You were correct if you picked Roger Federer, which no one did again. The poll results are as follows:

0% Federer - Champion
87% Nadal – Round of 16 exit
12% Other

The majority is now three of six and batting 50%. The Wimbledon poll will be next. We are going to need to step up our game.

Federer won the French Open by beating Robin Soderling 6-1 7-6(1) 6-4. The win now gives him his long-awaited career grand slam and he ties Pete Sampras’ record of 14 career grand slams.

(Image: FFT)

Third-seeds Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy overcame a one set deficit to surpass Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman 3-6 6-3 6-2. It is their second title together and their first Grand Slam doubles title win.

(Image: FFT)

The Croatian pair of Marin Draganja and Dino Marcan beat out the Guilherme Clezar of Brazil and Liang-Chi Huang of Taiwan 6-3 6-2 for the boy’s doubles title. On the singles side, Swede Daniel Berta overtook Frenchman Gianni Mina for the boy’s singles title 6-1 3-6 6-3.

It is encouraging to see Croatia and Sweden with some new blood. We shall see if we hear more from these youngsters in the future.

(Images: FFT)

Thursday’s Results
Doubles Quarterfinals
3 L. Dlouhy (CZE)/Leander Paes (IND) def. 1 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) 7-6(4) 7-6(5)
W. Moodie (RSA)/D. Norman (BEL) def. 2 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) 0-6 7-6(5) 6-4

Friday’s Matches
Singles Semifinals
2 Roger Federer (SUI) vs. 5 Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)
12 Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) vs. 23 Robin Soderling (SWE)

Friday’s Order of Play

Watch
NBC – 10:00 AM EST – 1:00 PM EST – Tape Delayed
The Tennis Channel – 4:00 PM EST – 11:00 PM EST - Delayed
The Tennis Channel – Online

Wednesday’s Results
Singles Quarterfinals
2 Roger Federer (SUI) def. 11 Gael Monfils (FRA) 7-6(6) 6-2 6-4
5 Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) def. 16 Tommy Robredo (ESP) 6-3 6-4 6-2

Thursday's Matches
Doubles Quarterfinals
1 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) vs. 3 L. Dlouhy (CZE)/Leander Paes (IND)
2 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) vs. W. Moodie (RSA)/D. Norman (BEL)

Thursday's Order of Play

Watch Live
The Tennis Channel – 5 AM EST – 8:00 AM EST, 1:00 PM EST – 10:00 PM EST
ESPN – 8:00 M EST – 1:00 PM EST
The Tennis Channel – Online
ESPN 360 - Online

Tuesday’s Results
Singles Quarterfinals
12 Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) def. 3 Andy Murray (GBR) 6-3 3-6 6-0 6-4
23 Robin Soderling (SWE) def. 10 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) 6-1 6-3 6-1

Doubles Quarterfinals
1 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) def. I. Kunitsyn (RUS)/D. Tursunov (RUS) 6-4 6-2
2 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) def. M. Lopez (ESP)/T. Robredo (ESP) 7-6(1) 4-6 7-6(2)

Wednesday’s Matches
Singles Quarterfinals
2 Roger Federer (SUI) vs. 11 Gael Monfils (FRA)
5 Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) vs. 16 Tommy Robredo (ESP)

Wednesday's Order of Play

Watch Live
The Tennis Channel – 8 AM EST – 12:00 PM EST, 6:30 PM EST – 10:00 PM EST
ESPN – 12:00 PM EST – 6:30 PM EST
The Tennis Channel – Online
ESPN 360 - Online

Fernando Gonzales has advanced to the semifinals by upsetting third-seed Andy Murray 6-3 3-6 6-0 6-4 after two hours and fifteen minutes of play. Gonzales has quietly gone through the draw and has now clocked in his best performance at Roland Garros -- he made it to the quarterfinals in 2003 and last year.

Gonzales will now meet Robin Soderling in the semifinals. The Chilean is 4-3 against the Swede and has won their last four meetings. Soderling has turned up his play in the last few days, so we will see if he can keep it up against Gonzalez.

