French Open 2015: Tomas Berdych Flexes Clay Court Prowess

Tomas Berdych, like Andy Murray, is not a name you would normally associate with clay court prowess. But his consistent results this clay court season plus his ascendancy to #4 in the world places him in a very lucky section of the draw - lucky because he doesn't have the formidable 4 in his side of the draw.

It doesn't mean though that it's going to be a walk in the park for him since there are many journeymen players on his draw who are adept as well on clay. Possible encounters could include Fernando Verdasco, Lukas Rosol, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

On paper though, he is still the player to beat and the most likely player to get the semifinal slot on his side of the draw.

French Open 2015: Roger Federer Continues to be a Threat

I know time is already ticking for tennis legend Roger Federer because the older he gets, the slimmer the chances he gets to win yet another grand slam title - as if he really needs another one!

Still, every time you check the draw, this time, for this year's French Open, he's still in the mix and you just can't count him out. Currently ranked #2 in the world, and using an objective way to predict wins, he's still the player to pick in his side of the draw to reach the semi-finals.

His side of the draw is peppered with very talented players like Stan Wawrinka, Gael Monfils and Gilles Simon, but Roger has very solid records against them. So, it's most likely a Berdych-Federer semi-final match-up for the bottom side of the men's draw.

Enhorabuena Carla on your Top 10 Ranking!

I just learned now that one of my favorite players in the WTA tour will reach the top 10 in the rankings next week, by virtue of getting into the finals of the Miami Open this week. Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain is one of those dangerous players who can upset the top seeds in the women's draw, if she plays well.  Now that she's in the top 10, her role reverses and the other women below her would want her scalp for a win!

What makes this ranking rise particularly interesting is that it's the clay court season and it's arguably her best surface - reaching the QFs of the French Open twice already!  If she continues to play this well through this clay court season, she might really get her rankings up - and hopefully perform well in the French Open this May!

Every year, my favorite tennis tournaments are always either the French Open or Wimbledon because craziness in the draws on both the men and women's side always happens!

Fantasy Tennis - The 2015 Europa Men's Cup Top 32 Seeds

This is the first year for the Europa Men's Cup, my fantasy tennis cup for tennis players from Europe and Africa.  Based on the new fantasy tennis schedule, this is going to be the first event of the year right after the Australian Open.

So based on the rankings this week, here are the top 32 seeds for the 2015 Europa Men's Cup -

#1 Novak Djokovic (SRB)

#2 Roger Federer (SUI)

#3 Rafael Nadal (ESP)

#4 Andy Murray (GBR)

#5 Tomas Berdych (CZE)

#6 Marin Cilic (CRO)

#7 Stan Wawrinka (SUI)

#8 David Ferrer (ESP)

#9 Grigor Dimitrov (BUL)

#10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)

#11 Ernests Gulbis (LAT)

#12 Feliciano Lopez (ESP)

#13 Kevin Anderson (RSA)

#14 Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP)

#15 Tommy Robredo (ESP)

#16 Gilles Simon (FRA)

#17 Gael Monfils (FRA)

#18 David Goffin (BEL)

#19 Fabio Fognini (ITA)

#20 Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)

#21 Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR)

#22 Ivo Karlovic (CRO)

#23 Julien Benneteau (FRA)

#24 Richard Gasquet (FRA)

#25 Lukas Rosol (CZE)

#26 Fernando Verdasco (ESP)

#27 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP)

#28 Jeremy Chardy (FRA)

#29 Gilles Muller (LUX)

#30 Malek Jaziri (TUN)

#31 Mohamed Safwat (EGY)

#32 Takanyi Garanganga (ZIM)

Fantasy Tennis - The 2015 Europa Women's Cup Top 32 Seeds

This will be the first year that the The Europa Women's Cup will be contested.  It will feature the top 28 players from Europe and the top 4 players from Africa.  This event will be contested after the rankings are released from the latest Australian Open.

Based on the rankings, here are the top 32 seeds -

1 - Maria Sharapova (RUS)

2 - Simona Halep (ROU)

3 - Petra Kvitova (CZE)

4 - Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)

5 - Ana Ivanovic (SRB)

6 - Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)

7 - Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)

8 - Angelique Kerber (GER)

9 - Andrea Petkovic (GER)

10 - Sara Errani (ITA)

11 - Flavia Pennetta (ITA)

12 - Lucie Safarova (CZE)

13 - Jelena Jankovic (SRB)

14 - Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP)

15 - Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)

16 - Alize Cornet (FRA)

17 - Karolina Pliskova (CZE)

18 - Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE)

19 - Garbine Muguruza (ESP)

20 - Elina Svitolina (UKR)

21 - Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)

22 - Sabine Lisicki (GER)

23 - Caroline Garcia (FRA)

24 - Camila Giorgi (ITA)

25 - Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU)

26 - Timea Bacsinszky (SUI)

27 - Belinda Bencic (SUI)

28 - Heather Watson (GBR)

29 - Chanelle Scheepers (RSA)

30 - Ons Jabeur (TUN)

31 - Chanel Simmonds (RSA)

32 - Ilze Hattingh (RSA)