Right, so as Wimbledon is just a week away I figured it was time to take a look at my pick at the contenders for the men's title and also those players who might make a good run at SW19. So without much further messing about, let's take a look....
1. Roger Federer
Right, so at the very top of the list this year at Wimbledon is Roger Federer, who has had a stellar 2017 so far having won four titles that include the Australian open , which was his record 18th major. Roger has also just won the Gerry Weber open grass court title in Halle, where he plays every year and despite one loss so far on the grass to Tommy Haas this season, Roger has looked unstoppable since. So, I think its safe to say that Rog should be able to transfer his Halle success with ease onto the grass courts at Wimbledon where he will look for his record 8th title.
The only thing might stop Roger however could be his fitness levels, because if he finds himself drawn into longer matches earlier on or leading up to the final, this could hamper his chances. This happened to Rog last year as he was pushed all the way in two back to back five setters against Marin Cilic and Milos Raonic before he lost out to Raonic having succumbed to the strain of his knee injury. So, Roger will need to ensure he takes care of the early rounds with great efficiency and serve to the best of his ability but let's face it, we expect that from Rog anyway!
So, for me given Roger's form and his ability to even defeat Rafa in the finals they've played so far this year, I still can't see anyone contend with him this year. So, for that reason alone I would have to go with Roger to win the title this year and that's why he get's the top spot on this list as this year's champion. Prediction: champion.
2. Rafael Nadal
At No.2 is Rafa (who is also currently the World No.2!) and Rafa has a fair bit at stake going into Wimbledon as he has a chance to overtake Andy Murray and grab the top spot once again, which should Rafa win the title and Andy goes out early on that will be a reality. Rafa has also shown that this year he is back to great form as he has had a near impeccable clay court season, winning his 10th French open title. Not only that though, Rafa also made it to the finals of the Australian open and in Miami where he lost out to Roger Federer. So, this shows that in Roger's absence, he has literally been the 2nd best player in the world (with Rog arguably being the world's best this year so far but its fairly close!).
The only problems for Rafa however is to do with his lack of good form on grass over the last five years or so as he has failed to reach the final of Wimbledon for six years now. Rafa also has spoken publicly about his struggles on grass courts due to the low bounce of the ball on the surface, it requires him to bend down lower to reach the ball, which puts more pressure on his knees, which has lead to his misfortunes at SW19.
So, it remains to be seen if Rafa can string together a good run at SW19 this year, however if he can somehow get himself into the 2nd week then he will be dangerous and there is a fair chance that will be able to reach the final. However, if its Rog in that final with Rafa this year, I have to give the firm advantage to Roger as the signs so far from the Swiss star have been very strong. So for me, I think Rafa might possibly reach the last four or even the final but I don't quite see him as the outright champion.
Prediction: semi finals or final.
3. Marin Cilic
In 3rd place is Marin Cilic, who so far has had a very solid 2017 and he reached the quarter finals at the French open and then went on to reach the final this week at Queens club before losing out to Feliciano Lopez in a thrilling final. However, despite that loss Marin has still been remarkably solid in the grand slams in recent times and he is also a US Open champion, so already knows a thing or two about winning them, so there is a fair chance he can do very well this year at the All England Club.
However the only problem with Cilic is that he does show the occassional signs of mental frailty and he has been known to blink in the clutch moments in matches that has cost him dearly in the past, especially in his epic five set defeat to Roger Federer last year where Cilic lead by two sets to love. So, Cilic needs to stay mentally tough in those moments if he is to have a chance of wining his first Wimbleon title.
But this year, I can still see Cilic make a deep run at SW19 and if he is given a favourable draw, I think there is also a chance that he could very deep and just possibly make the last four. I don't quite see him as the eventual champion but his form is more than good enough to see him do very well this year. Prediction: semi finals.
4. Andy Murray
At No.4 is the defending champion, Andy Murray, who had a stellar 2016 last season where the sports was just down to two guys, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic and as Novak faltered in the 2nd half of the season, Andy took over and won his 2nd Wimbledon title and went on to claim the top spot from Nole later in the year.
However, Andy's reign at No.1 has been somewhat wretched and must rank as one of the most underwhelming and unconvincing reigns in the sport, as Andy has struggled with injury, illness and a lack of confidence in his game that has already seen him lose as many matches as he did throughout all of last year! (i.e. 9). Andy however did look to regain some form after a very good French open campaign, having reached the semi finals there, he was a tiebreak away from reaching the final before he was denied by Stan "the man" Wawrinka. But this good form again was halted after he succumbed to a shock loss at the hands of the World No.90, Jordan Thomson, who beat Andy at the Aegon championships at Queens club in straight sets. This really setback Andy's progress after his promising French open campaign and has now left him having to play a couple of exhibition matches in order to get some matchplay in on the grass before Wimbledon kicks off.
So, on the basis of this, Andy will have his work cut out in trying to successfully defend his title as he is surrounded by young, hungry, upcoming players who are all confident that they have a shot at beating him. Not only that, Andy has to contend with a resurgent Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, who have been the two best players in the world this year in terms of their quality of tennis.
However....despite all this I still have placed Andy here at No.4 on the list because Wimbledon is a very special place for him and despite any losses he has suffered in the smaller tournaments, he will fight tooth and nail and give his all before he loses at the All England Club. And beating Andy in the best of five sets is simply a different matter altogether than beating him in the best of three where Andy is far more vulnerable but in the best of five, it gives him that bit more time to work things out.
So, I might be wrong but I think Andy will still do pretty well this year at Wimbledon and I can still see him make a decent run into the 2nd week. However, I have to be honest and say that I don't think he will win the title this year but I still do think that the chances of him going out early, while are always possible, I think at Wimbledon he will do all he can to avoid that fate. So, I think Andy will possibly reach the last eight or four before he might be shown the door, which if he does would be a decent showing. But who knows? Just maybe Andy might prove us all wrong yet.
Update: however as I type this (29.06.17) we've already heard the troubling news that Andy is suffering from a hip injury this week, so this could spell trouble for him next week and raises the possibility that he migh withdraw. However, Andy did indicate that even though he pulled out of his exhibition on Tuesday there with Lucas Pouille, he expected to play his 2nd match at the Hurlingham club on Friday and it was purely as a precautionary measure.
