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The biggest headline of the tournament so far was Rafael Nadal‘s first round match against the 6’9” big serving American John Isner. Nadal’s 6-4 6-7(2) 6-7(2) 6-2 6-4 victory was the most challenging win he has ever earned at the French Open. It was the first time that the five time Roland Garros champion was pushed to five sets in Paris. After four hours, Nadal’s expressive celebration implied how much this victory meant to him.

Second seed Novak Djokovic cruised past his first two opponents in straight sets, proving his candidacy for this year’s championship. Roger Federer faced no threating opposition in the first two rounds, as he also won without dropping a set. However, fan polls have shown that Federer is out of the conversation for winning this year’s title.

The biggest upset on the men’s side so far was a five loss of six seeded Tomas Berdych to qualifier Frenchman Stephane Robert. Last year’s runner up Robin Soderling was tested in his first round four set victory against young American Ryan Harrison.

First seed Caroline Wozniacki advanced to the third round without losing a set so far, while second seed and crowd favorite Kim Clijsters enjoyed a 6-2 6-3 win in her opening round. Third seed Vera Zvonareva played one of the most dramatic matches on the women’s side so far. The Russian earned a hard fought 4-6 7-5 7-5 victory over qualifier Sabine Lisicki. After nearly three hours, the cramping Lisicski fell to the ground in tears and had to be carried off the court in stretchers as the Paris sun faded late into the evening.

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Since New Year’s Day, Novak Djokovic has been flying on a magic carpet all season long. The biggest surprise about the Serbian superstar is that he will walk into Paris as the heavy favorite to win the event. Djokovic made an impressive clay court season debut by winning the tournament in his hometown of Belgrade. A week later, he stunned Rafael Nadal 7-5 6-4 to capture the trophy in Madrid, Spain. Days later, Djokovic pulled another trick out of his magic hat by upsetting Rafael Nadal once again 6-4, 6-4 in Rome, Italy. These extraordinary efforts on the red clay have earned Djokovic a 39 match winning streak this year. Right now, Djokovic is without a doubt the best player in the world. Additionally, he has dethroned Rafael Nadal to become the new king of clay.

Rafael Nadal comes into the French Open with two championship trophies and two runners up trophies which he earned this clay court season. The five time French Open champion has got to be rattled by his recent consecutive losses to his new rival, Djokovic. However, the courts of the French Open will put Djokovic and Nadal to their biggest challenges, and will determine who the true King of Clay of 2011 is.

Roger Federer has bitterly tasted one of his worst clay court season performances since dominating the men’s game. The 2009 champion will arrive in Paris with little confidence taken from only six victories in three clay court events. Two times French Open runner up Robin Soderling is also a long shot at this year’s event, as he hasn’t advanced past the quarterfinals in the clay tournaments he played this spring.

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A couple of guys have already proven their abilities on the clay courts of Europe this year. Rafael Nadal has clinched back to back titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. Russian Nikolay Davydenko recently captured the title in Munich. Juan Martin Del Potro won his second title of the year in Estoril, Portugal.

Novak Djokovic made an impressive debut to his clay court season by winning the event in his hometown of Belgrade. Spaniard David Ferrer has been one of the hottest clay courters so far, reaching the finals in Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

All of these names will be contenders for the trophy in Rome. However, one name that’s been awfully silent this clay court season is Roger Federer. Heading into mid may, Federer has performed poorly, by his own standards based on the previous years. Federer comes into Rome as the third seed with little match experience. Andy Murray has limited match experience on the clay this season as well. Both Federer and Murray hadn’t played since their losses at Monte Carlo until entering the ongoing tournament in Madrid. In fact, Murray’s confidence has already been hurt by an early loss to Tomaz Bellucci in Madrid.

Speaking of Madrid, the tournament will play a major factor in the shape and morale of Nadal, Djokovic, Federer, and Murray going into Rome next week. Nadal will be the first seed in Rome, and he’s made the smart decision to skip some clay court events this season to avoid injuries due to excessive match play.

