Federer defeats Djokovic at French Open as both players return to usual selves

Roger Federer, the greatest player in history, rolled back the years to produce a vintage display of tennis to destroy Novak Djokovic's perfect start to the year.

The Swiss master did it in style with terrific groundstrokes and a solid backhand throughout, the one place that has in the past, broken down under pressure.

At Roland Garros yesterday, Federer's backhand was on song as he hit winners, slice shots which caused Djokovic all sorts of problems, and forced errors from the usually clean Serbian's racquet.

Federer wrapped it up in 4 sets after surviving a Djokovic comeback in the 3rd and 4th sets, breaking Djokovic as the Serbian served to take the match to a 5th set at 5-4.

Federer served well throughout the contest and returned Djokovic's serves with precision and depth. 

At the end of the contest, which finished at 9:37pm local time in rapidly fading light, Federer gestured that he is the true number one. It sure felt great!

Check out these video clips from youtube:

The first clip in this video must be the point of the championship, a wonderful Federer backhand winner!

Here is match point for Roger Federer as he aces Djokovic, accompanied by a fitting piece of music...

Roland Garros Finale

Rafael Nadal claimed his 7th Grand Slam title and the No.1 world ranking by out-running Swede Robin Soderling on Philippe Chartrier court yesterday.

It was an interesting final as Soderling controlled the majority of points against the Spaniard, who scrambled around after every single ball and dug them back into play, forcing Soderling into a glut of errors.

It was a shame that Soderling, despite having several opportunities to break his opponent's serve, just couldn't find the breakthrough when it really mattered, as he went down 6/4, 6/2, 6/4 to receive a 2nd consecutive runners-up biscuit tray.

Nadal meanwhile, cemented his legend as the modern-day king of clay; he now lies one more Roland Garros title behind Borg's record of six.

But we can only wait and see how much more rigorous dashing around the court Nadal's knees can cope with as Wimbledon is now fast approaching, followed by the U.S. Open in late August. At the Grand Slam half-way point we have Federer and Nadal with one each - who will edge ahead after Wimbledon?

Roland Garros Ladies Singles Final

The increasingly likeable Francesca Schiavone won the ladies title in straight sets yesterday, firing past favourite Sam Stosur 6/4 7/6 (7-2).

I started the match supporting Stosur because of her brilliant displays in seeing off Henin, Serena and Jankovic. However, as the match went on, I found my allegiance to the Australian wavering. There is something infectious about Schiavone. Her fired-up attitude and all-out attack certainly won my affection and support as she ferociously exploited Stosur's backhand, as was so evident on championship point when that worn-down play from Stosur shanked off the racquet, up into the crowd, and crowned the Italian as Roland Garros 2010 champion.

It was disappointing for Stosur as she was rarely able to show her best tennis due to Schiavone's breathless attacks and pristine net play. She did go a break up in the second set at 4-1 but that little Italian terrier came hounding back immediately, not giving Stosur any time to build a significant lead.

Schiavone made the most of her time on stage with the trophy, speaking in both English and Italian, before finally recognising that she was honoured to be sharing stage with former champion Mary Pierce. She may never reach this height again, but at least she can say she is a Grand Slam champion, and deservedly so.

And there are not many players who can claim that.

Roland Garros news

There will be two surprise finalists contesting the women's final match at Roland Garros. Francesca Schiavone of Italy will go head-to-head with Australia's Samantha Stosur. For both, this is a first Grand Slam final. It could be a stepping stone to greater things for Stosur, who has been rapidly improving over recent times. For Schiavone, however, at the age of 29, this could just be the icing on the cake for her tennis career.

I'm leaning towards Stosur for this one, but there have been many surprises already these last two weeks, so who knows. At least it will be something different for the world to watch.

Stosur has beaten three former/current world number ones en route to the final: Henin, Serena Williams and Jankovic

Schiavone has conquered Li Na, Kirilenko, Wozniacki and Dementieva, high quality opponents, to earn her place in the showpiece final

Tonight the men's semi-finals explode with the ever-improving Soderling up against the giant Czech, Tom Berdych. This will be a story of two similar players with quick first serves and rasping forehands. Berdych hasn't been this far before, but it is familiar territory for the Swede, who finished as runner-up last year. Got to go with Soderling for this one. He's in good form and is building some decent momentum.

Then we have Rafael Nadal playing surprise semi-finalist, Jurgen Melzer. This should be a walk in the park for the effervescent Spaniard, but Melzer is a player to be watched carefully. He has seen off David Ferrer and Novak Djokovic already - could he add the scalp of Nadal to his French Open collection?

Federer's long run comes to an end

Roger Federer crashed out of Roland Garros at the quarter-final stage last night as Robin Soderling finally got one over him and progressed to a semi-final meeting with Thomas Berdych.

Federer was surprisingly a little out of sorts, but full credit where credit is due to Soderling. He played a great match, didn't panic after losing the opening set, and hit some solid shots when he needed to. It is not easy to beat a 16-time Grand Slam champion, so I congratulate Soderling for pulling it off.

My interest in the French Open has now completely evaporated and all I can hope for is for Soderling to give Nadal another good trashing in the final!

This result also saw an end to Federer's mind-boggling run of 23 consecutive Grand Slam semi-finals. Afterwards he found time to joke with the reporters about now going for the consecutive quarter-finals record!

Yes it is difficult to 'digest', as Federer put it, any defeat, and I'm always very sad when The Great Man loses. I don't like to see him lose. But Federer always loses with dignity and praises his opponents efforts, which sets him well apart from players such as the revolting Andy Murray. There are no excuses. The weather, the damp conditions, rain showers, are no excuse at all. I happily confess that Soderling played better on the day and fully deserves his crack at reaching a second consecutive Roland Garros final.

