I know many of you are getting prepared for Memorial Day barbecues this weekend, and that’s cool. But while you are thawing some burgers laced with pink slime I will be preparing my French Open bracquet (no typo). This year’s field of 128 has me particularly excited.
The Big Three (Sorry, Murray. You’re out.) are rolling to start the year. Djokovic put on a commanding performance at the Australian Open. Fed has four titles already this year, including one on the dreaded blue clay at the Madrid Masters. And Nadal continues to prove why he is the greatest clay court tennis player who ever lived (sorry, Bjorn), storming through the field in Rome last week.
In my opinion, any one of the Big Three would make a sensible championship pick. All of them should get through to the semis, with Federer having the toughest potential draw (an encounter with either Berdych or Del Potro in the quarters). However, successfully picking the semis does not win you a Grand Slam bracquet these days, my friend. The Big Three have made the Grand Slam semis something like 2,712 consecutive times. Bracquets are won during the first week. Let me help you with that.
My pick to join the Big Three in the semis this year is David Ferrer. At 5’9”, Ferrer has guts, a much improved serve and a clay court game to challenge all comers. He fought Nadal hard for a set last week in the semis, earning more than his fair share of chances (1 for 10 on break points in the 1st set). But gave way in a tight tiebreaker and then dumped the second set at love. Which, as I see it, is more of an affirmation of Nadal’s greatness than an indictment on Ferrer.
Also on my watch list -- John Isner. I know. I know. An American in Paris hasn’t won anything since a near sweep of the Academy Awards in 1951, but the big fella can compete on the dirt. With the best serve in the game, he can compete anywhere. If his Davis Cup performance against Federer this year didn’t convince you, then hopefully his Davis Cup heroics in Monte Carlo a month later did. While Isner’s results on clay have been fairly pedestrian when not competing for his country, the 10th seed has earned a friendly draw -- a clear path to the 4th where he could potentially meet the 20th seed, Marcel Granollers. Things could get considerably more difficult in the quarters where Mssr. Ferrer might be waiting.
Finally, my dark horse pick to make a deep run in Paris is another David. No, not Duchovny, the wiley Argentine -- Nalbandian. His current ATP ranking of 40 is no indication of his talent level. He has great touch, both at the net and with the droppers. In fact, his talent has never really been questioned. It’s his heart that has a shaky reputation. But at the age of 30 the guy can still run for days, and, whether you like it or not, he knows how to conserve energy in best-of-five set matches (17-13 in 5 setters). Not helping his cause is a potential 2nd round encounter with Mssr. Federer... but that’s what makes him a true dark horse, right?
In the end, I don’t think any of the Davids, or anyone else for that matter, can topple the Goliath of Roland Garros. Nadal wins his 7th French Open title.
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