Roland Garros T-11 days

There are 8 players left in Hamburg and 11 days to another grand slam tournament. What are we seeing?

First of all there are two heros in Hamburg. Montanes is not used to being in QFs of Masters. Better yet, he has not dropped a set yet. Interesting to see if he has a chance against Djokovic. Moya-Nadal is also a classic. Nadal looked far better yesterday and seems to have found the autopilot button. And then there is a NO-seed QF. Local hero Kiefer took out Davydenko in straight sets and Andreas Seppi bageled Monaco. This is without a doubt an important match for both players and might be the one to watch. Last, but not LEAST, Federer-Verdasco. Both players looked far better than they have done so far this year and seem to be on a roll. Verdasco did not play GREAT tennis, but beating Ferrer in straight sets is not bad. Federer on the other hand played one of his best matches this year. He hit 24 winners and only 10 unforced. That’s GOOD on clay for him.

So who will advance?
Federer surely will
Kiefer should be able to get his home crowd to cheer him into a SF.
Nadal should be quick against Moya
Djokovic shouldn’t get too much trouble against Montanes

Conclusion: Federer will be in the final, unless Kiefer is able to pull off an incredible win. The only uncertainty at this point is who will win the other SF? Djokovic or Nadal? I say Nadal….

Querrey d. Moya 6-3, 1-6, 6-3!!

Are you kiddin’ me?!

Now is this a clear sign that Moya should seriously consider retiring, or was it just a Querrey-perfection? Hope some of you saw this one, because no offense to Querrey, but he isn’t the safest bet on a slow Monte-Carlo dirt surface. You cannot possibly argue that serve was too important. 49% 1st serves, winning 76% is just below average for a good server. Isn’t Moya a perfect example of a great forehand?! How the hell did he lose this?!

Anyway… more on day 1 later.

Tennisful week

A couple of important notes from Marseilles is that Baghdatis has played a good tournament, reaching the semi final and losing to another “surprise” Ancic.  Ancic was the man who ended Tsonga’s ATP momentum. He then managed to take out Baggy in straight sets. Now Andy Murray is the man to beat in the final. He has also played convincingly, apart from being a few points away from defeat against Wawrinka.

I think this will be a real nice match. If Ancic can serve his best, Murray should be in trouble. In fact, Ancic is up 1-0 in straight sets against Murray. How about that!

Too bad I can’t watch it. I welcome some reports!

The clay tournament in Brasil was nothing but a routine from the best players. Moya and Almagro will fight like crazy for their first 2008 title

The most important news this week comes from Delray beach. You thought this would be an American tournament? You bet! 3 of 4 semi finalists from USA is not bad for a nation who struggles to find top 20 players. Who is that last guy? A Japaneese player (Nishikori) ranked 244!! He had 3-5 career record before the tournament, and his best result is the QF in Indianapolis last year. This guy hasn’t won any challenger, but has played consistent good tennis and has gone from no ranking to 244 in 2 years. Last night he saved 4 match points and was able to beat Sam Querrey. You think Blake is scared?

I hope for the sake of tennis that more players from China, Japan and the rest of Asia pushes up the rankings and makes tennis a WORLD sport. Like I’ve written before, if we go back a couple of decades, there weren’t too many nations on the ATP ranking. We know how good potentially Chinese and Japanese can become in any sport with increasing interest. I like, I like! But for Blakes’ sake I hope he will clinch his home title and return in the top 10.

Moya! How many match points do you need?!

… to kick Nadal down? I was dead positive Moya would take the match in the second breaker. What does he do? Throw it all away to the kid. Come on!!

Nadal will meet the much feared Youzhny in the Chennai final. Might be another killer.

WOW! Tsonga just kicked Hewitt’s a..

Remember this guy? Remarkable rise in 07 and is predicted as one of the big names of 08. Tsonga needed 80 minutes to take down the local Aussie 6-4, 6-2. He had a good run at Wimbledon and is clearly filled with potential before heading to Melbourne. As if this upset wasn’t enough, Aussie wild card Sirianni managed to defeat Mathieu from a set down 1-6, 6-1, 7-6. SF for tomorrow are Tsonga-Nieminen, Llodra-Sirianni.

As of this moment, Moya has clinched his SF spot and is awaiting Nadal who is in action against Garcia-Lopez.

Just another tuesday

For some it is new year’s day. For the tennis pros, it’s tuesday.

Hewitt made his anticipated strong start to the year by taking out Dudi Sela 6-2, 6-2. Tsonga is on his way as well. Beating Hansescu in the final set. Like I said, Spadea has the ability to beat Grosjean, and so he did.

The local favorite (next to Hewitt) Guccione defeated Odesnik in straight sets.  Ancic was supposed to play Korolev, which would have been THE first round match, but Ancic and his immune system….. What’s wrong with the boy? Well… a big pheeww there for Korolev who advanced to 2nd round.

In Doha, there won’t be any reason to jump up and down, but it’s always fun to watch the giant Karlovic play the midget-like Rochus. Don’t remember which Rochus is the shortest, but it doesn’t matter. Roddick seems like a midget when he stands next to Karlovic, just think about Rochus!

In India, there will be more action today. Nadal, Moya, Mahut, Cilic are a few of the player going at it today. Youzhny, Melzer and Malisse all advanced to the 2nd round.