Roland Garros 2010: Women's Semifinals Preview

BY MADPROFESSAH

I previously made predictions of the four women's quarterfinals and four men's quarterfinals and got 4 of 8 results correct at this year's French Open.

Serena Williams USA (1) Samantha Stosur AUS (7) vs. Jelena Jankovic SRB (4). Samantha Stosur has the most clay court wins of anyone on tour this year. She showed that she can take out players who are expected to beat her with two exceptional, consecutive 3-set wins over 4-time French Open champ Justine Henin and 12-time major champion Serena Williams. She may possess the best serve in women's tennis right now. It was this difference which was most glaring in her defeat of Serena in the quarters. Stosur had quieter (but more effective) service stats (6 aces to one double fault) than Serena (13 aces, 9 double faults). Her second serve has a wicked kick which will push almost any opponent deep behind the baseline. Her next opponent is Jelena Jankovic who has lived up to her seeding (the only member of the Top 4 to do so) and is appearing in her sixth career major semifinal. Stosur is appearing in her second. Jankovic also sports a 3-1 career head-to-head edge over the Australian, but then again so did Serena Williams, with all their previous encounters occurring on hard courts. I actually like and appreciate both players' games so I will not be upset which ever player wins. In this case, I think Stosur will have the larger momentum and greater boost of her confidence having already beaten two great champions to reach this point. I think she will not stop until Stosur becomes a grand slam champion herself.
MadProfessah's pick: Stosur in 3 sets.

Caroline Wozniacki DEN (3) Francesca Schiavone ITA (17) vs. Elena Dementieva RUS (5). This was supposed to be where Venus Williams was supposed to take advantage of the top heavy draw and finally make her way to another French Open final. Sadly, that dream was deferred by the excellent play of Nadia Petrova who then could not sustain a lead against her friend and doubles partner Elena Dementieva, an ended up choking on 3rd-set bagel. Francesca Schiavone is a big match player. A few weeks before her 30th birthday she is in her first major semifinal, the first woman from Italy to be in a major final in over a generation. Although I love her game (that one handed backhand! the shotmaking!), I predicted that the World's 3rd ranked player would take her out easily but Schiavone flipped the script aruond and dismissed Caroline Wozniacki 6-2 6-3 in a match that was not as close as the score indicates. This match is the hardest one for me to predict. The two have played 10 tour matches, with only one on clay (won by Dementieva) and with the Russian holding a slight 6-4 edge. Just as Schiavone has indicated her mental toughness in big matches, Dementieva has shown the opposite. I think that either Dementieva will be so nervous that Schiavone will blow her off the court in straight sets, or if Dementieva is able to win a set, she will be able to gut out an ugly 3-set win for her 3rd major final, her first in over six years. MadProfessah's pick: Schiavone in 2 sets or Dementieva in 3 sets.

Roland Garros 2010 Day 10 Order Of Play

Getty

Spain's Nicolas Almagro eyes the ball after hitting a forehand to Spain's Fernando Verdasco during their men's fourth round match in the French Open tennis championship at the Roland Garros stadium, on May 31, 2010, in Paris.

::

We have arrived at the final eight. MadProfessah has posted his predictions and we'll talk about them here as the action unfolds.

Conventional wisdom states that Elena Dementieva is the best active player on the WTA never to have won a slam. I reject that. That honor goes to Miss Nadia Petrova. No, she's never been to a Slam final, never won an Olympic Gold, but she has the most talent and most complete game of the non-Slam winners in the women's field. And she can serve. We know what her deadliest weakness is and I, for one, am hoping she can smother it this week and make her first Slam final.

I'm also rooting for Francesca Schiavone, one of the most imaginative players on the tour who fights to the bigger end. She'll have her work cut out for her against the backboard that his Caroline Wozniacki, but if the veteran can frustrate the youngster enough, she'll advance to her first Slam semifinal in the latter days of her career. What a story that would be.

As for the men, it probably goes without saying but I'll say it anyway: I wanna see Robin Söderling play Tomas Berdych in the semifinals. Let it be, let it be.

