Semifinals Complete

The lineup for both the men's and women's finals has been determined. The men's semifinals, which both took place today, went about as expected. It was a great pair of matches, even though the results were just about what one might have expected, going in.

The closer of the two matches was definitely Berdych-Soderling. It was five sets of big-hitting tennis, with some really strong shot-making by both players. Soderling started out on fire, playing at a similar level to the one he maintained against Roger Federer. Berdych couldn't quite hang with him, and he managed to break him once and win the set. But after that, it was Soderling's level that dipped in the next two sets, and Berdych was able to go up by two sets to one. At that point, the old Berdych we were so familiar with showed his face. On the verge of making his first grand slam final, he got tight. Meanwhile, Soderling found his game again - he never quite got back to the level he played against Federer again, but it was more than enough to handle the somewhat shaky Czech. When all was said and done, he got through to his second consecutive French Open final in five sets.

Nadal's match had significantly fewer twists and turns. He was in command from the word go, and it looked like he was going to have an exceptionally straightforward win until he seemed to start hot-dogging just a little bit at the end of the third set. He was going for unreasonably tough shots, possibly trying to give the French fans more of a show. He ended up getting broken while serving for a spot in the finals, when Melzer started playing his best tennis of the entire match. He broke, and got up an early mini-break in the tiebreak. But in the end, Rafa restored order and ended up winning in three, as expected.

So really, a Nadal-Soderling rematch in the final is almost as exciting as Federer-Nadal. While Roger and Rafa have immense respect for each other on and off the court, I believe it to the case that Rafa and Robin actively dislike each other. Nadal will be looking for some revenge, no doubt. More on that match-up tomorrow.

The women's final is tomorrow as well, and that features an extremely surprising pair of finalists. Sam Stosur and Francesca Schiavone should be an interesting match, even if it doesn't have the star power of some recent finals. I expect that Stosur will overpower the crafty and versatile Italian, but Schiavone also could be a better big-match player than the Aussie. Schiavone seems to thrive on playing to the crowd, as she demonstrated earlier in the week by dropping to her feet and kissing the clay after one of her wins. She may have the crowd behind her, but it probably won't be enough to blunt the power of Sam Stosur. It would be one of the greatest surprise wins and culminations of a crazy two weeks of tennis that we've seen in years on either the men's or women's side.

French Open Semifnals

Well, the women's semifinals are complete, and they were a bit anti-climactic. Dementieva was troubled with some sort of injury, and despite holding tough for a whole set, which she lost in a tiebreak, she was forced to retire without playing through the rest of the match. It's always a shame to be struggling with an injury at such an important stage. And apparently the shortened match had some effect on Jelena Jankovic's preparation, because she was not able to get up for her match against Sam Stosur. Both of the favorites lost in the semis, so it's a very surprising final pairing: two first-time finalists in Australian Sam Stosur and Italian Francesca Schiavone. Anybody who had those two in their bracket gets kudos from me.

Here's hoping that the men's semifinals, taking place tomorrow, are a bit more exciting. I'll put my money on the fact that they will be.

The first match features Tomas Berdych and Robin Soderling, two really big-hitting guys. Soderling leads the head to head 5-3, and they're 1-1 on clay. It's also worth noting that Berdych won their last meeting, earlier this year, by the score of 6-2, 6-2. Both players have been blowing their opponents off the court up to this point in the tournament. Soderling has dropped two sets to Berdych's zero, but Soderling has faced the stiffer competition, not least of which was his win over Federer in the quarterfinals. I think the way Soderling reacts to that win will determine the outcome of this match, in large part: if Soderling is satisfied with getting that win, Berdych will probably be able to beat him tomorrow. But if he's inspired by it, then I give him the edge. It's an exciting pairing - look for plenty of big hitting, but not a lot of long rallies. Soderling really should have the advantage, as he can move and defend better, while he can hit just as big.

I'll be surprised if the second semifinal is as competitive. Credit to Jurgen Melzer for making it this far, but his Cindarella story ends here. Melzer has only played Nadal twice, and in those four sets he's won a total of eight games. Nadal is now the only slam winner left in the field, and he's the sort of player who will take that as a chance to get more focused, rather than letting his focus drop. He wants his French Open title back, and he has a really good chance to get it back. It would be fascinating to see a Nadal-Soderling rematch in the final.

But first, both of them have to win. I think there's a chance that Nadal will find Tomas Berdych on the other side of the net, but I'd be shocked if either Soderling or Berdych gets Melzer. I think it would take a pretty major injury to Nadal for him to lose to Jurgen. Fingers crossed that won't happen.

