Right well now its time for my catch up with the men's matches from this year's French open which will cover days 9 and 10 of the action. So let's get cracking....
So starting with Day 9 the action kicked off on Court Philippe Chatrier with the resumption of the 4th round match between Roger Federer and Gael Monfils which was tied at a set all at the time of suspension on Sunday just there due to bad light. And when the match resumed it was Roger who took the lead in the 3rd set as he went on to broke Monfils and grab the two sets to one lead. And in the 4th set Monfils's hopes came to an end as he appeared to get stuck between showboating and making too many errors which ultimately cost him a double break and the match as Roger sped to victory in just over two hours with a four set 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory.
And after this we saw Novak Djokovic take on another Frenchman, Richard Gasquet for a place in the last eight. And the match itself was pretty much a non event as after the first three very tight games of the first set, Novak went on to run away with the set as Gasquet's unforced errors piled up, Nole grabbed a double break to take the lead. And more errors came off Gasquet's racquet in the 2nd set as the Frenchman was simply unable to contend with Djokovic's unbelievable form and consistency on serve as he surrendered to a double break and a two set deficit. And in the 3rd set despite one ray of light for Gasquet after he broke back to go 3-3 it was short lived as the Frenchman yet again quickly succumbed to the pressure on the othe side of the net as Novak broke again and served out the match in emphatic fashion with a score of 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 (easy 1, 2 and 3!). This match yet again really showed just how formidable Novak is looking so far in the tournament and he is showing no signs of losing that momentum which could still carry him to victory this year for the first time at Roland Garros. However all that depends on the winner of the next match which I will mention...
And that match was between Rafael Nadal, the nine time champion and the talented upcoming American, Jack Sock. The match itself however at the start was plain sailing for Rafa as the young Sock struggled to cope with Rafa's form and he soon found himself staring down the barrel of a two set deficit. However in the 3rd set despite going a break down, Sock fought back as Rafa blinked when trying to serve for the match at 5-4 he let Sock back in to make it 5-5. And from here Sock went on to break Rafa and take the third set, which was the first set that Rafa had dropped in the whole tournament. But in the 4th set Rafa restored his control and saw off any further dangers from the young American as Sock faltered twice on serve which let Rafa serve out the match to reach the quarter finals and set up a huge clash with his old rival Novak Djokovic (which I will get to soon!) after toughing out a four set 6-3, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 win. This match certainly raised a question mark over Rafa's form the first time in the tournament where he blinked at a key moment in the match whereas in previous years Rafa doubtless would have served out the match in straight sets. But despite it still shows that Rafa's fighting spirit is strong as ever and so far he has only dropped one set in the tournament which sees him with plenty of energy left for the big fight that lies ahead (again more on that soon!).
And last of all we had Andy Murray who so far is still unbeaten on clay in 2015 as he is having his best ever season on the red dirt but in his 4th round he was up against a very dangerous player, the Frenchman, Jeremy Chardy. Andy however managed to get off to a strong start in the match as he broke Chardy to take the first set. In the 2nd set however the complexion of the match changed dramatically as Chardy went on to break Andy's serve with a blistering backhand winner and went on to level the match at a set all. In the 3rd set Chardy continued to threaten Andy as he nabbed another early break but this time he was unable to hang on to it and Andy broke back to bring parity to the match and he later seized the chance for a two sets to one lead. And in the 4th set Andy outclassed the Frenchman and he played some amazing points as Chardy's challenge faded and Andy reached the quarter finals at the French open for a 5th time after a hard fought 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory. This was another very entertaining match which saw the Partisan crowd get on Andy's case at times as they are of course the rudest crowd in the history of the sport but also they provide a great pantomine atmosphere to matches which Andy enjoyed and there is no doubt he loves to play away from home against home favourites.
So this will set up a quarter final clash for Andy with David Ferrer who has shown great form so far in the event as he thrashed Marin Cilic in straight sets 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarter finals also. And this will be a very dangerous match for Andy as he has never beaten Ferrer on clay and he also lost to Ferrer in their only previous encounter at the French three years ago in four sets. However Andy's form has improved considerably on clay this year and he is also now injury free as he was struggling badly back then with his back injury. So this will even the scales a bit more this time although I still think its hard to predict an outright winner as I think this will be a very close match but I think this time Andy will hopefully win it as he has shown great determination this year and is now on a 14 match winning streak on clay. But it will be a very tough and physically gruelling encounter as both men are playing very well and if Andy does win it, it will take him at least four sets or maybe five to do so but whichever way it goes it promises to be a real cracker.
As for Day 10 well we saw two upsets on the men's side and the first proved to be the biggest of the tournament so far as Stan Wawrinka stunned Roger Federer in their encounter on Court Suzanne Lenglen in front of a packed crowd. Stan proved today that he was indeed the man and after taking a two set lead he then went on to seal the deal in a tense tiebreaker in which Stan overpowered Roger and claimed his 3rd win over his good friend in 6-4, 6-3, 7-6. This match really did show what game and power that Stan has at his disposal and on his day he can beat absolutely anyone and he sure did show that against Roger. And this also shows that Stan remains a real dark horse and a strong contender for the title and given that clay is his second strongest surface he has a very decent shout at claiming his second major title.
