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.