So there are 32 seeds, 128 overall players fighting for a mere 16 spots in the main draw at Roland Garros. Win 3 matches and you are in. Here's a brief rundown.

Number 1 seed Alex Bogomolov is an American who has reached a career high ranking of 84. He has not played in the main draw of the French Open since 2004, where he lost in the first round. 26) Steve Darcis could pose a threat in what would be Bogomolov's final qualifying match. However, his toughest test could come in the second round, where he will face the winner of Ivo Klec and Rik de Voest. de Voest is 30 and will look to make the main draw for the first time at Roland Garros. He reached the 3rd round of doubles there as recently as 2009.

Number 2 seed Horacio Zeballos is an interesting case. He came on strong a year or so ago but has struggled lately. He is 5-5 on the year, and he reached the second round of the main draw at Roland Garros last year. His toughest tests figures to come from 23 seed Simone Bolelli, of Italy. He has won a main draw match at the French 3 of the last 4 years. Bolelli could win a match in the main draw this year also.

Number 4 seed Ilya Marchenko could be on a collision course with 31 Stephane Robert. Marchenko has struglled this year at 4-8, but has plenty of talent. Robert will be trying to add to the contingent of French men in the main draw.

American Ryan Harrison is seeded 18 and the only seed he would have to defeat is Number 6 Jaroslav Pospisil, ranked 104 in the world. Hopefully Ryan can advance after a disappointing Aussie Open following a nice run at the US Open.

Alejandro Falla, who had a 2 set lead on Roger Federer at Wimbledon last year, is a 19 seed. Would not be surprised to see him in the main draw come the weekend.

American Bobby Reynolds, seeded 9th, will look to advance to the main draw in Paris for the first time since 2009. He will face German Bjorn Phau in his opening match.

Tatsumo Ita, seeded 10th, from Japan will face some challenges in trying to advance to the main draw. Marsel Ilhan, seeded 21st from Turkey will likely be his toughest match if the two meet.

Lukasz Kubot, seeded 11th, is a player I like a lot. 27th seeded Simon Greulwill providehim with some challenges, but I expect Kubot to advance.

Marco Chiudinelli, is unseeded, but in 2010, he reached the second round of the main draw in 3 of 4 majors.  Marc Gicquel, the 24th seeded Frenchman will also look to advance in that section.

Probably the most competitive section contains Lukas Lacko, Frank Dancevic, Eduardo Schwank, American Jesse Witten, and Gilles Muller. Anybody could probably come from that group and provide some competition to their first round opponent in the main draw.

Well that's about it. Main draw Roland-Garros less than  a week away. But until then, there is still tennis to be played. Should be interesting.

In what was a fantastic match to watch Novak Djokovic, currently #2 in the world, beat Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4). Djokovic got down early being broken twice to start the match but after that played unbelievable tennis. After getting down 4-1 in the first, Novak completely played differently he was much more aggressive than usual getting to net often and hitting bigger shots than Rafa which is not an easy task to do. Djokovic controlled the tempo with his big forehand and steady backhand. Nadal did not go on without a fight though. He took the first set and took the third set to a tiebreak pushing Novak to the limit. Nadal never gave up and on match point down hit an open stance forehand for a winner that no one else except he could hit. As great a match as Nadal played Novak played at a slightly higher level. Novak is white-hot right now winning 26 straight matches and after beating Rafa twice in a row he is playing the best tennis of his career. The hard court season is now over until the summer and the clay season is about to begin. This season is usually dominated by Nadal but because of Djokovic's recent streak there is no way you could count him out. 

During a recent tennis match, David Ferrer was disturbed to find that one of the fans in attendance was so displeased by the show,  that said fan started to cry.   One must remember that professional tennis players are not merely gym rat athletes, they are entertainers.    They fully understand that the people in the stands have bought tickets with their hard earned money in hopes of being engaged and delighted by the players' performances, not bored to the point of tears.    Because of his professionalism, Mr. Ferrer knew he had to act.   Were he a clown in the circus, he would have quickly shaped a balloon animal for the distressed fan.    Were he a rock star, he would have lifted said fan onto the stage to dance with him.   As a tennis player, he took his best option and attempted to deliver a plaything, a souvenir, to the unhappy fan.    Sadly, he chose to lob the tennis ball to the fan rather than to climb into the stands to present it face to face, and his action was misinterpreted.      

The outrage at Mr. Ferrer was exacerbated by the fact that the unhappy fan was a member of a highly volatile, yet venerated minority.   The fan was a baby.    This writer must admit to being generally in awe of babies, always eager to admire, coo at, cuddle, and knit for, said creatures.   Shamefully, this writer must even admit to urging, even pressuring, friends and family members to produce babies simply because she finds them so delightful.    That understood, this writer must make a proclamation:   Babies Do Not Belong at Tennis Matches.      

