Finals not in any doubt....the Championship is...if he meets Novak

i think isner has a tougher draw than nadal.

Vaaaaaaaammmmmmmmoooooooossssssssss!

good luck rafa! hope you can give your fans a good reason to smile again at RG.

VAMOS!!!!! go do your best!

I will relax after Rafa has got past the 1st round because it's no fun playing against people like Isner. Having received such an enthusiastic rock star welcome from the French this year as in the videos below, he should be feeling good about himself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HAMN1hjUqs

http://www.y outube.com/watch?v=ka-TBs7Pc4o

deuce, I hope we won't have to join you behind the sofa.

Vamos

You have not supported what you are saying with facts. Who says Nadal has a tough draw? The fact is Nadal has a very easy draw, Isner isnt a clay court player Davydenko is old and isnt the player he was in 2006 Querry is also nobody on clay Verdasco is not in any form he may not even make it past the 1st round vs Monaco. Nadals possible QF opponents soderling hasnt been doing too well recently he lost to Federer at madrid and at Rome lost 6-3 6-0 to Djokovic. So how is Nadals draw tough? its not as if he has dangerous floaters like Almagro, Del potro or Bellucci in his half Nadal has also avoided the most dangerous potential QF opponent David Ferrer.

perhaps u have made some valid points, tennis 2011 BUT i disagree with your appraisal about soderling. Do you know nadal delivered a 6-0 6-1 to soda in room 2009 before 2009 upended rafa at Rg?(no need to consider the rafa injury issue here) . and, as soderling says, he always starts off the clay season badly but by the time RG arrives he just about finds his range and balance on movement ...2 time finalist at RG but never a threat in masters 1000 . Soderling IS the giant killer at RG so he can be considered a big thorn in rafa's relatively smooth path.

I think Novak has an decent draw too, roger's got the worst i think.

lol@ my typo..i meant before SODERLING uppended rafa at RG (line 3 )

it is said that new babolat balls at the FO this year favor big servers and hitters. if that is true then isner, soderling, belucci, delpo etc are beneficiaries ...

I heard Rafa gets even more spin from the Babolat balls. We'll have to wait and see how Ivo and Delpo play tomorrow. That should tell us something.

balls are expected to bounce higher ....

Rafa needs to focus on his ROS in his match with Isner. I watched his match against Isner in Madrid 2010, yesterday, and I think he would have won it much more easily if he attacked with the ROS rather than just return the ball which allowed Isner to serve and volley and hold his serve more often.

Here is a video of Rafa in a practice session with Raonic and he seems to be returning the ball much better. If he could only attack Isner's serve instead of just being happy to be able to return it, he would make life much easier for himself.

http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2011/05/22/whats-the-comm otion-on-court-15/

I think Rafa would play better in RG. Two key parts of his game has to improve if he is to retain the title. First of all he has to turn his backhand into a devastating weapon as it would really make him brutal. especially since he is a natura righthander, he should have beter control and power there. In Aussie 09, we saw what a weapon the backhand was, these days the likes of Djoke seem to attack it relentlessly and break it down. he also has to learn to hit flatter shots especially the DTL back hand which Djoker and Murray hit very well. Secondly the serve seems to be getting worse and is becoming a burden. I don't see Isner surviving at all. VAmoss rafa

I'm sooooooooooooo impatient waiting for Rafa to play his first match.



Vamos Rafa!

Rafa has the toughest draw. Why was Ana Ivanovic asked to pick the lots?
Poor Rafa not only has all those who are considered bad match-ups for him but also Soderling.
I pray that his path clears easily and he reaches the final in good shape. After that let the best man win.

Who knows why Ana was asked, why not Stosur as Schiavone wasn't available?

The last time Ana and Rafa did the RG draw was in 2009, I hope history does not repeat itself.

I think Ana may have been asked because she was the only female past champion around.

Rafa just go out there tomorrow and sort Isner out in 3. I'm not that worried about Sod, Davy always seems to get the better of Rafa even when Rafa had licked him 6-0 in the 1st round, he still managed to win.

Maybe meeting Davy is a blessing in disguise. He takes the ball early so Rafa can practise his tactics to counter this and be ready for Djoko!
I am feeling a little bit more optimistic about Rafa, don't know why.

holdserve, why only a little bit optimistic? Despite all of Rafa's so called weaknesses this clay season, he beats everyone else not named Nole to win two clay titles and reached another two finals. This is the French Open we are talking about. In best of five sets matches, Rafa has sufficient time to adjust or change his game plan. Unlike 2009 where Rafa was certainly not well physically, right now he is in good physical condition. I had a feeling that prior to the FO, Rafa was holding back and did not go all out to win, as he knew energy management was very important as he had five clay tournaments to play this clay season. After coming so far and now he's at the FO, he should know that now is the time to go all out to win.

Rafa does not fare badly this season, he lost two masters, one more than his normal clay season. However this season, he is first plagued with illness and then by injury, also Nole is playing exceptionally well this year, can't blame Rafa for losing a step or two here and there to Nole. If Rafa can go the distance with Nole should they meet, I'm sure Rafa can have the upper hand, as he's more experienced in long matches and the new Nole isn't tested so far in long best of five matches this year. If Bellucci and Murray can push Nole the limit in best of three sets matches, Rafa being the king himself, sure can push Nole to the limit in best of five sets matches on clay, especially when it's about defending one's pride and territory.

luckystar,
Reading your post sort of made stronger the feeling I have had that Rafa was holding back a bit in the masters just as he had done last year at Toronto and Cincinnati.
I hope he wins RG. I don't care if Nole wins everything else. I want Rafa to defend his territory, to prove that at Roland Garros he is still king.

I tend to agree with lucky...I did not see Rafa was really going after his wins and I hope it was due to him conserving energy not because he was playing not to lose...I expect a different attitude from Rafa at the RG...he is able to beat everyone but Nole right now and we shall see how he will deal w/Nole if he gets to meet him in the finals...I am sure there will be some game plan or at least we shall expect to see Rafa fighting harder for the win...but it is long way to go, and we shall focus on Isner right now...not an easy one, rather tricky one for Rafa since it is his first match at FO this year, but he should be able to beat him in straights...VAMOS RAFA!