The End of the French

LADIES FINAL::

Someone described this match to me as 'the non-match of the year'. This upset me. The non-match? What is that supposed to mean? That Stosur and Schiavone aren't worthy of 'match' status? That they aren't good enough to bother watching? That they don't deserve to be in the final? That it doesn't matter who wins because they're not playing against the best so they won't be the best?

Ridiculous. Sam Stosur beat Henin then Williams then Jankovic to get to the final. It doesn't get any better than that. No one's beaten Henin and then Williams in a row. Ever. Schiavone defeated Wozniacki and Dementieva (Ok, she was injured, but that first set was convincing enough for me). No one gets to the final of a Grand Slam unless they deserve to be there.

And the match itself? Great! Everyone thought Stosur was going to win; me, as you know, included. She was odds on favourite and came out of the blocks firing. She was looking pretty damn impressive - massive serves and forehands, sending Schiavone scampering all over the baseline. It took Schia a few games to get into it but into it she did get... she was most definitely giving as good as she got. There were some great long tight rallies with lots of variety - both players lobbing, drop shotting, slicing and spinning to their hearts contents. Schia began to win a few more points at the net, her technique much more sound than Stosur's (who can't seem to volley when there isn't the security of a doubles partner behind her). Schia eventually made the only break of the first set and took it 6-4.

Stosur raced into a 4-1 lead in the second and it looked likely to be a three-setter. Schia, however, wasn't having that. She fought back to force a tie-break and won that comfortably, the momentum squarely with her. She squealed and performed the now-familiar ritual of kissing the clay under her feat. She becomes the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam title and the second-oldest woman to claim a first major title.

Great match. Really refreshing not to have the same old people, the same old match, the same old champion... Bring on more matches like it. More surprises. More variety. More 'non-matches'.

MEN'S FINAL::

Rafael Nadal vs. Robin Soderling. Juicy juicy prospect. The last time they played at the French resulted in the biggest upset of the year - Nadal knocked out (of his tournament) in the fourth round. Good good stuff. A great match. One to remember. Today's match unfortunately didn't pick up where that one left off.

Nadal won in straight sets - 6-4 6-2 6-4. It wasn't as one-sided as the scoreline suggests. Sod had no less than 8 chances to break GoNads (my new and quite brilliant nickname for him) but didn't manage to capitalise on a single one. GoNads was, however, awesome. He got back shots no man had any right to. It's amazing to watch him stretching for a shot that you think he's never going to reach, getting it back, and then a few shots later coming up with a stunning winner. He must be so frustrating to play. I used to dislike GoNads for this very reason but now can't understand why. He's brilliant. And do you know what I really like about him? His personality. He seems so sweet. So honest. So earnest. When Sod netted the final shot of the match GoNads slumped to the floor and burst into tears. It was such an endearing moment to see him so obviously emotional about winning - you couldn't help but fall in love with him. During the trophy ceremony he told the crowd in French that this was 'the most emotional day in his career'. After crashing out last year, missing Wimbledon, so obviously nowhere near his best at the US, and still coming back in the Australian at the beginning of this year it must be such a relief to be back to his top-spinny, hard-hitty, high-grunty, mad-pacey best. He is the King of Clay. We bow down to him.

His win also pushes Federer off his number one spot. GoNads 1, Fed 2, Djocko 3, Murray 4, Sod 5, Rod 6...

So what can I say? My predictions were all wrong. I don't care. Two brilliant matches, four amazing players, and some great tales to tell. And do you know what? It only gets better from here. Yes folks, the grass is next, and we all know what that means - we actually get to see it live!! Queens starts tomorrow, and then Wimbledon after that. Hold your breath because it's going to be amazing.

I'll keep you blogged...