After a week filled with polemics and surprising upsets, Djokovic, Nadal and co are happy to leave Madrid’s blue clay for the red clay of the Foro Italico in Rome.

Check out some pics and video of the draw ceremony which took place at one of Rome’s most popular tourist sites, the Spanish Steps (Piazza di Spagna). Attending the ceremony: former Italian players Nicola Pietrangeli, Lea Pericoli, but also Francesca Schiavone, Flavia Pennetta, Ana Ivanovic, Andy Murray and Fabio Fognini.

Nicola Pietrangeli:

Francesca Schiavone:

Flavia Pennetta:

Thanks a lot to Mauro, webmaster of STE Fans, dedicated to the one and only Stefan Edberg.

Video by Emmanuel Pampuri

Lotto take it back to their foundation year of 1973 with this heritage treated Leggenda collection, featuring the Corrado tennis shoe and the Dino hi-top. Constructed from premium nappa leather and suede, this scuffy set salutes Lotto’s authentic sports heritage with a Sharpie-style ’1973′ scrawled on the tongue.

Some pics of the Corrado model:

Lotto was established in 1973 by the Caberlotto family (who were the properties of the football team Treviso) in Montebelluna, northern Italy. In June 1973, Lotto made its debut as a sports footwear manufacturer. Tennis shoes signaled the beginning of production, followed by models for basketball, volleyball, athletics and football.
Over the years, Lotto sponsored top players like Martina Navratilova, Boris Becker and Thomas Muster.
Current players endorsing Lotto include Francesca Schiavone, David Ferrer, Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi.

More details on the Lotto Leggenda website.

I spent a few days here and there at Roland Garros this year, and I am always surprised of how journalists (especially French journalists) present the all thing and I sometimes wonder if I live on a different planet or in a parallel universe.

For French journalists it was fantastic two weeks of tennis, for me as a spectator it was another boring French Open.

PS: I’m the one taking the photo, not the one sleeping ;o)

Everything was summed up in the mens trophy ceremony speeches: thanks to the sponsors, to the family, Roger is the best, Rafa played fantastic. Nothing new under the sun, things heard hundred times.
Conventional, boring, no emotion. From my point of view, the only 3 bright moments of the tournament: the semi Djokovic vs Federer, the Schiavone and Li runs to the final, and the Carte Blanche to Bob Sinclar for the Kids Day.

Here are a few personal thoughts about this Roland Garros tournament.

- Empty seats:

Tickets for main courts like Court Philippe Chatrier and Court Suzanne Lenglen are really expensive and really difficult to get. So when I finally get a ticket (about 70 euros) and I see all those empty seats, I’m really upset.

Here’s a suggestion by tennis journalist Jon Wertheim:

How’s this for a bit of cultural exchange? The French help with some junior development. We help them with fan behavior. There were matches held on Philippe Chartrier for which the stands looked to be about 10 percent of capacity. We’re talking rows and rows of empty sears. Surely there is a way to let the patricians in the sponsor tents know how unseemly it is to have these choice tickets and then not use them. We eagerly look forward to the upgrades to the venue. But it’s all for rien if the stands are empty. Just disgraceful.

- Nadal: he didn’t play well during the tournament, but at the end he won for the sixth time, equaling Borg. He also remains at number one for a few more weeks, but Djokovic will probably become the 25th ATP number one after Wimbledon.
What does it change for Rafa? Nothing. He already has won everything – career Grand Slam, Davis Cup, Olympic Gold – and he has nothing to prove. He will have less pressure, he won’t be the one supposed to win everything, but Djokovic will. Nadal will be even more dangerous.

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Na Li, 29 and Francesca Schiavone, 31 will play today in the oldest women’s Grand Slam final since Jana Novotna and Nathalie Tauziat contested the 1998 Wimbledon final.
The final will be really open as they are both experienced players who both played in a Grand Slam final before (Li lost to Clijsters at the Australian Open, and Schiavone won the title here in 2010).

Will Li become the first chinese player to capture a Grand Slam or will Schiavone retain her title? Please share your thoughts.

Francesca Schiavone’s road to the final

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A photo recap of my third day at Roland Garros on Tuesday. I had tickets for for the Court Suzanne Lenglen, but watching players at practice was much more interesting than watching matches.

Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond:

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