2013 French Open...Roland Garros, Paris, France

[stotty]

Jerzy

About Jerzy's frequent drop shots:

For a YOUNG player with touch, overplaying the drop shot in an almost cavalier style is a good thing. Essential, actually, if the shot is going to become a real tactical weapon. My thinking behind this is one hundred percent correct.

Many players who can hit good drop shots in practice NEVER use them in a matches. It's not easy to translate drop shots into matches. To do so you have to cross a boundary, a boundary where you will miss many but eventually learn the "relaxed state" required to pull drop shots off in matches. You cannot just go on court and decide to play drop shots and fine angles. It's an intricate business linked to one's mental state. Players have to learn in rallies to suddenly switch to the relaxed stillness required to pull of a wonderful drop shot like Jerzy. When McEnroe played his, time stood still.

It helps enormously if a player is carefree and swashbuckling...some Romanian bloke called Nastase springs to mind....Rios another. Players who stuck two fingers up seemed to play the best ones. Must be something in that...

[stotty]

I read the lot...

Kind of disappointed no one really engaged on my three points for Federer (or anyone with his skills ... not) taking on Nadal on the red clay. To repeat

The only thing that stops me engaging more is time. I'd be writing all day on here if I could. Coaching 40 hours a week, kids, wife, cats, dog, phone ringing off its hook all day eats up a lot of my day. The forum is where I come to relax and increase my knowledge. I read ALL your posts and love doing so. I also read ALL don_budge's, bottle's, Klacr, 10splayer's...pretty much everything. If I could I would engage in all the threads. So keep posting...

It's going back a long way now and on a different surface but if you watch their first two Wimbledon finals where Federer emerged the winner, you'll find Federer often used the sliced shot you're referring to. Without that sliced backhand he would have lost at least one of those finals, maybe both. He also used it to Nadal's forehand side, acute angled slice which skidded in low. Nadal couldn't pump his forehand down the line from here (geometrically not possible with a full western) and his ONLY option was to skim over the top of the ball and go cross court. Federer was there to eat it.

The same obviously worked equally well and was used more frequently on the backhand side. Nadal is very quick but he isn't THAT great when he gets there, nothing like a Nastase or a Mac. You'd think a good net player who reads things would pick him off from here.

This is all doubly difficult to do on clay. Nadal does stand an awful long way back at times so there must a way to take advantage of this.

The business of the two first serves approach is desperate stuff. But perhaps it's the only way to stop Nadal dominating from the get-go off the second serve. Once Nadal is dominating rallies, Novak is the only guy that can deal with his forehand and turn the tables. It's very hard, however, to throw off the deeply ingrained culture of the second serve. Historically second serves have always been slower than first serves. The mentality behind this is deep rooted. How do you stop yourself pumping that bit more spin on the ball as you go deeper and deeper into a match, or in a crisis? It would take an Arthur Ashe-type meditational mentality to pull that off...not easy.

But yes, on grass at least, that sliced backhand of Federer's did cause problems.

It's a good point you raised about Jerzy. You cannot expect to slice and dice anything like the bulk of match against Nadal, it's just a breaking up rhythm tactic. Thumping groundshots would seem the only way to go much of the time against a man like Nadal who cannot be out rallied. I only watched Jerzy for one set but it certainly seems like he has lots of power off the ground, and a huge serve. As a tall, double-handed player, he fits the rest of the bill, too.

Great posts, don and don_budge. I read them ALL.

[don_budge]

Engagement...is my middle name. don_engagement_budge

I was going to take Llodra over Raonic in an upset (home crowd, comfortable on clay, experienced), but then I looked it up and Raonic is 3-0 against him including a win on clay and he's been getting better on the dirt.

Kind of disappointed no one really engaged on my three points for Federer (or anyone with his skills ... not) taking on Nadal on the red clay.

I'm engaged baby. I'm connected. I am listening and reading everything that comes out of your keyboard...tennis_chiro. I am not disappointed that only jbill acknowledged my tactical acumen. It is the nature of the beast.

Tennis coaches are sort of...how does 10splayer put it...self absorbed. He once suggested to me that I get over myself. It makes me laugh...out loud to hear such words. But yes...tennis_chiro. I saw your points and they are interesting. You are suggesting three things and many combinations and permutations that branch off of those three. Let me engage here.

