20% chance of rain tomorrow at Roland Garros. 40 on Sunday.

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Federer vs Soderling.

Official current best returners as per ATP stats. From Jenny. Thanks.

JENNY

Official current best returners as per ATP stats.

First Service Return
1. Djokovic
2. Ferrer
3. Ferrero
4. Federer
5. Murray

Second Return of Service
1. Nadal
2. Davydenko
3. Ferrer
4. Verdasco
5. Ferrero

Return Games Won
1. Djokovic
2. Ferrero
3. Ferrer
4. Nadal
5. Davydenko

Roddick with his juvenile and pathetic (connected to the head, send fax / e-mail etc) BS. At least make it freaking original and entertaining. Geeeeeezzzzzzzz!!!!!!!

Rafael Nadal – Funny Moments.

What has to happen in abundance for Soderling to keep it close / win tomorrow against Federer?

-Federer’s first serve percentage has to drop under 60.

-Ace count under five for the match.

-Soderling has to find a way to engage Federer’s backhand even on difficult returns from Federer. Soderling or no one can match Nadal with it but the closer he can get to it the greater are his chances of making a match out of it.

-Soderling needs to add even greater oomph on his shots to come as close to being a Delpo.

-Twins have to be up all night – with Federer.

-Soderling needs to visit Borg and maybe have him in the stands to force the issue with Federer. Wilander wouldn’t hurt either – as addition.

-Soderling impersonating Federer? It nearly worked against Nadal at Wimbledon. You’ve got nothing to lose. Why not?

-Irritate Federer with time delay tactics and constant challenges. Bring up Nadal if reprimanded / penalised.

-Remind Federer at the coin toss that last year’s FO without Nadal holds no water.

Federer vs Soderling Roland Garros 2009.

Fiona making Henin’s loss at Roland Garros even worse?

Having owned Clijsters before Henin retired it was more or less assumed that she will hit the courts running and at least match Clijsters’s spectacular results after returning, if not overhaul them significantly to justify the edge she had over her compatriot.

Since her return in August last year, Clijsters has won the US Open title after beating BOTH Serena and Venus enroute, won Brisbane after beating someone named Justine in the finals with the deciding third set tie break at 7-6(6), won Miami after abusing Venus – in straight sets AND narrowly beating Justine in the semis (with the deciding third set again @ 7-6(6).

Justine, on the other hand, did reach the finals of her first Slam since return @ the AO but unlike Clijsters lost to Serena in three sets. She however did win her first title at Stuttgart beating Jankovic (quarters) and Stouser (finals). That alongwith her troubles against Clijsters, of all the freaking people, are only making the otherwise decent return look disastrous.

Ginepri on his push ups against Djokovic.

After playing so well for so long— all tournament and against Djokovic—the 98th-ranked Ginepri, of Kennesaw, Ga., suddenly lost that game and lost his way.

“Never doing those again on court. I think that kind of changed the momentum a little bit,” said Ginepri, who failed in his bid to become the first American man in the French Open quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003. “I felt a little stupid, slipping and falling on my face, so tried to get the crowd back to my side. Maybe that took a little bit of my focus away.”

“I thought I had a lot more in the tank to give, but I just didn’t get a good opportunity,” said Ginepri, who pulled off a five-set upset of 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero in the third round. “Novak was playing too well, was hitting some of the best shots I’ve seen.”

You cannot afford to miss ANY of Nadal’s matches on clay.

If you missed Federer’s prime where just winning a game – on your own serve – was a chore, you can compensate that to some degree by not missing out on the show Nadal puts on whenever he step on that dirt. You are possibly looking at THE greatest clay court player ever – without dispute. You can still not say that about Federer, even on grass, without being shred to pieces. Heck, even today people’s thongs are shred to pieces if Federer is called an undisputed GOAT despite him passing No. 14 and Roland Garros. One of these lunatics I know personally.

