Female Tennis is now so boring. You know Henin will always win no matter what. Has female tennis become so poor?

Feadaerer will be naive not to expect that Nalbandian could beat him,even though he is currently ranked 25 in the world.Afterall they are now 8-7 head to head.Dont forget Nalbandian was at one time 5-0 against Fed!!

As I said before,Nalbandian's position now is deceptive.Its only a reflection of his mental frustration at not winning the majors and not a reflection of his tennis skills.Tell me what strategy Nadal can ever adopt to lick David.Its going to be pretty tough for him to do that.So with Djoko too.They will have to improve well beyond their game now to thrash Nalbandian in top form.For starters,Nadal will have to come up with a better serve,fast and away from the reach of David's backhand.Well it promises to be interesting.I think David has just joined the party bw Fed,Nadal and Djoko.The more,the merrier.

As for the female tennis,Henin is just enjoying herself cos the opposition is weak for now.The WTA is littered with very young but inexperienced talents.For instance Golovin lost to Henin at the Zurich finals due to share inexperience.But pretty soon Henin will be dethroned,never to rise again,cos she is not getting any younger.Despite her sweet backhand prowress and quick feet,she's never ever going to approach records set by Steffi and Navatilova.But I give her kudos for giving it her best,albeit,sometimes,on the altar of cheating-remember her insincerety in her match against Serena at the French open,I think 2 or 3 yrs ago?

Paris, France
October 28-November 4, 2007
€2,082,500 / 48 Draw
Carpet - Indoor

Seeds:  ¹Roger Federer, ²Rafael Nadal, ³Novak Djokovic, ⁴Nikolay Davydenko, ⁵David Ferrer, ⁶James Blake, [b]7[/b]Fernando Gonzalez, ⁸Tommy Robredo, ⁹Tommy Haas, ¹⁰Richard Gasquet, ¹¹Guillermo Canas, ¹²Tomas Berdych, ¹³Ivan Ljubicic, ¹⁴Carlos Moya, ¹⁵Andrew Murray, ¹⁶Juan Ignacio Chela

Men's DRAW:

Roger Federer (SUI) - Bye 01
Fernando Verdasco (ESP)  vs.  Ivo Karlovic (CRO)
David Nalbandian (ARG)  vs.  Nicolas Almagro (ESP)
Carlos Moya (ESP) - Bye 02
Tomas Berdych (CZE) - Bye 03
Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)  vs.  Mario Ancic (CRO)
Dimitry Tursunov (RUS)  vs.  Mardy Fish (USA)
David Ferrer (ESP) - Bye 04
Novak Djokovic (SRB) - Bye 05
Fabrice Santoro (FRA)  vs.  Albert Montanes (ESP)
Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)  vs.  Juan Monaco (ARG)
Andrew Murray (GBR) - Bye 06
Richard Gasquet (FRA) - Bye 07
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)  vs.  Sébastien Grosjean (FRA)
Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS)  vs.  Nicolas Mahut (FRA)
James Blake (USA) - Bye 08
**********
Tommy Robredo (ESP) - Bye 09 
Gilles Simon (FRA)  vs.  Potito Starace (ITA)
Andreas Seppi (ITA)  vs.  Sam Querrey (USA)
Guillermo Canas (ARG) - Bye 10 
Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) - Bye 11
Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP)  vs.  Marcos Baghdatis (CYP)
Juan Marin Del Potro (ARG)  vs.  Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) - Bye 12
Fernando Gonzalez (CHL) - Bye 13
Arnaud Clément (FRA)  vs.  Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)  vs.  Vincent Spadea (USA)
Tommy Haas (DEU) - Bye 14
Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) - Bye 15
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)  vs.  Nicolas Kiefer (DEU)
Jurgen Melzer (AUT)  vs.  Filippo Volandri (ITA)
Rafael Nadal (ESP) - Bye 16

I wonder how the draw was made, how come the number two and three ranked players ain't in the same half? Federer's half is fully loaded. Seeing him reach the final would be a miracle.

Here are some interesting anticipated third round clashes:

Federer vs. Nalbandian

Djokovic vs. Murray

Third Round Fixtures:

Roger Federer (SUI) vs. David Nalbandian (ARG)
Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs. David Ferrer (ESP)
Fabrice Santoro (FRA) vs. Andrew Murray (GBR)
Richard Gasquet (FRA) vs. James Blake (USA)
Tommy Robredo (ESP) vs. Guillermo Canas (ARG)
Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) vs. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) vs. Tommy Haas (GER)
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) vs. Rafael Nadal (ESP)


Too bad Djoko had to bow out so soon, he's given Murray some hope.

Nalbandian beat Federer 6-4, 7-6(3) to record his second straight victory against the world number one in three weeks to progress to the quarter-finals. It's 8-8 between the two now.

Other Results:

Robredo - Canas 7-5, 7-5
Baghdatis - Davydenko 6-2, 6-2
Murray - Santoro 6-4, 6-2
Nadal - Wawrinka 6-4, 6-3
Gasquet - Blake 6-4, 6-4
Ferrer - Berdych 6-4, 6-2

My oppinion of the 3rd round matches . . . .
- Federer vs Nalbandian - The indomitable era of Federer is slowing coming to an end.