1. I have been suggesting much the same thing in my discussion of tactics for Federer vs. Nadal. The classic example of McEnroe vs. Borg illustrates that this is a classic tactic to be used against players that prefer to camp out on the baseline or three meters behind it. With the strong extreme grips and the two handed backhand it will behoove any opponent to make him play out of his comfort zone and while doing it judiciously. He is murder on short balls that sit up but if you can get him to play in the manner that you are suggesting (and I have been talking myself blue in the face about this since the French Open two years ago) it is a tactic that will be effective with him. McEnroe used the short slice to draw Borg in...and then he proceeded to carve him up from there. I think Federer has a nice little slice forehand crosscourt that he could use effectively as well. The whole strategy map must a based on the premise that the backhand side is the one to be exploited...even if it means attacking the forehand side as well to open up the backhand side.

2. Again...it suggests mixing things up and not let Nadal settle into a comfortable pattern. By all means...more viable tactics to exploit the weaker side of the Spanish Stallion. Use the whole court and constantly mix it up. You must use the forecourt. McEnroe did a lot of approaching in this manner as well. Using the short ball with spin to get the opponent to hit up as he was closing in.

3. I like this suggestion of yours particularly well. Why in hell's name hit a second serve? If you have any kind of decent serve motion...if you miss the first one long, the knowledge of the adjustment enables you to swing even harder at the second knowing full well there is zero chance you are going to miss it. Against Nadal you have to be a bit fatalistic anyways...nothing less than optimal performance is going to make an impression on him. No sense in pussy footing around with lame second serves that he will interpret as cat food. Use the serve to attack. The better you serve with the second ball...the better you will serve with the first. The better you serve with the second ball...the better you will return serve. Connect those dots.

Brands tried the method that Stotty suggests will work on Nadal but I am not so sure. Nadal weathered the storm and Brands was unable to sustain the heightened level of performance necessary to nail down the coffin. Even with the high fire power that the equipment has turned this game into...the clay slows it down just enough to make it a cerebral game of tactics if one has the acumen and patience to think things through. The problem is that these guys are like robots with one dimensional thinking and tactics that follow. The object of developing sound technique is to enable you to execute tactics. Only Djokovic has realized that it is a combination of brains and brawn will take down the left handed King of Clay. But he has demonstrated it on a number of occasions and hopefully the rest of the field is taking notice.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves here. The draw is laden with land mines. These two don't get the free pass to the semi's...same as Federer doesn't get one in the other weaker half of the draw. There is lots and lots of tennis to be played. I have a feeling though that it isn't going to be so clear cut as it has been in the recent past. There are a slew of players such as Brand that are realizing that if they don't just lay down and take it...they stand a fighting chance. I'm going with Llodra...but of course I bet with my heart which makes me a loser sometimes. I love the all court tactics and the use of the forecourt on both sides of the net. If Raonic is not so mobile on a given day...it could be just enough for Llodra to send him packing. Plus Llodra is French...Roland Garros is a game of passion. Passion is what makes it all happen. But this is in the second round so we will just be patient and wait until the game comes to us...then we will go to work on Llodra's chances. Benoit Paire and Marcos Baghdatis is another interesting matchup if Baghdatis can physically answer the challenge. Grigor DiMitrov and anybody is going to be an interesting matchup but in this case it is Alejandro Falla...a tough Columbian clay court specialist.

It is quite interesting this year...the landscape has changed a bit. Murray isn't there and the seeding sort of rendered the big picture askew somewhat. Looking forwards in the draw there are all kinds of compelling match ups coming down the pipe. Let's stay on this...big don!

[tennis_chiro]

Couple of interesting matchups

I was going to take Llodra over Raonic in an upset (home crowd, comfortable on clay, experienced), but then I looked it up and Raonic is 3-0 against him including a win on clay and he's been getting better on the dirt.

Monfils and Gulbis have never played before. Monfils has a poor ranking after his time off so he is an upset choice, but I like him because his speed is so great that he can actually neutralize the Gulbis firepower and make it a question of shot tolerance. And Monfils showed he is pretty healthy today. He'll loosen up with a doubles match tomorrow and be ready for Ernests on Wednesday (they are in the bottom half).