Of course, there could never be a minimum age requirement on who may attend tennis matches.   That would be ageism, and, hence, discriminatory.    While that could be worked around by having matches played in the nude so that it could be argued that they weren't appropriate for young eyes, players  might  object to such a plan as it would make the placement of sponsor logos difficult.   Few player/sponsor relationships are considered romantic enough to justify tattoos.    Establishing a rule that no one weighing less than 30 pounds may attend a professional tennis match would eliminate attendance by most babies, except those from Mississippi.    However, as long as tennis players want to have their supermodel girlfriends in the stands, that rule is unlikely to gain acceptance.  

Given that baby attendance at tennis matches cannot be eliminated, we must appeal to these young fans to moderate their behavior to the unique circumstances of tennis matches.   Fortunately, babies tend to be quick, receptive learners who are, for the most part, eager to please.   Therefore, for the benefit of potential tennis watching babies, I present these guidelines for proper etiquette at tennis matches:     

• 1. Don't go. When your parents announce their intention to bring you to a tennis match, you must explain that you are, in fact, a baby. There are many places where your presence is appreciated: playgrounds; grandparents' homes; You Tube videos. Tennis matches are not baby friendly places. Note that even celebrity tennis babies like Jada Clijsters Lynch limit their appearances to photo ops. You must speak to your parents gently, yet firmly. Simply say: "I am a baby." If they do not understand, you must conclude they don't speak English, try French: "Je suis un bebe."

• 2. Ignore the grunts. If, despite your best efforts, you find yourself at a tennis match, one of the first things you may notice is that many of the players make familiar sounding grunting noises while hitting the ball. Rest assured that unlike your baby friends and acquaintances, and you for that matter, these noises do not mean they are pooping their diapers. That understood, if you are a "monkey see, monkey do" kind of baby, you may be tempted to join in the grunting thereby produce your own output. This action will not be happily received by those seated near you. If you are a verbal, tattle-tale baby, you will doubtlessly want to point to the court and loudly exclaim "Poopie!" Depending on your timing, your may invoke good natured chuckling by those seated near you; or, you may have a ball lobbed at you.

• 3. Breastfeeding. Of course, you get hungry, and, as long as you do not make loud slurpy noises, you may certainly nurse. However, be aware that some venues have rules against bringing in your own food and if security finds you have coerced your mother into smuggling your lunch in under her shirt, there could be problems. Security may demand that she hand over the contraband. This would be one of the few instances where it would be appropriate for you to cry loudly during a match. As a well-bred baby, you must remember that Miss Manners would tell you that if you are going to eat in public, it is polite to offer to share your food with those around you. Most people will graciously refuse your offer. If someone accepts, you should expect that you and your mother will be making a hasty exit from the stands.

• 4. Crying. Do not cry. That's all. Just don't. Even if you are outraged by a bad call. Even if Venus Williams has made a particularly unfortunate fashion choice. Don't do it. Here's a little known not-really-a -fact for you: in Tom Hank's contract for A League of Their Own, there is a clause requiring sports broadcasters to show that clip of him saying "There's no crying in baseball!" several times a year. Every time the clip is shown, the sports broadcasters must act as if they have come up with a completely novel, creative idea in paraphrasing the quote to the circumstances with such gems as "There's no crying in tennis!" or "There's no crying in curling!" Now, Mr. Hanks is a fine actor, arguably the best of his time, and A League of Their Own is a lovely little movie, but that line is getting old, really old. If you cry and are caught on camera, we will all be stuck seeing that tired clip again. We will not be happy.

One might argue that parents have a role in assuring the proper behavior of babies at tennis matches.   However, parents tend to be rather sleep deprived and exposure to fumes from baby vomit and poop tends to affect their reasoning skills.    Addled as parent brains may be, may I gently suggest to parents that hiring a responsible teenaged sitter to watch over your little one while you attend a tennis match as a couple has two wonderful benefits .    First, it provides adult time together during which you may find yourself speaking to each other in full sentences.   It will provide you with hope that the day will come when you will once again discuss things other than naps and mashed bananas.   It may even give you the courage to produce another baby.    Second, forget the public service announcements and the school programs that have students carting around eggs and sacks of flour, there is no greater deterrent to teen pregnancy than a few  hours with someone else's whining, stinky bundle of joy.   A session with your darling, may inspire the teenager you hire to practice restraint for many years.   Consider it a community service.     

What do people think about Ryan Harrison's run at Indian Wells?  I was lukewarm on the kid for this particular tournament, but today he knocked off red-hot Milos Raonic in 3 close sets.  Ryan Harrison is, at this point, the Great American Hope for men's tennis in the foreseeable future, especially since Donald Young is unfortunately pretty much a bust at this point. 

