Is it just me or is it about time for the French Open to start already? No offense to the rest of the clay court tournaments still on deck for both the men and the women, but it doesn’t take a fortune teller to figure out who the favorites are going into Paris.
Although both the WTA and ATP tours sync up this week in Madrid for the final big clay court warm-up event of the year, even if someone else other than Rafael Nadal or Justine Henin prevails, will it even matter at this point?
With early round play for the women already underway, I won’t go into too much analysis on their draw other than to point some intriguing matchups, including the anticipated Ana Ivanovic/Jelena Jankovic catfight on Monday. No matter who wins, what most people will pay to see is the handshake, or probably, lack thereof it at the end considering the war of words going on between the two Serbian Fed Cup teammates. Heavy favorite Justine Henin could face defending champion Dinara Safina, who’s still struggling physically, in an early round match, and then potentially face Serena Williams, who publicly declared in Rome, “I’m not Justine”, in the semifinals. This unless Williams hasn’t shaken off enough rust from her game to defeat an even more rusty Maria Sharapova who returns after a long layoff with an arm injury.
The other side of the women’s draw has a potential tasty second round matchup between surprise Italian Open winner Maria Jose Sanchez Martinez versus Charleston winner Sam Stosur in a battle of all-court games. Venus Williams is in their side of their draw but the most wide open section is the bottom half with a struggling Caroline Wozniacki and injured Victoria Azarenka. Put it another way, don’t expect the winner of Madrid to come out of this side of the draw.
For the men, do we even need an analysis? Rafael Nadal, last year’s runner-up, goes for the all-time Masters shield win record and will probably get it barring some sort of mental or physical breakdown. Probably more importantly, is that with Novak Djokovic’s last minute withdrawal due to his ongoing (and can we finally say it officially) breathing problem, unless Nadal loses early, he will overtake Djokovic for the No. 2 ranking just in time for Paris. Nadal could face nemesis Robin Soderling in the semifinals, but I actually like David Nalbandian or rising Brazilian star Thomaz Bellucci to face Nadal across the net.
With defending champion Roger Federer’s somewhat surprise loss in Estoril to Albert Montanes, don’t expect a Federer/Nadal final. Sure Federer should get through his early rounds, but then he could face rising star Ernests Gulbis again in the quarterfinals and possibly David Ferrer in the semis. Federer could rise to the challenge, but don’t you think one of these two will take out the struggling No. 1? Oh and yes, Andy Roddick is in this side of the draw, but let’s get real.
At the end of the day, if Henin and Nadal don’t win the Madrid title, it would be a surprise. Sure plenty of others would like a chance at it, but their main goal now is to find decent form in time for the grind-fest that is Paris. And on a separate note, for those who haven’t checked out the Madrid website, prepare yourself. Its dramatic theme music and graphics seem inspired by famed film director Pedro Almodóvar whose classic film “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” could probably sum up the whole WTA tour, considering how a tiny Belgian’s return has disrupted so many of their games and lives so far.
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