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Hi Lib:

Just saw this thread. I've been following the FO by computer and watching recaps in the evening. The timing is such that in the States we can watch from 5am on. I've always liked that by 2pm our time, most of the results are in.

It sounds like attending the FO was a yearly rite of Spring for you until recently. How fortunate you are to have it as your "local" tournament. It's similar to my situation in that the US Open is my local tourney.

Nadal's dismissal by Soderling was unbelievable but in a way understandable as Rafa's played all the clay court events and had just gotten done with high altitute competition in Madrid. The man was tired. Soderling took Rafa to 5 sets in the round of 16 at Wimbly 2007. Yes, that was grass but Sod (no pun intended) does have a huge serve and he came to net often in this match. Nadal didn't look his usual pumped up self out there and many of his balls landed short and he was playing 5 feet behind the baseline. I'd not seen Ouanna before but what an all around game he has. Hard to believe he was an up and coming junior with Monfils who has so far been more successful on the pro tour. I feel badly for Mauresmo's first round loss. That had to be crushing for her but she has always had a hard time with the pressure at her own tournament.

I'm going for Murray to win it all. Anybody but Federer for many different reasons. (not to do with his beautiful game)

And we know how Fed handles stress when it comes to RG... or maybe it was just Nadal, we'll see

I would tend to agree, Lib. In one interview Roger gave, he did actually say that his problem was not Roland Garros but Nadal. Nadal gets under his skin to the point where it looks like Roger's giving up at the end of matches. (i.e. last year's RG). His Wimbledon loss to Nadal rocked his world last year and it threw him into a major "slump". Nadal knocked him off his pedestal.

And yes, I do not like RF but my dislike for him has evolved over the years. And it has more to do with his personality traits than his tennis. Suffice it to say that the icing on the cake was at this year's Australian Open when he sobbed on court after having lost. I cried too, but my tears dried up when I thought about the larger picture - there's more to being a champion than just winning. This wasn't a retirement speech like Agassi's at the US Open, he wasn't crying from joy after having just won, and he hadn't just lost a coach to cancer like Pete Sampras when he lost it on court and that was at a US Open that he'd won. RF lost to the better player that day and it hurt like hell. But you hold it in and allow the other player to enjoy his victory. Compare that to Rafa losing to Roger at Wimbly 2007 for the second year in a row. He was demoralized but he held it together out on court. That's what one expects from a champion. The Australian tennis officials had no hankies to hand out to Fed. Rod Laver, out on court to help with the presentation, (could you imagine him crying after losing?) looked stunned. Heck, even Fed's girlfriend was stunned. It said alot about Roger the person. I could say more but won't. There is every reason to support him. I simply do not. But it doesn't diminuish my appreciation for his game. His tennis is breathtaking.

Blue, I agree with you that nerves will play a role in the final but all players will be susceptible because Fed is going for a tournament he's never won and to get him closer to making tennis history. What I've noticed is that although he (Fed) has tightened up his game, he is still making alot of unforced errors and mentally he is not the same player he was when he dominated mens tennis. So there is a window of opportunity for the other three. Del Potro collapses mentally when he plays Federer. Gonzalez is a powerful player who can keep up with Fed physically but he's wild emotionally. Soderling really has the tools to win it all. And he backed up the biggest win of his career with a clobbering of Davydenko who is an established top tenner. It will be interesting.