Roland Garros - Day 3

First topic message reminder :

Well ladies and gentlemen. Day 3 is upon us. Last of the first round matches.

Murray and Nadal in action today.

Serena Williams and Sharapova is also in action.

Something for the French in Gasquet and Benneteau.

Upsets?

I think Mayer will fall to Traver.
Larriere to possibly to oust Kirilenko.

lydian wrote:This a gimme.

Rafa looked on better form towards the end of the match. But the challenges lie ahead perhaps...Raonic may be able to hit through the court on top form...but I actually think Nadal's biggest threat is Almagro who if on form is always a danger and has amongst the most clay wins this year. At RG10 he pushed Rafa to 2 narrowly lost TB sets...probably his toughest match that RG.

El Mugro? Seriously?

You underestimate Nico BB.. he is playing well .. not sure that I think he would pose a SERIOUS threat but nonetheless he can cause damage.. as Soderling found out to his cost

Murray goes completely walkabout and Ito is gifted three games in a row

Serena looking hot on the picture in RG Live Score, must be 5y old pic and supplied by her PR guy to RG.

http://www.rolandgarros.com/images/players/wta230234.jpg

Yes was never a match to draw much excitement and in truth the result was never in doubt no matter if he turned up on one leg.

I'm sure he's happier with the heavier balls (which are much more as they should be compared to Dunlop Forts, not the light-hard things Babolat produced in error last year)...but then I'm sure Novak is happy with them too. Roger is the one who'll be unhappier with them...I'm sticking with my stance that he'll lose in QF against JMDP or Berdy. And for Rafa...R3 (Raonic) or R4 (Almagro) are no "gimme's". I think Novak has the easiest draw.

Ito got a bit too cocky there, giving Murray the eye-ball. Murray responds from 0-40 down with some huge serves.

Ito sure can hit a tennis ball though, and in the last 15 minutes they've been going in...

Yes seriously BB...but he does have to be on top top form.
We may call him "mugro" but he's pushed Nadal hard quite a few times and has that hard, flat game that can unsettle Rafa. Unlike Federer his BH doesnt break down also...if anything that's his weapon. As I said...when was the last time a guy pushed Nadal to 2 consequetive TB sets at RG? And that match was 6-4 in the 3rd...it was a tight win for Nadal and a hard fought match. Before that in 2010 at Madrid, Almagro won the first set. They havent played since 2010 and Almagro is a better since then. He has the weapons...sure he'll probably not win but he is a test nonetheless - none of the top 3 would want to play him on clay.

Though Karlovic went out today.. so there goes one of the big hitters

time and again, Murray just leaving the ball short for Ito to whack, not sure where his tennis has gone in this set

Please Murray, try to be offensive. This guy has no chance to beat you yet still you rally waiting for an error.

I despair.

Once a counterpuncher, always a counterpuncher...hard for Murray to change his spots now that he's nailed his tennis style to the mast he should never have switched to.

Lord knows where his head was in that 2nd set.

oh well he's getting the job done, and at least hasn't wasted too much energy, but boy that second set was painful (though to be fair Ito played some lovely stuff)

Rather predictably, Ito's willpower has gone with the loss of the second set, and Murray should get a bagel here. Hard to judge his level of performance really, two straightforward sets where the other guy sprays it all over the place, one awful set where he somehow managed to get over the line. Strange match

Haddie-nuff wrote:Well Rafa played like he always does in his first match.

The familiar 10ft behind the base line.. less than inspiring play from Rafa he did what he had to do lydian no more no less.. I didn´t read anything into that match at all. Just another day at the office. Daresay he is glad to have broken the ice but the crowd were "cool" until the end was in sight I think they had all fallen asleep in the sunshine.

You're a Rafa fan, aren't you? Or am I thinking of Hawkeye....

No Im a Rafa fan .. but Im a fan of tennis .. I like many other players too

Serena crying at changeover.

What's that all about? The crowd aren't being all that French.

Serena looks like she would rather be shopping!

Saw the Murray match. Again those lapses in concentration. On Clay players like Ferrer will eat up those chances and not let him back in. Was fortunate if anything that his opponent's head dropped like a sh!t sandwich!

bogbrush wrote:Serena crying at changeover.

What's that all about? The crowd aren't being all that French.

