I wouldn't laugh at that. Just a stupid comment.

OMG, did JMcEnroe really say that Andy had a shot at winning Roland Garros? Please tell me that as soon as they hit the commercial break, Mac snorted Diet Coke out his nose and rolled around the clay in uncontrollable hysteria. The levels that commentators will stoop to pimp an American player are so embarrassingly pathetic. Remember way back when (sometime in the 80's, 86?) the only remaining American in the US Open draw was some schmoe named Tim Wilkison? The idiots in the booth tried to sell this 27-year-old journeyman as a "promising young American" You gotta wonder if McEnroe cares about his credibility. Or is it that his ego is so out of control that he thinks he can sh*t into a budvase and everyone will think it's an FTD bouquet??

Ooops I said this is the first time Roddick made the second round. I mean the second WEEK! But yes Bo..he did have the AUDACITY to include Roddick in the conversation as having a shot at the title. Please it was a matter of time before Roddick's run ended and I saw his little whine rant about him not being able to see. If he was winning he wouldn't have been sayin shyt!!! Can't believe he of all people called Monfils cocky. Both of them have personalities that irk my nerves but I'm glad Monfils sent Roddick packing!!

Wow--Davydenko got flattened. Shows how much I know. I think Twohander may be onto something about the court speed this year, although the French fluctuates depending on the weather. It was pretty fast the year Kafelnikov won, I think.

It's been said, unlike Nadal breaking Evert's Roland Garros winning streak. Would Federer have gotten through the fourth round here if Sunday's Robin Soderling was his opponent? Hell no. And has Federer ever faced an opponent playing the kind of tennis Soderling was in the early rounds of a major? Not that I can remember.

I realize this is moot, though, and that it's apples and Greatest Orange of All Time. Outside of Roland Garros at least, the intimidation factor that comes with Federer's singular utter mastery has been key to his dominance as much as any draw. No one else has it. (The intimidation, and the mastery.)

1, 3, and 1. Those are some numbers. I'm not buying it from Soderling though unless he wins the whole thing.

We've seen plenty of surprising players come up with lights-out tennis at the majors, though usually in Australia, not France. Winning the whole thing is another entirely. Soderling still has a lot of growing up to do. He'll grow up fast or never.



That sounds eerily familiar.

Monfils demonstrated some pretty lame sportsmanship on court. He got the Frenchies cheering after a rather average point involving a Roddick error. I found it rather shitty, but Roddick should not have let it bother him.

I really dislike it when the home court pros treat the majors like Davis Cup. It's low rent whether it comes from the French or the Americans.

That said, Monfils is such a goofball -- couldn't agree with you more that Roddick shouldn't have let it bother him. He's always been a hot head.

Thats called home court/field advantage babe. Just in the way that Sampras and Agassi and Roddick and Blake have fed off of it at the US Open, the way that Hewitt has fed off it at the Australian Open, the way that Henman fed off of it at Wimbledon. Thats the case with every sport. They don't call it home court/field advantage for nothing. Anything to help you along. I mean hell they have Stosur and Cirstea on Chatrier tomorrow and Serena/Kuznetsova on Lenglen. Thats home court advantage.

Anywho...now that Gonzalez has taken care of Muzza...Federer doesn't even have him to worry about now. But the way that Soderling absolutely THRASHED Davydenko makes you wonder.

There is a difference in revving up the crowd after a great point, hitting a winner, forcing a error with great play... but the point that Monfils did it was after an unforced error into the net... It just was not classy at all.

I don't care that the Frenchies are rooting for their man- but for him to do that at after that point was a bit chumpish. Not to say that Roddick wasn't a chump for being a little whiny brat... which he has a tendency to do.

I guess I'm old school and maybe quaint on this subject, but the majors are international events, not matches between two teams. Blatantly and shamelessly milking host advantage is unsporting in my book.

Monfils likely won't be able to do that with the same success against Federer for a number of reasons.

Don't mind at all eating my words about Murray. Gonzo is a great clay court player, and I'm glad he won.

Call me crazy, but I don't think it was so insane for McEnroe to at least include Roddick in the *conversation* about possible champions after Nadal went out. He was the most accomplished player left in the draw, other than Federer, and had recently racked up a win over Haas in Madrid.

