French Open Day 3 & 4

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Fire away...


Philippe-Chatrier Court

11:00 AM

Women's Singles - Round 1
Petra Kvitova (CZE) [4] vs. Marina Erakovic (NZL)

Men's Singles - Round 1
Quentin Halys (FRA) vs. Rafael Nadal (ESP) [6]

Men's Singles - Round 1
Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] vs. Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)

Women's Singles - Round 1
Serena Williams (USA) [1] vs. Andrea Hlavackova (CZE)



Suzanne-Lenglen Court

11:00 AM
Men's Singles - Round 1
Lukas Lacko (SVK) vs. David Ferrer (ESP) [7]

Women's Singles - Round 1
Karin Knapp (ITA) vs. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) [5]

Men's Singles - Round 1
Richard Gasquet (FRA) [20] vs. Germain Gigounon (BEL)

Women's Singles - Round 1
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) vs. Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) [6]

Read more at http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/index.html#xRQzJAWfXWtz8Z2C.99


Full PDF Schedule - http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/p_schedule8.pdf

Very impressed with Schwartzman. Hopefully, he can take this.

Murray, Nadal and Wozniacki on PC tomorrow.

Kvitova, Williams, Diokovic and Gasquet on SL.

Monfils breaks to lead 4-2 in the final set.

Berdych involved in a scrap of his own and his level at one set all against Stepanek.

Berdy breaks!

And Monfils wins in five sets.

I feel sorry for Schwartzman as he invested so much in that match to no avail. Gael though just from the sublime to the ridiculous on both ends of the scale. Nearly three hours on court doesn't augur well for bigger matches later in the tournament.

How did Berdych not end up on one of the show courts??

legendkillarV2 wrote:How did Berdych not end up on one of the show courts??

Do they really want to see his trashy H & M gear?

CaledonianCraig wrote:

legendkillarV2 wrote:How did Berdych not end up on one of the show courts??

Do they really want to see his trashy H & M gear?

Seriously, though it is a puzzle considering he is No.4 seed.

I have to say its pretty poor.. but heh CC would you rather see Stan's boxers

Haddie-nuff wrote:I have to say its pretty poor.. but heh CC would you rather see Stan's boxers

Oh Jeez no - they are terrible as well. Look like they have been created from a retro 1970s table cloth.

His mum got a cheap remnant
The rest she made a table cloth !!!!!

Berdych leads by two sets to one.

CaledonianCraig wrote:I feel sorry for Schwartzman as he invested so much in that match to no avail. Gael though just from the sublime to the ridiculous on both ends of the scale. Nearly three hours on court doesn't augur well for bigger matches later in the tournament.

Tell you what though, that's a pretty rapid match for a five setter. Shame Schwartzman couldn't get it done, I do enjoy watching him play. He's like Goffin-lite

Very surprised to see Bautista and Foggy go tumbling, a shame for both. Rosol did an absolute number on B-A.

Looks like Edmund has withdrawn

Indeed he has

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/32909153

Frak it!

Many fraks Leaves Nick quite cold for his likely third round date with Muzz

So temp et al, what do you think of Federer's chances vs Monfils if they  do meet?

Matchpoint wrote:So temp et al, what do you think of Federer's chances vs Monfils if they  do meet?

Mediocre. Federer might well win but is very poor on clay these days.

I think he might pull through but marginally 2nd favourite.

Ive fancied many a man against Fed in the past only for the pressure to get to the and Fed to serve them off court. I was cautiously optimistic for Gael, though less so now, his head is the most important thing to beat Fed, he needs t screw it back on

At least he seems to be having his lapses in "lesser" matches, so he'd have time to regroup and beat Fed should they meet. I think Monfils might well lose at SF to Nishikori (I have hopes for Nishi to win the whole thing)

Butas Temporary21 points out, his head is the eternal question. He could well lose to Cuevas, but I'd fancy him reaching SF.

bogbrush wrote:

Matchpoint wrote:So temp et al, what do you think of Federer's chances vs Monfils if they  do meet?