According to Yahoo Sports


Serena Williams - Virginie Razzano
- - Serena is crying on the chair. Razzano has nipped out for a break while the American dabs the tears from her eyes. She is up against her own form and the crowd...

Not sure what has happened to Serena here. The tears I am not going to speculate what triggered that. It's sad to see such a great champion just unravelling here.

crowd haven't been that bad, sure they've got behind the French player, but that's to be expected, and it's not reached Davis Cup level yet. Razzano remarkably fought back from 5-1 down in that second set TB, she's now serving for the match...

What did Serena do way back when to annoy the French crowd? I know she's had bother but I can't remember what.

Mad for Chelsea wrote: Hard to judge his level of performance really, two straightforward sets where the other guy sprays it all over the place, one awful set where he somehow managed to get over the line. Strange match

Perhaps one could imagine how earlier incarnations of Murray might have done - quite possibly the 2nd set would have gone to a tie-breaker or even been lost. I suppose you can say that given his relative rustiness on the surface this season at least he managed to do what needed to be done to avoid unnecessary exertions of a 4th set or the crap-shoot of a tie-break.

Dodger Dave wrote:What did Serena do way back when to annoy the French crowd? I know she's had bother but I can't remember what.

I think there was a match with Henin, always a crowd favourite at RG, where the crowd turned against her quite nastily, but can't remember if it was just them getting right behind Henin or if there was more in it...

Mad for Chelsea wrote:

Dodger Dave wrote:What did Serena do way back when to annoy the French crowd? I know she's had bother but I can't remember what.

I think there was a match with Henin, always a crowd favourite at RG, where the crowd turned against her quite nastily, but can't remember if it was just them getting right behind Henin or if there was more in it...

Basically Henin cheated! Disgraceful it was!

This is it - http://wtatourinsight.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/justine-henin-admits-she-cheated-serena.html.

The French crowd are such a hideous bunch.

This is actually rather good!

bogbrush wrote:This is actually rather good!

I wish I could see it (I am at work). From the updates, I can see that Serena's French Open hopes are hanging by a very slim thread.

Into 12th deuce. 8th mp coming up.

Pity that at the end of the epic the camera pans to Jean Gachassin. Ffs, who cares to see him?

The French Crowd are the biggest disgrace to sport today. Deserve a fooking shooting!

It's over for Serena at 9:00 Paris time. It appears she has herself to blame for blowing a 4-0 lead in the 2nd set tiebreak.

Oh what a shame.

Was really hoping Serena could fight back.

The French really don't like her.

They were booing even when she won points. It's ridiculous. They can be so moronic. I felt sorry sorry for Serena.

They didn't even applaude her when she left the court.

Tossers the French. Absolutely no respect for them.

Yep that's the French crowd for you.
Serena played a truly woeful match...worst I've ever seen her. All those returns she missed will haunt her. She would normally beat Razzano on one leg which is almost all Razzano had left by the end. A good spectacle to watch though.

Thanks for that. Always noticed that when the French crowd dislike you, that's it pretty much for life.....

Yeah totally agree LK. Serena deserves more respect than that. She's a great champion. The Henin thing was a disgrace and it wasn't even Serena's fault.

Anyway, what an incredible last few games, especially the final one.

legendkillarV2 wrote:They didn't even applaude her when she left the court.

Tossers the French. Absolutely no respect for them.

Rafa has only lost one French Open match and he still does not get the respect he deserves. I remember when Soderling beat him in 2009, the crowd was being at its most "charming."

kemet wrote:

legendkillarV2 wrote:They didn't even applaude her when she left the court.

Tossers the French. Absolutely no respect for them.

Rafa has only lost one French Open match and he still does not get the respect he deserves. I remember when Soderling beat him in 2009, the crowd was being at its most "charming."

Yes with Rafa and Serena, it's almost like they begrudgingly applaud.

Great champions such as those two deserve a little more respect. I've totally lost respect for them. And to see Serena in tears, out of frustration at her poor performance, was saddening in the midst of all that.

emancipator wrote:

kemet wrote:

legendkillarV2 wrote:They didn't even applaude her when she left the court.

Tossers the French. Absolutely no respect for them.

Rafa has only lost one French Open match and he still does not get the respect he deserves. I remember when Soderling beat him in 2009, the crowd was being at its most "charming."

