Top Spin Blog » Santoro

A-Rod vs. The Magician in Third Round

Joe Samuel Starnes — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 01:57:55 +0000

Much talk has been made of 36-year-old Fabrice Santoro starting to fade into twilight of his career, but the French magician has started 2009 strong. He beat Juan Carlos Ferrero in the first round of the Australian Open and upset No. 32 seed Philip Kohlschreiber in the second, outlasting the German player eleven years his junior in five sets. Santoro now plays Roddick, a rematch of their first round U.S. Open meeting in which Roddick dominated. But that was after Santoro had taken a few weeks off, instead of going into the match on a hot streak like he is riding now. And it was on a much quicker court than the Melbourne blue surface, so look for this one to be closer. However, the older man might be tired, and Roddick, fitter at 15 pounds lighter, has a 3-1 career record against Santoro.

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Clement Loses, Misses Shot at Second Long-Match Record

Joe Samuel Starnes — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:40:08 +0000

Arnaud Clement, loser to Rainer Schuettler 8-6 in the fifth set of a quarterfinal match Thursday, missed by sixteen minutes adding his name to the history books for the longest match ever played at Wimbledon in the Open Era. The match lasted five hours, 12 minutes; according to Radio Wimbledon, the longest match is five hours, 28 minutes. Clement already is part of the record for the longest match in the history in 2004 when he lost to countryman Fabrice Santoro in the French Open in a match that lasted six hours and thirty-three minutes. Of course, as Greg Garber wrote on ESPN.com , “That’s the longest Grand Slam match ever, going back to 1968, before which only sketchy records exist.” Schuettler tomorrow plays Rafael Nadal, a match which stands a good chance to be the shortest match ever.

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Wimbledon Picks: Nadal and Everyone Else

Joe Samuel Starnes — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 11:20:47 +0000

Rafa is rearing to go all the way. I think that Radek Stepanek with his all-court game will run into Nadal in the round of 16, and will give him more trouble than most, but I don’t think anyone can beat Rafa this year, not even the Fed. Having a special logo with his initials on his hat is just not enough for Federer anymore.

I agree with ATP Tennis Blog that there is no telling how Roddick-Blake will turn out. A match between two hard-hitting friends is hard to call, although the more generous of the two (in this case, Blake), usually loses in these sorts of matchups. It’s strange to me that two players so closely ranked have played so rarely of late, and never in a Grand Slam.

I think a big upset will be Santoro over Murray in the first round. The combination of the UK pressure and all that spin will be too much for Murray. Even his mother is being interviewed in depth.

Here are my fourth round picks:

Fed-Gonzo
Kohlschreiber-Llodra

Djoker-Wawrinka
Karlovic-Nalbandian

Roddick-Blake
Mathieu-Ljubicic

Anderson-Haas
Stepanek-Nadal

How do you see it turning out? Check out the draw, and post your picks in the comments field.

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