FRENCH OPEN 2009: Men's Quarterfinal Preview

Here are my predictions for men's quarterfinals at Roland Garros this year.

Rafael Nadal ESP (1) Robin Soderling SWE (23) vs. Nikolay Davydenko RUS (10). After pulling off one of the most stunning upsets of the year decade (possibly ever?) everyone is watching to see what the tall, newly muscled (and generally disliked) Swede will do in his very next match. He will play against the very steady Russian who has been ranked as high as #3 in the world but spent most of last year under a cloud due to an alleged match betting charges. Davydenko had an ungodly 6 unforced errors in his straight set demolition of the always dangerous Fernando Verdasco. It is unlikely that either Soderling or Davydenko will be able t repeat the magic of their 4th round victories in this round, but Soderling will not need it to make his first ever major semifinal. PREDICTION: Soderling in 4 sets.

Andy Murray GBR (3) vs. Fernando Gonzalez CHI (12). The Chilean has been silently cutting through the draw like a Ninja but will now run into a much improved and loud Scot, who is now the #3 player in the world and has nowhere to go but up. Gonzalez has an insanely huge forehand and is very good on clay but Murray possesses many powerful weapons in a deceptively innocuous-looking package: excellent movement, surprisingly powerful serve and a brilliant court sense. It seems very bizarre to say this, but it is very possible the first Grand Slam singles title by a British (male) subject since 1936(!) may be on French terre battue instead of the hallowed grass of Wimbledon. Murray knows the stakes and is itching to have another shot at facing Federer in a major final, having lost to him in the 2008 US Open Final. The 22-year-old Brit has won all three matches he has played against the Swiss 13-time major champion since. Easily. PREDICTION: Murray in 5 sets.

Juan Martin Del Potro ARG (5) vs. Tommy Robredo ESP (16).The two surprise quarterfinalists. Who would have thought that the lone handsome Spaniard left in the draw during the 5th Round would be Tommy Robredo? Del Potro is not really a surprise, but I had thought that French favorite Tsonga would use the crowd and his aggressive groundstrokes to take out the 6'5" Argentine like he defeated Juan Monaco in the second round. Alas, Le Mome (French slang for "The Kid") lost to the 20-year-old, the youngest of the quarterfinalists. Robredo definitely has some skills on clay but del Potro will blast him off the court. PREDICTION: Del Potro in 3 sets.

Gael Monfils FRA (11) Andy Roddick USA (6) vs. Roger Federer SUI (2).Sadly this was not André Roddique's year as the pulchritudinous Parisian took out The Quiet American in straights sets 6-2 6-2 6-3 in the fourth round before an increasingly boisterous and partisan crowd. Of course this quarterfinal match-up is a rematch of 2008's semifinal in which Federer took out the young Frenchman in his first Grand Slam semifinal and the Swiss G.O.A.T.-wannabe's sixteenth. Even with the entirety of the French nation behind him I doubt that the powerful and crafty Monfils will be able to withstand Federer's inevitable march to his fourth consecutive final at Roland Garros, and mind-blowing twentieth consecutive major semifinal. PREDICTION: Federer in 4 sets.