The French Open - 2019

RG begins today, with Fed among those with a Sunday match. I'm going for Rafa for the title, with Djoko and Thiem his main rivals.

Fed should get thru a few rounds but is an unlikely winner, especially as he may have to get past Tsitsipas.

The women's title could go to anyone in the top 15. Halep would be a safe bet, but she can be injury prone. There are a lot of teenage players who could cause upsets. It's really difficult to forecast the eventual winner.

Kyrgios has pulled out due to illness so Norrie now gets to play a French qualifier in 1st round today. Edmund and Evans though will be up against it in their matches today - taking on Chardy and Verdasco respectively. Konta also in action and pick of the womens' matches looks to be Ostapenko v Azarenka - could be a hard-hitting one.

I would have to go for Nadal to win again. Djokovic may be around to pick up the pieces should something unlikely befall Nadal. Thiem will also go deep.

What it means?

Djokovic wins: Sporting history - would be second time a (non calender year) grand slam was achieved in the modern era.  This would be as equally impressive as his first - the first was a demonstration of a form of tennis perfection - the second would be more a demonstration of unbelievable spirit given I think Djokovic is not as good this time round (post injury + age).

Nadal wins: Addition of an extra "ridiculous" to his already ridiculous legendary status as the clay court king.  This would be his twelfth RG singles title.

Federer wins:  a feat of seismic proportions that might cause all the sporting books to explode.  

Thiem or Tsitsipas or Coric wins: end of an era ...

Cilic or Del Potro or Nishikori wins: test of hanging in there and seizing their opportunities when it comes to them.

Wawrinka wins: who?  Whatever happened to him?  Everyone was focussing on Murray while Wawrinka also seems to have dropped out of contention.

ITV 4 - channel 24 on Freeview - are showing the French, with the first match to be screened being Mug v Taylor Townsend.

Later: Mug thru after dropping first set but Kerber who has had injury problems is beaten in straights by teenager Potopova. Cilic won in straight sets and Tsitsipas is a set and two breaks up.

Routine win for Federer over Sonego who at least put up a reasonable show after a very slow start.

Tsitsipas, Cilic and Nishi all thru in straight sets, but Dimi needed five to bt Tipsy while Mahut, roared on by the home crowd, came back from two sets down to oust last year's semi-finalist Cecchinato.

Djoko, Rafa and Serena among those in action today (Monday). Djoko has a tricky opener against Hubert Hurkacz, who has had one or two good results this season.

Not sure I'm a great fan of the Sunday starts that RG has. It wasn't a full programme yesterday - only 32 matches scheduled rather than the 64 you would get on the first Monday at Wimbledon. If you lose on the first Sunday at the French it seems like you're out of the tournament before it's begun.

Later: Kvitova has had to pull out thru injury. Let's hope she's going to be OK for Wimbledon.

Johanna Konta beat Antonia Lottner 6-4 6-4 to claim her first ever win in the main draw at the French Open

Veronika Kudermetova beat the overrated Caroline Wozniacki 0-6 6-3 6-3. Yet another embarrassing defeat for Wozniacki.

A rather slow start for clay supremo Rafa, being made to save a few BP’s in his very first game. But he will undoubtedly sail through the match without further ado, and with no issues whatsoever now that he is in the groove.

Surprised to see so many gaps amongst the watching crowd - in marked contrast to Federer’s opener yesterday when there was barely a seat to be had.

Shame to see Kvitova forced to withdraw.

Rafael Nadal beats a game but overmatched Yannick Hanfmann 6-2 6-1 6-3.

It was a near-perfect R1 performance from Nadal.

But what also struck me was just how cleanly a relative unknown like Hanfmann can hit a tennis ball, and how well he can sustain a rally against the world’s very best on clay. He was never likely to trouble Rafa (and didn’t !) but nor did the guy look entirely out of place on the court.

We (understandably) focus most of our attention / comment on the big names ; but players such as Hanfmann  - ranked just inside the top 200 - do provide a reminder of just how much depth there is in the pro game. Imagine what he would look like if he suddenly turned up at your local tennis club .....  

Edmund v Chardy ...... high quality match, now into a fifth.

Some seriously big (and accurate) hitting from both.

Nobody around here to discuss it. So I won’t waste any more words !

I'm here

Watched a bit of the Konta and Edmund matches yesterday. Konta had, perhaps understandably, a rather nervy first set, with lots of breaks of serve all over the place. Much more solid in the second, though it ended on the same scoreline. She's been, somewhat surprisingly, having a good time of it on clay this year, so will be hoping for a decent run here.

Edmund and Chardy are locked at 5-5 in the fifth overnight, after a topsy-turvy match which had some big hitting from both but also quite error-strewn. Certainly Edmund looked a little short on confidence, and he'll be especially rueing the five games on the trot he lost in set 4 where he looked to physically wilt a bit to go 5-1 down. Came back strongly though.

