Vika's shoulder injury is troubling.

Azarenka & Woznaciki out, Williamses survive, Sharapova vs Ivanovic; Fed’s back and Rafa’s form heal

By Matt Cronin

Remember when Victoria Azarenka couldn’t keep herself on court for more than two tournaments straight for periods during 2009 and 2010? Recall how much she improved her fitness last year and made herself a top 5 player? She came into 2012 super fit, which is why she won the Aussie Open, took No. 1, and then won Dubai and Indian Wells. But here go with Vika, who apparently hurt her shoulder sometime during Madrid (or was it Stuttgart), which lead to her being butchered by Serena Williams in the final, and then after her quick win over Shahar Peer on Tuesday night in Rome, she pulled the plug on the tournament with a right shoulder injury. It’s hard to say how serious it is, but given that she have to play her first match at Roland Garros in about two weeks, she made the safe bet to rest and rehab it. Her goal is to win her first big clay court event, but that would be in Paris rather than Rome.

Hopefully for the WTA world, Azarenka will heal, as will Caroline Wozniacki, who suffering from an upper respiratory problem and retired when trailing 6-4 4-0 to Anabel Medina. And then another member of Gen Caro, Aga Radwanska was taken out 6-4 4-6 6-1 by the much imporved  Petra Cetkovska, but Radwanska is said to have a bad back. Cetkovska will take on the last Italian standing, Flavia Pennetta.

So much for the anticipated rematch of Madrid between Serena Williams — who did a terrific job of playing two matches in 18 hours and surviving Nadia Petrova in three sets — and Wozniacki, which left the site in hacking cough, as is what would have been a very fun hard hitting match between Azarenka and Dominica Cibulkova. But there is still plenty of good stuff to chew on the WTA side, as  Venus Williams played quite well late in her  7-6, 6-1 win over Ekaterina Makarova and now will play Sam Stosur, and Ana Ivanovic will take on Maria Sharapova in what hopefully will be the conclusion of their Indian Wells match which was never completed, as Ivanovic retired with an injury.

Here’s what Ivanovic told SI.com: ”I actually feel very good. I’ve been working really really hard. I also felt in Madrid I was playing well, but it was just a bit unfortunate. I had some chances. But it was definitely different courts… Tomorrow’s match is going to be very, very hard, no doubt about that. Maria’s been playing a lot better on clay lately and I’ve been playing good too. So I just want to keep that level up and see how it goes. But mainly enjoy.”

And let’s not forget that Petra Kvtiova is way overdue for an excellent event and will face Sorana Cirstea, and that two good Germans,  Julia Goerges vs. Angelique Kerber will battle.

On the ATP side, Roger Federer‘s aching back felt good enough for him to take out Carlos Berlocq 6-3 6-4. Rafa Nadal was pleased to be back on red clay and beat up Florian Mayer 6-1 7-5.

Tomas Berdych continued his good form and advanced as did Juan Martin Del Potro, Stan Wawrinka, 
Giles Simon, Juan Monaco, Richard  Gasquet  and
Marcela Granollers, who gets the pleasure of facing Nadal. The last two American men went down when Italian Andreas Seppi played an inspired match at home and beat John Isner 2-6 7-6(5) 7-5, and Nicolas  Almagro thumped  Sam Querrey 7-5 6-2. I do think that Isner will be threat at RG, but he must keep improving his return of serve because for the most part he finds it very hard to break.

Monaco, who is just back from an ankle injury, faces Novak Djokovic in Wednesday’s opener, while Federer faces the cagey Juan Carlos  Ferrero. David  Ferrer takes on  Simon, Gasquet plays Andy Murray, Del Potro faces  Jo Tsonga and Berdych will take swings at Almagro. Those are pretty enticing matches for a Wednesday.

If you did not catch my piece on the combative Marion Bartoli and her threat to go to war over her Olympic snub on Tennis Channel, click here.

Roger kisses his wife Mirka on Mothers Day after his title run.

Roger Federer and Serena Williams show their greatness in winning Madrid

By Matt Cronin

The two greatest players of their generations,  Roger Federer and Serena Williams, once again showed that why they have been able to combine for 29 Grand Slams singles title: when in good head spaces, they are resilient and able to adapt to any condition.

