Posted: 22.03.09 15:06. Post subject: Пресса знает всё! :)

 Posted: 20.05.09 23:03. Post subject: ольга Tennis, Men&#..

ольга
Tennis, Men's Fittness and Vogue? посмотрю в магазине.

 Posted: 20.05.09 23:50. Post subject: http://sports.espn.g..

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=4180348

Tim Keown for ESPN The Magazine

 Posted: 21.05.09 14:26. Post subject: Рафа в розовом http..

Рафа в розовом

 Posted: 21.05.09 21:29. Post subject: Надаль не стал отста..

Надаль не стал отставать от Федерера в Париже

Первая ракетка мира испанец Рафаэль Надаль победно завершил свой матч на показательном турнире Masters Guinot Mary Cohr-2009 в Париже, участие в котором принимают звезды мирового тенниса. В четверг 22-летний Рафа в двух партиях с одинаковым счетом 6/3 расправился с 57-м номером рейтинга АТР 31-летним французом Арно Клеманом. В официальных соревнованиях пути соперников пересекались четыре раза, и Надаль впереди в этом противостоянии – 3-1.

Masters Guinot Mary Cohr-2009 пройдет 20, 21 и 22 мая на территории парижского отеля Rueil-Malmaison. Организаторами данного мероприятия является Paris Golf & Country Club.

http://www.gotennis.ru/news/?p=18391

 Posted: 22.05.09 07:26. Post subject: Сканы из Men's J..

Сканы из Men's Journal

 Posted: 22.05.09 10:49. Post subject: Упс! у нас нет "..

Упс! у нас нет "лубовной" темы... Тогда сюда размещу. Интересная цитата

quote:

Роджер Федерер: «Уже слишком много про Надаля, мы можем поговорить и о чем-то другом» Швейцарец Роджер Федерер, отвечая на вопросы журналистов после выставочного матча на Guinot Mary Cohr Masters, в котором он обыграл соотечественника Станисласа Вавринку со счетом 6:2, 6:4, сказал, что есть другие темы для вопросов, а не только о Надале. «Не спрашивайте меня об одном и том же, пожалуйста. Уже слишком много про Надаля, мы можем поговорить и о чем-то другом», – цитирует Федерера TENNIS.com.

http://www.sports.ru/tennis/9627477.html

 Posted: 22.05.09 16:46. Post subject: Роджера можно понять..

Роджера можно понять, он прав. Журналисты без конца и без края задают одни и те же вопросы что ему о Рафе, что Рафе о Роджере. Рафа на своих ПК тоже начал проявлять признаки раздражения: "Я отвечал на этот вопрос уже раз 100, но раз вы спрашиваете, отвечу еще раз", "Я думаю не о Федерере, а о своем следующем матче" и т.д. Интересно, он когда-нибудь выскажется открытым текстом или будет терпеливо продолжать отвечать на тупые вопросы?

 Posted: 22.05.09 16:52. Post subject: Inside the Clay King..

Inside the Clay King’s Game
By CHRISTOPHER CLAREY
Published: May 21, 2009
The New York Times

PARIS — The French Open was once an annual rite of spring to determine who was the world’s best clay-court tennis player, but it no longer serves that purpose in the era of Rafael Nadal.

Even if Nadal — perish the thought — somehow loses bright and early at Roland Garros this year, he will still be the planet’s leading clay-court player, the forehand-whipping, trophy-hoarding force of nature who has dominated the gritty red playgrounds of Europe like nobody since Bjorn Borg.

Nadal is no mere specialist, as his No. 1 ranking and Grand Slam singles titles at Wimbledon and the Australian Open make clear. But Nadal, still only 22, is certainly a clay-court master, and if you are trolling for a statistic that defines how big a fish he has become, consider this: In best-of-five-set matches, at a time when tennis has become increasingly international and dense at the top, Nadal’s career record on clay is 45-0.

