A big round of applause goes to Martin Verkerk for accomplishing something that thousands of tennis professionals would love to accomplish and never will. I don't know if he'll ever find himself in the final of a major again, but at the very least he can say he was a Grand Slam finalist.

	Mal's Picks
	Washington Former ATP Tour pro MaliVai Washington is providing ESPN.com with analysis during the French Open.

He can also say that he lost to the best clay-court player in the world. Juan Carlos Ferrero was one of my three picks going into Roland Garrros and anything short of the title would have been a disappointment for him.

He showed the heart of a champion and the game of a champion. He's already my favorite for Roland Garros in 2004.

In Paris, Ferrero showed why he is so good on clay. I don't think that game will translate and be overly successful at Wimbledon this year. As talented as Ferrero is, he needs to become a better player and a more well-rounded player before he can have success on grass. It's too early to think that he's going to achieve what Lleyton Hewitt did last year as a baseliner on grass. It's too difficult to make the transition to the fast surface after playing so many matches on the slower clay.

However, as big as Verkerk's game is -- anchored by his serve -- there's no reason why he cannot be very successful at Wimbledon. Today in the finals of Roland Garros, Verkerk served under 50 percent, which is one of the reasons why he lost so convincingly. If he can keep his serve percentage in the high 60s, he will be successful at Wimbledon. Otherwise, he won't win a match there.