, Sorana Cirstea, and Alize Cornet.

Midland "jobbers" in the field:  Sofia Arvidsson, Lucie Hradecka, Elena Baltacha, and Vania King.

What:  Open De Nice Cote D'Azur

Where: Nice, France

Surface:  Red Clay

Event:  ATP 250

Defending Champion:  None, this is a new event in place of the former in Kitzbuhel, Austria

Prize Money:  72,150 Euros to the winner

Top 4 seeds & World ranking

1. Robin Soderling (#7)

2. Fernando Verdasco (#9)

3. Gael Monfils (#18)

4. Thomaz Bellucci (#26)

Other notables in the field:  Marcos Baghdatis, Albert Montanes, Michael Berrer, Lukasz Kubot, Richard Gasquet, and Florent Serra.

News and Notes

The list keeps growing for top players withdrawing from next weeks French Open.  Here is the short list as of Monday:

1. Juan Martin Del Potro (wrist)
2. Kim Clijsters (ankle)
3. Nikolay Davydenko (wrist)
4. James Blake (lips from sucking so much, actually I think its a knee problem)
5. Gilles Simon (knee)
6. David Nalbandian (hamstring)

The list will probably continue to grow.

Update on Martina Navratilova:  In a recent interview Martina Navratilova has announced she is "cancer free", after having surgery 6 weeks ago.  "I'm doing well, I just started radiation last week."

The queen will make an appearance at Wimbledon this year.  Her last visit was in 1977 for the womens final.  The queen planned on making it to last years mens final had Andy Murray made the final.  Unfortunately he lost in the semifinals to Andy Roddick.

Reports say The Queen and her husband Prince Phillip will be attending the matches on June 24.

Ernests Gulbis thinks soliciting Swedish prostitutes and spending the night in jail is fun.

Ernests Gulbis, speaking somewhat sarcastically to ABC.es about being fined and kept in jail overnight in Stockholm last fall on a charge of soliciting a prostitute: "It was great, a lot of fun. I'm never going back to Sweden in my life. When I meet a girl I don't ask her her profession, it doesn't matter to me if she's a hairdresser or anything else. All of a sudden in jail for no reason. Everyone should spend a night in jail. I was there for six of seven hours and then paid the bail. The next day was a tournament, or I would have stayed longer."

Gael Monfils has a new hobby that may or may not be interfering with his tennis.  His new off the court passion is poker, and he will not stop playing even if he gets criticized for it hindering his tennis game. 

Pokerstars has already started sponsoring him, because he plays so often.  Recently Monfils also played in a high stakes game at a Monte Carlo casino.

Monfils had this to say about being criticized over his love of poker:  "Since no one knew about it, no one was breaking my balls. And now suddenly I hear some journalists and other negative people trying to make me feel guilty.


"If poker is a passion of mine, I don’t see why people should give me a hard time. In fact it makes me laugh more than anything else," said the 23-year-old.

"I can do whatever I want with my free time. Some people stay hours watching DVDs to relax, I spend hours playing poker. This doesn’t prevent me from taking my tennis career seriously."

Federer whiffing on match point

The Rog going for a big forehand and coming up empty.

Finals Preview and Picks

Womens Final:

(unseeded) Aravane Rezai  vs.  (#4 seed) Venus Williams
Rezai is playing well, but so is Venus.  Basically this is a "whatever you can do, I can do better" match.  Whatever Rezai can do, Venus can and will do better.  I'm hoping for Rezai to win, but its not going to happen.
Pick- Williams
RESULT:  Aravane Rezai 6-2, 7-5.

Mens Final:

(#1 seed) Roger Federer  vs.  (#2 seed) Rafael Nadal
Can you believe its been a year since these two have matched up head-to-head.  It was at this very tournament that Roger Federer defeated Nadal when they last faced eachother.  Things are different this time around.  Fed is beginning to work his way into top form, and Nadal has been cruising in top form for a month now.  Federer yesterday had a tough night match against David Ferrer, and didn't get enough time to recooperate and rest, plus Nadal is just the better player on clay and is in better form.  Nadal exacts his revenge on Sunday.
Pick- Nadal
RESULT:  Rafael Nadal 6-4, 7-6.

Hmmmmm...

IS THAT A ALABAMA BLACK SNAKE I SEE UNDER THAT DRESS?

Preview and Picks for the Madrid semifinals.

