Grand Slam Professional Tennis Predictions and Picks by Nick Bollettieri. US Open, French Open, Wimbledon, Australian Open

Nick’s Picks will have complete coverage of the 2008 French Open, and is coming to you live from Paris!! Also, Nick is teaming with Tennis Week to provide in-depth analysis of the French Open throughout the tournament! Check out Nick’s Picks for the entire men’s and women’s draws!

Roger Federer (SUI) vs. Rafael Nadal (ESP)

For the third straight year, Federer and Nadal will face off in the finals of the French Open. This is the dream match-up that everyone has been looking forward to since the beginning of the tournament. There are two big questions centering on this match. The first is: Can Federer win the career Grand Slam? The second is: Can Nadal tie Borg’s record of four straight French Open titles? We will find out the answer soon enough!!

Match-Up:

Nadal is 10-6 against Federer in his career, and has won eight of the nine times they have faced on clay. Having said that, I don’t think Federer is going to let that record discourage him in this match. On the other hand, you know Nadal is going to be very confident about his ability to beat Federer on the clay.

Nadal loves to stand 6-8 feet behind the baseline, because it gives him the ability to track down ball after ball after ball. This is what he does best. He wears his opponents down by hitting heavy spinning balls from side-to-side and playing fantastic defense. To counter this, Federer will try to hit some angled slices, drop shots, and short balls. This will draw Nadal into the net, where he isn’t as comfortable as he is behind the baseline.

I have noticed that since Federer has started working with Jose Higueras, he has added more variety to his clay-court game. He has been hitting more droppers, and coming into the net more. I think this has been very beneficial to him. The one thing Federer can’t do is get into baseline rallies with Nadal and expect to him. That strategy doesn’t work, and we have all seen how that ends before.

While I do think Federer has a good chance to win this match, right now I have to give the edge to Nadal. Until he loses in Paris, how can I pick someone else?

No matter what the result, the crowd and the tennis fans throughout the world are in for a treat. These two men are clearly the best in the world, and having them meet in the finals of a Grand Slam is always a very positive thing for the sport of tennis.

Nick’s Pick – Nadal in 4 sets