Previewing Nadal vs. Soderling

When the semifinals are set we'll have a preview of each individually, but this quarterfinal between Robin Soderling, two time finalist here, and Rafael Nadal, five time champion, is too good not to take an in-depth look. After the jump, we'll look at who has the advantage in each facet of the game and who should come out on top.

Quarterfinals Preview

It's Quarterfinal time at the 2011 French Open! 8 players remain in both the men's and women's draws, and over the next two days, that number will be down to 4. Actually, one player has already gained a berth in the semifinals. Fabio Fognini withdrew from Roland Garros, and thus his opponent, Novak Djokovic, automatically is into the semis. Also, and a bit more misleading, one Round of 16 match still must be completed. A hobbled Andy Murray lost the first two sets to Viktor Troicki, but he fought back and won two in a row, setting up one set for the right to advance to the semifinal. After the jump, we're going to take a look at all of the quarterfinals currently set up, and when the Murray-Troicki match is finalized, we'll have a preview up for that one.

Day 7 Preview

Day 7 is the last day of the first part of the tournament. After tomorrow, the third round will be completed, leaving 16 men and 16 women still alive in their quest to win this tournament. This is where the fun pretenders give way to the real contenders. We're still in that first stage, however, and there's still some weeding out to do. On the men's side, Mardy Fish looks to be the only American to make it to the Round of 16, Nadal and Murray look to make it there again, and of course, there will be a conclusion to the del Potro-Djokovic match. That is the biggest match of the day, and, with the score being tied at one set apiece, it looks to be a race to the finish.  On the women's side, the major players look to avoid the upset bug, as Sharapova, Azarenka, Li, and Petkovic are all in action. With the unpredictability of the women's game in general and of these players' respective forms, anything is possible.

Main Event of the Day: Djokovic vs. del Potro
Undercard Match Worth Watching: Mardy Fish vs. Gilles Simon. The Frenchman has made some unsavory comments about the French Tennis Federation and American tennis, and this will be an interesting match as both are trying to make to their first Round of 16 at the French Open. Fish carries the hope of American tennis, and with Tsonga going out today, there's only Gasquet, Monfils, and Simon left as threats.
Upset Possibilities: del Potro over Djokovic, Cirstea over Li.

Day 6 Results: Huge Upsets, Big Comebacks, Djokovic vs. del Potro to be finished Friday

Day 6 brought the most shocking upset of the tournament, with women's world number one Caroline Wozniacki losing to Daniela Hantuchova, the 28th seed. What was shocking was not the loss, but the way in which Wozniacki was so soundly defeated. It was a 6-1. 6-3 beatdown. Wozniacki never looked to be in the match. The other big upset of the day was Samantha Stosur being taken down by Argentian Gisela Dulko. On the men's side, in the biggest match of the day, there was no conclusion. Due to every match of Chatrier going the distance, they had to move the match to the Lenglen court. They only were able to get two sets in, and surprisingly, del Potro was able to take the second set from Novak Djokovic. They will continue the match tomorrow. On the comeback side, Stanislas Wawrinka was down two sets to love to Jo Wilfried Tsonga on Chatrier. With a very partisan crowd in his favor, Tsonga looked to be on his way to a comfortable victory. Wawrinka, however, never gave up, winning a third set tiebreak and winning the final two sets, 6-2, 6-4. All in all, it was a very exciting day of tennis.

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 5 Results: Clijsters, Melzer, Other top seeds challenged

2011 Roland Garros finally came to life today. In the opening match of the day, Aranxta Rus shocked the tennis world by defeating Kim Clijsters, the number 2 seed. Clijsters had two match points in the second set but collapsed and lost 6-1 in the third. The other shocker of the day came when Jurgen Melzer, the defending semifinalist, lost to Lukas Rosol, a qualifier from the Czech Republic. Elsewhere, there was much drama. Maria Sharapova was down a set and 4-1 to a French wild card player, but she was able to come back. Rafael Nadal also looked...well, normal. He won in straight sets, but his forehand was misfiring greatly. On the American side, Sam Querrey was beaten in straight sets by Ivan Lubicic, but Vania King and Mardy Fish were able to advance.

Day 5 Preview: What to Look For

We're not quite at the meaty part of the tournament yet, but don't worry, it's coming. The big names will be playing the big names soon enough (Friday is Djokovic vs. del Potro) but this is the part of the tournament where you can enjoy some quality tennis between two people you probably never heard of. To this effect, Xavier Malisse plays Fernando Verdasco in the Bullring (Court 1) and Jeremy Chardy vs. Gilles Simon on Chatrier. For those fans who follow the Americans, Mardy Fish, the highest ranked male, plays Robin Hasse, a tough Dutchman, but Fish should be able to win and advance to his first third round appearance here in Paris. Vania King plays Elena Baltacha in a match that pits two countries who desperately want more success, the U.S. and Great Britain. Elsewhere on the American side, Sam Querrey plays Ivan Lubicic in a very tough match for the American. While Lubicic is ranked lower that Querrey, he is always a tough match-up, but Querrey had a great win against Phillip Kohlschreiber in the first round, so perhaps Querrey's fortunes here will turn. If you're one of those people who only follow the big names, that's fine too. Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters, Andy Murray, and Robin Soderling are all in action as well