Roland Garros (French Open 2013)

[Matra2]

Djokovic is the main story this year as he's going for the career slam. He's got to beat the most impressive newcomer on the tour in Gregor Dimitrov ('Baby Federer') in the third round. Dimitrov beat Djokovic in their last meeting in Madrid and he nearly beat Nadal, also on clay, in Monte Carlo. Also, Djokovic and Nadal are on the same side of the draw so if they meet this year it'll be in the semi-final. Federer, Ferrer, and Tsonga will be relieved to be on the the other half of the draw. Also good news for them is that Andy Murray and Juan-Martin Del Potro are out injured and Tomas Berdych has already lost his first round match - to Gael Monfils:icon_sad:.

I'm afraid the women's side does not look good from our perspective. Even though this is Serena Williams' worst surface she's been wiping the floor with her main competition in the run-up to this tournament.

 

[Quiet Speed]

Grigor Dimitrov had totally slipped my mind. I’ll be looking forward to the potential match up with Djokovic. I was thrilled he started making a move this year.


[video=youtube;apgJs-9tHuo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apgJs-9tHuo[/video]

 

[Matra2]

Dimitrov v Djokovic was disappointing as the Bulgarian put in a poor effort. Meanwhile Federer, who was lucky to get past Gilles Simon in the fourth round, plays Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Tuesday. Given the draw the winner has a very good chance of being in the final.

 

[Matra2]

At present Tsonga is leading Federer two sets to none with the winner to play the weakest player in the top group, David Ferrer, in the semi-final. So with Serena winning earlier today there is a reasonably good chance there will be black players in both the men's and women's singles finals. If this happens expect a sudden increase in the US media coverage of what they otherwise dismiss as a niche sport.

 

[darthvader]

I knew that Tsonga would win this match against federer because for one Tsonga seems to playing at another level than what I'm used to seeing throughout this tournament and also because federer has cracks in his game that can be exposed easily in his game which has nothing to do with his age. In fact I am tired of hearing about his age. Hell Tommy Haas can very well win this tournament at the age of 35 and may be on the verge of a renaissance in his career simiiar to agassi. David Ferrer I believe is the same age as federer and he is still a very solid player. The fact of the matter is that federer's greatness is now overrated if that's the right term. For one thing he is not the most athletic player on the tour and also he suffers serious lapses where he commits unforced errors that are beyond reason. He also seems content on playing his game instead of adapting and changing which I think has alot to do with his vanity. I wouldn't be surprised if tsonga did win this tournament because he is a talented and athletic player but nadal or djokovic will raise the trophy.

 

[Matra2]

I'm going to go out on a limb and declare Friday's semi-final between Djokovic and Nadal the biggest match of the year (unless Novak wins the next two majors and makes it to the US Open final - ie goes for a calendar Grand Slam). Djokovic said his entire year revolves around winning the French and as we all know beating Nadal is the most important thing you can do to win it. For Nadal it is still not entirely clear he will play the entire year - especially the hard on the knees hard court season - and the French is his most cherished tournament. This is not to discount Ferrer and Tsonga but the winner of Djokovic v Nadal will be favourite.

For those dreaming of an all black victory at Roland Garros Tsonga has a better chance of beating Djokovic than Nadal. Tsonga has already stated he can beat Ferrer "because I hit harder, I serve better and I've become more consistent and have improved my endurance". (Blacks have an endurance problem? Gee, the media never mentioned that!)

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...013-predicting-mens-finals-matchup-and-winner

Serena now plays a 5'5" Italian, Sara Errani, for a birth in the final where she'll almost certainly whip Maria Sharapova.

 

[Matra2]

I knew that Tsonga would win this match against federer because for one Tsonga seems to playing at another level than what I'm used to seeing throughout this tournament and also because federer has cracks in his game that can be exposed easily in his game which has nothing to do with his age. In fact I am tired of hearing about his age. Hell Tommy Haas can very well win this tournament at the age of 35 and may be on the verge of a renaissance in his career simiiar to agassi. David Ferrer I believe is the same age as federer and he is still a very solid player. The fact of the matter is that federer's greatness is now overrated if that's the right term. For one thing he is not the most athletic player on the tour and also he suffers serious lapses where he commits unforced errors that are beyond reason. He also seems content on playing his game instead of adapting and changing which I think has alot to do with his vanity.

