FRENCH OPEN 2009: Men's Final Preview

Robin Soderling SWE (23) vs. Roger Federer SUI (2). For the fourth year in a row, Roger Federer is in the Roland Garros final, his 19th career final, matching Ivan Lendl's career record. However, for the first time, Federer will not have his arch-nemesis standing in the way of a major title in Paris. The new opponent is Robin Soderling, who executed one of the great tennis upsets of all time last Sunday when he dismissed World #1 Rafael Nadal (who had never lost a match at the French Open!) in four sets 6-2 6-7(2) 6-4 7-6(2).

When 4-time defending champion Nadal lost in the fourth round, most people thought that Federer became the prohibitive favorite to win the 2009 Roland Garros title. However, since then Federer needed 5 sets to get past a spirited challenge from Tommy Haas in the fourth round and another 5 sets to get past Juan Martin del Potro in the semifinals. Federer was 5-0 and had never lost a set to the Argentine kid but the del Potro who competed on Friday easily won the first set and put up stiff resistance for nearly 3 and a half hours, finally succumbing 3-6 7-6(2) 2-6 6-1 6-4. And this wasn't even the best match of the day, that honor was bestowed upon the barnburner Fernando Gonzalez and Soderling threw down.

Soderling started off very well, winning the first two sets by blasting winners and serving big and got himself to within 6 points of winning during the 3rd set. Then Gonzalez managed to hold, break and hold and suddenly Soderling went through a bad patch and found himself down 0--3 and 1-4 in the fifth and final set. Amazingly, Soderling was able to win 5 consecutive games to clinch his first ever Grand Slam final. He and Gonzo combined for a mind-boggling total of 143 winners, 75 by the eventual winner of the match.

Sunday's final will be huge for both players, but there's no question more of the pressure is on Federer. Everyone expects him to win, since he is no longer facing nadal. If Federer does win, he can silence (most of) the naysayers who would deny him title of the Greatest Of All Time by winning his 14th major title and completing his career Grand Slam. If Soderling wins, he will ensure his name will be enshrined in the history books, as one of the other men who denied (or delayed?) Federer achieving from achieving this status and who beat and replaced Nadal as the King of Clay.

Head-to-head Federer has played Soderling nine times on multiple surfaces and only ever lost one tiebreak set to him but very many of the sets have been close, showing that even before his Paris breakthrough the Swede was a dangerous opponent. The new Soderling is even more lethal, because he surely believes he is on a Mission with Destiny and he now also possesses a powerful, fit body to complement his powerful groundstrokes and nervy serving (120-plus mph second serves).

However, Federer is the most talented player of his generation and at the end of the day he should be able to use his versatility and variety to come up with a solution to win the match. It is also likely that since Soderling is playing in his first Grand Slam final, mentally he will be satisfied with the Finalist label, while Federer will settle for nothing less than his hands on the trophy at the end of the day, for the fourteenth time in a major.

Mad Professah's pick: Federer in 4 sets.

FRENCH OPEN 2009: Men's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the men's semifinal matches at Roland Garros this year:

Robin Soderling SWE (23) vs. Andy Murray GBR (3) Fernando Gonzalez CHI (12). Soderling followed up his unthinkable 4th Round dismissal of 4-time French Open champ Rafael Nadal by delivering a vicious beat down to former World #3 Nikolay Davydenko in the quarterfinals to reach his first careeer semifinal. The powerful Swede will next face the brilliant Chilean Fernando Gonzalez who knocked out The Great White Hope of the British Isles, Andy Murray. Gonzo was scintillating in victory, winning a 6-0 third set, although serving for the match at 5-3 in the 4th set he was promptly broken. Happily, Murray decided to gift him the very next service game by repeatedly dumping balls into the net and losing the match.

Soderling versus Gonzalez is an intriguing match-up. They both have very strong forehands, but Soderling also has a very powerful (two-handed) backhand, while Gonzalez also has an excellent one-handed backhand (both topspin and slice) but is probably overpowered on that wing. At 6'3", the Swede is at least 3 inches taller than the Chilean and has the powerful serve to show for it. Gonzalez definitely has the edge on movement and feel but Soderling is currently in the middle of one of the great historical momentum sweeps through a major tournament. Soderling has lost to Gonzalez the last 4 consecutive times (of 7) they played, including their very last match on clay in 2007. But this Robin Soderling is a completely different player. This should be the better of the two semifinals, almost definitely 4 or 5 sets, with the man with more nerve the final one standing.

PREDICTION: Soderling in 4 sets.

Juan Martin Del Potro ARG (5) vs. Roger Federer SUI (2). What a long, strange trip it has been.

