Nadal, the man to beat in French Open
Sunday, May 9th, 2010
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 24th to June 7th 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…
Women to bet on in the French Open
Saturday, May 8th, 2010
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…
2010 Australian Open Betting Favorites
Monday, January 11th, 2010
Tennis returns.
The 2010 Australian Open promises to deliver all the action and excitement of Grand Slam tennis starting on January 18th before concluding with the finals on January 31st at the Melbourne Tennis Stadium in Flinders Park.
There are four major international Grand Slam tournaments held each year; the Australian Tennis Open, the French Tennis Open in Paris, Wimbledon in London and the US Tennis Open in New York. With the often extreme summer temperatures of Australia, the Australian Tennis Open is regarded as one of the most physically demanding for players.
The Australian Open is important in many ways, not least of which is because it is the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year. And all eyes will be on French phenom Rafael Nadal as he attempts to defend the very title he won here last year.
Another guy to look out for at the 2010 Australian Open is of course, Roger Federer, who will be looking to put his 2009 breakdown behind him. He will need to win in Melbourne if he wishes reassert his supremacy in men’s singles tennis.
Other notable players to watch out for include Novak Djokovic. After finishing last season with the Masters Cup title under his belt, Djokovic will come in the Australian Open brimming with confidence.
We also have Andy Murray, easily the most improved player of the season. He will be looking to prove that he’s capable of Grand Slam greatness as he comes in Melbourne looking for greater things.
On the women’s side, Serena Williams will enter the tournament as a strong favorite. She will be keen to atone for last year’s US Open meltdown. However, the American won’t want to keep her guard down this year as she’ll be accompanied with other players looking for a better year as well.
Such players includes former champion Maria Sharapova…
Watch Out for Melanie Oudin
Monday, September 28th, 2009
Serena Williams may have fired some ill-comments towards umpires but that’s not the story as far as women tennis in the U.S. is concerned.
The story in the 2009 U.S. Open has shifted from the Williams sisters to a virtual unknown named Melanie Oudin of Marietta, Georgia. The 70th-ranked Oudin has been handing out upsets to some of the sport’s biggest female stars, including Russian aces Elena Dementieva and Maria Sharapova. She also defeated 13th seed Nadia Petrova in three sets, making it crystal clear that this 17-year-old ain’t no pushover.
Sure, the magical ride for the young Melanie Oudin went to a crushing halt when she went up against no.9 seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, losing 6-2, 6-2. But the fact of the matter is, Oudin has arrived into the scene of women’s tennis in style and everybody will recognize this young talent the next time she sets foot on a tennis court.
”This has been a great experience for me. I had a great run here,” Oudin told the crowd of 23,881 during an on-court interview right after losing the match to Wozniacki, an honor usually reserved for the winner. ”I hope to come back next year and do even better.”
Doing better might just be a little harder for her though.
She upset four more established players, including the hot and sexy Maria Sharapova and Beijing Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva, to become the youngest quarter finalist at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 1999.
Making the story even better is the fact that Oudin’s last three victories each came after dropping the first set. But her start against Wozniacki was quite inauspicious, she lost 14 of the first 18 points under the bright lights in the big city.
With ”BELIEVE” stamped in all capital letters on the heels of her pink and yellow sneakers, Oudin certainly never gave up, her ground strokes did.
It should be interesting how she does next season…
Can Serena Williams win the US Open?
Thursday, August 20th, 2009
The last Grand Slam of the tennis calendar is on.
The 2009 U.S. Open is here and we’ll probably see some poor sap get beaten down by Serena Williams again.
And since Serena Williams is the defending champion of the U.S. Open, not to mention the fact that she’s still fresh from her huge win at Wimbledon, the younger Williams sister will definitely be the woman to beat.
Serena has this tendency to make her opponents look decidedly ordinary with her speed and strength, unless of course she’s playing against the hot and sexy Maria Sharapova who’ll probably make Serena look like a freaking gorilla compared to Sharapova’s long legs, smooth skin and…
ANYWAY, Serena is the current holder of the U.S. Open singles title and her odds should shorten as summer tournaments heat up. She’s the best athlete on the women’s tour and she has a slight, but significant, age advantage on her older sister Venus Williams. It’s hard to imagine Serena not at least making the semis of the U.S. Open and despite being ranked no.2 in the world, she should be the odds-on favorite.
Then we have Dinara Safina. It is hard to find a serious tennis analyst who doesn’t think she is one of the best players in the sport right now. Without a shadow of a doubt, she is one of the best in the world at the moment with all of her success in the past year, but the general consensus is that Serena is still the world’s best player due to her multiple Grand Slam titles in the last year. A win over Serena at Flushing Meadows could sure fix that.
Elena Dementieva has never won a Grand Slam singles title but she did make the finals of the 2004 U.S. Open. With her odds set at +1000 (10/1) she is underrated and is more of a threat to win the 2009 U.S. Open than Sharapova, Ivanovic, Safina, and Azarenka.
Players that should almost certainly be…
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