So Blake has got a new coach and a whole new mindset for playing tennis at 30. He is a top player on his way back or is he? Last night’s defeat to Del potro has been described as a moral victory by many experts. Greg Couch at FanHouse had a more reasonable take on Blake’s loss but he stopped short of saying what we all know:

When he’s done beating himself up, if he can look at the big picture, then he’ll see he has time left. This match wasn’t the argument, but the proof.

I agree with Greg that Blake played his heart out and almost beat the U.S. Open champ Del potro. He certainly dictated a lot of points, something I hope Federer can learn from against Del potro. At the same time, Blake again choked in the final set. He has a miserable 5 setter record, and he continues on that path. Did he push a top player to limit? Didn’t he do just that to Agassi as well? But in both cases he lost. In fact, Blake has made a career out of losing close matches.

One can feel anything but sad for Blake. He is one of the better guys on the tour, and he gives his 100% to win a big one. But he has made a career out of losing heart-breakers. He can change his game and his coach. But the mental part of it will be tough to overcome.

What a match. Can you believe it? Roger looked down and out in the 2nd set tie-break which Andy Roddick held 4 straight set points. But Roddick dropped 3 straight service points to lose it and even though he made it tough in the 5th set, Roger finally wore him out and got the luck he needed to win it all 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14. You could argue that Andy was the better player for 3 of the 5 sets, but Roger stuck with him and finally got the favor he usually gets from Andy Roddick.

Roddick was very solid on his service games. I am not sure how Roger was not reading his serve. But Andy was brilliant in that department, except when it mattered in the tie-breaks. In the 5th set, Andy was solid and except the first game of the 5th set when Roger held a break point, Andy was very solid, that is until the last game when he started spraying the ball and giving away a game point to lose his game and match. Roger was serving first and took advantage of it to finally break Roddick’s heart.

Tough to be Andy but he was poised to move on to greater things after his match:

Roddick played the best match of his life on the wrong day. Sampras was there. Laver and Borg were there as well. It’d been all been for naught had Roger lost. But he pulled it off, and those who got to see it in person saw history being made. Is Roddick back? He needs to back it up at the U.S. Open. But one thing’s for sure. Roger is now the best player in the open era!

We all thought it was never going to happen. Rafa was unbeatable on clay at the French Open until he meet the surprisingly improved Robin Soderling. And we still couldn’t believe Rafa would lose even after he was down a bunch of match points. Federer on the other hand had so many close matches. Almost lost to Haas. Dropped a set to Paul Henry Mathieu. Almost lost to Del Potro. But when Roger got his chance, he didn’t blink! He blitzed Robin Soderling in the final to win his first French Open and his 14th slam title. And maybe end the greatest of all time discussion!

Whatever Roger does from this point on is a big bonus for his fans. He has already tied the magical 14 slam mark, and he is probably going to win a couple more. And when he does that, there won’t be any discussions left! And no longer Roger has to look at the French Open as the only place he didn’t win as he has done it already. One may not be enough for him but it’s certainly good enough for his legacy.

And props to a game Soderling for being gracious and classy:

You thought Lebron James losing last night was an upset? Think again. Rafael Nadal entered his match today knowing that he had owned Soderling just a few weeks ago on clay. And he had won 4 straight French Open titles and hadn’t lost a set since 2007! Soderling didn’t get the memo. In a performance that will go down as one of the best upset makers in the history, Soderling used his flat shots and powerful ace to dethrone Nadal in 4 sets and throw the French Open title race wide open. Murray and Federer are now the firm favorites to meet in the final in a rematch of their U.S. Open final.

The path may have become easier for Roger but much more so for Murray. He has no one he shouldn’t be able to beat. Their paths are still hard to navigate, but no one can help but wonder whether we will see Murray win his 1st Grand Slam at the French. How about Federer finally winning the French Open and becoming the best player of all time? The French Open has finally become exciting after 4 years of dominance by the mighty Nadal.

For Nadal, it’s time to recharge his batteries. This loss will hurt his confidence but he’ll get another shot at glory at Wimbledon. Can he defend his title against Murray, Federer, and Djokovic at Wimbledon? Yet another exciting story to follow.

How things can change quickly! Roger was a title-less has been who was struggling to win matches against the real top 3 players in the world. But after the beating he put down on Nadal on clay in Madrid, Roger must be in heaven. He has now won his first title of the year, and a big one in that. Federer has also halted Nadal’s streak on clay this year.

