Federer's in the Finals!

What a match. Federer sails past Juan Martin Del Potro to the finals at Roland Garros in a five-set, roller coaster ride of a match.

My emotions were up and down and all over the map during that match. But Roger did it in the end, and I can't wait until Sunday.

Dear Juan Martin Del Potro:

You played your hardest--and you played some amazing tennis. It was almost hard to see you lose at the end, even though I was rooting for Roger. You're one of my favorite players, and I'm going to make a prediction right now:

In two or three years, you're going to be the number one player in the world. That's a huge prediction, I know, but I said the same thing about Nadal in 95 when he won the French Open. Sometimes you can just see it in a person's game.

Can't wait to see what you do at Wimbledon,
C

Dear Roger, part two:

I knew you could do it. What an amazing, hard-fought match.

Now you'd better beat Soderling in the final or I'm going to disown you. Do it for your fans. Do it for Rafa, and all of his disgruntled fans. Do it for Mirka and Fed Jr. Just DO IT!

Love and bonne chance!
C

Dear Roger:

You may be down two sets to one, but I still believe.

Lots of love,
C

Soderling vs. Gonzalez

Well, the first set is gone and Soderling took it 6-3. Even I have to admit the man is playing some impeccable tennis. He's putting the ball where he wants it, hitting it cleanly, and keeping his opponent on the run.

I'm still not willing to give up on Gonzo, though. Once he shakes off those nerves and figures out Soderling's game, he can take him. It's just one set... Right?...

Right?

Safina through to the French Open Finals!

Safina slides past Cibulkova to reach the finals at Roland Garros, 6-3,6-3. She looked a little sloppy at times, but there's no denying her game. Go, Dina, go!

Safina v Cibulkova, 1st Women's Semifinal

Oops. Overslept this morning. Had just enough time to flip on my TV and see Cibulkova breaks Safina's serve to open the match. No problem, though; we all know one lost serve means nothing when it comes to someone as tenacious as Dinara. Sure enough, she soon breaks back and races to a 5-2 lead. Unless Cibulkova steps it up a notch, Safina's going to slam through her as easily as she did her first few opponents.

So...for the final, it looks (to me) like we're looking at another Kuznetsova v. Safina blockbuster. Kuznetsova is playing some amazing tennis; Safina beat her the last time they played, but can she do it again?

I think so. I may be blinded by my Safina fangirlness, but it looks to me like she's going to get her first slam here, and shut all of her critics (*coughSerenacough*) up.

Roger is THROUGH!

Roger over Monfils in three--7-6, 6-2, 6-4. Awesome. That makes a record 20 semifinals!

Sveta through to the semis; Federer kicking butt

Am I right or am I right? Kuznetsova is through to the semis, where she'll play Sam Stosur.

Did I say four sets for Fed to win? Forget that--the Swiss Maestro is going through in three. *Crosses fingers*

Stosur: First Woman through to the Semis in the Bottom Half

Stosur spanks Cirstea, 6-1, 6-3, and will play the winner of the Serena/Sveta match--and it's looking pretty likely that the winner will be Sveta.

Roland Garros: Quarterfinals, Day 2

Too early. I'm not a person made for 8 AM. It's better than 5AM, I suppose. Oh, the things I do for tennis.

On to today's matchups. It's a blockbuster day. First up is Serena vs. Kuznetsova on Court Suzanne Lenglen?? While Stosur and Cirstea are on Philippe Chatrier? The French really do hate Serena, don't they? I like Serena and Svetlana, and this should be an interesting match. I'm not sure who will win. Ordinarily, I'd say Serena, but I've got one of those funny feelings that Svetlana is going to pull through. Still, it's hard to count a Williams sister out in this stage of a slam.

Then comes the match of the tournament: Federer vs. Monfils. Monfils impressed the hell out of me with his play in that match against Roddick, and completely turned me off of him as a player with his antics and attitude. Usually I find him amusing, but the rolling his eyes, and pumping up an already super pumped up crowd was just poor sportsmanship. It's a pretty sad state of affairs when Andy Roddick is more of a gentleman in a match than his opponent.

Plus, I remember a few years back when Monfils was playing juniors, and how much all the other players hated him.

I fear for Roger, but I refuse to believe he'll lose. I'm going to have faith and say--Roger will take it in 4. He'll lose the first set, then win the next three.

For the other matches, I'm picking Del Potro over Robredo--the Argentine has just looked too good out there. On the other hand, I haven't watched Robredo play a single match here in Paris, and he's obviously upped his game. Plus, it would be nice to see him get some respect for a change--and I think Federer (who is going to BEAT MONFILS) will have an easier time picking off Robredo than Del Potro. Yes, Roger has rolled past Del Potro the last few times they've played, but Del Potro keeps getting better and better, so...

For Stosur vs. Cirstea...no idea. Cirstea played some amazing tennis against Jankovic, but the nerves-factor of being in her first quarterfinals at a grand slam might affect her. Of course, it might equally affect Stosur. Who knows.

Au Revoir, Davydenko

And sorry you had such a sucky birthday. :(

Soderling in the semis? Excuse me while I go puke somewhere.

Meanwhile, Safina is up 4-2 in the third and final set. If she can just hang in there, she'll have it. Vika is playing good, but Safina has held steady. At least one person I like has won so far today....

