I just have to voice my shock of both the Williams sisters losing out in the third round and in straight sets. I really thought they were going to land safely to the Quarters but I guess I was wrong, on Serena's side it now means Ivanovic has quite a comfortable draw for herself whilst on Venus's side at least Flavia won - one of my favourite players though Venus is higher on that list! Anyway Flavia should now get to the Quarters and that would be fantastic - I really don't see Carla Suarez Navarro being a threat! However this means the likelihood of Jelena Jankovic against Ana Ivanovic is high and I regret to say it but Ivanovic looks possibly set for the title. It will depend on whether Maria gets better at her game as she has had two three set matches already and her draw gets harder from here on. Dinara is a possible threat but I really don't see her winning the title, it would be great if she did because I always liked her (maybe because she's Safin's sister - I know that is biased) however I would rather Vaidisova have won instead. One person that I have been obscuring in my mind is Kuznetsova - I really don't want her to win to be honest.
On the mens side I'm also quite sad that Murray and Tursunov and Youzhny lost but I guess it was going to happen, it now means Nadal and Djokovic are quite sure to meet in the Semis. Their are definitely a lot of unexpected Quarterfinalists.
Saturday 31 May 2008
Friday 30 May 2008
Major Fall!
Oh no Serena has lost to Katarina Srebotnik, that is a major shock to me because Serena was doing well up to now, that means Ivanovic is sure to win in that Quarter as neither Katarina nor Patty seem to be possible threats, lets hope that gives Venus a lot less competition, or it could mean either Jelena or Ana reach the final! A possible winner has gone so now the game has been tightened to 4. Will it be Sharapova the lone horse on the top half, with Dinara or Elena being threats. Could it be anyone from the second quartet - though unlikely Svetlana has a chance here - more than ever which would give her 2 Grand Slams. Would it be Venus who will have an uphill struglle from now on, would it be the shaky Jelena Jankovic. Or will Ivanovic rise from the occasion and take the crown. To be honest I need to see Sharapova's following matches to decide but currently I think if Ivanovic can get to the bigger matches she is a possible finalist. Jankovic and Venus both have difficult matches to take on and then they will have to knock each other out in their Quarterfinal meeting if they get their - that will work extremely well for Ivanovic.
Thursday 29 May 2008
2008 Roland Garros R3
So only 4 matches are left to be played before the full R3 draws are decided. Ok so lets see what has happened till now.
R1
Roger Federer went casually to the second round to face what was an extraordinary match from Albert Montanes and Kristof Vliegen which reached 7-6 on each set. Mario Ancic one of my favourites also pushed into the 2nd round. Ivo Karlovic on the other hand fell in 5 sets whilst Juan Monaco was overpowered by Robin Soderling - to my dismay.
Stanislas Wawrinka did well against Philipp Kohlschreiber whilst the young American Donlad Young could not surpass his compatriot. Sadly Richard Gasquet had to retie leaving this group wide open for a possible Wawrinka victory.
Nikolay Davydenko played a 6-3 6-3 6-3 game whilst Safin one of my favourites did well to get to the next round. Veteran Ferrero had to retire on the other hand. I think Tsonga was the one who retired here but I'm not sure, anyway Monfils now has quite a safe journey to the 4th Round.
Robredo did well whilst all the other seeds webt safely though.
James Blake got to the 2nd round which is good for him whilst Janko failed by losing against Nicolas Lapentti. But my favourite bit of this draw was that Baghdatis lossed out and quite easily as well. Tomas Berdych on the other hand only lossed one game in his 1st round match which is quite different from what happened next.
Carlos Moya suffered a victory which I wasn't expecting and Guillermo Canas also played a 6-7 match against Wayne Odesnik but lost. This should give Novak Djokovic a lot of room to get to the semis as I don't see any strong opposisiton.
David Nalbandian did well in his first round match as well as Dmitry Tursunov. Andy Murray played an awkward match in the 1st round though which was a little dissapointing.
Juan Ignacio Chela did less well then I expected but its good for John Isner to play a long match and get a feeling for 5 set matches.
R2
Roger Federer was uncharacteristic in losing a set in the second round to Albert Montanes whilst Mario Ancic moves strongly on, it is definitely a must watch match for me.
Whoever wins there which I think Federer would will play a somwhat easier match however if it was Ancic who wins which would be unlikely they will be huge chances for either player. Stanislas will play Fernando Gonzalez though I think both are on equal status at the moment it depends who comes out stronger. They will both then play yet again a weaker opponent rank wise. All in all I think Federer has an easy road to the Semis.
Nikolay Davydenko beat Safin but I expected it, it was sad that Safin couldn't take at least one set though. Ivan Ljubicic will be the his next opponent with a possible Gael Monfils for the 4th round. Tommy Robredo played quite safely against Marc Giquel and will see Stepanek next. Ferrer looks on form against Fabrice Santoro losing only one game whilst his opponent is Hewitt so there is all to play for. This draw is probably the closest draw out of the 4 as there are more possible semifinalists.
James Blake lost sadly to Ernest Gulbis but that will be all the better for Novak Djokovic. Tomas Berdych lost in a five set thriller against Michael Llodra to meet Simone Bolelli. Djokovic should now get safely to the semis and be fresh on his feet to play Nadal.
Nalbandian lost unexpectedly to Chardy whilst Tursunov saw another win, this is great for me of course. Hopefully Tursnov and Murray will win their next matches and fight for a spot against Nadal. Youzhny also did well so that is good. However I think the top 3 seeds are secure for their semifinal spot but It would be quite interesting if all the top 4 seeds play in the semis. I just wish Djokovic was in the other half so that he could have a higher chance to reach the final. However if Djokovic beats Nadal I'm sure nobody could beat him in the final.
Womens Draw
R1
Maria Sharapova played a slightly week round 1 match against Evgeniya Rodina which should have given her a shock to the system. Bethanie Mattek was her second round opponent. Olivia Sanchez played an uncharacteristic match against Jarmila Gajdosova with the score being 6-7(4), 6-7(8-10)
Maria Kirilenko played strong and will meet Jie Zheng which is good.
Whilst Sybille Bammer lost easily to Aleksandra Wozniacki, other than that everything went accordingly.
Sadly Michaella Krajicek lost in the first round but other than no shocks came in this part of the draw. However lower down Samantha Stosur beat Shahar Peer.
Venus Williams played a slightly weak 1st round match whilst Flavia Pennetta went through easily to my joy. I actually saw most of Amelie's match and I have to say Amelie is really dropping down.
Amazingly one thing that I just found out which makes me really happy is that marion Bartoli lost, I can't believe I only found out know but I am so happy because finally she'll get what her abilities deserve for her. Other than that everything else was expected.
Serena powered herself into the second round with very few shocks in this part of the draw. Virginie lost though and Zi Yan was beaten in three sets.
One thing that I have posted was the loss of Nicole Vaidisova which I am really dissapointed about, hopefully she'll do better in Wimbledon.
R2
Maria Sharapova is still on her 2nd round match whilst if she wins she'll see Karin Knapp as her opponent. Jie Zheng beat Maria Kirilenko, which works for me on both sides but I'd rather see Maria do well because she needs that boost which doesn't come often. Zheng will meet Safina who blew Rybarikova over. Zvonareva is yet to play but she'll see Aleksandra Wozniack if she wins. Whilst Elena Dementieva will play Olga Govortsova. All in all Sharapova is looking the weaker seed here currently, Dinara Safina may actually make a shock win of Sharapova, now that will be something to see!
Victoria Azarenka posted a double bagel which I haven't seen for some time on a Grand Slam, or maybe I'm just choosing not to see them! Anyway Agnes Szavay went through safely and will be safe to know that her biggest opponent Anna Chakvetadze has lossed out. I always said she will be the first to go out of the top 8 and I have be proved right, though i thought it would be a little later.
Svetlana should be safe here but I'd hate to see what would happen to this draw if she was out because it will mean a very unexpected Semi finalist
Venus and Flavia will play in the third round whilst the winner may see Casey Dellacqua who looks strong here - I don't thing it would be Navarro because I think she beat Mauresmo because Mauresmo was tired! And therefore yeah Mauresmo lost sadly.
Agnieszka is playing strong and at the moment she looks like she may beat out Alize to the dismay of the Parisian crowd. Dominika is also playing strong and should put up a challenge to the seemingly struggling Jankovic.
I think if the two big names meet in this Quarter Venus looks stronger currently.
Serena should feel comfortable with her next opponents as they aren't too much of a threat, which would land her safely to Ana Ivanovic who I think unless loses in the next round should be safe for the Quarterfinals. Well currently no big shocks in the womans draw which is normal for a Grand Slam - who will be the first to fall out of the top 8 (excluding Chakvetadze obviously)!
Amazingly out of the draws currently the only section with all the seeds is the Radwanska/Jankovic section! Though I did think that that draw was most likely to do so. If Nadia Petrova makes it through then the Kuznetsova/Azarenka draw will also have all their seeds.
Also of note is that the 5th eighth of the mens draw has no seeds - the Gulbis/Lapentti/Bolelli/Llodra draw.
Just whilst I'm blogging I have to say it is a shame that Max and Jamie lossed in the first round of the Mens Doubles. Favourite Doubles team - Bryan Brothers! Go America!
Also how come Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur are only 12th seeded! I thought they were like one of the top 10, I do know they left for a while or something but that just seems a bit too low.
R1
Roger Federer went casually to the second round to face what was an extraordinary match from Albert Montanes and Kristof Vliegen which reached 7-6 on each set. Mario Ancic one of my favourites also pushed into the 2nd round. Ivo Karlovic on the other hand fell in 5 sets whilst Juan Monaco was overpowered by Robin Soderling - to my dismay.
