ROLAND GARROS 2010

It begins! Today! I can never get used to these Sunday starts. Men's draw, women's draw. The latter will provide scope for hilarity even beyond the default comedy of the WTA Tour in 2010 (your champions of the two big clay warm-ups: Martinez Sanchez and Rezai!), with a totally stacked top quarter and then a bottom half that is going to completely collapse. In the meantime, Henin gets Sharapova in the 3R and Silliams in the QF.

1R matches of note -

Murray vs. Gasquet, obviously. Better than you'd think for Murray given that Gasquet is a wimp who can fold under home pressure, and with his surprise title last week is actually being expected to pull off the upset. But Murray's been in such mediocre form that I'll take Gasquet there.
V.Williams vs. Schnyder - actually, more to point out that this probably won't be a good match or an upset - for some reason Schnyder's game is very effective against Serena on clay, but harmless against Venus.
Kuznetsova vs. Cirstea - last year's champ against last year's QFist, both in shockingly poor form right now. Whoever wins will lose to Petkovic in the next round.
Rezai vs. El Tabakh - Caravane's probably the biggest French hope after her Madrid title, El Tabakh represented Egypt when she first began playing before switching to Canada, so a rare all-Muslim WTA match.

and predictions -

Men's - 4R:

Federer d. Monfils
Gulbis d. Montanes
Gasquet d. Isner
Tsonga d. Youzhny
Ferrer d. Monaco
Djokovic d. Starace
Verdasco d. Almagro
Nadal d. Bellucci

QF:

Gulbis d. Federer
Tsonga d. Gasquet
Ferrer d. Djokovic
Nadal d. Verdasco

SF:

Gulbis d. Tsonga
Nadal d. Ferrer

F: Nadal d. Gulbis

Women's - 4R:

S.Williams d. Peer
Henin d. Stosur
Jankovic d. Bammer
Zvonareva d. Radwanska
Petkovic d. Kvitova
Safarova d. Dulgheru
Martinez Sanchez d. Dementieva
Petrova d. Cibulkova

QF:

Henin d. S.Williams
Jankovic d. Zvonareva
Safarova d. Petkovic
Martinez Sanchez d. Petrova

SF:

Henin d. Jankovic
Martinez Sanchez d. Safarova

F: Henin d. Martinez Sanchez

Literally cannot believe I've just pencilled MJMS into a Slam final.

LOLZ at Cirstea taking out Kuznetsova right now! Cirstea has actually looked a litttttle better after hiring former Azarenka/short-time Zvonareva coach van Grichen. At least I hope so, because I always enjoyed her good days when rocket fast backhands came out of nowhere.

I held Henin as my favorite until I penned down the semis and saw "Jankovic vs Henin"... something about it told me that Jankovic would win that match, and eventually the title. When she's great she's great and maybe she's great here. The draw isn't bad until the 4th round.

Gulbis has looked better, but it'd be typical him if he just failed completely here.

I think someone really lit a fire under Gulbis's ass this off-season. He's been playing consistently at a top 20, maybe top 10 level after the disaster of last year, he's getting lots of milestones in.

Jankovic played amazingly against Justine in Stuttgart and still couldn't win.And I think it's a bit too telling that she's considered to have had a strong clay season so far, yet hasn't picked up a title yet.

This always happens to Sweta the year after she wins a Slam. Success with her is a harbinger of nothing except a guaranteed slump.

Looks like she got her shit together to beat Cirsty now.. Also looks like funny girl Petkovic is losing to Vesnina : \\\\

Cirstea is so bad. 3-0 up, then loses nine games in a row, both of the last two from 40-0 up. Exhibit A in why the ability to hit nice shots is really not synonymous with the ability to win matches.

Just watching Soderling v Recouderc on the BBC website - Robin making mincemeat out of the poor dude as expected.

Watching Azarenka and Dulko slugging it out... Dulko unsurprisingly taking the lead in an aggressive manner. But rest assured, if she wins this match she'll find her poor form back at a later stage.

delurking after many weeks just for this thread.

lack of Delpo this year is really depressing me.

on the other hand, GULBIS! <3 I think he's as likely to get to the final as he is to go out in the first round though (he's playing Benneteau, one of the few Frenchmen who actually tends to do better in front of a home crowd).