Further update: in fact it has been revealed today (29.06.17) that Andy has pulled out of his 2nd and final exhibition match at the Hurlingham club again due to his hip injury. So, this does not bode well at all for the current World No.1 and Andy will need to hope that his injury will abate in time for next Monday when he is due to kick off the defence of his Wimbledon title at the All England Club. Right now though its starting to look very unlikely that he will be able to play the tournament, which would almost certainly mean he will lose his No.1 ranking.
However for now we will just have to wait and see what's going to happen with Andy, who continues to be plagued with setbacks in what has turned out to be one of the most difficult and frustrating seasons of his career so far. But if history has tought us anything about Andy its he is one stubborn beggar and he will do all he can to ensure that he does play next week and have a stab at defending his title. So prediction wise I was going to say maybe quarter finals or the semis but for now it all hangs in the balance as we await Andy's decision to play. So for that I have to go with my prediction as below:
Prediction: ????????????????????????????
5. Feliciano Lopez
At No.5 is this guy, Feliciano Lopez, who is a rare animal: a Spanish player, who is also a strong grass court player and so far this season, Lopez has amassed a very impressive grass court record having lost just one match in two tournaments and Lopez went on to triumph at the Queens club having beaten Marin Cilic in the final. So, Lopez is very comfortable playing on grass and there is no doubt that his achievement of winning the Queens final is very impressive and is the perfect preparation for Wimbledon.
However...the problem for me with Lopez is that if you put him up against one of the elite guys such as Federer, Murray or even Rafa then he is still sure to be come up second best against them and Lopez's progress will really depend on how kind the draw is to him. Lopez can also show some signs of flakiness when it comes to the big points, although this is something he has dealt with very well throughout his week at Queens where he had to save match points against both Tomas Berdych and Marin Cilic before he went on to win.
So, for me I think that Lopez will very possibly put in a strong showing this year at Wimbledon and I think he does have a very decent chance at reaching the last eight or at a push even the last four before he might be sent packing. And after the season he has had so far, Lopez certainly deserves a fair shake at SW19.
Prediction: quarter finals or semi finals (at a real push).
6. Novak Djokovic
At No.6 is Novak Djokovic, who remains something of a question mark this year after the amazing first half he had in 2016, winning the French open and holding all four majors at once, he had achieved his life's dream. Then....he went to pieces as a player and suffered a series of puzzling losses and poor form that has since seen him lose every one of the four majors he had held up until the French last year. Novak hired, former tennis great, Andre Agassi as his new coach as the two of them work together over the French open but Novak fell spectacularly to Dominic Thiem in the quarter finals in straight sets losing his title defence with a bagel 3rd set.
This has now left Novak really at sea with his form and for us only to ponder where his form really is at, as he is about to go back into another Wimbledon. Although one positive this week is that Novak will for the first time in seven years, play a warm-up grass event at Eastbourne and this should hopefully help give him some much needed grass matchplay before Wimblers begins.
Soooo....as to how Novak will do this year...its really hard to say, however I would still imagine that I think he will do a bit better this year than he did last and I can see him reach the 2nd week this time round. However I have to say I'm still not fully convinced that Novak's form is anywhere near good enough to see him reach the final never mind actually win it!
So for me I think Novak will possibly reach the last eight where he could very be upset although you never know but for me, I just think Novak is too much of an unknown quantity right now to be confident about him doing that well this year, so even though I say last eight, the round of 32 or 16 is also just as likely.
Prediction: 3rd round, 4th round or quarter finals.
7. Milos Raonic
Next is Milos Raonic, who had a very impressive run to the final last year at Wimbledon and also Queens where has lost out to Andy Murray both times. However Milos has struggled with injuries this year and it has seen him pull out of various events and even though he returned to play at Queens last week, he was defeated in his 1st round match by the Aussie, Thanasi Kokkinakis. This has left Raonic short on match practice just like Andy Murray and in fact both of them may meet up again at the Hurlingham club this week for an exhibition event in a last chance to play some matches before Wimbledon begins.
And its Raonic's lack of matchplay on grass that remains his biggest issue here and it leaves open the possibility that Raonic could go on to be upset here early once again. However I also think that Raonic should he be fit and well enough, he could still go on to put in a decent showing as his game is perfectly suited to grass and over five sets, he too will have a better chance to work things out.
So, I think this year Raonic, while he hasn't a realistic shot at winning the title, he can still make a decent run here and I think maybe the last 16 or 8 is reasonable estimate of his chances at SW19 in 2017.
Prediction: 4th round or quarter finals.
8. Tomas Berdych
At No.8 is Tomas Berdych, who has already enjoyed a solid start to his
grass court season at Queens last week, as he reached the quarter
finals and even had a match point against the eventual champion,
Feliciano Lopez. Berdych was of course also a Wimbledon finalist back
in 2010, so he knows his way around a grass court and if he get's a good
draw then who knows how far he might get??
However the
problem for Berdych is that he has always been mentally flaky in the big
matches and he still lacks the edge when it comes to trying to beat the
elite players in the big moments. So for me I can never really see
Berdych as the Wimbledon champion but if he does get a decent draw then
he could still go pretty far and if he catches one or two of the big
four off guard then he might just give himself a shot at going far. So
I'm think maybe the last eight is a safe bet for ol Berdy this time
round but an eventual Wimbledon champ...nah.
Prediction: quarter finals.
9. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
At No.9 is Jo Tsonga, who in the past has been a top grass court player and last year alone he was the only man to take a set or more off Andy Murray before Muzza went on to win his 2nd Wimbledon title. So, Jo's pedigree on the grass courts has been well established and we all know how good he is on that surface, so there is no doubt that Jo is dangerous here.
However, Jo can also be pretty erratic and inconsistent in his game at times, which can leak alot of errors given the high risk strategy he plays with, his game is mostly all-out attack even though he has some nice touch and flair that is often seen with French players. So, if Jo comes up against the the elite guys and top returners, this is where Jo will most likely start to make alot of errors and this is where he is bound to come up short.
Regardless of this though, Jo could still also make a decent run at SW19 this year and I think its a reasonable assumption that the big guy will make the last 16 or 8 before he is done.
Prediction: 4th round or quarter finals.
10. Gilles Muller
And last of all is Gilles Muller, who is pretty far down the list but maybe he shouldn't be cos he really has shown that he is an exceptionally strong grass court player this season and he made a great run to his first grass court title in the Netherlands two weeks ago and to the semis at Queens club at the weekend just there.
