BY
FOLKERT HESSE
The first two clay court tournaments are finished and as I expected the winners carry a Spanish passport. First it was a dominant Nadal who lost only 14 games on his way to a 6th straight title in Monte Carlo. And now it is Fernando Verdasco, the finalist in Monaco, who took the title in Barcelona.
Even though some of the big names (Federer, Del Potro, Davydenko, Roddick) did not play in these two tournaments, the first two clay court tournaments gave us a good indication, who will be among the contenders at the French Open this year. I see 4 names that are very likely to go deep into the draw at Roland Garros. First of al it is Nadal, who gained confidence over the last tournaments and has to be considered a clear favorite for the French Open. Then it is Fernando Verdasco, who reached two finals on clay and won one of them. He might be ready for a big win against a top 4 player at the French. And then it is David Ferrer, who always fights like a warrior on clay and deserves to reach a semi-final at the French. Nr. 4 is Robin Soderling, who does not have the typical clay-court game (and is the only one without a Spanish passport…), but proved last year already that he can dominate players with his hard an flat ground-strokes, even on the clay-courts at Roland Garros.
But there is another new name, who made a strong impression at Barcelona. Thiemo De Bakker, from the Netherlands might be the new kid on the block in this year’s clay-court season. He beat Tsonga in Barcelona and will improve his ranking a lot with his semi-final appearance in Barcelona. Let’s see if he can keep his momentum in Rome.
But it will be even more interesting to see if Federer can find his form in Rome. He will run into Nadal in the semi finals already and if he and Nadal really get there, we will see how good Nadals win in Monte Carlo really was. And if Roger is able to get back into shape by the push of a button.
F. HESSE HESSE TENNIS TRAINING High Performance Training and Coaching for Top Juniors and Professionals
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You are right, man!
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