On Sunday, Federer took an impressive 3-6 7-5 7-5 victory over Czech Tomas Berdych, his 74th crown overall and 20th Masters titles. Serena took her seventh victory in eight tries over  world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka , this one a 6-1 6-3 destruction, a clear sign that if she stays healthy that now No. 6 Williams seem destined to retake No. 1 sometime during the grasscourt season, or maybe even sooner.

Federer  also grabbed the the No. 2 ranking from Rafael Nadal, who was one of the slippery blue surface’s most strident critics.

“Look, it’s been a tough tournament and tough to move but you just go on with it and try to make the best out of it,” said 30-year-old. “There was some good tennis and there was some bad tennis as well, you see that in all the tournaments, but I thought the level of play under the circumstances was very good.”

The court was super fast and did not play at all like clay, well maybe bad and dry clay, so it was a great opportunity for Federer, who is lethal in quick exchanges. He served accurately, went for his returns (even showing off a fine backhand down the line) crowded the Czech when he could and withstood his big groundless. The contest was very close and Berdych, who has showed a lot of maturation over the past three years, displayed a good amount of fight and ability, but he was lacking the confidence that Federer usually shows on the bog points.

The final statistics show the quality of the contest, with Federer hitting 44 winners to Berdych 42 and the Czech making 27 unforced errors to Federer’s 30.

“It was just about a few points and I think Roger’s experience won through today,” Berdych said “One thing I am sad that I was not able to beat him but the other one is that losing to him is something special. He just showed what a great champion he is that playing in the conditions that were here he was able to win the title.”

Serena simply lit up Azarenka, a power player who only managed six winners in the match, less than hlaf of Serena’s 14-ace total.  She started slow and finished slow, didn’t return well, saw her serves eaten up but Williams and was beaten off both sides from the ground. Serena is now on a 13-match winning streak and has won clay matches on green Har-Tru, red clay in Fed Cup in Ukraine and blue clay in Madrid/ She also thrashed Maria Sharapova at the tournament, who the world No. 2. The only player who gave her trouble was Caroline Wozniacki, and that was just for a set.

Playing on slower red clay in Rome will be different for both Serena (who might have to face Wozniacki in the third round) and Federer (who apparently is dealing with a back injury and who is iffy for Rome), but make no mistake about it, they are both firmly back in the mix

“I don’t play to be No. 2, I don’t think Victoria plays to be No. 2 ,” said Serena whose title in Madrid was her first since she  2002 Roland Garros. “We all play to be the best.”

Azarenka was not pleased, and should not be as she has yet to win major clay court title. She may also be contending with an injury, which has been undisclosed.

“She was just so much better than me today,” Azarenka said. “I do need to return a bit better and definitely improve my serve which today was just a disaster. These kinds of matches make you realize you have to take a moment and look at what you can do better.”

After her win over Radwanska, Azarenka showed off her 'blue' shoes in an FB post.

While much of the rest of the field slipped and slided their way out of Madrid, four players who can bang the ball on the super fast so-called clay court have reached the final.

Roger Federer, who has proved he can play on anything, anytime, anywhere, smoked Janko Tipsarevic 6-2 6-3 to set up a showdown with Tomas Berdych, who has had  very consistent year and won a high quality contest over Juan Martin del Potro 7-6 7-6.

On the WTA side, the tennis world will get the match its been looking for since Victoria Azarenka won the Aussie Open and became No. 1 when she’ll will face 13-time Slam champ Serena Williams.

Federer holds a 10-4 edge over Berdych, but the Czech, who likes the high bounces on clay, did upset the Swiss ay 1010 Wimbledon. However, Berdych knocked him out of Wimbledon in the quarterfinals two years ago. Federer has won both their matches on clay, but they haven’t played on dirt in six years. The Swiss has been brilliant this week, treating the blue clay like an indoor hard court and quickly seizing control of points. He’s served and retuned very well and if he can get the big Czech moving and not allow him to set up for baseline blasts, his 20th Masters Series crown — and Rafa NAdal’s No. 2 ranking — should be his.

Azarenka took out Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2 6-4, while Williams, survived the big-serving  Czech qualifier Lucie Hradecka 7-6 6-0. Azarenka has now beaten Radwanska six times this year, and the Pole appears totally psyched out when she serving as her foe is burying her returns time and time again. Radwanska looks mentally defeated against a player she should be able to play close. She is not defending well against her and seems confused about what type of offense she should play against her. Aga  would do well to look at some tapes of their matches should they meet in Rome next week.

