I’ve made it back from sun and surf relaxed, rejuvenated, and married!
Hope everyone has had a great week watching Madrid unfold, and now the opening of the French Open.

I’ve been virtually oblivious to the Tennis world over the past week and within the last hour, I’ve been shocked by Federer’s victory in Madrid, encouraged by Ivanovic’s gutsy win in her opener at Rolland Garros, and began pumping fists with Hewitt’s big-time victory over Ivo.

So where do we begin today?
Perhaps it’s “old news” in the blog world, but I want to take a quick look at Federer’s Madrid victory last week.
Roger Federer’s 6-4, 6-4 victory is going to create a renewed buzz this week at the French, will put something very real in the back of Nadal’s head, and give the Swiss star much, much needed confidence out there when playing the big guns.

When people are talking a 2009 “Grand Slam” for Nadal, wouldn’t it be something if Federer becomes the foil here at the French? Intriguing it is.

Let’s not move so fast though. Nadal is a 4-time champion and the guy (as of today) is virtually unbeatable at Rolland Garros. Roger has a mountain to climb here, but suddenly…suddenly there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. A shimmer of hope for Federer.

With Ivanovic beating Errani in the first round, she also gains much needed confidence to make her run. Against Errani she was on the ropes in the first set (7-6), but in the 2nd, she managed her break opportunities well and closed things off without much trouble. Her backhand in the 2nd was looking very good. I still won’t bank on her running entirely through the draw, but the tour needs her running deep.

In a surprising marathon match, Lleyton Hewitt dispatched Ivo Karlovic 6-3 in the 5th set. Keep an eye on Lleyton to mix things up in the first week. He’s playing well since returning and will provide anyone with a quality opponent.
He’s got a potential 3rd round battle with Mr.Nadal and that could be a fun match. Is a renewed Hewitt good enough to beat the King of Clay? Almost certainly not…but Nadal just proved beatable on clay. Not invincible.

Original post by Mark Oskar