Well, there’s a lot happening at the French Open this week. All but one American men’s contestant has been eliminated, reminding me of the music they play on “The Price is Right” when the little hiker falls of the cliff…Na-na-nuh-nehhhhhhh…

Most of the usual suspects are still around, though, including the always-compelling Roger Federer. Maria Sharapova has made it past the first round, a pleasant turn of events for male viewers all over the world.

And in an interesting side note, Venus Williams recorded the second-fastest serve ever hit by a female player, and the fastest in a “main-draw” match, meaning it was hit by somebody who’s, umm, somebody.

Clocking 206 kilometers per hour, which as you may know is European for 128 mph, it is thought that the serve generated a rash of UFO sightings all around the French capital.

It’s not the fastest women’s serve ever though, as Brenda Schulz-McCarthy hit one 130 miles per hour last year in Cincinnati. But of course that wasn’t a “main-draw” match.

At any rate, it just goes to show how women’s tennis in the United States is still light years ahead of the men.

RED

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Some things are as predictable as the tides. Each spring, the flowers bloom, the swallows return from Capistrano, and Andy Roddick gets ousted in the first round of the French Open.

Roddick’s loss capped a 0-8 day for American men at Roland Garros. In seven French Opens, Roddick has never made it past the third round.

This year it was the mighty Igor Andreev who did the honors in four sets. To his credit, Andreev played a brilliant game and displayed an overpowering forehand. Roddick didn’t lose the match so much as Andreev simply took it from him.

An unofficial fan site for 24-year-old Andreev proclaims, “The future of Russian tennis has arrived. The new boy wonder is here. This is Igor Andreev.”

Hyperbolic though his fan base may be, he’s also beaten two-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal previously, so his credentials on clay are actually quite good.

And anyone who can say that, of course, is a tough match-up for Roddick.

RED

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