Instead of making a bunch of separate tiny threads on the various tournaments and so forth, I thought perhaps a nice, ongoing 2012 thread would be useful.
So, Federer won the blue clay tournament, but Nadal knocked out Djokovic in the final of a red clay tournament. But neither are number 1 in the world.
So, who will win the French Open this year? I’d rank it like this:
Nadal: 50% chance
Djokovic: 20% chance
Federer: 20% chance
Rest of the field: 10% chance - some serious stuff would have to happen for the door to open for them.
Thoughts?
I think it’s a bit harsh to rate Murray’s chances as less than 10%, but given that clay is his worst surface, his constant injury problems, and the skill of the other 3, you may well be right (and you have much more knowledge than I).
I think you’re in the ballpark, but Djokovic’s percentage should be higher and maybe Nadal’s should be, too, since lately he’s been able to beat Djokovic in some big matches on clay. Let’s say it’s 55% - 25% - 15% - 5%.
And of course who the heck knows with the women? Serena has been on a tear lately, so I think she has to be the favorite even though clay has never been her best surface. She’s even picked up a few clay court tournament wins this year.
Yes, I didn’t mean to ignore the women, but I have really found the women’s game to be less and less interesting over the last 3-5 years. Oddly enough, it ought to have been more interesting since so many different girls are competing at the top level(as opposed to about 4 top men). However, I’ve just grown rather bored with the girls’ game. By all means though, we can and should use this thread for any female tennis discussion as well.
I’ll go with the ladies final being between Li Na and Sharapova.
Begins tomorrow.
Here is the Roland Garros Site where you can find the draws
I don’t know why my google skills cannot ever find a nice summary of the seeds but all I can find is a draw.
Here are some online (Ladbrokes) odds to win the Championship:
Mens:
R Nadal … 8/13
N Djokovic … 9/4
R Federer … 8/1
J M del Potro … 25/1
A Murray … 33/1
D Ferrer … 33/1
T Berdych … 40/1
Womens
S Williams… 9/4
V Azarenka… 10/3
M Sharapova… 6/1
S Stosur… 12/1
N Li… 12/1
P Kvitova… 14/1
A Radwańska… 16/1
A Kerber… 25/1
C Wozniacki… 33/1
A Ivanović 33/1
V Williams… 40/1
F Schiavone… 50/1
I’d give Ferrer a better chance than Murray.
Just checked the weather forecast, cool and rainy–so MAYBE Djoko this time.
I don’t know about that, but I would give Murray very little chance.
Started a French Open thread.
Merge them if you want Marley.
I’m going to go Nadal MS
Azarenka WS
Williams Sisters WD
Tecau/Lindstadt MD
Yes I know - haven’t exactly stuck my neck out with any of those predictions. Will revise if the doubles draw comes out & those combos aren’t playing
Well it’s been a day already and no one is talking about it, so here you go, Roddick loses in the first round to Mahut.
I wonder if he’ll retire soon.
I don’t think he’ll even consider retirement until he starts doing poorly at the U.S. Open. Especially since he made what, the quarters, last year, which is still at least in the second week.
EDIT: Also, I’m pretty sure he subconsciously, if not fully consciously, just phones in his clay performances chalking it up to “not my best surface”.
Nadal and Serena are the easy picks here. I hate to be boring, but there you go.
There were a few matches today as the tournament continued its recent tradition of starting on a Sunday. The most noteworthy results: Venus Williams won in three sets, Del Potro and Tsonga won. Melanie Oudin won her first significant match in ages. She had lost five straight matches at majors and has won only two Grand Slam matches since her big run at the U.S. Open in 2010 and she was not even ranked high enough to get into qualifying for Australia this year. She got a wild card into this tournament and I’m sure her confidence needs a boost. She gets the #21 seed, Errani, next. And Andy Roddick lost to Nicolas Mahut. Roddick was never great on clay and he’s had some health problems, but looking at his results you have to wonder if this is the end of the road. He’s 7-10 this year and lost in the second round in Australia, too.
It’s tough for Roddick…he may just have to go home and nail Brooklyn Decker…
Ah where was I, can’t see past Nadal or Serena.
I give Rafa a 55% chance of winning, Federer 35% and Nole 10%. I’m afraid Djokovic’s rock solid confidence has faltered lately and that’s going to really impact his play in this tournament. Last year he was laser-focused and made so few errors that it was sick (in a good way). Since the death of his grandfather, he’s been distracted and has started to make a lot of unforced errors.
So I predict Federer will beat Djokovic and face Rafa in the finals. Rafa will win his 7th.
As far as the women go, I believe Li Na will beat Sharapova, then beat Azarenka in the final.
You heard it here first, people!
Roger Federer has tied Jimmy Connors for most wins in majors. His next win will make the record his alone.
It’d be hilarious if he loses in the next round. 
I didn’t have much time to watch today, but it looks like the only big surprises were Lisicki losing on the women’s side and Lopez retiring with an injury. I see some unseeded men’s veterans had a rough day: Hewitt, Nalbandian, and Davydenko all lost. Nalbandian lost to a Romanian journeyman named Ungur, and Ungur is the one standing between Federer and that major victories record.
Since complaints about the state of American tennis have become the norm in recent years, it should be pointed out that Americans are doing very well so far in Paris this year.