Gilles progress however will depend purely on how kind his draw is and there will be plenty of dangerous floaters in the men's draw as it is. So, while Gilles is an excellent grass court player he is still not impervious to being defeated by players ranked similarly or indeed below him.
However I still think that Muller can make a decent run of things this year at SW19 and just maybe we might see him be in the last 16 or 8 before his time in Wimblers is up.
Prediction: 4th round or quarter finals
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back soon once the Wimbledon coverage get's under way.
Till then bye for now!
Thursday 29 June 2017
Sunday 25 June 2017
2017 French Open Men's and Ladies finals (sorry a bit late!)
Whoops! I forgot to actually do a review of the men's and ladies final of this year's French open, well that's pretty embarrassing! And I guess we all know the results now but for the sake of this post I will quickly go over the matches.
LADIES FINAL
Simona Halep vs Jelena Ostapenko
Well, this match was quite an intriguing one, which saw the two women go after their first grand slam title with Simona having been in this position before three years previously at Roland Garros only to lose out to Maria Sharapova in three close sets. Jelena on the other hand had never won a title going into this tournament and this was her fourth career final having lost her first three.
The match itself proved to be quite a thriller as both players engaged in a real tight battle that saw momentum swings to and fro between them. And the 1st set breaks aplenty with Ostapenko fearlessly breaking Halep to move ahead, only for Halep to break back and after this more breaks followed but in the end, Ostapenko go for broke tennis caused too many errors as she lost the 1st set. The 2nd set was more of the same from Ostapenko as she went a break down with victory in sight for Halep. However, the young firey Latvian was not to be outdone as she fought her way back into the match and broke back and then went on to level the match to a set all. In the 3rd set, momentum swung to and fro again but in the end, against all the odds, it was youth that triumphed over experienced again as Ostapenk broke Halep twice to seal her first tour title and major title at that with an incredible 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
This was a great match with a very surprising result given that Halep was tipped as the heavy favourite to win the match, however not as many people were counting on the fearless aggressive play of Ostapenko, who played the match of her career in the final. And Ostapenko deserves nothing but credit for her ability to have fought through to the final and defy the odds to go on and win her first title, which just happened to be a grand slam! And on the results seen here, you could only imagine that Jelena will go on to the grass courts with a very strong chance to do well at Wimbledon.
As for Halep there is no doubt she would be disappointed but she was also very gracious in defeat and congratulated the young Ostapenko and said to keep it up as she is "just a kid" and Halep went on to say how she felt maybe she wasn't ready to have won the title. However, I'm sure Simona will have her chances for more slams in the future.
MEN'S FINAL
Rafael Nadal vs Stan Wawrinka
So, now onto the men's final, which saw the 9 time French open champ, Rafa take on the 2015 champion, Stan Wawrinka in a battle of the wits to see who would claim the trophy. Going into this match Rafa had never lost a final at Roland Garros and Stan had never lost a grand slam final, so this promised to be a very interesting one.
However....in the end the match turned out to be nothing more than an exhibition for Rafa's skill and ability to manoevuer his way around a clay court and more specifically around his favourite court of all, Court Philippe Chatrier as he ruthlessly dominated Stan from the very beginning. And in the 1st set, Rafa showed his ruthless efficiency as he bossed Stan and pushed him from pillar to post, which the Swiss player go down a double break and lose the opener. The 2nd was more of the same stuff as Stan was forced to go for more on his shots, which lead to more unforced errors and Rafa broke to take a swift two set lead. And in the 3rd set, Rafa finally broke Stan's spirit as he succombed to another double break that saw Rafa breeze his way to a remarkable 10th French open title with an emphatic 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 victory.
Well, this match had everything in Rafa's favour from the get-go given his perfect record in French open finals and his virtually perfect performance in the tournament up to this point, it would have been impossible to have bet against him. And it remains a tremendous achievement for Rafa to have won 10 French open titles and surely that is a feat that will never ever be repeated again in history.
As for Stan, well there was no doubt that this was a deeply disappointing result having lost so easily to Rafa as he often over-pressed his shots, trying to end a rally quickly by going for a winner and making a ton of errors in the process. I would also imagine that Stan's epic semi final match with Andy Murray would have taken it out him quite a bit, so this also left him at a disadvantage although I think the result would have been the same no matter how fresh would have been. Regardless of this though it did show that Stan had put together a strong finish to his clay court season, which similar to Andy's had been pretty up and down.
Right, so that's us up to date and I will be back soon with my Wimbledon preview for my pick of the contenders for the men's title.
So, see you soon...
LADIES FINAL
Simona Halep vs Jelena Ostapenko
Well, this match was quite an intriguing one, which saw the two women go after their first grand slam title with Simona having been in this position before three years previously at Roland Garros only to lose out to Maria Sharapova in three close sets. Jelena on the other hand had never won a title going into this tournament and this was her fourth career final having lost her first three.
The match itself proved to be quite a thriller as both players engaged in a real tight battle that saw momentum swings to and fro between them. And the 1st set breaks aplenty with Ostapenko fearlessly breaking Halep to move ahead, only for Halep to break back and after this more breaks followed but in the end, Ostapenko go for broke tennis caused too many errors as she lost the 1st set. The 2nd set was more of the same from Ostapenko as she went a break down with victory in sight for Halep. However, the young firey Latvian was not to be outdone as she fought her way back into the match and broke back and then went on to level the match to a set all. In the 3rd set, momentum swung to and fro again but in the end, against all the odds, it was youth that triumphed over experienced again as Ostapenk broke Halep twice to seal her first tour title and major title at that with an incredible 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
This was a great match with a very surprising result given that Halep was tipped as the heavy favourite to win the match, however not as many people were counting on the fearless aggressive play of Ostapenko, who played the match of her career in the final. And Ostapenko deserves nothing but credit for her ability to have fought through to the final and defy the odds to go on and win her first title, which just happened to be a grand slam! And on the results seen here, you could only imagine that Jelena will go on to the grass courts with a very strong chance to do well at Wimbledon.
As for Halep there is no doubt she would be disappointed but she was also very gracious in defeat and congratulated the young Ostapenko and said to keep it up as she is "just a kid" and Halep went on to say how she felt maybe she wasn't ready to have won the title. However, I'm sure Simona will have her chances for more slams in the future.
MEN'S FINAL
Rafael Nadal vs Stan Wawrinka
So, now onto the men's final, which saw the 9 time French open champ, Rafa take on the 2015 champion, Stan Wawrinka in a battle of the wits to see who would claim the trophy. Going into this match Rafa had never lost a final at Roland Garros and Stan had never lost a grand slam final, so this promised to be a very interesting one.
However....in the end the match turned out to be nothing more than an exhibition for Rafa's skill and ability to manoevuer his way around a clay court and more specifically around his favourite court of all, Court Philippe Chatrier as he ruthlessly dominated Stan from the very beginning. And in the 1st set, Rafa showed his ruthless efficiency as he bossed Stan and pushed him from pillar to post, which the Swiss player go down a double break and lose the opener. The 2nd was more of the same stuff as Stan was forced to go for more on his shots, which lead to more unforced errors and Rafa broke to take a swift two set lead. And in the 3rd set, Rafa finally broke Stan's spirit as he succombed to another double break that saw Rafa breeze his way to a remarkable 10th French open title with an emphatic 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 victory.
Well, this match had everything in Rafa's favour from the get-go given his perfect record in French open finals and his virtually perfect performance in the tournament up to this point, it would have been impossible to have bet against him. And it remains a tremendous achievement for Rafa to have won 10 French open titles and surely that is a feat that will never ever be repeated again in history.
As for Stan, well there was no doubt that this was a deeply disappointing result having lost so easily to Rafa as he often over-pressed his shots, trying to end a rally quickly by going for a winner and making a ton of errors in the process. I would also imagine that Stan's epic semi final match with Andy Murray would have taken it out him quite a bit, so this also left him at a disadvantage although I think the result would have been the same no matter how fresh would have been. Regardless of this though it did show that Stan had put together a strong finish to his clay court season, which similar to Andy's had been pretty up and down.
Right, so that's us up to date and I will be back soon with my Wimbledon preview for my pick of the contenders for the men's title.
So, see you soon...
Sunday 11 June 2017
2017 French Open - Men's event Part 3
OK, so now its time to look at the men's semi finals at the 2017 French open and also my look ahead to the men's final, which takes place today. So, let's see who made it through to the final....
MEN'S SEMI FINAL MATCHES
Andy Murray vs Stan Wawrinka
So, for the first match we had the World No.1, Andy Murray take on the 2015 champion, Stan Wawrinka for a place in the final. Last year surprised everyone and got the better of the Swiss player as he beat Stan in four sets to reach his maiden final in Paris. However this year, Andy came into the tournament low on confidence even though he improved his form considerably over the course of this year's event. Stan on the other hand had come into this match having already won a title in Geneva just before the French began and had not dropped a set going into the sems, so he looked to be in a better position.
However as for the match itself it promised much and did not disappoint as it was a thrilling contest between the two men as they played the match of the tournament so far. The 1st set was a bit of a topsy turvey affair as Andy went a break down only to break back and push play to a tiebreak, which he went on to win to force Stan to drop his 1st set of the tournament. In the 2nd set however, Stan started his fightback as he broke Andy twice to level the match and ensure there would be a 4th set minimum. And in the 3rd set, Stan looked to boss and dominate Andy with his powerful groundstrokes however Andy was not yet done as he came from a break down to break Stan and take the two sets to one lead. As for the 4th set both men playing a thriller, which went on serve until a tiebreak where Stan dominated Andy in the points and he levelled the match at two sets apiece.
And in the final set, it was Stan that made his move as he really took the match by the scruff of the neck and outplayed Andy and used his power game to hit winners left, right and centre, which saw the Swiss nab a triple break to go 5-0 up. However Andy did briefly break back but it was short lived as Stan continued to pressure Andy's serve and he broke again to seal his place in his 2nd French open final with a stunning 6-7, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6, 6-1 win.
Well there was little doubt that this was the best match of the tournament so far and it featured so many amazing points from both players that it left the French crowd amazed and standing on their feet wanting more. Andy also yet again looked to be getting the better of the Swiss player once more but in the end he appeared to run out of steam in the 5th set as Stan really started to hit through his wilting defense. So in the end Stan succeded in getting his revenge over the World No.1 and sealing his place in his 4th grand slam final.
As for Andy, well despite this loss it was a great tournament for him and it was doubly so given his lack of form coming into the French open, where he had failed to even reach the quarter finals of a big event prior to this. And I'm sure it will be a tournament that Andy may look back on fondly and just maybe this will be the turning point for his season and let's hope he can continue his good form once the grass court season begins.
Rafael Nadal vs Dominic Thiem
So, next up was this match between the 9 time champion, Rafa Nadal and last year's semi finalist and Novak Djokovic conquerer in the quarter finals, Dominic Thiem. Thiem was the only player to have defeated Rafa this year on the red dirt so far, so going into this one there was much intrigue as to how it would turn out.
However the match itself fell way short of expectations as Thiem really showed his inexperience at this level although he did show some promise, this was Rafa's turn to shine. And in the 1st set it was Rafa that went about his usual business at the French and he bossed Thiem by breaking twice although Thiem did break back once before Rafa closed out the set. In the 2nd set, Thiem yet again went down an early break but he did keep it close by a single break before Rafa took the two set lead. However in the 3rd set, Thiem finally fell away from the match altogether as he made a string of unforced errors, going for too much on his shots, overpressing he was putting the ball continually long. So, this handed Rafa the 5-0 lead and from here, the Spaniard would not make any mistakes and he secured his place in his 10th Roland Garros final with a dominant 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 win.
Well, this match was a bit of a letdown in the end even though it did promise something given that Thiem had shown such great form going into this match having not dropped a set and having taken out Djokovic in an impressive manner. But here, Rafa didn't so much win the match as it was more Thiem lost it as he just kept overpressing and making too many errors in an effort to finish the points quickly, so that he wouldn't be drawn into longer rallies against the nine time champion. So, its unfortunate end to the tournament for Thiem although he did have an impressive run during the clay court season this year, he came up well short in this match.
As for Rafa, well he showed in this match and throughout the tournament so far that he is truly back to his best, particularly on clay as he has been dominant through the entire season on the red dirt. And going by this event so far, it would hard to go against Rafa winning his record 10th title in Paris, which surely will be a record that no other player will ever beat.
MEN'S FINAL PREVIEW
Rafa "the king of clay" vs Stan "the man"
So, let's look on to the men's final, which is set between Rafa and Stan and this promises to be a good one as both players have an interesting grand slam finals record. So far, Stan has never lost a grand slam final as he is a perfect 3-0 so far, so there is a chance he could continue this result today. However, Rafa on the other hand is a perfect 9-0 in French open finals and he is yet to lose on his favourite court to anyone in any final there. So, it will be really intriuging to see who will come out on top of this match.