Womens Semifinals:

(unseeded) Lucie Safarova  vs.  (unseeded) Aravane Rezai

Both of these ladies are Cinderella stories, neither was suppose to make it this far.  Safarova has wins over Maria Sharapova and Nadia Petrova, while Rezai has knocked off Justine Henin and Jelena Jankovic.  Rezai must be playing well to beat two high ranked players who are actually playing well.  Based on that factor I have to lean towards Aravane in this match.

Pick-  Rezai

RESULT:  Aravane Rezai 6-1, 0-0 (retired)

(#4 seed) Venus Williams  vs.  (unseeded) Shahar Peer

Shahar Peer is so hard to predict.  One day she can look great and beat a top 5 player, and the very next she can look like total garbage and lose to almost anyone...Clay isn't the best surface for Venus, but she has been playing pretty good this week in Madrid.  Whenever you beat players like Zvonareva, Schiavone, and Stosur in a tournament you are playing well.  Venus will be too much for Peer, and should win in straight sets.

Pick- Williams

RESULT:  Venus Williams 6-3, 6-0

Mens Semifinals:

(#1 seed) Roger Federer  vs.  (#9 seed) David Ferrer

Daveeeeeed Ferrer has been on fire the past couple months.  He leads the ATP tour in wins this season, and is currently the best player on clay not named Rafael Nadal... Roger Federer on the other hand hasn't been playing up to form and this looks like it could be a upset win for Ferrer.  Well when you look at the head-to-head matchup between these two Ferrer has NEVER beaten Roger Federer.  And most of Federer's wins have been easy lopsided victories.  So you have a player who is in top form and is on top of his game playing the #1 player in the world who isn't playing up to his potential at the moment, yet has beaten the underdog handily every time they have ever played... hmmm how about this, If Rafael Nadal wins his match, look for Federer to pretty much mail this one in.  I'm taking Ferrer in this one.  If he is to ever beat Federer this is his best chance probably.

Pick- Ferrer

RESULT:  Roger Federer 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.

(unseeded) Nicolas Almagro  vs.  (#2 seed) Rafael Nadal

Almagro has been playing excellent tennis this week, beating Robin Soderling, Juan Monaco, and Jurgen Melzer, all good players quite easily.  Unfortunately for him his next opponent is a "buzzsaw" named Rafael Nadal.  The only chance Almagro has of winning this match is if Nadal gets a freak injury and has to retire.  Other than than Nadal marches on to Sunday's final.

Pick- Nadal

RESULT:  Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Picks and Preview for matches on Friday, May 14, 2010

Mens Quarterfinals:

(#1 seed) Roger Federer  vs.  (unseeded) Ernests Gulbis

This is about the time where Federer gets scared of the thought of having to face Rafael Nadal in the final.  He'll calculatingly (if thats a word) lose to Gulbis just to avoid a beatdown by the hands of Nadal.  The Rog doesn't want to have his confidence shattered or show his hand to Rafa until they have to play at the French Open.   So with Rog wanting to get out of town and Gulbis playing well the past month, this points to a Gulbis upset.

My Pick- Gulbis

RESULT:  Roger Federer 3-6, 6-1, 6-4

(#3 seed) Andy Murray  vs.  (#9 seed) David Ferrer

David Ferrer would be in deep shit on any other surface, but on clay he is one of the top 5 if not 3 players in the world.  Murray is playing better, but still isn't in top form.  The only way I see Ferrer losing this match is if fatigue starts to set in from playing deep into all these clay court tournaments.  I don't see it happening though, Ferrer is one of the fittest players on tour and should continue his great play on the clay. (f'n A, thats a sweet rhyme)

My Pick- Ferrer

RESULT:  David Ferrer 7-5, 6-3.

(unseeded) Jurgen Melzer  vs.  (unseeded) Nicolas Almagro

Eeeny meeny miney mo...this one is a toss up.  Melzer is always in top condition and is a solid veteran, Almagro has been playing really well, upsetting Robin Soderling and thrashing Juan Monaco in the previous round.  Almagro is playing the better tennis at the moment, so I see him squeaking out a close match.

My Pick- Almagro

RESULT:  Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-1

(#12 seed) Gael Monfils  vs.  (#2 seed) Rafael Nadal

Nadal will destroy the flakey Monfils.  I would not be shocked to see Monfils retire at some point in this match.  He'll fall behind and start getting frustrated by the way Nadal is just manhandling him and just call it a day.  Monfils is a athletic freak, but he is somewhat a headcase.  Nadal by submission in the 2nd set.

