Round 1
The “King of Grass” made a great grass court debut, against German Michael Berrer, with a convincing performance winning 6-4, 6-2 - breaking three times and only allowing one point of his serve in the first set, which is pretty remarkable. Roger extends his winning streak on grass to 55 victories.

I love the grass court season because Wimbledon and the build up to it is always awesome. Also, grass always brings out the best in Roger, and we all love to see Roger at his best.

Finals
Congratulations to Rafael Nadal on the milestone he reached with his fourth straight French Open title.

It was a heart-wrenching 1-6, 3-6, 0-6 loss for Roger against the world’s best clay court player. Roger made too many unforced errors while Rafael capitalized on the opportunities when he was presented with them. It was very difficult to watch because there was nothing Roger could have done. Even if Roger did not make as many unforced errors, Nadal still would have won with his unbelievable play; Nadal was simply too good.

The French Open title eludes Roger for another year, but it’s done with so I’m sure Roger’s focus has shifted to Halle, and defending again at Wimbledon.

Semifinals
Roger will play Rafael Nadal their third final in as many years for the French Open title because of Roger’s victory against France’s Gael Monfils 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5. Roger came out of the gate flying in the first set, but he seems to struggle with his concentration at times during the rest of the match. As the match progressed, Gael’s game really picked up, and the overall quality of tennis was very high. It was a pleasure to watch. The final should be a thriller.

Quarterfinals
Much like Roger’s second round match, this quarterfinal between Roger and Fernando was a tale of two matches. Roger add an awful start to the match, which was evident in the score of the first set (2-6). Roger felt the heat that Fernando was bringing - hitting all the corners with his big forehand, and even getting the close calls in his favor. However, Roger made a complete 180 degree turn-around and dismantled Fernando in the three sets that followed with score of the match being 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. Roger’s play at net was exceptional, and he found his range with his ground strokes. It was a great match to watch. As a result of his performance, Roger will make his 16th straight appearance in a Grand Slam semifinal.

Round 4
Roger has a date with Fernando Gonzalez in the quarters because of his win over Julien Benneteau 6-4, 7-5, 7-5. It wasn’t as clean of a match as his third round match was. I think the damp weather had a lot of due with Roger’s struggles. Because of the slow conditions, Roger wasn’t able to hit through the court as well, and that resulted in Benneteau returning a lot of shots that would have otherwise been winners. Roger was broken twice while trying to close out the first and second sets serving at 5-3, but Roger got the job done. He is two wins away from another potential final with Rafael Nadal.

Round 3
A very clean 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Mario Ancic puts Roger into the fourth round against Julien Benneteau.

Round 2
It was a somewhat disappointing start to Roger’s second round match - losing the first set in a tie-breaker to Albert Montanes. However, Roger regrouped and steamrolled Montanes, only yielding five games in the three sets that followed. The eventual score of the match was 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-0, 6-4. Roger’s forehand was amazing in this second round match, and so was the rest of his game after the first set. The next opponent for Roger will be Mario Ancic.

Round 1
Roger got off to a great start against American Sam Querrey winning 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. Though Roger said that he finds the early rounds a bit tough and sometimes unpredictable, he played very well - hitting great forehands and effectively utilizing his short backhand slice. He was also very aggressive and came to net quite often. Finally, Roger looks to be moving and hitting the ball the way he has in years past, which is great for him and consequently his fans. Unfortunately, the rest of the day was washed out by heavy rains in Paris.

The bid for the French Open title begins Sunday, May 24, 2008. Roger has a pretty favorable quarter of the draw with players against whom he has decent records. Potential quarterfinal opponents for Roger are either Richard Gasquet or Igor Andreev, but given Gasquet’s unfortunate troubles recently, Andreev is more likely to make to the quarters with his tough, heavy, and penetrating forehand, which provides trouble for a lot of his opponents. In the semis (if Roger makes it, which he should), the most likely opponent will be world number 4, Nikolay Davydenko given his past history of performing well on the dirt in Paris.

I think Roger’s half of the draw will be business as usual for the top players, but the bottom half with be more demanding in later rounds with players such as Nalbandian, Youzhny, Canas, Moya, Djokovic, and Nadal. Slowly but surely, Djokovic is nipping away at Nadal’s number two position, and those two have a potential meeting in the semis. As the three-time defending champion, all the pressure is on Nadal, and Roger thinks that this is his time to strike;

“I’m the one playing aggressive, I’m the one trying hard. I’m the one taking risks in these matches so I think I have a positive chance of winning here.

