LDD

"a relatively rare condition that, like shingles, can strike at unexpected times, and which appears to be linked to acute self-consciousness on a major occasion. LDD is often associated with being paired against an overtly aggressive, self-confident opponent."

Read more about LDD on Dr. Bodo's blog.

Every day, in every way...

I hate ESPN2 more. Both men's and women's French Open round of 16 matches are being played, all of which I would like very much to see, so ESPN2 is showing the Federer-Benneteau match, which has already been completed, and the Sharapova-Safina match, which has already been completed. Do they really believe that tennis fans are content to miss big matches, and that non-tennis fans are going to tune in in droves on a Monday afternoon to see Roger and Maria?

Quote of the day

"...the self-styled 'cow on ice' can at least go out to pasture and graze on the lawns of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet club where she won her first ever Grand Slam in 2004."

Drew Lilley on Maria Sharapova

Another major upset in doubles

Last week, we saw the number 2 seeds in Paris go out in the second round. Today, the number 3 seeds, Kveta Peschke and Rennae Stubbs, also went out, victims of Casey Dellacqua and Francesca Schiavone, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.

Also upset were number 8 seeds Yan Zi and Zheng Jie, who were defeated by number 10 seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual, 6-4, 6-3.

n. nerves of steel. see "Safina"

We saw it in Berlin two weeks ago, we saw it in the French Open round of 16 two years ago, and we saw it today: Dinara Safina appeared to be losing a very close match, and then she figured out a way to survive and ultimately win. The Russian with the weak mentality is now the Russian who can tough it out with the best of them, and--in terms of mental toughness--she was with the best of them today in Paris.

Safina held atwo set points in the first set tiebreak she played against Maria Sharapova. Sharapova saved those points and went on to win the tiebreak and the set. She also went to 5-2 in the second set. It looked like it was over for Safina, but she steadied herself and held for 3-5. And when Sharapova served for the match, Safina was all over it, saving a match point, breaking Sharapova's serve, and--like the Incredible Hulk--emerging much larger and fiercer. "You won't like me when I'm angry" turned into "You won't like me when I'm confident": Safina carried the set to a another tiebreak, which she won, as I expected her to.

The third set was all about Safina. Playing more aggressively, she took control, showing weakness only when she was required to move quickly. Sharapova, who does not slide on clay, had even more trouble with movement. Safina broke her at 2-3, and her confidence visibly grew as Sharapova's visibly shrank. She broke Sharapova's serve again to win the match.

Both women double-faulted a lot, but Safina had good service stats, nonetheless. She was also more successful than Sharapova at the net. I have always enjoyed watching Safina, but now, I am loving watching this newly confident Safina with the killer serve and the doubles-honed fine hands.

Two years ago, these two players met on the same court, in the same round, and Safina came from 1-5 in the third set to win the match. Memory, for sure, cast a shadow on the clay today.

Safina def. Sharapova, 6-7, 7-6, 6-2

Now showing...

For the first time in fourteen years, there are no American women in the round of 16 of the French Open. One of the eliminated players, Serena Williams--who was defeated in the third round--was expected by many to win the tournament. Of the other two likely to make it to at least the round of 16, one (Venus Williams) was also taken out in the third round, and the other (Lindsay Davenport) did not enter.

Bottom half of quarterfinals set

Patty Schynder played outstanding tennis to get to the quarterfinals of the French Open

A talented Spaniard got a chance to show people how good she is; a sniffling, aching contender did it the hard way; a clay master showed her absolute best stuff; and a top contender skipped the croissants and served bagels for brunch.

Carla Suarez Navarro, a player most people have never heard of, is very at home on clay, and today, she took another clay specialist--Flavia Pennetta--out of the French Open. This is a match I really wanted to see, but alas, I was not prepared to rise at 4 a.m., so I missed it. The stats indicate that Suarez Navarro's serve was very much on, and that she was quite successful at the net.

Jelena Jankovic has had trouble with her right arm throughout this tournament. It was better, but now she says it's hurting a lot, and she has a wrap on it. She also had shoulder problems, which, I think, would account for her poor serving. Jankovic's serving has improved significantly of late, which is why I suspect the shoulder and arm--and not technique--caused the problem. Her opponent Agnieszka Radwanska, had a lot of difficulty with her serve also. And Jankovic, as usual, has some type of cold or allergy irritation, which is hampering her success. I saw only the last quarter of this match, but apparently, Jankovic had a good first set and opportunities to close out the second, but things went wrong, and she had to wait for a tiebreak to finally end the thing. It could have been worse--it could have gone to a third set.

Patty Schnyder, for her part, could not have played better in her first clay court meeting with Katarina Srebotnik. She used her swinging forehand to throw a lot of heavy topspin at Srebotnik, and her backhand was working very well, too. Schnyder was at her clay court best--changing the pace, hitting drop volleys and lobs, keeping topspin on the ball. Schnyder fans (and I'm one of them) know, however, that with Schnyder, such brilliance does not often occur two matches in a row. Patty has been in so many Tier I and Tier II finals, and has won so few of them. The talent is there; the head is not. Schnyder fans--hold on to the sides of your chairs: She plays Ivanovic in the quarterfinals.

That would be Ana Ivanovic, who beat Petra Cetkovska 6-0, 6-0 today. Cetkovska, ranked number 77 in the world, has some more positive memories to take from this French Open, however: She upset 23rd seed (and good clay court player) Alona Bondarenko in the first round, and defeated Galina Voskoboeva in the second round.

Suarez Navarro def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-3, 6-2
Jelena Jankovic def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-3, 7-6
Patty Schnyder def. Katarina Srebotnik, 6-2, 6-4