French Open 2012

RosyLily

Very shocked by Serena's loss to Razzano. I flicked it off when she was serving for the match- thought it was in the bag....must have been a giant hole in said bag!:eek:
Well done to Virginie though; she managed to keep her focus and play her game! She's have quite a tough few months, it's nice to see her have some joy. Best win of her career!

Maria will definitely fancy her chances of getting to the SFs after Serena's exit. She's in top form and absolutely demolished Cadantu 6-0 6-0. I'd bump her up to favourite now.

Nadal in great form too! Played some fantastic shots against Bolelli. He'll play Denis Istomin in the 2nd round. He should breeze through it.

Very happy to see Heather Watson beat Vesnina 6-2, 6-4. She's went for her shots and the serve didn't falter. Had great support out on court too. 25th seed Julia Goerges is up next for her.

On Philippe Chatrier Court tomorrow are:
Azarenka VS. Pfizenmaier (hope Vika has upped her game)
Federer VS. Ungur
Simon VS. Baker (Baker has had a great comeback after 2 years off tour)
Radwanska VS. V. Williams (looking forward to this one!)

On Suzanne Lenglen:
Djokovic VS. Kavcic
Johansson VS. Cetkovska
Martic VS. Bartoli
Stebe VS. Tsonga

Also on court tomorrow are Stosur, Berdych, del Potro, Ivanovic, Kerber & Verdasco.

Really enjoying this years RG!! Unpredictable and some excellent tennis!:)

RosyLily

Another Williams bites the dust. Venus lost out in straight sets to Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-3. Was expecting a bit more from this match but Venus was outshone by the Pole. Have a sneaky suspicion that Venus might retire at the end of this season...or maybe next. She has some flashes of brilliance but it would be a shame to see her fade away.

Roger Federer had an awkward match against Adrian Ungur. Was taken to 4 sets but managed to prevail 6-3, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3. Fed had 2 match points in the tie-break but couldn't capitalise. Ungur played some great tennis in the 3rd set but didn't continue it. Federer will play Nicolas Mahut next.

Azarenka seems to have overcome her first round slump and defeated Pfizenmaier 6-1, 6-1. Vika will play Aleksandra Wozniak in the third round. The surprise of the day has to be Bartoli losing to Petra Martic in 3 sets 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. Petra played so well in the match but lost concentration a little in the 2nd, allowing Bartoli in. Sam Stosur had an easier day of it, beating American Irina Falconi 6-1, 6-4.

Djokovic is also through to the third round, after defeating Blaz Kavcic 6-0, 6-4, 6-4. Scoreline is kind of misleading; Kavcic put up a good fight in the final 2 sets but was silenced by the Serb. Berdych through to the 3rd round; he came through against Michael Llodra 6-2, 6-3, 6-3. Del Potro didn't have it easy against Frenchman Roger-Vasselin, who kept him on court 3hrs 40mins. Really good match but the knee is very much a worry for the Argentine. He needed treatment for it after the first set (I think) and tbh it doesn't look good. He plays Marin Cilic next. If Cilic keeps Delpo moving, he might sneak this one.

Up tomorrow are Murray (vs. Nieminen), Wozniacki (vs. Gajdosova), Isner (vs. Mathieu), Sharapova (vs. Morita), Kvitova (vs. U. Radwanska), Nadal (vs. Istomin), Li (vs. Fortez-Gacon) and Schiavone (vs. Pironkova).
Also, Tsonga and Clement have to finish their matches. The former is in the 3rd set whereas the latter is in the final set.

_Bella_

Murray should just retire, he is only aggravating his injury, might as well retire and start preparing for Wimbledon.

MoscowFlyer

Standard Murray faking his opponent into thinking the injury is worse than it is. I have no doubt his back was stiff but not nearly as stiff as he was making out.

grohlisagod

Round up of yesterday's action.

http://cork.studenty.me/2012/05/31/day-four-at-roland-garros/

jupiterjack

Nadal just takes 2nd set 6/2

jupiterjack

Nadal wins 6/2 6/2 6/0

Pighead

Isner involved in another marathon match here against Mathieu. Currently 11-11 in th 5th set and I really can't call it. Isner is after saving three match points to keep the match alive.

Isner has an unreal ability in saving break points. Think he has saved 17 out of 20 today. Obviously his serve helps but he still has to keep his nerve and find the lines. 12-11 to Mathieu as I type. Looks like Sharapova match won't be on this evening.

baby and crumble

Pighead wrote: »

Isner involved in another marathon match here against Mathieu. Currently 11-11 in th 5th set and I really can't call it. Isner is after saving three match points to keep the match alive.

