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.

Henin on Serena's mind after Jankovic controversy?

*** borrowed from tennis.com

Serena Williams may have made a reference to the infamous 'hand incident' between her and Justine Henin in 2003 when she found herself on the reverse end of a similar incident Friday.



Williams held up her hand when receiving serve at 5-3 up against Jelena Jankovic in the Rome semifinals, indicating that she was not ready. Williams did not attempt to return Jankovic's serve and umpire ordered the point replayed. Jankovic argued the decision, earning the support of the crowd.


During the second point of the tiebreak, Jankovic had unsuccessfully protested she had not been ready for Williams' serve. In that case, however, the Serb had attempted to return the ball.

When the two shook hands after Jankovic won the match, Williams spoke to her opponent, apparently referencing the incident at 5-3 in the tiebreak. At one point, Williams whispered something into Jankovic's ear that was not clearly picked up by the cameras. Other parts of the conversaiton were also inaudible (see brackets).

However, the context suggests Williams may have referred to Henin, saying, "I would never (treat/cheat?) you like that... don't think I would do that. I'm not (Justine?)."

During a closely-fought semifinal at the 2003 French Open, Williams held up her hand while Henin was serving. The umpire, who did not see the gesture, refused to allow the point to be replayed despite Williams' strident protests. Henin did not tell the umpire whether she had seen Williams' hand. Williams, who was vociferously booed by the crowd and lost the three-set contest, later accused Henin of "lying and fabricating."

Williams did not appear to have been asked about her post-match conversation with Jankovic afterwards.


What a bitter cunt Serena is.  Hoping to see Henin own her ass at Roland Garros once again.