French Open Quarterfinals Day 2

In today's quarterfinals, there were two upsets and two matches that went just about as expected. The straightforward matches were Rafael Nadal's and Jelena Jankovic's. Both defeated their opponents without a great deal of fuss, but they were tight and entertaining matches. Just what you expect to see from a quarterfinal.

The other two matches were really something to see. Djokovic won the first two sets and then somehow managed to lose the plot. He ended up losing the match, and overall, it was an uneven performance from the world number three. Unfortunately, he ended up with a very lackluster effort in the last couple of sets, unable to keep himself together. A really impressive fightback from Jurgen Melzer, though. He may have gotten some help from Djokovic, but it was still a good showing from the tour veteran who had never made it past the third round at a major before this tournament.

Serena Williams also lost to Sam Stosur in a strange, topsy-turvy match. Stosur served for the match in the second set, only to lose her nerve, get broken, and lose the set in a tiebreak. At that point, she looked more solid than her opponent and had to have been the favorite to win the match. But somehow, Stosur got her head back on straight, saved a match point in the third set, and ended up winning. Serena looked a bit off from the first ball, but she usually has a way of working through matches like that, anyway. Kudos to Stosur for recovering from some momentarily lapses in focus.

Tomorrow, the women's semifinals are taking place. The one thing that we know for sure is that whoever goes on to win the tournament will be a first-time grand slam winner. The only players remaining have yet to win a title. Jankovic and Dementieva have made it to a final, but Schiavone and Stosur have not. I really think that anybody could come away with the title on Saturday. I lean towards Jankovic and Dementieva to win tomorrow, but that depends mostly on their experience at this stage, rather than on their form. It should be interesting to see - the last time that a player won a grand slam for the first time was when Ivanovic won the French Open here two years ago. It'll be good to add some new blood to that club - at least on the women's side.

French Open Quarterfinal Shocker

Amazingly, Roger Federer lost to Robin Soderling in the quarterfinals today. He lost pretty handily, as well. Soderling dropped the first set, but for the remaining three, he rarely let go of control. He was down a break early in the fourth, but he immediately broke back. This puts Federer's record of weeks at the world number one ranking potentially in jeopardy, ends his streak of consecutive grand slam semifinals, could theoretically end his streak of not losing to anyone outside the top or anyone who doesn't go on to win the tournament in a grand slam.

That would actually be interesting - if Soderling makes it to the final to face Nadal, he could ensure that Federer breaks Pete Sampras's record of weeks at number one, but only if he upsets the Spaniard in a second consecutive year and wins the tournament. Still a long ways to go until that happens, though.

The match was extremely high quality from both guys. Federer wasn't allowed to hit quite as many amazing shots as he likes to because Soderling was the one dictating play. He was demolishing his groundstrokes off both sides, and it was all Federer could do to get them back into play. It's the same way that Juan Martin Del Potro beat him in the final of the U.S. Open last year.

You don't often get the chance to say this, but the match swung completely on a single point. At one set all, Soderling was serving down 4-5, to stay in the set. He gets down a break point and after a powerful shot, Federer manages a weak, likely mis-hit reply that just gets over the net. Soderling runs to the forecourt and smacks the ball - a half-smash that has him careful not to stumble and hit the net. The ball soars into the air, and almost certainly looks like a winner. Against any other player, it probably would have been. But Federer dashes out, gets probably eight feet wide of the doubles alley, then jumps, balletic, into the air. He sideswings his racket like he was hitting a kickserve and gets the ball at the height of his swing. It must have been ten or twelve feet off the ground, sending it knifing back into court.

Soderling would have been forgiven if he had turned his back to the net and stalked back to the baseline. He nearly did. But when he saw Federer moving sideways to get that ball, he got back on the balls of his feet and waited to see what he could come up with. His heart must jumped into his throat when he saw the shot that was coming - this is not a shot that you can practice, because this is not a shot that you ever see. A slice smash from a position in the court that no one ever sets foot? It looked like the ball was going to sail over Soderling's left shoulder and drop down into play. Since the shot had such unusual spin, it was tough to know how it was moving through the air and Soderling did not have much time to figure it out.

The Swede responds by jumping up himself and going for a one-handed backhand overhead volley - one of the hardest and most awkward shots in the game for a player with a two-handed backhand to pull off. Since the ball was coming off Federer's racket with such unusual spin, it was difficult to determine how it was moving through the air, and he didn't have much time to figure it out. He threw his racket up and caught the ball, partially off his frame, sending it dribbling back into the open court. Since Federer was by now practically in the luxury boxes in the first row, he couldn't make a play on it.