Azarenka is getting lots of serves in, but for what? Also, SHUT UP. Dulko = hott!

I mean, Dulko is just hitting the ball safely up and moderately deep, waiting for Azarenka to go wide or, more recently, long. Working well. Women's tennis.

Or long AND wide, like that FH!

Rezai's outfit is awesome.

Literally cannot believe I've just pencilled MJMS into a Slam final.

And now you pay the price.

lol and now gulbis is about to go down 2 sets to love. oh dear.

lex your prediction-o-meter needs tuning.

aw Ernie.

sigh.

go me and my predictions, both surprise finalists out at the first hurdle! due to INJURY, I hasten to add - Ernie retired and apparently MJMS hurt her neck in the warm-up, which is sort of the death knell to a serve-volleyer.

Caravane was SCARY good against ex-Egyptian El Tabakh - I was really tempted to pencil her into the final, with her form as stellar as it's been recently. But I don't trust her to keep it up against someone like Petrova, who for all her faults is steady and experienced, and has a much better serve. Hope she does though, I love me some Caravane - every win of hers is a big "fuck you" to the French Tennis Federation, and she's still wearing that amazing gold lamé/black lace confection that is Nicki Minaj's idea of a tennis dress. Superb trashion sense <3

Flicked over from WozDEN v Praise Alla because it was boring and, ah, such a relief to see Li Na's gorgeous, flat, speedy shots.

Mladovic as well, both of them hit speedy shots, and Mladovic can run. She's too young to beat Na now, but only just, and it's obvious she's left the juniors behind and will start climbing the rankings quickly.

The only time I saw Mladenovic play was in the Wimbledon junior final against Lertcheewakarn - she didn't really impress me, she had a ton of power but her strokes didn't seem stable, they were awkward, kinda like Vakulenko's used to be.

What in the hell is Peter Luczak wearing? It's a white shirt which is yellow on the leftmost extremities of the garment. He looks like a badly-designed website from 1997. Well, he's playing Federer so he won't be out there long, though he hasn't been broken yet. All in time...

Murray v Gasquet is a great match! If you can catch it, Gasquet's backhand return on Murray's first game point serving at 2-3 in the second is possibly the finest backhand return.. EVER! Actually!

Listening to it now - sounds like Gasquet is playing batshit shots and pulling them off somehow.

Yep. THat's pretty much it. Serving quite well too. Murray is not playing badly at all, in fact, some of his drop shots are pretty artful and gorgeous. He's just not breaking through.

V frustrating not being able to watch at work! Awesomely though I will have quit my job by 2nd week of Wimbledon <--- hurrah

Gonna watch that now, been watching Nishikori's heroic win from two sets down over Giraldo, who is super-fit (in the, uh, fitness sense rather than hotness) and a bit of a ball-basher - so good to see Kei back on court. Love his jumping BH.

BTW, Sweta is live-tweeting the Gasquet match in her inimitable style.

Backhand of Richard is just stuning pfffff
19 minutes ago via web

i think Richard has much more confidence as he won last week!you can see that!And Andy didnt play many matches,this guys are so talanted
12 minutes ago via web

guys i m not terrible just want to watch nice tennis! many players strugle now and we dont see many good matches! Amelie is doing the match
10 minutes ago via web

on french tv!i would like to understad but i gotta learn french first!
10 minutes ago via web

Ivanovic winning her match, but her serve is back to being atrocious. Urgh.

filthy!

http://twitter.com/justingimelstob/status/14629761826

Richard Gasquet's backhand is so filthy it is ridiculous! #fb
18 minutes ago via web
justingimelstob
Justin Gimelstob

Oh dear, Murray 2 sets and a break down!

...but has broken twice and is now serving for the third set! Gasquet double faulted on break point in that last game, sigh.

...lol, and was broken serving for the set.

wtf!

lol men's tennis

BBC says Murray's 1st serve is about 45% - Gasquet's can't be much better for this set.

57%

Murray breaks and takes 3rd

Feeling sorry for Gasquet here - such lovely tennis, and if he goes now...

lol men's tennis

as men's matches go, this was always one of the more womanly first-rounders

Wussquet barely trying in that service game. He's going to retire before the match is out; another entry into the annals of wimpiness that comprise his career. Such a waste of talent.

boo, Gasquet now looking happy to stand around and lose.

