OUCH! (Page 1 of 2)

I had Richard Gasquet as winning too, *sigh*

I thought he'd have the steel over a slightly wobbly Murray. Still don't think Andy will get too far, clay isn't his favourite surface and he has had a real dip since the AO finals. But still, disappointed that what I thought was a canny prediction went into the mud!

Wow, Monaco just played a terrible match. Well, my men's bracket is out the window.

ya there have been some very big shockers in both the women's and men's draw. The only REAL shocker in the men's draw was monaco losing to a qualifier nobody's ever heard of. In the women's draw, wow, just poor playing by some players that were highly expected to go far. Safina i wasn't expecting too much, because she hasnt proved thats she's physically and mentally ready, so she'll have to work on that. Azarenka on the other hand, i also had her on my team but changed her at the last minute for Wozniacki, but im still disapointed she lost.
Now for Verdasco, i have high hopes for him because he's having a great clay court season and i have a feeling he will go far. So don't count him out just yet

I have Querry and Benjamin Becker, and both lost in the first round. Not good at all. I know that Querry is tall and better on a fast surface, but I never thought he would lose in the 1st round. Ouch.

Very true. Maybe its the atmosphere because he was having a descent clay court season but not great

Both Roddick and Isner have been good choices so far this year, but neither is anything even vaguely close to a contender.  Roddick will almost certainly lose to David Ferrer in R16 and Isner will most likely go out to Berdych in his next match.  Even if I'm right, both players will have done extremely well for modern American players at Roland Garros.   

I took no American players on my RG men's team this year and almost certainly won't do it next year, either.  The stats of American male players on red dirt are absolutely awful.  It's a different game from hard courts.

It helps to have grown up playing on clay.   Until we start exposing our young players to clay on a regular basis, we will continue to lose more than we win at the French.

I, too, was surprised at how easily Murray handled Baghdatis, even though clay is not Marcos' best surface.  Apparently Murray is starting to get a feel for the dirt.  However, Berdych is a different proposition from Bags.  I cannot imagine Murray winning that one.  He does continue to surprise, however.

Yes, the Spanish have ruled at RG most of the time for a long time: Spanish players have won 9 of the last 17 to be exact.  Of course, Rafa won 4 of those.  Bruguera won twice and Ferrero, Moya and Albert Costa won once each.  Ferrero certainly might have won more if he hadn't injured his finger.

In that same period, South Americans have won 4 -- but Guga Kuerten won 3 of those.  Of the remaining 4 winners, 3 were European: Federer, Kafelnikov and Muster.  But the latter two won in '95 and '96, so except for Fed last year, a non-Spanish European hasn't won this tournament in a long time.  The other winner was Agassi in '99.

So the Spanish rule the French (Open, that is).

I, too, miss Delpo.  I loved the comment "I miss the guy's lanky frame flying all over the court in a way that seems physically impossible."  One of the problems guys that big will always have on the tennis tour is durability, for obvious reasons related to physics.  We can only hope that he recovers this year, that he returns to his previous form, and that his body holds up. 

If all those things happen, I think he will be #1 in the world eventually.  He has a far greater upside than the Djoker or even Murray IMHO.  I also continue to think that Gulbis may challenge for that spot one day, but we'll have to wait and see about that one.

Last edited by DonDenman (May. 28, 2010 3:31pm)

If Murray can win a set from Berdych, he has a chance to win the match -- due to his craftiness, mental strength and superior physical conditioning.  I doubt he'll win a set, however.  If he does, it's certainly possible Berdych could win in 4.  If Murray is going to win, it will have to go 5 sets.  If it does, I like Murray for sure.

Delpo is a bit of a powerful spider, eh?  I hope that I will never see a spider with a bite half as forceful as Delpo's groundies.  That could be tragic.  In fact, I'm pretty sure the Delpster hits harder off both wings consistently than anybody ever, which is saying rather a lot. 

Once, not very long ago, there were three top juniors all the same age, more or less: Murray, Delpo & Gulbis.  Of the three, the debate was whether the best of the lot would be Murray or Gulbis.  I think the majority view was that it would be Ernsts.  Now, however, most folks would say Murray.  I'm inclined to say Del Potro, though his tendency to injury may prove me wrong.  No one would say Gulbis.

So why have the two flourished and the one not?  Primarily because Gulbis has been far less serious than the other two about such matters as improving his conditioning and his game.  Why?  Well, my answer is this: his father is the wealthiest man in Latvia by a more than comfortable margin.  So it's a bit harder for him to have a fire in his belly.  He'd never have to work a day in his life if he so chose. 

Yet, for some reason best known to God, here he comes.  Nice.  I respect that.  Generally, I don't care at all for the very rich, having known a number of them.  But there certainly are exceptions.  If Ernsts lives up to his potential, I'll tell anybody he's the exception that proves the rule.

Last edited by DonDenman (May. 28, 2010 6:14pm)

Still not sold on Gulbis. People have been talking about this guy for 2-3 years now, and he is still an up and down player. He needs to show some consistency on the big stage. I look at a guy like Gilles Simon and someone who gives 150% every time he is on the court, and despite the fact that he has no real overpowering weapons, he still got to #6 in the world. I don't think Gulbis will ever give that kind of effort, and as a result I don't think he will have any consistency in his career.

They don't call him "The Djoker" for nothing.

A lot of touching indeed, anyone know if Nole is still together with his girlfriend or whether he is trying to tell us something with this video?

Makes me laugh, I do love Djokovic. Anyone seen any of the other karaoke videos?

I think he's very much an entertainer, he loves the limelight when he can show off in it. I think he's quite a comfortable guy whether he is talking about his past or strutting his stuff on a catwalk in tight shorts (search it on youtube), I don't think he's particularly shy or reluctant to be in the public eye. I imagine he was a precocious child, his brothers look a little more shy. Not complaining, I love the guy I wonder how his TV role is going as King Aleksander Karadjordjevic? 
I noticed he was blowing his nose a lot during his match, I bet he is hoping the weather will remain damp so that the pollen levels don't rise.

Hm, not sure about Gulbis. Depends whether his background trips him up as an un-motivator.