Kind of disappointed no one really engaged on my three points for Federer (or anyone with his skills ... not) taking on Nadal on the red clay. To repeat

1. Use the slice return crosscourt to his backhand short and bring him in on balls he doesn't really want to come in on. Actually, this tactic may work even better after you've pushed him back to his comfort zone for a shot or two, 15 feet behind the baseline. Using the slice has certainly been thrown out a lot, but I'm talking about actually bringing him in to the net, not on a drop shot, but on a short, low ball that he will have to approach on with his backhand. Going to be tougher to pull off from the ad court.

2. Approach down the middle short to his backhand. Gotta get him to hit the backhand - he can do anything with the forehand. But you better have the volleying skills to put away the next ball behind him.

3. And this is the point I felt is a little out there, but has to be considered by anyone except the huge guys who can routinely hit 115mph second serves. Don't give Rafa the luxury of returning a second serve. Hit two first serves. If you are hitting only first serves, you should be able to make a higher percentage even on the first serve; and if you miss that one, you should make a higher percentage still on the second serve. Yes that still means double faults, Rafa won 69% of second serve return points against Roger in the Rome finals 10 days ago. For the entire year-to-date, Rafa wins 56% of second serve points vs 36% of first serve points. And when he gets hot towards the end of the tournament, it's more like 70% as it was against Federer. So I think if you work at it, you should be able to make 70% first serves and 80% of the first serves you missed. Yes, that means you would make at least 6 doubles in 100 service points (30% x 20%), but if you can win 70% of those points where you got the first serve in (reasonable), you are looking at winning (.7 x .7 + .3 x .8 x .7= .49+.17=) 66% of your service points. On a year-to-date basis, Nadal wins 44% of return points, so you would be way ahead, at least statistically. If you can pull it off, you put the Spaniard in an unfamiliar situation. That's worth a lot.

Brands showed an alternative way to play clay's Master of the Universe. But you have to be able to hit that big without going too far out of your comfort zone. Jerzy could do that with an average serve speed of 135 and an average 2nd serve speed over 115. His regular groundstrokes are big enough to go through the court without him having to try to hit as hard as Brands was doing today; and he likes going forward; and he has a great drop shot, ... as long as he doesn't overuse it!

Anyway, getting interesting

[don_budge]

Seasoning...and old tennis Coaches. tennis_chiro.

Just watched the first two sets of Nadal's victory over Brands. Those knees are worse than they were a year ago. He can run, but he pays a price and it is constantly going up. He doesn't just prance around the court like he used to between points; he limps. Part of it may be a con, but he is not what he was as far as his legs go.

don

That is something that a truly well seasoned tennis coach notices. Still watching the opponent like a hawk. Looking for signs of discomfort, for pain. Trying to see through the con. Man...it's sort of life in the real world. Outside of the lines. See the signs and know their meanings.

Mats Wilander had a rather interesting set of comments yesterday on the EuroSport Channel as he was talking to Annabelle Croft...the femme fatale that Boris was getting a little flirty with at tennis promo in Paris. Mats was making an observation how taller opponents give Nadal problems for a couple of reasons. It was a fairly sophisticated analysis. Quite interesting. First...he mentioned that taller players are less effected by the big topspin of Nadal because it doesn't get as high up on them forcing them into defensive positions. Secondly...he observed that when Nadal starts to hit harder and harder his ball starts to land shorter because of the big spin which allows the big guys to encroach a bit more which helps them to back up Nadal a bit more. He already seems to like to play substantially behind the baseline. But he finally noted that Nadal made the adjustment and moved forwards to neutralize the number of things that were working against him.

I like the post also about the one hand backhands and it seems that there are more and more that seem to be coming around. Good ones too...like Brands'. He was just pounding it. I saw him play a few short balls and drop shots to the Nadal backhand then follow up with some big forehands to the forehand. This is the strategy that works...combinations that exploit the backhand then play aggressively tactically to the other side. Mark my words...and Djokovic's example. Listen up Roger...this is something that you can do. This is something that can lift you one more time. Tactics. Cat and mouse. Come on...you remember before you were Roger. Don't let your pride get in the way. Resort to gamesmanship...in a tactical sense.