Stanislas Wawrinka did well against Philipp Kohlschreiber whilst the young American Donlad Young could not surpass his compatriot. Sadly Richard Gasquet had to retie leaving this group wide open for a possible Wawrinka victory.
Nikolay Davydenko played a 6-3 6-3 6-3 game whilst Safin one of my favourites did well to get to the next round. Veteran Ferrero had to retire on the other hand. I think Tsonga was the one who retired here but I'm not sure, anyway Monfils now has quite a safe journey to the 4th Round.
Robredo did well whilst all the other seeds webt safely though.
James Blake got to the 2nd round which is good for him whilst Janko failed by losing against Nicolas Lapentti. But my favourite bit of this draw was that Baghdatis lossed out and quite easily as well. Tomas Berdych on the other hand only lossed one game in his 1st round match which is quite different from what happened next.
Carlos Moya suffered a victory which I wasn't expecting and Guillermo Canas also played a 6-7 match against Wayne Odesnik but lost. This should give Novak Djokovic a lot of room to get to the semis as I don't see any strong opposisiton.
David Nalbandian did well in his first round match as well as Dmitry Tursunov. Andy Murray played an awkward match in the 1st round though which was a little dissapointing.
Juan Ignacio Chela did less well then I expected but its good for John Isner to play a long match and get a feeling for 5 set matches.
R2
Roger Federer was uncharacteristic in losing a set in the second round to Albert Montanes whilst Mario Ancic moves strongly on, it is definitely a must watch match for me.
Whoever wins there which I think Federer would will play a somwhat easier match however if it was Ancic who wins which would be unlikely they will be huge chances for either player. Stanislas will play Fernando Gonzalez though I think both are on equal status at the moment it depends who comes out stronger. They will both then play yet again a weaker opponent rank wise. All in all I think Federer has an easy road to the Semis.
Nikolay Davydenko beat Safin but I expected it, it was sad that Safin couldn't take at least one set though. Ivan Ljubicic will be the his next opponent with a possible Gael Monfils for the 4th round. Tommy Robredo played quite safely against Marc Giquel and will see Stepanek next. Ferrer looks on form against Fabrice Santoro losing only one game whilst his opponent is Hewitt so there is all to play for. This draw is probably the closest draw out of the 4 as there are more possible semifinalists.
James Blake lost sadly to Ernest Gulbis but that will be all the better for Novak Djokovic. Tomas Berdych lost in a five set thriller against Michael Llodra to meet Simone Bolelli. Djokovic should now get safely to the semis and be fresh on his feet to play Nadal.
Nalbandian lost unexpectedly to Chardy whilst Tursunov saw another win, this is great for me of course. Hopefully Tursnov and Murray will win their next matches and fight for a spot against Nadal. Youzhny also did well so that is good. However I think the top 3 seeds are secure for their semifinal spot but It would be quite interesting if all the top 4 seeds play in the semis. I just wish Djokovic was in the other half so that he could have a higher chance to reach the final. However if Djokovic beats Nadal I'm sure nobody could beat him in the final.
Womens Draw
R1
Maria Sharapova played a slightly week round 1 match against Evgeniya Rodina which should have given her a shock to the system. Bethanie Mattek was her second round opponent. Olivia Sanchez played an uncharacteristic match against Jarmila Gajdosova with the score being 6-7(4), 6-7(8-10)
Maria Kirilenko played strong and will meet Jie Zheng which is good.
Whilst Sybille Bammer lost easily to Aleksandra Wozniacki, other than that everything went accordingly.
Sadly Michaella Krajicek lost in the first round but other than no shocks came in this part of the draw. However lower down Samantha Stosur beat Shahar Peer.
Venus Williams played a slightly weak 1st round match whilst Flavia Pennetta went through easily to my joy. I actually saw most of Amelie's match and I have to say Amelie is really dropping down.
Amazingly one thing that I just found out which makes me really happy is that marion Bartoli lost, I can't believe I only found out know but I am so happy because finally she'll get what her abilities deserve for her. Other than that everything else was expected.
Serena powered herself into the second round with very few shocks in this part of the draw. Virginie lost though and Zi Yan was beaten in three sets.
One thing that I have posted was the loss of Nicole Vaidisova which I am really dissapointed about, hopefully she'll do better in Wimbledon.
R2
Maria Sharapova is still on her 2nd round match whilst if she wins she'll see Karin Knapp as her opponent. Jie Zheng beat Maria Kirilenko, which works for me on both sides but I'd rather see Maria do well because she needs that boost which doesn't come often. Zheng will meet Safina who blew Rybarikova over. Zvonareva is yet to play but she'll see Aleksandra Wozniack if she wins. Whilst Elena Dementieva will play Olga Govortsova. All in all Sharapova is looking the weaker seed here currently, Dinara Safina may actually make a shock win of Sharapova, now that will be something to see!
Victoria Azarenka posted a double bagel which I haven't seen for some time on a Grand Slam, or maybe I'm just choosing not to see them! Anyway Agnes Szavay went through safely and will be safe to know that her biggest opponent Anna Chakvetadze has lossed out. I always said she will be the first to go out of the top 8 and I have be proved right, though i thought it would be a little later.
Svetlana should be safe here but I'd hate to see what would happen to this draw if she was out because it will mean a very unexpected Semi finalist
Venus and Flavia will play in the third round whilst the winner may see Casey Dellacqua who looks strong here - I don't thing it would be Navarro because I think she beat Mauresmo because Mauresmo was tired! And therefore yeah Mauresmo lost sadly.
Agnieszka is playing strong and at the moment she looks like she may beat out Alize to the dismay of the Parisian crowd. Dominika is also playing strong and should put up a challenge to the seemingly struggling Jankovic.
I think if the two big names meet in this Quarter Venus looks stronger currently.
Serena should feel comfortable with her next opponents as they aren't too much of a threat, which would land her safely to Ana Ivanovic who I think unless loses in the next round should be safe for the Quarterfinals. Well currently no big shocks in the womans draw which is normal for a Grand Slam - who will be the first to fall out of the top 8 (excluding Chakvetadze obviously)!
Amazingly out of the draws currently the only section with all the seeds is the Radwanska/Jankovic section! Though I did think that that draw was most likely to do so. If Nadia Petrova makes it through then the Kuznetsova/Azarenka draw will also have all their seeds.
Also of note is that the 5th eighth of the mens draw has no seeds - the Gulbis/Lapentti/Bolelli/Llodra draw.
Just whilst I'm blogging I have to say it is a shame that Max and Jamie lossed in the first round of the Mens Doubles. Favourite Doubles team - Bryan Brothers! Go America!
Also how come Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur are only 12th seeded! I thought they were like one of the top 10, I do know they left for a while or something but that just seems a bit too low.
Sunday 25 May 2008
Update
Firstly I need to express my dissapointment in finding out that Iveta Benesova beat Nicole - this is another low profile loss for the Czech Sensation. I had said that I'd rather she missed this tournament and recover rather than continue to lose in first rounds. This year is wide open for the taking but Nicole isn't able to contest for that spot, I am sure if she was in good health she would make the top 10 this year.
Anyway it was interesting that at Morrocco there was an all French final but it wasn't by the top two seeds! In Strasbourg I was very happy that Marion didn't get to the next round whilst congratulations to Yung-Jan Chan.
Anyway it was interesting that at Morrocco there was an all French final but it wasn't by the top two seeds! In Strasbourg I was very happy that Marion didn't get to the next round whilst congratulations to Yung-Jan Chan.
Friday 23 May 2008
Roland Garros Womans Draw
This year will be the most unpredictable winner of all these past few years and I do honestly think that 7 of the top 8 players have a chance to take this! (nb. however small that chance may be!)
Before I go onto talk about the draw which I actually haven't seen and will contemplate it during this post, I will talk about the top 8 and their chances of winning this Slam.
oh before I go onto my rant I just wanted to post this quote from McEnroe talking about Jelena and Ana on Justine Henin.
"They just feel there is no way to beat her in a big match. It could help them the most." I thoroughly agree with this statement and now that Justine has gone they'll feel much more comfortable.
I have read many articles about this and currently on top of most reporters minds our Sharapova, Serena and the Serbians
Anyway first on the chopping block is Maria Sharapova, this year is definitely a good year for her and I have to say it looks like she'll continue on the No.1 spot until the end of the year. She has had a good streak on clay courts this year and her Roland Garros performance is by no means weak, last year she toughed a SF appearance even though she wasn't in good form. I would definitely put my money on her for a good performance here, what she lacks to reach the title is basically and fundamentally her ability on clay, she has been through quite a lot of long matches recently and before now has never really seen to be a competitor for the title (OK Justine was dominant), if she puts herself in too many long matches she may run out of gas!
Ana Ivanovic has the record behind her with a Final in Roland Garros last year and seemingly a good match against Sharapova in the Australian Open this year, it is definitely nice to jump on the Ivanovic wagon for her to win. Now I'm not saying she does not have a chance but I don't think she will be the winner. Last years Roland garros in my view was very lucky for her, she had a good draw. Further on I don't think she is mentally tough enough for this and I still think she is too young and even if she did win I really don't think she deserves it yet. To me I don't Ana is the type of player to win currently, I always thought the earliest she'll win a title is next year.
Jelena Jankovic has been quiet this year and without her late win in Rome I don't think many would have placed her on the radar. What I'm slightly concerned about is the fact that Jelena before being one of the top players never seemed to shine here. Last year she was on top form and was one of the best players out there however this year I see less of that, she seems to have run herself out! I do think that she may have to much pressure on her for the title, she is emotionally one of the most unstable in the top 8 and her 2008 performance hasn't been as threatening as last year, though I would not leave her out I think she doesn't have what it takes yet.