Sure, the idea of Roddick being successful at Roland Garros is insane, but it's not like Murray, Kohlschreiber, Soderling, Tsonga or even del Potro had ever made it past the 3rd round here before this year. He's lost weight and is moving better than before. I could totally see a scenario where Monfils' "injury" came back to haunt him, Federer's inside-out forehand down break point in the 3rd set missed against Haas, and Roddick somehow faced Tommy Robredo in the semis. Roddick is 10-0 against Robredo in his career. And no, he would not beat Gonzo in the final, but Robin?

I know everyone loves to hate Andy, but he's still a top-10 player and has one of the most dangerous weapons in the game. Anyway, no, he was never going to win this tournament, but what do you know - neither were Djokovic, Davydenko, Murray, or Nadal.

PHEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That first set was the key. I couldn't even watch the tiebreak, it was so tense. I knew that Roger would take the match after he pulled that first set out.

omg, i just realized .... Roger actually has a shot at winning this thing!

What a clown this Monfils, and I don't mean in the affectionate "My Funny Valentine" way. Monfils played at being clever but Federer is by far the smarter player.

When Monfils kept floating back second-serves on break points early on, you could tell where this one was headed -- if you didn't already know going in.

Next Federer likely has Del Potro, a pigeon for him who actually was just quoted saying something along the lines of "I'm playing well, but it would be great to see Federer win the French Open." Pencil Federer in for the final.

It's looking like we're going to get the fairy tale outcome of this tournament. Federer can get what has been denied him, to phrase it in popular terms. Even Soderling has been quoted a few days back that he can't help thinking ahead about reaching the final (not that he can't help thinking ahead about winning the tournament).

Federer is a different Federer now. He waxes and wanes between the vicious finesse and shotmaking brilliance of old, and error patches where he looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. When he grabs hold of his talent it's great.

But because of the latter aspect I had hoped he'd be seriously challenged (sorry, but Tommy Haas doesn't cut it), so we could see him draw on something new.

When Gonzo cheated at the Olympics I pretty much stopped caring for/about him. Even if Soderling wins his semi (he's got a years'-old losing streak against Gonzo and has never beaten him on clay) he'd have to enter the final in a different frame of mind than other hot streak finalists. I'm not expecting Federer to be tested. Coronation time.

Key to Federer's success this clay season is the fact that he scheduled more wisely than all the rest. Some say Nadal wasn't fatigued or played no different a schedule (not really true when you take the newness of Madrid and the fact he crashed out of Italy in 08 into contention). He and Djokovic played themselves by taking on more tourneys than the rest. If you look back at Federer's interviews around Monte Carlo/Italy time, you'll see that he sensed all this could go down this way and he could use momentum to his advantage. He is savvy.

To boot, if Federer and an in form Djokovic had met in the semis, I still think Roger was a likely victor. And he was running a psych game on Rafa by broadcasting new tactics he was going to bring to the table for the matchup that never happened. Nadal got blindsided. Again, savvy.

With Federer in the second half of his career and Nadal a different kind of #1 who has to work much harder to maintain, what these guys play and don't play will become more and more of a chess game. Murray and Djokovic are a long way behind the top two in that regard.

And not just the Final, but looks like he's finally gonna get his French Open. The Monfils match was the one of the most concern, because Monfils is basically a Poor Man's Nadal on clay. Federer owns everyone left, and when any of them get to the Final it'll be an unfamiliar place for most (Gonzo has been to one). Major Finals are basically Federer's Home Away From Home. This title is on Federer's racquet. The only way he can lose now is if he chokes or gets injured, because he's better than the other three left in it.

Nadal was better than everyone else. So no crowning until it's game set match. Remember, ever since the mono hit, Fed has been weaker and vulnerable. He might finally be over it...we won't know until Sunday.

As far as being tested....Wimbledon and hard courts will provide plenty of opportunity, even if somehow the semis and then finals wouldn't. But the pressure will be there since the path is so open to win it finally.

HA! Okay, THAT was funny! Bravo.

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So Soderling and Gonzo battle it out for 5 sets and Soderling comes through 6-4 in the fifth. Soderling was down 1-4 in the fifth so Gonzo really blew his chance at another final. Assuming Fed gets past Del Potro, I guess its fitting that if Federer can't beat Nadal at this tournament that the next best thing is gonna be having to take down the guy who did beat Nadal.

I am not so sure. The way Soderling is playing....
Monfils didn't look that good.

