Roland Garros/French Open
Image courtesy of Yann Caradec's Flickr page - Roland Garros 2008: https://www.flickr.com/photos/la_bretagne_a_paris/2548469251/in/photolist-4Tcz82-6tZnxV-87P6sX-ey7ZS4-4Th8wE-eiptGP-6uaRCZ-87vLZp-86G6Ka-ey9ecr-c7XVQu-nCzATg-eBzLQm-nCAVGe-nWRDSg-nT31do-dGmT28-nCzje4-nCzR2q-nT2Xd5-nV4Xqn-nT2ASf-eZKnLF-6urJ2w-nUM8dD-nCzJ2p-nUWDeU-caonqS-nCzGrQ-nUWRpA-nCzE6t-ewJaxS-ekA48R-nWRBFT-nULZA4-nCAKKF-nUWLLs-9T16gt-nT2zmu-nCALjX-ezweD2-9T15Lr-nULZgB-ewEXSc-nUMjfi-ewJ9fS-6qwFaz-ezzoMd-9LRAp8-ewJ9S1
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It's time for an update on the French Open now. This is the home stretch, as it is down now to just four players left. The quarterfinals in the men's draw was delayed yesterday to the rain, which means that they continued on to today.
The greatest men's clay court player in history, Rafael Nadal of Spain, battled Argentina's Diego Schwartzman. That matched was delayed after Schwartzman surprised Nadal by taking the first set, although Nadal had a bit of a lead in the second.
When play resumed, Nadal came out ready, showing his old mastery on the clay courts, taking that second set, and then jumping all over Schwartzman in the third, applying the pressure that underscores why he was the number one player last year, and one of the all-time greats in the sport's history.
Ultimately, Nadal ran away with the match the rest of the way, winning convincingly in straight sets after dropping that first one. That now sets up a semi-final showdown with Juan del Potro, who convincingly knocked off Marin Čilić. Del Portro has a chance, although I would not put money against Nadal at this point.
In the other semi-final, Italy's Marco Cecchinato, who came out of nowhere to knock off some top talent in tennis (most notably Novac Djokovic) will face Austria's Dominic Thiem, who many consider to be the heir apparent to Nadal on the clay courts.
Maybe Thiem will indeed dominate the clay courts after Nadal, although he still has to reach the final first, and like Federer and Djokovic, will likely have to wait his turn and take his lumps at Nadal's hands before rising to the top here at Roland Garros.
I am not exactly going out on a limb here when making the prediction that Nadal should take the French Open title again, which would make it an astonishing 11 on the clay courts of Paris.
Ultimately, Nadal ran away with the match the rest of the way, winning convincingly in straight sets after dropping that first one. That now sets up a semi-final showdown with Juan del Potro, who convincingly knocked off Marin Čilić. Del Portro has a chance, although I would not put money against Nadal at this point.
In the other semi-final, Italy's Marco Cecchinato, who came out of nowhere to knock off some top talent in tennis (most notably Novac Djokovic) will face Austria's Dominic Thiem, who many consider to be the heir apparent to Nadal on the clay courts.
Maybe Thiem will indeed dominate the clay courts after Nadal, although he still has to reach the final first, and like Federer and Djokovic, will likely have to wait his turn and take his lumps at Nadal's hands before rising to the top here at Roland Garros.
I am not exactly going out on a limb here when making the prediction that Nadal should take the French Open title again, which would make it an astonishing 11 on the clay courts of Paris.
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