Right OK so its time to move on with my look at the 2015 French Open which will cover the men's matches in this post and the post will cover the progress of how the top seeds are doing so far as they all battle it out for the right to hold the trophy. So let's get cracking and start looking at how the top seeds so far are doing....
Novak Djokovic - starting with the top seed, the undisputed World No.1, Novak Djokovic who so far has been imperious in 2015. And so far he has continued that form at the French and he kicked off with a very efficient performance against his first opponent, Jarkko Nieminen and despite going down a break in the 2nd set to the Finnish player, Nole soon broke back and restored parity and broke to take the two set lead and in the 3rd he broke twice again to close out the match 6-2, 7-5, 6-2. In the 2nd round Nole faced Gilles Muller and despite a slight scare when Novak had to get the trainer on to look at his lower back after he fell, it did nothing to deter Novak from his quest and he dismissed Muller in straight sets 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the 3rd round. And in the 3rd round Novak took on the young and plucky Australian rising star, Thanasi Kokkinakis but clearly was too good for the young Aussie and he broke him once in each set and effortlessly held onto his serve in each set to win 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. So far Nole is looking every inch the champion he is and on the fact of it this could very well be Novak's year to win the French open and unless something unforseen happens along the way the stars might just align for him this year to complete that career slam. And next up for Novak in the 4th round will be Richard Gasquet, which would put Novak in the position to potentially face the next man I will mention....
Rafael Nadal - and this is Rafa and so far despite fears of Rafa's poor form going into Roland Garros, Rafa has put those fears to bed in Paris so far as he has been playing very well and looks every inch the 9 time champion he is. So Rafa's progress has been pretty serene up to this point and he started off with a straight set win against the French player, Quentin Halys whom he beat 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. In the 2nd round Rafa took on his fellow Spaniard, Nicolas Almagro whom has been a tricky customer for Rafa in the past but he proved to be no such trouble here as Rafa took out Almagro in a convincing straight sets 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 victory. And in Rafa's latest result he faced the Russian, Andrey Kuznetsov and Rafa simply demolished the young Russian in straight sets to reach the last 16 with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 win and Rafa will face the talented young US player, Jack Sock next, which puts Rafa within one match of his ultimate showdown with Novak. And I think we all know its coming and when it does let's hope its a cracker and it will be prove one way or another if he can hold onto his crown at Roland Garros.
Andy Murray - next is Andy Murray who so far has been having his best clay court season to date and currently is unbeaten this season on the red dirt having won back to back titles in Munich and Madrid, beating Rafa in the final of the latter. Andy at the French so far has also proved to be in solid form and he got off to a very good start in beating the Argentine qualifier, Facundo Arguella in a straight set win 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. In the 2nd round however Andy faced a sterner test against Joao Sousa of Portugal whom he had beaten in the previous meetings all in straight sets, but this time Andy found Sousa to be made of stronger stuff who came out swinging and took a set off Andy to level the match in the 2nd. In the 3rd Andy had to save break points on his serve but he went on to break and nab the 3rd set and in the 4th he sped to victory as Sousa faded from the match and Andy reached the last 32 with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 win. And next for Andy was a much anticipated clash with the young Aussie star, Nick Kyrgios which was an entertaining match with some fun points from both players and Kygrios delivering a ridiculous lob at one point. But in the end Andy was too good and the young Aussie struggled with a wrist injury which saw his challenge wilt in the 3rd and Andy wrapped it up in 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. So Andy will next face the Frenchman, Jeremy Chardy, which could possibly be quite a dangerous match for him but I think hopefully Andy will come through in maybe four sets which could then set up a quarter final clash with either Marin Cilic or David Ferrer.
Roger Federer - then we have Roger who so far has also been making some fairly serene progress in the tournament and he got off to a pretty good start against Alejandro Falla in an entertaining encounter which he won 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. In the 2nd round Roger then faced the tricky Spaniard, Marcel Granollers who pushed Roger in the 2nd set and went a break up but eventually relinquished it and as the match went to a tiebreak, Rog dominated it and took the two set lead. And in the 3rd set Roger broke Granollers again and closed out the match 6-2, 7-6, 6-3 to reach the 3rd round. As for the 3rd round Roger faced the unseeded Damir Dzumhur a young player who idolised Roger growing up. The match itself however was pretty easy for Roger but it was also entertaining and Dzumhur acquitted himself very well showing his skills as a player but ultimately the Swiss maestro had too much for him and progressed to the last 16 winning in 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. And so far Roger in the 4th round is playing Gael Monfils however that match at the time of my typing this (31.05) has been suspended due to bad light and will resume on Monday (01.06) so I will be back with the result of that later.
As for other results in the men's draw:
Stan Wawrinka after having a rather up and down year so far in 2015, has made it through to the quarter finals again at the French after he took out the French No.1, Gilles Simon in the 4th round and he won the match in straight sets 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. Stan could next either face his Swiss buddy Roger or the Frenchman, Gael Monfils who is currently locked horns with Roger in their 4th round match which has been suspended till Monday.
Kei Nishikori also has made it into the quarter finals as well for the first time in his career at the French open after he beat the Russian player Teymuraz Gabashvili in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. This marked the first time in over 80 years since a Japanese player had reached the quarter finals of the French open and Kei looks in pretty good form so far going into the final eight.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga the home favourite has also been in excellent form so far and he raced through his first three rounds in straight sets before facing Tomas Berdych in the 4th round today. And in that match Tsonga against hit top gear and sped into a two set lead and grabbed a break to serve for the match but ended up squandering it and let Berdych back in the door who then took the 3rd set on a tiebreak. In the 4th set Tsonga lost his edge and let Berdych take an early break but he soon regained his momentum and broke back and went on to break Berdy and closed out the match at the second time of asking and became the first Frenchman in the draw to reach the quarter finals with an impressive 6-3, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3 victory. Jo will next face Kei Nishikori for a place in the semi finals and on his current form he might just do it but it will be far from easy against Kei who is also showing great form.
Jack Sock who is somewhat a surprise entry on this list, as he is primarily a doubles player has also progressed well at the French open this year as he got his campaign of to an excellent start as he stunned Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets 7-6, 6-2, 6-3. Sock then went on to sock it (sorry!) to Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain in a tight four set win 6-7, 7-6, 6-1, 7-6. And in the 3rd round Sock went on to put in an impressive performance against another rising star, Borna Coric of Croatia with a straight set win 6-2, 6-1, 6-4. And this sets Jack up with a 4th round meeting with nine time French open champion and the current five time defending champion, Rafael Nadal, which might be a tall order for him to get past the mighty Rafa but we'll see!
David Ferrer last of all in this list is still in action and has also quietly been making his way through his draw as he got off to a strong start in defeating his 1st round opponent Lucas Lacko in 6-1, 6-3, 6-1. Ferrer then went on to drub his 2nd round opponent and Spanish compatriot Daniel Gimeno-Traver in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, 6-1. Ferrer's 3rd round however was a far tougher match up as he took on the Italian, Simone Bolelli who gave Ferrer a real scare after the Italian went two sets to one up against him. Ferrer however dug in and came back emphatically in sets four and five, conceding just one game on his way to victory, Ferrer came through in five sets winning 6-3, 1-6, 5-7, 6-0, 6-1. Ferrer will next take on Marin Cilic who has refound his form at the French open having yet to drop a set going into the last 16.
So that's it for my look at the men's matches so far and I will be back with more results soon in a couple of days.
Until the next one that's it for now!
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