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by Philipina A. Marcelo
Newsbreak: Just saw the live press conference of FIFA President Sepp Blatter in Zurich. *sigh* He looked like he was trying to keep his head above hot soup in a pressure cooker there... and
was in a big hurry to escape! He took a defensive posture as he faced accusations that while he may not be directly involved in corrupt activities, he had been ignoring corruption in FIFA. But he did insist that, amidst all the Qatar World Cup 2022 bribery talks, "FIFA is not in crisis." Uh, what? Come again, Mr. Blatter. Have you been "around" FIFA lately, sir? Journalists were disappointed by Mr. Blatter's failure to show fangs and hardline commitment to bite-off corruption heads in FIFA. Hmmm... it's going to be a long week for Sepp Blatter for sure as the FIFA Congress convene on Wednesday. Good luck to him... and the football world! *sigh****
Back to the Roland Garros business
There's so much to do... and hobbies have to take the back seat as usual. Just when I finally paid decent amount of attention to this blog - and enjoying it, too, immensely, fate is bidding me to take a few "days off" from it and mind a "crisis" brewing. Bummer! And since I don't think Sepp Blatter is a good example in "crisis management", I'm compelled to take the "days off". *sigh* But I do have a few more minutes to write this entry, after all, it's that period in the tournament when the two halves of the draw combine for the Round of 16 in Roland Garros. And everyone seemed to be in a hurry to get the Round of 16 done and over with!
So, game on! :)
All-Swiss affair. Sorry, Fed... I was busy savoring the "Messi Magic" and the "Barҫa Day in Wembley", my mind flew as I watched you take care of "Stan, the Man" yesterday. Don't lie now, you were happy you didn't have to play on Saturday, weren't you? huh, fellow football fan? :)
So, Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka spin in the Round of 16. It was a contest of one-handed backhands, big serves and serve-and-volleys. It looked like Stan, who is being coached by RF's former coach, had the more powerful backhand there, but Fed's was more precise and he
moved better on court to put his backhand to a better use, too. It was puzzling though how Stan could haul himself from two sets down in that raucous match with Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in the third round, and then go very subdued and looking without a fight against RF. Is The Man intimidated by El Maestro? Hmmm... he did look like he was thinking about an "against Tsonga" comeback in the third set... RF seemed to have sensed it, and he locked himself in the zone and hurriedly finished the match with a 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 straight sets win.Aside from the All-Swiss affair and the David Ferrer and Gael Monfils match postponement for the next day, Day 8 was nothing special. Novak Djokovic, of course, took care of business... sending "local guy", Richard Gasquet, to his Round 4 exit from Roland Garros this year in straight sets win of 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. It was easy, considering he got "shaken" by Juan Martin del Potro's huge shots previously and had to concede a set - for the first time in the tournament.
Seriously, I am not sure what or who could stop The Djoker from winning Roland Garros this year. RF looked like he's hardly sweated so far, showed his impressive shots repertoire, and his game has been impeccable as well, but does his tank have enough mileage to cover a four-
setter or a five-setter in case the Djoker would be in the mood to wow the French crowd a la Tsonga? We know the "old Djoker" was prone to something like that, too... but this is a new Djoker we're dealing with here. Anyway, before any confrontation with Djoke, El Maestro has to take care of the mini ball of fire, Gael Monfils first in the quarter-finals, actually... and with the crowd blowing to propel the Frenchman's sail for sure, too! And, I know I have my clay money on Rafa Nadal to clinch his sixth French Open title to equal the Great One, Bjorn Borg's record... but after watching Nole make Juan Martin del Potro surrender with a shake of the head as if he didn't know what hit him, he totally looked unstoppable. And Rafa is looking a bit like it has been a real effort for him to stay alive... not moving as nimbly and fast as Le Djokeur. Hmmm... I really hope to get back to my hobby soon! :)The end of the Ferrer affair. Who would have thought? Who would have thought that it's going to be the ever inconsistent Gael Monfils who would put an end to the steady Spaniard trigger David Ferrer's run in
Roland Garros this year? Certainly not me! But after the two mismatched warriors - personality wise - went two sets even, with the momentum on David Ferrer having won the fourth set, 6-1, I thought it was a Ferrer win for sure. And then, the Frenchman, with impressive winners and good serves, brought the fifth set to 5-3... with two match points! Unbelievable! But the 9th seed Frenchman was unable to finish it up. David Ferrer brought it to 6-6. At the extension, Monfils once again had another match point, which he again squandered with a lot of pressure from Ferrer. And then, on his serve, Ferrer committed heartbreaking unforced 
errors, one after another - very, very expensive ones, too... giving the set, and the match (6-4, 2-6, 7-5, 1-6, 8-6) to Monfils! How incredible! Whew!Roger Federer once commented that Gael Monfils is a very talented player and has a lot of potential to get to the top, if he could stay focused on his game, that is. I agree completely... when he's concentrating, Monfils could create great variety of shots - more than Andy Murray is capable of, just because the lad has to divide his energy between winning and overcoming boredom on court - and then, he shifts to a Tsonga-like crowd-pleasing showmanship... and that's it, he loses concentration and kills his own game! Therefore, it has always been very hard for me to support him, because he seemed to be more interested in having childish fun on court rather than in winning, giving away crucial points to his opponents. After seeing him topple the 7th seed Spaniard earlier though, it looked like he's decided to take winning seriously now. Ironically, it's going to be El Maestro himself who will find out tomorrow.
The Swede swayed! I really like Robin Soderling - very much! :) I like the way he keeps things simple on court, almost clinical
in winning matches... and then gets creative, even shows Viking-like aggression, when challenged. Whatever the situation though, he's almost always composed... celebrates points with quiet fist pumps with a pursing of the lips that shows his dimples... and so, you thought he smiled, but not really! :) And then back to business... winning. :)But in his fourth-round match with Gilles Simon - the Frenchman who gained fame (or notoriety, depending on your RF fanatism level) by almost ousting Roger Federer in the second round of the US Open last year - I was surprised to see him show extreme amount of emotion after the match, even when he won in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, 7(7)-6(5)! It's the same kind of emotion RF showed when he finally broke to escape ouster by Simon in the
2010 US Open! Hmmm... Simon-induced extreme emotion? Interesting! I think it's more of a show of "wanting" to stay in the tournament... and eventually win it! And he's well-capable of doing that as well. The two-time Roland Garros runner-up who has beaten both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer is not Number 5 in the World for nothing! And he will face the King of Clay in the quarter-finals! Nadal, for his part, countered an Ivan Ljubicic challenge with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 win.Sharp Sharapova. Yes!! I survived the screaming and the shrieking of Maria Sharapova as she powered her way past the 12th seed Agnieszka Radswanska of Poland, 7(7)-6(4), 7-5, to advance to the quarter-finals. It was worth it, she was brilliant - I mean it. :) She wants to win this, it's very evident by the way she saved each point and made each winner. I say she's got a good shot at it, too! C'MON!!! :)
A murmur for Murray... ... and it isn't a prayer either! Dude, play tennis - brilliant, jaw-dropping, killer tennis! And tell your Mum to stay home while you show Viktor Troicki who is Number 4 in the World tomorrow, alright? You only have one shot... go hot and stay hot, dammit!
Uhm, ahem, ahem... go, get him, lad! :)
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Photo credit: All photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks. :)
