The second major of the season may be the toughest of the four majors to win. The clay courts at Roland Garros make it tough for many of the top players, as they are used to the hard courts or grass.

And in the first three days, there have been a few scares out there. Yesterday, Andy Murray – who was also feeling under the weather – dropped the first two sets to Richard Gasquet, only to rebound to make the second round.

Then earlier today, Andy Roddick, who seems primed to finally win another major this season, had to survive a five-setter against Jarkko Nieminen, 6-2  4-6 4-6 7-6  6-3.

“It’s not easy,” Roddick said.  “I mean, definitely, you know, spending three days in bed in Madrid wasn’t the way we wrote it up, you know. That was bad. That was not, you know, the preparation we wanted. We did the best we could. We scrambled last week and got two matches out at an XO. You know, XO is never the same.

“You know, so as far as preparation physically and in practice, it was good. But, you know, like you mentioned, it’s or like I mentioned, it’s not the same.

“It definitely was less than perfect, but I put some time in today.”

The biggest problem is the footing. Players enjoy stopping on a dime, which isn’t there with the clay courts. Instead they slip, putting uneasiness in their games as they slide up and down the baseline.

That’s why the clay court specialists seem to dominate with Rafael Nadal dominating the men’s side up until last year and the woman’s draw seems to be wide open.

Murray has season winning the French will be a physical and mental challenge. It’s a very different type of hit on the ball where they have to put more topspin on the return in order to get the right bounce.

“I think the ceiling is a little bit different on clay for me, but the mindset of going into a day doesn’t change. You go in and you try and battle and do the best you can. You see what happens.”

“I think the option of how you go about it is pretty simple. I’m aware that it’s probably on a worse surface. I’m aware of the challenges that it brings. Doesn’t change going into a day what I want to accomplish.”

Of course, there are weather issues as well. Spring Parisian showers mean muddier courts, slowing down the match to almost a crawl. Roland Garros is planning putting a roof on its new center court, but that’s going to be completed in 2013 or 2014, so that’s something else they needs to be dealt with.

All of this means it will be a very interesting two week. Expect an upset or two along the way, because with the clay courts, you never know what will happen.

This year, though, there’s no doubt the master is on track.

“It’s not something I’ve ever put in my mind that this is something I want to achieve,” Federer said after defeating Andy Murray in straight sets, 6-3 6-4 7-6. “I’ll still go and play the smaller tournaments, you know, the Masters 1000s, the ones we’re supposed to play. I try to give my best everywhere I go to, because I think there are not only the Grand Slams.

“Of course, they are important, but I try to respect every tournament that invites me to go play there. There’s the fans who pay tickets. I want to live up to my expectations, too.”

After a scare in the first round, Federer had a pretty easy time in the Oz Open as he dominated the competition in Melbourne. Although the more exciting matches over the past two weeks were played by others, the Swiss Master just went about his business.

“I always knew I had it in my hand,” he said. “The question is do I have it in my mind and in my legs, you know. That’s something I had to work extremely hard at. Now I feel like obviously I’m being pushed a great deal by the new generation coming up. I always feel sort of tennis changes sort of every five years.

“Because when I came on tour, matches were played very differently. It was more of a bluff game, guys serving well, but there was always a weakness you could go to. Today that doesn’t exist anymore. I think that’s also thanks to guys like Murray. They’ve made me a better player, because I think this has been one of my finest performances, you know, in a long time, or maybe forever.”

Now Federer is on track for that elusive Grand Slam. Even with all the major wins, he never won all four in a year, as the French always gave him problems. But now, after winning in Roland Garros last year, Federer has a real chance to nail down the elusive achievement.

Of course he will play the tournaments as they come, but Federer feels now that he’s in position to dominate everything in 2010.

“It’s not an easy thing to do to win your first Grand Slam,” Federer said. “That’s not mental, you know, trying to screw with his head, you know. It’s just a tough thing, you know.

“The next one is not going to get any easier. But his game is so good that I’m convinced he will win one, you know. And I thought he did really well tonight because conditions were tough. I mean, I think I played a great match. So someone’s got to win, and I’m happy it was me.”

