No. 1s Federer, Davenport Kick Off Monday Play at French Open

Unfortunately Henman isn't scaring anyone after failing to reach a quarterfinal during the Roland Garros lead-up events.

Federer sent a warning to the rest of the field two weeks ago after winning his third career title at the Masters Series-Hamburg.

"All in all I'm very happy," Federer said. "It's a message from me to the other guys for the French Open."

Also on court will be No. 30 seed Richard Gasquet, with the French teen looking forward to a third-round meeting with Nadal.

"It's a fantastic opportunity and a great source of pride to be seeded and avoid a favorite in the first round," Gasquet said. "Having said that, playing a qualifier in my first game is tricky. My opponent will have nothing to lose and play full of confidence having won three straight to get here. I'll need to be on my guard but if I play as I know I can I should get through the first two rounds. I've seen the draw and the idea of taking on Rafael Nadal in the third round really excites me."

Kicking off Monday for the men are (1) Federer vs. Sela, (5) Gaudio vs. Julien "United Colors of" Benneteau, (23) Grosjean vs. Juan "The Principality" Monaco, (30) Gasquet vs. Daniele "Choppin'" Bracciali, (4) Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal vs. Burgsmuller, (25) Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez vs. Llodra, (14) Moya vs. A.Martin in an all-Spanish, Luis "Me So" Horna vs. Haehnel, Ascione vs. Sanguinetti, (31) Juan Ignacio "The Spitting Snake" Chela vs. Rainer "Shine" Schuettler, Almagro vs. Kohlschreiber, (26) Novak vs. Phau, (18) Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic vs. Daniel, (20) Ferrer vs. Vanek, (16) Stepanek vs. Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan, (10) Nalbandian vs.   Marcos "Bombs Over" Baghdatis, Pavel vs. Serra, (7) Henman vs. Brzezicki, Berdych vs. Jeff "The Lizard King" Morrison, Tursunov vs. Koubek, Peter "Nuclear" Wessels vs. Ricardo Mello "Yello," H.-T. Lee vs. Calatrava, Vik vs. K.Kim, Christophe "The Roach" Rochus vs. Behrend, O.Hernandez vs. Gimeno-Traver, Hanescu vs. Tabara, Armando vs. Vicente, Mantilla vs. Zib, (17) Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty vs. Tipsarevic, (33) Soderling vs. Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco, Mardy "Silver" Fish vs. Xavier "X-Man" Malisse, and Simon vs. Olivier "All We Need is Just a Little" Patience in an all-French match-up.

No. 1 Davenport, Defending Champ Myskina Highlight Day 1 at French Open
 
Like men's No. 1 Roger Federer, women's No. 1 Lindsay Davenport has yet to have career success at the French Open. And if Davenport's French Open preparation this year is any indication, 2005 will be no different.

Adverse to spending weeks in Europe prior to the French, this year Davenport played only two American claycourt events in April, winning Amelia Island then retiring with injury against Justine Henin-Hardenne in Charleston.

"It's just not fun for me to be in a small (European) city on my own anymore," Davenport told ESPN earlier in the clay season. "There's not a lot going on, and I get a little irritable. At this point in my career, I don't see a reason to be grinding in Europe. I've tried playing Berlin and Rome, and it didn't matter. I'll stay home, get in shape and once I reach Paris -- a city I love -- I'll be excited about playing."

Davenport's inactivity has left her ripe for the plucking by Maria Sharpaova, who can take over No. 1 during the fortnight in Paris.

Sharapova, who is at her worst on the slow red clay with her one-dimensional flattish-topspin game, had a chance to take No. 1 in her last event at Berlin but was stopped by Swiss Patty Schnyder.

"I've said it before, there's no rush," Sharapova said of becoming No. 1 after the loss in Berlin. "I'm not disappointed. I'd rather play better at a Grand Slam. I'm just going to work on things next week and hopefully be fresh and ready for Roland Garros."

After the win Schnyder was quick to point out the Russians problems on the dirt.

"I think it's her weakest surface," Schnyder said. "I was the dominant player. I move better on a claycourt than she does."

Defending champ Anastasia Myskina, sloughing through her season with a bad shoulder, revealed Sunday that her troubles have had more to do with her mother being ill, possibly from cancer.

Joining Davenport and Myskina on court Monday among the highlighted are former champ Mary Pierce, former No. 1s Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters, and last year's runner-up Elena Dementieva.

