In The Baguette

Draws are out, Roger is happy, and Tatashvili may make history by being Serena's second first-round conquerer or by being blown off the court in the shortest match in history (I predict the latter)! Here are my picks for what will, yet probably won't, happen:

1. Serena Williams wins the French Open with Olympics 2012-style domination of the field. She is primed and ready to exorcise all demons from last year and should be a lock to accomplish her goal of winning a match at Roland Garros, plus an additional six more.

2. Novak Djokovic defeats Rafael Nadal in the semifinals in five grueling sets and goes on to complete his Career Slam with a win over Tomas Berdych in the finals. Nole has confidence in beating Nadal on clay once again and two surprise losses in Madrid and Rome won't break his focus for the most important tournament on his calendar this year.

3. Sloane Stephens repeats her fourth-round result. I know she is STRUGGLIN' right now, but I believe in her game and her draw is very manageable.

4. Benoit Paire pushes Nadal to his second ever five-set match at Roland Garros. Benoit is much like Gulbis with his power game. The French crowd will be behind him and should give him the push he needs to...not completely flop.

5. Stanislas Wawrinka is upset by Jerzy Janowicz in the third round. I see the stars aligning and Jerzy's game coming together to give one of the young guns a second-week breakthrough. This will be an especially impressive win given Stan's form this month.

Now that I look at it, these predictions aren't exactly groundbreaking. Oh well. I'm already anticipating an awesome third round. NADAL VS. ROSOL II.

Who do you have taking home the titles? Who do you have breaking through? Leave a comment and let me know! Enjoy Roland Garros, y'all!

Float To The Top

The G.O.A.T. of Float

Now that preparations for Roland Garros are just about over (at least they are outside of France...almost...thanks, Dusseldorf...), most tennis enthusiasts will reflect on this year's Euroclay swing and determine which players have put themselves in the best position for French Open title contention. Unfortunately for those with their eyes on the trophy, they must navigate the draw through seven matches. Eventually for some, there will be a supreme roadblock in the way, a DANGEROUS FLOATER. 

These players are ranked low enough to be anywhere in the draw, even as a first-round opponent to a top seed (Nadal vs. Isner, anyone?). While ranking determines your spot in the bracket, it never is a good measure for seeing who can bust the bracket wide open by turning on the gas and knocking out a major contender. However, said contenders are in luck! I've put together a list of four players from each tour that everyone should have their eye on once the draws are released on Friday. (Each player is ranked outside of the Top 32, a very strategic handicap that stupidly did not consider the myriad of withdrawals, but throw me a bone.)

WTA

Her booty shorts are the best

39. Svetlana Kuznetsova: We all know how capable Sveta is. She's a two-time Grand Slam champ, including Roland Garros, for goodness sake. Then again, she can crap out in round one against a complete nobody. She really is the epitome of a wildcard. Still, Svetlana does seem to get up for the big stage evidenced by her quarterfinal run from nowhere at this year's Oz. It'll be interesting to see if a big name draws her early.

40. Kaia Kanepi: Kaia has been away from the game for awhile with a leg injury, but she has been known to blast opponents off the court with her high-powered game. The former Top 15er made the quarters of last year's French Open, so you know she's competent on clay. Definitely a first-round nightmare for a finesse opponent...if she's on.

44. Simona Halep: I honestly don't know who she is or what she's about or even what her game is like (her matches were always on way too early), but she was BLITZING the Rome field, leaving behind high-ranked victims such as Aga Radwanska and Roberta Vinci. She was stopped cold by Serena, but who wasn't these last few months? Her run from qualies to semis needs to be noted.

54. Magdalena Rybarikova: I personally saw this tall Slovakian qualify for the U.S. Open in 2012. She has a sneaky big serve and an all-court game that troubled Aga in Miami in March. She can definitely surprise a seed early on.

ATP

36. Lukas Rosol: The ultimate floater. We all know what happened at SW 19 last July. He's even more relevant this Grand Slam now that he's nabbed his first title in Bucharest on clay. (Note: he may not even be floating anymore with the amount of withdrawals!)

39. Ernests Gulbis: When Ernie is relevant and annoying Rafa on court and in the media, everyone wins. His matches at Indian Wells and Rome against Nadal were so much fun. They also wound up arguably being Rafa's toughest matches on the way to both titles. And he loves talking smack, which is the main reason why I want him to back it up with a Top 10 victory in Paris NOT AGAINST TIPSAREVIC, THAT DOESN'T COUNT. How pissed off would Rafa be if both he and Rosol end up in his quarter? Ugh, the possibilities.

60. Daniel Brands: scored a Top 10 win (over Tipsarevic...) in Munich last month, but hasn't backed that up in Dusseldorf, getting run off the court in the first round. Still, this German's got a big game and that's never a bad thing.