Svetlana Kuznetsova, personally unless she gets a good draw I don't think she's in contention, the past years she has sort of been labelled as a stalwart, she's there but you don't really see her in the end. I think a title may be too much to ask of her and I don't think even herself would believe that she has what it takes to capture the title, also we have not seen her that much this year. So unless her draw is a good one I don't think she'll be a huge favourite, but nonetheless she has a chance.
Serena Williams well never underestimate Serena I basically put her in contention in every slam because she is just the player that could do it, being the only active former Roland Garros winner in the draw she has definitely got the experience behind her. She also hasn't had a shabby year and definitely in the matches she has played in she has looked in good form, what I do worry about is that she is unpredictable, you could say she is out of contention but then she goes on to win the title but when people say she has a chance she seems to be just another good player. However her nemesis was Justine last year in Grand Slams so I think the possibility of her getting to the finals is a good one as long as she has a good draw.
Elena Dementieva, difficult to imagine that she is back and looking strong but she is and she has played some good tennis in recent weeks, though by far an outsider for the title she has been a Finalist here so should look out for her.
Anna Chakvetadze, out of the top 8 the only player I think has no chance of winning is her. Before last year which was probably her best year she didn't really amaze anyone in Roland Garros, this year she has also been a shadow of last year and I don't see her winning a GS maybe 2010 and even then it would be an outside chance. I think the possibility of her winning is low but the possibility of her reaching QF and beyond isn't off sight.
Venus Williams, what I've learnt is to never say Venus isn't in contention, though she is an outsider for the title Venus craves that energy of being the underdog, I personally think she loses herself a bit under tension of being called the favourite, now that the draw is wide open and she is deemed an outside favourite her chances are there to take the title.
Well now onto the draw for the first section I'll be looking out for Maria Kirilenko, Kateryna Bondarenko and Dinara Safina as well of course Maria Sharapova, don't get me wrong I just like them! Anyway I think it is safe to say Maria will be safe in the early stages. I think Safina should be fine reaching Sharapova, besides being on form she has had by far the best record in her half section of the draw in Roland Garros.
It's wierd to see Vera Zvonareva back into the top but she has done well. For some reason I always get the impression she is like 28 or so but she's only 23! Anyway enough of that Vera has had a good year but Roland Garros hasn't been good for her in recent years though she did reach the QF's way back in 03. I'm not particularly interested in anybody in this draw but I do want to see a bit more of Elena. Anyway Bammer got to R4 here last year but this year she looks off and I don't expect her to do anything similar. Kudryavtseva reached the 3r here last year being her first time playing in Roland Garros so I will look out for her. Basically nobody strikes out in this draw for me.
In Section 3 we have Kuznetsova who should land safely to the Quaters in my point of view due to an easy draw. Definitely going to cheer on Krajicek! Anyway Azarenka the following seed has never been good on this tournament and I don't see her changing that, she may reach the 4th round - as I don't see anyone else to be extremely difficult, Schiavone may try to jump in for the kill here. She has done well in Roland Garros and added with an easy draw she may be Svetlana's 4th Round opponent.
It's very sad to see that the top half is so weak compared to the bottom draw, For once the draw is bottom heavy! Anyway the second Quater looks to be one which works well for Sharapova and with this draw I think Sharapova has a strong chance to reach the final - I hope she does as if she doesn't it would be a shock if anyone else does. Anyway Yung-Jan Chan and Meng Yuan (being Chinese and Taiwanese) will be ones I will look to watch. Szavay hasn't done anything impressive this year and I truly believe she will drop out of the top 20 this year! However her draw is not invested with top players! Peer though not in a good season will be one to watch out for because her record here is good. Anabel Medina Garrigues's favourite Slam is this one so I won't cut her off of a chance as Chakvetadze is the top seed there. It will be interesting to see if Pironkova continues her streak but Chakvetadze has definitely got it easy here.
Venus will be playing in the 5th section and ME Salerni after a long hiatus in Slams. To be honest Venus's draw isn't too pressing and though I'd love to say Pennetta has a chance I think her chances are slim. Then we have Bartoli and Mauresmo who both I think will not be a problem.
I'm amazed why so many people seem to think Cornet has a chance, yes she has been doing well recently but in the past three Roland Garros she has played in she has only reach R2. I'll cheer for Dulko here. If Radwanska plays well then I think she'll be fine here but the real winner here is Jankovic, she has a draw which she can win easily, Cilbulkova may be a threat but she should be fine here seeing that she has a chance to win the title!
Section 7 sees Serena and Patty. I think Serena is quite safe here, Srebotnik has weakened this year as well as Razzano and to an extent Schnyder so I think Williams shouldn't have anything to worry about, I'll be looking to see Yan.
Finally Section 8 sees Nicole and Ana, I am so dissapointed that Nicole is losing out at this stage of the year where the rankings are wide open, if only she was in form like she was last year and the year before she would be a contender here. Peng and Bondarenko will also be ones for me to watch out for, though Nicole doesn't have an extremely difficult draw she has lost to some low ranking players recently, If she can get to the 4th Round I'll be happy.
Before I go onto talk about the draw which I actually haven't seen and will contemplate it during this post, I will talk about the top 8 and their chances of winning this Slam.
oh before I go onto my rant I just wanted to post this quote from McEnroe talking about Jelena and Ana on Justine Henin.
"They just feel there is no way to beat her in a big match. It could help them the most." I thoroughly agree with this statement and now that Justine has gone they'll feel much more comfortable.
I have read many articles about this and currently on top of most reporters minds our Sharapova, Serena and the Serbians
Anyway first on the chopping block is Maria Sharapova, this year is definitely a good year for her and I have to say it looks like she'll continue on the No.1 spot until the end of the year. She has had a good streak on clay courts this year and her Roland Garros performance is by no means weak, last year she toughed a SF appearance even though she wasn't in good form. I would definitely put my money on her for a good performance here, what she lacks to reach the title is basically and fundamentally her ability on clay, she has been through quite a lot of long matches recently and before now has never really seen to be a competitor for the title (OK Justine was dominant), if she puts herself in too many long matches she may run out of gas!
Ana Ivanovic has the record behind her with a Final in Roland Garros last year and seemingly a good match against Sharapova in the Australian Open this year, it is definitely nice to jump on the Ivanovic wagon for her to win. Now I'm not saying she does not have a chance but I don't think she will be the winner. Last years Roland garros in my view was very lucky for her, she had a good draw. Further on I don't think she is mentally tough enough for this and I still think she is too young and even if she did win I really don't think she deserves it yet. To me I don't Ana is the type of player to win currently, I always thought the earliest she'll win a title is next year.
Jelena Jankovic has been quiet this year and without her late win in Rome I don't think many would have placed her on the radar. What I'm slightly concerned about is the fact that Jelena before being one of the top players never seemed to shine here. Last year she was on top form and was one of the best players out there however this year I see less of that, she seems to have run herself out! I do think that she may have to much pressure on her for the title, she is emotionally one of the most unstable in the top 8 and her 2008 performance hasn't been as threatening as last year, though I would not leave her out I think she doesn't have what it takes yet.
Svetlana Kuznetsova, personally unless she gets a good draw I don't think she's in contention, the past years she has sort of been labelled as a stalwart, she's there but you don't really see her in the end. I think a title may be too much to ask of her and I don't think even herself would believe that she has what it takes to capture the title, also we have not seen her that much this year. So unless her draw is a good one I don't think she'll be a huge favourite, but nonetheless she has a chance.
Serena Williams well never underestimate Serena I basically put her in contention in every slam because she is just the player that could do it, being the only active former Roland Garros winner in the draw she has definitely got the experience behind her. She also hasn't had a shabby year and definitely in the matches she has played in she has looked in good form, what I do worry about is that she is unpredictable, you could say she is out of contention but then she goes on to win the title but when people say she has a chance she seems to be just another good player. However her nemesis was Justine last year in Grand Slams so I think the possibility of her getting to the finals is a good one as long as she has a good draw.
Elena Dementieva, difficult to imagine that she is back and looking strong but she is and she has played some good tennis in recent weeks, though by far an outsider for the title she has been a Finalist here so should look out for her.
Anna Chakvetadze, out of the top 8 the only player I think has no chance of winning is her. Before last year which was probably her best year she didn't really amaze anyone in Roland Garros, this year she has also been a shadow of last year and I don't see her winning a GS maybe 2010 and even then it would be an outside chance. I think the possibility of her winning is low but the possibility of her reaching QF and beyond isn't off sight.
Venus Williams, what I've learnt is to never say Venus isn't in contention, though she is an outsider for the title Venus craves that energy of being the underdog, I personally think she loses herself a bit under tension of being called the favourite, now that the draw is wide open and she is deemed an outside favourite her chances are there to take the title.
Well now onto the draw for the first section I'll be looking out for Maria Kirilenko, Kateryna Bondarenko and Dinara Safina as well of course Maria Sharapova, don't get me wrong I just like them! Anyway I think it is safe to say Maria will be safe in the early stages. I think Safina should be fine reaching Sharapova, besides being on form she has had by far the best record in her half section of the draw in Roland Garros.
It's wierd to see Vera Zvonareva back into the top but she has done well. For some reason I always get the impression she is like 28 or so but she's only 23! Anyway enough of that Vera has had a good year but Roland Garros hasn't been good for her in recent years though she did reach the QF's way back in 03. I'm not particularly interested in anybody in this draw but I do want to see a bit more of Elena. Anyway Bammer got to R4 here last year but this year she looks off and I don't expect her to do anything similar. Kudryavtseva reached the 3r here last year being her first time playing in Roland Garros so I will look out for her. Basically nobody strikes out in this draw for me.
In Section 3 we have Kuznetsova who should land safely to the Quaters in my point of view due to an easy draw. Definitely going to cheer on Krajicek! Anyway Azarenka the following seed has never been good on this tournament and I don't see her changing that, she may reach the 4th round - as I don't see anyone else to be extremely difficult, Schiavone may try to jump in for the kill here. She has done well in Roland Garros and added with an easy draw she may be Svetlana's 4th Round opponent.
