Mornin', all. Well, after yesterday's supercharged men's matches, are you all ready for another go? It's likely that things will be somewhat less frazzled today, at least in the match featuring Rafael Nadal (vs. Nicolas Almagro). Throw away that 7-0 head-to-head advantage, throw out the quote in which Almagro admitted that when it comes to Spanish tennis (Nico is No. 3 on the national depth chart), Rafa is still "the boss."
But beyond that, Rafa is playing incredible tennis. And not a word about his "cupcake draw." It's not like Federer or Djokovic have had to stare down a succession of titans, either. The bottom line is that Rafa is playing scary good tennis, and at Roland Garros that would make him well nigh unbeatable. Yet. . . They play the game. And funny things happen in the game.
Andy Murray vs. David Ferrer is bound to be a bitter, drawn-out war, and that has a certain appeal. But the match I'm jazzed about is the Yaroslava Shvedova vs. Petra Kvitova battle. Can it be that after being MIA most of this year, Kvitova is actually ready to go deep at the second major?
We'll see. Enjoy the tennis, everyone. I will have some thoughts on the French players later today and will be writing a Racquet Reaction, although I'm not yet sure which one.
-- Pete