You know how it is. You play someone who doesn't move as fast as they did when they were young, and they begin to bust out "old man" shots. Drop shots. Lobs. No one would accuse Roger Federer of being an old man, but as he gets older, he's relying on diversifying his game beyond
Roger Federer (SUI) vs. Peter Luczak (AUS) Roger Federer opens his defense of Roland Garros by playing Australian, Peter Luczak. He is the second match on court at Court Philippe Chatrier.  These two have never played each other. Quick. If you had to guess, is Luczak a young guy or an old guy (for a
Most players on the tour aren't the glamor players, the players who contend for a title, the names you see in draws every day. They aren't Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. They aren't even Juan Monaco or Thomas Bellucci who routinely make the main draws of ATP events. Instead, they are like Daniel Brands of
Robin Soderling played a French wildcard and, as expected, didn't have too many issues. He beat Laurent Recouderc 6-0, 6-2, 6-3. Although his results in the clay season have not been exceptional (he reached the finals of Barcelona, but has lost early in other tournaments), Soderling feels he has trained well. Marin Cilic had a
I don't plan on doing too many previews, but here's the first. The French Open unlike other tournaments opens play on a Sunday. This allows them to schedule their rounds better and to have 3 Sundays, presumably to make more money. Let's look at a few key matches. I'll follow the convention that Wikipedia sets.Â
It's been a long road back. On May 9, 2009, it was reported that Richard Gasquet had used cocaine and was provisionally suspended. The amounts were considered rather small. Gasquet claimed this was due to kissing a dancer in Miami. Gasquet was eventually cleared to play just before the US Open and has spent the
Is it worth playing a tennis tournament the week before a Slam? One player that has a habit of playing up to a Slam is Fernando Verdasco. Last year, Verdasco played the Pilot Pen Classic the week before the US Open and beat Sam Querrey to win the title. He reached the quarterfinals of the
The French Open released the draws earlier today. Let's begin by seeing who is missing. Clearly, Juan Martin del Potro and Nikolay Davydenko are missing. del Potro reached the semis last year and pushed Roger Federer to five sets. Davydenko reached the quarters and lost to eventual finalist, Robin Soderling. Lower down, Radek Stepanek is
Most of the top pros like to spend the week before a Slam putting in last minute prep work. For example, Federer, Nadal, Murray, and Djokovic are not playing this week. However, there's almost always a tournament that is played the week before a Slam because some pros want match practice all the way up
Wayne Odesnik is one of those names that only the most avid of tennis fans know. There are more well-known American players: Andy Roddick, James Blake, Sam Querrey, John Isner, even Robby Ginepri and Mardy Fish. Odesnik is a lefty clay court player born in South Africa. Earlier this year, Odesnik illegally brought HGH to
