For a while, this looked like a straight set match for Djokovic. Djokovic broke to take the first set, 7-5, then again, to take the second, 6-4. Then, it seemed like Djokovic was going to suffer from health issues, a problem that knocked him out of the Australian Open, and partly explained why he lost
On this, the most match-laden day of any Slam, all fourth round matches are played. Federer was up early and won his match quickly over Jurgen Melzer. There were eight men's matches scheduled for today. Two more are completed not including Federer's win. Tsonga played countryman Benneteau and got off to a quick start winning
Due to some previous commitments, I couldn't see any of the day's matches. Although I thought maybe Petzschner might give Nadal trouble because he gave Federer trouble in Queen's, I didn't think he'd take two sets off Nadal. The last two sets resemble the Haase match, i.e., it seems Nadal figured out what to do
Let's take a quick rundown of Saturday's matches. Petzschner vs. Nadal (Centre Court, Match 2) Petzschner was a bit unlucky. The last player not to get seeded, he was "awarded" the 33rd seed when Ernests Gulbis withdrew shortly after the draw was announced. Petzschner was moved to Gulbis's position in the draw, which meant the
Going into the French Open, you'd give it a toss-up as to who was playing better after Rafael Nadal: David Ferrer or Fernando Verdasco. I mean, sure you could point to Roger Federer, but he only had one good tournament, and two "bad" ones (Estoril and Rome). You wouldn't have expected David Ferrer to struggle
With all the rain that affected play on Wednesday and Thursday, matches were backlogged. Matches that were supposed to be played Thursday were pushed into today. In an effort to catch up, matches that were originally planned for today, i.e. 3rd round matches, were played today. All top 5 seeds play Friday which include Federer,
If you watch enough tennis, you see beyond the names most people know, beyond Federer, Nadal, beyond Tsonga, Roddick, beyond Querrey, and start to see names like Andreas Seppi, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Thomaz Bellucci. You'll see names like Victor Hanescu and Janko Tipsarevic. These are the guys whose ranks typically float in the 30s or 40s,
I'll do one preview now and maybe a modified preview once the draw is out. This preview is primarily based on how players are playing now. Let's start with the top contenders for the French Open. Favorites Rafael Nadal You have to give Rafa the nod heading into the French. Although there were some issues
There was something that was going to give. Either Federer's 9-0 record over Ferrer would end, or Federer would show he's still got some game left. There was some thought Ferrer might be able to topple Federer, partly because he's been the most "successful" clay court player this season, if you measure success purely by
Well, the final that people were hoping for, but thinking they might not get, might actually happen. At the beginning of Madrid, Roger Federer had lost to Albert Montanes, a player not even in the top 20, in the semifinals of Estoril. Federer's game in Estoril looked pretty much liked it did in Rome, which
