Rafael Nadal is doing exactly what he needs to, in his quest for a 4^th straight French title: winning straight set matches.  It’s no mystery that Nadal’s knees have been vulnerable, and his feet have been prone to blisters, all as a result of his grinding game.  Rafa needs to be in near-perfect health to survive the later rounds at Roland Garros, and by not dropping a set throughout the first 3 rounds, he is conserving priceless energy/”fuel” for his likely semi-final match up with Novak Djokovic.  At this point, no one on the ATP tour can beat a healthy Nadal at Roland Garros; if this straight set trend continues, it will be nearly impossible to beat the Spaniard.  If there’s anyone who can take Nadal, it’s Novak; Federer is more hungry than ever to prove that he can win in France, but after going 4 sets with Albert Montanes, it seems his clay court confidence isn't exactly where it needs to be in order to beat Rafa.

It was an interesting first round match-up between Roger Federer and America’s top young talent, Sam Querrey.  Roger proved to be in very solid shape with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 victory.  What was so impressive was the way he constructed points on the slow surface; he was successfully sliding into shots, seemed to add some extra spin to his strokes…leading me to believe that he’s in prime shape to go far in the bracket. 

Surprisingly #17 seed Marcos Baghdatis made an early straight set exit to Simone Bolelli; Baghdatis has only won two matches in the last 3 months, it’s safe to say he’s in a slump.  Aside from Venus Williams’ 3 set thrilling victory, the highlight for American tennis was Wayne Odesnik.  Wayne handed #29 seed Guillermo Canas a 7-6, 7-6, 7-6 first round defeat, and played with exceptional confidence and poise throughout the match.  I recall playing in an Atlantic City Challenger event that Wayne was in nearly 4 years ago, and he has made huge leaps since then (most notably his cross court two handed backhand).  Wayne made the semi finals in Houston last month, with clay victories over Amer Delic and Dudi Sela, so he could ride this momentum for a few more rounds in Paris.  And once again, congrats to Venus on the 3 set victory, it wasn’t pretty, but she showed a lot of heart.

Agnieszka Radwanska seems to be peaking at the right time, as Paris approaches, she rolled through Dementieva en route to an Istanbul crown (potential darkhorse?!?)  here are results courtesy the WTA Tour Media Center:

Results - Saturday, May 24, 2008
Singles - Final
(2) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. (1) Elena Dementieva (RUS) 63 62

Doubles - Final
(3) Craybas/Govortsova (USA/BLR) d. Erakovic/Hercog (NZL/SLO) 61 62

Final Facts
- Radwanska wins her third career Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title; she is now 3-0 lifetime in Tour singles finals, having won her two previous finals, at Stockholm last summer and Pattaya City earlier this year; she is also 4-0 lifetime in overall Tour finals, having won her only previous Tour doubles final, at Istanbul last year (with sister Urszula).
- Radwanska notched her sixth career Top 10 win over the No.7-ranked Dementieva in the final.
- Radwanska will surpass $1 million in career prize money earnings with the $30,500 winner's cheque; she is the first Polish player in Tour history to pass that prize money milestone.
- Dementieva falls to 1-2 in Tour singles finals this year, having won at Dubai but finishing runner-up at Berlin (to Dinara Safina); she is now 9-13 lifetime in Tour singles finals.
- Dementieva falls to 7-1 lifetime in Istanbul, having gone 4-0 to win the title last year and 3-1 during her runner-up finish this year.
- Craybas and Govortsova win their first Tour doubles title together; it is Craybas' third career Tour doubles title while Govortsova picks up her first Tour title of any kind.

Quotes
Agnieszka Radwanska, 2008 Istanbul Cup singles champion:
"In the warm-up I couldn't put the ball in the court because I was so nervous, so the first few games were more like my warm-up. Then I started playing my game and being more aggressive. After winning the first set I won the first few games of the second set and things got better, and I did it."

Elena Dementieva, 2008 Istanbul Cup singles runner-up:
"Against Agnieszka you have got to be really concentrated and really focused, because she has a great defensive game and the ball will probably come back. She didn't miss much from the ground and she did really well at the net today too; she just played really well."

