Looking at the 2011 ATP Season So Far

With the end of Wimbledon comes the end of the first half of the tennis year. The early Australian swing and brief American hard court few weeks being an ancient memory, the European clay court season being a bit fresher and the very brief English grass court "season" just concluding, it's a great time to look back at the 2011 ATP season so far and evaluate the top players, look at who disappointed, and examine a few breakout stars that began to rise this year. After the jump, we'll look at all of these, and later in the week, we'll have a preview of the  upcoming North American hard court season concluding with the US Open and beyond that.

Tsonga Shocks Federer in Historic Upset; Semifinals Set

178-0. That was Roger Federer's record coming into today when he has won the first two sets in a major. For two sets, it looked as if he would have no troubles with Jo Wilfried Tsonga, the talented Frenchman who has shown amazing talent but has come up short due to injuries and not quite using the immense talent he has. Federer broke in Tsonga's first service game and won the first set comfortably. The second set proceeded without any breaks, and while Federer won the tiebreak handily, 7-3, the pattern for the rest of the match was set. Tsonga elevated his game while Federer's evened out. Tsonga began to hit the ball much harder, while Federer wasn't matching his increase in intensity. The final three sets were oddly similar, and anti-climactic. Tsonga broke early in all of the three final sets, and Federer never could even get a whiff on the Tsonga serve. For context, Federer had only one break point the entire match, and that was in the first set where he broke Tsonga. In the final four sets, Federer had zero break points, and only a couple of times did he reach 30-all. It was by far the biggest win in Tsonga's career. That wasn't the only exciting match today. After the break, we'll look at the other three quarterfinal matches.

Previewing the Gentlemen's Quarterfinals

After a Maniac Monday that saw dramatic tennis all over the grounds of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, eight gentlemen are left, and after tomorrow the final four will be set. The Big 4, Nadal, Djokovic, Federer, Murray are all left, and they are joined by a cast of characters in their respective quarterfinal berths. The big storyline going into the quarterfinals is whether or not there will be a repeat of Paris, where Nadal played Murray and Federer snapped Djokovic's insane win streak. Also, in Melbourne, 3 out of the four made it to the semifinals and back at last year's US Open, where 3 out of the 4 made it. Joining them are the American Mardy Fish, Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and the most surprising out of all of them, 18 year old Australian Bernard Tomic. After the jump, we'll preview each quarterfinal.

Previewing the 3rd Round: Matches to Watch

The second round of the 2011 Wimbledon Championships was much more exciting than expected, and a few matches are left to be decided. However, with the third round beginning tomorrow, here are three matches on both the ladies and gentlemen's sides that are very much worth watching.

The Big 3 and the Brit: The Preview of the 2011 Gentleman Singles Championships at Wimbledon

All eyes at Wimbledon will be on the top 4 seeds, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer and Andy Murray. Rafael Nadal is the defending champion at SW19, and him and Roger Federer have combined to win all of the titles since Federer won in 2003. Those two have to be the clear favorites, especially because they both reached the final at Roland Garros. The two other contenders are very fascinating, with Novak Djokovic being the hottest player on tour, beating Nadal four times this spring and beating Federer twice. He was felled by Federer in French Open semifinals, but he's still incredibly dangerous. Finally, the fourth seed, Andy Murray, is the highest ranked player from Great Britain and by far the best chance to win a major on either side. He is carrying the flag, so to speak and for further analysis of Murray, check out this post. Nevertheless, it should be a fantastic Championships, with many other dangerous top players lurking right below the top 4 seeds. Tomas Berdych, who is the defending champion, Robin Soderling, former quarterfinalist here, and Andy Roddick, three time finalist are all players who have the pedigree to make a run and potentially give a huge scare to the top guys. After the jump, we'll look at the draw, quarter by quarter, and we'll have predictions.

