Monday, June 05, 2006

Roland Garros 2006 - Quarterfinals

Women's Quarterfinals

Nicole vs Venus
While nobody was shocked to see Amelie say 'Au revoir' in 4R, it was a pleasant surprise to see Nicole breakthrough in her least-favored surface. On the other hand, Venus seems to have regained her new-found confidence on clay. Both rallied from difficult opponents, but it's going to be such a slugfest to garner a place in the semis. Now that Venus seems to be the veteran, I would expect her to win here - two tight sets.

Dinara vs Svetlana
Interestingly, the last two Russians will meet in a quarterfinal. Svet has lost to the eventual champion here the last two years, while Dinara had a good run in Rome. While Svetlana has the goods to rally around clay (having 3-time RG winner Arantxa as a coach is definitely a plus), Dinara has the momentum right now (Give the girl some credit, she climbed from 1-5 down against Sharapova). I would pick Lil Sis to earn her Grand Slam semifinal debut in 3 sets.

Justine vs Anna Lena
With Nadia faltering on opening day, our hopes of a gritty claycourt showdown were also rained out. Anna Lena has her best singles showing in any slam, but I'm afraid that that will be the end of it. Justine, the queen of clay will push through in straight sets.

Martina vs Kim
They last met in Melbourne, with 2005's Comeback Queen getting the better of 2006's Comeback Queen in 3 nailbiting sets. Finally, a showcase match for Paris! Kim will try to blast Martina out of the court, while the latter will try to play around the tricky clay. I hope this reaches 3 glorious sets, with Martina reaching the semis.

Semifinals and Finals
Venus vs Dinara - I would pick Dinara still. Justine vs Martina - Just the thought of having them out-think each other on the playful clay is simply delicious. Winner of this match will hold the trophy on Sunday. My heart wants Martina, but my gut says Justine.

Three-peat! Take that, Big Brother!

0 talkbacks: