I always find myself moaning about how the supposed best women players always seem to lose in the early rounds of grand slams, however at the French Open this year it has been the men who have suffered.
Two of the ’big four’ have lost before the quarter finals and I am truly shocked in the fashion they have bowed out.
A friend text me after the Nadal match claiming he thought the result was predictable which is ridiculous. Nadal’s loss to Soderling is simply unbelievable considering he hasn’t lost a set at the French Open since the 2007 final and the Spaniard really looked second rate today.
He did not hit with enough length throughout the match and Soderling punished this fact.
From start to finish the Swede hit every ball as hard as he could which worked perfectly as Nadal surprisingly couldn’t cope with the power he was generating.
I and everybody else watching this match thought that Soderling would have a dip sooner or later and Nadal would then gain control but it just never came. Take a look at Nadal’s demise here.
My immediate thought is that Nadal’s schedule has been too rigorous this year considering he has been to the final of every tournament he has played coming into the French. However he shot down this type of suggestion from journalists in his press conference but I reckon deep down he knows he is physically and mentally tired.
By the way I thought Nadal’s French Open attire was quality. Check out my review.
On the Djokovic front I have no idea how he managed to lose in straight sets to Kohlschreiber. Don’t get me wrong, the German is a masterful player on his day but his performances fluctuate so much it’s untrue.
I would put a hefty amount of money on whoever ‘Kohly’ is playing next because despite his immense talent, he is always liable to play like a complete donkey.
For example at the Australian Open earlier in the year he started with a decent straight sets win over Sam Querrey and then got himself into a right mess against old boy Fabrice Santoro losing in five.
Novak Djokovic’ big money move to Head was very surprising.
I remember watching the Australian Open in January and wondering what racket he was using.
His early season form was far from impressive and many criticised the Serb for changing brands when he had had so much success with Wilson.
However the new YouTek Speed Pro racket appears to be working for him now as he has reached the final of his last three tournaments with victories over the likes of Federer, Verdasco, Del Potro and Ferrer.
Head must be pleased their new signing has come good and with Andy Murray also at the top of his game this year, things could not be going any better.
With two of the top four players now under it’s wing Head feels it’s time to strengthen their position in the market by becoming a bit more edgier in order to appeal to a younger audience.
So they are moving away from pushing their equipment and looking to use the talented players they have on board to create interest in the brand.
When it comes to marketing there is no-one better to have than the charismatic Djokovic and he features in a brand new advert which see’s him ’score on and off the court’.
In the ad, Djoko manages to flirt with a female spectator during a point when a smash from his opponent sends him scurrying into the crowd.
The randy Serb uses all of his best attraction techniques to try and impress her!
Check out the video below to find out what happened…
Andy Roddick went out in the second round of Wimbledon yesterday which isn’t a big shock in my opinion. His preparation for the tournament wasn’t brilliant as he had only played two competitive matches since a back injury sustained on May 5th ruled him out of Hamburg and the French Open.
As a result he simply wasn’t match tight against a very talented opponent. As I said in my predicition Tipsarevic was going to cause him trouble as the Serb is a better player from the back of the court.
It seems strange when people act like this result was an un-thinkable shock. Tipsarevic has had a string of good results this year after his five setter against Federer in the Australian Open which seemed to make him believe he could be one of the best players in the world.
This year Tipsarevic has beaten Fernando Verdasco, James Blake, Mikahil Youzhny and Paul Henri Matheiu which tells everyone he is some player.
It is fair enough to say Roddick was not at his best today but the Serb took advantage of this and got the job done.
Novak Djokovic’ loss to Marat Safin on the other hand is a bit more of a surprise. Again similar to Roddick’s case, you could say Djokovic wasn’t at his best but Safin didn’t give him a chance to play and get into his stride.
Safin put pressure on the Serb constantly and instead of responding in his typical impressive fashion, Djokovic on this occasion wilted under the barrage of power and precision from the strong Russian. It was like watching a heavy-weight versus a light-weight.
Djokovic couldn’t come up with any answers during the match but he did reveal he was mentally tired after the match. Nadal has won three tournaments in a row and is currently on a 19 match winning streak. Shouldn’t he be playing a poor match soon then where he does two double faults to lose the match? I’d put my bank on the Spaniard not losing as easily as this during Wimbledon.