The road ahead won’t be easy. Although Federer has said he’s become a better player, the rest of the field has become tougher as well. Besides the usual suspects, like Nadal, Murray, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Roddick, upstarts like US Open Champion Juan Martin Del Potro have become elite players, who will give Federer fits as he tries to nail down the Slam.

Yet, that’s what keeps the Swiss Master going. With every match he learns something about himself, on his quest for perfection.

“[It’s] a tough generation at the moment,” Federer said. “There’s many guys. You know, I’ve dominated hard court and grass for a long time; Rafa did clay. Rafa also became very strong on the other surfaces and so forth.

“So I think it’s just not an easy thing to do, Grand Slams, and I proved it again tonight.”

One down. Three to go.

Gael Monfils, using his Prince EXO³ Rebel 95 racquet, showcased his masterful blend of punishing offense and tactical defense to take out Phillip Kohlschreiber 7-6, 3-6, 6-2 in the Open de Moselle finals.  Monfils, one of the first players on tour to pick up a racquet from Prince’s highly-acclaimed EXO³ line (in fact, he made the switch from him former brand to Prince after hitting only two tennis balls with the new EXO³ frame at the end of last year), shot up to a career high ranking of #9 after doing so, reached the quarter-finals of Roland Garros and now captures his first title of the year.  With a cosmetic as colorful as Monfils himself, the EXO³ Rebel 95 not only suits his game-style, but has become one of the most welcomed additions to the player frame market this year.

Not to be outdone, Prince’s Shahar Peer showed that while the EXO³ Rebel 95 may be the right racquet for Monfils, the Prince EXO³ Red 105 is best suited for her game.  With her EXO³ Red in hand, Peer took home her second straight WTA title – winning the Guangzhou Open in China last week and capturing the Tashkent title yesterday.   The title is Peer’s fifth for her career and second since making the switch to the EXO³ Red earlier this year.

Rounding out the weekend, Spaniard Albert Montanes edged Juan Monaco 7-6, 7-6 in the finals of the BCR Open in Bucharest to win his second title of 2009 (Estoril) and his third ATP title overall.  The fifth seed, Montanes is one of the players on tour to not only wield a Prince racquet (Prince Ozone Tour), but rely on Prince apparel and footwear in competition as well.

“This weekend was a significant one for the brand – having three title winners and the opportunity to showcase our product, in multiple categories, at the game’s highest level,” said Linda Glassel, VP of Marketing at Prince.  “From Gael’s EXO³ Rebel 95, to Shahar’s EXO³ Red 105, to Albert’s Ozone Tour, Aerotech apparel and O-Series footwear, Prince was omnipresent.  Not only do these wins show the strength and depth of our Tour team, but these three all have very distinct playing styles and we are proud to develop, and make available, the best products for all playing styles and player-types.  From touring pro to club level to juniors, we have the right product to help you win.”

More information regarding Prince Tour Team members, products (including the EXO³ racquet line) and where to buy Prince products, log onto: www.princetennis.com.

About Prince Sports, Inc.

Prince Sports, Inc, based in New Jersey, is a company of racquet sports enthusiasts whose goal is to create cutting edge, functional and technically advanced products that deliver performance benefits for avid players.  The Company’s portfolio of brands includes Prince (tennis, squash and badminton), Ektelon (racquetball) and Viking (platform/paddle tennis).   The Company has a history of innovation including inventing the first “oversize” and “longbody” racquets, the first “Natural Foot Shape” tennis shoe, the first “synthetic gut” string and the first electronic ball machine.  Today, Prince markets leading technologies in racquets (EXO³), string (Recoil), footwear (Precision Tube Technology) and apparel (Aerotech).   It has operations on three continents with distribution in over 100 countries. For more information on players, products or programs please visit www.princesports.com.

The match took five hours and 59 minutes to complete. Just a minute shy of reaching the six hour mark. Only three Davis Cup matches have ever gone that far. While Stepanek and Karlovic didn’t quite get there, they did match a record for most total games (82) since the tiebreak was introduced in 1989 to Davis Cup.