That last game wasn't bad for Gasquet -- had a break point (probably as much to do with Murray's attitude) -- but they guy can't move.

"Can't move"?

Dude is a pro athlete playing a grand fucking slam. Unless your actual leg has broken, fucking MOVE.

this match is done

He is quite clearly struggling to move consistently around the court to take part in rally after rally to any great effect...

How many stupid lobs has Murray done now?

Dude is a pro athlete playing a grand fucking slam. Unless your actual leg has broken, fucking MOVE.

would seriously condone a position for Lex at the LTA :D

there's been some good tennis, Murray's got iceman qualities, forces the error - Gasquet's a lot more explosive, volatile

'Murray a game away from a fine victory' er...

Says so much about Wussquet that coming back to find he didn't actually quit means he surpassed expectations. No physical/injury excuses, please, spare me. He lost this match because he's a weak-minded loser, something that pretty much characterises his career. Up two sets and a break, playing absolutely sparkling tennis over a high-seeded but slumping opponent, having just come off a tournament win. The perfect opportunity to regain a bit of status playing at your home Slam. And for the 9483833th time we wuss out. Even the prime exponents of Women's Tennis are mentally stronger than Richard.

Whereas Murray could've easily zoned out at that point - it wouldn't be a bad loss, most were predicting it, this isn't a Slam he's in a position to win, even then he'd have to play 2 1/2 more sets in scorching heat to win - why not just call it quits and look ahead to grass and hard courts? The fact that he didn't actually does make it a fine victory.

That, I guess, is the difference between someone who's taken seriously as a Slam threat despite not having done it yet, and someone who people feel able to mock despite his talent. As a former cheerleader of his, I have to say actively mocking Gasquet is a ton more fun than cheering for him, and I look forward to doing it at Wimbledon too :D

Even SWETA is mocking him! http://twitter.com/SvetlanaK27/status/14635023474

And let's be honest, even bigger LOL that this is one of the closest finals in recent memory.

But the biggest LOL of all for that dreadful "drop shot" (what was that)

Schiavone's anticipation all through this match has been top-notch. Okay, yes, she's lucky that Stosur knocked out Serena and Justine who would have mashed her, but she's played well enough to suggest that her play itself = not lucky at all, skilful.

This is great! I'm really rooting for Schiavone now, she looks ecstatic on every point she wins.

Aww well done dude

saw the last couple of games only - <3 schiavone, A REFRESHING PERSONALITY eh

she was great.

And not one whit of nerves whatsoever. I hope certain female "elite" players were watching that.

^^^this! showed absolutely no sign of WOMEN'S TENNIS

also, like, really flamboyant in a good way, does the fist-pump properly, by the time I watched was in *the zone*

So anyway, Birmingham grass tournament on Monday..

Just kidding, it was a well-deserved enough match win even if Stosur definitely should've pushed that to a third set. She was tight and restrained when the nerves and anticipation got hold of her. But all in all it was a pretty good match and a great effort by Schiavone.

I'm not overly thrilled by the IDEA of Schiavone winning a slam, but the French Open does produce some clay specialist wins, players who'll never win another slam, and so I guess it's part of the package. And it's better that someone with a one handed backhand, a stylish game and a will to go to the net wins than, say, some boring Safina or defensive Wozniacki winning.

^^^^^^^^ this.

The idea of Wozniacki winning a Slam appalls me. This is perfectly reasonable, and she played a high quality match, and indeed, several of them.

yeah not that I'm biased against eastern europeans but basically hooray for this change of scene

(n.b. may be biased in favour of southern europeans)

also lol estela is a kiwi

what do you mean lol.

These ceremonies are always so awkward.

estela the kiwis thrive on self-deprecating humour, I was joining in

I've really fallen in love with both players throughout this tournament; Sam for knocking out the two best players in the world and Franny for being so damn EXUBERANT on every point. Some blog said that it would be "better for tennis" if Stosur won, because after being one of the in-form players on clay this year as well as beating Justine and Serena, it would solidify her standing as a new top player, whereas Schiavone would just be Majoli part 2. And I kind of agreed, but all that went away with how intelligently she played, her celebration, and her ridiculously fucking awesome victory speech (kinda nice to see Mary Pierce too!). So even if she never wins another Slam, I'm really glad she got it today, because that was just beautiful.

