Del Potro absence killing Tennis

Del Potro absence is killing Tennis, atleast Soderling rose to the occasion otherwise this could have been the dumbest year of all which was actually slated to be the best of recent past.

For the record sake I like Nole too, but like the OP mentioned Nole hasn't stepped up and taken the opportunity to win a slam in the absence of many top players.

To add more I dont believe Nole can step up his performance come US open Hardcourt season, he is without doubt a potential player, but he is just not working hard and motivating himself to strive for the best.

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Congrats Rafael Nadal for the 5th French Open Roland Garros Title

What a performance from rafa,sod couldn't blast his way out of it.i feel so sorry for sod he didn't deserve that kind of beating in the final,but he cant complain rafa handed him plenty of chances but he couldn't break through
without dropping a set and his first serve was amazing 95% first serve in the 3rd set when he realy needed it,easily the best player under pressure and controlling the nerves,incredible the last time he won without dropping a set he won Wimbledoncant wait for the grass season.

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Gonzalez Ready To Return Stronger

On 27 February 2010, many Chileans were present as Fernando Gonzalez suffered a dramatic three-set loss to David Ferrer in the semi-finals of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco. An hour after the match, in Chile, there was an 8.8 magnitude earthquake and a subsequent tsunami that claimed the lives of almost a thousand people and destroyed cities.

Santiago native Gonzalez couldn't believe the apocalyptic images he saw on the television. For that reason he cancelled his participation at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and took a flight back to visit the damaged areas and send a heartfelt message to the victims of the disaster.

Following the natural disaster, Gonzalez was then hit by another problem - tendinitis in both knees that has furthered impeded his 2010 season.

"There are good and bad moments. Some way or another I haven't felt good on court. The feeling is very important and the past weeks it hasn't been like I wanted it, but I have no doubt it will go back to the way I've always liked it to be", said an optimistic Gonzalez, who will recover back home in Santiago while he waits for the doctor's advice. He has already withdrawn from Wimbledon and he could yet miss the Davis Cup quarter-final tie against Czech Republic if he his recovery takes two months.

What made the tendinitis so bad?
I had calcification in both knees. When one hurts you try to compensate with the other. With good work, rest and rehab I will be better.

Some time ago you said that you learned to live with the pain.
I've had it since the 2002 Australian Open...

So you have dealt with it almost for your whole career?
It's been coming and going. I've had good and bad moments. I had a very bad moment in 2003, after that I could recover well but last year at Wimbledon it started all over again and hasn't stopped since then.

After the defeat in the Roland Garros second round, you will lose important points at the South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings. How will you deal with that?
I prefer to have a bad ranking and be healthy, rather than get to a ranking that would be tough to maintain without being in optimum physical condition.

With your absence at Wimbledon you will bring to an end a run of 35 successive Grand Slam appearances.
Some time ago I realised I have played all the Grand Slams since 2002. I thought about how good it was and I was lucky not to be injured. No I'll have to miss one. I hope it's the only one so I can play a lot more.

Next month you will turn 30, you suffer a chronic injury, but you told your Twitter fans that you're not thinking about retirement.
Twitter has been very helpful; it's my main source for keeping in touch with people. Sometimes the media needs to sell more so they publish information about a possible retirement. But that wasn't true. Retirement is not in my head. I still have a lot of goals on my career and I have fun playing. I can't imagine my life without competitive tennis. Retirement is not an issue. They published that without asking me so that bothered me. Thank God there's Twitter so I could tell people that wasn't true.

Twitter and your official web site have become a habit now that you have more free time.
Social networking is very important. People want and need communication. Everyone is connected by their mobile phones, chat and social networks. Tennis fans feel closer because of that. When you're constantly talking about what's going on, what you think, people like that. It's a spontaneous communication.

How long will your recovery take?
The first thing is to feel better, recover from the injuries. The rest will come by itself. I can't make the mistake of playing 25 tournaments. I've always played few tournaments. The important thing is to take it easy and take my rest time seriously; that has always been important in my career.

What's the positive side of being without competition?
The positive thing is that I will have a lot of energy when I come back. I will appreciate more what I have achieved in this sport. When you're out you feel the passion for the game more. I've also done some things that I miss. That gives you energy to keep on playing.

