Roland Garros, Men’s Draw
Excitement’s in the Parisienne air and around the world as tennis and sports’ fans anticipate the second Grand Slam of the year … Roland Garros. The most grueling of slams will be the test for Rafael Nadal, as he attempts an historic 9th title in ten years. His every slide will be scrutinized because he…
Paris Review
By Jane Voigt Less than 24 hours after Rafael Nadal hoisted the Coupe des Mousquetaires for the 9th time on Centre Court, Roland Garros, the color of the courts changed. They went from red to green. Poof. The red clay season had closed. Welcome grass-court tennis. But let’s take a moment and look back on the two…
Nadal Wins 9th Roland Garros!
By Jane Voigt Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were competing in their tenth French Open this year, but only one has been successful — Rafael Nadal. And today he proved without a shadow of a doubt that he is the undisputed King of Clay. He defeated Djokovic to win his 9th Coupe des Mousquetaires. Nadal…
Sharapova Wins Second French Open
By Jane Voigt In the best match of the 2014 French Open, Maria Sharapova demonstrated superior championship qualities enough to edge her first-time finalist opponent, Simona Halep, and win her second title in Paris and fifth Major overall. This was Sharapova’s third consecutive final at Stade Roland Garros, and the first 3-set final in 13…
Final Days at The French Open
By Jane Voigt Questions swirled around Rafael Nadal’s condition, his ability to play like the anointed King Of Clay, two weeks ago when we welcomed The French Open into our living rooms. He lost in Monte Carlo to David Ferrer. He lost in Barcelona to Nicolas Almagro. Two Spanish friends he had manhandled in prior years.…
Men’s Semifinal Preview
By Jane Voigt Ernests Gulbis is the outlier. The other three are the dominators. The seventy-five percent of the Big Four: Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. These are your 2014 men’s singles semifinalists. Most expect Rafael Nadal (No. 1) and Novak Djokovic (No. 2) to win their semifinal, beginning first with Djokovic and…
Six-two Six-two, Six-two Six-two
By Jane Voigt June 4, 2014 — There was symmetry after rain delayed quarterfinal matches in Paris this morning. Ending scores matched, and two new faces advanced to their first-ever Grand Slam semifinal. Simona Halep (No. 4) defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova (No. 27), 62 62. And, Andrea Petkovic (No. 28) defeated Sara Errani (No. 10), 62…
Gulbis’ Genius
By Jane Voigt Ernests Gulbis. Wild-man tennis genius from Latvia. Temperamental and talented. And into his first-ever semifinal at Roland Garros. “It’s very special. Today was the best match of the tournament, I was doing everything right,” Gulbis said on-court. “Tomas got a bit upset that I was hitting all of the lines. I’m…
French Facts
By Jane Voigt June 2, 2014 — We’ve had so many ‘firsts’ at this French Open. Maybe the impact has dulled. First time in Open Era top two women’s seeds out. First time in Open Era top three women’s seeds out. First time American Donald Young made the third round. First time Roger Federer missed the quarters in Paris…
Au Revoir Roger
By Jane Voigt Tennis Channel — where champions live — shows a clip of Roger Federer explaining his love of the game and that, ‘some day that time will come where I will have to walk away.’ The camera lingers and Roger averts it slightly in an obviously emotional moment. Does his 5-set loss to Ernests Gulbis (No.…