My Pick- Nadal

RESULT:  Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-3.

Womens Quarterfinals:

(#16 seed) Nadia Petrova  vs.  (unseeded) Lucie Safarova

Petrova's power will overwhelm the young Czech.  Safarova is a decent clay court player, and will give Petrova some problems, but the powerful Russian will be a little too much.

My Pick- Petrova

RESULT:  Lucie Safarova 6-1, 1-6, 6-4.

(unseeded) Aravane Rezai  vs.  (#7 seed) Jelena Jankovic

Rezai upset Henin in the first round and has fed off the momentum into a quarterfinals birth.  Jankovic is probably one of the top 2 or 3 womens players this past month.  Jankovic is playing too well right now and Rezai will not be able to outstrike her in order to win many of the rallies.  Jankovic continues to roll.

My Pick: Jankovic

RESULT:  Aravane Rezai 7-5, 6-4.

(#8 seed) Samantha Stosur  vs.  (#4 seed) Venus Williams

Stosur has lost only a couple matches on clay this season, and if there is a surface that brings the Williams sisters off their perch its on the dirt.  Venus got smashed by Jankovic last week 6-1, 6-0 and I believe that Stosur is playing even better than Jankovic right now.  I like Stosur to pull the mild upset and take down Venus.

My Pick- Stosur

RESULT:  Venus Williams 6-3, 6-3.

(unseeded) Shahar Peer  vs.  (#13 seed) Na Li

This one is a coin-flip.  Both players beat some solid competition to make it this far, but I'm going to base my pick on how each of these ladies have been doing this past month.  I know Peer has been playing pretty good.  She has been making it to the 2nd-3rd rounds of quite a few tournaments lately...On the other hand this is the first tournament that I've really taken notics of Li.  She hasn't really been a factor or making much noise of late.  For that reason I'll go with the player who seems to be more in form.

My Pick- Peer

RESULT:  Shahar Peer 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

Preview of this weeks tournament: Madrid.

Both the mens and womens tours have Masters/Premier events in Madrd, Spain.  Once again the Madrid Open is being played on clay, and players are looking to get into good form for the French Open, which starts in less than two weeks.

Top 8 mens seeds:

1. Roger Federer (#1 world ranking)

2. Rafael Nadal (#3)

3. Andy Murray (#4)

4. Robin Soderling (#7)

5. Andy Roddick (#8)

6. Fernando Verdasco (#9)

7. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (#10)

8. Marin Cilic (#11)

Other notables in the field this week: David Ferrer, Mikhail Youzhny, Tomas Berdych, Gael Monfils, John Isner, Sam Querrey, Stanislas Wawrinka, Marcos Baghdatis, Ernests Gulbis, David Nalbandian, Ivo Karlovic, and many of the other top players.

Play has already started this week, no major upsets to report.

Top 8 womens seeds:

1. Serena Williams (#1 world ranking)

2. Caroline Wozniacki (#2)

3. Dinara Safina (#3)

4. Venus Williams (#4)

5. Svetlana Kuznetsova (#5)

6. Elena Dementieva (#6)

7. Jelena Jankovic (#7)

8. Samantha Stosur (#8)

Other notables playing this week:  Agnieszka Radwanska, Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Marion Bartoli, Na Li, Flavia Pennetta, Francesca Schiavone, Nadia Petrova, Ana Ivanovic, and Justine Henin.

Many as of Tuesday morning quite a few of the top seeds have been knocked out.  Maria Sharapova lost to Lucie Safarova in her comeback from a bruised elbow...Justine Henin was knocked out by Aravane Rezai...#9 seed Agnieszka Radwanska lost in the 2nd round to Patty Schnyder...and Victoria Azarenka retired from her match against Shuai Peng when she was down 0-3 in the first set.

Querrey, Youzhny, and Montanes all take home titles on Sunday.

Sam Querrey accomplished what no American male has done in 7 years, and that is win a European clay court tournament.  Querrey won the Serbia Open by defeating friend and doubles partner John Isner 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.

Querrey who is a solid clay court player is hoping to carry the momentum of this win into next weeks tournament in Madrid.  “I hope I can continue to play well and my next step is to go deep in an [ATP World Tour] Masters 1000 event, hopefully try to win one of those,” said Querrey, who will play at the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open next week.

