Euro 2012 individual group analysis

Eurosport Italia reports on each group with some interesting analysis. Translated links below.


GROUP A: Poland may impress

GROUP B: The Group of Death

GROUP C: Is it Spain again?

GROUP D: Watch out for Ibra

Euro 2012 poster is up!

Yeah I'm a nerd. :P

It's a 24x36 print on white poster paper. A bit expensive ($36) but the quality is sublime! Permanent markers are ready. MY BODY IS READY. Let's do this!

French open semifinals today and tomorrow

After eight very interesting games in the quarters, today's and tomorrow's semis look to be even more fascinating. The men's side fell just short of yet another Top Four finish (the world's top-four seeds making it to the semis), which has come to be a rare occurrence lately. This is part of why I tend to enjoy women's tennis more: there's much more variance and it's much more dramatic. With that said, three of the top six women's seeds have made it through to the semis, with Errani being the odd one out. Match-ups below and, as usual, printable draws here.

MEN'S SINGLES SEMIFINALS (June 8)

Djokovic (1) - Federer (3)

Ferrer (6) - Nadal (2)

I had guessed right, a couple of days ago, about Ferrer knocking out Murray, but I guess I'd put too much trust in Del Potro against Federer. He even went two sets up!... but of course there's no half-winning against Roger. Nole seems unable to win easy in this tournament, so the match with Federer is quite open. From a sport lover's viewpoint, it doesn't really matter. Assuming that Nadal will make it to the final (and it's a pretty safe bet), either way it's going to be a classic. For old times' sake, I'm hoping for a Federer-Nadal showdown on Sunday.

WOMEN'S SINGLES SEMIFINALS  (June 7)

Stosur (6) - Errani (21)

Kvitova (4) - Sharapova (2)

National allegiance and an intense dislike for the Aussie make me root for Errani in the top half, but realistically, you don't beat Stosur on clay when she's rolling, and she is. The bottom half is much more interesting. It's a rematch of last year's Wimbledon final and this year's Australian Open semi. Kvitova took the former, Sharapova the latter. I call this a rivalry in the making, which is exciting. I've no real preference, and the similar playing style (both are baseline big-hitters) makes this a very open match. I'll go with MaSha, though, because with a win today she clinches the world's #1 spot again after four years... and heaven knows she has deserved to be back there after the last four years of hell. The final on Saturday will be Stosur-Sharapova.

French Open quarterfinals

Seems like the upsets finally caught up with this otherwise so-far ordinary tourney. World's #1 Azarenka is out, world's #1 Djokovic dropped two sets to Seppi before coming back, and reigning women's champ Li Na got her ass handed to her by the young Ukrainian Shvedova. The quarters thus look like this. (Printable draws here).

MEN'S SINGLES

TOP HALF
Djokovic (1) - Tsonga (5)
Federer (3) - Del Potro (9)

BOTTOM HALF
Ferrer (6) - Murray (4)
Almagro (12) - Nadal (2)

At this point, every match has the potential for awesome. I am especially interested to see if Nole's debacle against Seppi was an isolated incident; Tsonga does seem to be on a roll, and is a good clay player, and of course enjoys the home crowd's favor. The Spanish-dominated bottom half is a little less interesting, because Nadal hasn't dropped a set yet and has looked like a million dollars so far (as usual on clay). I'll go ahead and dare to predict a Djoko-Delpo semi in the top half and a Nadal-Ferrer Spanish derby in the bottom half.

WOMEN'S SINGLES

TOP HALF
Cibulkova (15) - Stosur (6)
Errani (21) - Kerber (10)

BOTTOM HALF
Shvedova - Kvitova (4)
Kanepi (23) - Sharapova (2)

Shvedova's fable is about to meet a very rough end against Kvitova: it's one thing to knock out a tired and aging Li, but Petra has looked great so far and I don't think that the newbie has it in her. The top half of the table is quite fascinating, because Errani and Kerber aren't used to this level and because Stosur, usually a hands-down favorite on clay, may suffer Cibulkova's formidable shape this week. My predictions are Stosur-Errani and Kvitova-Sharapova.

Roma clinch Zeman again!

Zeman in Rome in 1997.

After 15 years, Zdenek Zeman returns to Rome!
The Czech trainer had coached AS Roma for two seasons in 1997-1999. His results were mixed (4th and 5th place in Serie A) but he oversaw the rise of Francesco Totti and prepped the team for the following two years, when Capello would lead them to a historic third scudetto. Zeman was known in Rome as "the Jedi" for his composed demeanor and dedicated work ethic. His geographic provenience, his sober personal lifestyle, and the energetic full-court attack strategy of his teams also earned him the title of "il Boemo" (the Bohemian).