Next up for Harrison is Fed.  As of yet, the kid has not been consistent enough to merit serious attention as a top ten or even top thirty contender.  But, last week he knocked off (1) seed Robert Kendrick en route to a nice little run at the Dallas Challenger and now he's making noise in a big boy Masters Series.  Despite his relatively small frame, the kid can bang, and if he continues to show the ability to string together some consistency, he'll BE a top thirty player before long.   Now that's a big "if" for anyone, but I need to find hope in the American men's tennis landscape, and Harrison's been delivering as of late.  

Regardless of whether he can take down Fed, Ryan's run over the last two weeks have made hay for him in the confidence department.  Making a mini-gash through a Masters Series draw, like the one Harrison has made this week, is serious business for an 18 year old.  If he can deliver tomorrow (or Thursday?) I'll be a believer that this kid is on the verge of becoming a true contenda'.  Remember when Pete Sergio Tachini'd his way through the U.S. Open at age 18?  I'm not saying Ryan's the next Pete, but c'mon - work with me here. 

Eric Butorac went down early in doubles, but I'm sure everyone was aware of that.  Look for him and Rojer to make a nice run at the French like they did in Australia.  On clay, Rojer's counter-punching, return focused style works well with Booty's smashing and slashing.  

Djokovic completed his dominant Australian Open run by dismantling Andy Murray in straight sets. The match started out tight both holding serve until Djokovic broke Murray at 5-4 to take the first set. After that Murray never could recover and make a comeback. Novak jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second set and after that point it was evident that the match was over. Murray's lack of experience definitely showed during that second set when he never could bounce back. After the jump more stats and quotes from Djokovic's second major win. 

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A rare event will occur sunday in Melbourne: a grand slam will be won be someone not named Nadal or Federer. Since 2004 only 4 grand slams have been won by neither Rafa or Roger. Novak Djokovic won one of them in the 2008 Aussie Open. He will look to do that again against the brit Andy Murray. Djokovic has dropped only 1 set so far and that was in a tiebreak against his second round opponent Ivan Dodig. He hit his stride late and dominated Almagro, Berdych and then beat Federer convincingly to make his second career final. Andy Murray has dropped 2 sets so far and also had a much easier road to the final. With his toughest challenge coming from David Ferrer ranked 7th in the world who he beat in 4. This could be a positive or a negative for Murray. A positive because he will be the fresher of the two but Novak having more experience against tougher competition could be a negative. Djokovic is 4-3 in their head to head but Murray has dominated of late winning the last 3 without dropping a set. Novak Djokovic is in his second straight grand slam final while this will be Murray's first and Novak's experience could provide him a crucial edge. After the jump here are some quotes from both players about being in the final and my prediction for the match.     

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               #5 Andy Murray defeated #7 David Ferrer on Friday night to advance to his second consecutive Australian Open Final with a 4-6, 7-6, 6-1, 7-6 victory. After a shaky start, Murray took control in the tiebreaks giving up a combined four points in two tiebreaks. Now, Murray will attempt to be the first British male to win a grand slam singles title since Fred Perry did in 1936. It was a match of long, physical rallies and break points but in the end Murray prevailed. It didn't look like that early.

              The first set went to David Ferrer 6-4. Even and on serve at 3-all Murray converted on the match's first break point to take the 4-3 lead. However, on Murray's next service game, at 15-40, a Ferrer dropshot and subsequent volley put the set back at an even 4-all. At 15-30 in Ferrer's next service game, Murray won a 41- shot rally to give himself a pair of break points. However, four consecutive brilliantly constructed points led to Ferrer taking a 5-4 lead and forcing Murray to serve to stay in the set. A backhand error by the Brit in the next game gave Ferrer the first set 6-4. It was a sloppy set for Murray, who comitted 16 errors to Ferrer's 6. Both players hit 10 winners. At this point, it looked like Murray was physically tired from long rallies and points. Said Andy after the match, "Both of us did a lot of running.''

               The second set lasted 73 minutes and was a grueling set for both players. Murray broke to start the set, but was immediately broken back by Ferrer. At 2-3 with Murray serving, he faced a 15-40 deficit. However, the serve kept him in it. Back to back huge serves saved the break points and he went on to win the game and even it up at 3-all. It seemed on every break point, Murray, who only had 9 aces, would come up with a huge serve. In all, David Ferrer only converted on 5 of 18 break points. It was a huge hold for Murray. After a couple routine service games, Ferrer had a set point on Murray's serve. Of course, another unreturned serve and Murray won the game and immediately broke Ferrer to take a 6-5 lead. A missed Murray backhand on his serve gave Ferrer the break right back and the two headed to a tiebreak. This is where Andy Murray took over. Andy took a 6-0 lead before Ferrer managed 2 points and the match was dead even after 2 hours of physical, beautiful play.