So, it all begs the question.....who will win????
Well, looking at both men's forms going into this match they have both been very impressive, however its Rafa that has been the more impressive of the two having dropped no sets and a mere 29 games going into this match, whereas Stan has dropped considerably more and two sets. Rafa will have the advantage of being the fresher of the two as he has not played a match that has gone beyond the two hour 10 minute mark whereas Stan has just finished a gruelling four and a half match against Andy Murray. So, these stats alone give Rafa a big advantage over the Swiss player.
On the other hand however, Rafa has yet to be tested in the tournament, even though he played Thiem, the young Austrian is still inexperienced at the deeper end stages of the slams. So, Rafa has had it pretty easy so far but this may not be the case against Stan, who has much more experience and three majors to his name already, so he knows a thing or two about winning.
As for who will win.....well, its hard to bet against Rafa, simply because of his incredible record at Roland Garros, having lost only two matches in his entire career there so far, its a daunting stat for Stan to deal with. Stan will also no doubt be a bit tired going into this one as he had to battle past Andy in a four and a half hour epic five setter in the semis, which as I said already hands a big advantage to Rafa. So, Stan will really need to be no less than a 100 percent to have any chance of defeating Rafa for the first time in a final at the French open.
So, for my prediction I think Rafa will win this one in possibly straight sets or maybe even four sets because I can see Stan give him more of a contest than any other player so far, but he will really need to get his power game working to have any chance of beating Rafa. And Rafa will be fit and fresh and really up for this one as he has not won a major for three years, this is as good a chance as he is ever going to get to add to his tally and push it to 15 majors, overtaking Peter Sampras's 14 and put him within just three of matching Roger Federer's record.
However I'm hoping it will be a good match and let's just hope that Stan will have enough left in the tank to compete with the mighty Spaniard but in the end I think it will be Rafa hoisting the Coupe des Mousquetaires by the end of today for a 10th time.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back soon with the results of the men's and ladies finals (in two separate posts of course).
Till then its bye for now!
MEN'S SEMI FINAL MATCHES
Andy Murray vs Stan Wawrinka
So, for the first match we had the World No.1, Andy Murray take on the 2015 champion, Stan Wawrinka for a place in the final. Last year surprised everyone and got the better of the Swiss player as he beat Stan in four sets to reach his maiden final in Paris. However this year, Andy came into the tournament low on confidence even though he improved his form considerably over the course of this year's event. Stan on the other hand had come into this match having already won a title in Geneva just before the French began and had not dropped a set going into the sems, so he looked to be in a better position.
However as for the match itself it promised much and did not disappoint as it was a thrilling contest between the two men as they played the match of the tournament so far. The 1st set was a bit of a topsy turvey affair as Andy went a break down only to break back and push play to a tiebreak, which he went on to win to force Stan to drop his 1st set of the tournament. In the 2nd set however, Stan started his fightback as he broke Andy twice to level the match and ensure there would be a 4th set minimum. And in the 3rd set, Stan looked to boss and dominate Andy with his powerful groundstrokes however Andy was not yet done as he came from a break down to break Stan and take the two sets to one lead. As for the 4th set both men playing a thriller, which went on serve until a tiebreak where Stan dominated Andy in the points and he levelled the match at two sets apiece.
And in the final set, it was Stan that made his move as he really took the match by the scruff of the neck and outplayed Andy and used his power game to hit winners left, right and centre, which saw the Swiss nab a triple break to go 5-0 up. However Andy did briefly break back but it was short lived as Stan continued to pressure Andy's serve and he broke again to seal his place in his 2nd French open final with a stunning 6-7, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6, 6-1 win.
Well there was little doubt that this was the best match of the tournament so far and it featured so many amazing points from both players that it left the French crowd amazed and standing on their feet wanting more. Andy also yet again looked to be getting the better of the Swiss player once more but in the end he appeared to run out of steam in the 5th set as Stan really started to hit through his wilting defense. So in the end Stan succeded in getting his revenge over the World No.1 and sealing his place in his 4th grand slam final.
As for Andy, well despite this loss it was a great tournament for him and it was doubly so given his lack of form coming into the French open, where he had failed to even reach the quarter finals of a big event prior to this. And I'm sure it will be a tournament that Andy may look back on fondly and just maybe this will be the turning point for his season and let's hope he can continue his good form once the grass court season begins.
Rafael Nadal vs Dominic Thiem
So, next up was this match between the 9 time champion, Rafa Nadal and last year's semi finalist and Novak Djokovic conquerer in the quarter finals, Dominic Thiem. Thiem was the only player to have defeated Rafa this year on the red dirt so far, so going into this one there was much intrigue as to how it would turn out.
However the match itself fell way short of expectations as Thiem really showed his inexperience at this level although he did show some promise, this was Rafa's turn to shine. And in the 1st set it was Rafa that went about his usual business at the French and he bossed Thiem by breaking twice although Thiem did break back once before Rafa closed out the set. In the 2nd set, Thiem yet again went down an early break but he did keep it close by a single break before Rafa took the two set lead. However in the 3rd set, Thiem finally fell away from the match altogether as he made a string of unforced errors, going for too much on his shots, overpressing he was putting the ball continually long. So, this handed Rafa the 5-0 lead and from here, the Spaniard would not make any mistakes and he secured his place in his 10th Roland Garros final with a dominant 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 win.
Well, this match was a bit of a letdown in the end even though it did promise something given that Thiem had shown such great form going into this match having not dropped a set and having taken out Djokovic in an impressive manner. But here, Rafa didn't so much win the match as it was more Thiem lost it as he just kept overpressing and making too many errors in an effort to finish the points quickly, so that he wouldn't be drawn into longer rallies against the nine time champion. So, its unfortunate end to the tournament for Thiem although he did have an impressive run during the clay court season this year, he came up well short in this match.
As for Rafa, well he showed in this match and throughout the tournament so far that he is truly back to his best, particularly on clay as he has been dominant through the entire season on the red dirt. And going by this event so far, it would hard to go against Rafa winning his record 10th title in Paris, which surely will be a record that no other player will ever beat.
