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."