SB Nation Kansas City - 2011 French Open: Li Na Having Best Year Of Professional Careerhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48935/kc-fave.png2011-06-05T04:00:38-05:00http://kansascity.sbnation.com/rss/stream/19691032011-06-05T04:00:38-05:002011-06-05T04:00:38-05:002011 French Open: Men's Final TV Schedule, Odds For Nadal, Federer
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<p>The <a href="http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/index.html" target="new">schedule is finally set</a> for tomorrow's epic finale between two of the greatest players in the last quarter-century in men's tennis. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer face off for the eighth time in a Grand Slam final at Roland Garros with the 2011 French Open title on the line at 9am ET/8am CT. Given the state of play lately for both, it's bound to be an incredible match.</p>
<p>NBC will be presenting the final live as well as taped at 3pm ET in high definition with Ted Robinson, John McEnroe and Mary Carillo listed as announcers on <a href="http://www.nbcumv.com/mediavillage/sports/nbcsports/pressreleases?pr=contents/press-releases/2011/05/26/sportseventsonn1306413482264.xml" target="new">NBC's website</a>. Currently, Bodog has the odds as Nadal at -250 and Federer at +180.</p>
<p>In other action to close out all French Open action, all Legends tournaments will finish up tomorrow with several doubles matches. The Men's Legends Over 45 Doubles final features John McEnroe and Andres Gomez taking on the French duo of Guy Forget and Henri Leconte. Arnaud Boetsch and Cedric Pioline face off against Fabrice Santoro and Todd Woodbrige in the Legends Doubles final. The Women's Legends Over 45 Doubles final pits Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna against Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport.</p>
https://kansascity.sbnation.com/2011/6/5/2207001/2011-french-open-mens-final-tv-schedule-odds-for-nadal-federerMatt Conner2011-06-04T11:07:56-05:002011-06-04T11:07:56-05:002011 French Open: Li Na Having Best Year Of Professional Career
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<p>With her win at Roland Garros for the women’s singles trophy over Francesca Schiavone at the 2011 French Open, sixth-seeded Li Na is coming into her own as a major player on the women’s circuit. And moving forward, there’s no reason to believe she can’t continue her steady success through the final two Grand Slam events of the year: Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.</p>
<p>Before this year, the Chinese star had only played in four French Open tournaments with a fourth round exit has her best finish. As recently as last year, she went out in the third round and stayed that way through much of 2010. For example, she lost in the first round of last year’s U.S. Open and the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. Then came 2011.</p>
<p>This year has been a career defining one for Li Na. She opened the year with the biggest singles win of her career at Australia’s Medibank Invitational, beating Kim Clijsters to claim her fourth overall title. She then finished as the runner-up at the Australian Open, losing a three set match to Clijsters. Now with her straight set victory over Schiavone, Na should move to No. 4 in the world rankings.</p>
<p>With this type of momentum, it’s unclear just how far the 29-year-old will go, but it’s clear that few can stop her at this point. Li Na has finally come into her own.</p>
https://kansascity.sbnation.com/2011/6/4/2206443/2011-french-open-li-na-having-best-year-of-professional-careerMatt Conner2011-06-04T09:30:26-05:002011-06-04T09:30:26-05:002011 French Open: John McEnroe, Lindsay Davenport Advance To Legends Finals
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<p>After advancing impressively yesterday in their own branch of the Legends Doubles section of the 2011 French Open, American masters Lindsay Davenport and John McEnroe are close to finishing what they started by winning in their own particular semi-final matches at Roland Garros.</p>
<p>McEnroe and his doubles partner Andres Gomez defeated the Australian duo of Pat Cash and Peter McNamara, 6-1, 2-6, 10-8, wrapping up Legends Group B in the process. It was a hard fought battle that could have went either way at the end, but the sudden death match points finally favored McEnroe/Gomez after some time. Up next are the winners of the Group A — either Mansour Bahrami/Ilie Nastase or Mark Woodforde/Emilio Sanchez in tomorrow’s final.</p>
<p>Davenport partnered with Martina Hingis throughout the tournament and breezed through most of their competition in the Women’s Legends Doubles Group B. This morning they defeated Andrea Temesvari and Sandrine Testud to advance to the final in their toughest match yet, 6-3, 6-7, 10-0. Temesvari and Testud finally came apart in sudden death play. They now advance to face Magdalena Maleeva/Nathalie Tauziat.</p>
https://kansascity.sbnation.com/2011/6/4/2206334/2011-french-open-john-mcenroe-lindsay-davenport-advance-to-legendsMatt Conner2011-06-03T15:44:55-05:002011-06-03T15:44:55-05:002011 French Open: Rafael Nadal Dominates Head-To-Head Against Roger Federer
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<p>Even though Roger Federer is often written about as the greatest mens tennis player of all time, it’s Rafael Nadal who is the most dominating between the two in head-to-head match-ups. In fact, even though the two men are closely tied to one another as the top players in the sport for the last decade, it’s Nadal who holds a decisive 16-8 advantage in decisions over the course of their career.</p>
<p>Federer, 29, is currently the No. 3 singles player in the world while Nadal is the No 1. However, that ranking was almost lost in this tournament as Novak Djokovic would have become the world’s top-ranked player had he beaten Federer in today’s semi-final match.</p>