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For starters, top players Roger Federer and Andy Murray decided to skip Barcelona after competing in Monte Carlo last week. However, the world’s number one decided to continue his quest for clay court greatness after grabbing the trophy in Monte Carlo and coming to Barcelona. Nadal got a bye in the first round and then easily dismantled fellow Spaniard Gimeno Traver 6-1 6-1. So far, the fans in Barcelona had plenty to cheer for, with excellent performances from the Spaniards.

David Ferrer was the finalist in last week’s Monte Carlo final, hopes to continue his clay court run in Barcelona as he advanced into the quarterfinals without any trouble during his straight set victories. Jurgen Melzer, who upset Roger Federer in Monte Carlo, won the first match easily but had a tougher 6-7 6-3 6-2 victory in the following match against clay court veteran Albert Montanes.

Nicolas Almagro gave local fans more reasons to cheer on, as he broke into the top 10 for the first time after defeating Nikolay Davydenko. Almgaro will next face fellow countryman and 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero.

The biggest upset of the tournament in the first few days was when third seed and last year’s runner up Robin Soderling lost to Ivan Dodig 6-2 6-4. It was a poor 2011 clay court debut for Soderling, who stunned the tennis world by playing on championship day at the last two Roland Garros events.

Online sportsbooks have Djokovic at 5-1 in Tennis Odds to end the ATP Tour season as world number one. The odds were released Sunday after Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open.

Djokovic is also at 5-1 to win the French Open in May.

The Serbian player passed 16-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer in the rankings following his Australian Open win, while a fourth title of the season has cut into Nadal’s lead further.

But Nadal does get a boost to hand on to top spot from the fact the ATP Tour season is headed for Nadal’s favored surface clay. The Spaniard is 8/11 to hold on to top spot.

But with Djokovic closing in on the game’s top player, Nadal is bow at 5-1 to win at Roland Garros after opening at 4-9.

Federer was brushed aside by Nadal in the semis in Miami and is 12/1 to reclaim top spot, while out-of-form Andy Murray is 33/1 to be topping the rankings come the end of the season.

Djokovic beat Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) on Sunday to win the Sony Ericsson Open, his fourth consecutive title of the year and 26th straight match dating from last season.

“It’s the best four months of my life,” he said. “This streak is incredible.”

The ongoing BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California has always been a good “thermometer” of the hotness of the players coming into the Sony Ericsson Open. The good news for tennis fans is that the world’s top players are competing in both masters events.

All top ten players will play at Crandon Park, making the tournament as competitive as in Grand Slams. World number one Rafael Nadal is in great shape after winning both recent Davis Cup matches against Belgium, and advancing through the early rounds at Indian Wells.

Second seed Roger Federer is eager to get his hands on the trophy once again, something he has last done in 2006. Federer’s loss to Novak Djokovic in the Dubai Finals in late February is a reminder that winning Miami today is more challenging than before. In online sportsbook, Federer is expected to be the favorite in Tennis Odds.

Speaking of Djokovic, the Australian Open champion comes in as the third seed and hopes to relive the sweet Miami success which he tasted in 2007 when he won the tournament.

Defending champion Andy Roddick has been under the radar since last season, dropping out of the top 5 and 10 rankings. He comes in as the eighth seed, with plenty of momentum from winning Memphis in February and giving the U.S.A. two Davis Cup wins against Chile in early March.

Tennis Odds for this event have not yet been posted.

The preceding event at Indian Wells has traditionally provided good insight about the Sony Ericsson Open. But since Indian Wells has yet to be played, it is early to pick favorites for Miami’s tournament. This means that the recent events in Asia and South America provide the most accurate predictions for the hard court tournaments in North America.

The number three player in the world Vera Zvonareva defeated the world’s No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in Doha, Qatar in late February. It’s most likely that both of them will enter the Sony Ericsson draw with seeds corresponding to their current world rankings.

Defending Champion Kim Clijsters comes into Crandon Park as the second seed. Last year, she overpowered Venus Williams 6-2 6-1 in the final. The runner up will make a comeback, as the sixth seed this year.

There are several other less known players to watch out for, who are coming off hot streaks in late February. Gisela Dulko claimed the title in Acapulco, Mexico. Jelena Dokic won the event in Malaysia while at the same time Anastasia Pavluchenkova raised the trophy in Monterey, Mexico. However, it is uncertain if Dokic will even play, unless she competes at the qualifying rounds.

