Can Rafa Make it Trophy #6 and Equal Bjorn Borg's Record?

It has been a dramatic clay season for Rafael Nadal.  It started rather well, with him winning the earlier clay tournaments, but when Madrid and Rome swung by, suddenly, doubt crept into him, as the flawless Novak Djokovic snatched both trophies from him, in an emphatic display of clay court tennis!  The losses in those two major clay court tournaments sent shock waves in men's tennis.  So much focus was on Novak that Rafa, I think, began worrying if he still had it.  What made the self-doubt more evident and that the impact was strong was when John Isner almost upset Rafa in the first round!  That would've been disastrous!

Anyhow, Rafa has proven naysayers wrong, as he slowly won round after round, and handily defeated Andy Murray in their semifinal match yesterday.  However, after seeing Roger Federer play, I can sense that Rafa still has to regain back that full belief that he really is the King of Clay.  It helps though that he has defeated Roger several times here in a final, but Roger is also out there to prove that his first French Open title was no fluke since he didn't defeat Rafa then, Soderling did.  So I'm sure he's really psyched up for the finals tomorrow, if just to prove that he deserved his first French Open title - since he defeated Nadal.

So let's just enjoy the slugfest tomorrow between these two legendary players.  I won't be surprised if this would be another thriller!

Roger Federer Should Have Enough Tricks on His Sleeve to Win Second French Open Title!

I was one of the millions who watched Roger dismantle Novak Djokovic in their semifinal match yesterday.  Not that Nole did anything wrong.  He played fabulously. It's just that Roger upped his game even a notch more, was more aggressive, and made sure he won the points when it mattered most.  Nole could just shake his head.  If Roger can play that same level in the finals tomorrow, he should win his second French Open title.  And with Rafa entertaining some self-doubt now, since his losses in the clay court season, Roger should be able to capitalize on that and make it work for him.

It does help though that this is the best Roger has been playing for sometime now.  Even in the semifinal, he looked like a champion already.  However, I'm sure Rafa will not just lie down and let him win.  It's going to be a slugfest of the highest nature!  But I'm sure Roger's precision and aggressive player will be key in his victory. 

Roger Federer's Shirt At the French Open 2011

In yesterday's semifinal, I noticed the shirt Roger was wearing because the camera always focused on him everything he changed shirts!  The commentator (a guy, mind you!) even commented how hairy he was, hahaha!!  I like the shade of this shirt though.  Red for Asians means money and luck so I guess Roger chose the right color for his outfit here.  It does help too that the clay here in Roland Garros is red in color!

Caroline Wozniacki Has To Concentrate on the Grand Slams!

I was one of the millions who was really disappointed with how Caroline Wozniacki played in this year's French Open. When Wozniak gave her some problems early on, I knew something was amiss.  It's not unusual for a world #1 to be troubled in the first round, but Caroline really looked sluggish, tired or, God forbid, uninterested!  Bored even! 

Anyhow, she is still the world #1 player and I believe she has the game to make her win a Grand Slam.  But I think, what she has to do now is to concentrate more on the Grand Slams, rather than playing on lesser tournaments.  She is a world #1 after all - and points from Grand Slams matter a lot! 

I think she plays on too many tournaments right before a Grand Slam - so that when the 2-week tournament starts, she does not have enough legs to last through the tournament.  Someone should really teach her how to peak - and to peak at the right moment!  Tournaments happen every week, but the reality is - unless you're a blue-blooded tennis fan, the rest of the world only pays attention to tennis during the Grand Slams, so you might forgive them when they say, Caroline who?

I remember she had to play on the final of Brussels just a day or two before the first day of the French Open!  Did she really have to do that? She and Peng Shuai both exited early this tournament and I have a feeling playing in that tournament contributed to their poor showing here.  They could've left that tournament and let lower ranked players play there. 

Oh well, the burden of being #1 and with no Slam to show will continue to weigh on her shoulders, so Caroline and her team have to strategize what to do next, now that Wimbledon is coming up in a month.  Maybe just one tournament and then focus on Wimbledon.  Keep your energy Caroline for the big moments.  Good luck!

Francesca Schiavone: Gracious in Defeat

Francesca Schiavone did everything she could to foil Li Na and distract her but Li Na was steadfast, and deservedly won this year's French Open title.  In her speech, Schiavo was very gracious and gave full compliments to her opponent's play today.  Schiavone also had a fantastic tournament, and just reaching the finals is achievement enough.  It shows that she has what it takes to defeat anyone in the draw, when it's on the clay.  What I hope now is that she translates this second Grand Slam final appearance to the other surfaces.  Other players have shown that it can be done, so I think she is capable of doing it too!

What Li Na's Victory Means For Chinese Women's Tennis!