Once Federer got past Tommy Haas to make the final 8 there were only two players left in the draw who had ever beaten him and they were facing each other in the same quarterfinal (Andy Murray and Fernando Gonzalez). Happily for the 13-time major champion, Gonzalez won that battle. Federer has played The Kid from Argentina 5 times in the last two years and never lost a set. In fact, just a few months ago in a 2009 Australian Open quarterfinal the Swiss player humiliated del Potro 6-3 6-0 6-0. He also dismissed The Kid in the semifinals of the Madrid clay Master tournament on his way to winning the title.

However, del Potro is the real deal, a 20-year-old who is 6'5" with overwhelming firepower in multiple departments: service, forehand amd backhand. He is starting to improve his movement as well as his mental toughness. I have no doubt that he will win a major title eventually, just not this one.

PREDICTION: Federer in 4 sets.

FRENCH OPEN 2009: Men's Quarterfinal Preview

Here are my predictions for men's quarterfinals at Roland Garros this year.

Rafael Nadal ESP (1) Robin Soderling SWE (23) vs. Nikolay Davydenko RUS (10). After pulling off one of the most stunning upsets of the year decade (possibly ever?) everyone is watching to see what the tall, newly muscled (and generally disliked) Swede will do in his very next match. He will play against the very steady Russian who has been ranked as high as #3 in the world but spent most of last year under a cloud due to an alleged match betting charges. Davydenko had an ungodly 6 unforced errors in his straight set demolition of the always dangerous Fernando Verdasco. It is unlikely that either Soderling or Davydenko will be able t repeat the magic of their 4th round victories in this round, but Soderling will not need it to make his first ever major semifinal. PREDICTION: Soderling in 4 sets.

Andy Murray GBR (3) vs. Fernando Gonzalez CHI (12). The Chilean has been silently cutting through the draw like a Ninja but will now run into a much improved and loud Scot, who is now the #3 player in the world and has nowhere to go but up. Gonzalez has an insanely huge forehand and is very good on clay but Murray possesses many powerful weapons in a deceptively innocuous-looking package: excellent movement, surprisingly powerful serve and a brilliant court sense. It seems very bizarre to say this, but it is very possible the first Grand Slam singles title by a British (male) subject since 1936(!) may be on French terre battue instead of the hallowed grass of Wimbledon. Murray knows the stakes and is itching to have another shot at facing Federer in a major final, having lost to him in the 2008 US Open Final. The 22-year-old Brit has won all three matches he has played against the Swiss 13-time major champion since. Easily. PREDICTION: Murray in 5 sets.

Juan Martin Del Potro ARG (5) vs. Tommy Robredo ESP (16).The two surprise quarterfinalists. Who would have thought that the lone handsome Spaniard left in the draw during the 5th Round would be Tommy Robredo? Del Potro is not really a surprise, but I had thought that French favorite Tsonga would use the crowd and his aggressive groundstrokes to take out the 6'5" Argentine like he defeated Juan Monaco in the second round. Alas, Le Mome (French slang for "The Kid") lost to the 20-year-old, the youngest of the quarterfinalists. Robredo definitely has some skills on clay but del Potro will blast him off the court. PREDICTION: Del Potro in 3 sets.

Gael Monfils FRA (11) Andy Roddick USA (6) vs. Roger Federer SUI (2).Sadly this was not André Roddique's year as the pulchritudinous Parisian took out The Quiet American in straights sets 6-2 6-2 6-3 in the fourth round before an increasingly boisterous and partisan crowd. Of course this quarterfinal match-up is a rematch of 2008's semifinal in which Federer took out the young Frenchman in his first Grand Slam semifinal and the Swiss G.O.A.T.-wannabe's sixteenth. Even with the entirety of the French nation behind him I doubt that the powerful and crafty Monfils will be able to withstand Federer's inevitable march to his fourth consecutive final at Roland Garros, and mind-blowing twentieth consecutive major semifinal. PREDICTION: Federer in 4 sets.

Djokovic Beats Federer in Rome; Faces Nadal in Final

World #3 Novak Djokovic battled back from 4-6, 0-2 down to beat World #2 Roger Federer 4-6 6-3 6-3 in the semifinals of the Rome Masters tournament on Saturday. In the other semifinal defending champion World #1 Rafael Nadal beat Fernando Gonzalez 6-3 6-3.

13-time Grand Slam champion Federer has now not won a single ATP tour title in seven months, since the 2008 U.S. Open. Djokovic has beaten him the last two times they played in 2009, in what Craig Hickman calls "awful" matches.

