RealGM

I thought i'd start a thread as this board has been dead for awhile..but has potential...

Is it number 5 for Nadal? Or will Federer cement his place as the best player of all time by winning the one grand slam he has not won? Or will it be an unknown Dark Horse?

In the womens?! well its open so I cant really comment..

As a Federer fan I really want to say he'll win, but I just can't go against Nadal. I think Federer really needed Djokovic to be on Nadal's side of the draw. Assuming things go as expected, Federer will have to get through a very tough match with Djokovic just to get to Nadal, while Nadal will likely end up with a lesser (although I'm sure very good) opponent in the semi-final. Murray is the guy projected to be there but I think he'll lose much earlier.

For the women - who knows? I think it's truly wide open there. I'm going to say that the winner will not be named Williams, and could quite possibly be Russian.

By the way, for the Canucks around here, there is some Canadian content - Aleksandra Wonziak is seeded on the women's side, and Peter Polansky has qualified on the men's side.

Ivanovic struggled with her 1st set and had a great second.

Predictions:
Men: Nadal - It's so hard to build a case for Federer. Well, at least a logical one.
Women: I'm going to blindly pick Jankovic, but I'm pulling for Dementieva.

Play a game..
First Major Upset (top 5 ish players)
Men's - Murray
Women's - Sharavpova?!

once again i'm going with federer!!!!!!

Federer is winning one way or the other for now but I just don't see him wining the French open.

Djokovic is out...so that should be a clear path to the Finals for federer.

I am a Nadal fan through and through, but would have no problem to see Federer win..(as long as Nadal doesn't)

It's like Djokovic's brick wall. He just can't seem to get into the second week of the French Open.

Djoko's game is not suited to the slow surface and even though the courts seem much faster this year he's going to struggle until he gets a strong foothold on clay.

Hasn't Djokovic normally been okay in clay?!?!
I really don't like his lack of mental toughness..it seems like if you go ahead on him, he just crumbles..

holy sh*t nadal down 2 sets to 1..

Vamos Rafa ! Sei mejor !

O M F**KING GOD!!! NADAL OUT!!! WTF!!?!?!?!?!?!!!

Oh my god..!!!
Nadal is out..ruined the Nadal V Federer possible final...

I just cant believe this...

On a side not Ivanovic is out as well

Well Federer at least has a chance at winning the French this year, but if he does its kinda not the same as going through Nadal for the title though. Like Agassi winning against a near nobody when he won his French title.

I'm still shocked........ Nadal not going to be in a French Open Finals? Who would have ever thought that??

Ivanovic wasn't as much a shock though as she has been playing like crap for a while now.

Nadal lost... It was gonna happen, sooner or later...

I doubt someone will win the Grand Slam ever. Too unreal to do it nowadays. If Nadal, with his conditioning and stamina can't do it, no one will do it. You basically have to be a perfect player, a robot to win in Australia, France, England and USA.

Nadal definitely was out of sync today. He was tired, I've never seen him that tired.

But I'm disappointed. Soderling is a type of a player that beats Nadal, and then will lose to an average player.

At least Rafa will get lots of time to rest for the grass season. He has to defend the title in Wimbledon.

SashAlex wrote:Nadal lost... It was gonna happen, sooner or later...

I doubt someone will win the Grand Slam ever. Too unreal to do it nowadays. If Nadal, with his conditioning and stamina can't do it, no one will do it. You basically have to be a perfect player, a robot to win in Australia, France, England and USA.

Nadal definitely was out of sync today. He was tired, I've never seen him that tired.

But I'm disappointed. Soderling is a type of a player that beats Nadal, and then will lose to an average player.

At least Rafa will get lots of time to rest for the grass season. He has to defend the title in Wimbledon.

Nadal losing isn't as much as a shock as him losing to someone like Soderling so early in the tournament.

As for Soderling, great match from him, throwing so many bombs at Nadal. One thing though, WHY IN THE HELL would you ever throw the racket you just defeated the world #1 with into the crowd??? Like seriously will you ever beat Nadal again anywhere? Probably not. I would have framed and hung that racket as rememberence to that one great match you had in beating Nadal at the French!

GQStylin wrote:Well Federer at least has a chance at winning the French this year, but if he does its kinda not the same as going through Nadal for the title though. Like Agassi winning against a near nobody when he won his French title.

I'm still shocked........ Nadal not going to be in a French Open Finals? Who would have ever thought that??

Ivanovic wasn't as much a shock though as she has been playing like crap for a while now.

Don't forget Murray. He's been pretty effective on clay lately.

It was going to happen. For me, it's better to see Nadal well rested at Wimbledon than tired after an amazing streak which included the Grand Slam title in Melbourne, the Masters titles won and the one lost in the final to Fedex. It's too much, even for Nadal. He needs some rest. His ankles won't survive the pressure Nadal constantly puts on them. There are lots of things that go unnoticed, which is what caused this subpar performance by Nadal against Soderling. He wasn't great in the first rounds either.

He's gonna be fresh for England, though.

^^
I disagree if Federer wins the french without Nadal..sure it will be better if he beats Nadal in the final..
But winning the French and you can really make a strong argument for him being the best player..
Thats all four...
Fair enough people will be complaining it wasn't Nadal..but history wouldn't care too much..

Haha..and I agree with the racket..whoever picked that up should sell that...
It still seems weird the thought of Nadal not being in the final sunday..you kinda thought it woulda been a gimme...o well

GQStylin wrote:

SashAlex wrote:Nadal lost... It was gonna happen, sooner or later...

I doubt someone will win the Grand Slam ever. Too unreal to do it nowadays. If Nadal, with his conditioning and stamina can't do it, no one will do it. You basically have to be a perfect player, a robot to win in Australia, France, England and USA.

Nadal definitely was out of sync today. He was tired, I've never seen him that tired.

But I'm disappointed. Soderling is a type of a player that beats Nadal, and then will lose to an average player.

At least Rafa will get lots of time to rest for the grass season. He has to defend the title in Wimbledon.

Nadal losing isn't as much as a shock as him losing to someone like Soderling so early in the tournament.

As for Soderling, great match from him, throwing so many bombs at Nadal. One thing though, WHY IN THE HELL would you ever throw the racket you just defeated the world #1 with into the crowd??? Like seriously will you ever beat Nadal again anywhere? Probably not. I would have framed and hung that racket as rememberence to that one great match you had in beating Nadal at the French!

Soderling is a type of a player that seems to be uncomfortable for Nadal, just like Tsonga and other tall guys with a strong serve and a bombing forehand. He's had troubles before with such type of guys. But he definitely was tired today.

When Nadal lost to Tsonga last year in the semis in Melbourne, it was a bit of a shock too.