I’m afraid Djokovic just didn’t show up for this match and was outclassed by a past master who may just have re-found that winning feeling.
I must add that James Ward, the British Number 8 who blogs for this website won a set off Marat Safin at Queens, something Djokovic could not do!
Federer has not been pushed in this tournament as yet and it is hard to see Seppi providing him with too much trouble here. The Italian looked very nervous a number of times during his quarter final clash with Kiefer yesterday and if the highly charged German could have kept his cool at the crucial times he would have advanced. Instead Kiefer lost focus moaning at the referee and line judges at balls that were clearly in.
To a certain extent I think that the German deserved a semi final place as he has played very well this week but he got lost in the moment. Fair play to Seppi for plugging along but against Federer he will not allowed a second chance and I think a routine straight sets win is on the cards here for the Swiss master.
Predicted Winner :: Federer
Novak Djokovic SRB (3) – Rafael Nadal ESP (2)
The biggest match of the year so far in my opinion. Can Djokovic reach number two in the world? I’m not so sure. Nadal will do everything possible to beat the Serb here to protect his ranking and I think he will pull a big performance out of the bag.
Djokovic is without question a better player on hard but on the dirt its a different story. The Spaniard is known as an unbelievable mover, particularly on clay and I can back this up having seen him training in Monte Carlo a couple of weeks ago. He is extraordinarily quick around the court and Djokovic will have to be at the top of his game. The Serb is yet to take a set of Nadal on clay but I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened here.
The player of the year so far is full of confidence and he will surely fancy his chances as Nadal possibly isn’t 100 percent after his second round exit last week, due to a blister on his foot. With Djokovic’ solid groundstrokes we are sure to see some long rallys and he will have to keep away from Nadal’s forehand wing as much as possible as it has been devastating in recent weeks.
I think this match will be close but Nadal will come through in three.
I may be the only person to say this but I think a possible upset could be on the cards. Djokovic will without a doubt not be 100 percent going into this match which gives every chance to the rising star from South Africa. As I say every week winners of tournaments the week before do not have sufficient recovery time and although Djokovic is of a different class to Anderson, fatigue could beat him here. Anderson was runner up in Las Vegas in early March playing seven matches to get there and eventually lost to Sam Querrey in three sets. This shows he has a bit of quality and stamina at the top level. Do not get me wrong, this match is not going to be 61 62 whitewash but Anderson may be able to steal a victory in three sets as Djokovic tires.
Predicted Winner :: Anderson
Richard Gasquet FRA (8) – Dmitry Tursunov RUS (35)
The head to head for this year stands at 1-1 and this match could go either way. The stylish Frenchman is one of my favourite players but he can suffer lapses of concentration and go into his shell when losing. Tursunov’s ‘go for broke’ power game is very unique on the tour and you never know quite what your going to get. Some matches he’ll make 100 errors and in others he’ll be unplayable. Both players have not been on the best form as of late and I fancy the well rested Tursunov to blast Gasquet off the court.
Predicted Winner :: Tursunov
Juan Martin Del Potro ARG (65) – Feliciano Lopez ESP (33)
I have come across a few people on the internet tipping Del Potro for this match and I think they are very wrong. I agree that Lopez can be unpredictable at times but when he plays well, he is virtually unstoppable. I really feel Lopez can reach a much higher level than Del Potro who actually leads the head to head 2-0. The last time they played was in October 2007 where Lopez was off form and lost in straight sets however he came into his own this year in Dubai where he showed just how good he can be only losing to Roddick in the final.
Predicted winner : Lopez
Ivan Ljubicic CRO (24) – Fabrice Santoro FRA (49)
Every match Ljubicic plays now I always think of a quote from a tennis commentator: “The Ljubicic star had faded.” He won a couple of matches last week against Cilic and Robredo but lost easily to Federer who was clearly not 100 percent. The pair played at this tournament last year when Ljubicic, ranked 7 prevailed in three sets. A year on and Ljubicic is not the player he was and I can see the tricky Frenchman who caused Djokovic a bit of trouble in Dubai chopping his way to victory here.
As I predicted Novak Djokovic overcame the on form Mardy Fish 6-2 5-7 6-3 to claim the first Masters Series title of the season, the Pacific Life Open. Now Djokovic has his sights set on the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami and the question is can he win back to back titles? I’m not so sure.