“It’s hard to think that’s possible,” said the American player Sam Querrey, “because I took a set off him on clay last year in Davis Cup, and I’m not a clay-court wizard. I think most people would have thought by now he would have gotten tired or someone just would have had an unbelievable day and he would have had an off day. But he just seems to pull it out.”

Of Nadal’s victories, 28 have come in Paris, where Nadal has won the four French Opens in which he has played. And even though Roger Federer gave himself a big lift by upsetting Nadal on clay in straight sets in the best-of-three Madrid final on Sunday, there can be no doubt about which of the game’s leading men is the heavy favorite to win the Grand Slam tournament that begins here on Sunday.

“I think the Madrid result is one that is more important for Federer than for Nadal,” said the French veteran Fabrice Santoro, who will be playing in his 20th and, he insists, final French Open. “I think it will help Roger to have won in Madrid. I think he really needed that with Roland Garros and Wimbledon approaching, but I don’t think that’s going to rattle the confidence of Nadal.”

Winning here would make Nadal the first player, male or female, in the history of the French championships to win five singles titles in a row — one more than Borg and one more than the flamboyant Frenchwoman Suzanne Lenglen.

This from a man who has already won five straight titles on clay in Monte Carlo and in Barcelona. Such consistent — no, relentless — achievement defines Nadal, who is one of the best in tennis history at focusing on the rally at hand.

“I think what he does really well is even if he’s 0-40 down on your serve or his serve, he still plays the points hard because he knows that every time you play a long point it may pay dividends in the fourth or fifth set,” said Ivan Lendl, a three-time French Open champion. “It doesn’t matter whether the score is deuce or 40-love, a long point is a long point. And I think he almost looks at it like, ‘Anytime I can play a long point with a guy, it’s like putting money in the bank or taking gas out of their gas tank.’ ”

Federer has often run out of cash and fuel against Nadal on clay, most recently in the 2007 French Open final, where he faded in the fourth set. Last year, Nadal’s 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 rout of Federer in the final was so expeditious that grinding down the opposition seemed irrelevant.

“Nadal, in my opinion, invented new ballistics in the game of tennis,” said Ion Tiriac, the Romanian impresario and former player, who owns the Madrid Open. “Although I’m a big hunter and go hunt every year in Africa and all over and know something about ballistics, I cannot explain how that ball, even when it comes in the middle of the court and so low, Nadal can hit it with all the strength he has with his forehand and the ball still lands in the court.”

The answer lies in the tremendous spin generated by Nadal’s racket-head speed and, according to Lendl, in the game-changing nature of contemporary strings.

“I started playing tennis again in October,” said Lendl, who had stopped for years because of back pain. “I’m experimenting a lot with different strings, natural and manmade, and there are some which spin the ball incredibly. In order to do it, you have to be very, very strong, because you have to swing very, very hard. That’s what Nadal is doing.”

Tiriac thinks Nadal hits the ball “faster, not harder” than any other player. “On a tennis court, Federer plays the piano; Nadal plays drums,” Tiriac said. “But his hands on the drums are much faster than Federer’s on the piano.”

Perhaps, but on Sunday in Madrid, with thousands of Nadal’s compatriots waiting for another percussion solo from their national icon, Federer managed to face the music and keep the exchanges shorter than usual. He earned more quick points off his serve and took huge and largely effective cuts at anything resembling a short forehand in order to put Nadal on the defensive. Federer, though far from flawless, also did his best to run around his backhand and hit forehand returns off Nadal’s second serve, which remains a relative — if only relative — liability. Nadal won less than 50 percent of his second-serve points,

Federer, who took nearly 70 percent of his own first- and second-serve points, also struck a convincing balance of power and finesse: He pushed forward with some frequency and mixed in occasional drop shots — two of which were clean winners — to force Nadal forward and off his beloved baseline.