(Image: FFT)

Monday’s Results
Singles Round of 16
2 Roger Federer (SUI) def. Tommy Haas (GER) 6-7(4) 5-7 6-4 6-0 6-2
5 Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) def. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 6-1 6-7(5) 6-1 6-4
11 Gael Monfils (FRA) def. 6 Andy Roddick (USA) 6-4 6-2 6-3
16 Tommy Robredo (ESP) def. 29 Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-4 5-7 7-6(4) 6-2

Doubles Quarterfinals
3 L. Dlouhy (CZE)/L. Paes (IND) def. 5 B. Soares (BRA)/K. Ullyett (ZIM) 6-2 7-6(5)
W. Moodie (RSA)/D. Norman (BEL) def. J. Acasuso (ARG)/F. Gonzalez (CHI) Walkover

Tuesday’s Matches
Singles Quarterfinals
3 Andy Murray (GBR) vs. 12 Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)
10 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) vs. 23 Robin Soderling (SWE)

Doubles Quarterfinals
1 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) vs. I. Kunitsyn (RUS)/D. Tursunov (RUS)
2 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) vs. M. Lopez (ESP)/T. Robredo (ESP)

Tuesday’s Order of Play

Watch Live
The Tennis Channel – 8 AM EST – 12:00 PM EST, 6:30 PM EST – 10:00 PM EST
ESPN – 12:00 PM EST – 6:30 PM EST
The Tennis Channel – Online
ESPN 360 - Online

Tommy Robredo is surprisingly the last Spaniard left in the draw. Robredo helped the Spanish cause today by taking out German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4 5-7 7-6(4) 6-2. The Spaniard now continues into the quarterfinals to play fifth-seed Juan Martin del Potro.

Del Potro is looking fierce of late and took out Frenchman and Musketeer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets. The 19 year old currently leads Robredo 1-0 in their career matchup. Their face off on Wednesday should be a good one.

(Image: FFT)

Gael Monfils upset Andy Roddick 6-4 6-2 6-3 in just under two hours of play. The Frenchman now advances into the quarterfinlas to play Roger Federer, who went down to the wire with a resurgent Tommy Haas in five sets. Federer leads their head-to-head matchup 4-0.

Let’s hope La Monf get inspired by the home crowd on Wednesday.

(Image: FFT)

Sunday’s Results
Singles Round of 16
23 Robin Soderling (SWE) def. 1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) 6-2 6-7(2) 6-4 7-6(2)
3 Andy Murray (GBR) def. 13 Marin Cilic (CRO) 7-5 7-6(4) 6-1
10 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) def. 8 Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 6-2 6-2 6-4
12 Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) def. 30 Victor Hanescu (ROU) 6-2 6-4 6-2

Doubles Round of 16
1 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) def. C. Kas (GER)/R. Wassen (NED) 6-0 6-3
2 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) def. 14 R. De Voest (RSA)/A. Fisher (AUS) 6-3 6-4
J. Acasuso (ARG)/F. Gonzalez (CHI) def. 4 M. Bhupathi (IND)/M. Knowles (BAH) 7-5 4-6 6-4
M. Lopez (ESP)/T. Robredo (ESP) vs. M. Kohlmann (GER)/A. Waske (GER) 6-3 6-4

Monday’s Order of Play

Watch Live
The Tennis Channel – 5 AM EST – 12:00 PM EST, 6:00 PM EST – 10:00 PM EST
ESPN – 12:00 PM EST – 6:30 PM EST
The Tennis Channel – Online
ESPN 360 - Online

In a stunning event, Rafael Nadal lost to Robin Soderling in the fourth round 6-2 6-7(2) 6-4 7-6(2). It is Nadal’s first loss at Roland Garros ever, and snaps his 30-consecutive match wins and also denies him of his historic, fifth-consecutive championship title at the tournament. His and Djokovic’s losses now opens the tournament draw dramatically for a lot of people. Federer just might win the title that has alluded him for years.

Nadal has no excuses for his loss, except that he did not play well:

So was my fault, and more than ‑‑ well, sure, he did well. He did very well, but I didn't ‑‑ yeah. I think I didn't play my best tennis. And I didn't play not my best tennis, no? I didn't play my tennis, and for that reason I lose. That's it.