Andy Roddick and Sam Querrey proved last week that they were not capable of keeping up their fine form in Indian Wells after winning tournaments the week before and with the Serb’s fatigue and injury history it is difficult to fancy him here. When Djokovic was a break up in the third set against Fish his body language and facial expression was not that of somebody who was on the way to a title. He looked tired and was definitely struggling however used his fighting spirit to get through the match.
He also could have lost his serve in the first game of the third set finding himself 0-40 down but bravely fired three aces to pick himself up and carry on his march to the title. Djokovic can never be written off in Miami as his physical condition has certainly improved from last season and he has points to defend as he is the current Miami champion. He has got a nice draw as he could be facing Andreev and Canas in the early rounds, two players he has beaten with ease in the past few weeks. However I think they could prove tougher tests considering how many matches Djokovic has played and fatigue may start to become a factor.
Fernando Gonzalez will be looking to win a few rounds in this tournament and should the Chilean overcome Canas in the round of 32 (assuming they both get there) he could play Djokovic and I think a minor upset could be on the cards. Gonzalez hasn’t really hit form this year as yet and I think he could reach at least the semi-finals in this tournament. There are two other players that I think could progress in this tournament and they are Philipp Kohlschrieber and James Blake.
My tip for the title Novak Djokovic is now hot favourite to win the Pacific Life Open. My prediction can be seen here which I did at the start of the tournament. All the other big time players have failed to deliver apart from the resillient Djokovic who will no doubt become word number one within the next few years and his 6/3 6/2 demolition of Nadal was an example of this. Mardy Fish has been on an amazing run in this tournament and has beaten three top ten players including Roger Federer who he beat in just over an hour. He must be believing he can win the whole thing now after coming back from the dead against Hewitt and Nalbandian to win in third set tie breaks, but Djokovic will not hand him any second chances if he is winning. The physical toll taken on Fish could come in to play here also as he has played a lot more tennis than Djokovic who is yet to drop a set. Fish has served fantastically this tournament and he’ll have to give another epic peformance if he is to trouble to Djokovic which I do not think he is capable of doing.
Predicted Winner :: Djokovic
Round of 16 Tips
Jo Wilfried Tsonga blew a 5-3 lead in the third set to lose 7-5. I was watching this and couldn’t believe my eyes at how Tsonga self destructed, he clearly could not cope physically and Nadal capitalised on this in a match that lasted 3 hours.
R Nadal d J W Tsonga 67 (4) 76 (3) 75 - Prediction - Wrong
R Federer d I Ljubicic 63 64 – Prediction - Correct
J Blake d R Gasquet 64 62 – Prediction – Correct
N Djokovic d G Canas 62 63 Prediction – Correct
T Haas d A Murray 26 75 63 Prediction – Wrong
M Fish d L Hewitt 75 36 76 Prediction – Correct
A full set of results from the tournament can be found here.
Jo Wilfried Tsonga FRA (17) - Rafael Nadal ESP (2)
I have seen many interpretations of how this match might go. Some say Tsonga will continue where he left off at the Australian Open and dominate once again and some say Nadal will get his revenge. I don’t think Tsonga will dominate here but I think he has the edge. Having watched Nadal struggle in virtually every service game against Roddick in Dubai, I think Tsonga too will be able to put a high amount of pressure on the Spaniard’s serve with his aggressive style of play. Tsonga’s clever net game will also favour him as he will put pressure on Nadal to come up with brilliant shots time after time. Nadal however can never be written off as he is defending champion here and would lose a lot of ranking points if he was to go out at this stage. An argument against Nadal could be that he hasn’t had much of a test yet this tournament whereas Tsonga played very well in his win against countryman Paul Henri Matheiu and should be nicely tuned up.
Predicted Winner :: Tsonga
Andy Murray GBR (11) – Tommy Haas GER (36)
A repeat of last year in this tournament when Murray prevailed in three sets. This could be close again although you have to favour the young Scot here because Haas although playing well again after injury, simply cannot be at a standard to beat the ever improving Murray. The match could contain a few twists and turns as Murray seems to have adopted Tim Henman’s unpredictibility during matches but the sheer class and shot making ability of the British number one should take him through this match possibly in three sets.
