The French Open recap and a NHL prediction
The french open has always been one of the most exciting events in the tennis season. The fans are always excited though sometimes hard on the players but this is really a great event to watch and really is the highlight of the clay season. Nadal has been absolutely dominant on clay and a look at the stats shows just how dominant. Coming off his easy third-round victory over Lleyton Hewitt on Friday, four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal improved his Roland Garros record to an to an unreal 31-0; and he now owns the record for consecutive victories here. Even more staggering is his sets record: 92-7. (He has won 92 total sets in 31 matches, not 93, because Novak Djokovic retired from their 2006 quarterfinal when down two sets.) Nadal lost just three sets during his victorious debut run in 2005, three more in 2006, and one—in the final against Roger Federer—in 2007. He has since played 10 consecutive French Open matches without dropping a set, but these numbers are staggering but will come to an end this morning as he actually just dropped a set against Robin Soderling.
So does this mean that Nadal is vulnerable? After the loss to Federer at Madrid I would have to say its possible but my money is still on Nadal to win it all this year. He just needs to get by Soderling today, this would be one of the great upsets in tennis history if it happened.
So what else have we learned from the Open this week? One thing that stands out to me is the lack of dominant players in the WTA. One glaring example has been the play of Elena Dementieva. It seemed pretty appropriate that Australia’s Samantha Stosur was the one to upset No. 4 Elena Dementieva and knock her out of the French Open given the fat that that another Aussie, Jelena Dokic, had Dementieva on the ropes in the second round. On Thursday, Dokic won the first set from Dementieva, 6-2, but injured her lower back during the second set and had to retire. (Dementieva said after that match that she didn’t think she would have won if Dokic had of continued.) Dokic’s Fed Cup teammate, the 30th-seeded Stosur, defeated a tired looking Dementieva, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, and advanced to the fourth round of the French for the first time.
So what about Americans and especially the American mens chances. Obviously they rest with Andy Roddick and he has one of the best draws in the tourney. With a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Marc Gicquel , the sixth-seeded Andy Roddick advanced to the fourth round for the first time in eight French Open appearances. Roddick has had a dismal record at Roland Garros but if you look at his opponents he has not had a grueling schedule. Roddick has had a cakewalk to the tournament’s second week. Coming into this event, his first two opponents—French wildcard Romain Jouan and Ivo Minar of the Czech Republic—had won a combined two matches in ATP Tour main draws this year. His next opponent, the Tunisia-born Frenchman, is a Top 50 player, but posed no great problems for Andy. Roddicks next opponent is Gail Monfils and this is a tough test so we will have to see but for right now we still have some hopes for an American man in this tournament.
The Stanley cup is finally here and I am going to have to go with the Detroit Red Wings to win it all. My big concern was goal tending for Detroit but Osgood has been outstanding, and not just against the offense-challenged Blue Jackets or the mediocre offense of Anaheim. He shut down the tremendous Chicago offense that still is third in playoff scoring average despite Osgood holding them to three or fewer goals in every regulation game.
The truth is the West is just miles above the East and it should show up again in this years Stanley Cup. There is a lot less defense played in the East, and the West is a lot tighter defensively. The Wings will have the ability to open up their offense against the Pens, while still playing tight defensively.
My pick for tonight is on the red wings in regulation +115
risking 50 to win 55
MY RECORD
TEASERS 6-2 +$67
PARLAYS 12-12 +$195
STRAIGHT WAGERS 18-15 +$116
HOCKEY 9-8 +$50
TENNIS 1-1 NO PROFIT OR LOSS
BASEBALL 6-8 -$33
SOCCER 0-2 – $46
OVERALL 54-50 +$303
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