Tennis: French Open

The French Open should be just around the corner here. Is anyone going to stop Federer?

And I just saw that Mauresmo is ranked #1 in the world (when did that happen?) Since she's the home-crowd favorite, should they just hand her the trophy?

Mauresmo has been #1 or close to it ever since she won the Australian Open. It was unfortunate that she had to win that after her final two opponents retired (with her ahead, no less). As for Federer, this will be his real test. He has won seven majors already, but no French Open yet. Last year he lost to Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. Federer is dominant on hard surfaces and unstoppable on grass, but on clay he he is just great. Nadal is best on clay, which may explain his 3-1 record against Federer. He beat Federer about a month ago. But this time I see Federer taking the French on the way to the first men's Grand Slam since Rod Laver in the 1960's.

Originally posted by BirdstheBest
Federer is dominant on hard surfaces and unstoppable on grass, but on clay he he is just great.

LOL, great explanation, and that pretty much sums it up, from what I have read.

Yeah, he lost to Nadal AGAIN this past Sunday. The score was 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 7-6 (7-5). Oh, and it was on clay. Federer just seems to get frustrated and attack too much when he plays Nadal. He hasn't perfected his clay court game yet. Give him a few years, though. Tony Roche is a great coach, and in the past three years he has helped elevate Federer's game to a level much higher than everyone else. I think Federer just needs to work on his clay game for a bit longer.

Birdbrain, what is your evidence for saying that Roche is a "great coach"? Explain yourself. Who else has he coached? Ming suspects that he serves as a mere talisman for Federer...Federer who is almost as great as Ming himself.

Gibbs, stick to bowling and horseshoes...things you know about... you know nothing about tennis (dare I mention the NFL?). Ming may be required to ban you from making future Tennis posts.

Mauresmo will not win.

Thus it is written...and thus it shall be...Thus sprach Ming.



[Edited on 5/29/06 by MingMercil]

I would just LOVE for you to teach me all you know of tennis, Ms. Ming.

OK, that was really goofy. Who is this Ming guy? He sounds like that "Jimmy" guy from Seinfeld that talks in the third person. If Ming wants to make a real point, I'm ready to respond.

Besides, that Ming guy would be no match for Garak.

BTB, Ming is the resident pompous arse on the board, it loves to come on here just to insult others.

Just catching up on the Open online right now, since I haven't had the chance ot watch any of it at all so far. Some names of note here I see that Rafael Nadal, James Blake, Lleyton Hewitt, and Roger Federer are still alive on the men's side.

For the ladies, Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Amelie Mauresmo, Maria Sharapova, and Venus Williams are still alive. Apparently Maria Kirilenko lost to Anna-Lena Groenefeld earlier today, and I dont' see Mary Pierce's name anywhere. I guess PierceChang will be mighty upset...

Some shockers yesterday in the Women's draw! Sharapova and Mauresmo both tumble. On the Men's side, both Blake and former champ Gaston Gaudio tumbled.

It looks like there could be some good matchups in the women's draw. Henin-Hardenne could meet Clijsters in the semifinals. Martina Hingis has to finish a suspended match to get on to meet Clijsters in the quarterfinals. I think Venus Williams will take the upper half of the draw and make it to the finals against Clijsters.

In the men's draw, I don't see anyone stopping Federer or Nadal. That final should be amazing.

tennis is boring. BOWLING ROcks especially as i have a bowling ball shaped head

Hingis survived for another round, this would be a great addition to her comeback if she can pull off the French Open title...

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to the Hingis-Clijsters match tomorrow. Those two are my favorite women tennnis players. Clijsters is so athletic (have you seen those amazing splits she does?), and Hingis is so crafty.

Personally, I think the women's tennis game has improved with the decline of the Williams sisters--most notably Serena. The game is so wide open now, with many players capable of winning it all. And now there are even more good ones who are up and coming. The next five years are going to be fantastic.

well, Hingis lost the match, so I'm not even sure who I want to root for on the womens' side anymore, probably the girl that beat Venus. With the men, I think I may be rooting for Federer, just to get him close to a Grand Slam.

Nadal and Federer, in the finals nice finals to watch, im looking forward to this one. Im wondering if roger will finally get knocked off of his grand slam winning spree. Its going to be interesting to see.

Congratulations to Justine on her 3rd French title!

On the clay at Roland Garros, Justine Henin-Hardenne wins her third French Open title in four years and her fifth career Grand Slam. The 24-year-old Belgian downs Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-4.

source

CBS Sportsline LINK

I just have a hunch that Federer will win it today. He has lost three straight to Nadal--all on clay--but each time he got closer. The last time they went five sets in a match that lasted 5:05. Federer did have match point at 6-5 in the third set, but Nadal would tie and then win in a tiebreak. This is the French Open, though, and there are no tiebreaks in deciding sets.

If he does pull this off, do you think that he has a clear path to a Grand Slam?

No go for Federer, as Nadal won again...