So who's going to win in Paris on the men's side? ....let's talk some French Open tennis:

Is Andy Roddick's summer potentially ruined due to the recent back and shoulder injuries?

Nadal takes down arch rival Roger Federer for another Masters Series title, here's some information, courtesy the ATP Tour media department:

RESULTS – SUNDAY, MAY 18, 2008

Singles – Final

[2] R Nadal (ESP) d [1] R Federer (SUI) 75 67(3) 63

Doubles – Final

[2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d [1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) 64 57 10-8

SINGLES FINAL – NADAL WINS EPIC BATTLE TO CLINCH 26^TH CAREER TITLE

• Second-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal captured his third ATP clay-court title of the year Sunday with a 7-5 ,6-7(3), 6-3 victory over four-time champion and ATP World No. 1 Roger Federer of Switzerland in the final of Masters Series Hamburg presented by EON Hanse.
• Nadal becomes only the third player since 1990 to win the three ATP Masters Series titles on clay – Monte Carlo, Rome and Hamburg in his career. The only players to accomplish the feat are former World No. 1s Gustavo Kuerten and Marcelo Rios.
• World No. 2 Nadal, who saw his record 81-match winning streak come to an end against Federer in the 2007 Hamburg final, has now beaten the Swiss 10 times (8-1 on clay) in his career.
• Federer started the match strongly with breaks of serve in the second and sixth games for a 5-1 lead, but Nadal clawed his way back by winning six successive games to clinch the opening set 7-5 in 61 minutes.
• The pair exchanged breaks of serve early in the second set, but it was Federer who moved into a 5-2 lead before Nadal broke back in the ninth game. The writing appeared on the wall for Federer, but the Swiss regained his composure and calmly sealed the tie-break to take the pair’s 16th career meeting to a deciding set.
• Nadal secured the crucial break in the fourth game of the third set but failed to convert two further opportunities for a 5-1 lead. Federer kept battling, with Nadal fighting off one break point in the seventh game. He eventually wrapped up victory in two hours and 53 minutes.
• It was the 12th time the pair had met in a final. Nadal beat Federer for the third successive year in the ATP Masters Series Monte-Carlo final last month.
• Federer drops to 9-1 lifetime in German finals and saw his 41-match winning streak on German soil come to an end. Federer has won titles in Hamburg in 2004-05 and ’07 and in Halle from 2003-06. He also won in Hamburg in 2002 and Munich in 2003 (not part of the streak). His last loss on German soil came to Mark Philippoussis in the third round in Hamburg in 2003.
• Nadal improved to an ATP-best 37-7 record on the season with his 26th career ATP title. In 2008 he has also won his fourth successive Barcelona title (d. Ferrer) and finished runner-up at Chennai (l. to Youzhny) and ATP Masters Series Miami (l. to Davydenko).
• He has a 21-1 record in clay-court finals. Since the beginning of Monte Carlo in April 2005, the 21-year-old Majorcan has won 108 of 110 matches on clay.
• Nadal has now won 11 career ATP Masters Series shields in 15 finals, which included 2005-08 Monte Carlo, 2005-07 Rome, 2005 Montreal, 2005 Madrid and 2007 Indian Wells; his four runner-up showings came in ‘05 Miami (l. to Federer in five sets), ’07 Hamburg year (l. to Federer), ’07 Paris (l. to Nalbandian) and Miami this year (l. to Davydenko).
• The Spaniard improved to 39-19 (9-3 this season) against Top 10 players, including 26-3 on clay. On Saturday, he beat Novak Djokovic in the semifinals to confirm his position at No. 2 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings.
• Federer falls to 26-7 on the season, which includes one ATP title in Estoril (d. Davydenko). He had been attempting to capture his 15th career ATP Masters Series shield and the 55th title of his career.
• The 26-year-old posted his 100th career victory against a Top 10 opponent (100-42) with semifinal victory over No. 3 Djokovic in Monte Carlo and has a 16-12 mark on clay.  
• Nadal receives €360,000 and 500 South African Airways ATP Rankings points while Federer collects €180,000 and 350 points. 

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID:

Nadal: “[It] was an important win for me. I was focussed all the time. Roger had some important mistakes in the first set that helped me a lot. I started the match playing bad. It was tough for me, after yesterday [against Djokovic] it was tough in the beginning. I felt something in the leg, a little bit pain. It was difficult for me to concentrate. But later I felt a little bit better.