Nadal and Dementieva win Singles Gold

Spain's Rafael Nadal won the gold medal match 6-3 7-6(2) 6-3 over Chile's Fernando Gonzalez with Serbia's Novak Djokovic won the bronze medal by defeating American James Blake.

Russia swept the women singles medals with Elena Dementieva (eight years after winning the silver medal in Sydney) by defeating Dinara Safina 3-6 7-5 6-3 (who double faulted 17 times). Vera Zvonareva won the bronze by defeating Li Na 6-0 7-5.

Gonzalez Clips Blake, Djokovic Chokes Against Nadal

Fernando Gonzalez of Chile defeated American James Blake 4-6 7-5 11-9 in a controversial match and Spaniard Rafael Nadal defeated Serbian Novak Djokovic 6-4 1-6 6-4. Blake missed three match points but was most upset about the first point in the game where Gonzalez was serving 8-9 in the third set and a ball flew past the Chilean at the net and (in the television slow-motion replay) appears to clip his racquet before flying outof bounds. Blake lost the point, even after appealing to the umpire. In his post match press conference, Blake ripped into Gonzalez:

“Playing in the Olympics, in what’s supposed to be considered a gentleman’s sport, that’s a time to call it on yourself,” Blake said. “Fernando looked me square in the eye and didn’t call it.”

Gonzalez said he was uncertain whether the ball hit his racket.

“I didn’t feel anything,” Gonzalez said. “I mean, it’s just one point. There is an umpire. If I’m 100 percent sure about it, I mean, I will give it. But I’m not sure.”

Blake described Gonzalez as a great player who does everything in his power to win, “usually” within the rules.

Wowsa. I sort of am with Gonzalez on this one. There's lots of times when you're playing that you honestly can not tell if the ball has bounced twice, or even if the ball is in or out, which is why one needs external arbiters to make those calls. The umpire made the wrong call, but that happens. Even with that being said, I do think it is quite unusual for a player not to realize that a ball hit their racquet, though.

The Djokovic-Nadal match was excellent quality, with Nadal retreating to his circa 2006-2007 mega-spin style of play, which Djokovic handled easily and demolished him in the 6-1 middle set. In the third set, Djokovic started making more unforced errors, it was really a case of him losing the match, not Nadal winning it. Regardless, Nadal now is assured of winning his first Olympic medal, and for the second Olympics in a row, Fernando Gonzalez will win a medal in tennis. (He an partner Nicolas Massu won the doubles gold medal in Athens in 2004).

Federer, Blake, Nadal and Djokovic Reach Olympic Quarterfinals

Roger Federer, James Blake, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic all have reached the quarterfinals of the Olympic Tennis event in Men's Singles. Federer and Blake will meet in the quarterfinals, while Nadal and Djokovic could meet in the semifinals. Federer defeated Tomas Berdych 6-3 7-6(4), getting revenge for his 2004 loss to the Czech player, while the American defeated hot French player Gilles Simon 6-4 6-2. The other four players of the final eight quarterfinalists are Paul-Henri Mathieu and Fernando Gonzalez (in Blake and Federer's half) and Jurgen Melzer and Gael Monfils (in Nadal and Djokovic's half).

Smells like a Gold Medal showdown between Rafa and Raja on August 16th, to me.

Gael Monfils Reaches French Open Semis

Unseeded 21-year-old 6' 4" Gael Monfils of France reached the semifinals of Roland Garros on Thursday by winning the "battle of the hotties" by defeating #5 seed David Ferrer. Monfils becomes the second black tennis player(from France!) to reach a Major Final in 2008 after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga accomplished the same feat at the Australian Open, where he went on to lose the final against Novak Djokovic. Monfils will have to defeat World #1 Roger Federer, who also won on Thursday (in 4 sets) against 2007 Australian Open finalist Fernando Gonzalez.

Federer Loses (Again)

Roger Federer lost for the first time in 11 meetings to 2007 Australian Open finalist Fernando Gonzalez at the ATP Masters Series year-end championships in Shanghai, China in 3 tough sets 3-6, 7-6(1), 7-5.

The last few weeks have been rough for the World #1, who has lost 3 matches (twice against his nemesis from the juniors David Nalbandian). In 2005, Federer lost only 4 matches out of 85 played, and three of them were to World #2 Rafael Nadal! Last year, Federer lost 5 matches out of 97 played. In 2007 he has (so far) lost a total of eight matches out of 73 played. This year Federer lost to Novak Djokovic, Guillermo Canas (twice, consecutively), Fillipo Volandri, Rafael Nadal (twice) and David Nalbandian (twice, consecutively).