Schedule for Day 10: Tuesday, 1 June 2010

Court Philippe Chatrier 14:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Quarterfinals
Francesca Schiavone (ITA)[17] v. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)[3]
2. Men's Singles - Quarterfinals
Roger Federer (SUI)[1] v. Robin Soderling (SWE)[5]
3. Men's Doubles - Fourth Round
Marc Lopez (ESP)/Pere Riba (ESP) v. Wesley Moodie (RSA)/Dick Norman (BEL)[4]

Court Suzanne Lenglen 14:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Quarterfinals
Elena Dementieva (RUS)[5] v. Nadia Petrova (RUS)[19]
2. Men's Singles - Quarterfinals
Tomas Berdych (CZE)[15] v. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)[11]
3. Men's Doubles - Fourth Round
Lukasz Kubot (POL)/Oliver Marach (AUT)[6] v. Daniel Nestor (CAN)/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)[2]

Court 1 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - Fourth Round
Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)/Leander Paes (IND)[3] v. Mariusz Fyrstenberg (POL)/Marcin Matkowski (POL)[8]
2. Women's Doubles - Fourth Round
Monica Niculescu (ROU)/Shahar Peer (ISR) v. Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP)/Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP)[2]
3. Mixed Doubles - Third Round
Vania King (USA)/Christopher Kas (GER) v. Tathiana Garbin (ITA)/Marcin Matkowski (POL)
4. Women's Doubles - Fourth Round
Kveta Peschke (CZE)/Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)[12] v. Alona Bondarenko (UKR)/Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR)

Court 2 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - Fourth Round
Marcelo Melo (BRA)/Bruno Soares (BRA) v. Julian Knowle (AUT)/Andy Ram (ISR)[10]
2. Girls' Singles - Second Round
Nastja Kolar (SLO)[4] v. Charlene Seateun (FRA)
3. Mixed Doubles - Third Round
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ)/Julian Knowle (AUT) v. Cara Black (ZIM)/Leander Paes (IND)[2]

Roland Garros 2010 Women's Quarterfinals

By MadProfessah

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at Roland Garros this year.

Serena Williams USA (1) vs. Samantha Stosur AUS (7) Justine Henin BEL (22). For the second year in a row, the winner of the tournament will be decided in the quarterfinal in which Serena Williams competes. Last year, Serena lost a nervy, tension-filled (frankly, ugly) quarterfinal match to eventual champion, Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova. This year instead of playing the 4-time Roland Garros champion Henin (who had a 24-match winning streak since Tathiana Garbin beat the 2003 defending champion in the second round at this tournament in 2004) Serena will face last year's semifinalist Samantha Stosur. The Serena-Justine showdown had been the most anticipated match on either side of the draw, even in a section of the draw called the "quarter of death" by Brad Gilbert. However, thanks to the hard-hitting, brilliant-serving Sam Stosur, that storyline is now dismissed from the tournament. Serena and Sam have only played four times (all on hard courts) with Stosur winning once, in Stanford last year. Serena is a woman on a mission, and will not be denied her chance to reach another Roland Garros final. PREDICTION: Serena in 3 sets.

Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ vs. Jelena Jankovic SRB (4). Surely Jelena Jankovic is too strong a defensive player to go through her entire career without winning a major? She made it to the 2008 U.S. Open final (losing to Serena in two close sets) but I believe that it is clay where her particular skills should be rewarded the most. Following that first major final Jankovic fell into a major downward spiral (although not as precipitous a decline as her Serbian countrywoman Ana Ivanovic, who although she possesses the 2008 French Open title still does not own a reliable second (or first) serve.) Jankovic has played well on clay this year, having beaten both Williams sisters on her way to the Rome final (which she lost). She should seize on the good fortune of not being in the "quarter of death" and sneak into her second major final. PREDICTION: Jankovic in 2 sets.

Francesca Schiavone ITA (17) vs. Caroline Wozniacki DEN (3). Wozniacki can regain the World #2 ranking by getting to the final, although I suspect her current Italian opponent and future Russian opponent will do their best to help maintain Venus Williams' hold on that position. This is the veteran Schiavone's 4th career quarterfinal, her second in Paris since reaching that lofty height in her debut at the tournament in 2001. The young Dane had never been past the 4th round of a major despite being on the tour for 3 years until her major breakthrough in New York (over Svetlana Kuznetsova in one of the very best matches of 2009) last year, where she lost the final to Kim Clijsters. In these clashes between wily veteran and talented youngster it is often the older player who comes out the loser because they more viscerally understand the significance (and rarity) of the moment and I expect this case to be no different. Youth will be served, again. PREDICTION:Wozniacki in 2 sets.