And for the second men's match we had Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the last Frenchman standing at the tournament who faced the Japenese No.1, Kei Nishikori for a place in the last four. On paper Kei was the favourite here as he lead their head to head 4-1 going into this match but it was Jo that made the better start as he dominated Nishikori with a powerful display of big serving and hitting which quickly saw Tsonga take a two sets to love lead. The match however saw some drama off the court as there was an accident during play due to the strong winds, a piece of metal sheeting collapsed and fell onto some of the spectators, leaving one of them injured, which saw the match suspended to sort things out. After play resumed Tsonga seemed a bit distracted and his mind wandered which let Nishikori back into the match as he grabbed the 3rd set to keep his hopes alive in the match and he also went on to take the 4th to level the scores. However Jo was not deterred and he finally got his mojo back and broke Nishikori to take the lead and he never relinquished it again as he served out the match and earned his place in the semi finals in front of a jubilant home crowd with a remarkable 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 win.
This was quite an epic encounter between both men and it gave the French crowd a much needed victory and it ended with memorable scenes of Tsonga writing "I love you Roland Garros" in the clay and lying down flat on the dirt to a rousing reception. It also showed that Tsonga after struggling with injuries in his career over the past few months, really has come back into his own and has rekindled his great form. And you never know in this form he could very well make it all the way to the final even though he has a very tough opponent in Stan Wawrinka awaiting him. But Tsonga is no stranger to feeding off the crowd and right now he knows how to fully utilise the support of a home crowd and I just think he might be able to do it and reach his home major final. But can Jo win the title???? Well we'll save that one for another day.
And now for my preview of the big one...... yep this is the match we have been waiting for all since the draw for the French open came out just under two weeks ago and this is the much anticipated quarter final clash between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. And we all pretty much know the story between these two as they have already meet six times at Roland Garros and Rafa has won all six of them so far. But given Rafa's ropey form this year going into RG and the fact that Djokovic is currently on a 26 match winning streak this could make things a little different this time round as Novak has never looked in better form going into this match. Its also a very exciting and unique match as they have never faced each other at such an earlier stage in a major tournament, which simply boils down to Rafa's plummet in the rankings down to No.7 in the world.
But this all begs the question: who is going to win it???? Well..... this is a very tough one to predict as both men are playing very well so far in the tournament with only Rafa having dropped one set so far between them. On paper for once it has to be said that Novak is the favourite here and Rafa is the underdog as Novak's form has been incredible this year in 2015 and he has also beaten Rafa five times out of their last six meetings and he has beaten Rafa in every clay court Masters event they have played since Rome 2012. Not only that Novak has been inching ever closer to beating Rafa at Roland Garros and he came the closest he ever has to beating him during their epic semi final two years where Novak pushed Rafa to absolute limit in a five set thriller which Rafa finally edged 9-7 in the final set. And sooner or later Novak is sure to make that breakthrough against his old rival and his current form really does suggest that he can finally do it tomorrow.
However.... on the other side Rafa has won this event nine times and that is three times more than his idol, Bjorn Borg has and no one knows Court Philippe Chatrier better than he does and in this time he has only lost ONCE and holds a remarkable 70-1 winning record at the event and has not lost in six years since Robin Soderling beat him in 2009. And that is the good news for Rafa and the other good news is that tomorrow the match will take place on his 29th birthday which means it could also serve (no pun intended!) as little bit of extra motivation to do well, although ultimately I don't think it will play a big part in the outcome! And another thing which is good news for Rafa and bad news for Djokovic is that Rafa has won his last four grand slam matches against the Serb who has not defeated Rafa in a grand slam match since the final of the 2012 Australian open, which shows that Rafa since then has always been able to bring it against Novak on the biggest occassions.
Soooooooo this is a very difficult one to predict with any degree of accuracy.... but it has to be said that in spite of Novak being the heavy favourite this year, Rafa could still win it. And ultimately at the French open, this event inspires something in Rafa like no other that get's him going and no matter how poor his form might have been going into this event he can always rely on his experience at RG to see him get past any oppositon no matter how tough it might be. However Novak without a doubt will have his chances and if he doesn't make any rookie errors like he did two years when he tripped into the net which ultimately saw him surrender his key break in the 5th set then he will give himself his best ever shot at winning the match and going on to win the title. And make no mistake that whoever wins this match should go on to claim the title and just maybe it might be time for a change of the guard.
So I have to say I'm still a bit non-committal about the outcome of this match and there is also no doubt that despite Rafa's amazing record at the French, Novak definitely still has a real shot here, maybe his best ever shot and it is still a very unpredictable match to size up taking into account Rafa's unrivaled record at the tournament and Novak's current superb form. So my sum up is this: if Rafa wins I think he will do it in five sets, if Novak wins he might do it four or five sets or if he is on absolute fire than maybe even straight sets. But regardless of whichever way it goes let's hope its a classic and one to remember.
And that's it for now and I will be back sometime soon with more results on both sides of the net.
Until then bye for now!
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