Huge win for perennial "next-tier" player Jo-Willie Tsonga, who took Roger Federer out in straight sets at the French Open today. I got a snarky comment about my "lack of loyalty" to players the other day, but just to clarify: I am still a huge Federer fan. It's just that after losing sleep over his wins and losses for so many years -- as I did with Chris Evert, Tracy Austin and Steffi Graf in the past -- I decided that once he won Roland Garros, thus completing the career Grand Slam, I would finally relax and allow myseelf to enjoy it if someone outplayed him. I decided this was a compliment in and of itself because to beat him means you too are really something special. (Unless your name is Rafael Nadal!) Novak Djokovic came along and started to figure out how to beat Roger, and I applauded. Now the Frenchman pulled it off and I'm happy for him, too. Disappointed for Svetlana Kuznetsova, who had a real shot at beating Serena Williams. Sveta is one of those players who had everything she needed to be a HUGE champion, but had to settle for a Hana Mandlikova type of career ... because of a similar mentality.Damn brain gets in the way of so many great athletes -- just ask Sam Stosur.
