The King of Clay Stumbles

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Rafael Nadal's shock 4th-round exit leaves the men's tournament at Roland Garros wide open.

If yesterday's loss of Ozeki (=Champion) Novak Djokovic to M11W Philipp Kohlschreiber was a surprise, today's defeat of Yokozuna (=Great Champion) Rafael Nadal to M8W Robin Soderling was a shocker. In contrast to the brilliant but inconsistent Serb, Nadal is not known for sudden lapses in performance -- he always seems to find a way to fight himself into a match, at least when he is healthy. But today Nadal failed to find a receipt against the unassuming Swede's powerful and agressive game.

Nadal's quest to become the first player to win Roland Garros five times in a row is therefore over. As much as this commentator has taken a liking to the humble and charismatic Majorcin, this result is good for tennis. The men's game had gotten at risk of becoming too predictable and uncompetitive, especially on clay.

The loss changes nothing a bout Nadal's lifetime Yokozuna status, of course, but his and Djokovic's early exits throw the men's tournament wide open. Favorite to win is now arguably Nadal's fellow Yokozuna Roger Federer, who lost the past three French Open finals to Nadal. If he nails this one, he would become only the third player of the open era to win all four slams.

But this is not all. All of a sudden it seems quite possible that this tournament could create a new male Ozeki. Andy Murray, who has already regained his Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) spot by making surprisingly quick work of the young Croat M3W Marin Cilic, has now a fairly decent chance to make the final, with Nadal removed as a likely semifinal opponent. And in the other half of the draw, it seems not unthinkable any more that Komusubi (=Junior Champion II) Juan Martin del Potro or ex-Sekiwake M1W Jo-Wilfried Tsonga -- who will face off tomorrow -- would win the tournament. As both reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, a tournament win in Paris would propel them to Ozeki.

A Komusubi promotion is guaranteed to come out of the quarterfinal between Soderling and ex-Sekiwake M2E Nikolay Davydenko, who ended in straight sets Fernando Verdasco's spell at Komusubi.

In the ladies' tournament, Dinara Safina confirmed her newly gained Ozeki rank by blasting past French lady Aravane Rezai. Safina has looked flawless so far, but in the quarterfinals, Belarussian M1W Victoria Azarenka may present a stiffer challenge than Safina's previous opponents. Azarenka beat ex-Ozeki Ana Ivanovic in straight sets in round 4. Ivanovic has now failed to reach the quarterfinals in all grand slam tournaments since she won least year's French Open, and therefore drops out of the Sanyaku (=Championship) ranks altogether.

A Komusubi promotion will result from the quarterfinal between rising star M7W Dominika Cibulkova from Slovakia and former Ozeki Maria Sharapova, who is coming back from injury. Sharapova has made prevailing in gruelling three-setters her specialty at this tournament, this time edging past Na Li from China. It's good to have her back -- together with her compatriot Safina, the combatative and charismatic Sharapova has arguably the best shot at establishing a persistent challenge to the Yokozuna Venus and Serena Williams.

Djokovic, Dementieva go Kadoban

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With the first three rounds played, some Sanyaku ranking decisions have already been taken.

A tired looking Novak Djokovic lost his 3rd-round match to the unspectacular but solid Maegashira (=non-champion) M11W Philipp Kohlschreiber. The young Serb therefore goes kadoban for the second time in his career. Should he fail to reach the quarterfinals also in Wimbledon, he will lose the Ozeki (=Champion) rank that he first earned at the US Open 2007. Also kadoban goes Elena Dementieva, who had re-obtained her Ozeki title only at this year's Australian Open.

An early exit took also long-standing Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) Venus Williams. Thus, In Wimbledon her status as an active Yokozuna is on the line--a loss before the quarterfinals and Venus would be considered inactive. But then, Wimbledon is Venus' best tournament.