Elsewhere, there have been a few upsets in the women's draw, with Kerber and Wozniacki the two biggest names out, and Serena Williams having to come back from a set down (her sister was another of the early losers). In the men's draw, a couple of decent names are gone in Medvedev and Shapovalov (the latter beaten in straight sets by Struff), while Thiem had to scrap through in a tough four setter. The big three all through comfortably.

Today sees Zverev begin his campaign, and he could really do with a solid win in his first round to try to build some momentum. He's playing Millman, who can be a tricky opponent, so that one might be worth watching. For British fans, Court 7 is very much the place to be, with Norrie taking on a French qualifier first up, with Evans against Verdasco on third. On the women's side, Osaka and Halep are also getting their tournaments underway, following Zverev on Chatrier.

Good to see you MfC.

If ever there was evidence of how some players can take full advantage of partisan support on home soil, surely it must be this particular FO .... ? There seems to have been a good number of French men coming through against the odds (can’t comment on the women ... don’t follow very closely) and right now there is a French qualifier, ranked close to 300, who looks about to dump out Cameron Norrie, a top 50 guy, who has previously proven that he does know how to play on clay.

Morning lags.

Yes I think you're right, the French players have had some excellent results.

Having said that, Edmund has just come through against Chardy 7-5 in the fifth. Very solid from Edmund today, and Chardy didn't really turn up. So tough to come back the next day in such a tight situation. A much-needed win for Edmund, whose career has rather stalled in the last 12 months or so.

Good from Edmund ..... he really does need some confidence-boosting success. Believe he has suffered five successive R1 exits, but has stuck doggedly to his task whilst working very hard in practise / training. So, a deserved win in a match which could so easily have gone the other way after the restart.

Over on Court 7 Evans has fought back from a break down to level the match at one set all against Verdasco. Decent quality match, though the tie-break turned on a pretty abject missed overhead from Verdasco.

Alas, Evans went out in four. Osaka looked like heading for the exit, too, with her opponent twice serving for the match but the number one pulled thru in three.

Karlovic became the first man since Methuselah to win a GS match in his 40s. Zverev was taken to five before winning. Halep thru, although she dropped a set. Just been watching Monfils take a two-set lead against Daniel.

Bad loss for Norrie who lost v easily in straight sets - wonder if he'd have done better against Kyrgios? Evans didn't disgrace himself too much in going down in 4 sets to Verdasco on what is his weakest surface whilst a v good gutsy win for Edmund in 5 against Chardy. Zverev also came through a tough 5 setter against Millman.

Interesting one due up later, between Dimitrov and Cilic.

We know that Dimitrov has been slipping down the rankings, and has lost about as many matches as he has won this season so far. But Cilic  - although still comfortably within top 20 - hasn’t really been impressing either in recent months ...... so let’s see who can perform today.

sirfredperry wrote:Alas, Evans went out in four. Osaka looked like heading for the exit, too, with her opponent twice serving for the match but the number one pulled thru in three.

Karlovic became the first man since Methuselah to win a GS match in his 40s. Zverev was taken to five before winning. Halep thru, although she dropped a set. Just been watching Monfils take a two-set lead against Daniel.

Looks like Connors didn't quite achieve that (only one I could think of who might have) - his last GS win was round 1 at the USO in 1992. Tournament started on 31 August and Jimmy's birthday is 2nd September 1952. I can't immediately find the dates of his matches, but it looks like Jimbo's last win was probably a day or 2 before his 40th, and his last GS match (defeat) was on or a day or 2 after his 40th.

Would that mean Rosewall was the last (only previous in the Open era?) GS match winner in their 40s?

Rosewall was, indeed, the last 40-something to win a GS match according to the reports I've seen.

Just watched a really impressive performance by Muguruza to see off Larsson in straight sets. Mug is a two-time GS champion and capable of incredible tennis on her day. Might be worth putting some money on her.

Just as I'm hoping to see Nishi v JWT I hear that Channel 24 are showing Rafa in what ought to be a very one-sided match! Boo!

Another day and another Yannick sent packing by Nadal. Nadal winning 6-1 6-2 6-4 against Maden. The Spaniard lost concentration in the third set twice getting broken by the German.

Fed has just won an entertaining first set against German LL Otte after the German more than held his own until 4-5 when he dropped serve.

JWT lost in four to Nishi. The Tsonga BH broke down a lot towards the end against a typically competitive Nishi.

Fed thru in straight sets against an opponent who played well ahead of his lowly ranking. A break in each set got the job done.

@ sfp - he sure did play well ahead of his current ranking ! Acquitted himself admirably.

