French Open 2011

I'm following the French Open. It sure is getting exciting. One of my fave tennis players, Marion Bartoli, won the quarterfinals today. She is up for the semifinals round with the defending champion, Francesca Schiavone.

For the other women in the match, I also like Azarenka and Petkovich. I wouldn't mind Maria Sharapova winning the match, either. It's high time she wins another championship and a French Open trophy for that would lead to a career grand slam. It would set her up above the rest. And this is the right time for her to win--with not a lot of great competition out there.

I hope Rafael Nadal wins in the quarterfinals tomorrow with Robin Soderling. It would be a great match, difficult to watch. Nadal hasn't been playing well. Soderling has always been a tough opponent and had been a finalist in the French Open for two consecutive years.

I hope everything turns out well.

Dementieva Wins the Roger's Cup

It's really great to see Elena Dementieva won the 2009 Rogers Cup. It was like a couple of years ago when I first saw her. The match was between her and Maria Sharapova. Dementieva was outplayed, like she won only three games in a two-set match. The tournament was not a major and it was like only the first or the second match.

Fast forward last Sunday: the two of them met again. It was refreshing to see Demetieva won another title. I saw her only won a title twice and that includes the Olympics. Her smile for her victory makes you smile with her. And in her interview, you can see that she is proud of her achievement but she is also humble about it.

Second Week of French Open

So this is the second week of French Open. New faces, some comeback, some upsets, some exciting games. Roger Federer almost lost to Haas in the round of 16. But the true marks of a champion shined through - with two sets down, he won the next three sets.

Nadal's Loss is Gain for Federer

It saddens me to learn about Rafael Nadal's loss. It was not aired on ESPN as it happened on a Sunday. The thing is, Nadal is supposed to win the French Open -- he is the best clay court player ever and the only one in the way of Federer winning a French Open. This opens up the opportunity for Federer to have a career grand slam and if he did, then this is the way fate has made a way for him to do so. After all, Federer is the greatest tennis player who ever lived.

Sharapova's Outfit

Now, I would like to comment on Maria Sharapova who is making a comeback after ten months of therapy for her shoulder. She looks really nice. She is on her quarterfinals after hard won victories over the first four matches.

Sharapova's outfit is the best outfit I've seen in the French Open. She does not have to bother with it, not pulling on it, or putting back it back in place after some intense court action. It just falls naturally and moves with her. The style is like a dress and perfectly cut and fitted; it also does not show too much skin. Sharapova is used to tucking a ball underneath and even the ball does not bulge on her hips. Sweat don't show as well. I would say Nike has engineered a very efficient and classy outfit for Sharapova.

Dinara Safina

Last year, I watched Dinara Safina beat Maria Sharapova in three sets in the round of 16. I would say that on that day, I became Dinara Safina's fan. I wrote a few posts about her in this blog the past year. Well, she is the No. 1 female tennis player today (has been for five weeks) and I could not be more proud of her. As I wrote here earlier, she would be No. 1 and she did. I hope this French Open would be her first grand slam victory (she lost in the 2008 finals against Ana Ivanovic).

Huge Upset for No. 3

Maria Sharapova is now out at the 2008 Wimbledon in England. She is No. 3 in the world. Alla Kudryavtseva, No. 154 and no title to her name, sent her home in an easy 6-2, 6-4 match.

Coincidentally on the men's side, No. 3 Novak Djokovic lost the 2nd round match to Marat Safin yesterday. Safin did not drop a set.

I've been closely watching Wimbledon on ESPN. I would say they really have an excellent coverage of the tournament. Even if the No. 3s are gone, there are still a number of players worth watching for.

Bausch and Lomb Champion: Sharapova

It is Maria Sharapova's third title for 2008 and her first clay court title ever.

The clay court is the least favorite surface of Sharapova but in order to win the French Open, she has to have some kind of practice. It was her first time to compete in the Bausch and Lomb Open and remarkably, she won it.

As everyone knows, Maria Sharapova is title holder to three Grand Slam Tennis Championships: Wimbledon 2004, US Open 2006, and Australian Open 2008. Seems like there should be a two-year difference for her to win a grand slam

In the semifinals, Lindsay Davenport did not play due to illness, so Sharapova moved to the championship. It was luck coupled with determination for the 21-year old Russian. At the quarterfinals and even at the championship, she played very talented and strong players (Bondarenko and Cibulkova). But as fate would have it, Sharapova would bring home the throphy.

Let's see what happens at the French Open this June.