French Open 2015

RosyLily

French Open kicks off next Sunday. Draws will be made on Friday. Qualifying begins on Tuesday. Djokovic and Federer are seeded #1 and #2 respectively in the men's. Williams and Sharapova are top seeds in women's draw.

Wildcards for Men's Singles: Quentin Halys (FRA), Maxime Hamou (FRA), Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS), Nicolas Mahut (FRA), Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA), Lucas Pouille (FRA), Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA), Frances Tiafoe (USA)

Wilcards for Women's Singles: Louisa Chirico (USA), Océane Dodin (FRA), Fiona Ferro (FRA), Amandine Hesse (FRA), Mathilde Johansson (FRA), Alizé Lim (FRA), Virginie Razzano (FRA), TBC

I'll be keeping a very close eye on where Nadal ends up in the draw. Might even watch the draw live!:)

the_monkey

Is James McGee playing in the qualies?

RosyLily

He's not on the list for qualifying here. Can't find the official draw on the FO's website. His last tweet yesterday said he was excited for Roland Garros.

He's hardly straight into the main draw, is he??

the_monkey

RosyLily wrote: »

He's not on the list for qualifying here. Can't find the official draw on the FO's website. His last tweet yesterday said he was excited for Roland Garros.

He's hardly straight into the main draw, is he??

Doubt it , he's outside top 128, unless he got a wild card ...here's hoping

yerwanthere123

Didn't know there was a thread, you should have told us Rosy! :pac:

Just gonna quote my own post from the main thread

Can't believe RG is next week, haven't even had time to think about it. What are our predictions? I'm not seeing it for Serena on the women's side, she hasn't played enough on clay and didn't even win a title on the surface this year. It's hard to imagine who she might lose to, but I think she'll slip up. Then again, if she does win she'll be three-quarters of the way towards another Serena Slam, so she should be motivated. All in all though, I think we're headed towards another Sharapova victory. She hasn't had a very good clay season thus far by her high standards, but she righted the ship in Rome, albeit with a very easy draw. I think she'll will her way to another victory and clinch grand slam #6, provided of course she avoids Serena. Halep can win if she avoids both Serena and Sharapova, but that's a tall order. Carla Suarez-Navarro is in terrific form right now so she's a dark horse. Muguruza was my wildcard pick to win it at the beginning of the year, although she's had a pretty measly clay season thus far, so it's hard to see here doing too much. Hope I'm wrong though.

On the men's side, I'm going for a Nadal victory. Yes I know he's not in form, but he'll be playing at the tournament where he's only ever lost one match and the conditions suit his game best. He'll probably have a scrappy first week, maybe dropping a couple of sets, but I can easily see him playing himself back into form. Will be extremely difficult, perhaps more so mentally, for anyone to beat him over a best of 5 sets format. If/when he gets to the second week, I think he'll be back in business. So yeah, I think he'll win #10. At the very least I think he'll get to the final. I'd love to see Murray do something incredible on the clay, but obviously difficult to see him winning. Would love to see him reach the final though.

Also, completely forgot that Fed is the #2 seed. Can't see him reaching the final at all, so it would be fascinating to see who makes the final from the bottom half if Nadal is in the top with Djokovic.

StillIntact

the_monkey wrote: »

Doubt it , he's outside top 128, unless he got a wild card ...here's hoping

McGee wouldn't have got a wildcard but he must be in the qualifying draw. The official website is worse than useless, according to twitter the draw will be on there shortly!

It looks to be McGee against James Ward in the first round.

Cannot post links yet but it is the official site /en_FR/draws/index.html

yerwanthere123

James McGee vs James Ward in R1 of RG qualies.

StillIntact

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

James McGee vs James Ward in R1 of RG qualies.

First on Court 16 tomorrow

RosyLily

Tough opener for McGee. I thought he'd be seeded for FO qualifying since he's played so well past few months.

StillIntact

RosyLily wrote: »

Tough opener for McGee. I thought he'd be seeded for FO qualifying since he's played so well past few months.

He's had some good results but he really needs to break into the top 150 and maybe a little higher to be seeded in qualifying. It's certainly possible given the last number of months and performances.

Ward can be dangerous on clay like in the Davis Cup against the USA but in terms of seeds it's an ok draw. He could have faced a number of the opponents he has lost to on clay in recent weeks and months.

the_monkey

Ward wins 1st set 6-1 ... seems a tough match .
best of 3 ?

