Round 1 Winner = Rafa (and the Red Sox)
On a weekend when the unthinkable happened in Boston (Red Sox sweeping the Yankees), a bit of normalcy occurred in the tennis world, as Roger Federer fell to Rafael Nadal in the Monte Carlo final - 6-4, 6-4. This extends Rafa’s record to 5-0 against Federer on clay, and 7-3 all time. Low and behold, even after all my complaining on Friday, I ended up watching the match at a friend’s house. Actually, I’ll be honest, I only watched the first set, it was 70 and sunny, and the mountain was still open. Skiing in a t-shirt only happens once every couple of years; Federer vs. Nadal will happen probably twice more this spring.
I was actually a little bit disappointed with the play, both players seemed to be extremely tight and losing the big points, instead of making their opponent win them (Federer had 38 unforced errors). By all accounts though the tennis picked up in the second set. Maybe it was the fact that is was only two out of three sets, and both players felt pressure to get an early lead, as coming back from 1 set to love down is much easier in a three out of five set match, but this match certainly lacked the quality of their finals from 2006. Federer seemed to infer in his post match press conference that this was a positive experience, “I feel this match gave me some information. I’m absolutely in the mix with him on clay. I feel like I’m in good shape for the rest of the clay-court season, and it’s going to come down to the French Open to see who wins.” Hopefully we will see how Federer puts this information to use if they meet in the Rome final in a couple of weeks…but for what it’s worth, my money is on Rafa (just as my money is on the Red Sox to win the AL East this year, but that is neither here nor there).
Well I was mostly right on my predictions for the Fed Cup this weekend, as the US, Russia, France and Italy all advanced to the Semifinals. I even correctly stated that the US and Russia would win in one-sided affairs. However, I thought the other matchups would be somewhat closer, they weren’t. Each team won by a score of 5-0. The highlight for the US would have to be Vania King, the teenager (only U.S. teen ranked in the top 100) who sealed the victory for the Americans. Filling in for Serena Williams in the third rubber, with the US already up 2-0, King defeated Kirsten Flipkens 7-5 in the third set to clinch the tie. While there was a bit less pressure on King than in a normal clinching situation, since Venus was up next, it was still a great moment for King to shine on an international stage.
Up this week for the men is Barcelona, where Nadal is the number 1 seed. Although Federer isn’t playing, it wont necessarily be a walk in the park for Nadal. Robredo, Nalbandian, Ferrer, and Davydenko all pose threats. There is also a smaller tournament going on in Casablanca, where Dominic Hrbaty is the top seed. If you don’t follow the results of this tournament, you’ll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow…sorry I couldn’t help myself (for those of you who don’t know who Humphrey Bogart is, disregard the last statement). The Women are in Budapest, not exactly a stacked draw as Tathiana Garbin (23rd in the world is the top seed). The draw does provide some intrigue however, as Maria Kirilenko tries to rebound from a tough first quarter of the year, which saw her drop from 20th to 38th in the world in the past year. Not a huge drop, but for a young player with lots of potential, certainly not the direction she wants to be heading in.
Some links to wrap up your Monday funday:
For some reason I found Maria Sharapova’s website incredibly entertaining. No, it’s not what you think. Put your mouse over “Off the Court” and click on top 10 lists. Does she really want to admit that “Something’s Gotta Give is her favorite movie of all time.
For film fans, here’s an explanation of the new Jim Courier Project, “Unstrung.”
Clisters plans on not participating at the US Open. I know she is picking and choosing her tournaments, but given this is her farewell tour, I find it slightly odd she wouldn’t play the only Grand Slam she has won.