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by Philipina A. Marcelo
I was much more "prepared" this time. I was home before the first match went on air, and with lots of healthy bites and drinks in stock as well. Game on!
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Roland Garros blown wide open for the women
Champ Agression. So, the defending champion, Francesca Schiavone, moved on to Round 4 as her opponent, Shuai Peng of China, retired in the second set with the score nailed at 6-3, 1-2. The Number 5 seed Schiavone was superior over her 29 seed opponent, and showed her usual shots variety on clay at the Suzanne Lenglen Court.
Nerves vs. Courage. Over at Philippe Chatrier, 8th seed Australian Samantha Stosur, with all her shotmaking arsenal, was looking all vulnerable against the gregarious Gisella Dulko of Argentina in the first set. The Australian bowed at 4-6 to the unseeded Argentine who showed her fantastic form on clay. Stosur then revived her hard-hitting player
self, coming back strong in the second set with a fantastic result of 6-1 while Dulko tried to steady herself courageously. The petite Argentine, who is half of the fantastic Penetta-Dolku women's doubles team, then proved herself up to the challenge, playing consistently well with her smart ball placements and serve-and-volleys, usually on display in her doubles matches. She forcefully broke Stosur and then shut the door to the nervy Australian with fiery assaults, winning the third set at 6-3! And so, Dolku went on to the fourth round, leaving Stosur as another big-name casualty! Biggest and most spectacular crash. And so, the Number One in the World, Caroline Wozniacki, will have to wait some more to take another shot at her first ever Grand Slam title as she went crashing - BIG TIME - in the third round at Roland Garros... and no one in Suzanne Lenglen was crying for her as she made her final exit on the first week. The woman who went out to do the irrepairable damage was Slovak Daniela Hantuchova... of all people! Yes, Hantuchova... she with an impressive variety of shots but who used to struggle -
painfully - to win the battle against her own nerves on court, and usually failed - frustrating to watch. She held her nerves this time, and stayed mostly solid on her attack, finishing the first set at 6-1 with a delightful variety of shots, surprising confidence and focus. Wozniacki, who seemed to be more interested in wow-ing tennis fans with her pink bra peeping through the see-through windows in the front of her blue dress, was completely stunned! I was awed by Hantuchova! They went into the second set with Hantuchova still red-hot, making Wozniacki running around, scampering to save points - to no avail. At some point, Wozniacki's frustration showed with another bitching to the umpire over how long Hantuchova was taking time between points - Hantuchova's own points anyway! :) And then, the Number One in the World angrily charged at Hantuchova while the latter was two games up on her serve. Hantuchova wavered... and I thought I saw a flash of the "old Hantuchova"... but she quickly regained balance and charged back - winning the game... and eventually the set, and the match, 6-1, 6-3! She then 
celebrated with the appreciative Suzanne Lenglen crowd while the defeated Wozniacki walked away, ignored by the crowd. Awesome! Now that the women's tennis lame, er, Dane diva is out, it's going to be high-quality tennis from now on - I'm sure of it! :) Let me guess, Wozniacki went crying in Fernando Verdasco's arms? C'mon, Caroline, the wonderful Ana Ivanovic had been there before when she was #1, too... we know what happened to her, and her career - what a pity. And you're showing all signs of Ivanovic-ish spontaneous combustion... at least, Ana won Roland Garros before she went on a decline... but it's great to see her coming back now. So, smart up, woman!
Genius vs. Big heart. As if the emotional seesaw in the Stosur-Dulko battle at Philippe Chatrier was not enough, it was followed by a fantastic match between the young German genius, Julia Goerges, and the 11th seed Marion Bartoli - the Frenchwoman with an Italian name. Bartoli was stunned in the first set by fantastic crisp and clean shotmaking from the gorgeous 18-seed genius. The German took the first
set, 6-3, with glorious shotmaking - too awesome! France's Number One was eager to give her French fans a great showing, and so, she regrouped and fought back in the second set, winning it with a 6-2 score, while the Gorgeous One blinked watery right eye that caught something in the air. The third set was a nail-biting affair for tennis fans. With Bartoli leading at 4-1 and on her serve, the Genius and the fighter with the Big Heart locked horns, going back and forth between deuce and one of them going one point up several times. Bartoli invested tremendous amount of effort and emotional energy to take the set to 5-1 before Goerges takes her turn to serve. But Goerges resisted with awesome returns, totally murdering Bartoli's second serves, and beautiful, beautiful winners that all looked effortless, it was hardly fair for Bartoli who was making all sorts of efforts to stay in the lead! But Bartoli's big heart prevailed, in spite of Goerges's 48 winners against her meager 14, winning the set... and the match, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. That's the way tennis should be played - great shotmaking and commitment from both women... pay attention, Caroline Wozniacki!
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Oh, man, what men!
