French Open
 

Well it's down the semis......I hope the Federer stars are aligned.....man I want him to win....I think the guy is truly the best ever, but to be considered that, he must win.......

yeah, he must.
and i think he will. i generally root for the underdog, but i'd love to see this guy achieve a Grand slam, that would be awesome. and man, he is GOOD.

Nadal is scary good on this surface. Dude just doesn't make many mistakes out there. Fed's gonna have to play the match of his life to beat him on Sunday.

I hope he does...

Woohoo, it's all set.....I'm predicting a classic....Federer 10 - 8 in the 5th....lol...I'd rather see him straight set him...

Federer +170
Nadal -200

This will be a classic French open final. Both men are playiing well and Federer has a little confidence beating Nadal on clay last warmup tournament. Nadal is definitely a special player on this surface. His confidence and will are huge on clay. He is very beatable on all other surfaces.

This is the biggest tournament in Federer's life to this point. He puts himself as a strong candidate as the best Tennis player ever if he wins this against Nadal.

Couldn't agree more. How great Sampras, It's hard to believe how dominating Federer is. Should be a classic battle at Roland Garros. Also congrats to Justine Henin for winning her third straight French Open

an hour away..i'm pumped

great game so far. Fed started off so well, but couldnt convert his break points.. If he wins the 2nd set here, we could have an epic on our hands..

Federer is getting head on right at the right time

All you Federer ball lickers can wait another year.

Nadal was just awesome, Federer just had no answers against the master of clay courts. Federer will bouncce back an win on the grass at Wimbledon.

Oh well, another chance lost....Federer played really bad and it is simply that at that venue Nadal is in his head....Federer beat himself....at one point 1/16 break conversions and a 37% first serve % in the first set...so he goes onto to win everything else this...I think realistically he's got one maybe two more legit chances at winning the French....

No Scuds you will have to wait another year for Nadal's Gonads. Federer will win the next major. HOw in the hell is the guy gonna win off clay...? like Wimbeldon with Federer around. No flippin way with that looping forehand on grass.

Federer showed clear signs of resignation to defeat. I dont particularly like that. Borg won on grass and clay and hardcourts, the true sign of an all around game. So did McEnroe, just not near as often as Borg.

yeah, Fed was slightly disappointing in the last two sets and just simply made way too many mistakes..Yeah, he had to go for shots because Nadal is so good at returning them but Ive seen Fed play far better than today.... He might rue this lost opportunity today because Nadal didnt play his bet stuff today and this is a guy who is still improving...

Seriously,what % of matches on clay does Nadal lose ? 2%,and Federer got that already this year(not to mention this particular clay court appears to be Nadal's best venue...no matter what.) It will take an injury to Nadal(for Federer to win the French.)That's certainly possible.Didn't it already happen in 2004? Seems like Nadal was injured for the French. The thing is though that even a player like Davydenko was competitive against Federer in the semi this year.He choked on almost every big point,but it wasn't like Federer was superb on Friday.Roger just doesn't like this venue.I have never seen that forehand that off.He is a little more one dimensional(power serve and groundstrokes) than people would like to admit.His assets are quite neutralized at the French.

I think Roger is close to the Best of all time...but only has a 'touch' of Tigers' Killer mentality.

He's one dimensional because that dimension is so good that he never has to go to plan b.....the big difference in the French is he's hitting from his eyeballs instead of stepping in and pounding at knee level....you don't win Wimbledon like he does strictly from the baseline.....the guy has many different dimensions, it's just that Nadal is this era's spoiler....he's a one surface specialist that is a perfect fit on clay.....also Nadal being left handed makes it even more difficult for Federer.....sucks cuz I have seen everyone going back to the mid 70's and this guy is the best I've ever seen.....I could put a combination of several players together and make his equal, but that's it...but....he's still gotta win on the clay....

Dokovic is one to look out for from now on. I'm expecting he'll make a serious run at Wimbledon.

That f'n Lerch Lefty power server from Croatia won Wimbledon.If that guy wasn't one dimensional I don't know who is.What exactly does Nadal do to win the French? He what? Is quicker? Makes shots? Can paw at the ball like a gifted athlete only can? The French takes power out of the equation,and you find out who the best athlete really is.The other major events are all power events(as far as men are concerned.)Who can hit it harder,and still control it.If Roger is such a gifted athlete then the French Open is the place where that would be displayed.Sampras,and Federer are the best 2 power players of the last 20 years,but if they were great athletes they would have won at the French..Agassi did.

So why hasn't Any Roddick won more? guy hits it harder than anyone ever and is a great athlete....It's about the surface period....the clay does not set up for guys that aren't stricly baseliners.....if you look at people that have had sustained success on it, it's people that grew up playing on it.....you receive the ball totally different on clay than you do grass, deco, hard, anything else.....Besides Borg, Federer is in better shape than anyone that has ever played the game....if Nadal was superior to Federer from an athleticism perspective he would have Australian, U.S. Opens, and Wimbledons on his mantle....

Andy Roddick is one of the least athletic guys to ever make it as a pro tennis player.He does hit the ball hard.That's it,So,he gets his behind tossed quickly from the French,but can stay around for the quarters or semis of the power favoring tournaments.Power is a separate entity from athleticism.Winning all 4 of the Grand Slam tournaments in men's tennis requires a very high level of power and athleticism.Federer does have high levels of each,but(without the power factor helping him) he is not a good enough athlete to beat a great athlete like Nadal.A poor athlete with power can beat a great athlete that lacks power.Next month Roddick will overpower some guys who are much better athletes than him. Men's tennis is primarily about power.This is why the the best athlete who has power wins all these tournaments.Federer and Roddick have about the same power,but Federer is the much better athlete.Nadal is a better athlete than Federer,but he usually can't beat Federer when power is a factor.Federer's mix of power and athleticism usually works in tennis tournaments,but he is easily beatable at the one tournament that totally takes power out of the equation.Nadal's quicker,and is the better shot maker.If Federer was a better athlete than Nadal,then he would beat Nadal at the French.Tennis is a game that normally requires both power and athleticism.If you have a tennis tournament that negates power,then all you have left is a fight about athleticism.Give me every reason why Nadal beats him at the French.If Federer was the better athlete,then none of those reasons would be enough.

BTW if you want to know what requires both athleticism and power it would be the position of linebacker in Football.Ronnie Lott,Ray Lewis etc. have very high levels of each. Also,winning the Grand Slam in tennis(in one year) requires a person like this.Federer comes close,and we know it isn't power that he is lacking.He is slightly lower in athleticism.This is why he comes up a bit short each year.He is not quite as good an athlete as somebody else is.

You not serious are you? Federer is the best shot maker that ever walked on the court.....period. You do make some valid points about athletisicm, (statement about Roddick not one of them) but this all boils down to Nadal is in Federer's head.....38% first serve percentage!!! that's not points won on the first serve, that's first serves in.... 1/16 in break points....50+ unforced errors in 2 sets....that has nothing do with power and everything to do with psych....