Mediocre. Federer might well win but is very poor on clay these days.

I think he might pull through but marginally 2nd favourite.

You downplay the man me thinks.

Schwartzman took Monfils to the brink so I'm sure Roger can beat him if he can play to a decent and consistent standard. If Roger does that he wins as Monfils blows either hot for spells and then cold for spells - no real happy medium. Also Monfils now has more hours of play in his legs now as well. If you offered me money to bet it would go on Federer.

Sad for Edmund who is Krygios playing in R3 now?

temporary21 wrote:Ive fancied many a man against Fed in the past only for the pressure to get to the and Fed to serve them off court. I was cautiously optimistic for Gael, though less so now, his head is the most important thing to beat Fed, he needs t screw it back on

Today I learned that all it takes to win matches are a good serve and sufficient pressure on the other player.

To be honest though guys, if Monfils is up against Cuevas then that's a very difficult match. He may well struggle to get through it.

Halep lost today as well. Sad times...

Monfils will beat Monfils. Federer might have to dabble a bit and that's about it really.

If the REAL Montfils comes on court, like he did last time, my money is on him

Sad news indeed about Edmund but it makes sense with Wimbledon just around the corner. Kyrgios awaiting the winner of the Murray/Sousa match in the Third Round.

I'm not expecting much, as the old man himself said something like he doesn't expect to go beyond the semi. He's still capable to pull off a few "wow" shots here and there and thank god serve is still one of his most lethal weapons. But damn, diminishing consistency. Taking too long to capitalise on breakpoints and close out a match vs what's-his-name? He looked so old and weary today after just the 2nd around. And for crying out loud he had 2 days off!

CaledonianCraig wrote:Sad news indeed about Edmund but it makes sense with Wimbledon just around the corner. Kyrgios awaiting the winner of the Murray/Sousa match in the Third Round.

Thanks Craig, top man  

Quite a tough one for Murray, Sousa is definitely no mug on clay. Didn't he beat Delbonis to a title the other week, somewhere?

So Djoko got kicked out of Chatrier tomorrow to make space for Nadal?

Slap in the face for the accidental No:1

Silver, how is Sousa tough when Andy just crushed Nadal a few days ago?

I think Almagro will beat Nadal

Matchpoint, good to see you back on tennis commenting and not on pro-Nadal trenches threads

Haddie-nuff wrote:If the REAL Montfils comes on court, like he did last time, my money is on him

God knows who the real Monfils is... I was lucky enough to be "hosting" a party in RG today so had to endure the full game where normally I would switch to another one when Gael is playing like he did during the first 3 and half sets. credit to swartzmam who hits real hard on both FH and BH but has a service game pretty limited. His game plan and execution was very good but I think started to tire quickly after missing those 2 break points in the 4th. Monfils eventually woke up and started playing solidly but before that his decision making was really poor. Trying too hard to hit winners from nowhere when it wasnt necessary specially when he was dominating most of the long rallies. A more patient player with his skills would have probably won in straight sets (close ones) but Montfils seems to have issues to adapt and keeps on giving opportunities to the opponent to come back in the game (was quite obvious in the 1st round against roger-vasselin). What a waste of stamina, he will never go far in the 2nd week if it doesnt learn to "manage" games like that.

The real Montfils is the one we all know he can be. He has flare and imagination an amazing shot selection and athleticism. His court coverage is incredible; he has power and yet he can have soft hands.

Ok Ok I hear you, how often do we see that ?? why because he can be a mental midget at times. Lacking focus, and concentration.
He is a showman, and sometimes too laid back.
I know he can keep it up for the BO3 we have seen it. BO5 yeah not so sure about that.
But heh, I love him, I think he is great when he is on full song.
But when he isn't I could slap him.