No Bagels For Davydenko! Yet...

Phew! Davydenko finally held serve. Now he and Safina are BOTH down 1-5. Ugh. Come on, guys. Shake off those nerves!

Roland Garros: The Quarter Finals Edition

Still kind of reeling from the Nadal defeat over here, I have to admit. At least Fed pulled it out, like I thought he would. After watching Monfils cream Roddick yesterday, though, I fear Federer's ability to beat the Frenchman. If Monfils plays the way he did against Roddick, and Roger keeps playing the way HE has been...well, I'm thinking that the Fed Express will come to a halt.

The Safina/Azarenka match has just started...and Safina's already down 0-2. Vika isn't the type of player to lay down and roll over, so I look for this to turn into a battle royale on Philippe Chatrier.

Also happening right now--the Davydenko/Soderling match. C'mon Davydenko! Sod off, Soderling! Okay, I've calmed down a bit (ha, right). Is there any question who I'm rooting for here?

YES! Safina just held serve, making it 1-2.

I don't really care who comes through Sharapova's match--though I expect Maria will. Not a fan of hers, but man, what a champion! There's no denying her fight out there. I've expected her to lose every match until now; of course, that means that now that I believe she'll win, she'll lose. :)

For Gonzalez vs. Murray. Oy. Since the whole cheating-Blake-at-the-Olympics think from Gonzo, I've been pretty much against him. But my cold, hard little hard shrivels even more at the thought of Murray getting anywhere near the final. So...go Gonzo!

Tennis Channel just switched from Safina's match to Davydenko's. He's letting Soderling manhandle him, 0-3. NOOOO, you're better than this, Nikolay. If the semi-final turns out to be Murray/Soderling, screw that. I doubt I'll even watch the men's final. It's the year of the dickhead, apparently.

Once again: OY!

Nadal...OUT!

Unbelievable. Seriously...I have no words. And I had no idea how completely invested I was in Nadal at least making the finals here until that last point. I actually feel like crying, something I've never done over a tennis match.

Rafa out so soon...and to Soderling of all people. If it had been Verdasco or someone like that, the loss wouldn't sting quite so much. But to go so soon and to such a jerk... :(

Somewhere in Paris, Andy Murray and Roger Federer are celebrating.

Upset weekend indeed. Both of the defending champions out in one day.

Oi! Upset Weekend at Roland Garros

Yesterday it was Novack Djokovic who got ousted by Kohlschreiber. Ana Ivonovic just felt to Azarenka.

And right now on Court Philippe Chatrier? Rafael Nadal is losing to Robin freaking Soderling. Vamos, Rafa! C'mon! After that debacle a couple years ago at Wimbeldon, when Soderling spent his time making fun of Rafa's wedgie-picking habit and messing with his water bottles, Nadal losing to Soderling would make me want to shoot myself.

Oh, Janko--you're breaking my heart

Seriously, how many set points did Janko Tipsarevic have before giving the damn thing to Murray in the tiebreak? So frustrating. He HAD him. :(

Over on Philippe Chatrier, Shriekapova Sharapova is struggling against Shvedova.

In other heartbreaking news, my favorite Frenchman, Gilles Simon, lost to Hanescu. Too bad.

Szavay Stunner! Szavay Upsets Venus Williams

In the biggest upset at Roland Garros yet, Agnes Szavay ousted Venus Williams 6-0, 6-4. Somewhere, Maria Sharapova is is thanking the tennis gods that her half of the draw just got a lot easier.

Roland Garros, Day 6

Huge matches today at the French Open! Some highlights:

Gonzalez vs. Ouanna (since Ouanna ousted by beloved Safin, I'll let you guess who I'm rooting for)

Nadal vs. Hewitt

Sharapova vs. Shvedova

Djokovic vs. Stakhovsky

Venus Williams vs. Szavay

Hanescu vs. Simon

Murray vs. Tipsarevic (go Janko!)

Almagro vs. Verdasco

Safina vs. Pavlyuchenkova

Soderling vs. Ferrer

Davydenko vs. Wawrinka

Basically, every match-up today is amazing. Hope all of you have DirecTV! :)

Live-Blogging Federer vs. Acasuso

What a match (so far). Fed just took the first set 7-6, after eeking by Acasuso in a tight tiebreak.

Meanwhile, Venus and Safarova are battling it out point for point--it's currently 5-5 in the third and final set--and Del Potro is cruising past Troicki 5-3.

ETA: Venus wins, and Federer v Acasuso heads toward another tie break. Possibly. It's 6-5 with Acasuso serving for the set, but Roger isn't going own easy--they're at deuce. Nope, scratch that. Federer's got the advantage. I'm betting on a tiebreak.

Scratch that. Acasuso holds serve and takes the second set 7-5.

Meanwhile over on court 7, Del Potro is serving for the second set.

Del Potro wins the second 7-5 and Acasuso breaks Federer's serve to begin their third set. :(

*Wails, moans, gnashes teeth* No, Fed, no--Acasuso's up 2-0 and on the verge of breaking Federer's serve. And, he does it, making the score 3-0. :(

With that, I'm out. It's 9 AM Eastern, which means it's time for me to get to work. I may be a freelancer and in charge of my own hours, but I like to keep to a schedule.

I'll sign off with:

C'mon, Fed! You can't go down now--you can do it!