“I was a little bit tired. But it’s not only the body. Mentally it is tough, too, because it was a lot of tensions yesterday, a lot of pressure. Today it was tough when I was coming on court. But later everything changed. For sure it’s important to beat the no. 1 and the best of this year. With this result, I’m already inside of the Masters Cup. That’s my first goal. I am happy for that. I continue to be the no. 2, but closer to the no. 1.”

Federer: “I could have maybe served a little bit better. When I served for the set, the second time where he broke me at 5-1, but I thought, all in all it was all right. It wasn’t my best performance; if you get broken so many times there is always something you are a little bit unhappy about. But I think I am finding the right type of play from the baseline.

“I wish I could have won today, then I would have an even better feeling. The way the match went today I can also say I feel well, the three hours wasn’t a problem whatsoever. From a physical standpoint that is a good thing for me. I just take two days off and I will be in Paris practicing. It’s going to be fun next week and then I will hopefully be ready for the tournament.”

What a great battle between Rafael Nadal (The King of Clay) and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in Hamburg.  The result proves that despite a recent set-back against Juan Carlos Ferrero, Nadal is in great spirits leading up to his French Open defense.  Roger Federer routed Seppi 6-3, 6-1 for a spot in the finals, where he will face his Spanish nemesis.  You have to ask yourself: ‘Is Roger officially out of his slump? or is he just REALLY good on clay?”.....It seems to be a little bit of both.  Truthfully, it’s no mystery that Fed has played inspired tennis since signing on with new coach, Jose Higueras.  Jose is a proven winner; he has a low key personality which appears to be clicking well with Rogers’ charismatic, yet low key demeanor.  Needless to say, tomorrow’s final round is something to be excited about, and a win for Roger would send his confidence through the roof, giving him a MAJOR boost towards capturing his first ever French title.  Nadal will be ready, it is clay after all.  As for the WTA Tour, I’m still shocked that Justine Henin retired this week.  It’s sad to see someone with such talent step away from the game; something is telling me that she will be back on the tour one day.  Furthermore, it’s a shame to see Serena struggling with back issues at this stage of the season.  Williams has been playing such inspired tennis, and summer is her time to shine; for her sake, and American tennis, hopefully she’ll be ready to rock on the red clay in Paris.  Hamburg results.

Singles - Semifinals
[1] R Federer (SUI) d A Seppi (ITA) 63 61
[2] R Nadal (ESP) d [3] N Djokovic (SRB) 75 26 62 

Doubles - Semifinals
[2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d L Paes (IND) / T Robredo (ESP) 63 36 10-2 

ORDER OF PLAY - SUNDAY, MAY 18, 2008
 

CENTRE COURT start 10:00am
THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF - BlackRock Tour of Champions
FINAL - BlackRock Tour of Champions

Not Before 12:30 PM
[1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) vs [2] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) 

Not Before 3:00 PM

[1] R Federer (SUI) vs [2] R Nadal (ESP)

Tennisrecruiting.net and Collegetennisonline.com both invited me to give a rundown of the current NCAA team tournament, here's a brief transcript:

Tennis Live Radio’s interview with former Rutgers player and current NBCSports.com tennis writer, Harry Cicma.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Tennis Live Radio:
Alright Harry let's do it on the Men's side. The Championships begin on a Friday. Virginia, the #1 seed on the men's side, is undefeated at 28-0. I'll just give you the top four seeds here, Virginia at 1, Ohio State at 2, UCLA at 3, and the defending champion Georgia Bulldogs at 21-3 on the season. They are at number 4. What do you think?

Cicma:

I think Virginia is hands down the team to beat. I mean you look at the New England Patriots in football, you saw them lose to the Giants in the Super Bowl, quite possibly one of the biggest upsets in the history of sports, well that's what it’s going to take to oust UVA this year…. they have the defending singles champion Somdev Devvarman, he's definitely going to be a top 100 singles player in the ATP pro tour....I mean that guy is going to lead the Cavaliers most likely to the title. But you have to go through 63 solid programs and each and every team is going to be a battle. The first round will not be an issue for any of the top 16 or 30 seeds....but when you're dealing with UVA there's no question that you have to watch out for dark horses; such as Stanford or Illinois. Any of those teams could pose a threat to the Cavs and of course the #2 seed, Ohio State. Such teams will enter the tourney looking to take down the top dogs. So I think the Cavs are the heavy favorite to have an undefeated season but its not going be easy with programs like the Buckeyes and of course Georgia - UGA standing in their way.

