Talk about the shock of the century. Nadal going out at the Roland Garros and in the 4th round nonetheless. Here is what Soderling had to say:

Nadal was as gracious as always and surprisingly calm after the defeat:

Federer’s golden chance has come. And something tells me he won’t take advantage of it.

It was surprising. It was so sudden. But not unexpected. After all, Federer and Mirka are going to have a child soon, and it was only natural for Roger to try and tighten up his relationship with Mirka. Federer may be struggling on court, but he is doing a decent job off court. He is making a lot of money, and he is going to be a dad soon. Let’s not forget that he is now a husband as well!

Earlier today, in my hometown, surrounded by a small group of close friends and family, Mirka and I got married

Federer’s marriage could be a good or bad thing for Roger. It’s what he makes of it. He can become motivated and step up for the sake of his new child to win a couple of more majors. Or he could lose his motivation on court and focus on his kid. Agassi was someone who relished being a dad and a tennis player at the same time. He became better even as he aged. With Roger, you never know. His game is so much based on his focus and concentration that anything that disrupts it could have negative affects.

I personally thought that Federer should’ve gotten married earlier in his life. After all, these two folks seem perfect for each other. Did he avoid marriage as he knew it could affect his game? Nobody can tell. One thing is for certain. This is a great day for the Federer family. As much as Fed has struggled this year, one has to assume life couldn’t be better for him and Mirka.

Miami Masters 2009 draw is out, and Federer can breathe easily again. He has finally avoided a clash with Murray in the semis, but he is grouped with Roddick and Djokovic. Let’s not forget that Roddick managed to beat Roger last year, so he’ll be dangerous. Murray has a tough draw this year. He has Nalbandian and Nadal on his way to the final. He has never beaten Nalbandian in a competitive match, and that will be a test for him.

Nadal will probably face Ivo Karlovic in the third round, and that will be mouth-watering. I doubt Ivo can beat Nadal, but when you have a serve like he does, you are never out of it. Overall, it will be a very exciting master series with a few fresh match-ups.

Don’t know where to watch Miami 2009? Here is a list of places you can watch Miami Masters live.

Federer did not feel comfortable playing this week with his back being injured, but that didn’t keep him from picking a new coach to help him return to his glory days. While Stanislas Wawrinka was busy beating James Blake, Federer was making plans with his new coach, Darren Cahill. Here is what Federer’s agent had to say about this whole piece of news:

he two have long had a great respect for each other. It was occasionally discussed. It’s a trial. Now that Roger’s had a break, anyway, because of his back, the timing was perfect for a test. So Roger’s with him and has reported that he’s arrived.

I do believe that Federer will have the same thing going with Cahill that he did with Joes. It will really all depend on how Roger does at the French Open and Wimbledon. If he wins one of those two, he will probably continue with Darren. But if he is beat by Nadal or anyone else for that matter, Darren may be on his way out by the end of the year.

Will Darren push Federer to the next level? Only time will tell, but Federer needs psychological help against Nadal, and I am not sure Darren can help Federer beat Nadal on Clay or Grass.

Roddick has finally found a coach for his 2009 season. Larry Stefanki was with Fernando Gonzalez for the past 3 years but I suppose even he had to give up after Gonzo started going south. Now, he will get a chance to work with Roddick and help him win another slam.

Will Roddick win another slam? Will he live up to the lofty expectations folks had for him a few years ago? You decide!

It turns out Davydenko was telling the truth after all. Well, not exactly. But ATP was not able to prove that Davydenko had bet on his own matches, so he has been cleared once and for all. Let’s hope Tennis is as clean as it seems to be. But the latest decision certainly doesn’t prove anything.

I don’t know what Federer has studied in highschool, but even a kid can tell now that the 300 point difference between Federer and Nadal almost guarantees Nadal the No. 1 spot come August 18th when Federer loses 850 poins as opposed to Nadals 300 something points. But Federer did not disappoint. He did say that Nadal was close to losing the No. 2 position a while back and he didn’t. Does that mean that he really believes he can keep No. 1 position? He can if Nadal loses to Youzhny in the third round but if Nadal reaches the semis again, Federer’s No. 1 reign is post. At least for now!

We all know that Nadal is the real No. 1 with 2 slams and like 20 masters series this year. But Federer still prefers to cling to his No. 1 ranking (a flawed ranking) as he declared today that he is still the No. 1 player in the world. Here is what the master said:

Of course he has still won two unbelievably difficult tournaments and whoever wins those is supposed to be No1. But I have had a very good end to the past two years. It’s hard to snatch the No1 position, he knows that.

So is Federer suggesting that Nadal will struggle to get to No. 1 even though he has won 2 slams? Here is the fact. Nadal needs to reach the finals of the next two master series and he could be easily No. 1 regardless of what Federer does. It won’t be easy, but unless Nadal goes on a tear of bad results, he has really not many points to defend. I think losing No. 1 could be actually good for the Fed. Maybe he will start figuring out what he needs to do to figure Nadal out instead of clinging to his No. 1 status.

Really. Thank God for the Tennis Channel. It seems that ESPN and major channels have given up on tennis. But the Tennis Channel is saving us all with the coverage of Masters series tournaments (such as Monte Carlo, and Rome). You can catch the live coverage from 7 am EST / 4 am PST on Tennis Channel. And by the way, Nadal will win! But don’t let that keep you from watching some awesome clay court tennis.

If you haven’t heard it by now, Federer is in a funk. He has had a difficult season, and has not reached any finals. He has even lost to Americans Fish and Roddick in Masters tournaments. The solution? Higueras! Federer is turning to the coach to change his French Open fortune. Winning the French is the only way you could call this year less than disappointing for Federer. SI has this breaking story here.

Higueras is a great coach, and I am sure for anyone but Federer he could be a fortune changer. But Federer has shown in the past that he is so strong-willed that he will not change his ways easily just because his coach tells him too. In the end, if Higueras gets Federer to play a more attacking type of game on the clay courts of France, Federer will finally challenge Nadal. If not, Higueras will be another Roche.