It's very sad to see that the top half is so weak compared to the bottom draw, For once the draw is bottom heavy! Anyway the second Quater looks to be one which works well for Sharapova and with this draw I think Sharapova has a strong chance to reach the final - I hope she does as if she doesn't it would be a shock if anyone else does. Anyway Yung-Jan Chan and Meng Yuan (being Chinese and Taiwanese) will be ones I will look to watch. Szavay hasn't done anything impressive this year and I truly believe she will drop out of the top 20 this year! However her draw is not invested with top players! Peer though not in a good season will be one to watch out for because her record here is good. Anabel Medina Garrigues's favourite Slam is this one so I won't cut her off of a chance as Chakvetadze is the top seed there. It will be interesting to see if Pironkova continues her streak but Chakvetadze has definitely got it easy here.
Venus will be playing in the 5th section and ME Salerni after a long hiatus in Slams. To be honest Venus's draw isn't too pressing and though I'd love to say Pennetta has a chance I think her chances are slim. Then we have Bartoli and Mauresmo who both I think will not be a problem.
I'm amazed why so many people seem to think Cornet has a chance, yes she has been doing well recently but in the past three Roland Garros she has played in she has only reach R2. I'll cheer for Dulko here. If Radwanska plays well then I think she'll be fine here but the real winner here is Jankovic, she has a draw which she can win easily, Cilbulkova may be a threat but she should be fine here seeing that she has a chance to win the title!
Section 7 sees Serena and Patty. I think Serena is quite safe here, Srebotnik has weakened this year as well as Razzano and to an extent Schnyder so I think Williams shouldn't have anything to worry about, I'll be looking to see Yan.
Finally Section 8 sees Nicole and Ana, I am so dissapointed that Nicole is losing out at this stage of the year where the rankings are wide open, if only she was in form like she was last year and the year before she would be a contender here. Peng and Bondarenko will also be ones for me to watch out for, though Nicole doesn't have an extremely difficult draw she has lost to some low ranking players recently, If she can get to the 4th Round I'll be happy.
Roland Garros Mens Draws
Well I've finally seen the draws - omitting the Qualifiers and decided to post about my thoughts. Federer is definitely the favourite in his draw, Sam Querrey should not be a problem for Federer, though both Montanes and Vliegen's best Slam is Roland Garros I don' think Federer would be too stressed. Ancic is one of my favourite players and hopefully he'll reach top form again because if he does he is a strong contender for Week 2, Seppi shouldn't be a tough match as both his previous performances were 1st round efforts. Federer's mect opponent will likely be Juan Moncao who has a good stable record here, though I also like Juan Monaco I don't think he'll threaten Federer. Though Wawrinka is a Top 10 player I think he is the most likely to be the first top seed to drop out, his record here isn't great and he hasn't actually had a great pre Roland Garros, besides the final, however he is lucky to have a not-so difficult draw, the person who seems to perform the best here is Filippo Volandri so if Wawrinka is on form he may have a chance here, I have to remind myself he won the Juniors a few years back, aswell as the draw being on his side he could have a chance to get somewhere he. After that I think Igor Andreev is most likely to be his opponent as he got to the QF's last year, though his performance hasn't been that great I don't think there are many other players to challenge him and that includes Gasquet. That means the likelihood of Federer getting to the Semis is extremely high.
I think Davydenko is a strong contender for the Semifinals, his performance here in the last three years have been superb reaching the second Week every time on top of that he is doing well this year so is likely to continue that streak in Roland Garros, I don't think Marat Safin will have an affect but he is one of my favourite players so I hope he does well, Ljubicic has done well here before but this year he looks off the beat and will probably fall when he plays Nikolay Davydenko. Though Ferrero has been a winner here I don't think he is going to be much of a problem here, Monfils loves this court so hopefully he'll win out of his all French draw for the first two rounds - besides a Qualifier, who could also be French! I personally highly doubt that Tsonga is going to threaten anyone here because his pre Roland Garros run wasn't that great and it really shows that his Australian Open final was a one hit wonder. Robredo has always been strong here so I think he will be someone to look out for even though he hasn't been in many of the latter stages of big tournaments this year (I just don't remember seeing him). Though I do think Robredo is the one to beat in this draw I do believe Ferrer has been doing well for himself compared to previous years so he may be an unexpected shock to Robredo. Overall I think the chances of Davydenko reaching the semifinals from this draw quite high, but wouldn't that be awkward that the top 4 seeds are in the SF.
Then we have Blake, though i really like him he has never been a contender here, however his early draw is not the most challenging of ones so he may be able to make a breakthrough here. Basically the 5th Eighth is quite weak as nobody seems to have reached the Quaterfinal before so it's all to play for. In terms of the top 4 I think currently - having not seen Nadals draw yet that Djokovic has the hardest one, Moya and Mathieu and even Kuerten to an extent are hidden dangers that could possibly cause a threat, closer to home Canas and Bjorkman are possible opponents. All 5 of these players have found to an extent glory in Roland Garros, though he'll be happy to know most of them are seemingly dealing with old age as they don't seem to be on form but a slight wrong move from Djokovic may turn out to be his demise. However he should be happy to know that I don't think his Quaterfinals opponent will be much of a threat, all in all Djokovic should land safely to the Semis.
Nalbandian has a good record here and he is playing some good tennis overall so he will be one to watch out. For me Tursunov will be the one I'll be looking to watch. Murray has a very easy draw in my point of view up until his Fourth Round Match. Though he has only played here once and he lost in R1. He has a good chance of reaching Round 4 here but his recent form leaves much to be answered. Therefore Nalbandian will be the one I think most likely to play Nadal.
Youzhny did well here last year but so did Verdasco, however I'm not a Verdasco fan so I don't know how he has been recently, but I do know Youzhny seems to be very quiet recently so this one will be a headache for me to decide. Lopez is also in this draw and is one of my liked players so hopefully he'll do well but to be honest I think Nadal has near 100% possibility of reaching the semis! Personally I think he is by far the favourite to win the title.
So my predictions basically put the top 4 into the semis but in every tournament it never seems to turn out that way, however the top 4 are in better form than anyone else in my opinion.
So lets see Section 1 (4th Round matches)
Federer Vs. Monaco
Wawrinka Vs. Andreev
Davydenko Vs. (In my opinion anyone)
Robredo Vs. Ferrer/Hewitt (I realised I didn't talk much about Hewitt but he has also got a good record here though he seems to be quite quiet recently)
Anyone Vs. Anyone
Moya Vs. Djokovic
Nalbandian Vs. Murray (I think he'll want this one more after losing in the 1st round in the Australian Open and he is the type of person to dig deep)
Unsure Vs. Nadal
Of course in my world I would want...
Ancic Vs. Monaco
Wawrinka Vs. Gasquet
Safin Vs. Monfils
Anyone Vs. Hewitt
Blake Vs. Berdych
Berrer (because he's German and we haven't heard much about them recently) Vs. Djokovic
Tursunov Vs. Murray
Youzhny Vs. Lopez
Wouldn't that be an interesting draw!
I think Davydenko is a strong contender for the Semifinals, his performance here in the last three years have been superb reaching the second Week every time on top of that he is doing well this year so is likely to continue that streak in Roland Garros, I don't think Marat Safin will have an affect but he is one of my favourite players so I hope he does well, Ljubicic has done well here before but this year he looks off the beat and will probably fall when he plays Nikolay Davydenko. Though Ferrero has been a winner here I don't think he is going to be much of a problem here, Monfils loves this court so hopefully he'll win out of his all French draw for the first two rounds - besides a Qualifier, who could also be French! I personally highly doubt that Tsonga is going to threaten anyone here because his pre Roland Garros run wasn't that great and it really shows that his Australian Open final was a one hit wonder. Robredo has always been strong here so I think he will be someone to look out for even though he hasn't been in many of the latter stages of big tournaments this year (I just don't remember seeing him). Though I do think Robredo is the one to beat in this draw I do believe Ferrer has been doing well for himself compared to previous years so he may be an unexpected shock to Robredo. Overall I think the chances of Davydenko reaching the semifinals from this draw quite high, but wouldn't that be awkward that the top 4 seeds are in the SF.
Then we have Blake, though i really like him he has never been a contender here, however his early draw is not the most challenging of ones so he may be able to make a breakthrough here. Basically the 5th Eighth is quite weak as nobody seems to have reached the Quaterfinal before so it's all to play for. In terms of the top 4 I think currently - having not seen Nadals draw yet that Djokovic has the hardest one, Moya and Mathieu and even Kuerten to an extent are hidden dangers that could possibly cause a threat, closer to home Canas and Bjorkman are possible opponents. All 5 of these players have found to an extent glory in Roland Garros, though he'll be happy to know most of them are seemingly dealing with old age as they don't seem to be on form but a slight wrong move from Djokovic may turn out to be his demise. However he should be happy to know that I don't think his Quaterfinals opponent will be much of a threat, all in all Djokovic should land safely to the Semis.
Nalbandian has a good record here and he is playing some good tennis overall so he will be one to watch out. For me Tursunov will be the one I'll be looking to watch. Murray has a very easy draw in my point of view up until his Fourth Round Match. Though he has only played here once and he lost in R1. He has a good chance of reaching Round 4 here but his recent form leaves much to be answered. Therefore Nalbandian will be the one I think most likely to play Nadal.
Youzhny did well here last year but so did Verdasco, however I'm not a Verdasco fan so I don't know how he has been recently, but I do know Youzhny seems to be very quiet recently so this one will be a headache for me to decide. Lopez is also in this draw and is one of my liked players so hopefully he'll do well but to be honest I think Nadal has near 100% possibility of reaching the semis! Personally I think he is by far the favourite to win the title.