But Nadal is already there and the inroads he has the potential of making into surfaces not called red is scary, further making missing ANY of his matches a complete stupidity. Besides, currently he is at a place which brings out the genius within him. The greater the resistance the higher he soars always maintaining the ‘impossible to bridge’ gap he builds against his opponents essentially breaking their spirit and heart before their serve. Sure, unless he passes Borg who has six FO titles, Nadal will have to live with that disputed label (for his critics), but that today at 23 seems like just a casual visit on his way to immortality, unless he pushes himself too hard for his knees to bring him down – literally and figuratively.

However, Nadal has to win THIS one for more than just No. 7 or No. 5 reasons. This officially will bring him back to where he was in ’08 which in turn will allow him to dictate for the rest of the season. Reigning as a king becomes a tad troublesome without the crown. With Almagro and Djokovic next, Nadal has had the easiest of draws he has probably had at ANY event in his career. With the abuse he has unleashed since the clay season began and that his knees are holding up magnificently, there’s absolutely no excuse for Nadal to win this thing – maybe without dropping a set.

Of the four FO’s Nadal has won, only in ’08 he was able to win it without dropping a set. To not let anything loose and open, he also dished three bagels (one in the finals against Federer) and NINE bread sticks (one in the finals against Federer). Wondering what the score was in the finals? 6-1, 6-3, 6-0. That kind of scoreline has not been seen from ANYONE on ANY surface since Adam and Eve.

Now that we have gotten rid of all tomato cans, the canvas is stretched and ready for Nadal to begin his masterpiece by calling on his genius to thrill not just tennis fans by even those clowns who are accused of holding the couch down. Only hope is that Nadal is able to sustain this tougher home stretch without rekindling the fatigue giant to make the final act on clay a bust. Federer may be hoping for that too because if Federer wins here again without Nadal in the finals, it may only escalate the rumblings of hollow FO wins.

Having won FO once, even without Nadal, Federer is home free – significantly. So he has no pressure exacerbated by Nadal’s current showing to win again. He has his career Slam already and if he can get a hot Nadal, it will mitigate the H2H sting among other bruises considerably. Federer cannot be hoping for big things in the final for obvious reasons past present and future, but that feeling is what he has NEVER carried into a FO final before against Nadal. Could that prove it be a good thing? Good enough to produce the first five setter at Roland Garros for Nadal if not a Federer win? Maybe.

Photos.

Fernando Verdasco Vs Nicolas Almagro – Roland Garros 2010 – Highlights.

Nadal vs Bellucci.

Djokovic forces Ginepri to do push ups on court.

What Soderling camp is saying to motivate him right about now?

-Of the seven jokers Federer has lost to this season, you have proven to be better than ALL of them except Nadal.

-You have defeated one of them (Montanes) on the very surface he defeated Federer just days ago.

-Federer has no shot at winning the title given all the baggage he brings to the table against Nadal. He cannot be looking at the bigger picture with much enthusiasm. You have defeated Nadal at Roland Garros despite extenuating circumstances and carry no such BS. In fact, you may have already done to Nadal what Nadal has done to Federer with your impersonation and rebellious stance – giving you a better shot at winning the title.

-We have arranged to steal Federer’s doll he carries around like a little girl: Tweety. For rock people, click here if you have no clue what that means. Geeeeezzzzzzz!!!!!!

-Move the ball from side to side to take advantage of the sight blockage that long nose forces. Serena has boobs, Federer has the nose.

Federer and Soderling after four matches.

Player	Aces	Ist serve pct.	Sets lost/Tie breaks	Unforced errors	Bk pt conv %	Time on court.	Matches played
Federer	26	63	0 / 2	90	45	7:17	4
Soderling	43	64	1 / 0	111	50	6:55	4

Federer vs Wawrinka in Roland Garros 2010.

Will quarterfinals look like this?

Federer vs Soderling.

Berdych vs Youzhny.

Nadal vs Verdasco.