I congratulate him and keep working hard for the next tournament.

Poor thing.The Spaniard will be 23 this Wednesday, and there will be plenty of time for more grand slams.

(Image: FFT)

Saturday’s Results
Singles Third Round
2 Roger Federer (SUI) def. 32 Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)
29 Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) def. 4 Novak Djokovic (SRB) 6-4 6-4 6-4
5 Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) def. 25 Igor Andreev (RUS) 6-4 7-5 6-4
6 Andy Roddick (USA) def. Marc Gicquel (FRA) 6-1 6-4 6-4
9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) def. Christophe Rochus (BEL) 6-2 6-2 6-2
11 Gael Monfils (FRA) def. 24 Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 6-2 4-6 6-3 6-1
16 Tommy Robredo (ESP) def. Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) 4-6 7-5 6-1 6-0
Tommy Haas (GER) def. Jeremy Chardy (FRA) 7-5 6-3 4-6 6-4

Double Second Round
1 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) v. L. Friedl (CZE)/D. Skoch (CZE)
14 R. De Voest (RSA)/A. Fisher (AUS) def. D. Vemic (SRB)/M. Zverev (GER) 6-3 7-6(6)

Doubles Round of 16
2. B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) def. A. Pavel (ROU)/H. Tecau (ROU) 6-1 6-4
3 L. Dlouhy (CZE)[/L. Paes (IND) def. J. Benneteau (FRA)/N. Mahut (FRA) 7-6(4) 6-3
4 M. Bhupathi (IND)/M. Knowles (BAH) def. J. Brunstrom (SWE)/J. J. Rojer (AHO) 7-5 6-7(4) 7-6(3)
5 B. Soares (BRA)/K. Ullyett (ZIM) def. J. Levinsky (CZE)/I. Zelenay (SVK) 3-6 6-4 7-6(6)
I. Kunitsyn (RUS)/D. Tursunov (RUS) def. 8 P. Cuevas (URU)/L. Horna (PER) 7-6(4) 6-4
J. Acasuso (ARG)/F. Gonzalez (CHI) def. G. Garcia-Lopez (ESP)/S. Roitman (ARG) 6-1 6-3
W. Moodie (RSA)/D. Norman (BEL) def. S. Aspelin (SWE)/P. Hanley (AUS) 3-6 6-3 7-5

Sunday’s Matches
Singles Round of 16
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. 23 Robin Soderling (SWE)
3 Andy Murray (GBR) vs. 13 Marin Cilic (CRO)
8 Fernando Verdasco (ESP)vs. 10 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)
12 Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) vs. 30 Victor Hanescu (ROU)

Doubles Round of 16
1 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) vs. C. Kas (GER)/R. Wassen (NED)
2 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) vs. 14 R. De Voest (RSA)/A. Fisher (AUS)
4 M. Bhupathi (IND)/M. Knowles (BAH) vs. J. Acasuso (ARG)/F. Gonzalez (CHI)
M. Lopez (ESP)/T. Robredo (ESP) vs. M. Kohlmann (GER)/A. Waske (GER)

Sunday’s Order of Play

Watch Live
The Tennis Channel – 5 AM EST – 3:00 PM EST, 6:00 PM EST – 9:30 PM EST
NBC – 3:00 PM EST – 6:00 PM EST
The Tennis Channel – Online

An inanimate Novak Djokovic was bounced out of the French Open today by German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4 6-4 6-4 after 2 hours and 21 minutes of play. Djokovic was sluggish and could not make any adjustments. Kohlschreiber, to his credit, played a solid and efficient match. The German did not give Djokovic any errors or blips that might allow the Serb to get back into the match.

The defeat is a lost opportunity for Djokovic to cap off his European clay-court season. He was able to turn around his uninspiring start of the season into a solid clay-court season. The Serb was the second-best player on clay this year, and the loss now puts this progress back into inconsistent territory. The French Open draw gave Djokovic an excellent opportunity to play Nadal in the final, and a chance to gain on Roger Federer and Andy Murray in points. Djokovic is actually capable of winning another grand slam title and moving up in the rankings, but bad decisions and self-sabotage continue to impede him from doing so.

