French Open 2009... the men's draw lies wide open. Now more so than ever. It began with the exit of Novak Djokovic. He has had an average time after he became the youngest player since Stefan Edberg to win the Australian Open in 2008. Poor fitness seems to play a very big part in his game and the Serb has drawn much criticism for the number of times he has called trainers out during games and the frequent retirement from matches, especially in Grand Slams. At Roland Garros this time he was comprehensively outplayed, losing in straight sets. He might have been a serious contender for the French Open crown, expected to give Nadal some competition if nothing else.
However, even if Djokovic had stayed on he wouldn't have been facing the Spanish bull, because the clay of Paris was waiting to serve up another big surprise. Rafael Nadal exits the French Open 2009 in round 4! Defeated by a Swedish player that had most scratching their heads in curiosity - Robin Soderling. The end of Nadal's unbeaten run of 32 matches in Paris. The end of his bid to become the only man to win the French Open 5 times successively in the Open era. The end of his dominance on clay. It was sad to watch the champion fall specially when 2008 heralded his move into the category of true champions - a Wimbledon win last year, Australian Open this time... the French Open should have been a cakewalk and the Spanish ace's attention could then have been firmly focused on grabbing the elusive US Open title. But it was not to be. As Nadal said: "You need a defeat to give value to your victories."
So Djokovic gone, Nadal gone... one has to say that this would be Federer's best chance to finally add the finishing touches to his illustrious and incredible repertoire. He has every record in the book but unfortunately being in the same generation of players as Rafael Nadal has ensured that the Swiss ace has yet to get his hands on the French Open trophy. He has tried again and again but the silverware in Paris has eluded his grasp. Now would be his chance to not only earn that much deserved honour but also perhaps use that to push himself back into the limelight and gain back some of the glory he has lost over the last year.
Unfortunately while a year ago this situation would have left the field clear for Federer and the trophy would be all but in his hands, the scenario now is quite different for two reasons. One, Federer is far below par. He is nowhere near the star for whom no record seemed unbreakable, no shot seemed un-hittable. He is out of form, lacking fitness and is struggling against players who in the past he would have had for breakfast. His pre-quarterfinal game against Tommy Haas was proof of just that. However, no matter how he got there, he is in the quarters and he will know better than any of us that this is his best and perhaps only chance to finally be the one lifting the trophy in Paris instead of watching from the sidelines. That in itself is reason enough to pick his game up and show us some of the Federer magic that has entertained us for the last few years.
But, therein lies the second problem. Federer might try to up his game but the road ahead is full of obstacles and the biggest obstacle is named Andy Murray. Murray has been in exceptional form the last year or so - runner up in the US Open in 2008, wins in Cincinnati and Madrid last year and in Miami this year. But even harder to ignore is his statistics against Roger Federer - 6-2 in favour of Murray between 2005-2009! On current form and fitness, Murray wins hands down. On past record, again, one would have to choose Murray. This is the young Scotsman's biggest and best chance to win his first ever Grand Slam and give Great Britain the tennis hero it has been looking for since Tim Henman's fall from grace.
A Federer-Murray final will be befitting the Grand Slam. But I have to say, if I watch Federer lose to Murray it will be more heartbreak than I could bear. For all of Federer's poor current form, the man who makes magic on the court every time he plays, deserves to win the one Grand Slam that has been out of his reach for so long. As for Nadal - he says he has gone back to swimming in his pool at home.
On to the women's draw... nothing new here. As open as always. Those you expect to go far, get eliminated early. Those who no one expects much from, stay on. That has been the way of the women's game since the era of Navratilova, Seles, Graf, Hingis ended. The Williams sisters dominated for a while but their fight has fallen away a little. No Venus Williams, Elena Demetieva, Jelena Jankovic or defending champion Ana Ivanovic! Who's left you might ask - well, Serena keeps the Williams' flag flying high, top seed Dinara Safina would have to be a strong contender and of course Svetlana Kuznetsova is an ever-present threat, scowling in the background. But don't rule out Maria Sharapova... she has been injured and out of the tennis circuit for a while now and comes into this tournament unseeded. She may play heavily bandaged but she has reached the quarterfinals and her shrieks of triumph might just echo out over Paris come the final.
All in all, a good week in store for tennis fans. Though, I wouldn't place my money on this French Open!
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