Djokovic vs Helzer.

Kobe shoves foot down Barkley’s mouth.

Charles Barkley predicted just ten days ago that games of Kobe scoring 30 points or more are O-V-E-R.

Coincidentally, since then Kobe has reeled off eight straight PLAY OFF games with 3o or more points. All that on a broken finger, drained knee and ankle problems – at age 31 – against players in their prime – physically. To ensure the foot stays down he has been flirting with triple double at each of those games by improving his rebounding and assist numbers.

Is it the broken finger, knee and ankle that’s fueling this because somebody else in a game called tennis has been called out for mental problems and has been unable to respond – with a perfect body? Is there something called a reverse hospital in existence somewhere?

Shouldn’t you grow a moustache to mitigate the Pinocchio nose effect? But then he will have to shave the eyebrows for the eyes, pull back lips to show teeth, be attracted to some females to …., use the left hand more often……

Federer passes the pretend test. Next up: Wolves – one after another.

Both Federer and Wawrinka did their best to camouflage the inevitable with Wawrinka even capping it with a second set tie break while adding the special racket smashing effect as the cherry on ‘top’. People, you are not fooling anyone here or ‘anywhere else’. Give it up already!!!!!!!

Federer is one match away from sending Sampras into oblivion with yet another broken record carried on a stretcher. Federer added uncertainty to it with his lackadaisical play leading up to it to add insult to injury – like he did with No. 15. That sword is also going to pierce Nadal on the other end to take away some motivation currently fueling his rampage towards anything that moves on clay. Federer must be hoping it would do more, so he can beat Nadal – in his home like Nadal did to him at Wimbledon.

But before all that can even begin to take shape, there’s already a turkey fully matured and seasoned about to land with a thud right in front of Federer on his way to that Sunday date. Even though Federer has not lost a single set so far compared to one for Soderling, overall Soderling is without doubt coming in as a better player evoking hopes of a thriller if not a spoiler for Fedal enthusiasts. Besides, Soderling has received promises for free hair restoration surgeries, injection of class operations, fixing of bow-legged syndrome, therapy to eliminate indecent fascination with thumb idiosyncracies……from both Sampras and Nadal. (lame)

Soderling has not only blown away stronger competition on his way up, he has also dished two bagels and two breadsticks to Federer’s one bagel/breadstick. Soderling’s last two opponents have been Montanes and Cilic to Rooster and Wawrinka for Federer. Soderling losing a set to Montanes actually further consolidates his claim to be on a tear since Montanes was coming in with far stronger credentials this year after beating Federer at Estoril and winning the title there. That demonstrates a pattern of consistency for Soderling since no other player came even close to bothering him – including Cilic. To all that add the fact that Montanes had defeated someone just a few weeks ago AND that Soderling reached the final here last year after beating ‘in whatever shape’ Nadal.

Contrast that with the lame tomato cans Federer has been fighting with most sets won barely on account of just one break. That takes away any cement from setting firmly on any pattern you can lay a finger on. If Federer is to win against Soderling it will have to come on the shoulders of match up issues, as bone on bone stats and showing so far will not get it done unless he suddenly raises his form overnight. Soderling could turn into that Delpo at the US Open finals with his pace and flatter shots robbing Federer the luxury to get set for his shots while lunging and stretching to make contact.

With so much riding on the match – No. 1 rank, Sampras’s record, semifinal streak etc. – in addition to the preceding powder, Federer will have to straighten out in a hurry to carry the load – mentally. And all that still leaves the high probability of getting embarrassed and humiliated – again – on Sunday right after that gaffe and straight set defeat at Madrid just days ago. Don’t want to think that far ahead? How about the match right after Soderling? If Berdych gets through he will be carrying that ‘didn’t I just beat you last week’ virus to not make things any easier.