I never say that I told you so and in the case of Berdych and Monfils...well enough said. Monfils plays it fast and loose. Very difficult to play against an opponent that is playing so freely. Everything seems so unpredictable...and there seems to be a bit of a time warp where everything he does seems to be happening a bit quicker and it just makes you feel as if you are one half step slow. In Berdych's case...he was probably a half step slow. The player that gets into position to take the better swing a larger percentage of the time has the advantage...all things being equal. This is the difference in the top echelons of professional tennis...position makes the difference. Secondly of importance and not far behind is how to hit off balance effectively. The combination of these two factors plus conditioning is often the difference. You can talk about technique until you are blue in the face (and it often is discussed ad nauseum) but it is the intangible factors such as these that make the difference. All of the top players have pretty darned good effective technique. So now all of you Gulbis nuts get a real spell binder. Monfils.

Well it seems to take forever to get the first round completed. It's Tuesday and it still isn't done. I am happy that Fabio Fognini made it through for the obvious reasons. Patiently waiting for one other upset in the making. Janko Tipsarevic plays another homegrown French product in Nicolas Mahut. Janko has had a tough time fighting his way out of a paper bag as of late and it is sort of remarkable that he is seeded as high as he is. He has had a string of first round losses and this very well could be another.

As for Jerzy "Joe" Janowicz. I, too, have been watching this young Polish kid since November. His day may very well be coming and when it comes it could come quickly. He's explosive and he possesses touch and some personality. It makes for fine theater on the stage of the tennis court. You really cannot afford to get too far ahead of the reality here because of the mine laden field. I am so looking forward to a match between him and another rising star in Stanislas Wawrinka but there is a tough cookie in between them who could just very well be another rising star although a bit more under the radar. Robin Haase from the Netherlands has been slowly climbing in the rankings and he cannot be taken for granted by the Jerzy camp.

I don't make predictions...and if I do I am pretty coy about it. I hate to make mistakes. Especially the kind that other people catch. But I came pretty close to making a prediction about Monfils. Strange guy...I think. Flashes of brilliance. But is it sustainable...that is always the question with him. He was becoming more consistent before his time off. It should be really interesting to see how he reacts to Ernesto Gulbis in the next round. It should be really interesting to see how Gulbis reacts to Monfils as well. Monfils has established himself as the crowd pleaser and the hometown boy now. Let's see how far he can run with it. He had some good results coming into this tournament. His conditioning and his fitness seem to be exceptional...plus being well rested from the fatiguing grind of the tour. I would say that Gulbis has his hands full. But Ernesto seems to be taking it all a bit more seriously these days. He is going to have to if he wants to make his mark. These are some tough hombres out there. The draw is full of them. Land mines.

[tennis_chiro]

Nadal is vulnerable

Just watched the first two sets of Nadal's victory over Brands. Those knees are worse than they were a year ago. He can run, but he pays a price and it is constantly going up. He doesn't just prance around the court like he used to between points; he limps. Part of it may be a con, but he is not what he was as far as his legs go.

I posted the following about the Brands match in another thread:

For those of you that think the classic one-handed backhand of Edberg/Korda (with a moderate Eastern grip and a follow through in the classic manner towards the target without a great deal of movement (almost none) of the rear shoulder) is too weak a weapon against the heavy topspin of today's pros, you need to watch the free video on demand of today's match between Brands and Nadal, especially the first two sets.

On Roland Garros's red clay against Nadal, Brands was pushing Rafa around with that classic backhand. Granted, he was really hitting out, but there was no question of whether the shot he was hitting was adequate to the task or had too little topspin. Sure, he would have hit a safer shot with a little more topspin, but it would not have penetrated the court with the same deadly effect. Also helps to be a 6' 5" , 200 lb. block of granite. But take a good look at the conservative nature of the stroke, grip and follow-through. The VOD allows you to stop and look at points over again as you go.

BTW, the VOD feature supplied by Tennis Channel is terrific. Completely free. I don't know how many or how long they will keep the matches up, but they have 20 matches in full up from yesterday and 15 from today.

Go to:

http://www.americaonesports.com/flashplayer/2013fo.html

You'll see VOD as a choice with LIVE on the upper right side of your screen.