So my predictions basically put the top 4 into the semis but in every tournament it never seems to turn out that way, however the top 4 are in better form than anyone else in my opinion.
So lets see Section 1 (4th Round matches)
Federer Vs. Monaco
Wawrinka Vs. Andreev
Davydenko Vs. (In my opinion anyone)
Robredo Vs. Ferrer/Hewitt (I realised I didn't talk much about Hewitt but he has also got a good record here though he seems to be quite quiet recently)
Anyone Vs. Anyone
Moya Vs. Djokovic
Nalbandian Vs. Murray (I think he'll want this one more after losing in the 1st round in the Australian Open and he is the type of person to dig deep)
Unsure Vs. Nadal
Of course in my world I would want...
Ancic Vs. Monaco
Wawrinka Vs. Gasquet
Safin Vs. Monfils
Anyone Vs. Hewitt
Blake Vs. Berdych
Berrer (because he's German and we haven't heard much about them recently) Vs. Djokovic
Tursunov Vs. Murray
Youzhny Vs. Lopez
Wouldn't that be an interesting draw!
Monday 19 May 2008
Pre Roland Garros Preparation Tournaments - The final week
Well most of the top players have hibernated for this week to fully prepare for Roland Garros but some have still braved the possible setback of injury to play in the next tournaments. Davydenko is the highest rank playing in any tournament this week - excluding the ARAG World Team challenge which I don't know who is playing but I doubt anybody higher than Rank 4 is participating. He will be the favourite to take this title but we all know that Davydenko can be unpredictable and this field has some threats in it.
John Isner will be one of the players I will be looking out for as I generally like most of the US players especially the up and coming ones. Therefore Mardy Fish and Donald Young will also be on the radar. Sam Querrey, Vincent Spadea and Robby Ginepri will also be interesting for me but the two I'm watching most will be Mario Ancic - a favourite before he took time out from the tour and Juan Monaco who ascended to my favourites list a few months ago.
In Morocco we have a plethora of below rank 50 players attempting to take the title but Tsonga who seems out of place has taken to No.1 seed. Besides the top two seeds of Tsonga and Monfils I am not overly interested in this draw, we'll see who comes out on top.
Istanbul greets an in form Elena Dementieva as it's No.1 seed whilst Agnieska Radwanska takes No.2. Nadia Petrova who is facing a tremendous drop will try to challenge for the title with a possible match against Elena Dementieva. Quite a lot of these players are in my group of liked players so it would be interesting who comes out of this.
Strasbourg sees Marion Bartoli as first seed, I doubt she'll win the title though seeing her bad results this year - last year she tried to push her rank higher by playing in more of the lower tiers whilst this year going to more top tier tournaments has taken its toll. Anyway Shuai Peng and Ashley Harkleroad will be ones for me to watch in the first quarter seeing that Katarina Srebotnik's form seems to have deteriorated. Same goes to Virginie Razzano so I'll be looking to see what Yung-Jan Chan could do and Kateryna Bondarenko as well as veteran Ai Sugiyama. However the one I'm most looking forward to is Flavia Pennetta who has a difficult match up against Anabel Medina Garrigues. Zi Yan will also be on my list of to watch as well as Alona Bondarenko. However an interesting plus to this draw is Jelena Dokic - wonder of she'll get back to the top 20!
John Isner will be one of the players I will be looking out for as I generally like most of the US players especially the up and coming ones. Therefore Mardy Fish and Donald Young will also be on the radar. Sam Querrey, Vincent Spadea and Robby Ginepri will also be interesting for me but the two I'm watching most will be Mario Ancic - a favourite before he took time out from the tour and Juan Monaco who ascended to my favourites list a few months ago.
In Morocco we have a plethora of below rank 50 players attempting to take the title but Tsonga who seems out of place has taken to No.1 seed. Besides the top two seeds of Tsonga and Monfils I am not overly interested in this draw, we'll see who comes out on top.
Istanbul greets an in form Elena Dementieva as it's No.1 seed whilst Agnieska Radwanska takes No.2. Nadia Petrova who is facing a tremendous drop will try to challenge for the title with a possible match against Elena Dementieva. Quite a lot of these players are in my group of liked players so it would be interesting who comes out of this.
Strasbourg sees Marion Bartoli as first seed, I doubt she'll win the title though seeing her bad results this year - last year she tried to push her rank higher by playing in more of the lower tiers whilst this year going to more top tier tournaments has taken its toll. Anyway Shuai Peng and Ashley Harkleroad will be ones for me to watch in the first quarter seeing that Katarina Srebotnik's form seems to have deteriorated. Same goes to Virginie Razzano so I'll be looking to see what Yung-Jan Chan could do and Kateryna Bondarenko as well as veteran Ai Sugiyama. However the one I'm most looking forward to is Flavia Pennetta who has a difficult match up against Anabel Medina Garrigues. Zi Yan will also be on my list of to watch as well as Alona Bondarenko. However an interesting plus to this draw is Jelena Dokic - wonder of she'll get back to the top 20!
What Happened Afterwards!
Well after the shock announcement from Justine concerning retirement (which means Belgium no longer has any top players) the tour carried on seeing former finalist Rafael Nadal and last years winner Jelena Jankovic take the title. Justine's retirement is definitely the most important piece of news this week but another interesting development is the fight for No.2. Rafael Nadal has kept his position for God knows how long, I don't even remember who it was before him that was at No.2. Anyway Novak Djokovic is so close to him now that a better placing in a tournament may just grab him the title, though this may have to wait until Wimbledon seeing nobody will bet on Nadal missing the Roland Garros Final. Anyway this week was really close, so close that it went down to who won in the SF match, though Nadal beat Djokovic (which are am painstricken about) it still shows Djokovic's strengths in such a time in his career as well as against Nadal on clay. Djokovic will definitely improve from here which is good, he has definitely picked a good time to get to No.2! Anyway Federer thrashed Seppi in the other SF which then led to the Top two Seed clash, eventually Federer loses to Nadal again. I wonder if Federer will make the Final of Roland Garros this year. Anyway Roland Garros is a fortnight away and I'm so excited as I will also be less busy then so will be able to watch it.
Anyway on the women's side Jelena Jankovic reclaimed her title against Alize Cornet!?! Anyway Alize did superbly to get to the final and I congratulate her for beating her opponents. But by the Quatres I had guessed that if Jelena won her match against Venus - knowing that Serena had lost already that Jelena was going to take the title as Sharapova looked in average form. I have a bad feeling that Jelena may see a surge into the Roland Garros final! Anyway I think we may be in for a shock final for Roland garros.
Anyway on the women's side Jelena Jankovic reclaimed her title against Alize Cornet!?! Anyway Alize did superbly to get to the final and I congratulate her for beating her opponents. But by the Quatres I had guessed that if Jelena won her match against Venus - knowing that Serena had lost already that Jelena was going to take the title as Sharapova looked in average form. I have a bad feeling that Jelena may see a surge into the Roland Garros final! Anyway I think we may be in for a shock final for Roland garros.
Friday 16 May 2008
Shock!
This post was originally wriiten for Wednesday but because Blogger said it couldn't fulfill my request I had to retype it today.
What a shock it has been this week and it has mainly been because of Justine Henin's retirement. Personally I don't understand the reason unless she thinks she won't get back to the best of her form and thinks she will eventually drop I don't know why she has decided to leave. The timing is the most awkward of it all as it is just before Roland Garros - a title which she has dominated in recent years. I would have thought she would say I quit after Roland Garros. She's such a great player that I wish her well but I feel dissapointed that the game is losing one of their best players. Now besides the Williams sisters who are on and off in the tour I don't have anybody who are in my extreme favourites. Now that Justine has gone Roland Garros will be wide open, the problem is I don't see anyone being favourite for the title who deserves it. Sharapova must be very happy now as she has an even stronger chance to win another Grand Slam. To be honest I think Maria has come to the tour at a great time as it is kind of in between the change of times where the old leaves us and the new are coming in, she is at the top of her game at this point so she has the chance to win many GS. Overall I think the tour has lost a great player who I admire so much and I think the hole would take time to replace - just hope the Williams won't retire soon as I'll need to find another favourite and Nicole is filling that spot yet. Currently the person most likely to ascend the thrown is Maria Sharapova as I never really disliked her she was just an on and off for me and currently I like her more than most of the top 10.
Well back to the tournament and what an interesting week it has been! Well I think this is the best time to post as both tournaments are at their QF stages. Firstly the loss of Ivanovic was unexpected for me especially against Pironkova who must be on top of the moon. I was really hoping Victoria could achieve another QF placing but sadly she retired.
The next part didn't interest me as much as I never really liked Chakvetadze as I think her performances don't reflect in her rankings (she's ranked too high maybe top teens). However I seem to be liking the Bondarenko sisters maybe they will fill in for the Williams after they retire! Alize Cornet did very good also by beating Svetlana Kuznetsova who I thought would be on route to play Serena Williams after her thrashing of Olga Govortsova. However noe best of all is that Serena has a generally easy route to tackle to get to the finals, besides Serena I don't want to see anyone else in the finals really as I want a Williams final as I haven't see that recently.
The toughest match left will definitelt be Venus against Jelena and I definitely hope Venus will rise above her. I also congratulate Maria Kirilenko here for reaching the third round and also Flavia Pennetta for getting to the second round. On the last quartet it is Patty vs. Sharapova, my gut instinct was that if Bartoli was to play Schyder that she would lose and that came true - even though it was a tough scoreline of 4-6,6-4,7-6(7). Well Maria definitely doesn't look on form so maybe the Williams final will not be that difficult to achieve. One thing I have to say is that I'm losing faith in Nicole, even though I know I should stick with her she isn't producing enough for me to stay positive, this time around she lost to Ekaterina Makarova. If she really isn't feeling well I think she should give herself a rest even if it means missing Roland garros as at current rate she isn't even going to make it past Round 2!
