Roland Garros 2003

ariari
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Roland Garros 2003



The men's singles final will be Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, the number three seed, against the unseeded Martin Verkerk of the Netherlands.



The woman's singles final will be an all-Belgian match with the number two seed, Kim Clijsters taking on Justine Henin-Hardenne, seeded four.



What is everyone's thoughts on this year's tournament? Did it go as expected? What are your thoughts on the end of the streak of all-Willliams finals? Who do you think will win this weekend?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    Ferrero and Clijsters of course. Ferrero completely man-handled Costa today, so I don't see him losing to Verkek. Is Verkek a clay court specialist? Costa is... I've seen both Henin and Clijsters play at the local Bank of the West Classic. If it were a hard-court, it wouldn't even be a contest. Clijsters is much more athletic even though she doesn't look the part.



    Ferrero will win in straight sets unless he tweaks something. Clijsters should win convincely too.
  • Reply 2 of 12
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    I wish that Justine Henin win. She has done the greatest part of the job, by eliminating Serena Williams in semi-final. The two women are very closed indeed : both can win.



    For the men, i think that the guy from netherlands has his chance. The guy used to be a professional of night clubs, alcool and women, but he decided to react and to work seriously his tennis. The result is there, offensive tennis.
  • Reply 3 of 12
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Powerdoc

    I wish that Justine Henin win. She has done the greatest part of the job, by eliminating Serena Williams in semi-final. The two women are very closed indeed : both can win.



    That's not too much of an advantage. Clijsters had it pretty easy the past two weeks so she's definitely much more rested than Henin, who had to face Chanda Rubin just to get to Serena. Also given Clijsters has been in the top 3 for what seems like more than a year, I don't see her faltering here...maybe at a lesser tournament. The stakes are too high at the French Open.
  • Reply 4 of 12
    sapisapi Posts: 207member
    Verkerk will have a good chance to win. And, yes he is a clay court specialist.
  • Reply 5 of 12
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    Wow, I'm pretty surprised by Henin. She played circles around Clijsters today.
  • Reply 6 of 12
    der kopfder kopf Posts: 2,275member
    Indeed she did. Can't say I'm all that impressed with the match of today, but I'm still happy for them both. Looks like one of them will be women's (WTA) number 1 before long. It has been said that if Clijsters reaches the semi-finals at Wimbledon, it'll be bye-bye Serena. Trying to avoid chauvinism, but that would be nice
  • Reply 7 of 12
    ariari Posts: 126member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Eugene

    Wow, I'm pretty surprised by Henin. She played circles around Clijsters today.



    If at the start of the tournament I were asked to select a winner in a Clijsters vs. Henin-Hardenne final I would have selected Clijsters as she has played so well and so consistently (minus her Australian Open semi-final match) since the end of the last year. However, I witnessed truly amazing tennis from Henin-Hardenne against Serena Williams in the first set of that match. She played brilliantly and cleanly (only seven errors the entire set). Her victory in the final over her fellow Belgian was well-deserved.



    It will be interesting to see how Wimbledon plays out. The faster surface certainly helps the power-reliant, like Serena Williams. But I'd like to a non-power player, like Henin-Hardenne do well. She did reach the finals a couple years ago. For sentimental reasons, an unlikely win by Seles would be nice, but I am not sure she will even compete. I do not think Venus Williams will do exceedingly well. Her sister's victories of the past year have really gotten her done. I think she would benefit from a break from the sport. Likewise, I don't see another Major victory for Lindsay Davenport.



    In regards to the men's final, Ferrero is excellent on clay and has been playing quite well. Verkerk seems to muscle the ball a lot. He's had a remarkable number of aces during the past two weeks (well over 100). I am leaning towards a Ferrero victory.
  • Reply 8 of 12
    wfzellewfzelle Posts: 137member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Ari

    If at the start of the tournament I were asked to select a winner in a Clijsters vs. Henin-Hardenne final I would have selected Clijsters as she has played so well and so consistently (minus her Australian Open semi-final match) since the end of the last year. However, I witnessed truly amazing tennis from Henin-Hardenne against Serena Williams in the first set of that match. She played brilliantly and cleanly (only seven errors the entire set). Her victory in the final over her fellow Belgian was well-deserved.



    I agree. Henin played very well against Serena and Clijsters wasn't too convincing earlier in the tournament. But you never know if a player slumps after a great match or plays much better in the finals. I never expected Clijsters to play so badly though. She really had a bad day. It's unfortunate that finals are rarely the best matches at a tournament. They are often an anticlimax. I hope that the final between Verkerk and Ferrero will be fun to watch. I certainly enjoyed Verkerks previous matches.
  • Reply 9 of 12
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    The French are just relieved that a white person won, most Europeans were worried tennis that was turning into track and field. hahaha
  • Reply 10 of 12
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    Well, I was exactly right with the men's finals result. Damn you Clijsters. :P
  • Reply 11 of 12
    ariari Posts: 126member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Eugene

    Well, I was exactly right with the men's finals result. Damn you Clijsters. :P



    Better luck at Wimbledon!
  • Reply 12 of 12
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Eugene

    Well, I was exactly right with the men's finals result. Damn you Clijsters. :P



    For me it's the contrary i was right for the women, wrong for the man.
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