Robredo - Canas 7-5, 7-5 - Tommy the Rob!! Never quite fulfilled his potential, won win the tournament (has already lost to Baghdatis anyway).
Baghdatis - Davydenko 6-2, 6-2 - Davydenko, maybe playing too much tennis over one season isnt a very good strategy to maintain your ranking afterall.
Murray - Santoro 6-4, 6-2 - Murray is top 5 material!!
Nadal - Wawrinka 6-4, 6-3 - Wawrinka gave us a good demonstration in just how to lose a match you are about to win. . . start making unforced errors.
Gasquet - Blake 6-4, 6-4 - Blake bye bye to the top 10.
Ferrer - Berdych 6-4, 6-2 - Berdych, just another young pretender.

@Davidylan

I actually think Robredo has gone has far as his talent can take him.
He has fulfilled his potential to the max.

Davydenko has more issues on his mind. He prolly bet on himself to lose

Murray I wish could be top 5 material. I doubt his athleticism though

Well I would expect Gasquet to beat Blake 9 out of 10

Berdych I still think, given more mental strength, is no 1 material. Has all the tools anyway,
more than Nalbandian as Octopus thinks.

doyin13:

Davydenko has more issues on his mind. He prolly bet on himself to lose

I wont be surprised he did that.

Andy Murray just got flogged by the French pretender, Gasquet. No Shanghai masters for poor Murray.

Injury has made Gasquet look less a contender. His one-handed backhand is such a beauty. He plays Bandy next.

Gonzo has claimed one of d two remaining spots for Shanghai. Baghdatis has a slimmer chance than Gasquet in qualifying.

Testy game for Nadal but he comes through against Baghdatis 4-6 6-4 6-3.

Nalby wiping the floor with Gasquet.

   

Will Nalbandian do the double - beat the number one and two in the same tournament for a second time?

I see him winning in straight sets again.

Nalby's baseline game na wa o! On this form he deserves to have won at least one grand slam.
I want Nadal to win but i foresee Nalby taking this 6-3 6-4

Nadal is on the verge of loss his first match in Paris. He's a set down and also a break down in the second set.

Who is David Nalbandian? Is he on drugs?
He virtually destroyed Richard Gasquet yesterday . . . . today he is moving Nadal around like a ragdoll.

I hope he can ccontinue in this present form at least throughout next year.

He's taken the second set 6- 0.

dont be shocked to see Nalby go back to being mediocre next season. i think this is just a flash in the pan.
The real test will be the grandslams where it becomes a best of 5 game. Players like Nalby cant last that long which is what makes Nadal, djokovic and federer unplayable.

Bring on next season!

Andy Roddick to pull out and Nalby to play in Shanghai and win!

Well,well,well.Ha,ha,ha.

Dear friends,
I have been away for a while.Just got back to read all your comments.Interesting.

Hear the masters themselves comment on Nalbandian:

Fed,after his loss to David in the Paris masters: "It's not easy being aggressive against him when you're 3 meters (10 feet) behind the baseline.He's got a phenomenal backhand and can dictate play from both sides"

Nadal,after his loss today to David:"He played better than me," Nadal said. "You have to congratulate him. I could not play at my best."

Every time a player is beaten and he makes statements like "I could not play at my best", I laugh. The reason I laugh is that you do not need a soothsayer to tell you that when the opposition is tough,no one plays at his best!!

David Nalbandian has a game that Nadal is unlikely to be able to decode,at least for now.Nadal can never beat Nalbandian(in good shape)if he does not drastically change his game.He should forget about topspins with Nalbandian because its mince meat for David's backhand.Goodness!! He lashes out at Nadal's topspins(including serves) with so much ease and ferocity,that poor Nadal cant help but be embarrased.His topspins dont hurt David at all,because of the way he(David) plays.

I am surprised davidylan is asking who Nalbandian is.I told you before,he is the best player,currently in the ATP, never to have won a grand slam.I have followed him for long.He has always had the requisite skills,but he has always lost big games because of lack of mental toughness.Every player who's been long enough in the circuit knows this fact.Now,Nalbandian,after six months of nursing back injuries this year,has changed his coach and things are happening.First,his serves have become incredible,even for Fed.Second,his backhand has become so sharp,fast and deadly that even Nadal chases after them like a pregnant woman.(Many times he is forced to stop short in his tracks because he ajudges the balls unreachable).Having been thoroughly thrashed two times in a space of weeks,Nadal knows he has a huge challenge in David Nalbandian!!.Thirdly,and most importantly,his mental toughness has increased.

Now,all the 8 players for Shanghai have qualified.Interestingly,David Nalbandian is again the first alternate player,just as he was when he won the masters in 2005.Is history about to repeat itself? If Andy is unable to recover and Nalbandian takes his place,your guess is as good as mine who wins the masters cup 2007.