“Two years ago I was more pessimistic because I saw Rafa was completely dominating the game on clay. But now I think I am really close and I believe I have good tactics.

“I showed that in Monte Carlo and Hamburg. Just one point here and there makes the difference.”

I feel this year’s French Open will be very exciting and passionate because the three top players have some much at stake: Roger completing the career Grand Slam and making a good start in a stretch of very important tournaments in the next three and a half months. Nadal four-peting and retaining his spot as the world’s number two, and Djokovic treatening Nadal and making up more ground on Roger.

Also, the tennis world will say good-bye to one of its finest in Gustavo Kuerten with his official retirement after this year’s French. It should make for most great tennis in the upcoming two weeks.

Finals
What a roller-coaster ride for Roger and his fans. He was up, he was down, they were even, but ultimately, Nadal lifted his play when it was needed to win. There were times when Roger played absolutely brilliantly - constructing amazing points, but then there were times when Roger just made way too many errors. Also, I noticed that Roger’s shots your landing around the service line, which made life a bit easier for Rafael. When Roger was hitting the deep, penetrating shots, he was having a lot of success, which is something I think he should work on in his preparation for the French.

Semifinals
It only took 79 minutes for Roger to beat Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-2 to reach the final yet again. This victory set up a repeat final between Roger and Rafael. The finals should be very entertaining as well as intense - should be awesome.

Quarterfinals
Roger had yet another comfortable victory over Fernando Verdosco 6-3, 6-3. Unfortunately, Fernando suffered some trouble with his angle when it was 3-3 in the second, which limited his mobility, and sealed the match for Roger.

Round 3
It was a convincing victory, winning 6-3, 6-2 over Robin Soderling, for Roger. The next opponent for Roger will be the winner of the David Ferrer vs. Fernando Verdasco match.

Round 2
Roger started the defense of his title in Hamburg by rolling over Jarkko Nieminen 6-1, 6-3, and secured a spot in the third round, where he will face Robin Soderling of Sweden. Roger played a very strong match - allowing Jarkko to only win eleven points in the first set, and his record improves 26-1 (since 2002) in Hamburg.

Round 1
BYE

Quarterfinals
It was a very close match, but unfortunately Roger exited Rome losing in two tie-breaks. It was match filled with a lot ups and downs for Roger - he led, he lost the lead, and ultimately the match. Roger will play next week in Hamburg, which is the last event before the French Open.

Round 3
Winning 7-6 (4), 6-3 against Ivo Karlovic, Roger propelled himself into the quarterfinals in Rome where he will face Radek Stepanek. “Props” to Roger for having such a good record against Ivo who towers over every other player on tour. It has to be an extremely demanding task to continuously quality passing shots against a 6 foot 10 inch frame charging the net. But Roger was up for it, and came away with a quality win.

Round 2
Roger faced a tough test in Guillermo Canas in his first match in Rome - winning with relative ease 6-3, 6-3. Roger moves comfortably into the third round while converting three of seven break opportunities in the victory. Roger seems to be getting back to form, and he will need it as the later rounds will be challenging.

Round 1
Bye.

Finals
Rafael Nadal beats Roger 7-5, 7-5 in Monte Carlo. It seems that the norm has been restored - Roger making it to the finals of a clay court event, meeting Nadal in the finals, showing promise that he might pull it off, but Rafael comes up with soon brilliant tennis and Roger is left with the second place trophy. However, Roger has had a great start to the clay court season with having reached two consecutive finals and winning one of them. Hopefully this momentum will carry through into the French and for the rest of the season.

Semifinals
Roger was on his way to a dominating victory over Novak when Novak complained of dizziness down 2-3 in the second set. It will be a repeat of last year’s final of Rafael and Roger.

Quarterfinals
After losing the first set, Roger took out David Nalbandian by dominating the second and third sets. The final score was 5-7, 6-2, 6-2. Roger faces Novak Djokovic is the semis for the chance to play the “King of Clay”, Rafael Nadal

Round 3
Defeats Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4. This is a much better showing than Roger’s first match. “And I was just happy, after yesterday, (to be) playing so well. Today was fine again. It’s good I reacted so well after yesterday’s tough match,” said Roger. The quarterfinal opponent is David Nalbandian who is always a tough opponent. This will be a true test for Roger - can’t wait for the result.

Round 2
Roger squeaked into the third round with a three set victory over Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (1). In the third set, Roger had a very high hill to climb as he was down 1-5, but Roger got the result that he needed so he can put this match behind him. The third round opponent for Roger will be Gael Monfils.

Round 1
Bye