If Federer had gotten that shot, not only would he have been up two sets to one, but he would demonstrated, as he almost always does, that he is the man. That he will hit shots that you can't even see coming, much less deal with. He would have broken Soderling's spirit, as well as his serve. The Swede's shot was, in fact, somewhat reminiscent of the high backhand overhead that Andy Roddick sent sailing wide in the Wimbledon final last year. Roddick missed, lost the set, and eventually lost the match.

Soderling managed to pull it off - both that difficult shot and the even more difficult victory. For his first time in 13 meetings, he's beaten Roger Federer. The question is whether or not he can build on this victory, or if he'll be sufficiently satisfied - or drained - from that match to let his level of play drop. Last year, he was just happy to be in the finals. This year, maybe he'll want to go a step further.

He'll face Tomas Berdych, who breezed past Mikahil Youzhny in a match that was much more straightforward. The big-hitting Czech might finally be making good on all the talent he's shown himself to possess since upsetting Federer at the 2004 Olympics. But he'll have to bet by Soderling in the semis.

Looking ahead to the second pair of quarterfinal matches on the men's side, it seems almost a sure thing to me that we'll have a Nadal-Djokovic semifinal. I don't expect that Melzer or Almagro can pull off the upset. But I didn't give Soderling a chance, either. We'll just have to see what happens.

On the women's side, I see Jankovic getting past Shvedova, but the Williams-Stosur match is quite an appetizing one. After Stosur got past Justine Henin, she should be brimming with confidence. Could she upset the top seed? As we've seen today, anything can happen.

French Open 9

The second day of the fourth round is over, and even though it was a bit more exciting than the first day, it still pretty much unfolded about as one would expect. Nadal and Djokovic won in fairly straightforward matches, qualifier Gabashvili's run came to an end against Jurgen Melzer, and Fernando Verdasco was too exhausted to put up much fight against Nicolas Almagro.

The women's side was moderately more exciting, as Justine Henin lost to Sam Stosur. She just fell apart at the end of the match, making all kinds of unforced errors in the last two games. It's a shame for her first loss at RG since 2004 to come this way, but she really wasn't at her best. Jelena Jankovic and Serena Williams won, as did Shvedova, but there's not too much to say about those matches. Looking ahead to tomorrow, the first day of the quarterfinals gets underway. There are four good matches on deck.

Robin Soderling v. Roger Federer - This is the match that determines whether or not Roger Federer will stay number one after the French Open, long enough to replace Pete Sampras for the most weeks at number one. If he wins this match and makes it to the semis, then he'll make it. And fortunately for him, his opponent is somebody he's won against 12 times, including in the finals here, last year. Robin Soderling, I'm sorry to say, has almost no chance against Federer - he'll need to believe he can win, which he hasn't done in any of the matches I've seen the Swede play against the Swiss. He was happy to make it to the final last year, and maybe he'll be happy to have made it to the quarters this year. I hope he puts up a fight - if he plays as well as he did against in the three rounds before the final last year, he has a chance. But he has to believe he can win, first.

The other match on the men's side is about the exact opposite - Youzhny leads 6-4 against Berdych. They're both solid players, and even though Berdych has more talent, Youzhny has better grand slam results. He's made the semis at a grand slam before, while this is Berdych's first trip to the quarters. That said, this is a tough one to call. It should be a fun match, in any case.

On the women's side, Schiavone plays Wozniacki and Dementieva plays Petrova. I think both matches could go either way, again. Wozniacki seems to be exhausted and perhaps a bit injured, while Shiavone is a solid player. Dementieva and Petrova is another good match - Petrova is a bigger hitter than Dementieva, but Dementieva is such a good returner, it should be an interesting contrast in styles.

So three out of four matches are something of a toss-up. The other one would need a spectacular performance from Soderling in order for Federer to be in any trouble. Based on the way the rest of the tournament has been going, it'll be a bit of a shock if that sort of upset happens. But - that is why we play the tennis.

French Open Day 8

Well, it looked like it could be a thrilling day of tennis, but it turned out to be a bit of a dud. In eight matches, the losing player only won one set - Flavia Pennetta won the second set in a tiebreak to Caroline Wozniacki, before dropping the third 6-2. Other than that, the winning player in the other 7 matches had no real trouble to speak of. In fact, Youzhny won his match after only a single set when Tsonga retired. There were two notable upsets - second seed Venus Williams lost to Nadia Petrova and Andy Murray lost to Tomas Berdych, but neither player was really in the match. Clay isn't Murray or Venus's favorite surface, and the conditions were particularly today.