Well the mens game has seen the dominant three reprise their roles in the QF's and probably the SF's but their were definitely some shocks in this draw.
Firstly I have to comment how all the Top French players currently seem to withering away (this does not include Alize Cornet I'm talking about top 20). Tsonga looks like a one hit wonder and hasn't been able to do anything special after the Australian Open whilst Richard Gasquet is suffering a similar fate. Mikhail sadly lost out which was a shame as he was doing so well last year. Also I'm quite shocked that Ferrer didn't make it to the QF's as I never though Verdasco would get their. Davydenko also suffered a defeat to Kiefer causing Federer to not play a seed until he reaches the final! Just like Djokovic last week. Richard sadly lossed to Seppi which I feel dissapointed about as he's going down the drain again.
Blake sadly lost to Tipsaveric who lost to Montanes, however that gives Djokovic and easier task so I'm happy. I also congratulate Safin who made R3 which I never thought he would, It's great as he beat Berdych and nearly beat Moya (if it wasn't for as always his weak last set). However it's interesting as the week before I said I have lost hope for Safin but now he plays better - maybe I should lose hope in him more often! Anyway sadly Murray had to lose in his birthday (I think it is anyway) However nobody expected him to beat Nadal.
What a shock it has been this week and it has mainly been because of Justine Henin's retirement. Personally I don't understand the reason unless she thinks she won't get back to the best of her form and thinks she will eventually drop I don't know why she has decided to leave. The timing is the most awkward of it all as it is just before Roland Garros - a title which she has dominated in recent years. I would have thought she would say I quit after Roland Garros. She's such a great player that I wish her well but I feel dissapointed that the game is losing one of their best players. Now besides the Williams sisters who are on and off in the tour I don't have anybody who are in my extreme favourites. Now that Justine has gone Roland Garros will be wide open, the problem is I don't see anyone being favourite for the title who deserves it. Sharapova must be very happy now as she has an even stronger chance to win another Grand Slam. To be honest I think Maria has come to the tour at a great time as it is kind of in between the change of times where the old leaves us and the new are coming in, she is at the top of her game at this point so she has the chance to win many GS. Overall I think the tour has lost a great player who I admire so much and I think the hole would take time to replace - just hope the Williams won't retire soon as I'll need to find another favourite and Nicole is filling that spot yet. Currently the person most likely to ascend the thrown is Maria Sharapova as I never really disliked her she was just an on and off for me and currently I like her more than most of the top 10.
Well back to the tournament and what an interesting week it has been! Well I think this is the best time to post as both tournaments are at their QF stages. Firstly the loss of Ivanovic was unexpected for me especially against Pironkova who must be on top of the moon. I was really hoping Victoria could achieve another QF placing but sadly she retired.
The next part didn't interest me as much as I never really liked Chakvetadze as I think her performances don't reflect in her rankings (she's ranked too high maybe top teens). However I seem to be liking the Bondarenko sisters maybe they will fill in for the Williams after they retire! Alize Cornet did very good also by beating Svetlana Kuznetsova who I thought would be on route to play Serena Williams after her thrashing of Olga Govortsova. However noe best of all is that Serena has a generally easy route to tackle to get to the finals, besides Serena I don't want to see anyone else in the finals really as I want a Williams final as I haven't see that recently.
The toughest match left will definitelt be Venus against Jelena and I definitely hope Venus will rise above her. I also congratulate Maria Kirilenko here for reaching the third round and also Flavia Pennetta for getting to the second round. On the last quartet it is Patty vs. Sharapova, my gut instinct was that if Bartoli was to play Schyder that she would lose and that came true - even though it was a tough scoreline of 4-6,6-4,7-6(7). Well Maria definitely doesn't look on form so maybe the Williams final will not be that difficult to achieve. One thing I have to say is that I'm losing faith in Nicole, even though I know I should stick with her she isn't producing enough for me to stay positive, this time around she lost to Ekaterina Makarova. If she really isn't feeling well I think she should give herself a rest even if it means missing Roland garros as at current rate she isn't even going to make it past Round 2!
Well the mens game has seen the dominant three reprise their roles in the QF's and probably the SF's but their were definitely some shocks in this draw.
Firstly I have to comment how all the Top French players currently seem to withering away (this does not include Alize Cornet I'm talking about top 20). Tsonga looks like a one hit wonder and hasn't been able to do anything special after the Australian Open whilst Richard Gasquet is suffering a similar fate. Mikhail sadly lost out which was a shame as he was doing so well last year. Also I'm quite shocked that Ferrer didn't make it to the QF's as I never though Verdasco would get their. Davydenko also suffered a defeat to Kiefer causing Federer to not play a seed until he reaches the final! Just like Djokovic last week. Richard sadly lossed to Seppi which I feel dissapointed about as he's going down the drain again.
Blake sadly lost to Tipsaveric who lost to Montanes, however that gives Djokovic and easier task so I'm happy. I also congratulate Safin who made R3 which I never thought he would, It's great as he beat Berdych and nearly beat Moya (if it wasn't for as always his weak last set). However it's interesting as the week before I said I have lost hope for Safin but now he plays better - maybe I should lose hope in him more often! Anyway sadly Murray had to lose in his birthday (I think it is anyway) However nobody expected him to beat Nadal.
Wednesday 14 May 2008
Wait a sec!
I'm so annoyed I typed up a long post like a few minutes ago and blogger said it couldn't complete my request - I'm not sure if I have the patience to do it again as I'm currently quite busy until tomorrow afternoon. Anyway sad to see Justine leave the tour.
Saturday 10 May 2008
Another two major tournaments
After all the shocks of Qatar and the BNL we have another BNL and Hamburg to look forward to. Would another round of shocks occur or would a seed win the tournament! The BNL draw is very interesting however with the loss of Justine we'll not know whether her form going into Roland Garros is really diminished.
Anyway Ana Ivanovic is the top seed which I still cannot come around to. I just don't see her as a top 3 player! Anyway she has Dinara Safina in her draw and annoyingly Dinara will play Azarenka in the 1st round - that is taking the mickey. Anyway I'm not sure if Dinara would have enough in the tank to play against Ivanovic. Chakvetadze is the adjacent seed - I don't like the sound of Ivanovic/Chakvetadze. I really do hope Dinara will get into another final! Anyway Svetlana yet again has an easy draw - however after last week I don't know whether I could bet on her in the Quaters. Anyway Serena has the luck of playing Alona (who was in form at Qatar and then a possible Agnes Szavay - I just hope Serena will be fine. And we finally see Venus in a major draw but on Clay I'm not sure whether she'll win or sponteously combust. Michaella is also here so I wish her luck. The next draw contains Kirilenko/Pennetta - two of my favourite non top 20 players - I hope they do well. Anyway Jankovic and Mauresmo close this line up so I don't know what to guess here. Bartoli yet again has an easy draw in my opinion so I'm annoyed whilst Nicole has a more difficult draw compared to in Qatar so I really doubt she'll get back to form. It's rare that I don't dislike any player in one section of a draw. The only person which I don't like or hate is Tamira Paszek in the Vaidisova/Sharapova section. Well who will win - I highly doubt it would be a shock like last week!
The Master Series Hamburg also possesses an interesting line up and I'm interested to see who'll come out on top. Federer doesn't have (in my opinion) anyone who would shock him unless Tsonga can make a come back I think his draw should be ok for him. However I do wish to see Mikhail play Federer - which is possible. He may even beat Federer. Davydenko/Gasquet aren't in my opinion to strong a draw because both are unpredictable - they could be excellent and win the title or they could be dreadful and lose in the first rounds. I really do hope it will be gasquet who suceeds though. Blake/Berdych/Robredo are a good draw for Djokovic however we have seen Djokovic lose in the first rounds after winning a title the previous weeks, so we have to wait and see. Roddick hopefully should do fine in his average draw whilst lets hope Murray is back in form to play better tennis - it suits me anyway as if Murray loses then Tursunov wins! Anyway after last week I think Nadal would have had sufficient rest for this tournament (as well as a weak draw) I believe Nadal is the one to beat here.
Anyway Ana Ivanovic is the top seed which I still cannot come around to. I just don't see her as a top 3 player! Anyway she has Dinara Safina in her draw and annoyingly Dinara will play Azarenka in the 1st round - that is taking the mickey. Anyway I'm not sure if Dinara would have enough in the tank to play against Ivanovic. Chakvetadze is the adjacent seed - I don't like the sound of Ivanovic/Chakvetadze. I really do hope Dinara will get into another final! Anyway Svetlana yet again has an easy draw - however after last week I don't know whether I could bet on her in the Quaters. Anyway Serena has the luck of playing Alona (who was in form at Qatar and then a possible Agnes Szavay - I just hope Serena will be fine. And we finally see Venus in a major draw but on Clay I'm not sure whether she'll win or sponteously combust. Michaella is also here so I wish her luck. The next draw contains Kirilenko/Pennetta - two of my favourite non top 20 players - I hope they do well. Anyway Jankovic and Mauresmo close this line up so I don't know what to guess here. Bartoli yet again has an easy draw in my opinion so I'm annoyed whilst Nicole has a more difficult draw compared to in Qatar so I really doubt she'll get back to form. It's rare that I don't dislike any player in one section of a draw. The only person which I don't like or hate is Tamira Paszek in the Vaidisova/Sharapova section. Well who will win - I highly doubt it would be a shock like last week!
