French Open: Day 12 Preview and Picks
By Ricky Dimon
(5) ROBIN SODERLING VS. (15) TOMAS BERDYCH
These are by far the two hottest players at the French Open, so anything less than the match of the tournament would be a bit of a disappointment. Soderling, of course, just toppled Roger Federer and while Federer wasn’t at his very best, there really wasn’t much he could do against the Swede, who was absolute abusing the tennis ball.
It is going to take something special to even stay on the court with Soderling right now, but Berdych clearly has what it takes. He has not even lost a single set at the French and that’s not for lack of a tough draw. The Czech has hammered John Isner, Andy Murray, and Mikhail Youzhny in his last three outings.
This one should go five and even if it only goes four, 10 games per set should be expected. With the way these guys are serving, breaks will be few and far between, especially because conditions should be faster than they were in the Federer-Soderling match.
Pick: Over 39.5 games
(5) ELENA DEMENTIEVA VS. (17) FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE
Schiavone will be playing in a slam semifinal for the first time in her career. The veteran Spaniard earned this spot by rolling Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets. While that was impressive, Dementieva is a much different beast than Wozniacki, Na Li and Maria Kirilenko (the three seeded players whom Schiavone has eliminated this tournament).
Dementieva is a former French Open runner-up (2004) and a proven Grand Slam title contender, so the only real question mark is her health. She has been playing with her thigh wrapped and also said her calf has been slightly bothersome. Still, Dementieva took an injury timeout in the first set against Nadia Petrova and ended up winning the last two sets 6-2, 6-0.
The Russian looks like a strong play right now, but it would be wise to hold off from taking action until right before match time in order to gather as much information about Dementieva’s status as possible.
Pick: Dementieva in two sets.
(7) SAMANTHA STOSUR (-130) VS. (4) JELENA JANKOVIC (+105)
Stosur is coming off the two biggest wins of her career back-to-back, over tournament favorite Justine Henin and World No. 1 Serena Williams. So she is due for a letdown, right? I doubt it. Stosur won both of those matches rather than Henin and Williams losing them and she even handled the pressure of both blowing a huge lead against Williams and saving a match point in the third set.
It’s clear that Stosur will be able to handle the pressure of her first Grand Slam semifinal. Jankovic has been playing well this week, but her draw has not forced her to play anyone like Stosur. This match will be on Stosur’s racket, as she has the much bigger serve and the bigger groundstrokes.
Pick: Stosur in three sets