Ironically, it was earlier this year in a first round defeat to Lleyton Hewitt at Roland Garros that Karlovic shattered his own record with 55 aces. Apparently, the big Croat would be better off with less considering the heartbreaking end results which again held true with Stepanek saving five match points with three coming in the 10th game and another in the 24th game of the climatic final set.

“I am very happy that I was able to pull it through,” an ecstatic Stepanek expressed afterwards. “The match was going crazy; we were not able to break each other. I was the one who was using more fitness. He had four match points in the fifth set but I stayed mentally strong and it paid off at the end. You can’t live through bigger emotions than Davis Cup and this match just proved it.”

Amazingly, there were no breaks of serve until the 81st game (29th of 5th set) following a brief exhange in the first set which Stepanek dropped in one of four breakers.

“I have no words right now, it was like a lottery and I managed to seize my chances,” the winner added.

“It was a long and exhausting match but when you play for your country it’s worth it. It wouldn’t matter if it lasted for another few hours.”

“It was really close match, it was long and I had match points,” said a drained Karlovic who blew leads of 3-0 and 4-1 in the fourth set tiebreak before Stepanek stormed back to take it 8-6, forcing a deciding set. “I could also have won … I don’t know, that’s it.”

In the second match, Tomas Berdych held off U.S. Open quarterfinalist Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 to put the Czech Republic a win away from the Davis Cup final. Spain leads the other semifinal 2-0 over Israel thanks to straight set wins from Juan Carlos Ferrero and David Ferrer.

“It was like was going to put you in front of a wall and shoot at you, it was feeling like that,” summed up Stepanek. “I knew he was going to serve incredibly well and I was expecting it but I said to be patient and wait for my chances.”

Caroline Wozniacki takes on Yanina Wickmayer in the first match moved to Louis Armstrong. And the second semi pits reigning champ Serena Williams against comeback queen Kim Clijsters who has proven that she still has quite a bit of game even though she took two years off to get married and now has 18-month old daughter Jade following her.

Can the former 2005 Open winner rundown enough balls and hit with enough variety versus the powerful Serena, who is looking to make it three slams this year and four of the last five? Yet that’s not good enough to be ranked No.1. Everyone already has Williams taking the trophy but figure her to get a fight from the feisty 26 year-old from Belgium.

Though Serena has gone out of her way to praise Kim saying how she admires her, you know once they get out on Ashe, it’s on. And she’ll also be aiming for a measure of revenge for older sis Venus, who Clijsters ousted two previous rounds receiving plenty of love. So, the 11-time grand slam winner has plenty of incentive.

We’re just glad the men were finally able to complete the quarter that got suspended by a heavy downpour Thursday night. Even if poor Fernando Gonzalez offered token resistance, allowing Rafael Nadal to win the final four points of a crucial second set tiebreaker before getting bageled.

So, here’s Rafa again showing the tremendous heart in spite of the abdominal strain which was ailing him the other night. That the 23 year-old kid from Mallorca can give you this much effort when the odds are stacked against him tells us all we need to know about him. He’s two matches from making history by completing a career grand slam.

Don’t forget he beat Federer in five down under this year before Robin Soderling got him at Roland Garros and then Nadal couldn’t even defend his Wimbledon crown due to balky knees. Now, he will face tough sixth seeded Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro in one semi tomorrow. So, it won’t be easy against a player who has proven to be an excellent hard courter posting a 16-1 mark since Wimbledon. The last time they met, Del Potro won in straights at Montreal before losing to Andy Murray in the final.

The other semifinal hasn’t gotten much talk even though it’s Federer trying to keep his bid to match Bill Tilden’s six straight Opens alive against fourth seeded Serb Novak Djokovic. Here’s the kicker. They’re only meeting a third consecutive year with Feds prevailing in the 2007 final and last year’s semi in four sets going onto a fifth championship in a row over Murray.

So, even without Murray or Andy Roddick, there’s plenty of star power/storylines which will make the men’s Final Four compelling.