The 4th round--starting tomorrow (Sunday) will bring further Sanyaku-rank decisions. Komusubi (=Junior Champion II) Fernando Verdasco battles M2E and former Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) Nikolay Davydenko. A win and Verdasco earns a first-time Sekiwake promotion, a loss an he drops out of the Sanyaku (=Championship) ranks altogether. Similarly, Andy Murray gets re-promoted to Sekiwake or demoted to Maegashira when he plays M3W Marin Cilic. The winner of the fourth-round match between Komusubi Juan Martin del Potro and former Sekiwake M1W Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will be in the Sanyaku ranks after the French Open. And former Ozeki Andy Roddick has his Sekiwake rank on the line when he battles ex-Komusubi M2W Gael Monfils.

In the ladies' tournament, freshly promoted Ozeki Dinara Safina, who has looked superb thus far, battles unseeded French lady Aravane Rezai to avoid kadoban. If she wins she may meet defending French Open Champion, former Ozeki and current Komusubi Ana Ivanovic in the quarterfinals, who has looked no less impressive but first must get by M1W Victoria Azarenka to stay in the Sanyaku ranks. Komusubi Jelena Jankovic would make it back to Sekiwake if she wins her 4th round match, but her opponent, unseeded Sorana Cirstea, looks like no pushover. Finally, ex-Ozeki M1E Svetlana Kuznetsova would re-enter the Sanyaku ranks if she beats ex-Komusubi M3E Angieszka Radwanska.

French Open 2009: Banzuke and Preview

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The long and gruelling slam-less period betwen the Australian and the French Open is finally over. Here is how the top players line up for the this year's elite tournament at Roland Garros:

• As has been the case since last year's Wimbledon tournament, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer lead the men's banzuke as Yokozuna (=Grand Champions), followed by long-term Ozeki (=Champion) Novak Djokovic. For Nadal, this is the first time he enters Roland Garros as Yokozuna.



• The ladies' banzuke is once again headed by the Williams sisters. The Ozeki slots are occupied by two Russian ladies: Australian Open finalist Dinara Safina in her first apearance as ozeki, and the re-promoted Elena Dementieva.



• No player is on a Yokozuna run. There is also no particularly strong candidate for an Ozeki promotion, even though three men and one woman would obtain the rank if they reached the final: Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) Andy Roddick (for who this would be the third Ozeki promotion of his career), the Komusubi (=Junior Champions II) and US-Open finalists Andy Murray and Jelena Jankovic, and the Komusubi and Australian Open semi-finalist Fernando Verdasco.



• Frenchman Gilles Simon (M1) and Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro (M8) would obtain a first-time sanyaku promotion if they reach the quarterfinals.



• Komusubi Vera Zvonareva had to withdraw with an ankle injury, and will get demoted to Maegashira after the tournament.

The table below shows the top banzuke ranks. The Sanyaku ranks are determined by the Yokozunatennis ranking system, the Maegashira ranks are filled up according to the seeding list. The full banzuke is published here.

Men

Career rank 1/	Seed	East	Current Rank	West	Seed	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Champion Ranks)
Y	1	Rafael Nadal	Y	Roger Federer	2	Y
O	4	Novak Djokovic	O	-	-	-
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
O	6	Andy Roddick	S	-	-	-
S	3	Andy Murray	K1	Fernando Verdasco	8	K
K	5	Juan Martin del Potro	K2	-	-	-
High Maegashira
-	7	Gilles Simon	M1	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	9	S
S	10	Nikolay Davydenko	M2	Gael Monfils	11	K
S	12	Fernando Gonzalez	M3	Martin Cilic	13	-

Women

Career rank 1/	Seed	East	Current Rank	West	Seed	Career rank 1/
High Sanyaku (Champion Ranks)
Y	2	Serena Williams	Y	Venus Williams	3	Y
O	1	Dinara Safina	O	Elena Dementieva	4	O
Lower Sanyaku (Junior Champion Ranks)
-	-	-	S	-	-	-
S	5	Jelena Jankovic	K1	Ana Ivanovic	8	O
K	(6)	Vera Zvonareva*	K2	-	-	-
High Maegashira
O	7	Svetlana Kuznetsova	M1	Victoria Azarenka	9	-
-	10	Caroline Wozniacki	M2	Nadia Petrova	11	S
K	12	Agnieszka Radwanska	M3	Marion Bartoli	13	S

* withdrew
1/ Career-high Sanyaku rank, if applicable.