The Master Series Hamburg also possesses an interesting line up and I'm interested to see who'll come out on top. Federer doesn't have (in my opinion) anyone who would shock him unless Tsonga can make a come back I think his draw should be ok for him. However I do wish to see Mikhail play Federer - which is possible. He may even beat Federer. Davydenko/Gasquet aren't in my opinion to strong a draw because both are unpredictable - they could be excellent and win the title or they could be dreadful and lose in the first rounds. I really do hope it will be gasquet who suceeds though. Blake/Berdych/Robredo are a good draw for Djokovic however we have seen Djokovic lose in the first rounds after winning a title the previous weeks, so we have to wait and see. Roddick hopefully should do fine in his average draw whilst lets hope Murray is back in form to play better tennis - it suits me anyway as if Murray loses then Tursunov wins! Anyway after last week I think Nadal would have had sufficient rest for this tournament (as well as a weak draw) I believe Nadal is the one to beat here.
Unexpected!
This week has been full of upsets and who would of thought the last 4 of both the tournaments would be these 4.
Roger Federer and Justine Henin the top players coming into the tournament were both ousted before the Semis. Justine fell to an inspired Dinara Safina whilst Stanislas Wawrinka broke Federer in what will be his best win so far in his career. On the whole what happened to both of them or was it the destructive force of Safina and Wawrinka. We may believe that Safina and Wawrinka had a huge part to play in the loss of the two top seeds but I have to say both seemed much weaker compared to their previous performances. We have seen Federer slowly dying out of the dominace of tennis losing 6 matches already - as much as he has lost in the whole of previous years whilst Justine Henin is struggling to find the form which she had for the past two years. Will the No.1's be knocked off the spot this year! It will definitely be difficult for them to dominate the game like last year but what lingers in my mind is the Women's Roland Garros. With Justine looking flushed away would their finally be another women to take the title. Would Ivanovic make it one step further or would the Williams sisters make a mark in France, or could it be the many other top 20 players who are fighting for their 1st GS, Overall this year it is wide open I believe - no one looks in form to capture this title - and if Nicole was in form I would actually bet on her to have a chance to reach the final!
Well enough with the No.1 rant let me go into a detailed view of the draw and results.
Guillermo Canas' difficult first round definitely solidified the fact that he wasn't going to beat Federer today and that was seen when Federer comfortably cruised past him. We were seeing generally a Federer scoreline - not too difficult and not a thrashing. It was dissapointing seeing Richard Gasquet go aswell as Dmitry Tursunov, that left the draw wide open with both the seeds gone, this gave Radek Stepanek the chance to claim glory - however nobody would have guessed that glory meant he would defeat Roger Federer!
Djokovic was the stalwart of his draw and saved grace for the top seeds - all of the top seeds have been inconsistent this year but Djokovic has been slightly less. Ivan Ljubicic also showed that he wasn't going to return to the top echelons of tennis with his defeat by Steve Darcis.
Another thing that has been prominent in this tournament is the amount of retirements. The first seed to retire on the first half of the draw was Fernando Gonzalez which gave Almagro - who had previously beaten Nalbandian the chance to shine. However he then retired against Djokovic! And then a flustered Radek Stepanek withdrew against Djokovic.
On the other side Andy Roddick played well against a good draw. Jo Wilfred Tsonga showed that his form was only once lived whilst Davydenko lost out to Robredo. Well done to Ancic also. And who was to guess that the winner of the 4th group would be Stanislas Wawrinka who now plays against Djokovic in the final! With Nadal in this draw everyone seemed to put the money on him (including me) Moya and Blake were also possible fill ins if a shocking defeat for Nadal was to happen, even Murray and Ferrero would have been more expected than Wawrinka. Well in the end Wawrinka was able to ride against the luck of not having Nadal as well as beating some of my favourite players! Safin/Murray/Blake. I would also like to say - why are my favourite players dwindling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nicole and Murray my next hopefuls are losing their game.
Anyway it is quite amazing that the semifinals were decided by two retirements from Stepanek and Roddick, though I would have liked to see Roddick play Djokovic. Though Djokovic should now have this safely in the bag - and without playing a single seed! That's what I'm talking about ;-)
This week all my predictions have basically gone down the drain - from saying Dinara Safina not being a major threat, Svetlana having an easy draw Federer playing Djokovic in the semis and Justine and Nadal being strong competitors for this tournament. However I understand Nadal's loss as he has been playing so many matches recently - he should have skipped last week.
Anyway on the women's side we thought Henin was getting back to form with her thrashing of Yung-Jan Chan, however Safina toppled the clay court master. She then further shocked the crowd by defeating Williams who was playing exceptionally in the last two games. Another shocker in the system was Victoria Azarenka however I did say Svetlana's draw was easy meaing without Svetlana the draw would be wide open. I'm sad that Nicole lost in the first round but congrats to both Alona and Victoria. Also congratulations to Maria Kirilenko for beating Nadia. I was also amazed when Elena beat Jelena - I did think however Jelena was dying away this year and it looks to be true. Ana on the other hand has been out of all this commotion and I think she beat Agnes. Incoming report - Ana has left the tournament - beaten by Elena who has a massive winning record against Ana I think it is 4-0. Anyway this solidifies my point of saying how many upsets there has been. Besides Djokovic who would have guessed that Wawrinka, Safina and Dementieva would completet the final draws! I now have to eat my word for saying Elena and Dinara as not being threats as now either one of them would win the title. It also quite interesting that Elena beat both Jelena and Ana - how many people have done that in a single tournament - just wondering. Anyway who do you think we'll win between Dinara and Elena, I personally think both deserve it but I'd rather Safina win it because she hasn't won much in the recent years. But with this performance the Roland Garros is going to be an interesting Grand Slam!
Roger Federer and Justine Henin the top players coming into the tournament were both ousted before the Semis. Justine fell to an inspired Dinara Safina whilst Stanislas Wawrinka broke Federer in what will be his best win so far in his career. On the whole what happened to both of them or was it the destructive force of Safina and Wawrinka. We may believe that Safina and Wawrinka had a huge part to play in the loss of the two top seeds but I have to say both seemed much weaker compared to their previous performances. We have seen Federer slowly dying out of the dominace of tennis losing 6 matches already - as much as he has lost in the whole of previous years whilst Justine Henin is struggling to find the form which she had for the past two years. Will the No.1's be knocked off the spot this year! It will definitely be difficult for them to dominate the game like last year but what lingers in my mind is the Women's Roland Garros. With Justine looking flushed away would their finally be another women to take the title. Would Ivanovic make it one step further or would the Williams sisters make a mark in France, or could it be the many other top 20 players who are fighting for their 1st GS, Overall this year it is wide open I believe - no one looks in form to capture this title - and if Nicole was in form I would actually bet on her to have a chance to reach the final!
Well enough with the No.1 rant let me go into a detailed view of the draw and results.
Guillermo Canas' difficult first round definitely solidified the fact that he wasn't going to beat Federer today and that was seen when Federer comfortably cruised past him. We were seeing generally a Federer scoreline - not too difficult and not a thrashing. It was dissapointing seeing Richard Gasquet go aswell as Dmitry Tursunov, that left the draw wide open with both the seeds gone, this gave Radek Stepanek the chance to claim glory - however nobody would have guessed that glory meant he would defeat Roger Federer!
Djokovic was the stalwart of his draw and saved grace for the top seeds - all of the top seeds have been inconsistent this year but Djokovic has been slightly less. Ivan Ljubicic also showed that he wasn't going to return to the top echelons of tennis with his defeat by Steve Darcis.
Another thing that has been prominent in this tournament is the amount of retirements. The first seed to retire on the first half of the draw was Fernando Gonzalez which gave Almagro - who had previously beaten Nalbandian the chance to shine. However he then retired against Djokovic! And then a flustered Radek Stepanek withdrew against Djokovic.
On the other side Andy Roddick played well against a good draw. Jo Wilfred Tsonga showed that his form was only once lived whilst Davydenko lost out to Robredo. Well done to Ancic also. And who was to guess that the winner of the 4th group would be Stanislas Wawrinka who now plays against Djokovic in the final! With Nadal in this draw everyone seemed to put the money on him (including me) Moya and Blake were also possible fill ins if a shocking defeat for Nadal was to happen, even Murray and Ferrero would have been more expected than Wawrinka. Well in the end Wawrinka was able to ride against the luck of not having Nadal as well as beating some of my favourite players! Safin/Murray/Blake. I would also like to say - why are my favourite players dwindling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nicole and Murray my next hopefuls are losing their game.
Anyway it is quite amazing that the semifinals were decided by two retirements from Stepanek and Roddick, though I would have liked to see Roddick play Djokovic. Though Djokovic should now have this safely in the bag - and without playing a single seed! That's what I'm talking about ;-)
This week all my predictions have basically gone down the drain - from saying Dinara Safina not being a major threat, Svetlana having an easy draw Federer playing Djokovic in the semis and Justine and Nadal being strong competitors for this tournament. However I understand Nadal's loss as he has been playing so many matches recently - he should have skipped last week.
Anyway on the women's side we thought Henin was getting back to form with her thrashing of Yung-Jan Chan, however Safina toppled the clay court master. She then further shocked the crowd by defeating Williams who was playing exceptionally in the last two games. Another shocker in the system was Victoria Azarenka however I did say Svetlana's draw was easy meaing without Svetlana the draw would be wide open. I'm sad that Nicole lost in the first round but congrats to both Alona and Victoria. Also congratulations to Maria Kirilenko for beating Nadia. I was also amazed when Elena beat Jelena - I did think however Jelena was dying away this year and it looks to be true. Ana on the other hand has been out of all this commotion and I think she beat Agnes. Incoming report - Ana has left the tournament - beaten by Elena who has a massive winning record against Ana I think it is 4-0. Anyway this solidifies my point of saying how many upsets there has been. Besides Djokovic who would have guessed that Wawrinka, Safina and Dementieva would completet the final draws! I now have to eat my word for saying Elena and Dinara as not being threats as now either one of them would win the title. It also quite interesting that Elena beat both Jelena and Ana - how many people have done that in a single tournament - just wondering. Anyway who do you think we'll win between Dinara and Elena, I personally think both deserve it but I'd rather Safina win it because she hasn't won much in the recent years. But with this performance the Roland Garros is going to be an interesting Grand Slam!