In fact I couldn’t help thinking that he has quite possibly never played better (not least given the quality of his opponent). But he leaves with nothing to show for all his efforts. Ok .... not entirely true. He leaves with a great story for the pub, for dinner parties and for children / grandchildren. And a sizeable, much-needed cheque

The margins at GS level can be very fine at times. The guy stayed with Fed for sustained periods ; and as so often, it came down to a few crucial points at crucial stages of the match.

Gee it’s so dull here. Hours go by without posts or reaction.

Am very close to giving it up myself, in the way that so many others have done.

At least Grigor is a happy bunny tonight.

606v2 served its purpose - providing a platform when the BBC pulled its 606 website to focus on its social justice warriorship campaigns.

606v2 never it seemed had a sustainable strategy to attract new members - hence numbers have dwindled as members drifted away or became senile.  I think it is difficult for such a site to attract new members if it is not backed by a large corporation that provides something else - such as a daily online news or sports or entertainment service.  Maybe whoever is now running 606v2 might consider trying to enter into a partnership with such a corporation.

The 606v2 tennis sub-forum has for some time become a site for daily posts or weekly posts - not for minute by minute posts for those following a match. Ps - it only takes two members to get a minute by minute interaction if each are following the same match. But in general that rarely happens now for the tennis forum.

There are other sites - but either the format or the posting dynamics are an acquired taste.  606v2 has a good format but not the new members.

Well, let's hope that 606v2 carries on. I used to post on something called Centre Court Forum then one day I couldn't access it anymore and I still miss it.

I shall try to post on here as often as possible and I urge others to do the same.

Back to the RG: Dimi pulled off a good win over Cilic and now faces Stan the Man, with the winner likely to face Federer in the fourth round.

Konta is thru to the third round where she would normally have faced Bertens but Bertens had to retire thru' illness. Good chance for Konta now.

No name Bertie wrote:606v2 never it seemed had a sustainable strategy to attract new members

That's always been the problem. People always leave forums, but without a way to replace them, numbers just get lower.

Also - in the UK, there is now no men's tennis on TV except the Grand Slams. Used to be on Sky, which I have, but now only on Amazon (or other platforms?) which I'm not willing to pay further for. As such I rarely see any matches.

Kyle Edmund retired against Pablo Cuavas trailing 6-7(3) 3-6 1-2 with a knee injury.

Out of all the slams French Open seems to get the least interest on here - maybe the dominance/brilliance of Nadal over the years has dampened down interest.

Worth pointing out though the free daily live coverage on ITV4 which is pretty good in spite of John Inverdale(!). I caught up with couple of matches yesterday - Konta had couple of shaky moments, but ultimately had too much power for her dimutive opponent, and finds herself in 3rd round for 1st time. Also saw the closing stages of an absolute humdinger 5 setter between 2 Frenchmen, Paire and Herbert - great variety of shots from these 2 unpredictable shotmakers, with Paire ultimately prevailing 11-9.

Today Edmund has sadly pulled out of his match, 2 sets down to Cuevas. Here's hoping Kyle makes a speedy recovery for grasscourt season.

Thiem making real heavy weather of it - likely to go to 5 sets now against Bublik. Even if Thiem gets through this surely the hours on court will catch up with him.

Osaka v Azarenka now into a 3rd set - good comeback from Osaka.

Yes, perhaps Wimbledon will (hopefully ?) generate a little more interest / activity here.

Shame about Edmund. But it was always going to be a harsh test for him, given that Cuevas pretty much lives on clay courts.

On another day, Thiem would have won this match comfortably. But this just underlines the crucial importance of consistency where top level tennis and - especially- Slams are concerned. Consistency, along with supreme levels of talent, of course (and Thiem certainly is not lacking in the latter) is what keeps the very top guys winning and racking up the victories on the biggest stages. It’s how Federer won all his Slams. Fed’s best days are now well behind him of course. But being five years or so younger, Nadal and Djokovic are still showing that they can produce high quality tennis in match after match, and as such remain a serious stumbling block to their ‘newer’ challengers.

Well Thiem did make it through without too much trouble ... so I think safe to say we can still regard him as a serious RG contender (despite my earlier comments .... !!)

Still nobody around here on 606 though !

I see Delpo had to go the distance today but he also got the job done eventually. Could he come in under the radar, so to speak ....

I'll try to post a bit more too, but really I've sort of drifted away from tennis over the last couple of years. Murray's struggles haven't helped, but it's also been the dullness (IMO) of seeing the same names over and over again still winning slams at an age where really they should have been overtaken a while ago. Would love e.g. Tsitsipas to go the whole way here, but in reality it'll probably be another Djoko-Nadal final, yay!

