Any of you guys going to FL to see the matches? If so, let me know. I'll be there beginning Friday and wouldn't mind meeting up with some fellow Outsporters.

GO MONICA! This is only my second time at seeing Monica play (provided she makes it to the quarters....fingers crossed). I am VERY EXCITED.

Ok, my week has been ruined. Monica has pulled out of the B&L tourney with another foot injury. Probably the same injury from last year.

While I am upset that I won't get to see her play live, I just hope her injury is minor and that she is back on court soon.

GO MONICA!!!

I was so bummed this morning to read that Monica pulled out. I hope she's just being cautious and that it's nothing as severe as last year. I was hoping to see her and Pierce go at it on clay...Damn, this is definitely cause for concern for us Monica fans..Does anyone have the URL for the Bausch and Lomb Tournament?

Bausch & Lomb Homepage

I just read where this tourney measured the service T improperly for a match...Kremer vs. Hopkins. Kremer double faulted like 16 times, to 13 from Hopkins.

But they are letting the match stand.

Guess the Bausch and Lomb won't be making it to a Tier I level anytime soon!

Kind of ironic that this would happen at an event where the sponsor makes eye care products. I am amazed the players didn't notice. 3 feet is a major difference. I'd be willing to bet that most of the top players would have picked up on it pretty early on.

The business with the incorrectly lined court is hysterical. Although perhaps Kremer and Hopkins weren't so amused. Either way, it's bye-bye time for Ms. Kremer. She plays Amelie "I took an entire month off" Mauresmo in the next round.

Just looked at the draw and was bummed to see Amelie slated to meet Venus in yet another semi, should seeding hold. Anna K. is in the top section of the draw as well, facing Suarez in her opener. That's a tough assignment on clay.

Go Amelie!

How could they not have noticed the short court immediately? Three feet? Hellllllo? I can't believe they'd let the result stand; that's pathetic.

bye bye Anna - Suarez is too good on clay to expect Anna to pull through this first rd match....

Now that Monica is unfortunately out, I'm rooting for Mary Pierce to regain some glory and cut a swath through the draw....We know how good she can be on clay and so do the rest of the players...

[quote] Either way, it's bye-bye time for Ms. Kremer. She plays Amelie "I took an entire month off" Mauresmo in the next round.

---

Maybe that should be Amelie "I shouldn't have taken an entire month off and got so rusty that I was unable to win ONE MATCH in a tournament I won last year" Mauresmo.

Amelie Mauresmo 6 2 3
Anne Kremer 3 6 6

Good grief

I sure can pick 'em. Maybe Amelie will start losing matches after leading 6-1, 5-1 next.

Go Anna! (She hasn't lost yet, has she?)

Dejectedly yours,
G4G

Amelie, Hantuchova, and Schiavone are all out...! Already! Clay courts always bring surprises with them. Maybe Anna will win her first tourney!

I think the real question is whether Venus can regain her winning ways during the transition to clay. If Seles were still in the mix, I'd call her a co-favorite...but as is, it's hard to call who's going to go all the way to the final during this first big clay court tournament... Dokic, Henin, ASV? Or is Venus just the out and out favorite?

Given that Venus has been shaky her last two tournaments and is on her weakest surface, I don't think she's an overwhelming favorite. On the other hand, with Seles & Mauresmo out Venus' draw to the final looks pretty easy (though Testud beat her last time, and Suarez could be trouble if she gets sloppy) . Dokic seems to have regained form and has had some good results on clay--she might win here. I hope clay-court season will revive Henin, but I'm worried. I'd also love to see Mary upset Dokic, but I doubt it will happen.

I'm very surprised by Amelie and Schiavone (she's normally very good on clay), less so by Hantuchova. Husarova's a pretty good player, and Hantuchova's game doesn't seem well suited to clay. Farina Elia is quite good on clay, and could go deep into the tournament. ASV could do well, but has a difficult draw with Dementieva this round and probably Dokic after that.

Is this being televised?

Anna got dusted by Suarez. I'm going to start following professional checkers. I can't take it anymore!

Yes! The last three days will be televised. Friday at 1pm (EDT) on ESPN2, Saturday at 2pm on ESPN, and Sunday at 1 on ESPN. Unfortunately, I'll be working all those times. D'oh!

As to who can beat Venus: Dokic is the safest bet by far. Henin is also quite good on dirt, but her results recently have been extremely lackluster. Still, she's capable. As is Mary Pierce, Dokic's opponent this evening.

Finally, don't count out Anne Kremer. She's a giant killer, having beaten Mauresmo yesterday and Dokic pretty much every other tournament this year. If she can somehow pull this tournament out, it will be an amazing story, and huge for the entire Luxembourg women's tennis community. Oh wait, she is the entire Luxembourg women's tennis community.