Now that Li Na has won the French Open, I could just imagine what her victory will do in inspiring millions of young Chinese women!  Right now, Russian women dominate the Top 100 since many of them know the big bucks that go with being successful in this sport.  Now, with Li Na's victory, I won't be surprised to find many Chinese women in the Top 100 in the next few years.  They know fully well how much money they can personally earn from being a Grand Slam champion.  I think Li Na took home around US$1.7 million or roughly 11.3 million renminbi!

Knowing fully how well-oiled China's sporting capability is, I won't be surprised if another Chinese player wins a Grand Slam in the next decade or so.  Also, looking at it in a bigger picture, Li Na's victory has shown that an Asian woman is capable of winning a Grand Slam.  So I think, it's not only China who will benefit from her victory, but other Asian countries as well. This should bring more interest on tennis to this side of the world.  Maybe more tournaments in Asia?  Who knows?  If Li Na continues to win more Grand Slam titles, who knows what might happen to Asian tennis!

Li Na: First Asian Woman to Win A Grand Slam Title

She kept her nerve even when it felt like her opponent was making a comeback.  Li Na played almost flawless tennis today and deservedly won her first Grand Slam title - and the French Open at that!  Who said Asians can't play on clay? 

I love the way Li Na plays because she is very calm even in the tightest situations. Also, her movement around the clay was fantastic, sliding with ease, if necessary, and running to drop shots when she needed to.  All her strokes found the lines today and it helped in her victory against defending champion, Francesca Schiavone.

Also, she really kept her nerve in the second set at 5-4, when Francesca led for a brief moment - and the crowd became more vocal with their support for Schiavo.  She gathered herself together just as quickly and maintained her composure, allowing her to become as aggressive as she was in the first set.

Bravo Li Na!  We hope this is just the first of several Grand Slam titles for you!

Roger Federer Breaks Nole's Dream 2011 Run

Roger Federer spoiled Novak Djokovic's party in today's semifinal match and ended the latter's winning streak, which officially stopped at 40 wins, just one short of equalling the record of 41 straight wins currently held by Bjorn Borg.  With the way Roger Federer played today, he's my bet to win this year's French Open!  Both he and Novak just played beautiful tennis today and it was sad to see one of them lose, considering how high their levels of play were!  In the end, Roger gave another master class to Nole and won decisively in four sets.

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Rafael Nadal Deals A Swift Blow to Murray

I actually was irritated watching the semifinal of Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray today, because Murray was just not bringing it to Rafa.  As usual, Rafa, being the champion that he is, bamboozled himself in all the three sets and everytime Murray came out with good shots, just quickly extinguished any hope for Andy to up-end him.  You could really see that Nadal just wanted to be in the final!  Do I think Rafa would win Roland Garros this year? Hmmm....I'm actually rooting for Federer.  His match today against Djokovic was fantastic to watch - and he really deserved to win!

Li Na Surprises Everyone With A Finals Appearance in Roland Garros

You just have to admire how Li Na just ups her game everytime she has to.  I've seen her do it against Victoria Azarenka, and again, in her game with Maria Sharapova!  With her win against the latter, she got to her second Grand Slam final, this time, here in Roland Garros. 

To think that we thought Asians won't do well on clay, but gauging from Li Na's performance, you can see that she can adopt to any surface!  I admire her patient play and her deadly forehands and her ability to strike when she has to and put pressure on her opponents.  I think she has a chance to lift the French Open trophy later today but she has to run a lot and get back as many balls as she can, as Francesca Schiavone is such a trooper, you'd have to be as fit as her to run down all the balls.

Francesca Schiavone Might Just Be Able to Defend Her French Open Title

Francesca Schiavone just reached the final again of the French Open yesterday when she won over hometown favorite Marion Bartoli.  She played very well and really raised her level when both of them reached 3-3 in both sets.  Marion competed competently but had no answer when Schiavo brought her to the net several times.

With the way she is playing now, I won't be surprised if Schiavo defends her French Open crown.  I think she has the game to defeat Li Na and she has shown that she is capable of digging herself out of a big hole - gauging from how she resurrected from imminen defeat in her match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Well, we will know tomorrow.  The finals will be shown on Balls channel at 9PM here in the Philippines.  It's a date!

Fabio Fognini: Surprise Quarterfinalist in French Open 2011

No one really expected 49th ranked Fabio Fognini of Italy to reach the quarterfinals here in Roland Garros.  During this year's clay court season, he was only ranked 63rd among all the players based on the points he won - so he wasn't really on anyone's list. 

