Anybody watching the French Open? A really good match going between Federer and Soderling right now. Unfortunately rain has wrecked havoc all tournament long and they are in a rain delay at the moment.
I hope Soderling can finally have his revenge against Federer. Federer always has his number. Either way, I'm rooting for Nadal to win it all.
I am rooting for Novak D. What's the story on Justine Henin leaving the game at her prime; only to return to it a few years later. Say it ain't so, Justine.
I really can't see anyone other than Nadal winning. I believe Justine Henin said her heart just wasn't in it anymore.
Soderling upsets Federer and puts an end to his semi finals streak. Soderling absolutely overpowered Federer. A Nadal/Soderling final should be interesting if it happens.
Now I'm rooting for Soderling. He has finally overcome Fed. I hope he can keep it up and take it against Nadal.
Soderling just pounds the ball. He won't let you beat him. He either beats himself or overpowers his opponents, even on clay. Nadal wasn't on top of his game last season (and I'm not even sure that he is the same player now that he was 2 years ago after watching a couple of his matches so far) but Soderling did the same thing to him. He was abusing Nadal's short, looping shots that were ending up right in his strike zone. He also has a great backhand which helped negate Nadal's lefthanded forehand advantage that kills so many opponents. I wouldn't write in Nadal even making it to the finals. Almagro is an improved player and the winner of Djokovic/Melzer could also take him out. Like I said, I'm still not convinced that he's where he was a couple of years ago. Ever since that epic 10 hours plus of tennis in 48 hours or so at last year's Australia Open, he hasn't looked quite the same, in my opinion.
I definitely agree Nadal isn't the same player as he used to be. His knees are always going to be an issue. Although I think he will take the French Open but I don't think he will make it to the finals in Wimbledon or The US Open.
I'm not sure if it's just the knees or a combination of factors but whatever it is, I hope he returns to top form at some point. He just hasn't moved as well or hit the ball as cleanly since last year's Australian Open. That 48 hours of tennis was as exciting as I've seen out of one player in as long as I can remember. The marathon with Verdasco then very little rest before another marathon with Federer. It was truly an epic performance.
The Federer/Soderling match today reminded me of when Djokovic was overpowering Roger in the Australian Open final 2 or 3 years ago.
Thats what came to mind when I was watching it also. I don't think Roger played that bad, Soderling was killing the ball today and of course the heavy conditions really benefited him also. When Roger won the first set, you really expected him to cruise along, especially given his record against Soderling.
