i predict a rafa-roger final again.................i think rafa would win it again if hez at his level best........go rafa!!!!!

Odesnik-Simon and Benneteau-Tsonga could be upsets too. Very nice blog, still laughing about the nadal joke lol

Me too orion--LOL

yep, mentioned Simon-Odesnik as one to watch in the draw analysis

Benneteau has a minor chance. I did not like the way he looked at the end of today's match, though. Maybe if they let him rest until Tuesday or Wednesday he MIGHT have a chance.

Vamos Rafa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rafans, here is a video to warm your hearts until Rafa takes to the courts at RG.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV7P5uBAmic&am...p;feature=playe r_embedded

VAMOS RAFA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gulbis-Querrey will break my heart. Why do all the nice ones have to play each other first round? So unfair... Love the Swiss Bloke and all, but I'm not too keen on the idea of him making the final. I still want a Rafa-Nole final. ;-)

I also think Odesnik could take out Simon. He did quite well last year. I hope Ljubicic comes away with a decent result. I've always liked his game (and anyone who annoyed Murray like he did in IW is cool in my books lol).

BTW, hilarious joke about the Daniel-Nadal match. I didn't know you had such a great sense of humour, Ricky. I'm thinking...1, 1, and 1. Sound good?

tennisdeva - Hmmm, Daniel would have to be an extraordinarily big fan of breadsticks in order to come up with a result like that.

I'm thinking more like 1, 0, and 2

Ricky - LOL Daniel would just have to be a fan of bread in general. Hmmm...why does that scoreline look familiar? I know! That's the same score Nando managed against Rafa last year in the R16. Ha! I'm not rusty in statistics hehe. Almagro got the breadsticks in the QF.

I'm so good *does a little dance*

C'mon , Daniel is not that bad on clay. He actually beat Canas and Ljubicic before losing to seppi in Belgrad. also won a challanger on clay 2 weeks ago.

I never said he was bad on clay, Shockwaves. But Rafa takes even good clay court players and eats them for breakfast. Plus, it was just a running joke. That's all. ;-)

i genuinely panicked about the rafa thing at the start... til i realised it was a joke, haha

vamos rafa!!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/may/24/rafael-nadal-french-open-i nterview

For Rafa fans, this is a great article! This guy seems to understand the "essence of Rafa" for lack of a better word--lol.

If Tipsarevic survives Montanes (in five sets I think), he will go over Lopez and he may as well surprise Murray in the third round. Serbia's result in Dusseldorf should boost him nicely.

Would anyone actually be surprised if Tipsy beats Murray?! I know I wouldn't.

Murray might be tough. I didn't see his match but all the reports say he played a great first match.

Yeah I'd be stunned. Nice work beating Monty, though.

Agree with you about Gulbis, Ricky. He is exiting early in many tournaments. I think he'll drop in the ranking and will not see his potential to be a real force in the game as first thought. Do you think it's a mental issue, Ricky, or confidence?

I couldn't watch Murray - Chela match, but friend o mine told me that Chela sort of "stopped running" after first 4 - 5 games (tired or something). Is it true?

homos - It's mental (which goes hand in hand with confidence). And he doesn't have a coach right now. He has a whole lot of issues.

Talent-wise there is no reason why he should not be Top 15 RIGHT NOW - right there with Cilic or even better. Unfortunately, this year is going to be pretty much a wash. After the French he wont be able to get in any tournaments other than the Grand Slams.

Basically barring some kind of miracle run at the French, Wimbledon, or the U.S., Gulbis will just have to go back to the Challengers, get some confidence, and regroup for 2010 with a new coach and pretend 2009 never happened. He will probably start 2010 right around 100th in the world and should make it his goal to get well inside the Top 50 by the end of the year. At that point he would be on a similar age/progress curve with Bolelli...not good enough for Gulbis, but considering where he is at now, that would be a decent start.

Thanks Ricky. That makes sense yes - mental and confidence. What happened to coach?? I didn't know he has no coach now. Yikes. He needs one. Maybe a sports psychologist as well. Looks like he needs all the help he can afford :) Definitely forgetting about 2009 is a good idea. A bit of a shocker for someone of his potential.

Thanks F4T for the article on The Guardian, very nice XD

Parted ways in March after Gulbis got absolutely destroyed in like four straight matches.

Pilic is with him at the French, but not for anything more than that.

Who do you guys pick for women's title? My guess is Safina

Not Serena, thats for sure after today's performance.

Probably Sharapova.

rafa's lil interview for rafa fans......

http://timesonline.typepad.com/rafael_nadal/2009/05/ques tions-for-rafa-does-roger-federer-have-a-chance-at-roland-garros.html

Sharapova for the title? Enough sarcasm, who is your real pick lol

http://timesonline.typepad.com/rafael_nadal/2009/05/questions-for-rafa -does-roger-federer-have-a-chance-at-roland-garros.html

THIS SHUD WORK

Ricky , did you hear that Nadal may have sustained an injury (left knee) during yesterday's match? Sorry I asked this twice.

Yes. It's the same "problem" he had the last four times he won the French Open easily.

Thanks Ricky hee hee ... I don't remember this from last year, but he didn't play all that well during his first match in 08.

has nadal genuinely got an injury? someone on a different site said he did, but i can't find anything when i attempted to google it

i guess we'll see in his match tomorrow

Apparently, Toni said Rafa had some pain in his LEFT knee (not the same one that caused him to withdraw last year at Madrid) that was aggravated in the 2nd set but Toni and Dr. Cotorro both told French newspapers that it is nothing to worry about.

Hey Ricky,
Getting cheecky with the quotation marks when you write Nadal has a 'problem' in his knee? :)
If his knee doesn't feel 100 & during a match, is he not allowed to mention it to his trainer?

Shireling....for all the comments on rafa's knees etc....he has one of the best teams in the world around him...who will no doubt manage his injuries...all players will have them and it is how they are managed that counts.....as you know........

Alllleeeezzzzzzzzzz roger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes he does malty! If his doctors and team are saying it is nothing to worry about, then I won't either.

Are we still going on about Rafa's knees.............The King Of Clay has just broken another record.......30 matches at RG unbeaten, so there is nothing wrong with his knees is there?

no carrie there isn't....thanks for informing us....the uninformed.......

**claps for carrie****

Right you are malteser, these guys are treated like racing horses.. every little discomfort is promptly cared for..
I was just saying that they're allowed to say 'this and that hurts' (it goes for everybody, not just Nadal)

Vrael

I tries our link but it does not seem to be working. what is the title for the article soi can tpe it direct unto the site.

TopDog,

remove the "space" between rafa and dash.

or cut and paste the below into your browser.

http://timesonline.typepad.com/rafael_nadal/2009/05/questi ons-for-rafa-does-roger-federer-have-a-chance-at-roland-garros.html

TopDog, just go to the rafa nadal blog at

http://timesonline.typepad.com/rafael_nadal

and scroll down till you see the article
"Questions for Rafa: does Roger Federer have a chance at Roland Garros?"
(Sunday, May 24 2009)

Thanks Guys

wats wrong wid this site......i carefully remove all the spaces from the url b4 posting this.....nd always ends up posted wid some space???