Federer v Nadal in the final again

Roger Federer wil face Rafael Nadal for the second successive year in Paris. Both players had there sternest tests yet and in fact Federer was very lucky to inflict a straight sets victory over Nikolay Davydenko as the russian served for the second set at 5-4 and was 4-1 up in the third set before secumbing to his Swiss opponent. Nadal gruelled out a tough first 2 sets with Djokovic before the serbian fell apart in the third set. The final on Sunday will be a difficult one to predict and it should be a very close match with both opponents looking to outgun the other.

in todays womens final, 19 year old Serb Ana Ivanovic will try to put her nerves behind her and use her power to dictate play against world number one Justine Henin. However the belgian has far more experience than Ivanovic and has also won the title for the last 2 years so she will be difficlut to beat. again it should be a close encounter and i slightyl favour the Serbian to win her first Major tournament

Ivanovic powers to first ever final

Anna Ivanovic thrashed Maria Sharapova 6-2 6-1 to reach her first ever Grand Slam at the French Open. The 19 year old came out fighting from the start and soon found herself with break points on the Sharapova serve. Nerves didnt seem evident as Ivanovic used her powerful ground strokes to good affect in the demolishion of her opponent. In the other semi Justine Henin stopped an all Serbian final from taking place with a good win against rising star Jelena Jankovic. Henin is gunning for her 3rd title in a row in Paris and lookied on top form again. Ivanovic's power may cause Henin problems in the final and it should be a close encounter as long as the Serbian settles quickly and her nerves dont ruin the occasion!!

Friday sees the mens semi final take place and Nikolay Davydenko should give a good account of himself and could even cause a big shock as long as he continues to hit his shots and make Federer stay at the back of the court! Rafael Nadal plays Djokovic in the other semi and with the form thats he in it could well be another straight sets victory for the reigning champion!

Top Seed Humbled by Brit Qualifier

Jim May produced the shock of the tournament so far with a suprise 3 set win over top seed and american rising star Sam Querrey, ranked 65 in the world. May is over 1000 places below Querrey in the rankings but showed that his qualifying form was no fluke and made his way into the 2nd round. Other notable victories included british number 3 Alex Bogdanovic and former national champion Lee Childs. Bogdanovic is looking for a good grass court season to try and enable the youngster to enter the worlds top 100 for the first time and join Andy Murray and Tim Henman in this elite zone.

In the womens tournament Melanie South continued her impressive form to reach the quarter finals along with Katie O'brien who defeated the seeded Meng Yuan of China. Disappointed came as 3 other Brits failed to build on there 1st round victories. Elena Baltacha and Naomi Cavaday showed glimpses of form but lost in 3 sets and Anne Keothavong fell to Dutch veteran Brenda Schultz McCarthy.

It was quarter final days in Paris for the men as Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic had comfortable victories over Carlos Moya and Igor Andreev. Tommorrow sees the ladies semi finals take place with Serbians Jelena Jankovic and Anna Ivanovic looking to become the first Serbians to reach a grand slam final when they meet the more experienced Sharapova and Henin respectively.

British girls go well in Surbiton

5 British girls reached the 2nd round of the £25,000 challenger event in Suribiton london on Tuesday. The best british victory belonged to Melanie South. The 21 year old knocked out top seed and world number 89 Alberta Brianti, a player ranked over 100 places above her in the rankings. South showed her liking for the grass courts last year when she managed to beat former world top twenty player Franchesca Schiavone at Wimbledon. The British number 3 has had an inconsistent year and needs a really good grass court season to keep herself in the top 200. British up and coming star Naomi Cavaday had a great win over aussie Emily Hewson and there where also wins for British number one Anne Keothavong, number 2 Katie O'brien and former British number one Elena Baltacha who continues to impress after being out for over a year with illness.

In the mens draw, the all british 1st round tie was won by Jamie Baker who managed to beat the more experienced Johnathan Marray in straight sets. Fellow Brits Alex Bogdanovic and Richard Bloomfield play on Wednesday as does British qualifier Jim May who faces a tough test in top seeded American Sam Querrey.

Lets hope the weather stays fine!!

In Paris the ladies quarter finals took place and there where wins for Henin, Ivanovic, Jankovic and Sharapova while Roger Federer defeated Tommy Robredo in 4 sets to set up a semi-final with impressive Nikolay davydenko in the mens draw.

Nadal too good for Aussie Hewitt

Rafael Nadal thrashed Lleyton Hewitt in 3 straight sets in the French Open 4th round today. Nadal won the first 4 games of the match and was never looked back, maintaining his position as favourite for the Paris crown. Novak Djorkovic used his power to defeat Spaniar Fernando Verdasco again in straight sets 6-3 6-3 -7-6 and tournament suprise Igor Andreev defeated Cypriot number one Baghdatis in 4 sets. Andreev has been out of the game with several injuries in recent times however he showed he back to his best on the red clay of Roland Garros with a punishing display. After a slow start the Russian powered to a 2-6 6-1 6-3 6-4 victory to reach quarter finals for the first time. In the battle of the veterans, Carlos Moya rolled back the years to knock Jonas Bjorkman out of the tournament. The Swede could not cope with Moya's clay court skills and now will concentrate on his doubles with Max Mirnyi of Belarus, where they are one of the favourites for the top prize!.

Wednesday sees the ladies quarter finals take place. The match every one wants to see is Henin v S. Williams. The last time they met in Paris was in 2003 when Serena left the court in tears as the crowd supported Henin to victory. Serbians Jankovic and Ivanovic also play against Vaidisova and Kuznetsova respectively while the last match sees 2 Russians go head to head, with Maria Sharapova hoping to gain in form and defeat Chakvetadze for a place in the semis for the first time..

Watch this space

Swiss Miss again!!!

Patty Schnyder again secumbed to the pressures of Grand Slam tennis when she lost a close 3 setter with Maria Sharapova. The perenial under achiever from Switzerland had numeruos chancve in the 3rd set to close out the match, but the battlingt Russian kept pressuring Schnyders service games and eventually won 9-7 in the final set. Sharapova now goes through the quarters where she will take on compatriot and fellow seed Anna Chakvetadze. Despite todays victory Sharapova still looks unsettled on the red clay and Chakvetadze surely has a great chance of becoming the new star of Russian tennis, especially after her excelent victory again Lucie Safarova who had previously defeated Mauresmo in this tournament.

In the mens draw there where easy wins for Guilermo Canas, Roger Federer and Tommy Robredo, while Nikolay Davydenko fought hard for a 4 set victory over David Nalbandian, a palyer he had not beaten for over 3 years!!!