If Nalbandian is unable to sustain his form in the coming season it will be either because of recurring injuries or of course because he maybe up against much younger talents,especially as someone pointed out, when he probably has to do 5 setters in the slams, I believe every player has his time.And this is Nalbandian's time.He's got the skills and experience to pick up a few grand slams b4 he calls it quits.Again,I wish him all the best.

I know this is offtopic, but his girlfriend is fineeeeeeeee. At least when I saw her the year he got to the final at Wimbledon.

@doyin 13,
Re: "Berdych I still think, given more mental strength, is no 1 material. Has all the tools anyway,
more than Nalbandian as Octopus thinks"

Since Tomas Berdych autographed my Slazenger tennis ball at the Wimbledon this year,he has been my man(I watched him (life )destroy Lee,the Asian Number 1).I love the way he plays and how relaxed he seems to be in the court.Sometimes,he is caught actually smiling and enjoying the game.He is a great player.He is young and I hope he makes top 3 in the ATP.Despite my love for him,I beg to disagree with you that he has more tools than Nalbandian.Nothing can be further than the truth.If I may ask,in what department does he have more tools than David? I cant think of any.

@ Octopus, you should know that my asking after David Nalbandian was out of frustration after watching him wipe Nadal on the court today.

Nalbandian used to be my top player until Nadal stepped up. Nadal needs a new coach, many of the players now know how he plays and how to crack his game. Playing the ball short ALL THE TIME will work on clay were the bounce wont be that high but on a hard court, its a sitting duck for Nalbandian and Djokovic!

Nadal's second serve is attrocious! Winning just 18% of second serve points!! Nalbandian had about 70% or so.

I hope Nalbandian plays at Shanghai, i would love to see him win it again.

Tomas Berdych? Abeg make we talk better players jare. Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet . . . now those are finese players who will someday take over Federer's throne.

I just feel he has a solid serve. For all Nalbandians bulk, his serve I don't think is the ish.

He is good at the net(I hope), whereas Nalbandian can't be bothered.

And I don't think his backhand is at a disadvantage compared to Nalbandian's either. Good solid two hander.

@Davidylan

Murray-not athletic. how many times i go talk am.

Gasquet-a beautiful backhand but nothing else to make me go wow

Berdych plays hard and fast with a lot of control.

@doyin 13,
If his girlfriend is fineeeee,need you ask again why he has been such an under achiever? Remember Agassi and Brooke Shields? Perhaps he has dumped her now to face tennis.Who knows.

I also just read your comments on Berdych's superiority over David.Well I guess they are your opinion.But I hope you read my recent post on Fed's opinion about Nalbandian's backhand.He who feels it,knows it!!

@davidylan,
Good observation,but I can tell you,even on clay,Nalbandian will beat Nadal unless he does something about his serves and of course tries playing deep and mixing the shots to de-stabilize David.But's its going to be pretty tough.These South Americans are never say dies.

doyin13:

@Davidylan

Murray-not athletic. how many times i go talk am.

Gasquet-a beautiful backhand but nothing else to make me go wow

I'm sure we all said the same thing when Federer first came on the scene. It wasnt like Fed started out as a teenage phenom. He barely won anything until he was 22.
Gasquet strikes me as someone with incredible talent but is just not as motivated to play. His loss to Nalby was inexplicable. He didnt seem interested in playing until the last 3-4 games of the second set when he really started to push Nalby around. By that time he was already down 5-2.

Andy Murray may not be as athletic as the other guys but his shot selection is just amazing. Did you see his game with Santoro? Superb!

I dont rate Djokovic surprisingly, he is just another grafter who will fade away by next yr. Dont be shocked if Murray ends next season as No. 3.

@David

You are a glory hunter o. First Nalbandian, then Nadal.

It seems u are always after the next hot thing.

Anyways you do Djokovic a disservice in my opinion. If you rate Murray on the strength of his shot selection
I wonder why you would choose to discount Djokovic. If you call him a grafter, what would you call Davydenko. A voluntary slave.

Djoko has a phenomenal forehand and a very capable backhand. His serve like Nadal needs a lot of work though.

doyin13:

@David

You are a glory hunter o. First Nalbandian, then Nadal.

It seems u are always after the next hot thing.

lai lai! Nalbandian hardly won anything bar the 2005 masters cup and yet i still blindly supported him. I'm a blake fan even though he breaks my heart EVERY TIME!
With all his wins i still dont take to Federer save wow anytime he whips one of his wonder shots.

doyin13:

Anyways you do Djokovic a disservice in my opinion. If you rate Murray on the strength of his shot selection
I wonder why you would choose to discount Djokovic. If you call him a grafter, what would you call Davydenko. A voluntary slave.

I dont think Djoko is that good, he was new and very few people knew how to play him. Now that he is under the radar let us see how well he performs. A guy like Nadal who stays no. 2 for 3 yrs running is my idea of a talent.
Djoko is good, he is just not that good.

Davydenko is a nut case. You just dont know whether to call him a good player or a grinder!

doyin13:

Djoko has a phenomenal backhand and a very capable backhand. His serve like Nadal needs a lot of work though.

Djoko is good . . . is he good enough to be no.3? no.