Elena Dementieva RUS (5) vs. Nadia Petrova RUS (19) Venus Williams USA (2). Oh, Venus! After getting past her 3rd Round Roland Garros jinx easily she meekly went out to the hard-hitting, mentally fragile Petrova on a cold wet day in straight sets, losing to someone she had never lost to on any surface. Sigh. Soon to turn 30 years-old, and for once blessed with a draw that had all the deadliest players in the other half for once, Venus couldn't keep it together long enough to make another deep run at the clay major, despite having amassed a very good record on clay this year. Petrova has always done well in Paris, first breaking through here at age 17 into the semifinals in 2003. Her opponent, Elena Dementieva, has quietly snuck through the draw, losing only one set in a tiebreak to Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada, with almost no one discussing her chances despite being a finalist here in 2004 and having played the best women's match on tour last year. Matches between the Russians are very often hideous, tight affairs with one player losing worse than the other instead of one player winning decisively. That's what I expect to see in this match. Head-to-head there's not much between these two, they are tied 7-7 in career matches, 2-2 in clay court matches and 1-1 in grand slam matches. Petrova has won exactly 2 major quarterfinal matches before, here in Paris, while the 6-month-older Dementieva has won 8 major quarterfinals, although only one in Paris. PREDICTION: Dementieva in 3 sets.

Roland Garros 2010 Day 7 Open Thread

Reuters

Had to cater a dinner party last night. Watched much of the tennis (too much, really) in between set up chores, but was too wiped out to write about any of it. Apologies.

Woke up late to see Serena Williams dizzy and Andy Roddick getting his clocked cleaned by Teimuraz Gabashvili. Whenever tennis genius (/snark) Brad Gilbert boasted that Roddick would be excited to play a qualifier in the third round, I wondered if he'd ever seen the Russian play. I thought Roddick might win a set, but if the Russian kept his head, no way would Roddick get through.

The Russian kept his head.

Funny how everybody else can hit through court Suzanne Lenglen but Roddick who thinks it's the slowest court in Stade de Roland Garros. Gabashvili, a flat ballstriker with virtually no topspin on his shots, hit 58 winners, Roddick 14.

Tennis is mental. It was too much to ask for Roddick to make the second week of Roland Garros twice in a row. At least Serena survived her dizzy spell.

Then the score scrolled by and I saw the Bryan Brothers are also lost while I was asleep. Now, Nadia Petrova is trying to serve for the match for the third or fourth or fifth time against Aravane Rezai in an unending chokefest. Both have held three match points, all of Miss Nadia's on her own serve, and yet they're still out their slugging away. I know the match was suspended by darkness, but it feels like it went on through the night for I can see no progress in this storyline. Much like a soap opera.

Anyway....

Schedule for Day 7: Saturday, 29 May 2010

Court Philippe Chatrier 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Third Round
Serena Williams (USA)[1] v. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)[29]
Not Before 12:00
2. Women's Singles - Third Round
Aravane Rezai (FRA)[15] v. Nadia Petrova (RUS)[19] To Finish 7-6(2) 4-6 7-7
3. Men's Singles - Third Round
Victor Hanescu (ROU)[31] v. Novak Djokovic (SRB)[3]
4. Men's Singles - Third Round
Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)[28] v. Rafael Nadal (ESP)[2]
5. Women's Singles - Third Round
Maria Sharapova (RUS)[12] v. Justine Henin (BEL)[22]

Court Suzanne Lenglen 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Singles - Third Round
Andy Roddick (USA)[6] v. Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS)
2. Women's Singles - Third Round
Shahar Peer (ISR)[18] v. Marion Bartoli (FRA)[13]
3. Men's Singles - Third Round
Fernando Verdasco (ESP)[7] v. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)[30]
4. Women's Singles - Third Round
Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[4] v. Alona Bondarenko (UKR)[27]

Court 1 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Third Round
Jarmila Groth (AUS) v. Anastasia Rodionova (AUS)
2. Men's Singles - Third Round
Jurgen Melzer (AUT)[22] v. David Ferrer (ESP)[9]
3. Men's Singles - Third Round
Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP)[16] v. Robby Ginepri (USA)
4. Women's Singles - Third Round
Anastasia Pivovarova (RUS) v. Samantha Stosur (AUS)[7]

Court 2 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Bob Bryan (USA)/Mike Bryan (USA)[1] v. Marcelo Melo (BRA)/Bruno Soares (BRA)
2. Women's Singles - Third Round
Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)[23] v. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL)[16]
3. Men's Singles - Third Round
Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)[14] v. Thomaz Bellucci (BRA)[24]
4. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Serena Williams (USA)Venus Williams (USA)[1] v. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)/Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)