Yes with Rafa and Serena, it's almost like they begrudgingly applaud.

Great champions such as those two deserve a little more respect. I've totally lost respect for them. And to see Serena in tears, out of frustration at her poor performance, was saddening in the midst of all that.

I agree kemet. Their treatment of Nadal is appalling.

Seeing Serena like that was sad.

emancipator wrote:Yeah totally agree LK. Serena deserves more respect than that. She's a great champion. The Henin thing was a disgrace and it wasn't even Serena's fault.

Anyway, what an incredible last few games, especially the final one.

Out of all the current players, if i'm honest i would say Serena deserves least respect of all, purely for the ugly on court behaviour of the past. I did like her game back in the turn of the 2000s, but since then slowly, but surely she whittled away all the respect i had for her. I was also switched off by her basically brainless display of nous when it came to some of the crunch points, where she endlessly blasted away at the ball, knowing full well her form was off and not accounting for how much pressure her opponent was feeling. If there was ever a single reason to just get the ball back in play, then Serena had two big reasons to pick from tonight > 1. force the opponent to hit the winner under pressure; 2. make the cramping/tired opponent run/move/change direction. The commentators said about the lack of sensible tactics, I already said it and even my girlfriend who never watches tennis said it (having clearly been ignoring me 2 minutes earlier!)

What happened today was unfortunate. Parisian crowd are the worst. However, in Serena's case we mustn't forget the way she treated the umpire in US open and the line judge. Off all the tennis players, to me Serena has the worst manners, followed by sarapova's and azaranka's screams.

emancipator wrote:

kemet wrote:

legendkillarV2 wrote:They didn't even applaude her when she left the court.

Tossers the French. Absolutely no respect for them.

Rafa has only lost one French Open match and he still does not get the respect he deserves. I remember when Soderling beat him in 2009, the crowd was being at its most "charming."

Yes with Rafa and Serena, it's almost like they begrudgingly applaud.

Great champions such as those two deserve a little more respect. I've totally lost respect for them. And to see Serena in tears, out of frustration at her poor performance, was saddening in the midst of all that.

Agree on all comments berating the bad french crowd. I don't think they even help there own to be honest with the amount of jeers and shouting out they do. ~Its like a mob that demands entertainment at any cost. Interesting link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqLr00Krd0k


I know Graf was most people's supported player in 1999, but honestly i thought the crowd were fairly bad to hingis in that final even before the famous underarm serve.

I'm surprised the crowd didn't boo at Guga for drawing a heart into the clay with his racquet one year...for besmirching their beloved clay!

Parisians are a breed unto themselves.

oi, I'm Parisian!

Lol...m4c...no offence meant, just that they are very passionate about their own and like to express themselves during matches!

I hate it when the crowd behaves in a mob like way especially in an individual sport like tennis. Serena is made of tough stuff though and I'm sure she will be OK. This is a bit of what she had to say after the match.

It didn't work out today, but, um, yeah, I just wasn't ‑‑ I made so many
errors today which isn't the game that I've been playing in the past.
You know, that's it. That's life.

Yeah, it is disappointing. But it's life. Things could be a lot
worse. I haven't had the easiest past six months. Nothing I can't deal
with.

Yeah. You know, I've been through so much in my life, and ‑‑ yeah.
I'm not here ‑‑ I'm not happy, by no means. I just always think things
can be worse.

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/news/interviews/2012-05-29/201205291338321375686.html

Feel sad that she's out the womens tournament will feel her loss. I had been looking forward to her playing a very in form Sharapova in the quarters.

I just watched the replay of the match on the Tennis Channel. As well as Virginie Razzano played, Serena made some shocking decisions in that final game. On the majority of her break point opportunities, she faced a second serve and went for way too much, trying to hit the lines, when simply getting the ball in play would have sufficed. Razzano was clearly feeling the nerves and Serena could have capitalized on these nerves.

Then again, Serena was playing fairly nervy herself. Not what I would expect from such an experienced player with multi-slam titles such as Serena.

Congratulations to Virgine, but Serena definitely had her opportunities and squandered them.

Edit: One very important point Serena made in her presser is that she almost died last year, so this makes Boris Becker's remark after losing a tennis match very poignant. For those who can't remember what he said, he remarked, "I didn't lose a war. Nobody Died. I lost a tennis match."