This is the 2nd time this year that Querrey beat Isner in a final of a tournament.  “I’m playing well on the clay,” said Isner. “Today was unfortunate. It’s the second time this year that’s happened; I’ve got to put it behind me.”

The third time is the charm for Russia's Mikhail Youzhny.  In his two previous finals appearances in Munich, Youzhny came up just short of winning.  This time it was different, Youzhny finally won the championship that had eluded him twice before by beating #1 seed Marin Cilic 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Youzhny had this to say about finally winning in Germany:  “It is a good tournament, there is a nice atmosphere. I have a lot of friends here. It is a well-organised tournament for the players, whenever you need something they try to help and that’s important for the players.”

Albert Montanes went back-to-back in Estoril on Sunday, winning his 2nd straight Estoril Open title when he beat Frederico Gil of Portugal 6-2, 6-7, 7-5.

Montanes is the first player to win 2 straight Estoril Open titles since 1996. 

"It feels great to defend the title, my fourth career title," said Montanes. "This is a special place for me and I’m happy to have won it again.

"I am definitely playing the best tennis of my career and if I keep playing like that I think I can break into the Top 20."

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez shocks in Rome.

On Saturday, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain won her 1st career Premier event title.  It also marked her 3rd total title of her career, all coming on clay.

Martinez Sanchez used an assortment of drop shots and serve and volley methods to claim a slim 7-6, 7-5 win over Jelena Jankovic in the final.

"This is a very important moment. I worked so hard to get here, and even if this goes down in history, it hasn't sunken in yet," Martínez Sánchez said. "In the first round I was losing. The key is to fight, fight, fight to the end. You don't have to set a limit for yourself."

Jankovic may have been a little fatigued after having to fight and defeat both of the Williams broth...errrr, sisters in the previous two rounds.  To her credit she did not use that excuse in her post match interview.  "María José is very different from most girls. She makes a lot of drop shots and volleys, and she's also left-handed, which makes it a little bit tricky to play her," Jankovic said. "I tried my best. I came back in both sets and at those times I prayed to hold my serve. I didn't manage it today. She won and credit to her."

Sevastova wins WTA's Estoril Open

Anastasjia Sevastova became the first Latvian woman to win a WTA event in 17 years when she defeated Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-2, 7-5 in Saturdays Estoril Open final.  This also was the first career title for Sevastova.

"I'm very happy and excited to win my first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title. I've played pretty well in my last two matches, so I think I deserve it," Sevastova joked. "It was tough for both of us because we warmed up for 10 minutes after the rain then had to step on court to play a final. I adapted faster and although she worked her way into the match in the second set, I fought to the end."

Preview of matches on May 9, 2010

Serbia Open in Belgrade, Serbia

Final:

(#3 seed) Sam Querrey  vs.  (#2 seed) John Isner

Isner surprised me when he beat Wawrinka in the semifinals.  Although I still believe Querrey is the better clay court player, so I think he will have the slight advantage in this one.  This match will be very competitive and close.  Slight nod to Sam Querrey in this all American final.

Pick- Querrey

RESULT:  Sam Querrey 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.

BMW Open in Munich, Germany

Final:

(#1 seed) Marin Cilic  vs.  (#2 seed) Mikhail Youzhny
Cilic isn't in the same form that he started the year with.  He has been struggling the last couple months to put together a string of wins on clay.  Youzhny is at home in Munich.  This will be the 3rd time he has reached the finals of this event, so he is comfortable with the surface and how the tournament is ran.  With Youzhny's experience in Munich and Cilic's lack of good form on the clay, I have to pick Youzhny in a minor upset.
Pick-  Youzhny
RESULT:  Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Estoril Open in Estoril, Portugal

Final:

(#4 seed) Albert Montanes  vs.  (unseeded) Frederico Gil

Montanes shocked the world with his semifinal win over Roger Federer.  That win just showed how much Federer really cares about the smaller events.  He is the Tiger Woods of tennis.  Shows up for the grand slams or majors and rarely plays the other events, and if he does, he shows no care in the world and loses to people he would normally destroy.  Not taking anything away from Montanes.  Montanes plays well on clay and is a solid enough player to be a top 30 player on the tour.  Frederico Gil is the home countryman and will be the crowd favorite in this match.  That is probably the only thing he has going for him.  I'm not impressed with Gil's game at all.  Montanes should win this one easily.

Pick-  Montanes

RESULT:  Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-7, 7-5.