Serena and Azarenka get along off court so Williams had nothing but high praise for the Belarussian, who may have ducked their clash at Fed Cup in February when she puled out with an alleged injury, but we’ll never know. Nonetheless, this is a huge match for Vika, who returns second serves quite well and average first ones, but she is not that adept at returning bombs like Serena can produce, and is still not that great of defensive player, although she has improved that area a lot. Plus, Serena can hurt her more than most can off the forehand side and stay with her from her backhand side. The key for Azarenka will be how well she serves because Serena has been returning great since Charleston and can pick apart her second serves. Azarenka has played Serena tough many times, but is lacking a little self belief again her. What she cannot di is start slow like she did at the US Open.

If Serena win this contest, guess who many analysts will be saying the real No. 1 is?

Novak and Rafa rare both blue about the blue clay.

It’s really too bad that instead of just tossing around impressionistic comments on the deepness of the color of Madrid’s blue clay that the tournament has devolved into as spitting match between the top men, tournament owner Ion Tiriac and the ATP. Because really, this week should be about how the world’s best men and women are playing in altitude on dirt and it’s not. It’s about Rafa Nadal after his shocking loss to Fernando Verdasco saying he won’t play next year if changes are not made. Nadal is one of the most popular athletes in Spain, so imagine how much that would hurt the tournament. “I think the tournament is great but that is a bad decision,” he said. “The movements are very important for me and here I cannot move, so I cannot hit the ball the way that I want.” Then Novak Djokovic joined in saying after his 7-6 6-4 win over Stanislas Wawrinka that he would not play next year either. “They are saying it’s exactly the same as the red clay which is not true because there is a big difference,” the Serb said. “You are tripping and slipping and sliding all the time and winner will be the one who doesn’t get hurt until the end of the week because a lot of players fell down. Generally it’s a new experience and the way it looks this year hopefully the last experience.” And how about Roger Federer after his win over Richard Gasquet? “We never felt comfortable on the surface, it is a tough surface and that only makes you angry even more,” the Swiss said. Fortunately, Carlos Moya, who is the assistant tournament director and just recently retired, said that they will do all they can to fix the surface which apparently has too little top dressing. Moya said that they are listening to the players and given that he and Nadal are very close personally, you have to believe him. Tiriac also said that they would take hard look at the surface. Both say they don’t believe it has anything to do with the coloring process, but they are going to have to prove that to the competitors. So as Nadal went on and on about the surface ‘for smurfs,’ a historic win for Verdasco was quickly forgotten about, and it was huge win given that he had lost to his compatriot in 13 prior meetings. Plus he came back from 2-5 down in the third set against a man who almost never chokes. He called it one of the greatest achievements of his career given how many close matches he has lost to his fellow lefty. There was also another classic Spanish battle that went to the last moments when David Ferrer fought off match points and repelled Nicolas Almagro 7-6(5) 3-6 7-6(8). The creative Alexandr Dolgopolov overcame Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-5 3-6 7-6(2) and will get the pleasure of facing the red-hot  Juan Martin Del Potro, who stung Marin Cilic 6-2 6-4. Verdasco will face a tall order against Tomas Berdych, while Djokovic will have to play his good friend Janko Tipsarevic again and Ferrer will try and finally foil Federer The WTA side of things is being completely obscured by the men, both in attendance, which was poor for Serena Williams revenge victory over Caroline Wozniacki, a 1-6 6-3 6-2 affair that saw the American club 43 winners to just 16 from the Dane. There are two positives for Wozniacki in that her bad ankle has healed, and that she played Serena tough for those parts of the match when she moved forward. But her father Piotr has to put a lid on it because he is just overwhelming when he’s called o court for coaching advice.  She doesn’t not appear to be listening to him. Williams will face Maria Sharapova, whom she has beaten six straight times. Sharapova former coach, Michael Joyce, told me the other day that the reason why he thinks that Serena has Sharapova number is because she has a great read on Maria serve and can break her at least a couple times a set, and that Sharapova has tremendous trouble returning Serena’s serve (like most players do). Plus, Sharapova cannot out leg her. So as well as Sharapova has been playing, she’ll goes into this match s substantial underdog. She played scare and sloppy against Serena the last time they met. Thus time around, she has to show the same guts that she displayed against Via Azarenka in the final of Stuttgart. The other women’s quarters: Azarenka will face Li Na, Samantha Stosur will play Czech Lucie Hradecka in the semi-finals and believe or not, Agnieszka Radwanska will meet American qualifier Varvara Lepchenko, who took out Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 6-1 6-7 6-3. It’s the first time that Lepchenko has made it to a WTA Premier quarterfinal and now she has a decent shot to make the Olympic team. Given what she had to go through to come to America in the first place and recently get her citizenships, it’s a huge achievement. USTA PD has done terrific work with her.