FWIW he's had a back problem all year.

When you refer to unforced errors are you referring to his shanking habit?

 

[darthvader]

FWIW he's had a back problem all year.

When you refer to unforced errors are you referring to his shanking habit?

I am referring to the fact that there are times where he commits unforced errors in succession to the point where he seems he seems lost mentally and also disinterested. I've also noticed his serve (specifically his first serve) has declined as well. I would like to seem him win wimbledon and if he does then I have to say that is it as far as grand slams are concerned. I have to give tsonga all the credit because he was the better player by far against federer and if he does continue playing at that level then I don't see why he can't win this tournament. Right now he does have the power to hit nadal and djokovic off the court. But my money is still on nadal although I would like to see djokovic win this. But as a tennis fan it is hard to against ferrer because here is a guy who has always been the number 4 and 5 seed throughout his career but has yet to reach a final in a grand slam and the guy just battles you to the woodshed. The match between nadal and djokovic should be another classic between these two and nothing less. Even on clay djokovic still can take nadal off his game with his groundstrokes on the baseline. Defensively they are the two best players on the tour which is why they should and most likely will go five sets. I simply don't even want to talk about the women's side.

 

[frederic38]

I knew that Tsonga would win this match against federer because for one Tsonga seems to playing at another level than what I'm used to seeing throughout this tournament and also because federer has cracks in his game that can be exposed easily in his game which has nothing to do with his age. In fact I am tired of hearing about his age. Hell Tommy Haas can very well win this tournament at the age of 35 and may be on the verge of a renaissance in his career simiiar to agassi. David Ferrer I believe is the same age as federer and he is still a very solid player. The fact of the matter is that federer's greatness is now overrated if that's the right term. For one thing he is not the most athletic player on the tour and also he suffers serious lapses where he commits unforced errors that are beyond reason. He also seems content on playing his game instead of adapting and changing which I think has alot to do with his vanity. I wouldn't be surprised if tsonga did win this tournament because he is a talented and athletic player but nadal or djokovic will raise the trophy.

i don't know much about tennis, but i followed the tournament with french commentators (who are very chauvinistic but also like federer a lot because he's almost french and he's a classy legend) and they gave not much credit to tsonga for that win
tsonga is said to be better than ever, and very well prepared, but in that match the commentators just said that tsonga was playing against federer's shadow
they joked about federer having been replaced with another guy in the first set
they said that he was making unforced errors at a never-seen before rate
and they implyed that his career was over

 

[Don Wassall]

Williams is slaughtering poor Errani, who looks to barely weigh half as much as her bruising linebacker of an opponent.

Kuznetsova, who has good power and can play solid defense, has been the only one to give Williams a battle in the tournament. Sharapova shares similar characteristics, but her height cuts down on her ability to be quick defensively. Maria will have to be on top of her game and Williams off of hers for an upset to happen.

 

[foobar75]

Williams is slaughtering poor Errani, who looks to barely weigh half as much as her bruising linebacker of an opponent.

Kuznetsova, who has good power and can play solid defense, has been the only one to give Williams a battle in the tournament. Sharapova shares similar characteristics, but her height cuts down on her ability to be quick defensively. Maria will have to be on top of her game and Williams off of hers for an upset to happen.

I hate the pairing for the women's final. Sharapova has been Williams' whipping boy (or girl in this case) for pretty much their entire careers. Not only has Williams utterly destroyed and dominated Sharapova over the years in every match, she seems to take extra pleasure in doing so. I'm ready to call this final right now, 6-1/6-0 Williams.

On the men's side, what a treat that semi should be between Djokovic and Nadal. I'm rooting for Djokovic to win it all so that he can complete the career GS. I also hope the dreadful outcome of 2 blacks winning both championships does not happen because we won't hear the end of it.

