They did not quite manage to finish all of the first round matches due to rain today. But for the most part they are all done and all of the ones involving the major players are either completed or in hand. Since many of tomorrow’s second-round matches will start before today’s are finished, we are [...]
2012 Wimbledon Draw Analysis
Well, Federer and Djokovic are in the same half of the draw for what feels like hundredth straight time at a Slam. I’m not one who believes that the draws are fixed or rigged, and the odds are 50/50 each time, so it’s not so ridiculous that they keep on coming out the same. Still, [...]
2012 Wimbledon Preview: Favorites, Dark Horses, and Bad Bets
Well, the French Open ended one short week ago, which means that qualifying at Wimbledon starts tomorrow and that main draw play will start a week later. We have seen an unprecedented level of dominance by two players at the top of tennis, with Djokovic and Nadal facing each other in the last four Grand [...]
French Open Final Preview: Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic
Well, these two now hold the rivalry Grand Slam. The finals of each of the past 4 Slams (including this one) have been contested by these two, with Djokovic winning the last 3. Nadal has been lethally efficient this entire tournament. His serve has been broken once-in the first set of his first match. He [...]
French Open Women’s Final Preview: Sara Errani vs Maria Sharapova
First of all, I have to say just how impressive Errani has been this entire tournament, but in her semifinal match in particular. She really never let Stosur take advantage of her power and played great defense, taking Stosur out of her comfort zone and forcing her to go for even more than she usually [...]
French Open Semifinals Preview
Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer Well, it’s the semifinal that we all expected, but it sure didn’t look like we’d get it while watching the quarterfinals. Federer was down 2 sets to 0 and really looked out of it against Juan Martin Del Potro while Djokovic had to save 4 match points against an inspired [...]
French Open Women’s Semifinals Preview
Samantha Stosur vs Sara Errani Wow. That’s the only word you can really say about Stosur’s quarterfinal match. Just wow. After the match, Dominika Cibulkova compared Sam Stosur to a man playing tennis. And no, that’s not an insult. Stosur plays an absolute power game and when she is hitting the ball hard, cleanly, and [...]
French Open Women’s Quarterfinals Preview
Well, it’s been a crazy first four rounds for the women, with upsets everywhere and shocking results becoming the norm. There were six unseeded players in the Round of 16 here, compared to just one in the men’s draw This just highlights what I always like to say: Tennis matches are basically impossible to predict. [...]
French Open Quarterfinals Preview
The men’s tournament has gone pretty much as expected, with a few minor blips here or there. The two notable non-chalk results are Richard Gasquet (instead of Andy Murray) and a bit of an upset with Juan Martin Del Potro beating Tomas Berdych in the fourth round. Berdych looked dominant early in the tournament, but [...]
French Open Round 3 Recap
Top Players Roundup: Federer struggled a bit against Frenchman Nicolas Mahut in a bit of an atypical match for him. Federer had trouble getting into the Mahut service games, which led to the sets being close. That, coupled with a few poor service games of his own sprinkled throughout the match, didn’t come too far [...]
