As my lack of posting should suggest, the French Open was extremely busy (and successful) for us here at Grand Slam Tennis Tours, and as result I could not give you my thoughts nearly as often as I wanted to.  So now, after having recovered from jet lag, I will attempt to convey my thoughts about Roland Garros 2008 to you, although I may pretend I’m Federer and give up at the end.  Sorry, cheap dig, I couldn’t help it.

- The weather this year was subpar, to say the least.  However, while spectators might not have enjoyed some of the cloudiness and drizzle, the result was slower courts than normal, and that probably had something to do with Rafael Nadal’s complete dominance over the entire draw. (more…)

Warning, this post will contain spoilers for not only the Roland Garros finals, but the Sopranos finale as well, so beware.

‘Lackluster’ is pretty much the word that concerning all three events.  Ana Ivanovic, who I correctly predicted would upset Sharapova in the semis, was clearly in over her head against Henin in the finals, getting destroyed 6-1, 6-2.  As for Roger, he clearly didn’t play his best, and lost in 4 sets.  Nadal wasn’t outstanding either, except on the break points, where he saved 16 of 17.  Think about that for a second, if Federer wins two more of those points at oppurtune times, we could be discussing Roger’s potential Grand Slam for 2007.  In the 6th game of the first set alone, Nadal was serving at 2-3, and held after saving 5 break points.  If Federer wins that game, the whole match might have been different.  (more…)

Just returned from Roland Garros, where I witnessed two less than exciting quarterfinal matchups. Both Djokavic and Nadal won in straight sets, making things look very easy against Andreev and Moya, respectively. So, after 10 days of action, both the Men’s and Women’s semis are set. On the Women’s side, 1st seeded Justine Henin will take on 4th seed Jelena Jankovic, and 2nd seed Sharapova will square off against 7th seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, making her first semifinal appearance in a Grand Slam. Those two matches will take place tomorrow, and while I’m hopeful that both lower seeded players will win, I fear that may not actually take place. That being said, I am picking Henin over Jankovic, and will pick an upset by taking Ivanovic over Sharapova. (more…)

Finally, an American male has won a singles match. Kellen Damico, 10th seed in the Boys Juniors won his first round match today 6-3, 6-3 against Roy Bruggeling of the Netherlands. Keep your eyes and ears on Damico, who is scheduled to attend University of Texas this fall. Of course, Sam Querrey was supposed to be a Freshman this past year, but after such a successful 2006 summer, he turned pro and is now ranked 67th in the world. I’m just saying. (more…)

Not many men from the United States can say that about the French Open. If I were to have predicted that U.S. Men, would be a combined 0-14 thus far (as of 6 pm, Thursday May 31), NO ONE would have believed me. But after Roddick, Blake, Ginepri, Querrey, Spadea, Delic, Gimelstob, Russell, and Kendrick lost in the first round of singles, it was then followed by Butorac, Querrey/Russell, Gimelstob/Kendrick, Delic/Parrott, and Ginepri/Lipsky all falling in the first round of doubles. If you think it sounds bleak, think again…because the good ole US of A is guarenteed to advance at least one man to the second round of something. Luckily, the Bryan bros play Vince Spadea and his partner, Kristian Pless of Denmark tomorrow, meaning that even if the Bryans get upset, at least Spadea will be in the second round. The only other hopeful is Jim Thomas, who is paired the Swiss star Yves Allegro. (more…)