<p>Nadal has won both of this year’s match-ups and three of the last four. In fact, going back to 2008, Nadal has won eight of the last ten, including their last match-up in Roland Garros in 2008 — a straight sets victory for Nadal and a nightmare finish at the French Open for Federer that year.</p>
<p>Still Federer is obviously playing well and knows how to win at Roland Garros. In Grand Slam finals, Nadal holds the advantage 5-2, which makes him even more of a favorite heading into Sunday’s final. Federer wasn’t supposed to take out Djovokic, however, and did so quite convincingly. We’ll see whose greatness extends another trophy on Sunday.</p>
<p><i>Check out more French Open coverage at </i><a target="_blank" href="http://www.thedailyforehand.com/">The Daily Forehand.</a></p>
https://kansascity.sbnation.com/2011/6/3/2205469/2011-french-open-rafael-nadal-dominates-head-to-head-against-rogerMatt Conner2011-06-03T15:25:58-05:002011-06-03T15:25:58-05:002011 French Open: John McEnroe, Lindsay Davenport Highlight Saturday's Legends Final
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<p>They’re the stars that modern heroes like Roger Federer are compared to. But just because they’re reference in the past doesn’t mean they’re not around anymore. Playing in the Legends bracket, tennis names like Lindsay Davenport and John McEnroe can still be found making the finals at the French Open. And for those interested, you can even watch them playing tomorrwo.</p>
<p>Andres Gomez and John McEnroe pair up to take on Pat Cash and Peter McNamara in the Men’s Legends Over 45 Final at 11am. At the same time, Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis will be taking on Andrea Temesvari and Sandrine Testud. Both matches will be playing on Court Suzanne Lenglen.</p>
<p>McEnroe/Gomez advanced to the final with a win over Mats Wilander and Mikael Pernfors, 7-6, 7-6. Davenport/Hingis defeated Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva, 6-1, 6-3. For those keeping track, it’s important to remember that Paris is six hours ahead of Eastern Time, which means these doubles matches will be played at 5am ET.</p>
<p><i>Make sure to check out more coverage at </i><a target="_blank" href="http://www.thedailyforehand.com/">The Daily Forehand.</a></p>
https://kansascity.sbnation.com/2011/6/3/2205440/2011-french-open-john-mcenroe-lindsay-davenport-highlight-saturdaysMatt Conner2011-06-03T15:12:35-05:002011-06-03T15:12:35-05:002011 French Open: Roger Federer Advances To First Grand Slam Final In 2011
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<p>While many are talking about a different streak — watching Novak Djokovic aiming for John McEnroe’s record for consecutive victories to start a season with 42 — today’s French Open semi-final between Djokovic and Roger Federer featured an even more impressive one that could stay alive with a win in Sunday’s finale. And as Federer advanced to Sunday’s final against rival Rafael Nadal with a four-set victory over Novak Djokovic: 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6, it’s clear Federer has the stamina to see it through.</p>
<p>Specifically, Federer has the ability to win another Grand Slam title on Sunday, giving him at least one GS win every year since 2003. No other men’s tennis player has ever had such a streak of dominance. As perhaps the greatest player of all-time, tomorrow’s finale against Nadal sets up an opportunity to erase any doubts about a decline in his career and instead establish a new moment of dominance into a new decade.</p>
<p>Federer has won three of the last four Grand Slam Finals he appeared in, and he has a strong history here at Roland Garros. He won the 2009 French Open after finishing as the runner-up the previous three years. In 2010 he was ousted by finalist Robin Söderling, who eventually lost to Rafael Nadal.</p>
<p>Now that Djovokic’s streak is over, the attention falls once again on the two principal players in men’s tennis. It’s another exciting chapter in what will continue to be one of the world’s greatest modern competitive sagas.</p>
<p><i>Make sure to check out more coverage at </i><a target="_blank" href="http://www.thedailyforehand.com/">The Daily Forehand.</a></p>
https://kansascity.sbnation.com/2011/6/3/2205406/2011-french-open-roger-federer-advances-to-first-grand-slam-final-inMatt Conner2011-06-03T13:04:34-05:002011-06-03T13:04:34-05:002011 French Open: Roger Federer Leads Novak Djokovic In Second Semi-Final
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<p>As the French Open rolls toward this weekend's epic final, one half of the final draw is already set with top-seeded Rafael Nadal winning in straight sets over the fourth seed Andy Murray. Now all eyes at Roland Garros are on the other semi-final between the storied Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Thus far, it seems another Federer-Nadal match-up is in the works. <br><br>Through nearly two sets, Federer is up 7-6, 6-3 after two sets. A win for Federer would extend a record streak that has given him at least one Grand Slam title every year since 2003, since he made it to the semi-finals at this year's Australian Open. Then again, he's always been more successful at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open to round out the tennis calendar anyway. <br><br>Djokovic, meanwhile, is having a red hot year, having already taken his first Grand Slam title since 2008 earlier this year with the Australian Open win. A trip to another Grand Slam Final would guarantee him his best finish at the French Open after reaching the semi-finals three previous times (including this year). More importantly, a win will tie him with John McEnroe for most victories to begin a tennis season (42) and propel him to the No. 1 ranking in the world above Nadal. <br><br>Much is at stake in this semi-final game for both men involved, and even more in the coming final which is looking more and more like another classic Nadal-Federer saga.</p>
https://kansascity.sbnation.com/2011/6/3/2336126/2011-french-open-roger-federer-leads-novak-djokovic-in-second-semiMatt Conner