StillIntact

the_monkey wrote: »

Ward wins 1st set 6-1 ... seems a tough match .
best of 3 ?

Yes, best of 3. McGee has responded well in the second set though!

the_monkey

bummer ... 4-0 to Ward in the decider ..

RosyLily

6-1, 1-6, 6-0 to Ward.:( Seriously topsy-turvy match.

the_monkey

Shame, Irish tennis really needs some initiative .. all this GAA bollix

StillIntact

Looking at the main draw it's going to be very interesting to see where Nadal is seeded. For me Djokovic is the favourite as Nadal's form over the last few months and particularly the clay court swing is nothing like other years.

As for Irish tennis it is an achievement to have somebody approaching the top 150 in the world! If McGee could qualify for Wimbledon it would give a major boost.

walshb

Worth a quick read to nail home just how great a player and competitor Federer is

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2015/05/20/Roland-Garros-Federer-Stats.aspx

whiterebel

Raonic out injured. C'mon Fed, just one more.....

StillIntact

whiterebel wrote: »

Raonic out injured. C'mon Fed, just one more.....

The draw has increased Federer's chances being on the opposite side to Nadal and Djokovic. Potential Nadal v Djokovic quarter and Murray is in the same half of the draw! Great chance too for Nishikori or Berdych to get to the final.

Serena v Azarenka in the 3rd round.

walshb

Fed has no chance against Nadal. He has some chance against Nole.

StillIntact

I don't think he was any chance against Djokovic either and if Wawrinka was in top form I would back him to beat Federer.

walshb

StillIntact wrote: »

I don't think he was any chance against Djokovic either and if Wawrinka was in top form I would back him to beat Federer.

You could be right. I just think that his style matches up better against Nole. Last week's loss to Nole was as much Roger being flat as it was Nole being very good.

yerwanthere123

So disappointed Murray got top half! I don't believe Federer is going to get to the final on the bottom, huge chance for Wawrinka, Nishikori or possibly even Berdych here.

RosyLily

A potential Halep-Sharapova SF?:) It would be great if it lived up to last year's final. That match was one of my favourites of 2014! Friends who don't even watch tennis were engrossed in it.

The top halves in men's and women's seem really seed-heavy to me. Nadal, Murray, Djokovic, Ferrer all on one side. Wasn't expecting that tbh. Williams Sisters, Petkovic, Azarenka, Errani and Wozniacki in women's. Could make for some great early round matches though!

Not expecting much from Bouchard this time round. She could be taken out by Mladenovic in the first round. Or Kuznetsova/Pliskova might knock her out.

Any particular match-ups people are looking forward to?

RosyLily

Order of play for tomorrow.Coverage begins at 9.30am on ITV4 and Eurosport. Radio Roland Garros is also on the air.

RosyLily

No real surprises on Day 1. Majority of seeds are through to Round 2.

Federer and Wawrinka not impressed though. A fan jumped onto court for a selfie with Roger. You'd think security at Slams would be very tight. Obviously not the case.

The official RG website had an article up more about Wawrinka's personal issues than his current form.

Floppybits

Bit of a dull start to the tournament. The Stephens vs Venus Williams match might be one to watch today.

RosyLily

Radwanska beaten by Beck in 3 sets. The slump continues.

yerwanthere123

First grand slam R1 loss since the Australian Open 2009. Oh dear. I wonder if this is just a rough patch or if she's done?

RosyLily

Maybe she's just drained, emotionally and mentally. Aga doesn't seem to have that magic touch anymore. She should take a long break from tennis and get herself together.

StillIntact

Otherwise it's been largely as expected so far. I'm not a fan of splitting the first round over three days, it takes longer for the tournament to gain momentum.

RosyLily

I really don't get the point of spreading out the first round. Doesn't make sense to me.

Venus skipped post-match conference after her defeat to Sloan Stephens. Just released comments via the tournament. Stephens is only the 2nd American to defeat Serena and Venus, first was Davenport. (Fact courtesy of WTA twitter)

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Bouchard out in R1 again. Her presser after was worrying. I know lots of people take a perverse pleasure out of seeing her brought so low but I find it quite sad. She seems completely lost.

Floppybits

Dimitrov gone as well. What's going on with him? Great display by Jack Sock.

RosyLily

I feel sorry for Eugenie. The bar was set so high last year, I think the media were expecting so much from her in 2015. And jump down her throat when things go tits up.

