Roland Garros, The French Open Thread

#126
#126
ana-ivanovic28.jpg
 
#128
#128
Ana should win if she doesn't wander off in the middle of the match for awhile again. Hard to pick against the men's final being anything other than Federer-Nadal again, and until Nadal actually loses to Federer on clay, I'll believe it when I see it.

I like watching the women a lot more, and it's not just (or even mostly) because some of the girls are so fetching; it's because the women's game is at least still _vaguely_ related to what's going on when I play. The men's game is like a completely different sport that just happens to be played with the same equipment.
 
#129
#129
just read through the game thread and OWH sounded a lot like me watching the match. Ana's had trouble with her first serve before, it's nothing new. She's also shown that she can rebound in third sets quite often. IIRC, she even came back in some third sets in the Aussie. She just didn't come back in the match that mattered most I guess. Saturday should be a GREAT matchup and I'm not even remotely close to being ready to default it to Ana.

Also, I really blew my prediction on the first match huh?

On the men's side, Roger's extra work on clay is paying off, but no question Nadal is still just too tough on clay. I still have him winning it all.
 
#131
#131
well, already up one set and a couple of games in the second it's not fair to say, but I didn't and still don't expect to see Nadal struggle. Federer could be different, but I'll take Federer in four sets.
 
#135
#135
volsgal03 said:
Federer and Nadal in the final, What time is this game?
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I can't tell from the online schedule, which for some reason will not let me click on "Sunday," but the women's final appears to be at 9 am EDT tomorrow. I'd imagine the men's final will be at around the same time on Sunday. Maybe?
 
#136
#136
I can't believe Bill and Vgtx haven't been falling all over themselves to talk about Ivanovic.
 
#137
#137
Hangover. Missed it. Didn't get out of bed until noon; still pretty much subverbal. Friend of mine found out his wife is pregnant yesterday, so he and I sat up late with some fine Scotch whisky.

I remember having a fleeting thought at about 3 AM that I probably should Tivo the match, since I clearly wasn't going to get up in time to see it, but I don't quite seem to have followed through with it. Ah well.
 
#138
#138
not been around the computer much lately. Saw the match this morning though and thought she played quite well. Safina battled a lot of nerves, but proved she's ready to make a name for herself. Plenty of times she could've completely folded but wound up winning the next game and getting right back in it. Ana was just too strong and determined though. Congrats to her.

b_034_ivanovic_0607.jpg
 
#139
#139
to add a little more, Ana's backhand is just a thing of beauty. She has so much power to it, yet seems to have complete control over it. That will serve her well on any type court and at her age just coming into what appears to be her prime, she could have quite a run at being #1. Looks like there are plenty of players willing to challenge for that spot. Leading the way are Jankovich and Sharapova.
 
#140
#140
volfanbill said:
to add a little more, Ana's backhand is just a thing of beauty. She has so much power to it, yet seems to have complete control over it. That will serve her well on any type court and at her age just coming into what appears to be her prime, she could have quite a run at being #1. Looks like there are plenty of players willing to challenge for that spot. Leading the way are Jankovich and Sharapova.
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Ana's inside out forehand is the monster.
 
#141
#141
BigPapaVol said:
Ana's inside out forehand is the monster.
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Her inside out forehand is her shot, yes. But she has become much more consistent, powerful and versatile with the backhand. Having both those weapons is what will propel her to greatness. There were times early in the match that you could tell she was setting up for the forehand but went with the backhand and added enough spin so that she could still use some serious power and get it to anywhere she wanted.
 
#142
#142
volfanbill said:
I'm going to disagree here. While it's her "shot", being able to throw that backhand wherever she wants is always a plus. She used it at times today when she seemed to be wanting to use the forehand and had power and spin to put it anywhere.
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she clearly had the weaker forehand in the Jankovic match.

She turns around points with that huge inside outer. Her backhand is solid, but not nasty like Venus, Serena, Janko and even Sharapova. That forehand is the best one in the game.
 