Federer is contending with the slick surface.

Roger Federer d. Milos Raonic 4-6  7-5 7-6(4): The young Canadian had plenty of chances in the contest but went one of eight on break point opportunities. The court was playing super quick so much of the contest was about big serves, Federer’s excellent volleys and frequent net approaches, and who could  hold the ball in the court when sliding crazily side to side on the slippery blue clay. That man was Federer, but serving at 4-5 in the breaker, Raonic missed a sitter forehand he had been nailing all day long and then saw Federer rip an outright forehand crosscourt return winner that was unusual on the day. Raonic might be mentally crushed, but it’s a good learning experience for him moving forward. Federer is simply relieved. Here’s Milos: “I entered the court believing I could win. I left the court knowing I can win.”

Cilic beats Isner again: This was supposed to be the week where John Isner — who had earned his first bye at Masters Series — showed off this clay court chops to the rest of the world. But the same man who took him out in a five setter at the 2011 Aussie Open,

Marin Cilic, got him again, this time 7-6(4) 7-6(3). Cilic is coming of a fine effort in Munich and may finally be ready for another top-10 charge. Isner must kicking himself that he could not make an impact in altitude with his big serve, but the Croat can gun balls too. On to Rome for Isner, who needs a decent result so he can grab a top 8 seed at RG.

Harrison looks set for the Olympics: Even though he went down to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2  7-6(4), Ryan Harrison should enter Rome ranked around No. 56, which at least as of today will get him into the Olympics. But the US teen is still looking for top 10 win.

Also of note on the men’s side was Rafa Nadal’s 6-2 6-2 stomping of  Nikolay Davydenko and then his revelation that he asked to be able to play with grass court shoes, but was denied by the ATP, which has rules against it. As stated in the rule book: “Players are required to wear tennis shoes generally accepted

for play on clay courts or granular surfaces. The supervisor has he authority to determine that a tennis shoe’s sole does not conform and can prohibit its use at any ATP World Tour or ATP Challenger Tour tournament. Grass court shoes should not be worn during a match on clay courts.”

It’s interesting that the tour won’t at least inspect the type of grass court shoes, some which may damage a court, and other that may not.

Kvitova goes down again: What is that ails  defending champion Petra Kvitova, who was upset Czech compatriot Lucie Hradecka 6-4 6-3  in the second round? She hasn’t won a tournament this season and while she has been beset by illness and injury, she should be better by now. The pressure on the super talented Czech will only increase as Wimbledon approaches.

Azarenka stops Ivanovic: In an up and down match that saw the Serbian race out to a quick start, drop seven straight games, then claw back, the No. 1 hit through Ivanovic 6-4, 6-4 in the end. Ivanovic appears so close to her former No, 1 form, but can’t get the huge win that she needs.

Other big wins were scored by Li Na.  who took out the red hot Angelique Kerber 7-5 6-4; Samantha Stosur who smacked  Czech Petra Cetkovska 6-3 6-2; and Agnieszka Radwanska who snapped Sara Errani’s 16-match winning streak on clay 6-0 6-1.

Serena vs. Caro redux: The last time the top American and the former No. 1 met in Miami, Wozniacki wore her down and Serena sprayed balls all over the court. Serena has been in better form on clay as of late, but Wozniacki, despite dealing with a an ankle injury, did pull off an impressive win over the erratic Mona Bartle. Expect Serena to take this won, but it will not be a romp.

Other matches to watch on Thursday: Safarova vs. Sharapova, Verdasco vs. Nadal, Federer  vs.  Gasquet, Djokovic vs. Wawrinka,  Dolgopolov vs. Tsonga, Cilic  vs. Del Potro, Almagro vs. Ferrer, and Lepchenko vs. Medina.

Del Po repeated in Estoril.

Women can get lost in early rounds

One of the problems with starting an ATP Masters Series/WTA Premier combined tournament on a Saturday is that the results of the ongoing events get lost. Few of the world’s top players competed in the five tournament that went on this week and it’s doubtful that any of them will triumph at Madrid, Spain next weekend, but all the victors could have some thing to say during the rest of the clay court season so a quick reflection on all five wins.