She reminds me of someone who got 600 points in the Leaving but hasn't a clue what she wants to do. (That analogy probably makes no sense to anyone else!!:pac:)

Her and Dimitrov need time to reassess things. In Genie's case, away from the court.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

RosyLily wrote: »

Her and Dimitrov need time to reassess things. In Genie's case, away from the court.

She said in her presser that she had no expectations coming into this tournament and has no expectations for the next few events which doesn't really sound like someone enjoying themselves. Maybe she should do like Kvitova and take a complete break for a while.

whiterebel

On Eurosport after her match they were suggesting that she has lost weight , and that the modelling is affecting her.
Sock played Dimitrov perfectly, high ball onto his backhand. He shouldn't get such a high seeding when he's never been past the 3rd round.

yerwanthere123

I think Eugenie is learning the hard way that's a lot easier to have tennis fans on your side than not. The backlash she's suffered is obviously really affecting her, hence why it's so baffling that she keeps digging herself in deeper holes, like the second handshake debacle a few weeks back. Unfortunately she'll just have to make the best of it for the time being and try not to disgrace herself too badly at Wimbledon. But yeah, maybe a few weeks break after Wimbledon and then start afresh for the US Open swing will help her. What has she lost now, eight of her last nine matches or something?

yerwanthere123

whiterebel wrote: »

On Eurosport after her match they were suggesting that she has lost weight , and that the modelling is affecting her.
Sock played Dimitrov perfectly, high ball onto his backhand. He shouldn't get such a high seeding when he's never been past the 3rd round.

How much modelling has she actually done though, a few photo-shoots here and there?

Rjd2

Isn't Bouchard a fitness freak as well, doubt the modelling will have affected her physically, maybe to many distractions?

Halep a set and break down in serious trouble now.

RosyLily

Bouchard also topped the list of most marketable athletes in the world by SportPro magazine. Lot of pressure on her shoulders.

Rjd2

My heart bleeds for her. She will come back sooner rather than later, that run last year was over such a long period to show, it wasn't some purple patch.

Halep 4-0 down in the second set, comeback better happen soon, totally dominated here.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

RosyLily wrote: »

Bouchard also topped the list of most marketable athletes in the world by SportPro magazine. Lot of pressure on her shoulders.

Yeah. She got a lot of criticism last year for her attitude while she was winning but people tend to forget last year was only her 2nd full year on tour. She was still very young and suddenly had this massive amount of attention and expectation on her. It all started to go wrong for her last year in Montreal. There was so much pressure on her there, I think it was the first time she had played in her home town on the main tour. She flopped hard and hasn't recovered since. Whatever is wrong with her I don't think it's physical.


In other news.... Halep looks to be on her way out.

Rjd2

Pretty crap from Halep, totally over powered in the end, few winners, a very Aggie type performance.:pac:

RosyLily

Nah, Bouchard's problem is mental. And it manifests on court. Maybe bringing a sports psychologist on board would help her.

Halep gone!:eek: Even though Lucic-Baroni beat her at US last year, was not expecting that. There goes my French Open pick!!:(

Rjd2

stolen from twitter.

RosyLily

Anyone watching Fognini-Paire when the argument broke out? Commentators said it started with shoving then escalated. Who fights at a tennis match??

Schiavone-Kuznetsova should be good tomorrow! Interested to see how Rafa gets on against Almagro.

MikeSD

RosyLily wrote: »

Anyone watching Fognini-Paire when the argument broke out? Commentators said it started with shoving then escalated. Who fights at a tennis match??

Schiavone-Kuznetsova should be good tomorrow! Interested to see how Rafa gets on against Almagro.

Yeah. Never saw anything like it!

Floppybits

RosyLily wrote: »

Anyone watching Fognini-Paire when the argument broke out? Commentators said it started with shoving then escalated. Who fights at a tennis match??

Schiavone-Kuznetsova should be good tomorrow! Interested to see how Rafa gets on against Almagro.

What happened during the Fognini match?

Almagro won't beat Rafa.

MikeSD

Floppybits wrote: »

What happened during the Fognini match?

Almagro won't beat Rafa.

These 2 lads had a fight up in the crowd. Took a good 5 minutes for the security to restrain them.

Gunslinger92

This wan playing wozniaki is really annoying. Fist pumps after nearly every point she wins, even if it's an error from wozniaki. I hate ivanovic for the same reason!