Now for the caveats. Nadal was clearly leg weary after playing a four-hour match and saving three match points against Novak Djokovic in the semifinals the previous day. He also arrived a bit reluctantly in Madrid, having gone the distance in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome. The altitude of about 660 meters, or 2,000 feet, in Madrid means that the conditions were quicker than they will be much closer to sea level in Paris, which made it easier for Federer to penetrate the court with his shots and attack.

“It goes a bit faster in Madrid, and Nadal was a bit slower, tired a bit from the match the night before,” Santoro said. “So it will be different in Paris.”

Still, Federer’s convincing victory on Nadal’s turf should get plenty of attention from those who might play the Spaniard. With its rhythm shifts and attacking bent, Federer’s upset provides at least a template of how to beat Nadal on clay.

It certainly looks like a more enticing alternative than facing Nadal on his own terms on his favorite surface.

“You cannot beat Nadal from the baseline, that’s for sure,” Tiriac said. “Now can Nadal pass you when you come in? Probably he can pass you almost all the time, but as long as you don’t beat him from the baseline, probably you have to make him play a different game.”

 Posted: 22.05.09 20:30. Post subject: Тони Надаль: Рафе бу..

Тони Надаль: Рафе будет непросто

Нынешний Открытый чемпионат Франции сложится для первой ракетки мира испанца Рафаэля Надаля очень непросто. Такого мнения придерживается его дядя и по совместительству личный тренер Тони Надаль.

«French Open-2009, бесспорно, будет для Рафы очень тяжелым. Не рискну давать какие-либо прогнозы, поживем - увидим. Соперники сейчас набрали отменную форму: Роджер Федерер подтвердил это блестящей игрой в Мадриде, Новак Джокович также показал там великолепный теннис. Они оба, а также Энди Маррей, способны максимально осложнить Рафе жизнь. И мы это прекрасно понимаем. Тем не менее, результаты, которые Рафаэль показывает со старта сезона, вселяют оптимизм в преддверии одного из главных теннисных событий года», - отметил Тони Надаль в интервью испанским СМИ.

http://www.gotennis.ru/news/?p=18401

 Posted: 22.05.09 20:35. Post subject: ольга пишет: Интере..

ольга пишет:

quote:

Интересно, он когда-нибудь выскажется открытым текстом или будет терпеливо продолжать отвечать на тупые вопросы?

Лучше терпеливо продолжать. К сожалению, ничего не поделаешь. Такова их участь. По большому счету круг интересующих публику вопросов очень ограничен.
А эта тема - тема дня, месяца, года и ближайших лет

 Posted: 22.05.09 21:10. Post subject: Анфиса пишет: Лучше..

Анфиса пишет:

quote:

Лучше терпеливо продолжать

Наверное, лучше. Рафа очень терпеливый парень, иногда кажется, что его терпению вообще нет предела. Наверное, это результат спокойствия, добродушия и внутренней гармонии. Восхищаюсь и завидую белой завистью!

 Posted: 22.05.09 21:20. Post subject: Mela пишет: Сканы и..

Mela пишет:

quote:

Сканы из Men's Journal

Шрифт очень мелкий, но на VB.com пишут, что статья очень хорошая. Там есть и о Уиме-2007. После финала Рафа почти час проплакал, стоя под душем. А ночью Себастьян и Карлос Коста слышали, как он рыдал как раненый зверь в своей комнате, где в шкафу висел смокинг, который он должен был надеть, если бы выиграл тот финал...

 Posted: 22.05.09 21:22. Post subject: Vogue USA June 2009 ..

Vogue USA June 2009

 Posted: 22.05.09 21:37. Post subject: ольга пишет: После ..

ольга пишет:

quote:

После финала Рафа почти час проплакал, стоя под душем. А ночью Себастьян и Карлос Коста слышали, как он рыдал как раненый зверь в своей комнате, где в шкафу висел смокинг, который он должен был надеть, если бы выиграл тот финал...

Ой! Вроде дело прошлого, но как тяжело такое читать.

 Posted: 22.05.09 21:55. Post subject: Ольга пишет: После ..

