Madrid 2010 Preview ... Opening the Magic Box

The men's and women's tour moves its center court to La Caja Magica (i.e. the Magic Box).

Tournament Site: here for the poster child of vertigo inducement

Draws: men and ladies

Men

1st Quarter: Fed played a "boutique" tourney in Estoril, making it all the way to the semis against sub top ten competition. As the defending champ, he showed a way to beat Rafa on clay last year: attack by getting to the net, mix in the drop shot, and try to hit through those heavy and high bouncers. Not an easy task at all. Other seeds in his draw include fellow countrymen Wawa, Arod and Headbanger. Gulbis is also in this section. Can he make a deep run like he did in Rome? Look for Fed to try to avenge his loss to Gulbis.

Sleepers: Gulbis




2nd Quarter: Muzz has a chance to turn around his slump on his least favorite surface. Unfortunately he's got folks who have been playing great on clay: Daveed (finals in Rome) and Head Samurai (finals in Houston and semis in Belgrade). Cilic has disappeared since playing well in Oz. I wouldn't be surprised if Head Samurai took out Muzz in the quarters.

Sleepers: IgorA, Bags



3rd Quarter: General Sod took out Rafa last year at the French Open and has shown that victory was not just a flash in the pan. He made the semis of IW and Miami and has had good clay court season making the finals of Barcelona. On the opposite side is Nando who has had a stellar season showing a "regularity" that his fans have long hoped for. Other sharks in the water are Big Berd, Bellucci, Nico, Pico and Nalby. This quarter could be filled with surprises. Given Nando's form of late, he might be the best bet.

Sleepers: Nalby, Pico, Nico





4th Quarter: The second seed is Djoker (withdrawal due to allergies) Rafa, who more than deserves this seed as he has been en fuego throughout the clay court season. The only set he's dropped has been to Gulbis in Rome. His won-loss record in games on glass is 154-35. Wouldn't it restore order to the universe if Fedal who haven't played in a year finally played this year? After getting a total beatdown this year, Daveed commented that Rafa is playing better than his peak in 2008. It's hard to see how Jo Willy, Le Monf, or Tree can really challenge him. Any sane sports fan should expect Rafa to come through in dominating form.

Sleepers: Kohli



Semis: Rafa d. Nando, Fed d. Head Samurai

Finals: Rafa d. Fed

Women

1st Quarter: ReeRee looked decent in Rome for not playing competitively for a couple months. Still you can count on her taking this less seriously than Roland Garros. She gets a bye for making the semis of Rome last week. Two Russian belles are also in her draw. Masha is back from an elbow injury but has never done great on clay. LenaD had the misfortune of running into NaturAna catching fire in Rome. Yeah, I thought LenaD would come through in Rome. Don't disappoint me again, gal.

Sleepers: Safarova, Dani




2nd Quarter: Dinara is the defending champ but no one expects much of her as she has looked quite rusty in the events she has played since coming back from a back injury. So look for others to take advantage of the vaccuum: Lady JaJa has been playing great on clay taking out both Williams sisters in Rome. She and NaturAna both have byes (because they both made the semis last week) for a second round grudge match. We all know which doll that Sneki is pushing pins into. Flavs had a terrible tournament in Rome but can never be counted out on the red stuff. Mono had a great run in Miami but hasn't had a great clay season (losing 2 and 1 to Sam and retiring due to dizziness in Charleston). Allez Bitch's clay court resume has her as the favorite for Roland Garros. Since this event is played at higher altitude where the balls will fly a bit more, she should have no problem advancing to the semis so long as she keeps her nouveau style of ball bashing under control. Oh, did I mention that JaJa has an 0-10 record against Allez Bitch?

Sleepers: JZ, Sorana



3rd Quarter: I have no idea what's going on in this quarter as it's sure to be full of surprises. The unseeded MJMS gets the hometown advantage and a bye for making the semis last week. Vee could face Bepa or Mel in the 2nd round, and is seeded to face Tranny. Sam should get past Dulkbag to face MJMS. I would hope that MJMS's "idiosyncratic" style (lefty S&V with some slice & dice) doesn't throw off Sam but this is Sam we're talking about. I'm crossing my fingers to see MaKiri face off with her mirror image, Agi. I'm picking Sam out of hope.