Predicted winner :: Murray
Roger Federer SWI (1) – Ivan Ljubicic CRO (23)
I heard a commentator say recently that the Ljubicic ’star’ had faded away and a loss of form at the back end of last year has him currently at 23 in the rankings. He runs into Federer here on red hot form and I don’t give him much of a chance. Federer was clinical against Mahut and should breeze through into the next round.
Predicted winner :: Federer
Richard Gasquet FRA (8) – James Blake USA (9)
A very interesting match here which could go either way. Gasquet’s technical skill takes on Blake’s power play. Gasquet leads the head to head 2-0 but throw the form book out of the window here as Blake relishes playing in front of his home crowd. The entertainer responds well to pressure and often comes with some fantastic shots when up against it. Gasquet has one of the best backhands in the game and we are sure to see some stylish winners. Gasquet can have mental lapses during matches (remember his 0-6 set against Murray in Paris last October) but when he switches back on his masterful play is resumed. I think this match will depend on who serves better and Blake will surely up the 45% first serve average and could win in a closely contested match.
Predicted winner :: Blake
Novak Djokovic SRB (3) – Guillermo Canas ARG (16)
Canas has had two impressive wins here against Bjorkman and Monaco and is on good form. However I think this match will be one step too far for him. Djokovic is a near complete player with a big serve combined with pacey and solid groundstrokes. Canas is also competent off both the forehand and backhand wing but he could struggle on serve due to the quality of Djokovic’s returning. Djokovic should advance here in straight sets.
Predicted winner :: Djokovic
Lleyton Hewitt AUS (24) – Mardy Fish USA (98)
Mardy Fish easily beat Davydenko who failed to turn up in the previous round. Hewitt has strung together a few wins here and is certainly the player to beat in this match after dismissing Youhzny with relative ease. He should be able to deal with the big Fish serve with his returning capabilities and the former winner of this tournament looks hungry to advance into the latter rounds and could be a dark horse to reach the semi’s. Hewitt consistently strong hitting off both wings should draw errors from Fish who plays a very attacking game.
As I predicted Andy Roddick and Sam Querrey lost in the early rounds of the Pacific Life Open. Their success last week has surely cost them from progressing here as they have not been able to maintain their high standards. This is a common occurance for players on tour as the further they go in a tournament, the less time they have to rest and prepare for the next.
In other matches Andy Murray survived a scare from Jurgen Melzer coming from a set down to win and my tip for the title Novak Djokovic beat Philipp Kohlschrieber with relative ease, in which I thought would be a more difficult third round for the Serb.
Haas d Roddick 64 64
L Hewitt d Querrey 64 63
A Murray d J Melzer 36 63 63
N Djokovic d P Kohlschrieber 63 62
A full set of results from the Pacific Life Open can be found here.
All the recent talk has been about Andy Roddick and how he hasn’t been broken in 56 games but theres no way this is going to happen again in the Pacific Life Open. His form peaked in Dubai with some surprisingly impressive performances and he is back to being one of the most feared players on the tour. I opposed Roddick in every match in the Dubai Championships and I was very off with my predictions apart from the final where Lopez had the better of him before pressing the self destruct button. The likelihood of Roddick reproducing his Dubai form is in my opinion very low and I do not give him any chance of winning the tournament due to a very dodgy draw with Andy Murray and nemesis Roger Federer in his quarter.
Someone who does a have a very nice looking draw is Novak Djokovic. Yes he lost to Roddick last week, but anyone would have lost to A-Rodd on the form he was in. A possible tough second round against Philipp Kohlschrieber looms however if he gets through this I cannot see anyone in his quarter challenging him and he should cruise through the rounds. The only other top ten ranked player in his quarter is battler David Ferrer and if they meet in the last 16 you have to think the Serb would not pass up an opportunity to reach the semi finals. Here I think he will face either Richard Gasquet or Jo Wilfried Tsonga which will be tough but I think ‘Djoko’ improved his fitness in the off season and looks far more resillient as a result and this improved quality should take him into the final.
What do you think? Take a look at the tournament draw here.
I always find myself moaning about how the supposed best women players always seem to lose in the early rounds of grand slams, however at the French Open this year it has been the men who have suffered.