Court 3 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Thierry Ascione (FRA)/Laurent Recouderc (FRA) v. Andrey Golubev (KAZ)/Paolo Lorenzi (ITA)
2. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Alberta Brianti (ITA)/Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU) v. Gisela Dulko (ARG)/Flavia Pennetta (ITA)[5]
3. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Julian Knowle (AUT)/Andy Ram (ISR)[10] v. Gael Monfils (FRA)/Josselin Ouanna (FRA)
4. Mixed Doubles - Second Round
Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP)/Oliver Marach (AUT)[3] v. Stephanie Cohen-Aloro (FRA)/Thierry Ascione (FRA)
5. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Nicolas Almagro (ESP)/Santiago Ventura (ESP) v. Marc Gicquel (FRA)/Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA)

Court 5 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)/Julia Goerges (GER) v. Andrea Hlavackova (CZE)/Lucie Hradecka (CZE)[16]
2. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA)/Zi Yan (CHN)[9] v. Sara Errani (ITA)/Roberta Vinci (ITA)
3. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Maria Kirilenko (RUS)/Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[11] v. Petra Kvitova (CZE)/Stefanie Voegele (SUI)

Court 6 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Darija Jurak (CRO)/Petra Martic (CRO) v. Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP)/Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP)[2]
Not Before 12:00
2. Men's Singles - Third Round
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)[11] v. Viktor Troicki (SRB) To Finish 2-6 7-6(4) 6-2 3-1
3. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Lucie Safarova (CZE)/Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) v. Iveta Benesova (CZE)/Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE)[13]
4. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Mardy Fish (USA)/Mark Knowles (BAH)[13] v. Guillaume Rufin (FRA)/Alexandre Sidorenko (FRA)
5. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Rennae Stubbs (AUS)/Robert Lindstedt (SWE) v. Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)/Bruno Soares (BRA)
6. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Tathiana Garbin (ITA)/Marcin Matkowski (POL) v. Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA)/Mark Knowles (BAH)[4]

Court 7 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - First Round
Rohan Bopanna (IND)/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) v. Fabio Fognini (ITA)/Michael Russell (USA)
2. Women's Singles - Third Round
Alisa Kleybanova (RUS)[28] v. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ)
3. Men's Singles - Third Round
Nicolas Almagro (ESP)[19] v. Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr (UKR)
4. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Liezel Huber (USA)/Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)[1] v. Yung-Jan Chan (TPE)/Eric Butorac (USA)
5. Mixed Doubles - Second Round
Elena Vesnina (RUS)/Andy Ram (ISR) v. Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)[6]/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)[6]

Court 8 11:00 Start Time
1. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Julie Coin (FRA)/Nicolas Mahut (FRA) v. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)/Horia Tecau (ROU)
2. Men's Doubles - First Round
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP)/Albert Montanes (ESP) v. Wesley Moodie (RSA)/Dick Norman (BEL)[4]
3. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Viktor Troicki (SRB)/Dusan Vemic (SRB) v. Santiago Gonzalez (MEX)/Travis Rettenmaier (USA)

Court 16 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Jonathan Erlich (ISR)/Dudi Sela (ISR) v. Stephen Huss (AUS)/Andre Sa (BRA)
2. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/Max Mirnyi (BLR)[5] v. Marc Lopez (ESP)/Pere Riba (ESP)
3. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR)/Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) v. Frantisek Cermak (CZE)/Michal Mertinak (SVK)[9]
4. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Lisa Raymond (USA)/Wesley Moodie (RSA)[7] v. Vania King (USA)/Christopher Kas (GER)
5. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Flavia Pennetta (ITA)/Dusan Vemic (SRB) v. Alisa Kleybanova (RUS)/Max Mirnyi (BLR)[5]

Court 17 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)/Leander Paes (IND)[3] v. Yves Allegro (SUI)/Andreas Beck (GER)
2. Men's Doubles - First Round
Lukasz Kubot (POL)/Oliver Marach (AUT)[6] v. Thiemo De Bakker (NED)/Rogier Wassen (NED)
3. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Simon Greul (GER)/Peter Luczak (AUS) v. Daniel Nestor (CAN)/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)[2]
4. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB)/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) v. Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE)/Filip Polasek (SVK)
5. Mixed Doubles - Second Round
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ)/Julian Knowle (AUT) v. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE)/Frantisek Cermak (CZE)