By Mike McIntyre
As we begin the last major tournaments on the men's and women's tours this week before the French Open, both Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin appears to have hit a bump in the road as they prepare to defend their Roland Garros titles from a year ago. Nadal was knocked off by unseeded Juan-Carlos Ferrero in the second round in Rome, while Henin was defeated in the third round by upstart Dinara Safina in Berlin. This is certainly not the confidence boost either player was hoping for as we now sit just two weeks away from the biggest clay court tournament of the year. While Nadal gets a shot at redemption this week at the Hamburg Masters, Henin has pulled out of the WTA tournament in Rome. Lets now look at the tournaments coming up this week as the players check to see where their clay court games now stand.
On the men's side, the Masters Series event in Hamburg should be very interesting considering the recent stumbles of both Federer and Nadal. For Nadal, his early defeat in Rome could have been a sign that the young Spaniard needed a break. I'll never understand who plans his schedule, but a lesson in time management may be in order. If Nadal does not take the time to recover between tournaments, he is putting his health and future success on the tour in jeopardy. Expect him to bounce back especially with the less than challenging draw he has received.
Returning to Hamburg will hopefully be the jump start Roger Federer has been waiting for in 2008. Still without a Masters Series title to his name this year, Federer missed a great opportunity last week in Rome by falling to Radek "the Worm" Stepanek. He won the Hamburg tournament last year, but came in with a much bigger head of steam. Without a strong showing here, I would say his chances at finally winning Roland Garros are slim indeed. He shouldn't be challenged until meeting David Ferrer in the quarters. Even then, he has the advantage of being seeded first and not meeting Nadal or Djokovic until the finals.
The rest of the field should produce some great clay court match-ups. I particularly like seeing some heavyweight clay court players face each other in round one, such as Monaco/Volandri and Alamgro/Acasuso. This tournament usually provides us with some upsets and surprise quarter-finalists, and I would not be shocked if that held true this year. Watch for Marcel Granollers to perhaps make a splash in his section of the draw. Already a winner on clay in Houston, Texas earlier this year, he came through the qualifying section as the top seed and enters with a couple of wins under his belt already at this venue. My semi final picks in fact include Granollers against Federer and Nadal against Djokovic or Robredo. Djokovic might be tired after a full week of tennis, and Robredo is the only other active player in this draw to have hoisted the trophy before in Hamburg.
On the WTA tour, expect less upsets as the women take to the courts in Rome. Last week's final of Dinara Safina vs Elena Dementieva was certainly not one I would have predicted, and the top players should get back to business this time around. I wouldn't count on Safina continuing her impressive form of late, where she knocked off three top ten players in the world in Berlin. She may be tired, and somewhat less focused after such an improbable and exciting week. She also has the misfortune of having to face a solid player in Victoria Azarenka in round one, and then likely Ana Ivanovic in round three.
Past champions in Rome who are back once again include Jelena Jankovic and the Williams sisters. Noticeably absent from the draw are Amelie Mauresmo who is battling a rib injury and Justin Henin. Without serious match play leading up to her home tournament at Roland Garros, it appears another year will pass with Mauresmo disappointing the French fans. As for Henin, she must feel that a week off will benefit her more as she prepares her title defense. My semi final picks here in Rome would be Jankovic vs Sharapova, who has an easy path to the final four and on the other side Ivanovic vs Serena Williams who has had quite a year thus far.
If you're looking for a preview of who to watch at the French Open this year, keep your eyes open for this week's results. Players on both tours will be looking to hit their stride as the clay court season edges closer to its culmination in Paris.
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