Feel Like Running and Dancing for Joy



Caroline Wozniacki, Seed #1


The French Open has begun.

Yeah, I enjoy watching tennis, especially when it is played on clay. The surface characteristic of clay takes away the advantage of "serve dependant" players. On clay, you need to volley. That means a lot of athleticism as you run back and forth across the court. And it requires a strong tactical approach, as you attempt to maneuver your opponent into providing an opening.

There's no winning solely from baseline at Roland Garros. For instance, the most dominant female players of the past decade have been the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena. Both are dominant servers and highly focused upon power plays from the baseline, but, between the two of them, they have only one French Open singles win (Serena in 2002).

And so I find watching the French Open to be the most engaging of the Grand Slam events.


Jelena Janković, Seed #10


So, who am I rooting for?

For the Men's singles, I'd like to see Rafael Nadal win another French Open. He's the most exciting player to watch on clay.

For the Ladies, I'm not set behind anyone in particular, but seeing Kim Clijsters pull off a comeback would be nice.

However, being an advertising enthusiast, I'm always open to another Maria Sharapova win. She's got to keep her endorsement value strong so that we can continue having fun ads like these:

Come on, Maria!!! Don't let the Pomeranian down!!!

Here's the official Roland Garros 2011 site and here is the French Open Wikipedia page.

Enjoy!!!