French Open Sprites

I'll throw out a quick serving of French Open Sprites for you all. Unfortunately, as I've previously discussed, I have not been able to catch many matches, but here is, as far as I can tell, what you should know.

- Robin Soderling is at it again. The man that ended Rafa Nadal's epic winning streak at Roland Garros last French Open, was the man to end Roger Federer's epic streak of reaching Grand Slam Semi-Finals. Federer seemed to be in control early, but Soderling soared back from a set down to take out the world's best tennis player in 4 sets. Soderling should find himself favored against a surging Tomas Berdych, who has not dropped a set in the tournament, against the likes of John Isner, Andy Murray and Mikhail Youzhny. Federer had been apart of 23 consecutive Grand Slam Semis, dating back to the French Open in 2004. Bjorn Borg has recently touted Soderling as a future #1 player. The Swede, thus far, finds himself a clay court specialist, but will have a chance to make real headlines if he gets a chance to take down Rafa, again; this time in the French Open final.

- On that note, in the little tennis I have seen, Rafael Nadal looks healthy again. Anyone who has followed the ATP in recent years should interpret that statement thusly: "APT is picking Rafa Nadal to win the French Open." Until proven otherwise, Rafa should win every match at Roland Garros in which he is fit to play. He is currently readying for a semi-final match with Jurgen Melzer, a surprise of the tournament, riding an upset of David Ferrer and a 2 set comeback against Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinal. Melzer took down "The Joke" in his first every appearance in a Grand Slam quarterfinal, thus naturally leading to what will be his first Grand Slam Semi. His previous best was a third round appearance, which he has accomplished at all four Grand Slams. Tomas Berdych will be joining Melzer in losing his Grand Slam Semifinal innocence. Berdych previously found the quarterfinal round at the 2007 Wimbledon.

- Samantha Stosur has once again found herself a major story at the French. Stosur has made her 2nd straight Semi-final run at Roland Garros, where she is set to take on Jelena Jankovic later this morning. Stosur played very well in the first Grand Slam, in her home country of Australia, reaching the fourth round before dropping 2 sets to eventual champion Serena Williams. Despite the ease with which Williams won in Australia, you could sense the kind of confidence and poise in Stosur that could eventually lead to greater successes. Sure enough, she wasted no time riding her #7 seeding to the semis, taking down two of the favorites to win the tournament in Justine Henin and once again Serena Williams in just over 48 hours. Stosur has to be a favorite to emerge from the quartet of women still vying for the championship.

- Among that quartet is a somewhat unfamiliar face and a very uncommon flag. Francesca Schiavone upset Caroline Wozniacki to become the first Italian women to make a Grand Slam Semi-Final in the Open Era. Francesca had previously been turned away in the quarterfinals at the French, as well as the US Open and Wimbledon, but finally broke through with her straight-set upset of Wozniacki. Schiavone also needed victories over Na Li and Maria Kirilenko to reach her current height. However, THIS story has already become an after thought as...

- Francesca Schiavone has just become the first Italian women to reach a Grand Slam Final! Schiavone won the first set in 69 minutes 7-6(3) over 5th seed Elena Dementieva. Dementieva quietly conceded the match to Schiavone during the mid-set changeover. She had asked for no treatment during the first set, and no word has come out on the specifics of her injury.

- The top men continue to struggle in France, on the clay. The Men's draw on the ATP seems to be a large group of hardcourt specialists. Among the top 15 players, only Robin Soderling and Rafa Nadal have established themselves as masters of the clay (though Roger Federer is a master of everything), as this tournament was peppered with early round drop-outs.

- It's a little late to be picking French Open winners. Had I picked them from the outset, I feel confident that Justine Henin and Rafa Nadal would have been my champions. From what I've been able to gather from this year's tournament, Nadal and Samatha Stosur should find themselves in a celebratory state this weekend.

-APT