An Ode to Ninedal [Rafa El Ray]

Yes. That is title number nine. More on that later. Doubles first and then the Men's before we slide into the Grass Court Season.

We have a two week break folks and then we get to do the whole French Open thing all over again, but it's not on clay, it's on my favourite [and worst!] surface. I will also talk briefly about a few players I thought had a good French Open.

The trend will continue. Since 2007, we have alternated straight set and three set matches in the finals of the French Open Men's Doubles. Benneteau/Vasselin were seeded 11 at the start of the tournament. They beat Becker and Lu 6-3/4-6/6-0. No, not the best start but at least they were starting to roll. Falla/Matosevic started off strongly, winning the first set 6-1 in their second round encounter. The Frenchman came back to take it 1-6/7-5/6-0 in the end. They benefited from the retirement of Llodra/Mahut after just three games. They were in the quarters and they faced the greenhorn pairing of Gonzalez/Monaco. Surprisingly, they were pushed to the limit before finally prevailing in a third set breaker. Then they fell beind to Golubev/Groth but still managed to come through 6-4 in the third. They looked on shaky form heading into the final against twelfth seeds Granolers/Lopez.

It would be both teams' first final. In 105 minutes, they won 6-3/7-6. They blasted through the breaker, winning it 7-1. They served four aces and no doubles and ended up winning 69 per cent of points on their service. They had nine break points but could only take two. Aside from that, they played a very strong match. They have won their maiden slam. With the exploits of Klaasen/Butorac down under, and now the exploits of the Frenchman, this is a year for upsets in the doubles. Me and Todd are going to win the Men's Doubles at Wimbledon! This is our year. I feel it. What odds will y'all give me?

MARQUEE MATCH: NADAL d. DJOKOVIC
...A shade over three and a half hours it took Nadal to win his ninth title. He may not have the most clay court titles, but he is the best on this surface ever. Of that there is no doubt. He won 3-6/7-5/6-2/6-4. 44 winners to 38 for Rafa versus 43-49, but out-aced by 11-3. Six breaks [from ten] to three [from nine] are all key facts. Perhaps the most key was that Rafa won 40 per cent of receiving points, but the Djoker won just 34 per cent. Both are high but that is the one category Djokovic should win every time. I watched this match [with coffee and strawberries] and Nadal's forehand was just amazing. I know this has been said before but Jim Courier properly explained in beautiful laymen's terms exactly why this was. He talked about RPM and how Rafa has 3000. He also talked about how other things effect that forehand such as the weather, the strings and stuff. I am not an expert, but Jim certainly is. Djokovic seemingly could not find a way out there. Nadal was just simply dominating of that forehand. Djokovic did manage to take the first set and they were going along in the third. Then Djokovic got distracted at 5-6 by a generic crowd noise. He completely folded. Nadal won four games in a row and eventually turned a 3-0 lead in the third into a 6-2 set. He led 4-2 in the fourth set, Rafa, but had to fight off a Djoker comeback to finally take it. He fell to his knees after the double-fault. Nadal won it, yes, but Djokovic crumbled badly. Safina double-faulted in the 2009 ladies final on match point to hand it to Kuznetsova. Djokovic did exactly the same. Will he ever win the French? I think that may have been his last chance. But the note I'm going to leave it on is not the fact Djokovic has not won a slam since the 2013 Australian Open, nor the fact that he has only six slams, but the fact he double-faulted on match point.



Players I was impressed with:

Nadal: [A+] Nobody else is getting as high a grade. He is nine times better, at least, than everybody else. Nine titles. Margaret Court won the Australian eleven times. Madrid and Barcelona had better name courts after Rafa.
Draganja/Mergea: [B+] For upsetting a lot of top notch doubles teams and being a whisker away from the final.
Murray: [A-] He equaled a personal best. He played good tennis and was mentally strong. How he went out was disappointing, however. What really helps him is that I like Mauresmo.
Gulbis: [A] For being himself and somehow still winning.
Raonic: [B+] For services to Canada and for setting records he gets a B-plus. He played some great, consistent tennis and even overcame a determined Simon. He needed to at least take a set off Djokovic, however.
Benneteau/Roger-Vasselin: [A-] For winning the doubles. They dropped a set to a pair they really should not have lost sets to, however.
Monfils: [?] Well done for making the quarterfinals. If we ignore what actually happened in your matches, that also helps. I think it best his rating stays as question mark.

Players who have work to do:

The Bryans: [C] It's not just the fact they lost, but how they lost. 6-4/6-2 is shocking, especially for top seeds as dominant as they have been this year.
Federer: [C-] Yes he took it to five sets, but he came out surprisingly flat in that match. He had a good route to the semifinal but could not take it. We expect more Federer!
Dimitrov: [F] Not so much dark horse as dead horse. A first round exit for the Bulgarian. It is not F-minus because he did have a horror draw. Still, Karlovic has no backhand and this is clay. Has Dimitrov tried hitting to the backhand?
Fabio Fognini: [F] He already has two 'F's and he has earned a third with that performance.



Hullo Mr. Bird.

Wawrinka: [C-] Partially for going out so meekly, partially for ruining my entire analysis of the draw. He better not do the same at Wimbledon.
Peya/Soares: [C] Seeded second and that was the round they exited.

Au revoir, France. We will see you in November, but we will not see Roland Garros for another year. It is time to move onto the grass because, as Lesley P. Hartley says, "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there."




*QUEENS, GBR*
=QF=
Tsonga [5] d. Wawrinka [1]
Dimitrov [4] d. Dolgopolov [8]
Murray [3] d. Anderson [7]
Gulbid [6] d. Berdych [2]
=SF=
Tsonga [5] d. Dimitrov [4]
Murray [3] d. Gublis [6]
=FINAL=
Murray [3] d. Tsonga [5]

...Like with Halle, this is how I see it, though this is before withdrawals, if any. And yes, I am out of control. I'm picking Tsonga. He is a grass court specialist. I will ask this again -- why do France not play more Davis Cup matches on grass?

*HALLE, GER*
=SF=
Nadal [1] d. Raonic [3]
Federer [2] d. Haas [7]
=FINAL=
Nadal [1]d. Federer [2]

...Let's say Nadal does play. I am fairly sure he will withdraw but Wikipedia & certain sources have not yet confirmed this so I will simply call the draw as I see it.

Also, Mauresmo is, for my money, the best volleyer on the WTA since Navratilova. I think it is a good hire from Andy Murray.

Thanx all and visit WTABACKSPIN please.

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