I sort of wish I'd watched this! The highlights were amazing, Fran's celebration on the penultimate point the best fist-pump I've seen on a tennis court, and who'd have thought that these two would give us the highest-quality RG final in, like, a decade? And her sheer joy was so contagious. I don't care whether it was a fluke or whether she's not a true top player or whether she had an easy route to the final - those are kind of why this story is so amazing, it's the perpetual underdog who lucks out and finds herself in a position she never thought she'd be in, and then grabs a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in swashbuckling style. After years of seeing players piss away opportunity after opportunity with various iterations of Women's Tennis and choking, that's really refreshing to see. And it's GREAT for tennis, a heartwarming human interest story that is surely better than watching Safina crying and screaming at her box and winning 10 points yet again.

I think Schiavone is easily the oddest Slam winner in all the years I've been watching tennis...closest equivalent is probably Costa on the men's side, clay veteran who won RG '02 when it was "supposed" to be Ferrero's Slam. Though Schiavone is far from a clay specialist, with her Wimbledon/USO QFs as well. She's different to other female one-Slammers like Majoli and Myskina too - Majoli was 19 when she won and one of the top teenage prospects back then, albeit overlooked compared to the younger Hingis/Kournikova/Williams starlets. It only seems a fluke in retrospect because she turned into a party girl and never backed it up. Myskina was already a solid top 10 player by the time she won, whereas Schiavone had never been ranked higher than 11.

And yeah it's fucking hilarious that Schiavone has a Slam and Jankovic and Demented don't. I say this as a fan of Jankovic and Demented, but tennis is a meritocracy...it doesn't matter whether they're supposedly more "talented". You want a Slam? Win seven matches in a row, then. Schiavone's done it, and totally deserves it. Her gutsy display really shows them up as cowards, tbh.

The highlights were pretty thrilling. Schiavone's backhand! Terrific attacking tennis.

(And I don't think "we" were all writing Federer off upthread; I mean, I personally would quite like to see the guy win 20 Slams, an Olympic Gold in singles and sail into the 300s in weeks-at-#1, but the general point was that his current status rests heavily on his Slam performances (one final and one semifinal this year in 250s/500s/1000s and that's it) and it was hard to imagine him doing anything other than sliding back wrt Nadal for the next six months (not cos he's suddenly crap, but cos he has far more points to lose and his non-Slam tour application is not all it could be)...after which he has an Aussie title to defend. He can win a 7th Wimbledon next month and it wouldn't prevent his drop to #2. It could be next spring before he has a chance to reel Nadal back in again. Barring those dodgy knees).

Parera just played a great game to break the Toad. Just not missing and getting every ball back so deep.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z in the crowd!!! <3 <3 <3

Soderling doesn't really to know what to do with heavily-sliced retrievals from Nadal. One extra shot that he wasn't prepared to play and the thing has the most ridiculous backspin on it = error.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z in the crowd!!!

What? Those two don't strike me as tennis fans. That's awesome. Maybe this is Solange's influence too.

I feel bad for Soderling, he gets so down on himself.

how the actual hell did Nadal win that rally!!!

Loved the French crowd cheering Soderling in the middle of that rally, only to be stunned when Nadal won it.

What? Those two don't strike me as tennis fans. That's awesome. Maybe this is Solange's influence too.

"got the us open, advantage jigga, serve like sampras" was 14 years ago ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96sFW-3vGv4

and indeed "tennis shoes, don't even need to buy a new dress" from "crazy in love"

Missed opportunities notwithstanding I think Soderling's beginning to find the range with his bashing

haha cue Nadal winning eight straight points and getting the break

Ha, I didn't even realize that was the lyric.

Defense like that last game is why I love watching Rafa play.

another incredible point from Nadal in that game O_O

now Soderling's first serve has gone.

This was fairly evenly matched at 6-4 1-1 with Nadal having to really fight on his serve - then the umpire told him to get a move on and he's hardly lost a point since.

Oh dear :/

At least Magnus Norman is looking hott.

Yeah I don't remember him looking this good when he was playing!