The full list of competitors on court Monday for the women are (1) Davenport vs. Srebotnik, (5) Myskina vs. Sanchez Lorenzo, (21) Pierce vs. Douchevina, (11) Venus vs. Marrero, (14) Clijsters vs. Tu, (25) Safina vs. Razzano, (4) Dementieva vs. Strycova, Loit vs. Schaul, (19) Asagoe vs. Schruff, (8) Schnyder vs. Cho, Bondarenko vs. Karatantcheva, Birnerova vs.   Kirilenko, (31) Sprem vs. Camerin, (27) Frazier vs. Shaughnessy in an all-American, Cervanova vs. Nakamura, (9) Zvonareva vs. Meusburger, (20) Hantuchova vs. Krajicek, Domachowska vs. Cohen-Aloro, Kostanic vs. Tanasugarn, Ferguson vs. Diaz-Oliva, Perry vs. Parra Santonja, Perebiynis vs. Gagliardi, Morigami vs. Haynes, Zuluaga vs.   Prusova, Chladkova vs. Castano, Kloesel vs. Santangelo, Mamic vs. Raymond, Panova vs. C.Fernandez, (18) Farina Elia vs. Kremer, (32) Pennetta vs. Craybas, Andrieux vs. Peng, and (16) Likhovtseva vs. Fedak.