Roger truly impressed me today. He not only fought off break points like a real champion, he challenged Nadal’s serve and played more aggressive from behind. And that shaky backhand looked so solid. Rafa did look subdued and had his chances to break and level the match, but Roger served great and mixed up his game to beat Nadal in straight sets and pick up his 15th Masters title.

The chances are Nadal won’t play below his par in a French Open final. Federer has also shown that he is vulnerable against other players as well, so we may not see a Fedal final at the French Open. But it’s nice to see Roger finally beat Rafa and make it a closer rivalry again (13-7 for Rafa). Roger has now beaten Rafa twice on Rafa’s best surface. Can Nadal return the favor at Wimbledon?

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray gave Nadal everything they had. Their reward? 1 set won between the two of them. Andy Murray played his heart out against Nadal but Rafa just pounded on him. Novak put up a better fight against Rafa and could’ve technicall won in straight sets. He was up a break against Nadal in the first set and won the 2nd set comfortably. But as always Nadal saved a bunch of break points and won the last set 6-1 where it should’ve been closer.

Considering that Rafa plays two level above his current level at the French Open it’s hard to imagine who can stop him. He looks absolutely unbeatable on clay and only a fluke performance can deny him another Rome title. And I doubt anyone can take 3 sets off of him on clay. Roger came the closest a couple of years ago when he had 2 match points, but that’s all.

Can anyone beat Roger this year? It’s hard to tell. If Rafa somehow under-performs in early rounds and get tired, Murray and Djokovic may have a chance. Otherwise, we may as well skip the clay court season.

Your take: who can beat Rafa on clay?

The BNP PARIBAS Open continued today as Federer got revenge on Ivo Karlovic while Gonzalez and Murray dominated James Blake and Paul Henry Mathieu. The BNP PARIBAS hasn’t gotten too much coverage in the U.S., but fans should notice Federer’s high level of play lately. He was back to his old self in beating a foe who ousted him last year in third round of a masters series. Federer is playing better and may be bouyed by the news that he is going to be a father, but will that be enough to beat a devastating Nadal on this surface?

Fernando Gonzalez continued his dominance over James Blake by beating him in 65 minutes. It was a one sided match that was not something you write home about. Murray was also impressive in bouncing back from his illness to utterly dominate Paul Henry. Murray is back, and he is in Federer’s half (danger!). But Verdasco is in Federer’s quarter, and he will pose a decent challenge to Fed.

I wish the Tennis Channel didn’t just pull the coverage after 2 days. It seems those guys just wanted to give us all a taste of the first round matches but had no plan to cover the whole event. It’s a shame, but tennis is simply disappearing from TV in the U.S. But don’t forget to check out Justin.TV or Satellite.TV for more information on how to watch tennis matches live.

So much for Murray and Djokovic meeting up again at the Australian Open. Murray was the first to go by being edged by Fernando Verdasco. Federer almost threw it all away against Berdych, but Novak was the only top guy who actually abandoned his match and title as he was overwhelmed by heat and a fit Andy Roddick

I have been impressed by Andy’s progress this year. He has lost 15 pounds and his game was too solid for Djokovic. Even when Djokovic was playing well, the match was extremely close. But after the first set, Andy had just too much game for a fatigued Novak. Depending on how Del Potro – Federer turns out, Andy may still make it to another Grand Slam final. But can he beat Roger and Rafa now that he is so close?

The preparations for the first Grand Slam of the year is under way, and top guns were in action yesterday and today in Australia and Qatar. Djokovic started his year with a surprise defeat to Ernst Gulbis in straight sets (6-4, 6-4). Roddick win easily against Navarro. Blake was upset by Hrbaty in a third-set tie-breaker. And Baghdatis lost in his 2009 debut.

Djokovic’s loss is very surprising, especially after he claimed to be ready to defend his Australian Open title. Things are not going too well for the poor guy, and he is currently the fourth favorite to win the Australian Open behind Nadal, Federer, and Murray.

More guys will be in action today, including Federer and Nadal, so stay tuned.

The new ATP season is finally upon us, and it all started with a bang. Andy Murray crushed James Blake 6-2, 6-2 to set up yet another match against Roger Federer. Andy Roddick also lost (to Davydenko), which means Nadal will get a chance to exact some revenge on the Russian.

I have Nadal vs. Murray for the final. What’s your pick?