Federer Defeats Hanescu

Roger Federer had no trouble holding up his end of the deal today to reach the semifinals where he'll Rafael Nadal.  He easily defeated Romanian Victor Hanescu 6-2, 7-6(3) today and, frankly, he's starting to look a little scary.  I just hope he doesn't blow Nadal out and deprive us of the great match we've all been expecting. 

Federer sounds like he knows this is really the final.  "Everybody's been looking forward a little bit to this one ‑ both of us, first time in the semifinals of a French Open. So it's going to be really interesting to see. For me, it's a big moment. It's one of those chances, you know, to maybe walk away with the title here, you know."

They've played twice before, both times in Miami on hardcourts.  In 2004 Nadal shocked a slightly-under-the-weather Federer by beating him easily 6-3, 6-3 and of course we all remember this year in Miami when Nadal was two points away from taking down Federer in straight sets to win the title before Federer came back and won in five sets. 

Roger let it be known that he thinks he's learned some lessons from that.  "But I think throughout five sets you definitely get a feeling for what kind of and type of player is he. I think I've learned very much, you know, how to play him. Because in the beginning I didn't really play very well at all, and he took advantage of that, you know, totally."

So will both players be ready?  Federer has a good read on the situation.  "I've been in this situation many, many times, so I won't have a problem. I don't think Rafael will have a problem, but he's much younger and not so experienced."

Nadal Wears Down Ferrer

For about a set I was really mad at David Ferrer.  I respect and admire what he's accomplished so far this tournament, but if he messed up the Rafael Nadal- Roger Federer semifinal I was going to hate him forever. 

Not to worry though.  Nadal got a grip on the match late in the first set and it was all downhill for Ferrer from there en route to a 7-5, 6-2, 6-0 Nadal victory. 

Now he can look ahead to his matchup with Federer on Friday when he hopes to give himself a huge 19th birthday present.  "I guess it's 50-50 who will win," Nadal said, "I will play my own way, with lots of fight. I'm very calm now, more than when I came here because I know I'm playing at a very good level."

Pierce Defeats Davenport

At least she doesn't have to die on court.  ESPN previewed the Lindsay Davenport-Mary Pierce match today with a segment in which Lindsay declared, "I would probably faint and die on the court if I won the French Open. 

That won't be a problem since Pierce came out smoking the ball and controlled the match, winning 6-3, 6-2, although like against Schnyder she did tighten up at the end and struggled to close it out more than she should have. 

Nevertheless, Pierce couldn't be happier.  "It's crazy.  I have just beaten the world number one in straight sets... I need a bit of time to realise what I have done," she said. 

Karatantcheva Makes the Transition to the Big Time

After making it all the way to the quarterfinals of the French Open, you might expect 15-year-old Sesil Karatantcheva to be playing some of the Wimbledon warm-up tournaments on grass next.

But her people obviously weren't factoring in a French Open quarterfinal when they made her schedule.  Instead of England, she's heading off the Germany to play for a club team.

"I'm not playing Birmingham because I have to go to Germany. I have to play club matches. I have only one day to get from Germany to England to play my qualifications in Birmingham. It's not that I don't want to play, I would, I mean, but I really need a break right now.  I do want to support my teammates. I promised to be there. So, you know, I will be there," said Karatantcheva. 

There are consolations though.  Although you have to be 18 to drive in Bulgaria,  Karatantcheva says, "After the popularity I got after the French Open, I don't think anybody's gonna care if I have a license or not."

Henin-Hardenne Defeats Sharapova

The other teenager to go out today was  Maria Sharapova.  Justine Henin-Hardenne defeated her 6-4, 6-2 today.  Don't let it be said that Sharapova doesn't care though.  I thought she might cry as she was walking to the net to shake Henin-Hardenne's hand. 

So the question now is whether Henin-Hardenne's back and leg will hold up well enough for her to win another French Open because I don't see anyone left in the draw who can play better than her on clay. 

Teenagers Out

The teenagers have finally been put in their place at the French Open, but that their place was the quarterfinals is still awfully impressive.

