The flowers are in full bloom, the clay ascends to the perfect shade of read and Roland Garros bounces onto Court Philippe Chatrier and into our hearts every May. When the ball boys and girls start sliding on the illustrious red clay, its time to break out the chocolate croissants, brie, pate and champagne, while leaving the most comfortable chair in your living room with a permanent impression of your tuchas (yiddish for buttocks).
The French Open is a Grand Slam in a category all by itself. Held on the sun soaked red clay in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Paris is a template where only the most determined, grittiest performers thrive.
Recognized in the lore of past champions, are the likes of Max Decugis, Rene Lacoste, Henri Cochet, Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Mats Wilander, Yannick Noah, Ivan Lendl, Michael Chang, who the modern day tennis fanatic may have already forgotten. These fighters, these counter punchers and tremendous professionals first dusted off the red dust from the white lines well before Rafa began spinning opponents off the court and flexing his biceps.
Year after year, the favorites along with the sleepers, are grouped together and seemingly stand no chance to the spanish bull that is Rafael Nadal. Not only that, but for all of you out their who follow and participate in the American tennis scene, you know the following two things will probably not change in your lifetime.
1. No American men have the complete game, nor the mental fortitude to advance into the second week on the red clay.
2. Until Andy Murray actually finds the mental toughness to apply his skill set in the clutch moments, he will always be Brad Gilbert's favorite and always disappoint to inferior players.
Lets play a little word association to explain how we feel about the men's favorites at this years French Open:
Rafa Nadal - The Favorite
Novak Djokovic - Hopefully it doesn't get too hot in Paris, or we may see the old Djoker
Roger Federer- Never count him out, if he wasn't the best natural born tennis player of all time, would he have been the most famous ballerina of our generation? #footworkequalstitles
Andy Murray - C'mon man
Furthermore, those who strap in and play the odds should focus on the Sleepers Section that is so naturally composed of the "Not so new wave of big hitters". Long forgotten is the notion of the big hitter and the fact that each generation has a four to six man contingency of them. In the early 2000's for example, the likes of Andy Roddick, Mark Philippoussis, Patick Rafter and Marat Safin defined this hot tempered, motley crew of men. At the moment its composed of Jo "Willy" Tsonga, Tomas Berdych, Juan Martin Del Potro, Milos Raonic and the lone American hope, John "the marathon man" Isner. But do any of these men really stand a chance?
The short answer is no, the long answer is hell no.
The potential road that these big hitters will face, could be written:
3rd 4th Qtrs. Semifinals Finals
Tsonga- Troicki Simon/Wawrinka Djokovic/Verdasco Federer/Berdych/Verdasco Nadal/Murray
Prediction: 4 set loss to Djokovic in the Qtrs.
Berdych- Anderson Del Potro Federer Djokovic/Tsonga/Verdasco Nadal/Murray
Prediction: 4 set loss to Del Potro in the 4th round.
Del Potro- Cilic Berdych Federer Djokovic/Tsonga/Verdasco Nadal/Murray
Prediction: 5 set loss to Federer in the Qtrs.
Roanic- Monaco Nadal Tipsarevic/Almagro Murray/Ferrer/Isner Djokovic/Federer
Prediction: 3 set loss to Nadal in the 4th round.
Isner- Granollers Ferrer Murray/Gasquet Nadal/Tipsarevic Djokovic/Federer
Prediction: 5 set loss to Ferrer in the 4th round.
What men's tennis is hungering for is a changing of the guard, a newcomer to dig deeper and shock the world. Unfortunately, the likes of Milos Roanic, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Grigor Dimitrov, Ryan Harrison and Bernard Tomic are not at that point yet. Make no mistake that these five men are the next wave of top 5 players that will seep into our hearts and into tennis histroy, but wait a few years for the battles between the current regime and the future, and you will understand that the best tennis is yet to come.
We would like to wish Robin Soderling a quick and healthy recovery, as tennis fans around the world miss his thumping ground strokes so dearly. Also, we would like to congratulate the former top prospect Brian Baker on his re-emergence in the tennis world, cracking the top 200 and wish him all the luck both in 2012 and beyond.
Finals prediction:
Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic: 6-4, 6-7, 7-5, 6-2
#Gentleman'sGame
Prior to the beginning of the NBA season, many basketball analysts and experts wrote off and paid little attention to the Spurs because of their old age. Would they be able to keep up with younger, athletic teams in their conference, such as Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, and Memphis Grizzlies? The veteran leadership of 4-time NBA Champion Tim Duncan and 3-time NBA Champions Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, led the San Antonio Spurs to surprise the critics by finishing the regular season in first place in the Western Conference and tied with Chicago Bulls for the best record in the NBA (50-16). The Spurs have been the most dominating team thus far in the NBA Playoffs. They've gone on a nine game winning streak in the playoffs, as a result of handling every opponent that has come in their path of making it to the NBA Finals.
Will the youth defeat the elders or will the elders teach the youngsters a lesson? Will the winner of the Western Conference Finals be the favorite to win the NBA Title? Will the athleticism of the Thunder's big 3 tire the veteran Spurs or will the veteran leadership of the Spurs' big 3 prevail?