Poor old Sod, didn't really stand a chance.

Anyway, I'm off to Queen's tomorrow! Roll on grass season!

ooh if he's playing check out Dustin Brown, Kat - not so much for his game (have never seen him play) but he's the first Jamaican man to be ranked in the top 100!

'gratz Rafa.

Will do - I have Court 2 seats so will prob get all the qualifiers plus Mardy Fish :)

Grigor Dimitrov is in the draw too (dude on the R in this photo, which also doubles as your reason to watch him) -

http://cornedbeefhash.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/tursunov-dimitrov-marseille09.jpg

(actually Tursunov, the other dude in the photo, has also qualified)

some velvet morning?

Is there a general tennis discussion around these parts? Some interesting pre-Wimbledon tournaments coming up.

ILE rolling non-slam Tennis thread

roll of honour -

Men's singles: Rafael Nadal
Women's singles: Francesca Schiavone
Men's doubles: Daniel Nestor & Nenad Zimonjic
Women's doubles: Serena Williams & Venus Williams
Mixed doubles: Nenad Zimonjic & Katarina Srebotnik
Boys' singles: Agustin Velotti
Girls' singles: Elina Svitolina
Boys' doubles: Duilio Beretta & Roberto Quiroz
Girls' doubles: Timea Babos & Sloane Stephens

Wouldn't call Jankovic and Dementieva 'cowards'. They are just found (so far) lacking at grand slam level, which isn't at all the same...

Well done Rafa! Was away and didn't get the chance to see this. How wonderful to see him recover from a fairly serious injury and win a slam without dropping a set!

Hopefully Rafa and Murray will be on different sides of the draw for Wimbledon.

you're so lenient on the tours' mentally weak chokers!

New rankings -

1. Serena Williams (1)
2. Venus Williams (2)
3. Caroline Wozniacki (3)
4. Jelena Jankovic (4)
5. Elena Dementieva (5)
6. Francesca Schiavone (17)
7. Samantha Stosur (7)
8. Agnieszka Radwanska (8)
9. Kim Clijsters (10)
10. Flavia Pennetta (15)
11. Na Li (12)
12. Marion Bartoli (14)
13. Nadia Petrova (20)
14. Shahar Peer (18)
15. Victoria Azarenka (11)
16. Yanina Wickmayer (16)
17. Maria Sharapova (13)
18. Justine Henin (23)
19. Svetlana Kuznetsova (6)
20. Dinara Safina (9)
21. Aravane Rezai (19)
22. Vera Zvonareva (22)
23. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (21)
24. Jie Zheng (24)
25. Daniela Hantuchova (26)
26. Lucie Safarova (25)
27. Alisa Kleybanova (28)
28. Maria Kirilenko (30)
29. Alona Bondarenko (31)
30. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (29)
31. Yaroslava Shvedova (36)
...
84. Chanelle Scheepers (131)
88. Jarmila Groth (107)

1. Rafael Nadal (2)
2. Roger Federer (1)
3. Novak Djokovic (3)
4. Andy Murray (4)
5. Nikolay Davydenko (5)
6. Robin Soderling (7)
7. Andy Roddick (8)
8. Juan Martin Del Potro (6)
9. Fernando Verdasco (9)
10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (10)
11. David Ferrer (11)
12. Marin Cilic (12)
13. Tomas Berdych (17)
14. Mikhail Youzhny (14)
15. Ivan Ljubicic (16)
16. Jurgen Melzer (27)
17. Juan Carlos Ferrero (18)
18. Nicolas Almagro (21)
19. John Isner (19)
20. Gael Monfils (15)
21. Fernando Gonzalez (13)
22. Stanislas Wawrinka (24)
23. Sam Querrey (22)
24. Thomaz Bellucci (29)
25. Radek Stepanek (20)
26. Marcos Baghdatis (30)
27. Tommy Haas (23)
28. Juan Monaco (25)
29. Ernests Gulbis (28)
30. Albert Montanes (34)
...
70. Robby Ginepri (98)
88. Teimuraz Gabashvili (114)

You haven't done the classic "436. Plucky Brit (437)" though.

Such as 279. Naomi Broady and her tasteful neck tattoo (281)

257. Laura Robson (262)