Isner has an unreal ability in saving break points. Think he has saved 17 out of 20 today. Obviously his serve helps but he still has to keep his nerve and find the lines. 12-11 to Mathieu as I type. Looks like Sharapova match won't be on this evening.

It's a cracker of a match alright!

Podge_irl

Isner is dead on his feet out there. He's playing for the end of today's play rather then to win but I don't think he'll make it.

jupiterjack

its another marathon alrite for Isner, 17 / 16 now to Mathieu

jupiterjack

Mathieu could take him here.

jupiterjack

2 match points..

jupiterjack

thats it..

Rjd2

Pighead wrote: »

Isner has an unreal ability in saving break points. Think he has saved 17 out of 20 today. Obviously his serve helps but he still has to keep his nerve and find the lines. 12-11 to Mathieu as I type. Looks like Sharapova match won't be on this evening.

It must be infuriating at the other end, you get some break points and you gee yourself and bang he nails a few monster first serves. Djokovic when he lost to him last month had numerous openings on his serve and he consistently came up with a monster serve to save himself.


Anyways Isner been gone is good news for Ferrer, Nadal and Murray and the rest in his side, he was always going to be a tough nut to crack.


Nobody will lose sleep ever Mathieu.

RosyLily

Sharapova is looking very comfortable on the clay. Beat Ayumi Morita 6-1, 6-1. She's definitely the freshest of players having spent less than 2 hours on court so far. If her first serve is firing, she'll be quite hard to beat. Maria is playing her third round match against Shuai Peng tomorrow.

Feel sorry for Isner; he had chances to win but just couldn't capitalise. It takes him an age to win and an age to lose! Agree with Rjd2, no one will be losing sleep over playing PHM.

Ivanovic is gone, beaten in 3 sets by Sara Errani. The Serb played a great 1st set, winning 6-1 but then the errors started to flow. Errani played some lovely tennis, although she has a very tough task next against Svetlana Kuznetsova, who made Radwanska look fairly ordinary. Svety beat the Pole 6-1, 6-2.

Sam Stosur has just beaten Nadia Petrova 6-3, 6-3. She'll play American Sloane Stephens in the fourth round. No problems there for Sam.

_Bella_

Stosur is looking very good on the clay, a surprise winner? Sharapova though too is looking very strong though it's worth noting that she flew through the earlier rounds in both the Australian Open and Wimbledon though ended up losing in the final.

The mens side is fairly predictable. One would expect that it will be the usual suspects in the semis with the only question mark being over Murray. Berdych could cause an upset against Federer especially as he hasn't been his clinical self dropping a set in the last round and now against Mahut, but Berdych had a tough 5 setter against Anderson today and has a tough fourth round draw as well.

KINGVictor

Generally a dull day at the French open today. Apart from a few matches, most have been predictable and lacked the excitement we saw yesterday.


I was surprised how Svetlana Kuznetsova demolished Radwanska taking the match 6-1 6-2, I actually thought Aggie had a chance of progressing after her wonderful display against V. Williams and her recent decent performances but in fairness Kuznetsova is a clay specialist and she aptly demonstrated that with efficiency today. Sharapova's match was boring and I think she herself would have wanted a tougher opposition before the "real tournament" commences in the fourth round. Fairplay to her though because she is a day behind other players due to the Isner/ mathieu match and she needed to end that match swiftly.

Ivonovic as expected is out early, she seemed to have improved in the last few months under a new coach but I think she needs more time to get to her previous form.

In the men's category, interesting match played by Tsonga and Fognini. I actually was rooting for Fognini, he is a very talented player but can sometimes be ill-tempered and inconsistent. Going by that match, I think Tsonga is right that no French player has a chance of winning this year. He is very good but his lack of concentration and excessive demonstrativeness on the court kills his game. He is in Djokovic's draw and they may well meet in the quarters, he will have a tough time trying to win that match. Fed won his match against Mahut as expected but he remains the only top 3 to have dropped a set in two consecutive games - Nadal and Djokovic have not lost any set. And speaking of Djokovic, he is currently playing against the French player- Devilder in what seems to be a practise match, he is currently leading 6-1 6-2 5-2.

I expect finer tennis tomorrow with Nadal, Sharapova, Tipsarevic, Kvitova, Ferrer ( Pitbull), Gasquet, Wozniaki (Mrs Mcllroy), Na Li- all in action.