Zeman is perhaps best known for being among the first, in 1998, to denounce the use of steroids and similar performance-enhancing drugs in European football. Burned in effigy by the Italian media as a "whiner" who denounced the establishment simply because he could not win, he turned out to be right as many courts verified his claims, starting one of the most influential scandals in Italian football.

After a decade of ostracism into the lower leagues, which many saw as "punishment" for not sitting quietly at the big boys table, Zeman now finally gets another shot at prime-time football. As a Roma fan, I cannot wait. If my dad were alive, he would be just as excited. He always loved and defended the Bohemian, and even got his autograph one day at a restaurant.

Good to have you back, old master!

(Read news reports here and here: the latter is a particularly good profile).


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Critérium du Dauphiné 2012 starts today!

...with a brief prologue in Grenoble before tomorrow's first real stage. See the official website, the live dashboard of news and results, and the live broadcast.

The Criterium is a week-long road cycling stage race that each year precedes (and in part previews) the more glorious, three-week long Tour de France. It is run in southern France, in the area historically known as Dauphiné, which now comprises several districts. It usually includes famous climbs in the Alps that typically also feature in the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, such as Galibier, Ventoux, Huez, and Colombière. This year, only the latter is included, but it is included twice, with two climbs on two different sides. In the past, these climbs have been won by top climbers the likes of Virenque, Pantani, and Schleck, both at the Tour and at the Criterium.

More specifically, the Criterium is well-known in the cycling world for its ability to test the top riders' shape between the end of the Giro and the start of the Tour. A small but significant portion of the Tour is run on the same roads; the structure of the Criterium usually mirrors that of the Tour; the start list is often very similar; the type of terrain is almost identical; and both races are organized by the same committee.

And if you're new to the world of road cycling, you must know that gossip and debate are central to the sport and that what happens off the road is discussed almost as much as the sporting event proper. So since the Tour is the world's most important cycling event, and given all the similarities above, what happens in the Criterium inevitably pours over into the Tour a few weeks later. So whatever happens, it is sure to be a media feast!

This year's route isn't as challenging as it has been in past year, but I think it will be awesome due to three HC climbs (Hors Catégorie: so tough as to be "beyond categorization") and an all-star start list: 2011 Tour champion Cadel Evans, this year's Tour favorite Andy Schleck, 2011 Criterium winner Bradley Wiggins, and then Vinokourov, Menchov, Nibali, Voeckler, Martin, Chavanel, and many more. Read the full start list here.

Many more updates to come in the following days!

EDIT: The Grenoble prologue, a 6.5 kilometer / 3.1 mile individual time trial, was won by the young Aussie, Luke Durbridge. 2011 champ Wiggins came in a close second. Worrying performance by Schleck, who managed to lose almost 40 seconds from Wiggins in such a short time trial. This is so relevant because the upcoming Tour de France includes over 100 km in time trial events, which could put Schleck at a major disadvantage, even though he's expected to dominate the climbs.

Roland Garros round of 16

No surprises among the men. A few more among the women, with Radwanska, Schiavone, and Serena out. As usual, among men only 1 of 16 remaining players is unranked, while it's 6 out of 16 for women. No surviving wild card or qualified for men and only one for women (Shvedova, Q).

Match-ups below. Printable draws downloadable here, updated after each match.

MEN'S SINGLES

DJOKOVIC'S QUARTER
Djokovic (1) - Seppi (22)
Wawrinka (16) - Tsonga (5)

FEDERER'S QUARTER
Federer (3) - Goffin
Del Potro (9) - Berdych (7)


MURRAY'S QUARTER
Ferrer (6) - Granollers (20)
Gasquet (17) - Murray (4)

NADAL'S QUARTER
Tipsarevic (8) - Almagro (12)
Monaco (13) - Nadal (2)

Two really interesting quarters here would be Murray-Ferrer and especially Federer-Delpo. As usual, the likelihood of the top four making it to the semis is high.

WOMEN'S SINGLES

AZARENKA'S QUARTER
Azarenka (1) - Cibulkova (15)
Stephens - Stosur (6)

"RADWANSKA'S" QUARTER
Kuznetsova (26) - Errani (21)
Kerber (10) - Martic


KVITOVA'S QUARTER
Li (7) - Shvedova
Lepchenko - Kvitova (4)

SHARAPOVA'S QUARTER
Rus - Kanepi (23)
Zakopalova - Sharapova (2)

What's striking here, instead, is the lack of any seriously interesting match-up until the semis, where I'd love to see Azarenka-Errani and Kvitova-Sharapova.