#143
#143
BigPapaVol said:
she clearly had the weaker forehand in the Jankovic match.

She turns around points with that huge inside outer. Her backhand is solid, but not nasty like Venus, Serena, Janko and even Sharapova. That forehand is the best one in the game.
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if you notice, I totally rewrote that post before you finished this. Like I said up there. The improvement in her backhand is what will make her great. If she gets some more confidence with it she could be totally nasty because players will really have to be on their toes every single shot not knowing what's coming.
 
#144
#144
I will also add that I found myself ticked off at Henin. I know she's struggled as of late and losing the French Open would've meant she couldn't have retired as #1, but I really think she could've waltzed through this event the way it played out. Seeing her out there during the awards ceremony truly did upset me. I think it was cheap to go out #1 while she still could.
 
#145
#145
I guess if you aren't as hot as Ana or Maria, no one cares if you win, lose or even play. But after completely owning Federer today in the men's final, Nadal has to finally prove this year he can win big on something other than clay. Mono or not, Federer looked awful. He had no answers for Nadal at all. If Federer doesn't get his act together soon, the player many, myself included, expect to see wind up as the best ever may not even be number one by this time next year.
 
#146
#146
Clay is so clearly an outlier that I don't even know how much importance it should have in the "best ever" debate. McEnroe and Sampras never won the French; are they somehow not as good as Agassi just because he managed to win it one year?

We'll find out if there's been a real changing of the guard in a month, I guess. Until Nadal beats Federer somewhere other than Paris, though, then I see no way to look at it other than that Federer is clearly one of (if not the absolute) best ever, but that he just happened to have his career overlap with possibly the greatest clay-court specialist ever. Nadal needs to win somewhere else to change that perception.

(I'm on record as saying the Federer Era is over, though, as far as him being a the dominant player that he was. Needless to say, his last two matches haven't done anything to change my mind about that.)
 
#147
#147
Vercingetorix said:
Clay is so clearly an outlier that I don't even know how much importance it should have in the "best ever" debate. McEnroe and Sampras never won the French; are they somehow not as good as Agassi just because he managed to win it one year?

We'll find out if there's been a real changing of the guard in a month, I guess. Until Nadal beats Federer somewhere other than Paris, though, then I see no way to look at it other than that Federer is clearly one of (if not the absolute) best ever, but that he just happened to have his career overlap with possibly the greatest clay-court specialist ever. Nadal needs to win somewhere else to change that perception.

(I'm on record as saying the Federer Era is over, though, as far as him being a the dominant player that he was. Needless to say, his last two matches haven't done anything to change my mind about that.)
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I agree, but I'm not sure Federer has done enough to cement himself as best ever and he's lost everywhere this year. In fact, his only tournament win was on clay in either Spain or Portugal if I recall correctly. I'm also not certain Nadal will be the one to become the next best. Djokovic is quickly rising up the ladder. I think he could be a superstar if he can just win that first major.
 
#148
#148
I'm with you on Djokovic bill, its gonna be interesting to see how Wimbledon plays out in a few weeks.
 
#149
#149
volsgal03 said:
I'm with you on Djokovic bill, its gonna be interesting to see how Wimbledon plays out in a few weeks.
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Wimbledon is by all means my favorite. I'd guess with your English raising, it's probably yours as well. Sometimes I feel very unpatriotic because Wimbledon is my favorite tennis major and golf's British Open might be my favorite sporting event of all. Can't wait to see what happens on the grass. I think there will be GREAT matchups on both the men's and women's sides.
 
#150
#150
Its funny I always liked the US Open growing up in TN because of John M. My sister was a huge fan of his and as we would watch the US Open, my dad would yell at us because we would be all into it and yelling at the t.v.
Federer dominates on grass and Nadal on clay. Its been those two in the final the last two years at Wimbledon dont know how far Djokovic got. Djokovic won the Australian this year, doesn't that count for a major title?
Will we see Roddick this year in Wimbledon?
 
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