I tried to determine the toughest draws conquered at the respective events since the start of the 1988 season. The Australian Open did not have 1 draw that jumped out at me. The U.S. Open had several draws that stood out as quite difficult for the champion to navigate (1992, 1994, 1998, 2002). At any rate, these are the 4 draws I selected. Tell me and the rest of the Tennis-x readers what other draws were exceptionally deep and rough.

During the French fortnight, Wilander asserted, “What I understand because my career is over and what Federer doesn’t understand because his isn’t, is that the day he beats Nadal on clay is the day he will never lose to Rafael Nadal again.” That scenario wasn’t plausible then, and it’s impossible now. As John McEnroe remarked, “Federer now seems farther away than ever from winning this.” Mary Carillo posed and answered the real question: “What’s to stop Nadal from carrying all this confidence into Wimbledon in a couple weeks?” And can Federer, who barely staved off rampaging Nadal in the 2007 Big W final, stop him and Djokovic there?

“I had obviously a strategy in mind, but I couldn’t do it because of Rafa’s play,” Federer said. “He’s so hard to stop once he’s on top of you. The moment I step off this court I will think of grass — I’m looking forward to the grass, that’s for sure.”

“The last two Grand Slam finals were a great learning experience for me,” Ivanovic said. “I’m only 20 and it was my third final already, so that kept some pressure off me. I was just trying to enjoy it. Obviously there were a lot of emotions inside, but until the last point I tried not to think about the occasion and just focus on my tennis. I was really happy I managed to do that today.”

Hey NBC, thanks for keeping tennis on the always-tape-delayed down-low in the U.S., and you in on some conspiracy to kill tennis?

Ivanovic v Safina in First-Time-Winner French Open Final
The players with the most heart won out Thursday in the French Open semifinals, where Serb Ana Ivanovic and Russian Dinara Safina set up a meeting to see which will walk away with their first Grand Slam title.
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Ivanovic outlasted her Serbiajn compatriot Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in [...]

Kuzy, Safina Advance to All-Russian French Open Semifinal
Down a set and 2-5 in the second, Russian Dinara Safina staged another gutsy comeback Wednesday at the French Open, defeating countrywoman Elena Dementieva 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-0 to advance into her first semifinal at Roland Garros.
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Dementieva, the former French Open runner-up and a doormat for more mentally-stronger opponents [...]

“I tried to play it at the beginning, but I did not expect such results…He starts playing and his balls bounce up six meters high,” Almagro told reporters. “These are things I’m not used to. I’m not used to that on the tour, to have such heavy balls, such pace, such rhythm. His level is very high. It’s very difficult to play equal.”

Before taking a break from French Open tennis, I want to express my appreciation for Rafael Nadal’s 26 consecutive French Open singles wins, Roger Federer’s 16 consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances and Novak Djokovic’s 5th straight Grand Slam semifinal appearance. If Federer beats Gonzo, it will be 16 consecutive semifinal appearances as well. These numbers demonstrate that the big 3 are really in their own galaxy at the moment even if other players can challenge and beat them on any given day. Consistency is a key factor in dominance.

“Oh, I was angry,” said Sharapova, who was booed by fans upon rapidly exiting the stadium court. “I was angry for making unforced errors, for not taking some of those balls and just ripping them.”