An ugly thought---what if Soderling beats Federer for the title... ugh

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Federer not looking sharp at all in this match. He lost the first set at 3.
Agh. Another ugly thought that he doesn't make it to the final.
He came really close to losing the second set.

WTF is Federer doing? Finally levels and then gets broken to start the third? He is pissin me off with this play.

Del Potro may have been saying it would be great for Fed to finally win the French but he sure isn't playing like he wants Fed to do so. Good on him but damn Roger..get it together.

10:08 AM PST - Federer now down 2 Sets to 1. Fourth Set just starting

Del Potro doing a very good job returning the Federer serve. And he's winning a large number of the Backhand to Backhand rallies.

10:45 AM -

Federer takes the 4th Set 6-1. 5th Set underway

I think its worth repeating that 20 straight grand slam semis is SICK!!!

I see Anna Wintour is back in the Rogelio box.

Fed in total cruise control now. That last shot for game point to go 2-0 was vintage Fed.

And with that forehand winner, Federer vs Soderling on Sunday. For Fed, it would solidify the GOAT/Best Player Ever!!! No pressure Rogelio. No pressure.

He did it!

(Tho with more than a little help from the disgraceful Paris crowd, from what I'm reading here and there.)

Nice try to Pony. I touted him to breakthrough at the start of this season, but going in to this match because of his remarks didn't think he had what it takes mentally (essentially: the ability to tune out EVERYTHING) for the win.

Today was a chance for him to start writing his own history, but he didn't quite pull it off.

More than understandable, all things considered.

It looks more and more like we're gonna get the Hollywood -- make that Paris? -- Ending.

Roger and Robin both win in five - Wow! This has turned out to be one heck of a FO...I imagine both Roddick and Nadal are eagerly looking forward to the grass - Roger on Sunday is must see TV!

And Federer pulls it out in five. Del Potro couldn't quite shake off the choking after breaking back early in the 5th. At 3-3 he served at 0-40, missed every first sevre from that moment on, still got back to Deuce, the gagged the break back with a Double Fault. Even saved a Match Point when serving at 5-3. But credit to him - given he'd never won a set from Federer prior to today, he pushed Roger to the brink.

And Soderling proved he's for real, holding his nerves just when it seemed they'd betray him. The Final is still on Fed's racquet, but given how Federer's had his lapses in this tournament, who'd be totally shocked if the Swede took it all?

By the way: anyone know if a player has taken out both Federer AND Nadal in the same Major??

Good question voicemale...although I'm tempted to say bite your tongue. But that would be one hell of an Aflac Trivia question several years from now if Soderling manages to win Sunday.

I know this comes up every year, but man NBC's coverage and ESPN's is awful for this slam. All of these tape delays and then rushing ahead sets is ridiculous. The Tennis Channel's coverage with their French Open Mix channel was pure joy. I know its important to have the latter stages on regular tv so the cable-less can watch it, but they need to come up with a way to have it live instead of this taped crap.

I watched only portions of the Soderling match today. At one point one of the commentators said Soderling isn't very popular among his peers, but he never followed up. Does anyone know why the other players don't like Soderling? He seems to be a good guy. Thanks.

Basically, he took advice from Mats Wilander to "punk" everyone in the locker room; his attempt to "act" like "you're THE guy". It's supposed to be a sign of being unintimidated to others. It's a psy-ops attempt, based on Wilander's own personal observations when he started on the tour at 16. Mats was hugely terrified and intimidated by the likes of McEnroe, Connors, Nastase, et.al. The problem for Soderling is that his punking doesn't sell in the ATP Locker Room. Guys like Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, Roddick..all of them have had WAY better careers than Soderling, who's late blooming at 24. It's hard to punk a guy who knows he's just better than you, and it would only work if nobody was on to your attempt to punk them. The ATP Locker Room knows he hasn't walked the walk and he's trying to "fake it 'til he makes it". Soderling's attempt at openly bucking up his confidence to hide his terror is nothing more than an amusement to the other guys.

Now that the Final is set, I'm wondering what each of these guys is thinking about how to approach the match. What their inner monologue might be like....