Most tennis fans are not crying in their beers for Federer, however. See, Craig Hickman's tennis blog for more details. Mad Professah still believes that Federer IS the greatest tennis player of all time, and will break Pete Sampras' grand slam record by Wimbledon 2009. Federer has 12 Grand Slam titles and needs to reach 15 in order to exceed Sampras' record.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2007: Federer Gets To 10

Roger Federer wins 10th major title

R. Federer (SUI)[1] d. F. Gonzalez (CHI)[10] 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4

Once again Roger Federer of Switzerland showed how he is on track to be crowned the greatest tennis player of all time by winning his 3rd Australian Open title yesterday over Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, the first player to win a major title without losing a set since Bjorn Borg. He now has won 3 major titles in a row, and can complete the Roger Slam if he wins the 2007 French Open at Roland Garros. He is now 10-1 in major finals, and has won seven of the last 9 major championships that have been played since January 2005. In a few weeks he will surpass Jimmy Connors record for most consecutive weeks at #1 (160).

Mad Professah predicted Federer's win yesterday, although I did think that Gonzalez would win a set. In the end, Gonzalez had 31 winners to 28 unforced errors (+3), much more modest numbers than the garish statistics from his three previous matches. Federer had 45 winners to 19 unforced errors (+26) and faced two set points (in the tenth game of the first set). It actually turns out that Gonzalez had won the first set when one of his deep baseline shots at 40-15 was called out and he failed to question the call on the advise of unpire Sandra De Jenkins who signalled she believed the shot was long as well. Shot spot showed viewers at home the shot was in. Afterlosing that point and the next one, Gonzalez eventually lost the game and Federer made it to the tiebreak, where he raced out to a 5-0 lead and a few points later the first set was over. I went to sleep at that point, confident that Federer would win his 10th consecutive match over Gonzalez, as well as earn his 10th major title.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2007: Men's Final Preview

Roger Federer (SUI)[1] vs. Fernando González (CHI)[10]. This is a highly anticipated, if somewhat unlikely, championship match-up, particularly after both finalists demolished their prior round opponents, Andy Roddick and Tommy Haas in straight sets. Federer is the 9-time Grand Slam champion on track to become proclaimed the Greatest Of All Time while González is the reigning 2004 Olympic Bronze medalist with the blistering forehand who has lost every single match he has ever played against Federer and is now facing him in his first ever Grand Slam final.

Fernanado González has actually played better tennis than Federer in the tournament, against rather good opponents. He had an astounding 42 winners to 3 unforced errors (+39) against Haas, +25 against Rafael Nadal (ESP)[2], +28 against James Blake (USA)[5] and +51 against Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)[19]. Federer has hit 240 winners to 150 unforced errors (+90), while González has hit 307 winners to 130 errors (+177!) It's no wonder that 2007 Australian Open Women's champion was watching video of only two people's matches during the tournament: her own, and the man they call Fena, Fernando González.

Fernanado González is also a big match player, so should not be intimidated by playing Roger Federer in his first Grand Slam final, however in the end I don't think it will matter: history will not be denied, and Federer will improve to 10-0 against Fena and 10-1 in Grand Slam finals.

PREDICTION: Federer, in four sets.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2007: Men's Semifinal Predictions

Craig Hickman has already posted his preview of the Roddick-Federer semi-final tonight.

Roger Federer (SUI)[1] versus Andy Roddick (USA)[6]. Andy Roddick beat his quasi-adopted brother Mardy Fish USA very badly 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 in the quarterfinals by playing nearly flawless tennis (he had only 2 unforced errors and 25 winners in the entire match) and he has even beaten Federer already this year, at the Kooyong Invitational exhibition tournament a couple weeks before the Australian Open started. Federer has not even played that well throughout the tournament so far, since he has been suffering from a cold, but he has still managed to not drop a set in five rounds. In the process he has set a modern era record of 11 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals. I still believe that Roger will treat this match very seriously and come out prepared to raise his level of play in order to reach his seventh consecutive Grand Slam final. PREDICTION: Federer, in four sets.

Fernando González (CHI)[10] versus Tommy Haas (GER)[14]. FoGo has been playing amazing tennis all tournament long, taking out in subsequent rounds Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)[19] , James Blake (USA)[5] and Rafael Nadal (SPA)[2] and only losing a single set (5-7, to Hewitt) in the process. Tommy Haas has done a good job of getting past two talented grinders David Nalbandian (ARG)[8] and Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)[3] but he will be lucky if he wins a set against the fiery Chilean. PREDICTION: Gonzalez, in three sets.