Right time for the third part of my look at the ladies French Open which will cover days 9 and 10 and the remaning 4th round and first bout of quarter final matches of the ladies event. So let's get looking....
So beginning with day 9 we had Andrea Petkovic first on Philippe Chatrier court playing the talented Kiki Bertens from the Netherlands and the two of them had a real fight together but it eventually saw the resurging Petko win the match from a set down to reach the quarter finals of the French for the second time with a 1-6, 6-2, 7-5 win. Simona Halep also continued her impressive run and form this year by reaching the last eight as well by beating Sloane Stephens in straight sets with a 6-4, 6-3 victory, which saw reach her first French Open quarter final and sees the small Romanian still as a potential favourite for the title. Sara Errani the former finalist two years ago, had a tough and very entertaining match against Jelena Jankovic, which in the first set saw the momentum swing back and forth but eventually the diminutive Italian took it on the breaker. In the 2nd set it was an easier affair for Errani who broke an injured Jankovic, who's movement was hampered and she reached the quarter finals for a third straight year with a 7-6, 6-2 victory. And last of all Svetlana Kuznetsova took on the Czeck player Lucie Safarova, and despite some plucky stuff from Safarova, the former 2009 champion, Kuznetsova was too good for her in the end and she reached the quarter finals with a 6-3,6-4 scoreline.
Moving onto day 10 we first round of quarter final matches which started with a much anticipated match between Maria Sharapova and the surprise of the tournament, Garbine Muguruza of Spain, who took out Serena Williams earlier in round two. And in the first set it looked like Muguruza was going to stage another big upset as she bossed Sharapova (not a phrase that is often used!) around the court and she took the first set convincingly with a double break. In the 2nd set Sharapova went a break up but then Muguruza broke back and play went by serve to 5-4, with Sharapova teetering on the edge she managed to fight hard to stay in to make 5-5 and she went from there to manufacture a break of her to level the match at a set all. In the 3rd set however Muguruza's challenge finally started to fade as Sharapova started to assert herself in the match and she broke the young Spaniard twice to close out the match and seal her place in the semis with a 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory, and within two matches of a second French Open title.
And in the second quarter final match of the day we had the newcomer Eugenie Bouchard of Canada, who announced herself on the tour last year and this year even reached the last four in Melbourne, and she was up against Carla Suarez-Navarro of Spain, a clay court specialist. However it was Bouchard that looked like the expert at times as the two of them fought a close match, which saw a tight first set go to Bouchard on a tiebreak. In the 2nd set however Navarro fought back and broke the young Canadian twice to level the match with a set apiece, and in the 3rd, despite being 4-1 down, Bouchard managed to mentally stay tough and she broke back and battled on to create a break of her own which saw her serve it out to reach her second consecutive grand slam semi final with a hard fought 7-6, 2-6, 7-5 result.
So this sets up the first section of the semi finals for the ladies, which is looking very promising and will see Maria Sharapova take on the young gun in Eugenie Bouchard. So who will win it??? Well I have to go with Sharapova simply because of her ultimate warrior status and her experience in the slams is far greater so whatever Bouchard will throw at her, Sharapova will utlimately weather the storm. So I think Maria is in pole position for reaching another final at the French and I also think she will possibly take the title as well as despite the talented players that are left, she can outfight them all when it comes purely down to mental strength and inner belief, there are hardly any that can live with Sharapova. However we will see how it pans out and how the other quarter final matches go.
Right so that's it for now and I'll be back with the men's matches.
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