SODERLING: "Boy, my stomach. OK. I'm a wreck, but you know..he might be one too. He's chasing a historical achievement. And.. I've won six matches to get here too, just like him. And my matches, frankly, have been a less work than his. I mean, I just beat the world's best clay court player last week! He's not playing like he used to play, at least not as consistently. And his Return Game has dropped way off from what it was. OK, so I have to do what Rafael does against him: just stay with him. I'm gonna just hold my serve, and not worry too much about trying to break his at first. Shot-to-shot, my serve is better than his. Forehand? His is better, although mine's not that bad. Backhand? Mine's better on this surface. So I have two shots with the edge to his one. OK. I'm gonna serve every single time to his backhand to start, open the forehand, and then go back to his backhand short in the court to take him off the court. Even if he gets to it, he'll have to go for a Winner from there, and he'll be running to get to it so I won't have to look at the Short Slice of his to the forecourt. Make him run that pattern all day long. If I can win the first set, that's the most important thing. It'll give him something to think about. So that's my plan: hold my serve, and eke out the first set. He's too good for me, but if I can stay with him on the scoreboard, anything can happen. Maybe he'll start to feel the pressure a little bit, and I'll get some chances. Maybe my only one."



FEDERER: "When I win tomorrow I'm gonna be back to being called THE GREATEST PLAYER TO EVER HAVE PICKED UP A RACQUET!!!!! I LOVE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now that I had the Majorcan Motherf**ker kneecapped in practice (my middle name is Tanya )..NOTHING IS GONNA STAND IN MY WAY!! OMG - I love me so much!!! Those wretched unwashed masses in the stands..how lucky they are to witness such beauty and grace as me!!! ME!! - THE FEDERER!! I know how much I'd love to be in the stands watching my artistry at work!!! I wonder who wishes it more: them wishing they were me, or me wishing I was them !!! OMG - a thought just struck me: I'll have a sculpture of me made to put in some city. Wait - maybe...a lot of sculptures of me made to put in a lot of cities!!!!! THAT'S IT!!!! Memo to Godsick - start soliciting bids from cities for the privelege of buying and displaying my statue. Cash preferred. Trade offs are possible - land, 5-Star Hotels, Car Dealerships (NO GM or Chrysler ones), etc. - if cash is short. I mean, some people are having a recession now . Hmm...what image should I use for the statue?? I KNOW!! THE ANNIE LIEBOWITZ shot of ME in the the Suit of Armor!! PERFECT!! (memo: change sword to a Wilson K Six One). What cities should they go too?? Hmm..Well Basel for sure. Some wretched place in South Africa too - for the press, to make me look magnanimous. Oh - one free one to each of the McEnroes - they're the ones who started all the ME as the GOAT stuff a few years ago - I'm so glad they & Sampras hate each other so much . BECAUSE I BENEFIT !!!!! Gotta put statues in New York, Miami, London..Oh wait..I know..MANNACOR!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!! Make Rafael have to look at me for the rest of his miserable grunting lefty topspin, weak-kneed, fractured foot, grind me into the dust life OMG - I WISH I DIDN'T HAVE TO BE ME SO I COULD ENJOY WATCHING ME!. OMG- so glad I have Tivo"

It's worked on or ruffled Nadal, don't you think? Twice now. And Rafa is no delicate flower when it comes to psyching up for matches and taking on opponents.

As for Federer, I remember reading that Soderling deliberately bumped into him during a changeover in an indoor match once. Think of it: being physically rude to polite Federer. It didn't stop Federer from owning him. This was before any of the Nadal drama. (Though Soderling and Nadal go way back as junior players. There's a picture of them standing together as teens that would be funny to dig up.)

The Nadal-Soderling thing reminds me of the old days of Nastase, so I like it that you bring it up VM. As a Rafa fan, I should hate Soderling, but I get a weird kick from their scraps. Something that turned me off of tennis for a lot of the Sampras era and the Federer era was how smooth and media-ready the personalities are (at least the surface perception). For example, Federer-Roddick is like watching a less funny The Itchy and Scratchy Show -- could it be more predictable? Soderling and Nadal are quirky to say the least.

Soderling has been branded a loner, which I find kind of interesting and possibly resonant in this forum.

He used to bring a smug snarl to that role, but now he seems more committed to making his racquet do the talking. Will it last?

Nadal didn't look especially bothered by Soderling in Rome a month ago when he shellacked the Swede 60 61. Had Robin played Nadal tightly then, his win over Nadal would make more sense. But as it was, the Soderling we saw in Rome wasn't anything like the one we've seen in Paris. Go figure.

Agree with the last part though. And maybe it's because Soderling is more mentally shaped now by Magnus Norman and not Mats Wilander.

