There is no reason why Nadal should not be the clear favorite for this years French Open. Nadal hasn't lost one match on clay this year and only gave up 1 set I believe to Almagro. Keep in mind Almagro was playing like a machine and slapping backhand cross court winners like no one was on the other side. Even then Nadal was able to intimidate and break down his opponent. They just don't believe they can beat Nadal on the clay. Im sure Robin Soderling didn't believe he was going to win last year when he stepped on the court at the French and beat the king of clay.

All this said there still is a high chance that Nadal doesn't win this years French. Yes he is the favorite but winning a major is harder then Federer and Nadal have made it look in the past few years. 7 matches all 3 out of 5 sets over a 2 week time frame. Having to keep your focus and not run into a red hot player as Almagro was last week in Madrid. If Almagro keeps that up for 2 sets he wins that match over Nadal. Last year Nadal ran into Soderling who was crushing the ball for the entire match. Then we have Federer, not a great clay court season until Madrid last week. He seemed to get his grove back and could have won his match against Nadal in the Finals. He had many missed break point opportunities and missing the easy drop shot in the 2nd set tie breaker broke his spirit. If that shot goes over then they would have played a third set.

My pick to win is Nadal, betting against him would just be dumb!

Ranked #58 in the world, Mardy Fish had one of the biggest wins of his career on Saturday defeating #3 player in the world Andy Murray. Fish who has been underachieving as of late and spending more time playing doubles then singles took home a match to remember. Maybe he found inspiration from O. Rochus who a took out #2 seed Novak Djokovic in 3 sets just a day earlier.

Fish has all the skills to be a top 40 maybe top 30 player but he has not lived up to his talent. But maybe a win like this is what he needed to reignite his confidence and again be considered a threat in the mens game. His next round will tell me a lot. Playing a tough lefty Spaniard, no not Nadal, but rather Feliciano Lopez. Lopez is a match Fish can win and Mardy needs to put 2 big matches back to back and get deep into the tournament to keep his ranking heading in the right direction.

Unfortunately for James Blake things are not fairing so well. Losing in the 2nd round is not helping his 2010 goal of getting back in the top 10. Lackluster results in Indian Wells and now Miami will set him back. I like James, he is good for American Mens Tennis, but he needs to find the right coach to apply his talent. As it stands he is going through the motions without much of a game plan.

Only American Man still standing is Andy Roddick...I thought the hard courts we're our surface?? With the clay court season ahead of us American's such as Fish, Roddick, Blake and the rest of the boys needed to collect as many ATP Points they could. They're next opportunity at the hard courts won't be till after Wimbledon.

Andy Roddick who we all know possess one of the biggest serves in mens tennis is taking on Robin Soderling today in the BNP Paribas Semi-Final. Soderling who also can clock serves at 135mph can back it up with heavy flat groundies off both sides. Andy needs to put more on his shots today. If he leaves anything hanging, Soderling, who proved against Rafa at the French, will tee off and keep Andy running for his life.

What do you think Andy needs to do today to win?

Andre Agassi apologized for the comments he made last Friday night toward Pete Sampras. Andre's attempt to be comical during the "Hit for Haiti" fund raising event crossed the line when he made inappropriate jokes about Pete Sampras being cheap or more specifically a bad tipper. This quickly lead to an uncomfortable situation for both the players and the crowd.

However, in Agassi style, he apologized tonight for his comments. He reached out to Pete to let him know that he didn't mean any disrespect. Andre also added that many people don't realize that it's difficult to be on TV playing a match while attempting to entertain the crowd. He wasn't thinking at the time and it was unfortunate that the comments were made but he didn't want to take away from the reason for the evening. The night raised over $1million for Haiti relief efforts.

Lets give Andre a pass on this one and thank him and Pete for donating their time to help raise money for Haiti relief.