67. Ricardas Berankis: I'm grasping at straws a little with the men because, at the rate the Big 4 are going, Stan Wawrinka could be considered a dangerous floater. But let's take a look at this former Junior #1. He's steadily making his way back from injury and made it through qualifying to challenge Andy Murray in three tight sets in the third round of the Australian Open.

So there you have it! I'm sure you have one or two or eight players you would replace with those names above, so leave a comment and your reasoning why "such-and-such" should be considered a dangerous floater, and do it fast. You only have five hours left before the draw is released.

Cleaning Up the Mess in Madrid

Wow, Madrid! That was the crappiest mandatory ever!

Call me an anti-traditionalist American, but clay tournaments are boring. The matches are slow. The rallies are long...and slow. The days are slow...and long. And Madrid 2013 seemed to magnify all of these issues I have with clay and put them to the forefront. Granted, this is all from my own perspective as an observer, but there were many times I was asking for the blue clay back (especially since I was watching on my iPhone at work and I can't afford to stare at the screen too long to locate the ball mid-rally when my bosses tend to swing by often).

ANYWAY, Madrid had quite a few stories, but we'll focus on the ones that were made on court.

The Stan Man Can: the Swiss #2 (but #1 in our hearts...maybe?) has joined his countryman, Roger Federer, in the Top 10 by his recent clay results, including a thorough beatdown of David Ferrer in Portugal, overpowering a red hot Dimitrov, and outlasting Tsonga and Berdych in back-to-back rounds. It's too bad he ran out of gas in today's final. I would've loved to see him give Rafa a bit more trouble, but who can blame him after playing 10 matches in 11 days over two different tournaments? I thought his crushing loss to Djokovic in Melbourne would deflate him, but it seems to have galvanized him. He's a legitimate threat to the Big Four and I look forward to seeing how he fares through the clay swing and in U.S. hard court season.

Baby Boy: speaking of Dimitrov, Madrid 2013 will be remember as the tournament where Grigor showed what he can do and how he can inspire a crowd. He broke through and took down the #1 ranked player in the world in one of the best matches I've seen in my short life. As a Nole fan, it took me a solid 24 hours to realize how great and important that match was to Grigor's growth. He has the complete offensive arsenal. We would all love to see that amount of talent sustained throughout an entire tournament.

Deja Vu: speaking of Dimitrov, his gf can't catch a break against Serena. MaSha lost, yet again, to SW in the Madrid final in straight sets in undramatic fashion. I don't think she'll ever break through against Serena. It's a nightmare matchup for MaSha and SW will never brain cramp against her like she does against other players such as Anabel Medina Garrigues (what was that bagel all about?).

Coming Up Short: speaking of Dimitrov, he and Kei Nishikori scored huge wins against the world #1 and #2 only to bow out in the very next round. Kei's loss was especially disappointing because he lost to No. 113 Pablo Andujar in a very poor display. It takes more than beating one great player to reach the top. These young guns will have to earn there places amongst the best the hard way.

Who does that?

All in all, Madrid made a few waves, but the tournament as a whole...well, sucked. Hopefully the Djokovic and Federer would have the sense to touch a racquet before their first match at Rome later this week. What are your closing thoughts on our first combined clay event of the season, not counting Oeiras? Miss the blue clay like I do? Leave a comment, or unfollow me on Twitter and delete me off BBM. Whichever you prefer.

Parents Just Don't Understand

You gotta feel for Bernard Tomic.

To recap today's tennis news: John Tomic, Bernie's father and coach, was arrested today in Madrid for allegedly assaulting his son's hitting partner, Thomas Drouet. There are also reports of Bernie being physically abused by his father at Monte Carlo, coming away from the attack bleeding.

First, let's all remember that Bernie Tomic is only 20 years old. He's still a kid, as talented as he is. He's been put in an incredibly tough, high-pressure situation. He still really cares for his dad and it would have been hard to criticize Bernie for not getting rid of him from the very first signs of danger.

But after today, enough is enough.

This relationship, as it stands right now, is not working. Whatever pressure he may feel at home or around his family should disappear on the tennis court. Unfortunately for Bernie, his family life and his career have bled together to form a private-turned-public hell. The only way to achieve clarity is to remove his dad from his tennis completely.

We've all seen the crazed parent of a star athlete of all stages, from elementary school soccer to professional tennis. None of their children benefit by their over-involvement. In Bernie's case, he's clearly being negatively affected by his father's antics. I can't help but think back to all the times Bernie has lacked in effort and translate those instances into mental exhaustion. With his father being so close in proximity day-in and day-out, both Bernie's immediate and distant future is at great risk of being completely derailed.

Bernie is at a crossroads, but I don't think it could come at a better time. Should he get rid of his dad once and for all, he may finally feel free of the emotional burden tennis has brought him and let his all-court talent, and love for the game, shine through. No one deserves this treatment from anyone, let alone their own parent. I hope Bernie understands this.