Ольга пишет:

quote:

После финала Рафа почти час проплакал, стоя под душем. А ночью Себастьян и Карлос Коста слышали, как он рыдал как раненый зверь в своей комнате, где в шкафу висел смокинг, который он должен был надеть, если бы выиграл тот финал...

Раз статья стоящая, я увеличила страницы до читабельного состояния. Качество не фонтан, но хоть что-то...
Hidden text. Click here

Mela пишет:

quote:

Vogue USA June 2009

Дохтора!!!

 Posted: 22.05.09 22:02. Post subject: Натали пишет: Раз с..

Натали пишет:

quote:

Раз статья стоящая, я увеличила страницы до читабельного состояния. Качество не фонтан, но хоть что-то...

Ты - волшебница!

quote:

Дохтора!!!

 Posted: 22.05.09 23:49. Post subject: Rafael Nadal: Here, ..

quote:

Rafael Nadal: Here, I feel the ball I don't want to compare Madrid with Roland Garros, because it's pointless. From the first moment I started training here, I found my sensations back, the ones that enable me to hit the ball with control, which wasn't the case in Madrid. There, the courts were fast, the balls were "flying". Besides, it's true that I didn't play well in Madrid except for a set and a half against Novak. I'm very happy to be here, everything is going well, I'm in shape. Regarding Roger and his victory. I have nothing special to say about it, you'd rather have to ask him about that." http://www.welovetennis.fr/roland-garro ... s-la-balle

(перевод на английский - Moondancer c VB.com)

"Я не хочу сравнивать Мадрид и Ролан Гаррос, потому что это бессмысленно. С того момента, как я начал здесь тренироваться, ко мне вернулись мои прежние ощущения, которые позволяют мне контролировать мяч, чего не было в Мадриде. Там корты были быстрыми, мячи "летали". Это правда, что я не показал хорошей игры в Мадриде, за исключением полутора сетов против Новака. Я очень счастлив, что я здесь, всё идет хорошо, я в форме. Что касается Роджера и его победы, я не могу сказать об этом что-то особенное, вам лучше спросить об этом у него".

Рафа тоже "бортанул" журналистов (видимо, это цитаты из его ПК)
Приятно, что он обретает свою игру Кстати, в пятницу после жеребьевки он провел две тренировки, сначала на корте Шатрие, позже - на корте Ленглен, т.е. там, куда его могут поставить играть во время турнира.

 Posted: 23.05.09 00:37. Post subject: Men's Roland Gar..

Men's Roland Garros Preview
by Pete Bodo

Alright, let’s get right to the point. To me, the biggest question on the eve of the French Open is whether any of the ATP pros can man up and prevent a third re-match between Mr. Roland Garros Perfect Record (Rafael Nadal) and Mr. Just Give Me One French Title, That’s All I Ask (Roger Federer).

For three years in a row, the improbable “dream final” pitting the two players battling for the no. 1 position in tennis came to pass. For three years now, Nadal has beaten Federer, and the way he crushed his Swiss rival last year, allowing Federer just four games, has led more than a few people to sigh and exclaim, Enough already, Rafa, you made your point. Let’s get Roger out of there and give somebody else a chance.

Let’s face it, another Nadal vs. Federer final and you might well rename those fellas Chrissie and Martina (and is there any doubt about which guy would be which gal?). That’s how much these two rivals have hogged the spotlight in Paris. On paper, it says that the two will meet agan in the final, but matches aren’t played on paper, and in some cosmic way it’s hard to imagine that Federer will be given yet another chance to beat Nadal in a Roland Garros final. It just doesn’t feel right.

If you prefer your analysis to be grounded more firmly in well-reasoned territory, try this: Given the inconsistency, impatience, and lack of confidence that Federer has shown so often this year (he didn’t win his first title until last week in Madrid; at this time in 2007, he had three, two of them at Masters Series events), whether or not he can reach the final is a more compelling question than whether or not he can find a way to beat Nadal once he arrives there.