Tennis Live:
Yeah, Harry I mean if we can look ahead to the quarterfinal rounds, you've got Virginia that would go up against the eighth seed Tennessee. Again the Bulldogs are in their half, they are the fourth seed they would go up against Mississippi who is the sixth. Do you expect to see the Cavs take on the Bulldogs in this event?

Cicma:
I do expect to see the Cavs go against the Bulldogs, but I'll be honest with you Todd and I love saying this, and I love stressing this: you just don't know what's going to happen.....however...I will guarantee this [as much as I can guarantee anything] you're most likely not going to see the top eight seeds in the elite eight.  It’s just not going happen.....there's too much depth on the men's tour, and as much depth on the women's tour.  Anything can happen in college ball and there will be upsets this year no question about it and most likely in the sweet sixteen round…. you're going see a lot of upsets, and it could happen in the earlier rounds because if your seeded number 16 and you have a solid number 32 team in the country on your side, there may be problems.  It's not easy 'now a these days.'....a lot of upsets in 2008.  Watch out.

Tennis Live:
Well as "Boomer", Chris Berman from ESPN says during the NFL season, "That's why they play the game" because that's indeed Harry, you just never know what's going to happen.  But if we can look on the other side and project, because that's what we do, that's what talk radio is all about....on the other side, you could have an all Southern California quarterfinal with USC and UCLA and then those Buckeyes could go up against Texas the seventh seed in the quarterfinals as well.  Who do you think has the best chance on that side to meet Virginia if Virginia indeed continues to go undefeated all the way to the finals?

**For the complete interview, go to http://www.tennisliveradio.com/CollegeCorner.aspx**

French Open predictions from some of the biggest names in the history of the sport:

So much for the thought that Roger Federer would have a tough match with Jarkko Nieminen....could it be that the "old Fed" is officially back?

Breaking news, world #1 Justine Henin has stepped down from the WTA Tour after winning 41 titles and 7 grand slam events.  Here's what WTA Executive Larry Scott had to say about the historic event:

Statement of Larry Scott, CEO, Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, in re Justine Henin Retirement Announcement

“Justine Henin will be remembered as one of the all-time great champions in women’s tennis, and a woman who made up for her lack of size with a will to win and fighting spirit that was second to none.  It is rare that an athlete leaves at the very top of her game in this day and age, but Justine has always played by her own rules, in the very best sense of those words.

History will remember Justine for not only her seven Grand Slam titles and three years finishing as the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour’s World No. 1, but for one of the most graceful backhands the sport has ever seen and an ability to overcome any and all obstacles placed in her way on the tennis court and off.

This is a sad day for our sport and for her millions of fans around the world, but I know that I speak for so many in wishing Justine the very best in her future endeavors and hope that she will stay connected to the sport to which she gave so much.”

Hello fellow fans, I hope all is well.  There is a lot of excitement coming up here in the next few days/weeks.  Firstly, I recently spoke with a few legends, asking their thoughts on the French Open, so that will be posted soon, and next week Mad Dog Russo and I will be previewing the French Open, so stay tuned.  In the mean time, Masters Series Hamburg continues to heat up; former French Open Champion Carlos Moya outlasted Benneteau in a dramatic third set tiebreak, while Nikolay Davydenko rolled through Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 6-1.  Davydenko is a much better clay court player than Ljubicic, but that's a surprising result, and proves that the Russian is in solid form leading into the third round.  Keep an eye out for world #1 Roger Federer tomorrow as he goes into battle with Jarkko Nieminen, it wouldn't surprise me to see that match-up go three sets.  And finally, if you're bored tonight, I'm making a brief cameo on TennisLiveRadio.com tonight at 7PM, to break down the current NCAA Men's and Women's national tournament, should be a good time.  Fellow NBCSports.com tennis expert, Tracy Austin, will also be a call-in guest.