MEN'S FINAL PREVIEW
Rafa "the king of clay" vs Stan "the man"
So, let's look on to the men's final, which is set between Rafa and Stan and this promises to be a good one as both players have an interesting grand slam finals record. So far, Stan has never lost a grand slam final as he is a perfect 3-0 so far, so there is a chance he could continue this result today. However, Rafa on the other hand is a perfect 9-0 in French open finals and he is yet to lose on his favourite court to anyone in any final there. So, it will be really intriuging to see who will come out on top of this match.
So, it all begs the question.....who will win????
Well, looking at both men's forms going into this match they have both been very impressive, however its Rafa that has been the more impressive of the two having dropped no sets and a mere 29 games going into this match, whereas Stan has dropped considerably more and two sets. Rafa will have the advantage of being the fresher of the two as he has not played a match that has gone beyond the two hour 10 minute mark whereas Stan has just finished a gruelling four and a half match against Andy Murray. So, these stats alone give Rafa a big advantage over the Swiss player.
On the other hand however, Rafa has yet to be tested in the tournament, even though he played Thiem, the young Austrian is still inexperienced at the deeper end stages of the slams. So, Rafa has had it pretty easy so far but this may not be the case against Stan, who has much more experience and three majors to his name already, so he knows a thing or two about winning.
As for who will win.....well, its hard to bet against Rafa, simply because of his incredible record at Roland Garros, having lost only two matches in his entire career there so far, its a daunting stat for Stan to deal with. Stan will also no doubt be a bit tired going into this one as he had to battle past Andy in a four and a half hour epic five setter in the semis, which as I said already hands a big advantage to Rafa. So, Stan will really need to be no less than a 100 percent to have any chance of defeating Rafa for the first time in a final at the French open.
So, for my prediction I think Rafa will win this one in possibly straight sets or maybe even four sets because I can see Stan give him more of a contest than any other player so far, but he will really need to get his power game working to have any chance of beating Rafa. And Rafa will be fit and fresh and really up for this one as he has not won a major for three years, this is as good a chance as he is ever going to get to add to his tally and push it to 15 majors, overtaking Peter Sampras's 14 and put him within just three of matching Roger Federer's record.
However I'm hoping it will be a good match and let's just hope that Stan will have enough left in the tank to compete with the mighty Spaniard but in the end I think it will be Rafa hoisting the Coupe des Mousquetaires by the end of today for a 10th time.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back soon with the results of the men's and ladies finals (in two separate posts of course).
Till then its bye for now!
Saturday 10 June 2017
2017 French Open - Ladies event Part 3
OK, now we are getting to the real deep end of the French open as it is nearly at an end and the clay court season with it for that matter. So in this post I will look at the ladies side of the net and the semi final matches and my look ahead at today's final and see who might emerge the champion of Roland Garros.
So without any further ados let's take a look at the semi finals....
LADIES SEMI FINALS
Timea Bacsinzsky vs Jelena Ostapenko
Right, so this was a very interesting match on paper between these two players, Timea and Jelena (save my typing their surnames!) as it was their first meeting and not only that the match took place on their birthdays! The contrast of styles also looked to make this a fascinating encounter as Timea is a player with power and guile to her game whereas Jelena's game is based on all-out attack.
So as for the match itself it was an excellent high quality encounter, which saw both ladies go at it on Court Philippe Chatrier and the match featured a nice mix of Timea's craft and guile using her slice to keep Jelena off balance whereas Jelena used her outright firepower to hit winners left right and centre. And the 1st match had little in it between both players, despite trading breaks of serve it went to a tiebreak, which Jelena won. In the 2nd set however, Timea fought back and broke the feisty young Latvian and went on to level the match. In the 3rd set however, Jelena resumed her lead with her incredible attacking brute force style of play and she secured her win with a break of serve to reach her first grand slam final at the tender age of 20 with an impressive 3 set win with a 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 scoreline.
Well, this really was a high quality match and it helped make up for the shortfall of killer matches in the ladies tournament so far and the contrast of styles in both players helped make it a great fight. However in the end it was Jelena's ability to hit outright winners that got her over her line and it was quite amusing to learn that during her on court interview afterward that Jelena hits her forehand harder than Andy Murray's!
And given Ostapenko's firepower and believe in herself its far from a stretch of the imagination to consider that she will go on to win the tournament as she certainly has a shot, which is remarkable given that she is an unseeded player going into this event.
Simona Halep vs Karolina Pliskova
As for the 2nd semi final, well this was between Simona Halep the 3rd seed and Karolina Pliskova the 2nd seed. Both of these women were already grand slam finalists going into this match as Halep had reached her first final at the French open three years ago where she lost out to Maria Sharapova, whereas Pliskova lost to Angelique Kerber in the US Open final. And this match also saw a contrast of sorts with Halep being only a mere 5ft 6 to Pliskova's 6ft 1 in height so it was a case of a female version of David and Goliath out there!
Getting onto the match itself it was another high quality match with some impressive defence from Halep throughout and some powerful hitting and big serving from Pliskova. However it was Halep that was able to make the first breakthrough as she broke Pliskova to take the opening set. In the 2nd set, Pliskova fought back as she broke Haelp to level the match at a set apiece. But in the 3rd set it was Halep's defensive skills that shone through and she ended up breaking Pliskova to reach her 2nd grand slam final at the French open with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory.
Well it was great to see that there were two high level matches played in the semi finals for the ladies game and the contrast of styles in players also made it refreshing. And here it was great to see Halep win through and reach her 2nd major final at the French open and this time she will have a chance to claim her first grand slam title. As for Pliskova she also did very well to reach the semi finals as she has often said that clay isn't her best surface but to reach the last four is pretty good result for someone, who hasn't a taste for playing on the red dirt.
LADIES FINAL PREVIEW AND PREDICTION
So, now we get down to the ladies final, which is set between Simona Halep and the surprise finalist, Jelena Ostapenko and this really promises to be a cracking final given again the players differences in style with Simon's defensive skills and agility and Jelena's ability to crack winners all around the court.
And this all begs the question....who is going to win??? Well this is a tough one to call because again this is the first time that both players will meet in their careers, so its hard to determine with any certainty, who will come through this. On one hand we have Simona, who at the age of 25 has had at least five years more experience on the tour than Ostapenko has, who has just turned 20 and her defensive skills and athletic ability make her a very dangerous opponent for anyone. Not only that Halep has already secured the World No.2 spot after beating Pliskova, so that would putting her closer to becoming the World No.1 if she wins.