So that’s my first – and sure to be most controversial – prediction. I just don’t see Federer making another final at Roland Garros; the use-by date on his chances has expired. He certainly played well to win at Madrid, but in Paris three critical elements will be different:

1 - The court is bound to play much slower than the one in the Caja Magica in Madrid, partly because of the difference in altitude and partly because of weather conditions.

2 – The slower surface and five-set format will require more patience and focus than Federer has shown in recent tournaments.

3 – Nadal is not only confident, he’s extra-motivated by that loss in Madrid to Federer. That’s a great position to be in for a guy who’s never lost a match on the Roland Garros stage.

As for Nadal, correctly predicting his demise in Paris would make any man seem more prophet than pundit. You just can’t get there from here, here being the world in which Nadal has not only won four consecutive French Opens, he’s also suffered exactly one loss during this entire clay-court season- the one he dropped to Federer in Madrid.

Okay, so let’s look at the draw, quarter-by-quarter, starting at the top, to see whose path is apt to be easy, and whose will be treacherous.

In the top, “Nadal” quarter, Nadal’s stiffest challenge is apt to come from the no. 8 seed, his pal, countryman, and Davis Cup comrade, Fernando Verdasco. That’s if Verdasco can make his seed. It’s likely he’ll do that, because he’s made the fourth round for two years running now, and his game and confidence seem to have taken a quantum leap this year. No question that after the no. 3 seed Andy Murray (who‘s in Rafa’s half), Verdasco looms as Nadal’s main obstacle to reaching his fifth final.

Nadal opens against a qualifier, and while he has a seasoned veteran and multiple Grand Slam winner Lleyton Hewitt in a potential third-rounder, the former no. 1 has always been better on hard courts than clay. I don’t think Stanislas Wawrinka moves well enough, especially on clay and over five-sets, to pose a serious threat to Nadal, but Nadal’s quarter also contains two unpredictable players: Nicolas Kiefer and Ernests Gulbis – the latter by far the more dangerous of the two. In just two years in Paris, Gulbis had made the second round, then the quarterfinals. He’s unpredictable, but his heavy artillery is dangerous when he’s on his game.

My dark horse pick for this round is Nicolas Almagro, a lowly no. 31 seed but a quarter-finalist last year.

The “Murray” quarter is tricky, with a whole raft of intriguing and dangerous if flawed performers, starting with Murray’s first opponent, Juan Ignacio Chela. He’s outside the top 200 now, but he’s a French Open veteran and just the kind of guy who can still paste up the big upset. That said, I still see Murray surviving Chela. One of the better first round match-ups pits Janko Tipsarevic against Albert Montanes, the winner to play a qualifier or Feliciano Lopez in order to (potentially) get at Murray.

Frenchman Gilles Simon, seeded no. 7, is in the bottom of the Murray quarter, and he could be playing US men in the first two rounds, which suggests that the no. 7 may finally make the second round of Roland Garros, something he hasn’t achieved in four attempts. On the other hand, it looks like Mr. Simon suffers from Mauresmo disease, which seems to afflict French players of either gender during Roland Garros. And with Radek Stepanek, Marin Cilic, Marat Safin, Mikhail Youzhny and Fernando Gonzalez also in this quarter, we might see some real fireworks.

I think Montanes will be the ritual “surprise semi-finalist” at the French Open.

The “Djokovic” quarter features six Frenchman, most of whom will also catch Mauresmo disease. But Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, seeded no. 9. may be an exception. Joe Willy has a big game, and he’s an unknown factor – he’s played at Roland Garros just once (a first-round loss in 2005). Although his health is always questionable, he doesn’t seem as mentally fragile as some of his countrymen, and he could surprise everyone – including his potential fourth-round opponent, no. 5 seed Juan Martin del Potro. Both men have a lot of flesh and muscle to lug around, but the contrast in styles between the attacker, Tsonga, and defender, del Potro, would make for a very attractive battle for the right to meet Novak Djokovic in the fourth round.