The King of Clay Reigns Again: Looking at Rafael Nadal's 6th French Open Title

In the best match these two all time greats have played at Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer 7-5, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-1. Roger Federer played the best he has ever played against Nadal at Paris, but Nadal proved again why he is the King Of Clay. This is Nadal's 10 major title and increases his head to head against Federer to 17-8. After the jump, we'll look at the match, set by set

Previewing Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal: The Men's Final

It's finally here. When Roland Garros started, there were two finals that everyone was looking forward to. It was either Nadal-Djokovic or Nadal-Federer. Well, the latter is here, after Roger Federer's dramatic 4 set win over Djokovic that many consider to be the best match since the 2008 Wimbledon final between Nadal and Federer. This is the fifth match at Roland Garros between the two of them, with Nadal winning all four. This is their first meeting at a major since the 2009 Australian Open final, with Nadal winning an epic 5 set match. Federer is coming into this match at a much different point than all of his previous French Open finals, beating Djokovic in the aforementioned instant classic. After the jump, we'll look at each area of this match.

Men's Semifinals Recap: Nadal wins, Federer beats Djokovic in instant classic

The men's semifinals are finished, and wow, what a day of tennis. Fortunately, after much doubt, it was completed today, and the final is set. Rafael Nadal will meet Roger Federer for the fifth time here in Paris, the fourth in the final. We'll have the women's preview up later, but after the jump we'll take an in depth look at each match.

Men's Semifinals Preview

It's finally time. The four men remaining in the tournament will be whittled down to two. These are two dream semis, with the top 4 seeds being in the final four. This is only the 12th time in history this has happened at a major. First up on Phillip Chatrier, Rafael Nadal plays Andy Murray, and the second match up is Novak Djokovic vs. Roger Federer. After the jump we'll take a look at each match-up and give predictions.

Day 6 Preview: What to Look For

Day 6 looks to be a great day of tennis. There are a lot of great matchups as the third round gets underway. The biggest match of the day by far is Novak Djokovic vs. Juan Martin del Potro. When the draw was made, this match was immediately pointed out. Del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, is on his way back from a wrist injury that took him out for all of 2010. He's on the comeback trail now, and this will be very interesting to see how far he has come. In other matches, Roger Federer plays Janko Tipsarevic, which is a really good test of Federer's form. Before Djokovic and del Potro take the court, Stanislas Wawrinka takes on Jo Wilfried Tsonga, which should be a hard hitting affair. Another Frenchman, Richard Gasquet, plays Thomaz Bellucci, who is on an absolute tear right now. On the women's side, Samantha Stosur plays Gisela Dulko, a tough Argentinian. Francesca Schiavone takes on Shuai Peng, in what should be a competitive match. And finally on the women's side, Caroline Wozniacki plays Daniela Hantuchova, and Wozniacki looked shaky against Wozniak, so this should be very interesting.

Main Event of the Day: Novak Djokovic vs. Juan Martin del Potro

Undercard Matches Worth Watching: Wozniacki vs. Hantuchova, Wawrinka vs Tsonga

Upset Possibility of the Day: Bellucci over Gasquet. Gasquet has the pressure of a nation on him, and Bellucci is playing out of his mind. It seems Bellucci has a great opportunity to win this one.

Day 4 Results: No Upsets, Player Carried Out on Stretcher

So Day 4 of the French Open was going pretty straightforwardly, with Federer going on court at 11 and seemingly off by noon. Djokovic, by all appearances, didn't break sweat today. The same went for the women. Caroline Wozniacki had her customary close second set, but other than that, the two finalists from last year, Francesca Schiavone and Samantha Stosur both gave up a combined 4 games. Then Vera Zvonareva happened. As the third seed and the defending Wimbledon and U.S. Open Finalist, she has a lot of expectations going into this tournament. She was playing Sabine Lisicki, the 121st ranked German who, after many injuries, is attempting to make a career resurgence. Lisicki took the first set from Zvonareva 6-4, but the third seed was able to take the second in a grueling 7-5 set. Then it's when it started to get interesting. Lisicki was able to take a 5-2 lead in the third with Zvonareva serving. She even had a match point at 30-40, but Zvonareva was able to hold. It was all downhill from there for the German. She got broken at 30 and asked for the trainer. After the trainer looked at her, they called a doctor to attend to her as well. In a surreal sight, they took her blood pressure on the bench. After a while she continued to play. Zvonareva held easily, and watching it, is was painfully obvious that Lisicki was done. Her grunts weren't normal grunts, but almost pain shrieks. She got broken at 5-6 to end the match, and immediately afterwards the medical team came out and got a stretcher for her. The early word was that it was cramps, and hopefully it wasn't much more. The takeaway is that Zvonareva won, and so all of the top seeds advanced, but there was drama in the Bullring today on an otherwise routine day at the Stade Roland Garros.