Let’s just hope the ladies can get their matches in tonight which is asking a lot with the weather not cooperating. Wozniacki is coming off her impressive 6-2, 6-2 quarterfinal win over new 17 year-old American sweetheart Melanie Oudin, whose run captivated everyone.

What the 19 year-old blonde bombshell from Denmark did was come in with a great strategy using her speed to play excellent defense while mixing in a consistent topspin forehand that forced Oudin to go for more resulting in unforced errors.

The ninth seed is a good player and this has been expected. She had never before made it past the fourth round until this tournament. But after disappointing results at the first three slams, Wozy has stepped up following her win in New Haven. Her game is a breath of fresh air in that she doesn’t just rely on power but on precision along with solid D to stay in points. Something which frustrated former Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Dane’s come from behind three set Round of 16 win.

Aside tom the consistency is the wonderful smile which can win crowds over as can her positive attitude, even admitting that when it got interesting early in the second set versus fan favorite Oudin, she didn’t show any frustration because the wise teen had used any negativity in her upsets over the big Russians to her edge.

Now, there will be even more pressure with Wozniacki facing another 19 year-old in Wickmayer. A player she knows well from juniors. Thus far, the Belgian has had a breakthrough of her own to reach this point. That included a first round straight set upset of No.16 seed Virginie Razzano and a come from behind three set Round Two triumph over Shuai Peng.

Wickmayer also had to show mettle rallying from a set down to defeat Dinara Safina conqueror Petra Kvitova in the fourth round. Even her quarter win over Kateryna Bondarenko got dicey when after sneaking out the first set late, she fell behind 1-4 having to save break points before righting herself to reel off the last five games for the big win.

Not bad for a player who’d never surpassed the second round of a major. Wickmayer hits a bigger ball than Wozniacki. So, she’ll likely be going for more while the counterpunching Wozniacki will try to use a similar gameplan that worked so well against Oudin. The contrast in style should make for an intriguing match.

Now if only the rain would go away.

And with these delays come questions. Now that Wimbledon has a roof and Roland Garros has one coming in five years, should the US Open follow suit and cover Arthur Ashe with some sort of retractable covering?

Every time it rains this question will come up. But with the cost being about $100 million, the location of the stadium, the amount of time its in use, the answer should be no.

Back when the city built Shea Stadium in 1964, the original plans called for a roof to go over the big bowl and the outfield area to be enclosed. Unfortunately, when the Mets, Jets, and the city did a feasibility study it was found out that it would be impossible to cover Shea. The weight would force the stadium to collapse.

But Arthur Ashe was built in 1997, and is more is more of a stable structure. Yet, you have to wonder if the land it’s built upon that was part of the same garbage dump back in the day could handle the weight of a roof.

Even if it can, though, it’s still not worth it. The US Open occurs two weeks out of the year. For the other 50, the place is pretty much dormant, with the exception of the occasional event or two. To spend money on rain insurance for something that may happen once every five or so years is just foolish.

The funds would be better off spent to keep expanding the Tennis Center or use for other purposes that may have a year round purpose. For example, could the USTA build a tennis hall of fame somewhere on the grounds? How about putting the money into the eyesore that was on the New York Pavilion from the World’s Fair? This would be something that can be used year round, promoting the sport of tennis and can be enjoyed by fans from around the world.

If you want insurance, then play some of the matches at the indoor facility. Make sure they are up to the championship code. That way you can continue the Rafael Nadal match inside rather than hoping the Mother Nature is kind to the sport.

And if you want a location where a large crowd can watch an important match, one of the soon to be five arenas in the area should be available. Imaging playing at Madison Square Garden, Nassau Coliseum or even the new Brooklyn arena, if its built. Now, remember this is a last resort situation, but still better than shelling out millions for a roof that may not be able to be built.

Rain is unfortunate, but only occurs every few years. If the USTA wastes money on a roof for Arthur Ashe it’s their business, but it’s something that they don’t need, and should be pressured into it.