Former French Open champion and no. 1 player Juan Carlos Ferrero stands in Djokovic’s way in the second round, but other than that, it looks like pretty clear sailing for the no. 4 seed. Tommy Robredo, seeded 16 and with a Roland Garros resume littered with quarterfinal and fourth-round finishes, might not concede the quarter to Djokovic, but it’s hard to imagine Robredo withstanding the kind of bombardment Djokovic delivers with his groundstrokes.

The dark horse pick? Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, seeded 29. But it’s a half-hearted pick, because Djokovic’s star seems to be on the rise.

The “Federer” quarter is at the bottom of the draw, and since I predicted that Federer would not survive to play Nadal in the final, let’s cut right to the chase. The players most likely to take him out are Paul Henri Mathieu, who’s case of Mauresmo disease seems fairly mild (he’s often gone three, four rounds), ever dangerous but unpredictable Tomas Berdych, or Gael Monfils. You’ll remember that Monfils played Federer pretty tough in the semis last year, and for 2009 the draw has Monfils playing the US’s Bobby Reynolds in the first round, then the winner between two qualifiers. The bad news for Monfils fans is that he has a bum knee and may even withdraw from the event.

Andy Roddick. the no. 6 seed, is in this quarter as well, with Eduardo Schwank of Argentina standing in his way in the third round. Schwank is a fourth-year pro who got to the third round of Roland Garros in his lone appearance (2008) in Paris. If Roddick gets by him, he’ll have his hands full with Monfils. If the French player withdraws, who knows?

Federer’s first opponent is Alberto Martin, who came within one game of being double-bageled by Federer in their last and only previous meeting, on clay in Monte Carlo in 2006. Federer mostly likely gets Jose Acasuso in the second round, then conceivably Mathieu, Berdych and Monfils – in that order. It isn’t the world’s toughest draw, but the three men I just mentioned are volatile and capable of playing brilliantly.

So my Final Four are: Nadal, Albert Montanes (who will ambush Murray). Djokovic, and Monfils or Mathieu (should Monfils pull out). Nadal and Djokovic will play the final, and the winner will be Nadal.


http://tennisworld.typepad.com/

Как-то странно читать от Бодо такое умножение на ноль Федерера

 Posted: 23.05.09 07:27. Post subject: The Paris Parse Post..

The Paris Parse
Posted 05/22/2009 @ 6 :24 PM
Steve Tignor
TENNIS.com

Another year, another hotly debated, highly anticipated French Open men’s tournament. And in the end, another foregone conclusion, right? It’s remarkable how much anticipation remains for these two weeks despite the fact that since 2005 they've been controlled, more tightly each year, by one player. Did we look forward this way to Wimbledon during the often-stultifying reign of Pete Sampras? Yeah, I guess we did. The remote but dumbfounding possibility of seeing the king deposed, like the possibility of buying a winning lottery ticket, keeps us coming back for more against our better judgment.

This year, the possibility that Rafael Nadal will not win the French Open feels just about as remote as it has the last few springs, which is to say, distant. But it feels a little more plausible than it did a week ago, before Roger Federer proved that the Spaniard can be beaten on clay. Granted, it took a four-hour match the day before and an altitude he didn’t like, but the point is, it happened. There are 127 players lined up below Nadal on the French Open drawsheet who will try to make it happen again. Who has a chance?

First Quarter

In his presser today, Nadal sounded happy to get back down closer to sea level, where, according to him, the ball doesn’t fly off the strings so haphazardly. Separating Paris and Madrid so distinctly in his mind is probably a good strategy; it will allow him to think of his loss on Sunday as an aberration rather than a harbinger. And instead of rattling him, I think it will make him come out with a fighter’s, rather than a defender’s, mindset. He has a little bit to prove again, which isn’t a bad thing.