Sleepers: MaKiri, MJMS, Bepa



4th Quarter: Caro leads this draw but is seeded for a 4th round matchup with Nails whom she doesn't have a great record against. Sveta has an underwhelming 7-7 record for this year, and needs to get her shit together if she wants to have any hope of defending her RG crown. Unfortunately she's facing Peer in her opening match who has had a solid clay court season. Vika has been struggling with an injury but should make a decent run. Still the brainless ball basher probably won't meet her BFF as another bad pusher will take her out. Like the 3rd quarter, I really have no idea how to call this one. Nails, show the world that yellow-skin is no barrier to dirt balling!

Sleepers: Domi, Peer



Semis: Allez Bitch d. LenaD, Sam d. Nails

Final: Allez Bitch d. Sam

Ladies in Rome: Internazionali BNL d'Italia 2010

Tourney site: here

Draw: here

1st Quarter: ReeRee comes back from her Spring sabbatical recovering from a knee injury sustained in Oz. If anyone doesn't need to play a lot of tournaments to be match tough, count on ReeRee. The only question is whether she cares enough about a non-slam event like this to grind it out on her least favorite surface, red clay. On the other hand, ReeRee could have been holed up, practicing on a top-secret Florida clay court so that she can "get me some French." Other seeds in her quarter: Bepa is currently without a coach and made a good run in Charleston (Prince racquets, beware!). Sveta has had disappointing results likely but can never be counted out with her talent.

Sleepers: Kvitova, Domi




2nd Quarter: Vee is back too and is recovering from a knee injury that has visibly hobbled her most of this year. Despite this, she made the finals in Miami and won on clay in Acapulco. Still clay is not her best surface as her ball-bashing mentality means that she lacks the patience to hold off on pulling the trigger. Peer is naturally inclined to be a counterpuncher and made the semis of Stuttgart but did not grow up sliding on clay. The other seeds, Whoopie and Lady JaJa, have more dirt ball experience. Look for JaJa to make a deep run and have her chances against Vee.

Sleepers: Oudin




3rd Quarter: What a difference a year makes! A year ago Baby Hippo won this event and eventually ascended to #1, earning the wrath of tennis purists for not winning a slam. More sympathetic folks suspect that the weight of the expectations contributed to the back injury that has effectively taken her out of the tour since USO '09. This is her second tourney back. Advancing far is not her goal but testing whether her back can hold up. NaturAna fans are hoping she can beat Vesina for a possible meeting with a highly seeded Vika. Nads and Lena are the other high seeds, but Lena has a bit more experience in pressure situations.

Sleepers: Dulkbag, Errani





4th Quarter: Sunshine is recovering from an ankle injury and faces a dangerous draw. While she should have no trouble with other high seeds (Flavs, Aggie and Francesca), all the sleepers can hit through her. Look for the sleepers to make her work hard to advance far (specifically JZ and possibly Dani). Still Sunshine should eventually make it.

Sleepers: JZ, Kleybs, Dani



Semis: Lena d. Sunshine, JaJa d. ReeRee

Finals: Lena d. JaJa

Stuttgart: Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2010

Tourney site: here
Draw: here

Prominent absentees: Splits, Vee & ReeRee (what do you expect?), LenaD, Masha

Top Half: Sunshine might have bad hair days, might be a pusher, may be overcoming an ankle sprain, may look terrible in StellaMcCartney, but underneath that smile, she's one tough cookie. Don't underestimate the Dane. Look for a great quarterfinal match with her best friend Vika.



Sunshine is seeded to meet Sveta who tweeted that she loves cars. She is looking earn another Porsche to race on the autobahn. Nails faces a tough opener against a real grinder in Errani but don't expect her to prevail over Sam who loves to play on clay. Expect a great quarterfinal match between Sam & Sveta.



Bottom Half: Drama Queen looks like another girl who loves cars. But the diva will have a chance to find lots of excitement as she has potential opponents in Dulkbag, and then Whoopie or Allez Bitch. Unfortunately, red clay is Allez Bitch's favorite surface and is likely to prevail.



Baby Hippo is coming back from a lingering back injury, that she has had at least since least year's USO and caused her to go off the tour in Oz. Hopefully she isn't coming back too early (i.e. don't reinjure the back), and she should be just happy to be back putting her in a "nothing to lose position", which probably suits her better than being a slamless #1. Speaking of someone who doesn't need pressure, NaturAna is in the same quarter, but given her form of late she might have a tough time overcoming Agi.



Allez Bitch is due for winning a tourney. Yeah she injured her left pinky but it won't hurt her backhand or her toss. She did well here in her first career and now the tourney is on her favorite surface.

Semi: Sam d. Sunshine, Allez Bitch d. Baby Hippo

Final: Allez Bitch d. Sam