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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Sunday was the annual charity day on the French Open grounds. Roger Federer was in action in an exhibition set, as were Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters, Anastasia Myskina, Richard Gasquet and Andy Roddick. The highlight however was the rip-roaring doubles exo between Steffi Graf-Justine Henin-Hardenne vs. Marat Safin-Gilles Simon. For those so fortunate, how entertaining was that to see Steffi ripping shots by Marat? We would put money of Steffi reaching the quarters with a wildcard...Practice watch: Marat Safin drew quite a crowd hitting with Dmitry Tursonov on Sunday. Guillermo Coria was also under many a watchful eye, as was James Blake...The last time a men's defending champ lost first round at the French Open in the Open Era is -- never...Andre Agassi is playing in his 58th career Grand Slam which leads all players in the Open Era. Agassi was tied with Michael Chang, Jimmy Conners and Ivan Lendl at 57 until this week...Roger Federer has lost in the first round at the French Open in two of the last three years...Among the following, who has won the most clay matches this spring: Juan Carlos Ferrero? Guillermo Canas? Filippo Volandri? Richard Gasquet? or Nikolay Davydenko? If you answered Volandri you were right. The Italian has quietly won 16 matches...For you U.S. fans without The Tennis Channel, let's hope ESPN shows a bit of Richard Gasquet so you can see him flick that sickly-sweet one-handed backhand. If you thought Federer had a nice one, this one is better...In the men's field, Spain leads all with 19 players, followed by France (17), Czech Republic and Germany (9), and Argentina and the U.S. (8)...Serena Williams reportedly re-injured her bad ankle while practicing last week in Florida...What are the odds that Lleyton Hewitt really broke his ribs falling down the stairs like he says? Zero percent? Less than zero?...In the No. 1 Race on the women's side, as long as Lindsay Davenport stays a round ahead of Maria Sharapova starting at the quarterfinals she will stay No. 1...French hope Richard Gasquet at the onset of Roland Garros: "I've seen the draw and the idea of taking on Rafael Nadal in the third round really excites me. I love playing him and it would be a superb match. Before then, I need to win my first match at a Grand Slam and I think the time is right for me. I know there is a lot of expectation after my recent performances but it's good pressure."...Justine Henin-Hardenne: "I took some time off after Berlin to avoid making the same mistakes as in the past. I also decided not to play three weeks running. I need to take care and listen to my body because I hope to be around the circuit for a few years yet. Playing Conchita Martinez in the first round means I will need be at my best right from the start and that's a good thing."...Peter "Heart Attack" Lundgren on student Marat Safin's preparation for Roland Garros: "We've been in Paris since Monday and Marat's game has been getting better every day. He's becoming more and more aggressive, and stepping into the court more. He appears ready for a big fortnight. I think his first two matches will be important because they are often the hardest for him...The first two matches will be crucial and if he gets through them I'll be confident. He then stands a good chance of facing Juan Carlos Ferrero who has beaten him twice recently...Roland Garros is his favorite tournament. The conditions here suit him very well because the surfaces are faster than the other clay tournaments and he likes that."...Anastasia Myskina revealed at Roland Garros that her mother has been dealing with a serious illness, possibly cancer: "It's been a pretty hard time, but I'm a professional tennis player and I have to play no matter what. I'm going to try to do my best. It's my favorite tournament, so I really want to do great here." Myskina will also competed in Paris despite her chronic shoulder injury: "Of course it's not 100 percent, you can't heal that fast. But it's getting better. I've been serving a lot and even though it gets tired, I still need to do it."...Georges Homsi writing for the Roland Garros website: "Surprisingly dumped out of the tournament by Gustavo Kuerten in straight sets last year, (Roger) Federer intends to avoid any such mishap this time around." Hey Georges, Guga won the French three times. Look it up...Kim Clijsters rates her fitness level at 80 percent going into Roland Garros with the bad knee: "The injury was no big deal. It was just a case of bad timing. I will keep doing my splits on court because it's part of my game and helps me."...Serena Williams won't do it this year as she is out of the French Open with injury, but seven players have won the Australian and French opens in the same year: Margaret Court (1973,'70-69), Rod Laver (1969), Steffi Graf (1988), Mats Wilander (1988), Monica Seles (1992-91), Jim Courier (1992), and Jennifer Capriati (2001)...Rafael Nadal takes a 17-match winning streak into Roland Garros...Israeli Dudi Sela, the qualifier who faces Roger Federer in the opening round, has never played a tour-level match. Good luck...Talented Italian "You Say" Potito Starace, who was to likely bump Brit Tim Henman in the opening round, has pulled with a sprained ankle and is replaced in the draw by lucky loser Juan Pablo Brzezicki, who is making his tour-level debut. That's some good luck for Timbledon...Roger Federer's best result at Roland Garros was reaching the quarterfinals in 2001, when he lost to eventual runner-up Alex Corretja 7-5, 6-4, 7-5...Last year Gaston Gaudio became the first player in the Open Era (since 1968) to save match points in a Grand Slam final...Last year Richard Gasquet lost in the first round at Roland Garros for the third consecutive year, falling to David Nalbandian...Rafael Nadal joins Thomas Muster as the only players to win five pre-Roland Garros claycourt titles in a year...Want to make some bank, punters? Bet against Rainer Schuettler, who has lost first round in all five of his French Open lead-up claycourt events this year, nice effort...From Sportinglife.com: "For the first time in a decade Tim Henman will walk on to the red dust of Roland Garros next week with a swagger." Yeah, a swagger that says 'I failed to reach a claycourt quarterfinal this year before Roland Garros.'...Andy Roddick is serving as spokesman for Florida charity 'Deliver the Dream,' a non-profit organization that provides retreat weekends for families facing serious illness or crisis. "When a child or parent is seriously ill, Deliver the Dream is there to help the entire family find the strength to prevail," Roddick said. "It's this unique approach to providing support that attracted me to this incredible program. I'm really looking forward to attending my first retreat weekend and doing whatever I can to help (founder Pat Moran's) organization further its mission and raise money to help children and families."...The South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Charlie "Brick" Bricker is in Paris, following Spanish teen sensation Rafael Nadal with his pad and pencil: "The American as well as the European press have fallen in love with him, but before he usurps Roger Federer's crown, he's going to have to learn to volley and to produce a bigger serve than the erratic and not particularly sizzling deliveries present in his current arsenal. Still, this is the French Open, which begins Monday the greatest test of backcourt endurance in tennis. And he can win here without volleying and serving aces. He has enough tools for the dirt -- a bludgeoning forehand, heavy topspin, annoying backhand slice, physical presence and speed. Whatever else he does on court, there is always the speed." Brick is so caught up in it he even throws in the Harlequin Romance ending: "In fact, he's already taken off. What is expected of him at the French Open is that he soars high enough to reach the stars." Eeek...Sjeng Schalken has pulled from the French with an Achilles injury...Ivan Ljubicic enters Roland Garros after a win at the Zagreb Challenger on clay...You've got to love it when TV commentators write stories for websites. Here's Tracy Austin writing for MSNBC.com: "(Justine) Henin-Hardenne likes clay and it's a surface she feels very comfortable on" See Jane run. Jane run good. Justine hit ball...How funny to see Justine Henin-Hardenne acting like a smitten little girl while playing exhibition doubles with Steffi Graf at Roland Garros Sunday...From the Mercury News: "With the pending retirement, after 15 years, of CEO Mark Miles, the ATP has decided on a major structural change in its organization, and all the elements for disaster are there. Instead of one powerful executive at the top, the ATP will replace Miles and also hire a chairman of the board of directors, with the two men sharing authority." Two heads aren't better than one. Maybe the two of them can get together and axe the horribly-confusing (even to the media) "ATP Race" standings.


French Open Men's Preview:
http://www.tennis-x.com/story/2005-05-22/c.php