On the other hand however, Ostapenko has been the surprise of the tournament overall on both sides of the net, being ranked at No.47 in the world, she has powered her way to her first major final, which is no mean feat in itself. And so far, Ostapenko has proven many wrong when comes to her inexperience and instead she has shown great belief in herself and in her game with her ability crunch winners off both wings.
As for how the final will go???? Well....this will all come down to both belief and whoever plays better on the day, so its pretty simple from that point of view. However it may also come down to whoever plays the more consistent with Halep she needs to be ontop of her defensive game and force Ostapeno to make errors and go for too much on the forehand or backhand. But if Ostapenko can pull off her high risk, all out attack game then she is sure to be the favourite and Halep will probably not be able to contend with her raw firepower.
So, for who will actually win......hmmmm this is a tough one to call but believe it or not I think I might go with Ostapenko on this one, although I'd rather see Halep win but I've been burned twice on experience triumphing over youth and been wrong both times. So, I think this time I will not make the same mistake and go for Ostapenko, because if she can maintain her belief that she has shown throughout the whole tournament and play her offensive game that she is sure to be the winner.
However as I said I would rather Halep won because it would be great if she could get a chance to win her first major after losing out in her first French open final, but I'm not sure if I can count out Ostapenko as she has already proven me wrong twice. So for that reason alone I have decided to go with Ostapenko winning in three sets to claim her first major title.
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back soon with my look at the men's semi finals and my look ahead to the men's final.
So, see you soon....
So without any further ados let's take a look at the semi finals....
LADIES SEMI FINALS
Timea Bacsinzsky vs Jelena Ostapenko
Right, so this was a very interesting match on paper between these two players, Timea and Jelena (save my typing their surnames!) as it was their first meeting and not only that the match took place on their birthdays! The contrast of styles also looked to make this a fascinating encounter as Timea is a player with power and guile to her game whereas Jelena's game is based on all-out attack.
So as for the match itself it was an excellent high quality encounter, which saw both ladies go at it on Court Philippe Chatrier and the match featured a nice mix of Timea's craft and guile using her slice to keep Jelena off balance whereas Jelena used her outright firepower to hit winners left right and centre. And the 1st match had little in it between both players, despite trading breaks of serve it went to a tiebreak, which Jelena won. In the 2nd set however, Timea fought back and broke the feisty young Latvian and went on to level the match. In the 3rd set however, Jelena resumed her lead with her incredible attacking brute force style of play and she secured her win with a break of serve to reach her first grand slam final at the tender age of 20 with an impressive 3 set win with a 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 scoreline.
Well, this really was a high quality match and it helped make up for the shortfall of killer matches in the ladies tournament so far and the contrast of styles in both players helped make it a great fight. However in the end it was Jelena's ability to hit outright winners that got her over her line and it was quite amusing to learn that during her on court interview afterward that Jelena hits her forehand harder than Andy Murray's!
And given Ostapenko's firepower and believe in herself its far from a stretch of the imagination to consider that she will go on to win the tournament as she certainly has a shot, which is remarkable given that she is an unseeded player going into this event.
Simona Halep vs Karolina Pliskova
As for the 2nd semi final, well this was between Simona Halep the 3rd seed and Karolina Pliskova the 2nd seed. Both of these women were already grand slam finalists going into this match as Halep had reached her first final at the French open three years ago where she lost out to Maria Sharapova, whereas Pliskova lost to Angelique Kerber in the US Open final. And this match also saw a contrast of sorts with Halep being only a mere 5ft 6 to Pliskova's 6ft 1 in height so it was a case of a female version of David and Goliath out there!
Getting onto the match itself it was another high quality match with some impressive defence from Halep throughout and some powerful hitting and big serving from Pliskova. However it was Halep that was able to make the first breakthrough as she broke Pliskova to take the opening set. In the 2nd set, Pliskova fought back as she broke Haelp to level the match at a set apiece. But in the 3rd set it was Halep's defensive skills that shone through and she ended up breaking Pliskova to reach her 2nd grand slam final at the French open with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory.
Well it was great to see that there were two high level matches played in the semi finals for the ladies game and the contrast of styles in players also made it refreshing. And here it was great to see Halep win through and reach her 2nd major final at the French open and this time she will have a chance to claim her first grand slam title. As for Pliskova she also did very well to reach the semi finals as she has often said that clay isn't her best surface but to reach the last four is pretty good result for someone, who hasn't a taste for playing on the red dirt.
LADIES FINAL PREVIEW AND PREDICTION
So, now we get down to the ladies final, which is set between Simona Halep and the surprise finalist, Jelena Ostapenko and this really promises to be a cracking final given again the players differences in style with Simon's defensive skills and agility and Jelena's ability to crack winners all around the court.
And this all begs the question....who is going to win??? Well this is a tough one to call because again this is the first time that both players will meet in their careers, so its hard to determine with any certainty, who will come through this. On one hand we have Simona, who at the age of 25 has had at least five years more experience on the tour than Ostapenko has, who has just turned 20 and her defensive skills and athletic ability make her a very dangerous opponent for anyone. Not only that Halep has already secured the World No.2 spot after beating Pliskova, so that would putting her closer to becoming the World No.1 if she wins.
On the other hand however, Ostapenko has been the surprise of the tournament overall on both sides of the net, being ranked at No.47 in the world, she has powered her way to her first major final, which is no mean feat in itself. And so far, Ostapenko has proven many wrong when comes to her inexperience and instead she has shown great belief in herself and in her game with her ability crunch winners off both wings.
As for how the final will go???? Well....this will all come down to both belief and whoever plays better on the day, so its pretty simple from that point of view. However it may also come down to whoever plays the more consistent with Halep she needs to be ontop of her defensive game and force Ostapeno to make errors and go for too much on the forehand or backhand. But if Ostapenko can pull off her high risk, all out attack game then she is sure to be the favourite and Halep will probably not be able to contend with her raw firepower.
So, for who will actually win......hmmmm this is a tough one to call but believe it or not I think I might go with Ostapenko on this one, although I'd rather see Halep win but I've been burned twice on experience triumphing over youth and been wrong both times. So, I think this time I will not make the same mistake and go for Ostapenko, because if she can maintain her belief that she has shown throughout the whole tournament and play her offensive game that she is sure to be the winner.
However as I said I would rather Halep won because it would be great if she could get a chance to win her first major after losing out in her first French open final, but I'm not sure if I can count out Ostapenko as she has already proven me wrong twice. So for that reason alone I have decided to go with Ostapenko winning in three sets to claim her first major title.