But watch Roger go at Wimbledon!

Roland Garros update

Justine Henin, 4-time champion on the courts of Roland Garros, was shunted out of the tournament by Australia's bicepy Sam Stosur, in three sets yesterday. It was a sad moment for me personally, so now all my focus is on The Great Man, who tackles Robin Soderling tonight.

Here is the quarter final draw for both the men and the women:

Roger Federer     vs     Robin Soderling

Mikhail Youzhny     vs     Tom Berdych

Jurgen Melzer     vs     Novak Djokovic

Nicolas Almagro     vs     Rafael Nadal



Serena Williams     vs     Sam Stosur

Jelena Jankovic     vs     Yaroslava Shvedova

Francesca Schiavone     vs     Caroline Wozniacki

Elena Dementieva     vs     Nadia Petrova


I've got to say, I hope Wozniacki wins the womens competition. She seems nice and is really good at tennis.

This is where the Grand Slam really starts. The matches are more tight, more intense, as the best players face off with each other. Looking forward to Federer's match with a vastly improving Soderling. Could be close.

Murray's time expires as Roger rolls on

As I rightly predicted last week, it was indeed a matter of time before this detestable Scot bowed out of Roland Garros. He did so in a straight sets defeat to Thomas Berdych. He will probably blame it on his 'bad knee' which he only just told the world about after scraping past 'Reesh-ard' Gasquet in the opening round.

I'm also glad to see that big-headed, full-of-himself Tsonga weakly depart the scene, retiring injured after losing the first set to Mikhail Youzhny in their fourth-round match.

Meanwhile, the Great Man rolled past good friend Stanislas Wawrinka in straight sets, looking increasingly smooth and sharp with each round. He did have to come back from a break down in the second set to force a tie-break, but he never panicked and keeps on winning.

Roger will face a familiar foe in the quarter finals with rising Swede Robin Soderling, the man who he beat in last years final, standing in his way once again. Soderling has neatly made his way through the draw and Federer should be prepared for a tough one.

On the ladies side, Justine Henin held her nerve to beat Maria Sharapova in 3 sets, coming from a break down in the final set to score a big win over the Russian. ALLEZ HENIN!!!

And as a footnote, Venus Williams was thankfully beaten by Nadia Petrova - so we don't have to watch her stomping around in that hideous dress, watching her pull it back up over her bosoms more times than she served a ball, and getting an eyeful of her bumcheeks or flesh coloured underwear. Deary me, stick to the tennis Venus!!

Murray's Scare, Federer's Flair

Scotland's Andy Murray suffered a huge scare in his first round encounter with home favourite and former world number 7 Richard (pronounced Reesh-ard) Gasquet. Murray was looking out of sorts and had no answer to Gasquet's beautiful single-handed backhand shots......until......the Frenchman injured his knee. Murray won a close third set and ran away with the final two sets 6/2, 6/1 as Gasquet heroically battled on to no avail.

Meanwhile on Philippe Chartrier court, reigning champion Roger Federer demonstrated a little flair as he easily desposed of Australian opener Peter Luczak in straight sets, 6/4, 6/1, 6/2.

The draw is opening up nicely for Federer, his second round match will be against Alejandro Falla, while 27th seed Feliciano Lopez, who was due to meet the Swiss in the 3rd round, remarkably fell at the first hurdle to a qualifier.

Murray will have to improve his game and his emotions in the near future if he is to progress deeper into this tournament. He is mentally unstable and with opponents such as Chela, Baghdatis, Berdych and Tsonga possibly standing in his way to a semi-final with the Great Man, it seems only a matter of time before he is beaten.

Thankfully live coverage has appeared on the box, so I'm happy!

French Open begins

My apologies if you are not a tennis nut like me. Life in Kuantan has turned to tennis for a fortnight. The second Grand Slam of the year has begun in France on the clay courts of Roland Garros. We are actually in for a sporting triple treat, as the French Open is followed by Wimbledon (24 June - 4 July) and the FIFA World Cup, running from 11 June - 11 July in South Africa.

As for Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal has won this Slam four times in the last five years, Roger Federer snatching the crown in last year's edition. Nadal seems to have hit his best form again, but how long will his knees be able to prop him up in a potential seven best-of-five sets matches? We all remember what happened to him in Australia in January.

I still think this is the year that Federer could win all four Slams. He's saving his best health and form for the showpiece events. If he can win the French Open by beating Nadal or whoever in the final, who's going to say he can't go on to win Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open in August, his two most successful Slams, to complete the calendar set?

It all hinges on these two upcoming weeks.

ROLAND GARROS 2010

Yes, it's tennis time again. The second Grand Slam of the year is under way in Paris, France. However, I am extremely concerned as it is nowhere to be seen on TV here. There have been no advertisements leading up to this important event, but I am hoping that they will start transmission tomorrow. I have been enjoying live scoring on the fabulous Roland Garros website where you can view every match being played, point-by point, and even listen to live radio commentary.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are scheduled to meet in the final again, but they will have to negotiate six matches in order to get there. They renewed their rivalry last week in the Madrid Masters final where Nadal came through a close match 6/4, 7/6 with a little help from Federer looking strangely lethargic on numerous break point opportunities.

I believe in Federer. He is a beast when it comes to Grand Slams and he is the defending champion here, which should give him increased determination to make a successful defence.

Here's hoping for some live coverage tomorrow!