 

[Quiet Speed]

Here we go! Nadal - Djokovic moving into a 5th set. I've only watched the 4th set and I'm exhausted.

 

[Matra2]

It was an epic match that lived up to its billing. But I'm disappointed Djokovic did not win it. I think the final will be one-sided. Tsonga v Ferrer up next.

 

[Matra2]

I think Djokovic might have won if it had been the second match as it should've been. The afternoon light and heat always give Nadal an extra advantage on clay - remember he was going to lose last year's final when it was overcast and wet?

So the question is why was the single biggest match of the day - the year, actually - not made the main feature that most of Europe could see when they got home from work? Because Tsonga is French and so the petty nationalism of the French organisers won out over logic. I'm all for political nationalism but petty jingoistic BS annoys me. (It's the same at Wimbledon with Andy Murray so I'm not knocking singling out the French)

 

[frederic38]

have someone seen the poor sportsmanship by tsonga? he was always blaming the wind, the sun, some clay in his eye, he talked very loudly, said that his opponent was lucky, then somebody said me that he refused to do the interview at the end of the match

 

[darthvader]

The match between Nadal and Djokovic was the finals as far as I am concerned. Not since soderling defeated him has nadal been pushed thru a fifth set. I was hoping novak would win but nadal just about will inch closer to federer in grand slams. He may surpass federer just by winning the french open alone. As i stated in my previous post it is hard to root against ferrer because he is a warrior but I don't think he even believes he will beat nadal. One thing is for sure I don't think I will root for a player harder than i will root for ferrer on sunday. By and large his run here at this tournament has been unnoticebly impressive expecially his dismantling of france's favorite son tsonga. It is interesting to note that the finals between the men and women will have identical head to head matchups between the two although ferrer's is maybe a little bit better against nadal than sharapova's against williams. Don Wassall made a very good point about sharapova's height and how it hinders her movement which I didn't take notice until now. She reminds me of davenport with her baseline to baseline groundstrokes except davenport was more powerful even more than the william sisters but like sharapova is like a reindeer on ice as far as her athleticism. Williams is by far the most athletic woman on the tour and next to navatilova maybe the most athletic ever. I really hope she doesn't break navratilova or chris evert's record for grand slam titles although she is closing fast. For sharapova to even have a chance it will come down to her serve. If her first serve percentage is at least 80 percent then it may be a competitive match. But gosh darn it unless she gets another injury or health scare williams will at least tie evert and navratilova by year end. Steffi graf, monica seles, justin henin where are all of you.

 

[Matra2]

have someone seen the poor sportsmanship by tsonga? he was always blaming the wind, the sun, some clay in his eye, he talked very loudly, said that his opponent was lucky, then somebody said me that he refused to do the interview at the end of the match

No, I had to go out so I didn't see it. When I came back the first set was already over and when Ferrer took the second I went and did something else. But if Tsonga is saying Ferrer was lucky then he must have been the luckiest guy alive because the score was 6-1 7-6 6-2! IOW two of the three sets were comprehensive beat downs.

 

[TBProdigy]

Im with the general sentiment on this board. I can't think of a more deserving winner for a Grand slam than Ferrer.

 

[frederic38]

a guy that entered the court during the final to protest against gay mariage:

he is being judged and could get up to 7 years in prison :mod:

 

[darthvader]

Robin soderling may never step on a tennis court ever again but as far as I''m concerned he has already established himself a place in sports history for he still remains an answer to a trivia question that you may see on jeopardy. I'll give everybody two guesses what that question is. The first one is free. It's a shame that djokovic touched the net because if he hadn't he may have been up 5-4 serving for the match in the fifth set if I'm not mistaken. Somehow the momemtum carried him to the net when he hit that overhead. It really is a shame because who knows what the outcome could have been if he hadn't touched the net. Then again unless somebody proposes to change the surface in next year's french open nadal may surpass federer just by winning the french open alone.