French Open... The Dark Horses.

l_gonzalez

l_gonzalez

Professional
It might be a bit early to start this thread but i just can't wait for the european claycourt season!

By Dark Horse i don't mean people like Davydenko, Nalbandian, or even Federer because regardless of their recent form (or lack of) they have to be considered serious contenders.

It'd be nice if we could keep this one going along all the way through to the French Open, see how the claycourt season develops and takes shape and hopefully we'll get a '97 Guga, Verkerk, Gaudio or Puerta this year!

Given what i've seen in the last couple of seasons and especially earlier this year during the South American claycourt swing, i have to say that Nicolas Almagro has to be one of the main threats to the big guys, with a favourable draw he could go deep into the second week, and dare I say it, maybe even lift the title!

Your thoughts and opinions please... let the dirtballing begin!!!!
 
bring puerta back!!!!!! the man is a clay court specialist......his a genious on clay.............

hmmm

well there is nalby, monaco,almagro, robredo,canas and maybe even andrev.
 
Acasuso is a bit streaky, the big man gets a bit too emotional. Monaco is a good bet for a decent performance, but i still remember how Canas obliterated him at Roland Garros last year... not a pretty sight.

Robredo, no chance. He's won 2 matches on tour outside Davis Cup this year, the guy is struggling big time.

I don't have much faith in Andreev either, but you never know.
 
My three darkhorses for this years French are Acasuso, Monaco and Almagro.

Ferrer will undeperform, so is Robredo. Davydenko will lose in QF. My biggest enigma is Cañas. I have him losing around QF
 
ANDY RODDICK. there iv'e said it.. and there is absol no base for my claim aside from andy having the tools to win majors.
 
Davydenko, Nalbandian, Almagro, Acasuso, Gasquet, Ferrer, Moya and Monaco.
 
King_roger said:
:shock:
It would be the same if I propuse Coria. :mrgreen:
Click to expand...

I would just like to say that I have got £30/$60 on Coria to win the French. I got him at 990:1. I have a feeling he has officially been offered a wildcard because my mate went to bet the other day and the odds have been slashed to 50!!!!!
 
You know, I'm feeling good about Ferru making it back to top form next month.

Favorite darkhorses: Almagro would be cool. Chucho for sure.

At what point can we consider a past finalist a darkhorse? [RF]
 
Monaco and Almagro have what it takes to go deep, but maybe they will have yet another mental blip.
 
I think Davydenko could do some damage at this FO if he keeps up his level of play.

Tsonga could also do well, but we'll see.

Monfills could do well if he has his head on straight - but I doubt that would happen.
 
Acasuso doesn't have a hope in hell, overrated player.
 
almagro for sure

i dont understand how people ranked in the top ten count as "dark horses" tho... (davydenko, nalbandian, gasquet)
 
Nalbandian will make in roads on Clay, Gasquet and Tsonga will both do well as well. Monaca, Almagro will also have good results. I expect Murray will break the top 10 after Wimbledon.
 
jgreen06 said:
almagro for sure

i dont understand how people ranked in the top ten count as "dark horses" tho... (davydenko, nalbandian, gasquet)
Click to expand...

that's exactly what i said in the original post but people didn't seem to take notice.

Moya and JCF, even though they are past champs would count as Dark Horses in my book this year... would love to see that final!!!

Sadly, unlikely to happen... both are playing very good tennis these days, but they no longer have that killer edge.

no to Gasquet, he has the game but lacks the head, especially at Roland Garros. would love for him to prove me wrong.
 
Moya would be a realistic darkhorse candidate. He's almost ALWAYS in the 2nd week of RG.



Still has the killer forehand. The movement is gone, but his craftiness and experience makes up for that.
 
Almagro´s best result at R.Garros is 2nd round and his best result in a major is 3rd round at the 2007 US Open. He is not good in best of 5 sets matches. I expect him to do better this year but I don´t see him as a contender for the title.
I think Nalbandian and Davydenko will be very dangerous for anyone but they´re not darkhorses.
As for lower ranked players I am interested to see how Hewitt and Murray can do. Hewitt lost to Nadal in the last 2 years, maybe he could go further with a better draw. His lack of power will not hurt him so much on clay and the consistency is still there. Murray barely played on clay last year and I think his style is not bad at all to play on clay.
 
I may comment on this. I saw some of the players being mentioned are ..

Almagro - very poor in best of 5 set matches and on Big occasions. Decent player, not really good enough to take the title.

Andreev - best comeback of the 2007 is still mentaly a very fragile player. I find it hard to believe he can overcome any top player on any surface.

Starace, Del Potro, Calleri, wishfull thinking. If one of those could pull just one upset on clay, Id be satisfied. I feal they will all be out as soon as they face any seeded player.

Monaco - by his previous results maybe. Right now I dont know his form but he would be the closest thing.

Old school - Moya, Guga etc. Wishfull thinking.

Monfils - is he still a tennis player ?

Hewitt - he should go far if he has enough luck. He will eventually meet a better player and lose, quarters would be great for him.

I dont want to pretend I am smart or anything but I do think that we will hardly see any newcomers this year. At least not in the quarters or after. Nadal should dominate once again. Few top players except US guys will challange him mostly.
 
I've seen a lot pulling for Almagro. He hasn't had tons of big wins in the past...but his championship win over Nalbandian in Mexico was pretty convincing. We'll have to see with the clay tournaments leading up to RG, but can he beat Nadal on the dirt? No chance in hell :shock:

Can Gasquet be considered an underdog? Maybe. When was the last time a frenchman won RG? Talent-wise I think he has what it takes to beat the big three: Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic. And I think he has the stamina to last through the tourney. Only time will tell, but be sure of this: its going to be an interesting summer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

W
French Open Dark Horses
Replies
13
Views
2K
sillymonkey
sillymonkey
123456789
Clay Season Dark Horses
Replies
10
Views
489
mistik
M
S
Who are the dark horses for Wimbledon
Replies
30
Views
3K
Cormorant
Cormorant
Aussie Darcy
Your US Open predictions (Champions, dark horses, disappointing players)
2
Replies
51
Views
3K
haqq777
haqq777
PSNELKE
  • Poll Poll
French open 2010: Dark horse
Replies
39
Views
3K
Roberto
R
Back
Top