                There was a guest appearance in the first point of the 3rd set. About 20 seagulls came into the stadium, if only for a few moments. It was as if they could sense that this was a good one so far. At 1-1, Murray once again used his serve to erase two break points. This gave him a 2-1 lead. He would go on to break Ferrer two times that set en route to a 6-1 set victory.

                This one was over, it seemed, when Ferrer was broken at love to start the set, and down 0-30 in the 3rd game, down 0-2. But Ferrer was not finished as he rallied in that game and then broke Murray at love. Both players held and after a big hold to get it to 5-4, Ferrer let out a huge "VAMOS." Both players held the next three games and we were headed to our 2nd tiebreaker. It was all Murray as he won 7-2 to finish the match with a 4-6, 7-6, 6-1, 7-6 hard fought victory. The match lasted 3 hours and 46 minutes. With the loss in the fourth set tiebreaker, Ferrer has now lost 11 consecutive Australian Open tiebreakers. Congrats to Andy and the final should be a good one to watch.  

Could these be a sign of things changing? Going into this tournament only once, the 2008 Australian Open, since 2005 has their been a final not featuring Rafa or Fed. That final was won by Novak Djokovic over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. In the first tournament of the new decade, both Nadal and Federer will not be in the final. Rafa was taken out by his fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. Nadal, who was battling a virus coming into the tournament, suffered from a left hamstring injury very early in the match. Nadal made a couple of attempts to comeback in the match but every attempt he made Ferrer was their with the perfect response. Nadal, known for his ability to chase down balls, gave up 44 winners and on match point Nadal couldn't chase down Ferrer's winner, a shot he usually gets to with ease. Nadal, was visibly upset and had tears in his eyes in the third set. Ferrer was nothing but classy during the match looking over more than once to make sure his countrymen was ok and had a very short celebration after winning. For Nadal this will be a tournament of what could have been and for Ferrer he has a tough match with Andy Murray next.

Roger Federer's loss was very different from Rafa's and much more concerning for his camp. Federer, unlike Rafa, was healthy throughout the match but was just outplayed by Novak Djokovic. Djokovic beat Fed at his own game and capitalized on all of Roger's mistakes. The biggest of which occurred when Federer was up 5-2 in the second and lost the next 5 straight games winning only 7 points during that span. The final mistake occurred after breaking to make it 4 all in the fourth. Federer lost his serve and then lost the match after hitting his return on match point out. After this tournament, Federer will not be the defending champion in any of the 4 grand slams. Fed's loss has got to be very worrisome for his camp and could signal the beginning of the end for this great.                        

                         What do you get when a seemingly unmotivated player and the player with the most career men's grand slam titles play each other? A Swiss practice session. That is what Roger Federer made it look like as he easily defeated 19th seeded Stan Wawrinka 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 to advance to his 8th consecutive Australian Open semi final. On a calm 75 degree day, the match was also calm for Federer, who only faced 1 break point. Wawrinka seemed like he was content with being a quarterfinalist. He had been 9-0 on the year with wins over Thomas Berdych, Gael Monfils, and Andy Roddick. It is understandable to lose to Federer, but the way he did it was dissapointing for many of us who thought it would be a pretty good match.  It was a very unspirited effort.

                       It started out great early for Federer, who took the first set 6-1. Wawrinka won only 6 points on Roger's serve, while Roger took 13 of Wawrinka's 24 service points. Federer took both of the break points afforded to him in the easy set. It looked as if Wawrinka was ready to compete in the second set, serving more consistently and the set was tied 3-all with Stan serving. However, a poor volley on a break point gave Federer an easy passing shot to take the 4-3 lead. At that point, it was all but over. Federer won his next service game to take a 5-3 lead and the 9th game was absolute toying by Roger. The game, which lasted nearly ten minutes, was marked by Federer drop shots and tweeners. In the end, he broke Wawrinka again and took the set 6-3. The final set was only a formality as Federer broke early en route to a 6-3 win. It was a dissapointing end to a good tournament for Stan the Man. 

                      With the victory, Federer will play either Thomas Berdych or Novak Djokovic, the two players who bounced Federer from the last two 'slams. Federer converted on 5 of 7 break point chances and saved his only point. The match took less than 2 hours and was a swift beatdown in the battle of the Swiss.

Not much to say about these matches other then Nadal is really good and so is Murray. Both of them dominate and make their way into the quarters. Murray dominance wasnt really a surprise but the fact that Nadal, who came in the tournement sick, was so commanding and controlling surprised me. Nadal hasnt always fared well against big hitting power players such as Del Potro, Soderling and Cilic so for him to win like he did shows his tennis maturity. After jump, I will give some telling facts about both matches as well as a look ahead.     

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