Third seeded Novak Djokovic outsed world #10 Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 for his fourth career Masters Series title, and 10th ATP championship.  The Serbian is now 10-3 in career finals and leads the world with two Masters Series titles in 2008 - as he won Indian Wells earlier this season.  Novak is 25-5 on the year, and has proven that he can win on any surface.  Also, congratulations to Mike and Bob Bryan for winning their third title of the year.

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

Djokovic: “I tried to stay focused all the time, because the role of the favorite in these kind of big matches is not easy to cope with, you know. I didn't think that I'm going to play in the finals against a player who's unseeded, but obviously he deserved to be there. He showed his quality."

“I've been very satisfied so far, and that's what I will try to keep on doing. You know, being consistent on the major events with the results and, you know, that's the important thing if I really want to stay on the top."

“I'm very happy that I managed to win a major in this surface, because now I have more confidence approaching the big events on this surface, and on other surfaces as well. So this year has been like a dream for me, but I want to continue. I want to finish the year as the No. 1 on the race."

Wawrinka: "I was starting very well. The first set I was playing very well the first set. I was always before him; I was pushing him. But I think it change his game and he was coming more in at the net. In the second and the third set he was serving very well, too.”

(On his rankings leap): “I'm a little surprised, because in one week playing the final in Masters Series, and to be 44 and then Top 10 after the week is a big jump for me."

We have already seen a number of "wacky" results on the men's ATP Tour, but this afternoon the ladies side saw two of it's brightest stars knocked out of the Berlin Quarterfinals.  Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic both bit the dust at the hands of Dinara Safina and  Elena Dementieva respectively.  This is ultimately why players take part in these warm up events, to prevent such upsets on the Grand Slam stage.  Needless to say, the losses will serve as a wake up call for Williams and Jankovic.  Here are today's results in full:

Results - Friday, May 9, 2008
Singles - Quarterfinals
(7) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. (4) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 63 26 63
(13) Dinara Safina (RUS) d. (5) Serena Williams (USA) 26 61 76(5)
Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. (15) Alona Bondarenko (UKR) 76(2) 62
Suspended due to darkness
(2) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) is tied with (10) Agnes Szavay (HUN) 36 64
Doubles - Quarterfinals
(1) Black/Huber (ZIM/USA) d. Peng/T.Sun (CHN/CHN) 76(4) 64
(2) Peschke/Stubbs (CZE/AUS) d. (6) Safina/Vesnina (RUS/RUS) 46 63 108 (Match TB)
(4) Azarenka/Peer (BLR/ISR) d. (5) Bondarenko/Bondarenko (UKR/UKR) 61 75
Order of Play - Saturday, May 10, 2008
Steffi Graf Stadium (from 11.00hrs)
1. Szavay vs. Ivanovic (tbc)
2. Safina vs. Azarenka (NB 13.00hrs)
3. Dementieva vs. [Szavay or Ivanovic]
4. Black/Huber vs. Azarenka/Peer
Court 1 (from 13.00hrs)
1. Llagostera Vives/Martínez Sánchez vs. Peschke/Stubbs

Three time defending champion Rafael Nadal is making a strong run for another Barcelona crown.  Last week's Monte-Carlo title seems to have officially gotten the world #2 on track in 2008.  Rafa will be facing his fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, which will be quite a baseline battle.  Ferrer has solid results against Nadal on hard courts, including a US Open win at last year's Flushing Meadows event, but on clay, Rafa will be in good standing.

Singles – Semifinals
[1] R Nadal (ESP) d D Gremelmayr (GER) 61 60
[2] D Ferrer (ESP) d [14] S Wawrinka (SUI) 76(8) 63

Doubles – Semifinals
[1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) d F Lopez (ESP) / F Verdasco (ESP) 26 76(5) 10-4
[7] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) d [4] S Aspelin (SWE) / J Knowle (AUT) 61 76(5)

 ORDER OF PLAY – SUNDAY, MAY 4, 2008

CENTRAL start 1:00 pm
[1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) vs [7] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL)
Not Before 3:45 PM
[1] R Nadal (ESP) vs [2] D Ferrer (ESP)