So with the conditions being different this weekend then they have been (i.e. heavier conditions) which player does that favor?

My guess would be Federer.

He always fared well at Hamburg, where the clay conditions were heaviest.

And heavier conditions make it that much harder for Soderling to hit through him.

Uh oh...Mary Carillo just asked John McEnroe about the pressure he felt playing in his first GRAND SLAM final. And Ted Robinson just mentioned that Federer has played in 15 of the last 16 GRAND SLAM finals. Somebody's head may have just exploded.

Looks like I'll be able to get out to the gym in about 90 minutes...Soderling looks like he could be done quicker than Zvereva.

Wow....just the start Roger needed. I was so nervous at the start of this match because Roger has been struggling with his return game. I felt as though the first set was so important to set the tone of the match. If Roger runs through this first set, it'll be a very good sign. I'm not nearly as nervous as I was 10 minutes ago.

A Return Game is made much easier to execute when your opponent is getting his First Serve in less than 20% of the time. That helps you win the first set in less than 20 minutes, which is what just happened

WHAT THE f**k WAS THAT?!!!! ALL OF THESE YEARS AFTER MONICA AND A CRAZY MOTHERf**kER CAN GET THAT CLOSE TO A PLAYER? THAT COULD'VE BEEN SOME CRAZED RAFA FAN DETERMINED NOT TO SEE ROGER WIN TODAY!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!

The security guard who ended up tackling the douche? Awesome tackle.

Is Snicks in Paris?

Seriously, how the hell does that happen? I can't believe Roger didn't club that guy with his raquet! He could have stabbed Roger a dozen times before security got to him.

Well at least Roger held to stay on serve. I'm sure his heartbeat and pressure were unsettled after that incident. If the match swung on that, I would've killed that guy!!!!!

Apparently, it was this clown known for disrupting sporting events. Harmless but Roger didn't know that...nor did anyone else.

This is the first time I can remember that a crowd wants a Grand Slam final to be over quickly.

Well they love him...they love Roger and they want to see him win this championship. Even these fans know what kind of history is at stake and for them to be witnesses to see him get the career slam, tie Pete Sampras for the most slams, and do it on the surface Pete could never win. So many storylines.

Yeah obviously...but I would think that they'd want to at least see a reasonably competitive match. I think the psycho really helped make the second set as close as it was..This match probably would have been over a half hour ago but for that incident.

THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME!!!! LET IT OUT FED!!!! So happy for him.
The Net Jets commercial was right out of the gate with their commercial. Great commercial.

Steffi presented the ladies trophy and Andre presented the men's and you could clearly see him say that he was so happy for Rogelio!!

Ugh!!!!! I didn't think this moment was going to happen for him. So so happy!! Think there's any chance he retires if he wins Wimbledon?

GOAT

in our lifetime. We got to witness history. That was an awesome display of mastery of the game of tennis. I'm sort of glad it wasn't a dogfight. He proved that he is truly the best. A CAREER SLAM! Not many people will ever achieve that. And there is no asterisk because he didn't beat Nadal to get it. That's tennis!

So relieved that he won....

Yeah, let the tears flow. This is wonderful.

Umm no...after the joy of Roger finally winning his French I am not about to watch the heartbreak of seeing him lose Wimbledon last year. Time to turn the channel. I guess it wasn't worth putting on the women's final. Couldn't they have put on any of the doubles final matches?

I think that was Roger's best match since beating Murray in the US Open last year. Glad to see him win it.

I agree there should be no asterisk. If that were the case, I'd put an asterisk next to Sampras's two wins over Pioline, Andre's win over Medvedev, Mac's Wimbledon win over Lewis at Wimbledon, Lendl's win over Edberg in Australia when Edberg retired, etc. The fact of the matter is that Roger was the only person who didn't lose a match at the French this year.

No. He's said for the last couple of years he fully plans to play the tour for the next 5-7 years. Unless his body gives out on him, or he loses his motivation, there's no reason to think he won't continue playing.

I know Roger has mentioned the goal of being able to play the London 2012 Olympics on grass...

Unquestionably the best player of the Open Era, despite his pathetic record against Nadal. Impossible to say if he was better than Laver who I think is his only real challenger in the "all time" category. Two Grand Slams a decade apart? Remarkable.

Super happy for Fed. VM he has the right to have that inner monologue. Now it's up to Rafa to win the US Open, and up the ante just a bit...