Who or what stands out in Nadal’s section of the draw? Actually, kind of a lot, now that I look at it. There’s a Hewitt-Karlovic opener that could provide him with his third-round opponent—neither is a gimme, though neither is as dangerous as he used to be. After that, there’s fellow clay dog Ferrer, who pushed him hard for a set in Barcelona; Davydenko, another dirtballer who has troubled Nadal on the surface and has reached the French semis; Wawrinka, a solid Top 20 kind of guy; Almagro, a flashy but perpetually disillusioning fellow Spaniard who was drubbed here by Nadal in 2008; and Verdasco, a, um, flashy but perpetually disillusioning Spaniard who was drubbed here by Nadal in 2008.

This could be a slog for Rafa, but would he want it any other way?

First-round match to watch: Gulbis vs. Querrey

Semifinalist: Nadal

Second Quarter

With that many strong players migrating to the top of the draw, Andy Murray has been left with, on paper at least, fairly easy pickings. Lopez, Stepanek, Cilic, Gonzalez, Safin, Hanescu (?), and Simon are the other seeds here. Of those, Gonzo is most likely to succeed. This is a positive for Murray, who has shown his lack of total acclimation to clay since Monte Carlo, at which point I thought he might be the biggest threat to Nadal in Paris. Now, just a couple weeks later, his passive game seems to leave him vulnerable to heavy hitters, like Monaco and del Potro, his recent conquerors, who can hit through the court more easily than he can. Murray will face one of those guys, sorta, in the first round when he plays Juan Ignacio Chela.

Wildcard to watch while you can: The last pre-Nadal French champ, Gaston Gaudio

Semifinalist: Gonzalez

Third Quarter

It seems like old times, doesn’t it, wondering which side of the draw Novak Djokovic will fall on? It makes a certain cosmic sense that he and Federer get each other—Djoko and Nadal must be sick of each other’s faces at the moment. The Serb is in high form again and would make a fine sleeper pick to win it all. He believes in his fitness, he’s found that precious and precarious balance of control and aggression, and he realizes that he’s a cut above the pack, a fact that seemed to escape him for a few months there.

Which members of that pack will be chasing him? First there’s del Potro, who I would consider a threat except that he’s never taken a set from Djokovic, or even reached a tiebreaker—the Serb seems to relish facing him. Other than that, we’ve got Tsonga, a home fave who has never won a match at Roland Garros; ex-champ J.C. Ferrero; the savage forehand of Igor Andreev, and, buried far from Djokovic, Monaco, who opens against Marcos Baghdatis.

Player to watch for the last time in Paris: Fabrice Santoro, who opens with C. Rochus

Player to watch for the first time in Paris: Bernard Tomic, who opens with Kohlschreiber

Semifinalist: Djokovic

Fourth Quarter

There are some names to consider in Roger Federer’s quarter—Berdych, Blake, Monfils, Roddick—but are there any threats to the three-time finalist? The only one who sticks out as of now is Berdych, who was up two sets to love against Fed in Australia. So he is a possibility, but they wouldn’t play each other until the fourth round, plenty of time for Federer to find his footing on Chatrier, a court he has had to learn to tolerate over the years.

Federer seems more relaxed in Madrid than he has all year. The racquet-bashing was out of his system for the moment, and I think he feels like he has a shot at the whole thing after not just beating Nadal on clay, but doing it on his terms, and doing it without playing his absolute best. The bottom line? Federer doesn’t lose before the semis, of any Slam.

Semifinalist: Federer

Semifinals: Nadal d. Gonzalez; Djokovic d. Federer

If Federer and Djokovic face each other, it will be a battle of two players who come in with a lot of confidence, and a lot of confidence that they can beat the other guy. Djokovic must feel like he’s figured out a rope-a-dope method of coaxing Fed to self-destruct, while Federer must feel like he’s in good enough form to put their last two matches behind him and exact revenge on a cocky whippersnapper who has always bugged him. But I think the stronger self-belief, as well as the more natural clay-court game, belongs to the Serb.

Final: Nadal d. Djokovic in straights

 Posted: 23.05.09 07:42. Post subject: Looking Ahead: Initi..