Has Nadal already won the French? Should Federer even show up? This is what some people are thinking at the moment. I'd like to know what your thoughts.
Has Nadal already won the French? Should Federer even show up? This is what some people are thinking at the moment. I'd like to know what your thoughts.
Nadal's will almost certainly get to the final. He has a fairly easy draw (will only have to contend with Djokovic/Ferrer and Verdasco). Federer will have to beat Monfils/Wawrinka and Soderling/Cilic and Tsonga/Berdych/Baghdatis on his way to the final (if he even gets there).
I think it's going to be Nadal and Soderling in the final
While i can't see Soderling even challenging Federer, surely Tsonga will have a shot. Nadal would struggle with Djokovic, but if he only has to face Ferrer or Verdasco, it's already in the books.
Tsonga isn't looking anywhere near as dangerous as Soderling. Does the fact that he's just had to play 5 sets against Daniel Brands (who?) suggest that he's in good form? I don't think you should write off Verdasco and Ferrer either. Have you been watching much tennis recently? Ferrer has been the only person to challenge Nadal and Verdasco's on a roll (incidentally, he beat Djokovic at Monte Carlo)
Verdasco's 6-0, 6-1 loss to Nadal is why I believe Fernando's chances are slim. For me to say Ferrer has a better chance than Verdasco almost seems crazy, but maybe he does.
I think Federer is about to peak again like at AO '10 and may present Nadal with his best clay court tennis - which still is likely not par when Nadal makes the final.
It's getting exciting for sure.
Frankly, I think anyone would have lost 6-0 6-1 to Nadal on that day. Bear in mind that Soderling is a very in form player at the moment yet he lost to Verdasco in the Barcelona final. Why is David Ferrer such an improbable outsider? He's like a mini version of Nadal: very consistent, quick, efficient and hardworking.
I think Ferrer's somewhat passive nature and shot selection holds him back. He has excellent control of the ball in so many awkward places from the baseline {top 5 in that category}. Soderling likes to play the same ball to build confidence and aggessiveness. Verdasco hits the ball with varying spins just enough to mess with Robin. Federer really exploits this in Soderling. Nadal, on the other hand, plays a small range, mostly heavy topspin, which Soderling finds fun to play.
I don't want to say I told you so, but...
Perhaps this will finally persuade people to stop obsessing irrationally over Federer. He's not infallible.
I was pretty annoyed at how partisan the crowd on Chatrier were. By the final stages of the match, they weren't even cheering Soderling's blistering winners. But from the way they applauded when Soderling made an error, you'd have thought Federer had won the match! Soderling showed great composure to pull through.
Long live the Swede! ...until he faces Rafa
While not as big an upset as last year, not many saw this coming. Now I'm going to predict a Rafa vs Tomas B final with Rafa coming out on top.