While it’s a surprising result, the 20 year-old Cilic was expected to have a breakout year. On one of the biggest stages, the 16th seeded Croat waited before making his arrival with a sound thrashing of last year’s runner-up.

Early on, Murray had his chances blowing a couple of early break points. After saving one on his own serve for 5-4, a shaky Cilic handed him two set points but dug out of it to hold. Then, the crowd favorite played a sluggish 11th game making uncharacteristic misses handing his opponent the first break. Cilic took the kind donation serving out the set to surge ahead.

“You know, he hit the spots on the serve, especially quite a few 30 All points or 15 30 points, and he served well,” lamented Murray after being sent packing without a first major.

“That was, for me, the difference. A lot of the times I played him before was he served well and I returned poorly and, you know, I didn’t give myself enough chances.“

“It was a relief for me to start getting more into the game,” Cilic said. “I didn’t have to think too much. I played good, played tactically well, and he was missing.”

The same two players met in this round earlier this year at Roland Garros with Murray prevailing in straight sets. But on this occasion, it was the lanky Croat who continued to play more consistently quickly breaking in the opening game of the second set.

Suddenly with confidence, he began serving better mixing in a few of his match best 10 aces. In Murray’s third round win the other night over Taylor Dent, he only missed six returns. But it was a far different story today with Cilic saving all seven break points while winning 79 percent of his first serve (38 of 48) and a respectable 58 percent on seconds (26 of 45).

In the middle set, he never was pressured. One of the reasons was that he was much more aggressive going for his shots forcing bad misses from Murray who committed more than twice the unforced errors to winners (29 to 13). Meanwhile, Cilic was much more consistent using his big forehand to pin the struggling No.2 player behind the baseline. In fact, he finished with 35 winners and 41 errors. A much better ratio.

As the match wore on, the more confident he seemed winning baseline exchanges while also using the net to his advantage where he did well finishing 19 of 30 (63 percent). Conversely, Murray went to the net only eight times converting five speaking to the difference.

Up 3-0, Cilic earned a second break thanks to more Murray miscues with a large forehand drawing a short reply into the net to which the Croat let out an enthusiastic scream. What was so stunning was how little emotion the Scot showed. Usually, he plays with such intensity admitting how much he enjoys playing in front of the big New York crowd. However, for some reason, Great Britain’s only hope to erase Fred Perry’s name from the record book was lifeless.

“You know, today I mean, I could have been better in pretty much every part of the game, whether it was mental or serve, forehand, backhand returns. I don’t know,” added Murray.

Whether it had something to do with his left wrist which British TV made reference to didn’t matter. He just didn’t compete disappointing many who came to see a much better match than they got.

“I had a problem with it for a week or so. But regardless, I mean, you know, I just struggled today. I played poorly. You know, I’m obviously very disappointed. I mean, after, you know, the way that the last three Slams went I felt like I had actually played well and lost,” Murray accurately pointed out.

“And today, you know, it didn’t feel like    didn’t feel like I played well. I had my chance in the first set, and then, you know, struggled after that.”

After Cilic made quick work to go up a commanding two sets, he again stunned Murray with an early break in the first game of set three. By now, the Ashe crowd grew concerned trying to urge on the 22 year-old who tried to hang in there holding serve twice to stay close. In the fifth game, he finally got his first break point since the first set but couldn’t cash in with Cilic proving too tough.

Following the missed opportunity, it was Cilic who sensed the moment breaking a struggling Murray for a double break 5-2 lead. With a chance to close it out, he had little trouble converting his second match point when a Murray forehand sailed long allowing a victorious Cilic to pump his fists in celebration.

Cilic will meet No.6 Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro for a spot in the semis after Del Potro used 22 aces and 44 winners to dismiss former 2003 finalist Juan Carlos Ferrero (24) 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 over on Louis Armstrong. Last year, Del Potro lost to Murray in the quarters but there won’t be a rematch with instead a battle between 20 year-olds.

Later tonight, Rafael Nadal will try to avoid a similar upset when he takes on another dangerous player in No.13 Frenchman Gael Monfils. No.7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga faces No.11 Fernando Gonzalez this afternoon.