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Roland Garros French Open 2010 Final Preview - Nadal vs. Soderling

No. 2 Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. No. 5 Robin Soderling (SWE)

Rafael Nadal will look to both win his fifth Roland Garros title and reclaim the No. 1 spot in the South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings when he faces Robin Soderling, the only player ever to beat Nadal on the clay in Paris, in Sunday’s final. Soderling, through to the Roland Garros final for the second straight year, has already ousted World No. 1 Roger Federer en route to his second major final and will look to win his first Grand Slam trophy.

Head-To-Head

Soderling has won the past two matches against Nadal, including in the round of 16 at Roland Garros last year, which ended the Spaniard’s 31-match winning streak in Paris. That is Nadal’s lone loss at Roland Garros (37-1) and the only time he has lost a best-of-five sets match on clay (55-1).

        Soderling    Nadal
Aces    75    12
Double Faults    25    7
1st Serve %    64%    74%
1st Serve Points     77%    72%
2nd Serve Points     58%    55%
Broken    11    11
Break Points Faced     36    35
Games Served     100    86
Fastest Serve     142mph    126mph
         
1st Return Points Won     35%    40%
2nd Return Points Won     53%    59%
Breaks of Serve     34    34
Break Points     70    63
Pct. Converted     49%    54%
Return Games Played     98    84
         
Forehand Winners     101    106
Forehand Unforced Errors     98    81
Backhand Winners     54    33
Backhand Unforced Errors     88    54
         
Winners    260    179
Unforced Errors     216    146
         
Net Points Played     119    101
Net Points Won     61%    70%
         
Games W-L     123-75    112-61
Sets W-L     18-4    18-0




RANKINGS UPDATE – If Nadal captures his fifth Roland Garros title in five years, he will also return to No. 1 in the South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings. If he fails to win the title, Roger Federer will retain the top spot and will also hold the position until Wimbledon, therefore surpassing Pete Sampras’s record of 286 weeks at No. 1 on June 14. Nadal last ranked No. 1 the week of June 29, 2009 after holding the top spot for 46 consecutive weeks. Soderling is guaranteed to attain a career-high ranking after Roland Garros, reaching No. 4 if he wins the title and No. 6 if he finishes runner-up.

Streak Stopper Super Swede Soda

Many Felt Soda head best times are over with 2009, and that GS streak was just an one-time wonder, but now he is making it a habit to stop significance Tennis streaks to an end.

Last year at the same tournament he ended Nadal's RG streak and now he stopped RF's semi streak from growing numbers.

Semi-final match against Tommy Berdych will be tough, Tommy has a better game than Soder but his consistency is questionable, but given the form of Soderling I back him to make the finals but no case it would be an easy task if Tommy hits his purple patch.

I badly miss Del Potro's game this year, I would have personally loved to watch in form DelBoy vs current Soder in the humid and heavy conditions.

Will there be any more upset?, I guess Melzer can do it, however may not do it.

Wish you all the best RS, now go and prove that you can win a GS.

Queens 2010 Draw out

Although there is still one match still to play at roland garos, the attention slightly turns as the grass court season begins in a couple of days. The draw for queens has been released today with a few familiar and a few new names.

Starting at the top, 2008 champion Rafael Nadal begins his campaign against either Brazilian Marcos Daniel (H2H 1-0) or Slovenian Blaz Kavcic. Nadals next opponent could be Wild card Jamie baker who faces Dennis istomin in the first round. Nadal`s other possible third round opponent is either Jamaican Dustin brown or a qualifier. In the quarter finals he could come up against tricky opponents such as feliciano lopez, Julien Benneateau or Arnaud clement.

In the second quarter of the draw, defending champion Andy Murray has a fairly straight forward draw. He begins against either Crazy Dani koeller or veteran Spaniard Ivan Navarro. His third round opponent is most likely Mardy fish though he beat Fish at the same stage last year. Murray is seeded to face Marin Cilic in the quarter finals who also has a straight forward draw.


In the second half of the draw, 2nd seed and 2008 finalist Novak Djokovic begins against either lowly ranked paolo lorenzi or pere riba. Potential third round opponents are Bernard tomic, Seppi or 2002 Wimbledon semi finalist Xavier malisse. Quarter final opponents for nole include Querrey, ginepri or tipsarevic.

4 time champ And roddick starts against ilya marchenko or igor kunitsyn. Afterwards he could come up against gilles muller or dudi sela with potential quarter finalist being monfils and Gasquet.

Seeded quarter finals-

Nadal-F.lopez

Murray-Cilic

Roddick-Monfils

Djokovic Querrey.

Notable absentees- Verdasco, tsonga and ancic through injury while Hewitt is in halle this year

Note-soderling has pulled out of halle