Juan Martin Del Potro d. Richard Gasquet  6-4 6-2 to win Estoril:

The Argentine say he is getting closer and close to the form that saw him win the 2009 US Open, but he has yet to take down any member of the Big 4 since his return last year. But if he keeps putting up wins like these you would have to think that he’s due very soon.

Andreas Sappi  d. Benoit  Paire  6-3 6-2 to win Belgrade: This tournament was all about which Serbians didn’t play – namely Novak Djokovic and Janko Tipsarevic, but Seppi has been a sold clay court player in the past an is aiming to crack the top 30 again. Struggling Italian male tennis could sure use that.

Philip Kohlschreiber d Marin Cilic 7-6(8) 6-3 to win Munich for the second time: It was a   heartfelt victory at home for the a man who owns an amazing ne-handed backhand, especially during the  later stages of my career. He’s  spoiler anywhere he gos.

Sara Errani d Elena Vesnina 7-5 6-4 in Budapest: Speaking of Italians, Errani is her nation’s hottest one these days with Francesca Schiavone struggling and Flavia Pennetta hurt. She has won her last 15 matches on dirt and could be a very dangerous early round foe at Roland Garros.

Kaia Kanepi d. Carla Suarez 3-6 7-6(6) 6-4 in Estoril, fighting off two match points: The Estonian is tall, strong yet erratic, but on great days she really can play with anyone.

La Pista Azul in Madrid

With so much  talk about Madrid’s blue clay, there has not been enough discussion of what this week’s event will mean to certain players. Both draws are pretty stacked, with the women’s a little deeper due to the pullouts of Andy Murray, Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish on the ATP side.

Most of the women seeds have already played matches, too, while the top men won’t play for a couple of days. Here are some notable results from Sunday:

Victoria Azarenka d. Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6(5) 6-4: This was stiff test for the world No. 1 and she toughed it out. A great sign.

Maria Sharapova d. Irina-Camelia Begu 6-0 6-3: Sharapova is simply on fire on clay. Who would have said that five years ago?

Caroline Wozniacki d. Ksenia Pervak 7-6(7) 3-6 6-4: Give huge credit to the Dane for injuring her ankle in the first set and somehow limping to victory. She’s doubtful for her next match against Mona Barthel, but despite of her troubles, she remains a tough competitor.

Varvara Lepchenko d. Francesca Schiavone 6-4 6-7(8) 6-3: Just when you though that only Venus Williams (who by the way won her first round match in three sets over Simona Halep) and Vania King were the only two real competitors for the last US Olympic spot, here comes Lepchenko, who with the victory is hovering around No. 68, about is about six sports from qualifying. BTW Nadia Petrova beat King 4-6 6-3 6-1, who dropped about 100 points and will enter Rome ranked around No. 58, She needs a decent week there, as she has 160 points to defend at Roland Garros.

Angelique Kerber d Johanna Larsson 6-1 6-4: The German continues her excellent play and now gets a crack at Venus, who might be able to whale backhands past Kerber off the ground  if she serves and returns very well. It’s a gigantic test for Williams on (blue) clay.

Monday matches to watch: Vesnina vs. Serena Williams, Marina Erakovic vs. Petra Kvitova, Nicolas  Almagro vs. Santiago Giraldo, Igor Andreev vs. JC Ferrero, Angelique Kerber vs. Venus Williams
, Samantha Stosur vs. Christina McHale, Victor Troicki vs. Donald Young, Jelena Jankovic vs. Suarez  and Lucie Safarova vs. Kanepi.

 Player of the week: Melanie Oudin, who couldn’t win a match for almost a year,  has won the USTA Roland Garros wild card after winning scoring the best results in two out of the last three USTA Challengers. Huge props to her and to her coaches/trainers at USTA PD for thataccomplishment.

Federer, in his French Open Nike attire, looks to get back in mix.

On Saturday, the heart of the clay court season will really begin to beat on some controversial blue stuff at the Madrid Masters. Here’s a breakdown of both draws.

WTA

Don’t believe what you hear from her camp: No. 1 Victoria Azarenka does have something to prove on clay. She lost in last week’s final to Maria Sharapova in Stuttgart, a woman she had all but owned the past two years. Her groundstrokes are still penetrating on the surface, but she isn’t that comfortable sliding and has yet to win a WTA Premier tournament on dirt.

