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Yep, the French Open in all its clay court glory is here again.

Dubbed as the most challenging of all the grand slams, the 2010 French Open tennis tournament is sure to stay true to the rigors and tough competitiveness so typical of the second of the annual tennis majors.

This year’s French Open will be held from May 24^th to June 7^th and this year’s tournament is sure to unleash some of the most riveting grand slam tennis action you’d ever see. Thousands are expected to arrive at Roland Garros during the two weeks of the competition in hopes of catching a glimpse of the best tennis players in the world.

Leading the pack for the men’s favorites is the ‘king of clay,’ Rafael Nadal who seem to come up with his best tennis every time he plays on that clay surface.

He etched his name into French Open history after matching the record of the well-known Bjorn Borg and the 1920’s heroine of the Open, Suzanne Lenglen, with four consecutive French Open titles.

Nadal’s success on clay is so ridiculous, you’d be a fool to bet against this guy in this tournament.

That brings us to Roger Federer. Can he win a title in France and get title number 17? Federer has found the clay courts in Paris to be his nemesis.

He is one of those great players who can’t seem to do shit on clay. He is in good company though as he is accompanied by the likes of Pete Sampras, Jimmy Connors, Maria Sharapova and Martina Hingis as a few great tennis players who are denied of a title on clay.

Novak Djokovic, on the other hand, is probably the only real threat to Nadal as he is considered by many as a great clay court player. Other guys to watch out for include Nikolay Davydenko, who is one of the hottest players in tennis right now.

Andy Roddick and Juan Martin Del Potro should also be…

Can Lionel Messi power Argentina towards World Cup glory?

You read it, one of the most talented footballers in the world, that being Lionel Messi, will be leading Argentina in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

That’s probably why many sports bettors are picking Argentina to win Group B, especially with the talent that they have.

Argentina is only the fourth of five qualifiers from South America, ahead of Uruguay, but behind Brazil, Chile and Paraguay.

Their main man, Lionel Messi, won the 2009 Ballon d’Or and was awarded the European Footballer of the Year.

Messi is the diamond that the whole world recognizes, while Sergio Aguero, another star Argentina can rely on the pitch, is another youngster on the rise. They also have Carlos Tevez, a skillful, hard-working striker.

In midfield, Javier Mascherano gives Argentina steel, while Juan Sebastián Veron is a good distributor of the ball.

Last year, Argentina played 13 matches, won eight of them and lost five. This is not the kind of record a country with Argentina’s proud history finds acceptable, especially when included among those results is a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of 56th ranked Bolivia.

Let’s see how they do come June in…

Yep, the French Open is here and if you’re a betting man, you should take note about these women you shouldn’t be betting against on May.

In case you didn’t get that, it’s that time of the Grand Slam tennis season when the best tennis players in the world head to Roland Garros for the 2010 French Open tennis tournament.

And as far as the women’s side of things go, Justine Henin is the clear cut favorite to win this tournament. Henin’s presence in the draw is clearly pushing the odds long for even the second favorite and there is good reason for that.

Henin made the finals of the recent Australian Open and, despite her long layoff, she is a force on tour even at the Grand Slam level. Her best Grand Slam has always been the French Open as she won four titles at Roland Garros (2003, 2005, 2006, and 2007) before she ‘retired’ from tennis just prior to the 2008 French Open.

Her past success at the French Open, combined with her stellar play on tour since returning from retirement has clearly won her a lot of backers to win again at Roland Garros this spring.

Trying to outwit Henin is Kim Clijsters. Even though Clijsters’ best results at the French Open were back in 2001 and 2003 when she was the runner up in both tournaments in Paris, Clijsters has remained to be a force to be reckoned with at Roland Garros.

Clijsters has played in two French Open tournaments, the 2005 event and the 2006 event, reaching the semifinals back in ‘06.

Of course, Serena Williams has to be included as one of the favorites to win the French Open. Sure, Williams has not won the French Open since 2002, about the time when she started winning everything, but at least she has won it before. Her most recent result from 2009 was a quarterfinal loss but even that was to the eventual champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Speaking of, French Open defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova has…

Can they finally add some hardware other than that cup they won six years ago in Euro 2004?

Team Greece, who topped Euro 2004, finished second in European Group Two behind Switzerland, but beat Ukraine 1-0 in a two-leg playoff to secure their place in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The only score Greece had came in the away game in Donetsk.

That is the thing about this Greek team, they’re not flashy, but they have the mental fortitude to grind out 1-0 wins, no matter where they play.

The team’s appearance in the 2010 FIFA World Cup would only be the second time in their country’s history that they have reached the World Cup finals.

Previously, in the USA in 1994, they exited in the first round after losing all three of their group games.

Their ambition will be much higher this time around.

During 2009, Greece played 10 internationals, winning four of them, losing twice, and drawing four.

Striker Theofanis Gekas is a key for the Greek national team.

His 10-goal return was the highest tally by a player in European qualifying.

Another key is fellow striker Angelos Charisteas, who scored the winning goal at Euro 2004.

He presents a physical challenge to opposing defenders because of his…

Because after winning the first race of the season in Bahrain, the Spaniard hasn’t really won shit in Asia.

And now that the European leg of the 2010 F1 season is about to kick off in his home country of Spain, Fernando Alonso is looking forward to having a series of strong finishes in the next few races, claiming that this leg is where the race for the title truly begins.

”The Championship always starts in the first race, but it’s true that it’s just a race to confirm the good sensations you’ve had during testing. But it’s true that in Europe it is time to show who is going to fight for the title and who isn’t,” Fernando Alonso said in an interview.

”The first races can be atypical races with changing weather all the time, so now in Europe it’s the moment of truth to show who is going to be in the title fight, and also for the teams to prove they can develop faster than their rivals. It’s the start of a nice fight.”

”Being third in the Championship, very few points away from the leader, I believe is a very good situation.”

”With the potential that we have, with the super team that I have, this is just the beginning and I have a real chance to fight for the world championship, something I couldn’t even think about last year after four races.”

”I’m enjoying it again, and I’ve felt that bug from winning a race or winning the championship again, and that’s the most positive thing about the start to this year.”

”We can’t forget that last year during the final part of the season Ferrari was very far from the leaders, so there were a lot of things to confirm and many wishes to grant and they have been granted.”

Of course, many know that Ferrari has some reliability issues…