A variety of your favorite American players will be blogging for USTA.com during the 2010 French Open in Paris. Check back daily to see who is blogging next!
RAM: We lost to Scott Lipsky and Benjamin Becker today, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, in the first round. They served well, played well and hung in there. Slams come around only four times a year, so we are disappointed. We worked really hard to get seeded 16th, so it makes it tough to swallow.
I took the clay-court season off before the French because it’s not really my cup of tea and I wanted to get ready for the grass, but still I expected we'd do better.
BUTORAC: I played four tournaments on clay -- Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Munich and Nice. I went home once, but I feel comfortable in Europe. I thought I was going to pay some of my best clay-court tennis ever, and today was a disaster. Sometimes you are playing OK, but if you don’t trust yourself as much on the surface, it’s easier to break down.
RAM: The Bryan twins have tied with the Woodies for the most doubles titles ever at 61 overall, and the thing about them is that they put everything aside to focus on doubles. Bob could have had a singles career and maybe Mike, as well, and kudos to them for sticking with it. They’ve been playing together since they were one-minute old. Communication is part of their success, but Bob serves really well, Mike returns really well, and they are both just tremendous players.
BUTORAC: They play with a tremendous amount of energy. When they get on top of you, they play fast, they poach, and they play close to the net and are a very aggressive team. Sometimes you can hang with them, but other times they get on top of you and run away with it.
RAM: You have to hold serve against them and make sure not to play behind. If you can hang in there, you might be able to make something happen.
I had a tough loss in the first round of singles to Yuro Schukin, but I felt like I played well because the weather was hot, and that changes the speed on this surface more than any other. If it doesn’t stay warm, our guys are in a little more trouble, but if it does, I could see John Isner and Andy Roddick reaching the second week in singles. Even when it’s cold, I’d give John a shot because his big serve can neutralize anyone.
BUTORAC: If Isner gets to play Andy Murray in the fourth round, I’d give him a shot because clay isn’t Murray’s favorite surface, either.
I heard that Sam Querrey got burned out by playing so many weeks in Europe and said that he couldn’t give it his all in his first-round loss, but if that’s how it is, you have to manage your career better. A lot of American guys struggle from being over here awhile, and if that’s the case, maybe he should pick and choose his breaks better and will play less next year. It’s a learning process.
The first year I came over here I played seven tournaments in a row, and by the time I got to the French, I had no confidence because I had lost seven first-round matches in a row. But when I got here this time, I felt I could beat anyone, and I’m still learning. I used to live over here, so for me it's no problem. I could be over here for three months. I love it in Europe and think the tournaments over here are just great, but I’m probably unusual for an American.
RAM: I’m a little different. I played a lot in Europe last year, and that's when I knew I needed to take more time at home this year. My season is based around the grass, and I want to make sure that I’m not fried when I go into the grass season [Ram won the Newport singles title last year].
I’m playing the Nottingham Challenger next week, then we are playing Queens, then one of the two grass warm-ups before Wimbledon and then, of course, Wimbledon. It’s a five-week grass season as far as I’m concerned, and I wish it was 10. There are like 90 clay-court tournaments and only five on grass. We had a tough loss today, but we are hopeful we can do much better at Wimbledon.
PREVIOUS BLOGS:
Mardy Fish: Tuesday, May 25
Melanie Oudin: Saturday, May 22
Andre Agassi: Friday, May 21