And look for Brands to be a member of the top 20 by the end of the year if not by the end of the summer. He and his classic backhand are not a fluke. Rafa was very lucky to get out of that 2nd set tie-breaker. At 0-3, Brands just missed a winner off a forehand return of a second serve. At 3-2, Nadal slipped and, perhaps distracted, Brands missed a routine backhand approach down the line that should have ended the point. And if you want to see that backhand in action, go to the 8th point of the tie-breaker (about the 1:51:00 mark which will display when you grab the slider at the bottom of the video). Then at 4-4, Nadal benefited from a shot hitting the net and forcing an error from Brands. Of course, Nadal followed that up with two great winners, but he was lucky to still be in the tb. Brands is just 25 and just attained his highest ranking inside the top 60. Haven't seen the last two sets yet, but I love his demeanor.

don

[tennis_chiro]

Jerzy's stats

Predicting the outcome of matches is an impossible job. ..

I saw a set of Jerzy's match versus Ramos. It was a bit of a ball-slamming exercise. He hit four aces in a row to win one service game, and crunched huge forehands to win others. He played a handful of nice drop shots. I found his movement for a big man the most impressive aspect of his game. He moves more like a man of 5,11 than a man of 6,8...lithe. He's a little intense, isn't he? No danger of him losing focus, one feels.

That's what I've been saying since last November. Not only does he move well, he can do something when he gets there. Looks a lot more mature in RG than he did in those early matches at the Aussie.

Check the stats on the RG website. I think Jerzy had 3 winners for every 2 ue's. High first serve percentage. Average 2nd over 100mph. Just 3 doubles that didn't cost him any breaks. Got out of 0-40 in the third and allowed just 6 breakpoints overall losing just one. If he holds that solid, he can afford to take more risk with his groundies. He didn't seem to get distracted. Didn't see a lot. Found the match late on LSHunters. Also had great numbers on going to the net.

Stats page on RG site shows a lot more when you pull up the momentum view. You can see where break points, aces, etc took place. Cool!

don

[stotty]

Berdy and Jerzy

Ok... So I was wrong with the whole Berdych thing. I can admit it. I always do. Not many tennis coaches will admit they are terribly wrong or way off. I'm a rare breed I guess. I was really wrong.

Credit to Monfils. He played well. Served brilliantly.

Is it too early to start my Berdych favoritism for Wimbledon? Probably. Today's match hurt in many ways. Tough loss for Tberd.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Predicting the outcome of matches is an impossible job. We'd all be millionaires out of the bookmakers if we could.

I saw a couple of sets of the Berydch match. His forehand let him down...looked edgy on it. He had some terrible patches, losing eleven points in a row on one of them.

Monfils played a stunner in front of the home crowd. It meant a lot to him and it was always going to be a tough first round match for Berdy.

I saw a set of Jerzy's match versus Ramos. It was a bit of a ball-slamming exercise. He hit four aces in a row to win one service game, and crunched huge forehands to win others. He played a handful of nice drop shots. I found his movement for a big man the most impressive aspect of his game. He moves more like a man of 5,11 than a man of 6,8...lithe. He's a little intense, isn't he? No danger of him losing focus, one feels.

[klacr]

men's draw is out.


My semi-final picks...

Top Half: Djokovic vs. Nadal. Winner: Djokovic in 4. (Betting on Cold, heavy conditions. Will be a slugfest. All 4 sets very close. a few tiebreaks.)

Bottom Half: Berdych vs. Federer. Winner: Federer in 4. (Berdych will whip Fed in one set but can't keep the level high enough for long enough)

Finals...

Federer vs. Djokovic. Winner: Federer!

Am I crazy? Prepping myself for projectile forum post lashings from those that think differently. Let me hear it.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Ok... So I was wrong with the whole Berdych thing. I can admit it. I always do. Not many tennis coaches will admit they are terribly wrong or way off. I'm a rare breed I guess. I was really wrong.

Credit to Monfils. He played well. Served brilliantly.

Is it too early to start my Berdych favoritism for Wimbledon? Probably. Today's match hurt in many ways. Tough loss for Tberd.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

No contests...my focus is too narrow.

The contest sounds like fun...if you like that sort of thing. I cannot be bothered and I say that with all due respect. I don't have time or the energy for it. Just like I don't have the energy for computer games. There is only one game at the moment...the moment of truth. Roland Garros...The French Open Championships. Well there is the other game...the one going on inside my noodle. Know what I mean?

