Tennis may not be a team game but it is followed religiously throughout the world. Roger Federer may be a superstar in his home country but the Swede is a God in other parts of the world, and that’s the reason he has to be on his best when he goes out to play the remaining three Grand Slam tournaments later this year.
Federer’s biggest challenge would undoubtedly be to defend his hard-earned French Open title which he won last year after multiple ties in the absence of his nemesis, Rafael Nadal of Spain. Known as Les Internationaux de France de Roland Garros or Tournoi de Roland-Garros, and played at the Stade Roland Garros, the tournament is the second of the Grand Slam tournaments on the annual tennis calendar. It is also the premier clay court tennis tournament, a surface Rafael Nadal breathes and lives on.
The event will begin on May 24th this year as usual and conclude on June 6th, with the Men’s singles final, which last year was played between Roger Federer and Robin Soderling. The Swede-Swiss match was won by the world number 1 to claim his first and only French Open, after three straight losses in the final to Nadal. The prize money for this year’s event is $5,590,800, and if all goes well, one might get to witness another Federer-Nadal final on June 6th.
The event will be followed by The Championships Wimbledon, or Wimbledon as it is commonly known. The event is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is played on the game's original surface, grass. Roger Federer will begin his bid to win his 7th title at the All England Club in London on June 21st where last year on July 4th, he defeated Andy Roddick of United States in a titanic of a match.
The grand finale was the longest men's singles finals (in terms of games played) in Grand Slam history with 77 games, and had the longest fifth set (16–14) in Grand Slam men’s singles final. It took 4 hours and 17 minutes to complete and after winning it, Roger Federer surpassed Pete Sampras's record of Single Grand Slam titles. This was his 15th Grand Slam title and he celebrated it by wearing a coat with 15 inscribed on it. The prize money for this year’s event has been raised to $4,275,000, and Roger Federer might be eyeing it alongside the comeback kid Rafael Nadal, who won the event in 2008.
Last but not the least, the US Open will be held in New York’s Flushing Meadows between August 30th and September 12th where Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro will try to defend his title and prove to the world that defeating Roger Federer last year was not a fluke. The event is played on Hard Surface and gives the hefty Prize Money of $14,912,000 to its winner. Federer won the event in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 before losing to Del Potro last year in an unexpected result.
The women’s tennis circuit has become lively with Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin’s return to action after motherhood while Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic’s recent return to form may give sleepless nights to the reigning Wimbledon champion Serena Williams and current French Open champion world number 7 Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia. Maria Sharapova of Russia may not be in the best of her form but she is capable of upsetting the best, along side compatriots Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva. If all goes well, the fans will get to watch the best tennis the whole year, with the best players winning the Game, Set & Match!
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