His first problem is that he has never taken care of his fitness. That is the real difference between the top-tier players and everyone else. Federer and Nadal already had the physical fitness, and Murray and Verdasco worked hard in the off-season, which is paying off now. Djokovic addressed this by hiring a new fitness coach over a month ago, but he is already at a disadvantage from the others.

The second horrible decision is to change his racket at the end of last season. It took him about six months to get used to the new racket. In the meantime, he could not control his shots. This affected his confidence, and his play suffered the early part of the season. The inconsistent results allowed Andy Murray to overtake the Djokovic for the three spot.

The final bad decision is to participate in his family’s tournament in Serbia the week before the French Open. Nadal complained about the scheduling of the Madrid Masters, which did not give him the preparation he would have liked for the French Open -- that tournament took place two weeks before Roland Garros. The other top-six players took the week prior to Roland Garros off. It seemed like this was another sketchy decision, but Djokovic looked like he might get away with it. Today, it caught up with him.

Djokovic is also not helped by the self-sabotage that seems to pop up at inopportune moments. Last year’s Wimbledon, he was hot on the heels of Nadal and threatened to overtake Nadal’s two spot. Marat Safin managed to bounce the Serb out of the tournament in the second round. At the Australian Open this year, he was positioned to take Federer’s second spot. Instead of defending his title, the Serb ended up retiring in the quarterfinals due to heat exhaustion. This week, he was looking to put himself in a good spot to stay in contention with Murray and Federer, but that opportunity has gone out of the window.

Djokovic’s team needs to make better decisions in terms of his tennis career. It seems like they jump on every short-term decision rather than looking at the long term. Is more important to make five million dollars for changing rackets or sticking with what is working and having more consistent results? Is it more important for him to play in a small, local tournament right before the French Open or giving him some rest that might put him in contention of the title?

(Images: FFT)

Veteran Tommy Haas was able to expel the French up-and-comer Jeremy Chardy in a pretty good win at 7-5 6-3 4-6 6-4. Chardy tried to turn his luck around in the fourth set, but Haas was able to hold on for the win and get off of the court in a timely fashion.

Haas advances to the round of 16. It is his first good run at a grand slam since his quarterfinal appearance at the US Open in 2007 and his first round-of-16 appearance in a grand slam or Master Series event this year. The 31 year old battled a shoulder injury last year that caused him to miss the US and French slams. His ranking dropped to a low of 86 this year, as a result, after starting out the 2008 season ranked 12th in the world.

The current ATP world no. 63 will play Roger Federer next. Federer is currently 8-2 over Haas and is on six-consecutive winning streak -- the last two victories were walkovers -- over the German. The last time Haas beat Federer is in 2002 in the round of 16 at the Australian Open.



(Image: FFT)

Friday’s Results

Saturday's Order of Play

Watch Live
The Tennis Channel – 5 AM EST -1:30 PM EST, 4:30 PM EST - 8:00 PM EST
NBC - 1:30 PM EST - 4:30 PM EST
The Tennis Channel - Online

An action shot of Rafael Nadal in his win over former world no. 1 Lleyton Hewitt. The Aussie gave him no trouble, and Nadal disposed of Hewitt 6-1-6-3 -6-1 in under two hours of play. Nadal will meet Robin Soderling next, and I am sure it will be a repeat of this.

(Image: FFT)

Fernando Verdasco outlasted countryman Nicolas Almagro 6-2 7-6(4) 7-6(8) after 2 hours and 47 minutes of play. Verdasco pretty much had his way with Almagro until the third set, which lasted 85 minutes. He could not quite closeout the match but was able to eventually get the job done in the tiebreak.

Next up for Verdasco is tenth-seed Nikolay Davydenko. Davydenko leads their head-to-head matchup 4-1, but the last time they played was in Rome in 2006. A lot has changed in three years, so this matchup should be a good one.

(Image: FFT)

Thursday’s Results

Friday's Order of Play

Watch Live
The Tennis Channel – 5 AM EST -12 PM EST, 6:30 PM EST - 10:00 PM EST
ESPN - 12 PM EST - 6:30 PM EST
The Tennis Channel - Online
ESPN - Online