But back to the championships and they are going to be a great one this year. I can tell. It has already taken some shape and the first round has not been completed. The draw in itself is compelling...with the top two players in the clay court universe in the top half and our aging superstar in the bottom. These days it is getting a bit more precarious for superstars though. The tier just below is getting a bit impatient and they are losing a bit of their awe and respect for the anointed ones. Stanislas Wawrinka is looking more and more disdainful at some of the top players...losing a bit of respect and awe. I saw he and DiMitrov having a bit of a moment together with Wawrinka coming out on top this time...bullying just a little. Wawrinka and Jerzy "Joe" are looking at a confrontation early on in this years French Open. These things can spell upsets. Nobody gets a free pass in Paris this year. The field is laden with landmines all the way to the finals. This years champion is going to earn it...not that every other champion has not. I have a feeling. I wish that I was there.

Yesterday I tuned in for a couple of moments to see Michael Llodra serve and volley his way past some player from Belgium. It was really nice to watch and he is really good at it...all of the angles with some really good touch mixed in with sharp, crisp volleys and sound smashing. Good for you Micheal and this kind of tennis is not dead...it is only hibernating. Sooner or later somehow if the tennis world has just a hint of a brain the game will be engineered and coached back to this type of tennis. Tilden recommended one surface at one point...standardization. Now it finally might make some sense...even though the surfaces are already so similar. Kudo's to Llodra for persevering.

I watched David Ferrer ever so briefly EverReady Battery Energizer Bunny his opponent to death. Typically boring and successful. I watched James Blake just long enough in his match against Troicki to watch him chase down a ball from the net to the baseline to hit it between his legs on a lob over Viktor who was at the net. I had never seen anyone play a lob off of that shot before...it sort of defies physics.

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/news/articles/2013-05-27/201305261369587235384.html

Yeah...the tournament is looking particularly interesting this year. The first round has not been completed...Berdych and Monfils later today. DiMitrov and Alejandro Falla too...could be interesting. He doesn't like to be called "Baby Fed" you know. What about Janko Tipsarevic and Nicolas Mahut? Anyone willing to bet on Tipsarevic who cannot seem to buy a win nowadays.

[tennis_chiro]

Invitation to a contest

I'm inviting you alll to join the contest on the Roland Garros web site. My team is "oldpros". I registered a group called "Tennisplayers" for members of the tennisplayer.net forum. I'll put up a thread. To compete in the group you'll need the group's name: Tennisplayers and the password which is 6WYXS.

The url is http://www.myrolandgarroscup.com/

It's under the Social drop down menu on the main web site as the Official Game.

Check it out on the RG website (http://www.rolandgarros.com/). You pick up to 6 players each round. You spend a preassigned budget and you earn points depennding on how well you do.

I'd rather keep it to the men's singles, but the game doesn't seem to allow for that.

Thought it might be fun.


don

[don_budge]

"Projectile form post lashings..." and the coup de grace.

Finals...

Federer vs. Djokovic. Winner: Federer!

Am I crazy? Prepping myself for projectile forum post lashings from those that think differently. Let me hear it.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Curious choice of words. I like it. Projectiles...in this case words hurled with vindictiveness. But yes...you are crazy. I only say that because you seem happy. There's a projectile form post lashing for you. Left handed of course.

I'm not much of a prognosticator. Telling the future is not one of my forte's. I always find myself saying...one never knows. With a quizzical look on my face. One never knows, do they? Life has a way of surprising you. Catching you with your pants down...the hand in the cookie jar sometimes. People often do the unexpected.

So as far as these newcomers go...they come and they go. It's a special breed that get to the top...and stay there. The current crop includes Djokovic, Nadal and Federer. Federer holding on with his fingernails. Murray nowhere to be seen...another top player disappearing into the void of injuryness.

So yes...the draw is out. Once again the randomness of the placing of the third and fourth seeds plays havoc on the natural order of things. One should play four and two should play three...in the projected semi's. In my book. Where everything is fair...and makes sense. It would be Djokovic vs. Ferrer and Nadal vs. Federer. That's the draw that makes sense. Those are the matches that we want to see...or rather that I want to see. Sometimes I make the mistake that there is actually somewhere out there that sees the same things I do.