Sesil Karatantcheva posted a respectable-looking result, losing to Elena Likhovtseva 6-2, 4-6, 4-6.  Not the prettiest match as Karatantcheva suddenly realized where she was after the first set and stopped doing anything beyond just getting the balls back against Likhovtseva, and Likhovtseva threw in 57 unforced errors of her own for good measure. 

But that was a lot better than fellow teen Ana Ivanovic did today.  Nadia Petrova made mincemeat of her 6-2, 6-2 in just 64 minutes. 

Now that most of the bigger name Russian women are out, it may be time to take a serious look at Petrova's chances.  I just found out today that she is the latest way-too-talented player to carry the Anna Kournikova "never won a tournament" label. 

But she sounds ready.   "One thing I can tell you for sure, I've been already in a semifinal once here at the French Open. So to do it the second time, it's a little bit easier because I know what it takes to be there," she said.

The only problem is that she's on the wrong side of the draw.  She'll have to somehow find her way through Justine Henin-Hardenne in the semis to get to what should be an easier match in the final against either Likhovtseva, Pierce, or Davenport.

French Open Videoclips

Eurosport has added videoclips of Marat Safin's racket-smashing temper tantrum yesterday and Rafael Nadal's photo-op eating breakfast at the Eiffel Tower the other day.

Lleyton and Bec Set the Date

What to do after Wimbledon?  Lleyton Hewitt has reportedly filled that hole in his calender and will be marrying Bec Cartwright in July.

French Open Day 8 - Women

Day 8 Women's Summary

Maria Sharapova took all of 10 minutes to finish off her match with Nuria Llagostera Vives today 6-2, 6-3. 

The real match of the day was Justine Henin-Hardenne's defeat of Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6(6), 4-6, 7-5 in which it is universally acknowledged, Kuznetsova choked.  It's never good when your opponent says, "I was seeing her very nervous.  She was afraid to win the match; that was very clear. And when you can see that in the eyes of your opponent, that is very good for myself," as Henin-Hardenne did today.

But Kuznetsova wins the best quote of the day contest by far. "She didn't really win the match, I lost it. It was all in my hands. If it was the final I would kill myself," she said.   So very dramatic and so very Russian!

Mary Pierce and Lindsay Davenport have proven that the older generations of players isn't ready to ride off into the sunset just yet, but this French Open has shown that there is definitely a new generation of players coming.  Ana Ivanovic continued the rise of the teenagers with her 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3 victory over Francesca Schiavone today. 

Fox Sports has a piece on Ivanovic and fellow teen Karatantcheva today.

Nadal Finishes Off Grosjean and the Nasty French Crowd

Rafael Nadal d. Sebastien Grosjean 6-4, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3

The crowd was much better behaved today, but someone working at Roland Garros decided to have some fun.  Eurosport reports that when Rafael Nadal was practicing on Centre Court today (with Tommy Robredo) they played yesterday's incident, including all nine minutes of crowd booing, on the big screen - twice.  Nadal just laughed. 

Nadal had no real trouble finishing off Grosjean today, so the main suspense was to find out what he would say after the match about yesterday's incident.  He'd had a night to sleep on it. 

He wisely didn't say anything that would inflame the fans against him, but he clearly wasn't pleased.  "The crowd yesterday didn't really behave as they maybe should behave when watching a match of tennis. But this is France. You know, it's not Spain. I'd never seen anything like that in Spain, that's for sure. But now I'm here. I'm in France. It was just for a really silly thing."

And he had some advice for the chair umpire.  "We should have gone to the locker room until the crowd got quiet again because just waiting there for 10 minutes, you know, for people to calm down, I've never seen anything like that. It did make me lose my concentration somewhat."

And I think Grosjean did not make a new friend as Nadal mentioned, "The opportunity was exploited by Grosjean."

Asked if he'd spoken with Grosjean, Nadal was succinct, "No."

Well, did he plan to speak with Grosjean?  "No, I'm not going to speak to him about anything," said Nadal.

So cross those two off your list of potential doubles partners.