Oh and Djokovic just won 6-1 6-2 6-2 and I also mourn the exit of a fav player- Verdasco ousted by Seppi but consoled by Wawrinka's win over Simon ( it was well deserved)

Rjd2

Wozniacki v Kanepi and Gasquet v haas could be great fun tomorrow aye.

RosyLily

Sharapova, Li and Kvitova are all through to the fourth round. Maria had the easier match of the three, beating 28th seed Shuai Peng 6-2, 6-1. She'll play Klara Zakopalova of Czech Republic. I think Klara might push Maria more than her earlier opponents. Even though she's unseeded, she has nothing to lose. Li played American Christina McHale earlier today. Really good match, Li lost the first set 6-3 but managed to recover and won the other sets 6-2, 6-1. Li will play Yaroslava Shvedova next. McHale has a good future but you'd worry that pressure from the Americans after Williams' et al. retire will hurt her. Kvitova also played a three setter against Nina Bratchikova, winning 6-2, 4-6, 6-1. First time in the competition Kvitova has been challenged. She plays another lefty, Varvara Lepchenko, in the 4th round. Varvara knocked out the 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone 3-6, 6-3, 8-6. Great, competitive match with some fantastic rallies, over 3 hours long.

David Ferrer had a comfortable passage to the fourth round, defeating Mikhail Youzhny 6-0, 6-2, 6-2. He'll play either Paul-Henri Mathieu or Marcel Granollers next. Murray also made it through after beating Santiago Giraldo 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Next for him is Richard Gasquet.

Rafael Nadal is on court against Eduardo Schwank. Nadal is presently 3-0 up.

walshb

Nadal 2 sets up and 4-2 up in 4th

Wozniacki being dominated in two sets. 6/1 and 5/3 down in set two. Kanepi just lost two match points.

5-5 now..

Rob2D

Tommy!!! Nooooooooooooooooo!

I call hacks.

RosyLily

Kaia Kanepi FINALLY takes her match point and goes home. 6-1, 6-7, 6-3. Thought she was gonna choke in the final set but she managed to hold it together! Well done!! She's reached 3 Grand Slam QFs so far in her career, quite possible she might make it four at RG.

Also have to commend Wozzy for saving match points in the 2nd set and fighting til the end. Shame it got her nowhere.

Nadal also through to the next round after defeating Schwank in 3 sets.

KINGVictor

Glad Kanepi won in the end. It would have so devastating if she lost considering she was one set up and was leading 5-2 in the second set before she totally lost it. Surely, she was the better player today and I hope she progresses but her inability to close down matches is quite telling and could explain why she is not in the top 10.


Sharopova seems to be destroying every opposition in her way, it will be nice to see her get tested down the line.

Pighead

Wow! Both Djokovic and Azarenka a set and a break down at the moment against Seppi and Cibulkova respectively. You'd think Novak will pull it back but Viki looks to be in big trouble.

Pighead

Azarenka out and Djokovic has just gone two sets to nil down. Wind seems to be affecting him more than Seppi. Seppi 1/2 favourite to win match now. Can he hold his nerve?

walshb

Novak is fighting back. 2-1 in sets to Seppi, but 3-0 in games in set 4 to Novak.

Pighead

Yeah Seppi looks out of it now. In fairness to him he's had a couple of five setters in the previous two rounds so his legs have probably gone at this stage.

RosyLily

Delighted for Dominika Cibulkova!! That was the best match I've seen her play in ages! She played some amazing drop shots, passing shots and volleys. Completely deserved the win! Azarenka walked off the court quicker than you could say "There's always Wimbledon".
Kuznetsova also beaten today by Sara Errani. Impressive win for the Italian. I'm guilty of under-estimating her going into this match; thought Kuznetsova would breeze through! Oops! Happy I was wrong though!:D Errani will play Kerber in QFs.
Stosur is playing Sloane Stephens last on Philippe Chatrier.

After the events today, I'm gonna hazard a guess and say it'll be a Stosur-Sharapova final next Saturday. (Knowing my luck I've just cursed the both of them!!:mad:)

Djokovic 3-1 up in the fourth set against Seppi. I'd be surprised if Seppi won this match; Nole is better in five set matches.

Federer-Goffin match going on serve so far. The Belgian looks ridiculously baby-faced!! He could pass for a 15 year old!

walshb

This 6th game in set 4 is hellacious. Finally Seppi gets it. 3-3