*sigh* Men's tennis is too exciting compared to women's tennis... it's heartbreaking! Then again, maybe it's okay... let's just call it "eye candies con adrenalin rush feast"... that women can enjoy - tremendously! 'Cause that's what I've been doing! :)
That Ferrer affair. It's quiet, efficient, powerful, fast and a sure winner. No, I'm not talking about the new Mercedes-Benz S250, I'm talking about the Roland Garros run of David Ferrer - the "Other
Spaniard" who oozes awesomeness. But that comparison is not too inappropriate either 'cause that's what David Ferrer has been doing... when his name turns up in the draw, he is a sure bet to win, especially in these stages of the tournament. He just secured a place in the Round of 16 in another straight-set win - quietly, efficiently, powerfully, fastly but surely... plus the all-important Spaniard passion! It's a smooth clay affair so far for the No. 7 in the World, and I'm totally liking him, too! :) Vamos!Round of 16 safe landing... Roger that. The Serbian Janko Tipsarevic is usually an unpredictable player - in a good way to tennis fans, but in dangerous ways for his opponents! He serves great, with some
reliable aces when the situation calls for them. He can even use them to get out of trouble in a tight set. He is fast and aggressive, and can mix up shots to outmaneuver and outfox his opponents. But what is most dangerous about Tipsarevic for Roger Federer is that the Serbian National team-mate of Novak Djokovic has lofty ambitions... and he knows he's got the talents to accomplish them as well! Being faced with highly accomplished players like Roger Federer is not a challenge for him but rather an opportunity to 
measure up with men's tennis's great ones today, and he takes them with gusto as well. But Roger knows all this. And so, early on, he played smartly, turning all his game knobs to maximum, throwing winner after winner in Tipsarevic's half of the court... taking an early lead, 6-1 in the first set. Before Tipsarevic recovered from the early onslaught of killer shots, Roger resumed his attack in the second set. And as Tipsarevic found his way into the match to assert himself, Roger was already wrapping up the second set, taking it at 6-4. By the time Tipsarevic got his rhythm, Roger changed tactic, finishing his service games fast by unleashing aces to keep the 29 seed Serb at "re-start" mode, which eventually frustrated him, losing esteem and interest, and surrendering to El Maestro in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3, in only 90 minutes. Smart? Uh-huh.... Genius? Roger that!
Showman vs. The Man. It was only last year when Stanislas Wawrinka, one-half of the Swiss duo who won gold medal in the Beijing Olympics men's doubles in 2008 where the other half is Roger Federer, hit the gossip headlines when he reportedly left his young family to concentrate on his tennis career. He was then tauntedly called, "Stan, the Man". Since then he has improved his
serve, his speed, his one-hand backhand, and his shotmaking kit, affording himself a climb to the rankings, getting to #14 in the World today. But when he met the French flamboyant "Showman", Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, in Roland Garros, however, it didn't look like he had a chance. The fast and furious #17 in the World, banged in winner after winner at Stan Wawrinka's half of the court in the first set to the crowd's delight. While Stan quietly offered a lot of resistance, cutting Tsonga's big serves speed with his one-handed backhand, he was unable to stop Tsonga from taking the first set, 6-4. The "Showman" involved the willing crowd in his play, taking time to celebrate every point 
with relish. By the time they got into the second set, Wawrinka was asserting himself, taking the set to a tie break. But Tsonga and the crowd was much too much for his "all business" approach, losing the set to Tsonga at 7(7)-6(3). When the third set started, it surely looked like a straight-set win for Tsonga... until the turning point in the match. At 4-2 on Wawrinka's serve, the Swiss was trying to hold serve, and was engaged in a rally with the Frenchman. He sent a ball at the corner and followed it up quickly with an exquisite cross-court shot. Tsonga sprinted from the corner to catch the ball but it was too good for him, and fell on his face, dropping his racquet, on the clay. He stood up covered with the red clay powder. Stan Wawrinka celebrated quietly while Tsonga picked himself up minus the showmanship and dusted himself off, looking defeated. Little did anyone knew that that was how the match was going to end. Stanislas Wawrinka hauled himself from two sets down to a most spectacular five-set win against Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, 4-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-2, 6-3! "The Man" prevailed over "The Showman"! Awesome match!!
Fire vs. Megaforce. Hmmm... I don't recall seeing the 2009 US Open Champ, the hard-hitting Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, crossed swords with the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open Champ, the Serbian hotshot Novak Djokovic before. And I admit that although I've been waiting for
this tornado of a match to land in Roland Garros, I haven't really imagined how these two would match up. Both have great serves - well, now, at least, after Djoker improved his over the past months - and both have great variety of shots on court. While Nole has the bigger advantage on the mobility side, being leaner and more nimble, JMdP has "The Force" with him in his every shot. I like both men a lot, actually, even when both beat Roger Federer on big stages on certain occasions. :) And, I do remember RF mentioning JMdP specifically when asked a year ago about those with great potentials to dominate men's tennis. El Maestro praised the Argentine's powerful shots, which he said would take a lot of force and smart tactics if his opponents were to counter them. The Argentine famously prevailed over RF in the 2009 US Open, of course. And here we are, watching Nole Djokovic, the main man of the hour, trying to figure out how to stop the big man's big shots!The first set of their match saw Nole on top, 6-3. He asserted his fiery self early, and JMdP was testing the Djoke... seeing how fast he goes, how
strong he can return and how patient he was to retrieve points. He got a great idea now of the Djoke. And then the second set came... BOOM! Juan Martin del Potro in the house! I could almost hear the booming sound of his shots... and Djoker's beautiful fiery eyes were wide open in disbelief - he even double faulted! He was definitely feeling the heat! Every single point was faught like a championship point! Before people, including myself, could recover, the score board showed 5-2 - in JMdP's way! With that score, and on his serve, Djoker started talking to himself as he wasted a game point as he returned a JMdP smash as a drop shot that didn't go over the net - not a good sign! But Djoker held, and took the score to 5-3. At 15-40 on JMdP's serve, the huge Argentine served FOUR BIG ONES in a row to claim the second set, 6-3! Dang, it's TRULY GAME ON in Roland Garros! And then, the umpire called the the game for a postponement due to fading sunlight. Djoker hastily gathered his belongings and made his way to the dressing room, briefly stopping by to sign autographs for the fans - looking shaken! JMdP took his time in the court, and made his way out... looking relax! Why??? what did he find out about Djoker??? What????? Aaaargh, frustrating!
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Photo credit: All photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks.