Federer will have to really earn his stripes this time and if he does it will have come at the most opportune time considering the slide he has been on lately AND the advent of his beloved grass season not to mention tying another record Sampras holds so dear. It will be far more effective if Federer can right the ship on clay instead of doing what everybody expects him to do on grass – not just for the rest of the season but maybe his career. Federer needs to remember that if not for that AO title in January, he would have not won anything in his last 12 outings – that’s not too far from the drought Nadal is just emerging from largely blamed on legitimate injury and personal issues. Federer has very little to lay this blame on unless he has begun to believe what’s been repeated in the press over and over again about lack of motivation for obvious reasons.

Soderling can crack open a whole bus load of worms if he can just extend Federer to five sets, forget about winning the whole thing – in straight sets. Soderling has no pressure and a lot of momentum going for him, something Federer cannot match – on paper. Still Federer is far from over. He is extremely dangerous. Even his straight set loss to Nadal had ample screen shots of how good he can get when needed. Soderling cannot match a regular Federer with high enough first serve percentage, aces, drop shots etc.

Nonetheless, the backdrop at least leads you to hope for a thriller – something the event has been devoid of partly due to the personalities and partly due to the quality of tennis. Could this be the first of three matches to reverse that?

Photos.

Happy birthday to M’s mom: May 30.

Happy birthday to Gracie – May 30th.

Foods poisonous to pets.

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Quiz question.

Who, in the whole wide world, is most nervous watching Roland Garros unfold?

Obscure facts on players: Ana Ivanovic.

Mother, Dragana, is a lawyer; father, Miroslav, is a businessman; brother, Milos, is four years Ana’s junior; whole family likes sports, but none played tennis before Ana.

Sometimes prepares for matches by doing Sudoku in locker room.

Superstition is to not walk on lines of the court.

Has the most-visited website of any sportswoman (according to http://www.alexa.com, on November 10, 2009).

The President of Serbia, Boris Tadic, attended her 20th birthday party.

Residence: Basel, Switzerland.

Aside from her tennis career, Ivanović also studies finance at a university in Belgrade and Spanish in her spare time.

Some of her best friends include close childhood family friend Novak Djokovic, whom she has known since she was 5 years old, and former world number 1 Rafael Nadal.

Ana Ivanovic vs Alisa Kleybanova.

Rafael Nadal vs Lleyton Hewitt / Roland Garros 2010.

Djokovic receives a much needed gift.

Having dropped two sets in three matches compared to none from both Federer and Nadal, Djokovic is not looking too good to manage a thriller if not a win in the semis against Nadal. But Ferrer’s exit should provide enough motivation and brush clearance to move forward with a little more swagger and authority. He should have no excuse now for robbing us of the semifinal against Nadal.

Other than Federer’s encounter against Soderling and Fedal final, this is one encounter that can produce some fireworks worthy for even we lazy Americans to wake up and watch.

Djokovic also has to watch his ‘time on court’ stat given his breathing problems etc. Djokovic, after three matches, is clocking full two hours more than Federer and one more than Nadal. Despite that Djokovic’s unforced errors are in the ballpark with other two jokers considering he has played more games and longer.

Maybe Djokovic needs to find some other hole to breath through and from to completely bypass the faulty plumbing he is currently running around with. If he retires here under even close to suspicious conditions (or are we at ‘legit’ already now?) specially if he is losing, he may have to advance from that karaoke BS to a pole as a career move.

He has Ginepri (instead of Ferrero) and Helzer Pelzer (instead of Ferrer) next before meeting Nadal. Losing to either one of them before reaching Nadal will be a huge disappointment and if it involves any fitness issues, Djokovic’s will have to follow Nadal and fix his problems to allow him to get what he is after. If not, he may look worse than Ivanovic with nothing concrete to fall back on.

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Photos.

What would be a bigger upset at the FO?

Who will age most (dis)gracefully – passing even Wilander and Vilas??

Ana Ivanovic blind to glaring deficiencies. From Zorana. Thanks.

ZORANA

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