At any rate...be that as it may. If I had it my way with the draw, with the way that it really is...Federer vs. Nadal is the match to hope for. If Nadal and Djokovic can slug it out for five sets and six plus hours...could the Swiss Maestro step up to the plate and apply the finishing touch...the coup de grace. The stroke of grace? The final blow or shot to kill a wounded person or animal...or tennis player. I want to believe that it has been an aberration what we have seen from Federer vs. Nadal. I want to believe that the "one" that everyone wants to tout as the GOAT...Greatest Of All Time is not so tactically challenged as he appears to be.

Keep it on the backhand...hit aggressively to the forehand when you do. Aggressively meaning hit "tactically" for each and every situation in this case. For instance...deep to the backhand then short and low crosscourt with a vicious underspin. Or...short to the backhand then pound a drive into the forehand corner. Mix up the pace, depth and spin on the backhand...try to swing the tactics to backhand vs. backhand and avoid the Nadal forehand to the Federer backhand like the plague, then open up the court with diversity of spin, pace and depth. Think McEnroe vs. Borg. Maintain the pressure at all time...in the words of Bill Tilden. Death by a thousand cuts...then the coup de grace on match point. Patience, patience...patience.

But guess what. They have to get there first. Ok...one step at a time. Interesting matches in the first round? Sure...there are many. But there is one that catches my eye as a possible match of interest. It is none other than klacr's Tomas Berdych vs. Gail Monfils. Has there ever been a player that plays it "fast and loose" as Monfils does? Not that I recall. He's a real character and a former top ten player. He's got plenty of upset in him if he can just hold it together mentally long enough. Berdych is probably too mentally tough for Monfils loosey-goosey approach to topple him...but play it certain with the French crowd behind him. He'd love to be the crowd pleaser and if they want an upset he should try to appease them.

None of the newcomers really are contenders yet. At least on paper. They are only one inspired week away from establishing themselves into the upper echelon. Three names make an impression on me in this regard. Grigor DiMitrov from Bulgaria and training out of Sweden, Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland and Jerzy "Joe" Janowicz from Poland. These three guys have the correct combination of all of the ingredients and are in the process of calibrating themselves for a run at a major. Maybe not this year...maybe not ever. But nonetheless...these are the guys that are worth watching. If you are looking for something to spice things up.

But most likely it will come down to the usual suspects in the end. We shall see. One never knows...you know. One thing is for certain though...all eyes will be on Fabio Fognini's eye candy. Svetoslava.

[stroke]

I agree with Kyle in the bottom half of the draw. I like Nadal in 4 over Novak in the top half. I don't guess anyone would pick Roger in that final unless Nadal comes down with an injury.

[klacr]

men's draw is out.

Stotty makes a nice observation with a Djokovic-Dimitrov match in the 3rd round.

The mindset with the majority of tennis fans is Djokovic-Nadal semi-final. Can't blame them.

Federer's draw looks pretty clear cut but there is a match with Julien Benneteau looming in the 3rd round as well. The frenchman, playing in front of the home crowd, with previous success against Federer. Could make it tricky for the Swiss Maestro.

My semi-final picks...

Top Half: Djokovic vs. Nadal. Winner: Djokovic in 4. (Betting on Cold, heavy conditions. Will be a slugfest. All 4 sets very close. a few tiebreaks.)

Bottom Half: Berdych vs. Federer. Winner: Federer in 4. (Berdych will whip Fed in one set but can't keep the level high enough for long enough)

Finals...

Federer vs. Djokovic. Winner: Federer!

Am I crazy? Prepping myself for projectile forum post lashings from those that think differently. Let me hear it.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

The draw

Well here's the men's draw

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/draws/ms/r1s1.html

My man Benoit Paire meets Marco Baghdatis in the first round, so not an easy start...but I believe Benoit will win this one.

Djokovic has some tough early matches and could well face Dimitrov in the third round...interesting.

If Rosol progresses, he will meet Nadal in the third round. I think Nadal will be looking to set the record straight here.

Federer's draw looks a breeze. I just hope he doesn't make the final if it's to meet Nadal.

tennis_chiro's Jerzy has a Spaniard in the first round (no Spaniard on clay can be easy) but should get to the third round where he will face a stern test against Wawrinka.

Let's wish Benoit and Jerzy good luck...we need new kids on the block.