Tough for R2, Jahu! Murray should show him who's the daddy, though.

I assume your girlfriend must've left! Welcome back

CaledonianCraig wrote:

bogbrush wrote:

Matchpoint wrote:So temp et al, what do you think of Federer's chances vs Monfils if they  do meet?

Mediocre. Federer might well win but is very poor on clay these days.

I think he might pull through but marginally 2nd favourite.

You downplay the man me thinks.

Schwartzman took Monfils to the brink so I'm sure Roger can beat him if he can play to a decent and consistent standard. If Roger does that he wins as Monfils blows either hot for spells and then cold for spells - no real happy medium. Also Monfils now has more hours of play in his legs now as well. If you offered me money to bet it would go on Federer.

Oh I don't rate Monfils, except as a big game player - it's just that Federer is not the man he was an often looks especially vulnerable in this sort of match - Berdych, Tsonga, that sort of thing.

If anyone's interested: highlights of Monfils and Schwartzman.

Federer and Granollers.

Ball is keeping very low on the showcourts, making for some interesting forecourt exchanges - dropshots and slice look very viable.

Ball is keeping low indeed, and also moving quite fast. Court look slow on short balls and is very nice for drop shots (which is being exploited by almost everyone) but when players are hitting hard the ball is moving through the court.

Does it look faster this year to others? I haven't watched a huge amount.

I think it's leading to some interesting play because we are seeing aggression from the baseline, lots of drop shots and net play etc.

Just watched the highlights of Federer and Nadal. Federer looked in good shape. Not sure about Nadal's forehand? Is it as good as it once was or a notch or two down? Still very good, but maybe not quite as devastating? Hard to judge from the highlights.

Federer said this is the slowest he's ever seen the FO. The balls are very slow as well. 

He looked dumbfounded when Carillo said how similar Rome was to RG, he said quite the opposite.

It's curious but to my eye the court does look slower than ever when drop shots are being played, the ball is barely bouncing. But aggressive shots are flying through. But maybe it makes sense - with a drop shot, slice or weak shot, the slow bounce just makes it die quicker.

With a fast shot the low bounce makes it fly through instead of kicking up.

Does anyone know what time Rafa is playing tomorrow please

Haddie-nuff wrote:Does anyone know what time Rafa is playing tomorrow please

Nadal is the second match on PC, so around 7am Eastern Daylight Time.

Thanx LF.. these early mornings are killing me

The courts are the slowest I have seen. The balls are heavy and make it even worse. Watched the Monfils v Schwartzman and it was very annoying to watch Monfils hitting with all his might and not hitting through. Same with Schwartzman's hitting.

Federer started going wide angles and trying to paint the lines and was spewing errors v Granollers.

Haddie-nuff wrote:Thanx LF.. these early mornings are killing me

I feel like I am watching AO at times, getting up at 3am to watch matches. My day is a complete mess. My spouse is unhappy too, and complains about the covers when I leave. I leave the sound muted and cannot hear it from the kitchen. What a PITA!

Posted a new thread for Thu/Fri.

laverfan wrote:

Haddie-nuff wrote:Thanx LF.. these early mornings are killing me

I feel like I am watching AO at times, getting up at 3am to watch matches. My day is a complete mess. My spouse is unhappy too, and complains about the covers when I leave. I leave the sound muted and cannot hear it from the kitchen. What a PITA!

me too I was up at 5am, skulking around in stocking feet, his lordship driving them home!! trying to make myself a cuppa without chinking the cups in the kitchen.. Why is it when you are trying to be quiet a bottle falls out of the fridge door Sometimes I have the tv muted, or maybe use the earphones. Then himself moans because about this time of night Im yawning my head off

I feel suitably lucky because it's half-term this week - I can watch guilt-free I'm sure my pupils will survive if their coursework has varying expletives scrawled all over it from whenever Murray misses a forehand!

I'd sooner have the second week off, but I certainly can't complain