Day 4 Preview: What to Look For

After the dramatic five setter today on court Phillipe Chatrier, we now move to the second round. Tomorrow looks to be a bit more calm, but there are a few matches worth watching. Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are both in action, but they are playing relative unknowns who shouldn't pose much of a threat, so tomorrow is a perfect day to check out some other matches. Espn3.com and Tennischannel.com are two great sites that stream many courts (legally too!). After the break, some matches to watch.

Day 2 Results: Berdych out; Rest of top seeds advance

Day 2 of the French Open belonged to Stephane Robert, the Frenchman who is ranked number 140 in the world. Yes, 140. He made it through qualifiers, and as the prize, he drew Tomas Berdych, the number 7 seed and defending semifinalist. Through the first two sets, it appeared to be going according to script. Berdych won the first two sets rather comfortably, 6-3, 6-3. Then everything went awry for the tall Czech player. Robert (the "t" is silent) began finding the magic he needed. Hitting winners, and especially backhand down the line winners, turned the tide in his favor, winning the next two sets 6-2, 6-2. The fifth set was an instant classic, and Berdych had a match point on Robert's serve at 6-7. Robert hit perhaps his biggest serve of the match, and at 7-7, he broke Berdych. He then coolly served out the match to win it 9-7, earning himself the biggest win of his career and sending Berdych hurdling out of the top 10. After the jump, the rest of the results.

Day 2 Preview: What to Look For

Day 2 of the 2011 French Open is upon us. And, unlike Day 1, the stars are out in full force. On Court Phillip Chatrier, defending champion on the women's side, Francesca Schaivone takes on American Melanie Oudin, Novak Djokovic plays Thiemo De Bakker, and then Roger Federer plays the man who almost beat him two weeks ago, Feliciano Lopez. Later in the day world's number one, Caroline Wozniacki plays Kimiko Date Krumm. That won't be the most exciting match, but there is a 21 year age difference between the two, so that might be worth watching for the novelty factor.

Main Event of the Day: Federer vs. Lopez
Upset Possibility: Ivo Karlovic over Juan Martin del Potro
Undercard Match Worth Watching: Oudin vs. Schiavone

The Streak, The King of Clay, and TMF: The Men's Draw

2011 Roland Garros on the men's side could not be more exciting. Novak Djokovic is 37-0 this season, winning the Australian Open, Dubai, Belgrade, and the four Masters 1000 events he played in, Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, and Rome. This is longest winning streak to start a season since John McEnroe's 42 match win streak in 1984. This streak is all the more remarkable when you consider that Djokovic started the year ranked number 3 in the world, and has beaten Roger Federer (The Mighty Federer, TMF for short), the consensus greatest player of all time, four times, and Rafael Nadal, the current world number one, in four consecutive Masters 1000 series finals. What is even more remarkable is that two of those wins came on Nadal's favorite surface, clay. Nadal has rightly been caled the King of Clay for his five Roland Garros titles and his absurd records at the other clay court tournaments. In any other year, Nadal would be the clear favorite, having won Barcelona and reaching the finals of the two 1000 series clay court events, but with Djokovic's surge, some are putting Nadal as the slight underdog.

That would certaintly be the clear dream final, but there are a few other men who would love nothing more than to stop that final. The afforementioned TMF, as the third seed and all time Grand Slam leader, is always a threat to win, and having won in 2009, has a great shot as well. Robin Soderling, the Swede, had accomplished the historic feat of defeating Nadal in the 2009 French Open and then Federer in 2010, reaching the final both years. He is in Nadal's section of the draw, and that would make a blockbuster quarterfinal. Andy Murray, the 4 seed, reached the final in Australia but fell to Djokovic. He has been the closest this year to ending Djokovic's streak, taking him to a third set tiebreaker in Rome, so he's made himself into a threat. Finally, David Ferrer, who defeated Nadal in the 2011 Australian Open, is always a threat at the French. After the jump, we're going to look at the draw, quarter by quarter.