Also, the cricket world cup has just started, and England, who are traditionally complete rubbish at this form of the game, have had a remarkable turnaround over the last four years, so much so that they go into this tournament as quite comfortable favourites, so I'll probably be watching more of that over the next few weeks (they hammered South Africa in the opener today).

@ MfC - yes, definitely concur re the ‘same old faces ‘. Or - more worryingly - the lack of top-level success from new blood.

You must have had a (very !) happy evening yesterday ..... assuming your username still holds good ?

Yes, good result after that shaky start by England in the WC.

Well the first half was rather dire, but enjoyed the second

It’s the final score wot matters ! Just as in tennis.

Delpo needed five and Halep was taken the distance by an - at times- inspired Linette who saved MPs before Halep came thru.

Take the point about Thiem needing far too long to win his opening matches. A number of seeds went out today, including Simon and Verdasco.

Pliskova out today - got a feeling she'll remain one of those players who topped the rankings but destined never to win a slam. Whilst the general consensus is that the womens' title is 'wide open' I'd still put Halep as slight favourite - she has the claycourt pedigree, and the surface should just about nullify the strengths of the big power-hitters like Osaka. Konta in action against Kuzmova, who is an up and coming player fairly comfortable on clay.

Pick of the matches today on mens' side likely to be Dimitrov v Wawrinka. The head-to-head is finely poised at 4-4, with Dimitrov having won 2 of their 3 encounters on clay, but Stan winning back-to-back slam encounters at Wimbledon and US Open last year. No idea what state Wawrinka is in physically this year - if it goes long you'd surely have to back Dimitrov.

Nadal should get a nice workout against Goffin - the Belgian is the sort of match-up Nadal likes - dogged and competitive, will keep plenty of rallies long, but lacking the cutting edge or sustained firepower to unduly trouble him - straight sets just under 2 hours I reckon.

Fed ought to get pushed more by Ruud than in previous rounds, but should still get through in 3 or 4 sets. Nishikori and Tsitisipas should quietly get through today, whilst on court now surprised to see the normally dependable Carreno Busta a set down to talented but inconsistent Paire.

Fed thru in three and Rafa thru in four after a spirited third-set fightback by Goffin. Nishi was taken to five but came thru.

Fed has L Mayer next. Couldn't really have had a better draw although sterner tasks await after that.

Impressive by Mug to bt Svito in straight sets. Mug could go all the way. Marathon match saw Sevastova save five MPs and bt Mertens 10-8 in the fifth.

As I write Konta has taken the first set against Kuzmova. But expect drama in this match later.*

*I was wrong. Konta won 2 and 1!

Stan the Man two sets up against Dimi when play ended. Drama in Tsitsipas's match with Kraj having two set points to win the third set but missing both. T held on at two sets up and 5-5 in the third when bad light ended play.

Interesting that the French now is the only slam NOT to have a tiebreak at some stage of the final set. There were two 11-9s, a 9-7 and an 8-6 today.

Halep demolished Tsurenko and now Tsitsipas has been taken to a fourth set following Kraj's winning of the third set tiebreak.

LATER: Tsitsipas, a little nervously, thru in four and now faces Stan the Man who saw off Dimi in three tiebreak sets.

Djoko being given a good work out by Italian Caruso but has got the first set 6-3. Fognini thru in four, Zverev thru in five.

Naomi Osaka out after being outclassed by Czech doubles player Katerina Siniakova.

As of today, Novak Djokovic has good reason to celebrate : he has now spent a total of 250 weeks as the World Number One.

That’s quite some achievement......

The current record of 310 - which until recently seemed out of reach - looks very likely to be broken in a little over one year from now.

Monfils thru, Coric out in five, Delpo and Thiem nearing victory.

As for Osaka - puh leease! Complaining of stress of being number one and saying it's been "an unhappy time". Mentally, she has been one of the worst numero unos. She's been top since the end of January, she's won two Slams and she says she's unhappy.

Tennis unhappiness is being out injured, or slogging round the Challenger circuit earning little money and meeting with little success. I think Osaka is a terrific player. But if this is the way she's going to carry on the sooner she relinquishes top spot the better.

Sofia Kenin beats Serena Williams 6-2 7-5.

Terrific by Kenin and is there anyone left among the top women?!

A. Zverev may not be in great form but he is certainly scrapping for victories.  He is now into R4 after going five sets in R1 and R3.   R3-R4 is about par over the past two years for Zverev in slams.  Can he match his only previous QF at a slam - last year's RG QF?  He has to beat Fognini to achieve that.  I assume Lendl is with Zverev for this tournament.

ps Zverev turned 22 in April - so although he is going to have many many years in the post Djokovic-Nadal-Federer era he has rather hit at least a temporary ceiling in the slams compared to a few other players of his generation.