To quote Andy Roddicks twitter comment "incredibly awkward legends tennis raises 1 million for Haiti earthquake victims" :)

What was with Andre Agassi and the comment he made about Pete being "cheap" during the Hit for Haiti fund raising event at the BNP Paribas Open this evening? Pete does a funny impression of Agassi, very harmless and a standard impression all the players use. Andre fired back below the belt about Pete being cheap or a bad tipper. It was down right disrespectful and Pete deserves an apology. And to add, Agassi should feel very stupid for his comments and we all know he is smarter then that.

Pete was visibly embarrassed and uncomfortable as were the fans. I too had a tough time watching after that point. Poor Federer and Nadal who end up caught up in the middle and really didn't know what to say. The remainder of the match was thick with tension and the so called "joke" never seemed to end. Gimblestob had to repeat it between every change over and make matters worse. I know he tried to ease the situation but it needed to die.

And I always thought Pete and Andre were good friends...Maybe Andre is just upset Pete has more Grandslam wins.

I was so amazed to see Robin Soderling's coach, Magnus Norman, wearing Nike RF (Roger Federer) Shoes. I don't just mean the style but the RF was in the rear of the shoe.

I don't know about you but if I was Soderling I would want him to burn those. Talk about flaunting something in front of you or having to be reminded daily that Fed is the best ever. I'm sure Norman has some deal with Nike because he was wearing a Nike shirt as well. But come on! do you have to wear the RF shoe while your main goal at this moment is to make Soderling the best player in the world?

I know Soderling sees those shoes and maybe thinks nothing of it but deep down it has to sting a little.

Can't really see it in the pic but its there.

Ok, I know Carlos Moya is a former #1 and a past champion at the BNP Paribas Open or at that time the Pacific Life Open, but does he deserve a wildcard to a Masters 1000 event??  I struggle with this question because of his accomplishments in the game and everything he has given. Wildcards are meant to help up an comers or top juniors to help them break through. Should it really be awarded to a 30 something former player that wants another shot?

This isn't the same as Justin Henin who retired as the #1 WTA player in the world and then wants back in after a year (she better be seeded by the way!). Carlos has been out of tennis for over 2 years and his game was struggling before he feel off the radar. I just can't imagine him making it through the 2nd round. The men's game continues to get deeper and deeper and there are no easy rounds.

I sincerely hope he does well because I was always a fan. I want to see him have a successful clay court season and make a go of it at the French...but that doesn't answer the question, does he really deserve a wildcard?

John Isner just won the 4th set against Djokovic! Isner playing great tennis hung strong in the 4th battling through a few tight games but his serve has "served" him well. On the other hand Djokovic showing real frustration as he received a point penalty early in the 4th set tie-breaker. Isner stayed the coarse and pulled out the 4th set after Djokovic missed a makable down the line passing shot. All the momentum on Isners side as he serves first in the 5th.

The first day of Davis cup play for the USA was not a good one. John Isner and Sam Querry both lost the opening round rubbers todays. The losses place all the pressure on the Bryan Brothers to pull out the win on Saturday. Odd are they will pull out the win. Experiaenced Davis Cup players, the Bryan Brothers, can handle the clay and the hostile Serbian crowd that will give the Bryans all they can handle.

None the less, a win tomorrow will only give us an opportunity to have something to play for on Sunday. It will be a tough task for the Isner and Querry to bring it home on Sunday. Both players possess a huge serve but the slow red clay takes away the USA's top weapon. Also, taking a match from Djokovic on Sunday on any surface is tough to ask. It's not looking good for the USA to advance in Davis Cup this year.

The first day of Davis cup play for the USA was not a good one. John Isner and Sam Querry both lost the opening round rubbers todays. The losses place all the pressure on the Bryan Brothers to pull out the win on Saturday. Odd are they will pull out the win. Experiaenced Davis Cup players, the Bryan Brothers, can handle the clay and the hostile Serbian crowd that will give the Bryans all they can handle.

None the less, a win tomorrow will only give us an opportunity to have something to play for on Sunday. It will be a tough task for the Isner and Querry to bring it home on Sunday. Both players possess a huge serve but the slow red clay takes away the USA's top weapon. Also, taking a match from Djokovic on Sunday on any surface is tough to ask. It's not looking good for the USA to advance in Davis Cup this year.