Wednesday 7 May 2008
Internazionali BNL d'Italia
Federer seems to be doing better recently but I still don't think he is near his form in the past which basically means there is only one way to go and that is down. He shouldn't have a problem in his third round match and his 4th round match should be fine as well. I'm dissapointed with Richard Gasquet as he is showing himself to be a male Marion Bartoli - one hit wonder. Dmitry also sadly got caught out. Djokovic is fighting strong also and I don't see a possible change in the Semi final line up of Federer Vs. Djokovic - lets hope Djokovic will come out on top this time. Besides the shock of Nicole Vaidisova there isn't much to say - what I'm most annoyed with is that she has been losing a lot of opportunities to go further into the tournament as her draw isn't extremely strong currently. I'm also slightly dissapointed in how safarova did - she is really going down the drain.
Demise of a Possible Star?
Ok it's not as bad as a demise but it is definitely looking bleak for one of my favourite new players... know who I'm talking about yet - it is non other than Nicole Vaidisova. Her results aren't enough to say that she is going down the drain but this year she hasn't stacked up a formidable set of results. With 3 early departures in the 3 most recent events she has played in I'm not sure she is in winning form for the likes of Roland Garros. This was especially against Alisa Kleybanova - is she going to follow the steps of Tracy Austin. I just feel slightly dissapointed and I'm not sure why she is losing so oftenly, is it the new coach or illness or what?
Sunday 4 May 2008
Two Clay Tournaments
Well this week we'll have the pleasure of knowing that two Red Clay tournaments will be held on both the Men's and Women's draws being the Qatar Telecom and the Internazionali BNL d'Italia what I failed to mention was that the probability of Henin and Nadal taking these titles is still high. Who has been able to take a clay court event from Nadal since his debut! Then we have Justine who though is still falling in terms of how good she has been doing this year compared to last year is still a favourite for any clay tournament.
Firstly in Germany Justine has a tough draw in my perspective, though Dinara should not be a problem nor any other in that part og the draw but the possibility of playing Serena is lurking underneath and for sure Justine will need to play her best game to overcome such a bad loss to Serena a few weeks ago. Personally I always give Serena the benefit of the doubt and expect her to get to at least the Quatres but the reality is different, hopefully as her draw is not too challenging she'll get to mett Justine.
Svetlana doesn't have a difficult draw in my opinion and that's what gets me annoyed a lot of the times is that some players always get easy draws and get to the finals! Anyway the bottom of that draw is much more interesting. We have Anna who hasn't been doing well lately as the top seed. Gisela Dulko, Tatiana Golovin, Caroline Wozniacki and Casey Dellacqua are good players to fill the draw whilst Victoria Azarenka can shock if she's on a good day. What I'm anticipating is Nicole, she has been doing awfully lately compared to last year however her clay court is strong and with a huge gap in the draw for her to excel I hope she can get to the quarters.
Dementieva and jankovic head the next quarter of the draw. I personally think this draw is also lacking in a possible winner, not saying either won't win I just think that the possibilities are stacked against them - however a possible match up against Ivanovic may allow them to be refreshed for a final fight! Patty and Nadia aren't to much of a threat although on a good day Dementieva could be knocked out by Patty. Kirilenko is also in this draw and I wish her the best of luck. Jankovic in my mind is a stalwart but not a legend as such. I have been comparing a lot of players to their predecessors lately and I think Jankovic will be a less successful Linday Davenport. I think she'll be in the game for a long time and get a good set of results but in the end what people are going to remember her for is the amount of years she spends on the top 20 of the tour.
Bartoli as you all well know is the player I dislike the most, however her draw gives her possibilities of going further, if she doesn't she'll be officially dead in my book! Anyway I wish Lucie would get back to form as she has been losing it recently. And of course I'll support Zi Yan! Michaella will also be on my cheering list and I actually hope Amelie will play better as I still think Ana doesn't deserve a lot of the finals she gets to and in this draw yet again she has a weaker field to handle compared to the top half.
Well the Internazionali BNL d'Italia has a strong set of players as well but who will be the finalists - we all are quite sure that Nadal will make the cut but is Federer back for a vengeance or will he continue to lose his legendary form! What gives Federer the edge compared to most players is his consistency but recently that hasn't been at its best.
I really do hope Guillermo can cut Federer to pieces but I highly doubt that because Canas has been in the shadow of his performances last year. Richard Gasquet and Ferrer are an ok draw but is it me of is Tursunov always being drawn next to Gasquet! Anyway I hope Gasquet gets the upper hand this time as he is quickly decipating like his compatriots.
Djokovic as everyone knows is my favourite top 5 player currently and with a good draw he should be able to make the semis (hopefully) Ivan Ljubicic should be ok for Djokovic whilst Juan Monaco shouldn't be a threat. What lurks beneath is Naldandian which he'll have to be careful against. Roddick is my next favourite player currently but his clay court repertoire isn't strong - nor is any of the American players actually. Tsonga is proving to be a one hit wonder so I think if Roddick does get to meet him he'll be fine. What I am most hoping for is the revival of Mario Ancic who has been doing amazingly in many tournaments, hopefully Davydenko wouldn't be too much for him. Though I hope Blake will get to play Nadal I highly doubt it but his draw isn't the toughest in this tournament so who knows. Andy Murray also better play better or he'll drop rankings quickly. I think by now I have actually lost any hope of Marat finding form again - though last week he did exceed expectations I think it is better for me not to put high hopes for him. Of course yet again my favourite final would be Djokovic against Roddick but that looks to be a difficult task. Let's just hope it will be Gasquet Vs. Djokovic and Roddick Vs. Murray/Safin - I can only hope for it.
Firstly in Germany Justine has a tough draw in my perspective, though Dinara should not be a problem nor any other in that part og the draw but the possibility of playing Serena is lurking underneath and for sure Justine will need to play her best game to overcome such a bad loss to Serena a few weeks ago. Personally I always give Serena the benefit of the doubt and expect her to get to at least the Quatres but the reality is different, hopefully as her draw is not too challenging she'll get to mett Justine.
Svetlana doesn't have a difficult draw in my opinion and that's what gets me annoyed a lot of the times is that some players always get easy draws and get to the finals! Anyway the bottom of that draw is much more interesting. We have Anna who hasn't been doing well lately as the top seed. Gisela Dulko, Tatiana Golovin, Caroline Wozniacki and Casey Dellacqua are good players to fill the draw whilst Victoria Azarenka can shock if she's on a good day. What I'm anticipating is Nicole, she has been doing awfully lately compared to last year however her clay court is strong and with a huge gap in the draw for her to excel I hope she can get to the quarters.
Dementieva and jankovic head the next quarter of the draw. I personally think this draw is also lacking in a possible winner, not saying either won't win I just think that the possibilities are stacked against them - however a possible match up against Ivanovic may allow them to be refreshed for a final fight! Patty and Nadia aren't to much of a threat although on a good day Dementieva could be knocked out by Patty. Kirilenko is also in this draw and I wish her the best of luck. Jankovic in my mind is a stalwart but not a legend as such. I have been comparing a lot of players to their predecessors lately and I think Jankovic will be a less successful Linday Davenport. I think she'll be in the game for a long time and get a good set of results but in the end what people are going to remember her for is the amount of years she spends on the top 20 of the tour.
Bartoli as you all well know is the player I dislike the most, however her draw gives her possibilities of going further, if she doesn't she'll be officially dead in my book! Anyway I wish Lucie would get back to form as she has been losing it recently. And of course I'll support Zi Yan! Michaella will also be on my cheering list and I actually hope Amelie will play better as I still think Ana doesn't deserve a lot of the finals she gets to and in this draw yet again she has a weaker field to handle compared to the top half.
Well the Internazionali BNL d'Italia has a strong set of players as well but who will be the finalists - we all are quite sure that Nadal will make the cut but is Federer back for a vengeance or will he continue to lose his legendary form! What gives Federer the edge compared to most players is his consistency but recently that hasn't been at its best.
I really do hope Guillermo can cut Federer to pieces but I highly doubt that because Canas has been in the shadow of his performances last year. Richard Gasquet and Ferrer are an ok draw but is it me of is Tursunov always being drawn next to Gasquet! Anyway I hope Gasquet gets the upper hand this time as he is quickly decipating like his compatriots.
Djokovic as everyone knows is my favourite top 5 player currently and with a good draw he should be able to make the semis (hopefully) Ivan Ljubicic should be ok for Djokovic whilst Juan Monaco shouldn't be a threat. What lurks beneath is Naldandian which he'll have to be careful against. Roddick is my next favourite player currently but his clay court repertoire isn't strong - nor is any of the American players actually. Tsonga is proving to be a one hit wonder so I think if Roddick does get to meet him he'll be fine. What I am most hoping for is the revival of Mario Ancic who has been doing amazingly in many tournaments, hopefully Davydenko wouldn't be too much for him. Though I hope Blake will get to play Nadal I highly doubt it but his draw isn't the toughest in this tournament so who knows. Andy Murray also better play better or he'll drop rankings quickly. I think by now I have actually lost any hope of Marat finding form again - though last week he did exceed expectations I think it is better for me not to put high hopes for him. Of course yet again my favourite final would be Djokovic against Roddick but that looks to be a difficult task. Let's just hope it will be Gasquet Vs. Djokovic and Roddick Vs. Murray/Safin - I can only hope for it.
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