All in all, it was a fairly humdrum day - there weren't any matches where the outcome was in doubt for very long, which makes for some perfunctory tennis. The match between Federer and Wawrinka looked like it could get interesting in the second set, but after the #2 Swiss dropped his break advantage and lost the set in a tiebreak, it was all over.

The second half of the quarterfinals takes place tomorrow, and it should be more exciting; it's tough to figure out how it could be more uninspired. Nadal and Djokovic should both have relatively easy paths through to the quarters, as Nadal plays young Tomaz Bellucci, who may go on to have a good clay-court career, but he isn't at a level where he can compete with Nadal. Djokovic gets surprise 4th-rounder Robbie Ginepri, who shouldn't have a prayer to come through, but I didn't see him coming out of the fourth round. If he gets this scalp, it will be just unbelievable.

The other two matches could be much more competitive. Teimuraz Gabashvili, who hasn't even come close to dropping a set in six matches, plays Jurgen Melzer. Melzer has to be relieved not to see Andy Roddick on the other side of the net, but with the way that Gabashvili likes these conditions, he might have preferred the American. I think the qualifier has a real chance of reaching the quarters, which would be an astounding feat. And the highlight match, as far as I'm concerned, is Nicolas Almagro against Fernando Verdasco: two big-hitting lefty Spaniards. Verdasco is the more experienced and more attuned to the surface, so I give him the advantage. But he's also played a lot more tennis and has to be a little jaded.

On the women's side, Serena is in action - here's hoping she's feeling better for her match against Shahar Peer. Jelena Jankovic plays Daniela Hantuchova as well. The third match on the women's side is the head-scrather Jarmila Groth against Yaroslava Schvedova. The real exciting match-up on the women's side is Justine Henin against Sam Stosur. Can Justine's run continue? She got past Sharapova, but it wasn't easy.

The tournament is entering the second week, and things are (at least facially) getting more exciting. Let's see if the tennis can start to match up to the potential.

French Open Day 7

Ah, there we go. After bemoaning the lack of upsets during the first week of the French Open, there were finally a couple of upsets - the two biggest were the top American males, in singles and doubles. Andy Roddick lost to Russian qualifier Teimuraz Gabashvili, in a match that showed how much Roddick does not like these conditions and how much harder it gets without proper preparation. On the one hand, it's a bad loss for the American, who had never lost to a qualifier in a grand slam before, and - to the best of my knowledge - hadn't lost to anyone outside of the top hundred. On the other, with no preparation and constantly being put first up on Suzanne Lenglen, it's not that much of a shock.

It was more of a surprise to see the Bryan brothers lose to the Brazilian duo Melo and Soares, as the Bryans were capable of breaking the record of most doubles titles won as a team here. So now there, only three Americans remain - Venus and Serena Williams, plus Robbie Ginepri. Yeah, you heard that right - Robbie Ginepri beat former champion Juan Carlos Ferrero in five sets, and that's much more of an upset than Roddick's loss. Ginepri was losing in challenger events earlier in the year and talking about whether or not his best year's are behind him. Now he's the last American male in the draw at the French open, playing against Novak Djokovic. Who could have guessed?

Really, Djokovic's quarter was decimated today - with Roddick, Ferrero, and also Ferrer all losing in upsets. Djokovic will now have to beat - at best - the 22nd seed to get to the semifinals. That's the only quarter that's been so thoroughly ripped to shreds - the other twelve players remaining are all seeds.

On the women's side, Serena managed to win, but just barely. If she's ill, it's going to be tough to come back on Monday. But the headline match - Justine Henin against Maria Sharapova - was suspended at one set all. It'll be interesting to see how that turns out.

The other action tomorrow is similarly exciting. As the top of the draw has been largely devoid of big upsets, the remaining players are all legitimate contenders. Federer plays Wawrinka, Tsonga plays Youzhny, Cilic plays Soderling, and Murray plays Berdych. Any of these matches could go either way - Federer is the biggest favorite, but the others are all almost too close to call. Suffice it to say, there's going to be a ton of big hitting from start to finish.

Dementieva is also in action, as is Venus Williams, who plays against Nadia Petrova. Maria Kirilenko plays Schiavone, and Pennetta plays Wozniacki. If the women's line-up is not as stellar as the men's, there are still some very good matches on offer.