I'm glad I'm not the only one obsessed enough to pay attention to these smaller tourneys. I spend way too much time checking scores during the day. Sheesh.

Anyway, I'm so disappointed with Anna losing again. I didn't say surprised, mind you. Suarez is having a pretty good run. Shaugnessy, what happened? She's my fav up and comer. She's also a member of what I thought was gonna be the next big doubles team with Henin, but they lost their doubles match. And as long as I'm venting, what's with Henin? Is she losing steam? She just squeaked through her singles match.

I thought Seles had decided ahead of time that she wasn't playing this tournement. I didn't hear about the foot injury. I hope it's not serious, but I do remember her saying that after the Nasdaq tourney she was gonna have some time off. She didn't really just mean one week, did she? I hope she's fit to win the French.

Can Dokic just fall out of the top 10 already? She is totally over rated. I hope Pierce routes her when they finally get to play their rain delayed match.

It's not like me to root for the #1 seed, but I hope Venus walks away with it and tells her dad to can the retirement talk.

Whew. I feel better. That's all for now.

Ouch. Pierce got smacked! I wonder if her abdomin is still bothering her?

But after playing last night, Dokic may have to play two matches today... if it ever stops raining there.

Is anyone fit enough to cram all these matches in the end of the week and still beat Venus? I don't think so.

Did anybody see Henin-Dokic? I know Dokic was sick, but was Henin in good form? If she's on her game, she is capable of beating Venus on clay. She's done it before, and even on faster surfaces, she's pushed Venus to three sets a few times. Henin hasn't looked impressive in months, but back on her favorite surface, has she pulled it together?

Wow! Venus is currently getting her butt kicked this morning courtesy of Justine Henin, who seems to have Venus' number on clay. Already taken a set from Venus now and leading 2-0 in the second set as I write this.

What a turnaround! After trailing 6-2 4-0, Venus became a whole different player. And she won the second set 7-5.

Wow! And Henin is still playing well.

Holy Moly! What a match. Venus eked out that win 7-6 (7-5) in the third.

Wow! I'm so glad I saw that.

She sounds so winded.

Henin for the most part handed this victory to Venus. She made critically timed unforced errors throughout the match. I almost thought she would pull out the victory in the 3rd set tie break. Venus did play well, but I still think henin handed her the match.

What's the old addage? it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings!

Game Set Match - Ms Venus Williams. Venus pulled out yet another amazing win and on clay! Justine played amazingly well - the best performance for her all year.

Let the clay court season begin!

Henin definitely had some nerves, but she still played some great points. And she never lost her cool (a la certain other players.) She kept it close to the very end and forced Venus to use 4 match points.

Venus earned the win.

Amazing stat - Venus has won 16 of her last 17 finals. The last loss was in 2000.

Henin was up a set and 4-0 in the second! She definitely starting choking and Venus started looping some balls, etc. Henin has had a slight choker rep and this will only extend that. Unfortunately, up until Venus won those four games in a row, Henin played fantastically. She played great at times in the 3rd set as well...but oh, the way so many of these top players fold against Venus in finals. Venus holds on so beautifully, rolls with her game so effortlessly, and never gives up. She's showing all of us non-pros the stuff of a champion. Can she do it at Roland Garros? Depends upon her draw and how quickly she adjusts her game when playing a true clay courter. She was on the edge today and Henin should have aggressively finished her off...another player may not have let her back in...can't wait for more clay!

An intersting side note. I don't think Hingis is playing again until the season moves to Europe. She didn't play this week and isn't playing next week at the Family Circle. I believe she played in both last year.

I wonder if she's just determined to win at Roland Garros and is dedicating herself to that.

I don't think Venus would win the French playing like she did today. I believes she feels that way too. But, this gives her a fantasic boost in confidence and showed her where she needs to work on her clay game.

I don't think Venus is a threat for the French at all. It's just not her game.

I like how heady she played at the BLC, though. Still, I'd have to give Monica Seles, Jennifer Capriati, and Serena Williams the edge over Venus on red European clay.

That being said, it would do Venus some good to get to the semi's. Any performance after last year's first round blunder would be good, though.

Well - I think Venus has several surprises left for the French.

So what?? She lost in the first round last year - so did Capriati in 2000 and then Jen came back next year to win. Venus has made it to the QF twice and I think in one of her better years, she lost to the ultimate champion - Steffi Graf.

I think her preparation and constant play on Clay will make her a definite threat. She just beat Justine Henin, a Top 10 player who's favorite surface is Clay. This last match was a wake up call for her and she now knows what has to be done to win on clay. Take some power off her serve and returns and volley to end the points sooner.