2009 Champion Victoria Azarenka comes into Miami as the ninth seed, but she’s had a poor February, losing early in Dubai and Doha. Other top ten seeds such as Samantha Stosur, Francesca Schiavone, Li Na, and Jelena Jankovic are possible “dark horses” which can be unpredictable at big events.

Federer was a favorite in tennis betting odds to win the match.

Roger Federer enjoyed a routine victory over Somdev Devvarman. It took Federer only 75 minutes to comfortably claim the match 6-3 6-3 in front of a packed Centre Court full of an evening crowd. Federer broke his opponent three times, while also holding serve and avoiding break points. Devvarman was perhaps overwhelmed by the occasion by playing his idol. After the match, Federer expressed satisfaction and said that he didn’t want to underestimate his opponent, who is not well known on the tour yet.

As the women’s competition ended last week, the world’s top men are ready to play at the 2011 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Roger Federer, who is currently ranked number 2 in the world, is the first seed in Dubai as the world’s number 1 Rafael Nadal is still recovering from a hamstring injury. This was Federer’s first match since a complete beat down loss at the Australian Open semifinals.

Duabi is familiar territory for Federer, who often takes several weeks a year to practice in the scorching sun of this oasis. It’s also worth mentioning that Federer has held the trophy in Dubai four times before. However, the last time Fed claimed the title was back in 2007.

Additionally, Federer doesn’t have a sweet memory of his last match in Dubai, when he lost to Andy Murray in the second round of the 2008 tournament. Three years later, the Swiss Maestro is ready to make a statement, as he arrived early and visited the new Dubai Fountain, from which he could take some inspiration.

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This year, some of the top American tennis players will once again return to Memphis. The hard indoor surface suits the fast paced and big hitting game of U.S.A.’s top guns Andy Roddick, Sam Querrey, Mardy Fish, and James Blake.

There are also somewhat surprising appearances from Spaniard Fernando Verdasco and Frenchman Gael Monfils. It is puzzling why they prefer the North American tournament instead of the other scheduled events at Marseille, France and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The Memphis crowd will be eager to greet defending Champion Sam Querrey, who took out fellow American John Isner in last year’s final. It looks like John Isner will not compete at the event this year, as he withdrew from the recent tournament in Rotterdam, Holland. Sam Querrey’s prospects of repeating last year’s performance are not as promising. The big serving American has played only two matches in 2011, both of which he lost in Australia.

Andy Roddick comes in good shape and will probably be the first seed at Memphis because of his current 8th world ranking. Roddick is familiar with holding the trophy at the event, from his pleasant memories in 2002 and 2009. The number one American will be eager to bounce back from his straight loss in the round of 16 of this year’s Australian Open.

Fernando Verdasco, who is ranked 9th in the world, will probably take the second seed spot, and he will be one of the strong contenders this year. The hard hitting lefty will strive for better results than his first round exit here last year.

The final was a hard hitting match full of long rallies and plenty of forehand and backhand exchanges. Li Na took the first set 6-3 in 38 minutes. She won the opening set with a running forehand pass winner. In the second set, Clijsters recovered and claimed it in about an hour. In the third set, the Belgian got off to a quick start and led 4-1. Moments later, Li Na’s final ball landed well beyond the baseline and Clijsters celebrated her first ever Australian Open title and fourth total Grand Slam.

The men’s final was one-sided and disappointed many in the tennis world. Novak Djokovic comfortably defeated Andy Murray 6-4 6-2 6-3. The young rising Serb repeated his 2008 performance by claiming his second Aussie and Grand Slam title.

The first was set just what everyone expected it to be, a physical battle that lasted for 60 minutes. At 5-4 and 30-15 on Murray’s serve, Djokovic won a 39 shot rally that took the breath out of both players. Moments later, Djokovic claimed the first set as Murray’s forehand landed out, but close to the baseline. The shot was challenged and confirmed by the review system.

In the second set, Murray was completely disoriented and it flew past him in 40 minutes. Djokovic led 5-0 in that set. The third set was more competitive and lasted for an hour, but Murray was never able to get into the match. Besides an aggressive game plan, Djokovic played incredible defense. Murray’s 47 unforced errors and a lack of energy cost him a chance to truly contend for the Aussie title.