However, with the help of Frenchman Stephane Robert who booted out Tomas Berdych, in their side of the draw, and Albert Montanes who booted out Mikhail Youzhny, both seeds on their side of the draw have been booted out.  That's when Fognini stepped out of the plate and won his fourth round match against Spaniard Albert Montanes.  However, his victory was met by controversy as he asked for a medical timeout at a very crucial moment of their game with Montanes.  People have remarked that by doing so, he got an unfair advantage over Montanes, which helped him win in the end. 

Interestingly, he backed out of his quarterfinal match with Novak Djokovic, citing injury.  I guess the French crowd would've booed him out of the stadium if he did play.

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Leonardo Mayer: Player Ranked Outside the Top 200 But Reached the Third Round of the French Opn 2011

Leonardo Mayer of Argentina, currently ranked #217, reached the third round of this year's French Open.  He defeated German Dustin Brown in the first round 36 76(5) 62 62 and upset Marcos Baghdatis 75 64 76(5) in the second round.  He lost to the past two year's finalist, Robin Soderling 61 64 63 in the third round today.  Mayer should climb within striking distance of the Top 100 after his superb performance in this year's French Open.

Antonio Veic: Player Ranked Outside the Top 200 But Reached the Third Round of the French Open

Antonio Veic of Croatia, currently ranked #227, is one of the only two players ranked outside the Top 200, to have reached the third round of the French Open.  The other one is Leonard Mayer of Argentina, ranked #217.  Veic upset Russian veteran, Nikolay Davydenko in the second round 36 62 75 36 61 and won over Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay who abandoned the game in the first round.  However today, he was bamboozled out of court by world #1 Rafael Nadal, 61 63 60.  Even then, this should be a great learning experience for Veic whose ranking should zoom up after this French Open.

French Open 2011 Breakout Player: Alejandro Falla

Alejandro Falla of Colombia is this year's French Open 2011 Breakout Player.  Although already a veteran player, Falla's current ranking of #120 makes him the lowest ranked player this year to get to the fourth round.  His dream run here could easily propel him back to the Top 100 when rankings are released a week from now.  Today, Falla defeated Lukasz Kubot of Poland, the guy who took out Nicolas Almagro in the first round.  He will next meet Juan Ignacio Chela, and both will slug it out to find out who among them will reach the quarterfinals for the first time in their careers.

French Open 2011: Elite Men's Team Country Award

France wins this year's French Open Elite Men's Team Country Award by a hairline against archrival, Spain.  Three Frenchmen and three Spanish men have made it through the fourth round, so I had to use their current rankings to determine the winning country.  Spain's fourth round entrants were Rafael Nadal (#1), David Ferrer (#7) and Albert Montanes (#38) so their country had a total 46 points. 

On the other hand, France's fourth round entrants are Gael Monfils (#8), Richard Gasquet (#16) and Gilles Simon (#19), for a total of 43 points, 3 points lower than Spain.  So France gets the award this year, and most fittingly, in the French Open grand slam!

French Open 2011Breakout Player: Yung-Jan Chan

I normally give this award to the lowest-ranked player in the draw that reaches at least the fourth round and the player must currently rank outside the Top 100.  In this year's French Open, four women currently ranked outside the Top 100 have reached the third round and the lowest ranked is Yung-Jan Chan of Chinese-Taipei, now currently ranked at #129.  Today, she lost to Maria Sharapova 62 63.  Yung-Jan Chan becomes the Breakout Player for this year's French Open!

French Open 2011: Elite Women's Team Country Award

Russia continues to dominate the elite women's Team Country Award in the Grand Slams.  In this year's French Open, six Russian women are in the fourth round!  An impressive feat showing how deep the Russian bench is.  Even with the retirement of Elena Dementieva, other younger Russian women have taken her place.  The team this time is being led by #3 seed, Vera Zvonareva.  The five other Russian women in the fourth round are Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Maria Kirilenko and Ekaterina Makarova.

Irina-Camelia Begu: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 But Reaches the Round of 64 of the French Open 2011

Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania, currently ranked #102, is one of Romania's new tennis hopes.  This is her first appearance in a grand slam and has already notched one victory.  She made a fantastic run at Marbella, where she played runner up to Victoria Azarenka.  She was ranked #138 then.

Here in Roland Garros, her first round victory was over Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai who's a Top 20 player.  Her second round match-up though was even tougher - against two-time French Open champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova.  She lost.  However, her experiences here against the top tier players should be a great learning experience for her.

Aleksandra Wozniacki: Player Currently Ranked Outside the Top 100 But Reaches the Round of 64 of the French Open 2011

Aleksandra Wozniak, currently ranked #188 in the world, reaches the round of 64 in this year's French Open.  She's also one of the two Canadians to have made the second round of the French Open, a first for the country since 1991.  Her best performance here though was a fourth round appearance in 2009.  This year, she lost to world #1 Caroline Wozniacki.