She begins with a rough first round contest against the unseeded Kuznetsova, a two time French champion know how to construct points on clay. Her third round might be another former RG champ in  Ivanovic, possibly last years French victor Li, maybe the red hot German Kerber, or possibly – and imagine this with what she’s been through the past year health wise – Venus Williams, who has tough opener against the young Simona Halep.

2^nd Quarter

Aga Radwanska leads this quadrant because she really wants to face Vika again – really, she does want to see whether its possible to lose to another player six times straight in a four and half month period. The fourth-ranked Pole should be able to reach the semis with roadblocks being Errani, Cibulkova, Vinci or Wickmayer, then in the quarters, Bartoli, Medina, Hercog or the slumping Schiavone. Radwanska look good against all these players, but will struggle at times.

3^rd Quarter

This is a fascinating segment, with Sam Stosur and Petra Kvitova leading the bracket, which also contains Zvonareva, McHale, Kirilenko and Peng.  Look for the frequently injured Vera to go down to Cetkovska in her opener, Stosur to struggle with Martic, McHale and Arvidsson to go three sets and Kvitova to find her form and skate straight to the quarters for a highly anticipated meeting on clay with Stosur.

4^th Quarter

It’s been a long time since Maria Sharapova has been able to win two tournament in three weeks, but she should be able to get to the quarters. She can handle Begu, Benasova, Jankovic and Safarova. But she might have to face two in form players who are very unpredictable but good in Kaia Kanepi and Carla Suarez, who, BTW,  will meet in the Estoril final on Saturday.

Sharapova’s quarterfinal foe? Who knows, as it could be Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Mona Barthel or Julia Goerges, two Germans who open against each other in the first round. Serena should be able to take out Russians Vesnina and Pavlyuchenkova in the first two rounds, but Caro is no guarantee against anyone these days, including Pervak in her opener and either one of the two big hitting  Germans

ATP

I started with the WTA  first because the men have become so incredibly predictable at the Master Series. Andy Murray, Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish are all out with injuries so the English-as-a-first-language chances sit firmly in the long lap of John Isner.

First Quarter

Novak Djokovic comes off a thrashing at the hands of Rafa Nadal in Monte Carlo, but to me that does not make him vulnerable to a defeat before the semis. Who is going to take him out before then? Feliciano Lopez, Wawrinka, Meltzer, Simon or Tipsarevic? Can’t see it, although I could see him dropping a set or two.

2nd Quarter

Roger Federer is in Djokovic’s half again and he has not played since Miami, which will leave him a bit rusty but very fresh. Federer will have tough opener against either Nalbandian – who has reached the semis of Belgrade—or Raonic, who played big time ball in Barcelona. In the thin air of Madrid, Raonic is good call to get past Nalby and possibly upset Federer. Richard Gasquet – who has reached the semis of Estoril – or Bellucci could meet Fed in the third round  Whoever should reach the quarters should face either of two tough Spaniards, Ferrer or Almagro.

3^rd Quarter

Here comes Isner, seeded No. 8 and with all sorts of possibilities given that he is in Jo Tsonga’s quarter, the same man he beat in Davis Cup on clay. Isner will meet Montanes or Cilic, a tough second round either way, and then might have to go up against Del Potro, who has reached the semis of Estoril. That is provided that DelPo knocks off Florian Mayer, which is no lock Tsonga may have to face American Ryan Harrison in R2, whom he beat at Davis Cup. The tricky Alex Dolgopolov lurks for in the third round.

4th Quarter

Nadal has tricky opener against either the booming Ivo  Karlovic, or the veteran Nicolay Davydenko. You know he wants the Russian there as no one wants to face Ivo’s explosive serves in altitude. Rafa could face Verdasco, Istomin or Chela in R3, then its likely Berdych, Anderson or Ferrero in the quarters, as I can’t see Monfils doing much post his seven millionth return from injury. Berdych plays Nadal tough, so that quarter could be thrilling.

A clay court rematch from last year’s RG between Nadal and Isner would be delicious. And here’s what’s critical for Isner: he’s ranked No. 10 with only 138 points to defend between now and Roland Garros. If he can reach a couple of quarterfinals he could enter RG seeded in the top 8, which means that he will avoid possibly meeting a member of the Big 4 until the quarters. And he very much wants that.”