My money is on the Williams for the French! (note I didn't say which Williams)

I think Serena has a much better shot than Venus. Venus is too lanky to move effectively on the clay courts. Serena's compact, powerful frame is far better suited for clay court ball...

The thing about women's tennis though is that because of the lack of depth, a player not as skilled on one surface can still win that tournament.

Venus has won the Italian over a goog field, including a pre-meltdown Hingis. She may not have consistant results there, but I think she's got at least as good a chance to win it as any other top player, at least once. She and Serena are the best players in the world, surface be damned. But it's a different game for her, and she's not ready yet.

Serena, well, I'm holding off judgment until after the Family Circle Cup. She's playing like the top player in the world, and winning the Nasdaq is a tremendous boost. In fact, on hard courts, she probably is the best in the world at the moment. But she's only beginning to prove herself. Little Sis still has a long way to go before she's the favorite for everything she enters.

The lack of depth? Come on, that's just plain silly. Women's tennis has never come close to having such a potent top ten and for that matter, top twenty. It's not even a question that women's tennis has more depth than ever before regardless of surfaces. Venus is the #2 player in the world, of course she's capable of winning on any surface as is Serena, JenCap, Monica and the rest of the top ten. Serena and Venus are playing superbly though anyone who watched Sunday's final knows that Henin gave Venus a good deal of assistance in her win. I would say JenCap and Hingis are on equal grounds with both Venus and Serena when it comes to picking who'll get to the final of Roland Garros. As far as picking who'll win, that's another matter. Venus is virtually unbeatable in a final, Serena a close second with JenCap. Hingis has shown that her mental toughness has frayed especially when it gets down to the really tough moments against the really big hitters. The top eight women have to be favored to get to the quarterfinals this year at the French based on how they're playing and their abilities on clay. What happens from there is anyone's guess at this early stage in the clay season.

The French is the widest open of the Slams. Sure, Venus could win, but so could a lot of other (possibly including Henin). Capriati is still my top pick, though it's Seles best chance for a slam at this point in her career. Hingis should be able to beat almost anybody on clay with her precision tennis, but as you say, her mental game is as questionable as Henin's at this point. Amelie Mauresmo is going to be a brutal fourth round match for an unlucky top player. If Clijsters is healthy, she's strong on the surface as well. Serena has played brilliantly this year, but has never won a tournament on clay and really has only one win over a serious opponent on clay (Conchita Martinez way back in '98). Unless she tears up the clay court torunaments going in, I would view her as a long shot. Put it this way: while she's beaten Jen their last few matches, the last two were close on hard courts. On clay, Serena's greater footspeed and stronger serve will be less of a factor, and I think Jen's greater consistency on her groundstrokes should win out most of the time.

As far as players unsuited to the surface winning because of lack of depth--I disagree. The more surprising recent winners have been great clay courters; Pierce and Majoli were on their best surfaces. Davenport & the Williamses have never appeared in a final. The surface does make a significant difference.

Good analysis from JC of the Capriati vs. S. Williams game on clay, although I *do* think Serena's footspeed matters more than you think... Her footspeed allows her to get to balls and stay in longer points. I think Capriati has better endurance and conditioning overall, though. Consistency is a toss-up. The player who is less inconsistent between the two shall win...

Props to JC, too, for mentioning Clijsters--I agree that she can advance far into the draw if she's healthy.

What happens on clay often is that the big hitters get jittery the longer the point goes; they're just not mentally used to playing defensively or counterpunching. ASV and Martinez are the prime examples of great careers on clay due to getting so many balls back, yes, like the energizer bunny, they just keep going. Venus showed me that she'll think her way out of a hole if she has to, whereas I haven't seen that patience from Serena yet on clay. Venus's win on Sunday convinced me that whatever the score, whoever she's playing, she still believes she can win. In my mind, Venus just announced that you'd better beat her when you get your chances cause she ain't going anywhere..

Again, the top ten ladies are all capable of being winners on clay with the exception of LD - she won't be a factor at this year's French Open. Hingis should be gearing up in a big way to win her first French; it's by far her best chance to win another slam. Seles, too, having gotten in much better shape, and having a very solid impressive year, has her best chance by far to go deep into this slam. On red clay, I would choose JenCap, Cljisters, Seles, Hingis and the Williams as even money; they're all capable of getting to the final...Actually, Venus and Serena do have to prove that they're capable of going far on the red clay; they haven't yet. So, give JenCap, Cljisters (who really had her chances last year), Hingis and Seles a slight edge. Henin can beat anyone on clay, I'm convinced of that..i'm just not fully convinced she can close out a big final...We're so lucky as WTA fans; it's going to be an incredible season for clay court tennis...

does anyone know why SF doesn't carry ESPN 2?