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back soon with my look at the men's semi finals and my look ahead to the men's final.
So, see you soon....
Wednesday 7 June 2017
2017 French Open - Men's event Part 2
Right now we get onto the men's quarter final matches from this year's French open and let's see who managed to get through.....
QUARTER FINALS
Rafael Nadal vs Pablo Carreno Busta
First up was this match (or mis-match more like it!) between two Spaniards, the 9 time champion, Rafa Nadal and the first time quarter finalist, Pablo Carreno Busta. Rafa going into this match dropped just a mere 20 games and no sets, whereas Pablo dropped significantly more as he battled past Milos Raonic in five sets to get to this point alone.
So the match on paper was not much of a contest and in practice it was even less so as Rafa sped to a double break over Pablo in the 1st set after just 30 minutes. And in the 2nd set, Rafa broke Pablo straight off to go 2-0 and from there, Pablo was feeling the effects of an abdominal strain he picked up earlier in the tournament and was forced to retire, handing Rafa another easy victory as he reached the semis with a 6-2, 2-0 ret scoreline.
This match was obviously disappointing for the fans and the players, particularly Pablo since he was forced to retire but again it saw Rafa come through untarnished to the last four. The only problem however from here for me is that Rafa is yet to be tested in the tournament as he has frankly been handed a string of relatively easy players to dispatch. But tougher tests lie ahead for Rafa just around the corner surley as he is about to play the semis.
Novak Djokovic vs Dominic Thiem
This match however was much more highly anticipated even though Djokovic owns Thiem in their head to head going into this one he lead 5-0 with Thiem only winning a single set in all of them. However this match promised to be a more different animal and it proved to be just the case although the 1st set was a pretty close encounter, which saw both men tread breaks of serve until play went to a tiebreak, where it was Thiem that took the initiative and nabbed the breaker and the set. In the 2nd set however, Thiem started to swing more freely and he broke Novak to take a two sets to love lead, endangering the defending champion's title. And in the 3rd, the unthinkable happened as Novak just collapsed on serve and he was dumped out of the tournament by an impressive Thiem, who handed him a bagel set, which saw Thiem get his first win over Novak six attempts with a 7-6, 6-3, 6-0 result.
Well, this match certainly was a real surprise and I didn't expect to see Novak go out at this stage of the tournament, given that he had appeared to be making solid progress with his new coach, Andre Agassi throughout the event so far. However it did show an alarming capitulation from Novak on his serve, which I'm sure for him will be a big concern in how he gave up the match so tamely with much of a fight.
However as for Thiem, this was a thoroughly deserved victory as he had shown himself to be the 2nd best player and most consistent player throughout the clay court season behind Rafa, so it was not surprising that he would score a victory over Novak on clay at some point. So, this will now see Thiem take on Rafa in the semi finals but I will say more on that in a bit.
Stan Wawrinka vs Marin Cilic
This next match was between two US Open champions, the reigning champ, Stan Wawrinka and the 2014 champ, Marin Cilic although this match saw Stan with the big advantage in their head to head as leaded 11-2 going into this one, winning the last 5 in a row.
And it has to be said that the head to head very much reflected the match as Stan was pretty ruthless in his efficiency in this one as he raced broke Cilic in the first two sets to take the lead and in the 3rd set he brushed aside his opponent with a triple break and he secured the win in 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. This now sees Stan into the final four without even dropping a single set.
Well this match was definitely one-sided and rather troublingly so for Cilic as he didn't any chance at all here and this will certainly send out a strong message to the other players that are left in the tournament that Stan is looking for his 2nd title in Paris and he yet might just get it.
Andy Murray vs Kei Nishikori
And last but not least was this match between the World No.1, Andy Murray and the 8th seed, Kei Nishikori as the two of them faced off for the first in Paris. Andy however had lost their last previous slam meeting at the US Open last year where Andy lost in five sets to an in form Kei, who was two sets to one down at one point.
As for the match itself it started with a similarly dangerous looking complexion as Kei raced out the blocks in the 1st set and mercilessly broke Andy twice, playing great attacking tennis to take the opening set. The 2nd however saw Andy fight back as after a time violation warning from the umpire (Carlos Ramos) it fired him up and enabled him to break Kei and he sped to level the match with a double break. The 3rd set however was a more tense and even affair that saw Andy go up a break twice only to hand them back to Nishikori, who pushed play to a tiebreak, which Andy went on to win 7-0 to gain the lead. And in the 4th set, despite being broken straight away by Kei, Andy broke back and went on to ruthlessly dispatch Kei with a further double break to serve out the match and reach the semi finals with a lop-sided 2-6, 6-1,7-6, 6-1 win.
Well, there's little doubt that this was probably Andy's worst match of the tournament so far in terms of quality as he found himself down a big hole in the 1st set and went on to break twice, only to be broken back twice in the 3rd set and being broken again in the 4th set before he finally sped to victory. It certainly was one of Andy's least consistent performance alongside his match with Klizan this was certainly not him at his best.
However what was more important was that he was able to win this one and put himself in a position where he is getting close to winning another major, although it has to be said Andy will have his work cut out with his next opponent before he can even think of reaching the final. And depsite the season Andy has had so far, his comeback at the French open has been very impressive as I'm sure no one would have thought he would get this far.
SEMI FINAL PREDICTIONS
Now that's over let's take a look at how I think the men's semi finals might go....
Rafael Nadal vs Dominic Thiem
This match is actually a very intriguing one and it remains something of an unknown quantity in a way, particularly as Rafa has not really been tested yet in the tournament and so late in the event that's something he might have needed by now. However this match promises to change all that as Thiem should be a far more challenging proposition for Rafa to deal with than what he's played against so far.
As for my prediction however, I still would have to go with Rafa for this one simply because of how he has played throughout the whole clay court season, having won three titles and lost only one match (albeit to the man he is about to play!). Rafa's record at Roland Garros speaks for itself and I think Thiem in the end will find it tough to get past that at this stage in his career.
So for me I think prediction wise that Rafa will come through this but it won't that easy for him and I think Thiem will nab a set before Rafa moves on to the final, so I'll go with Rafa in four sets.
Andy Murray vs Stan Wawrinka
As for this one, well its a rematch of a match that took me really by surprise last year when Andy Murray took on the defending champion, Stan Wawrinka and beat him in four sets to reach his first French open final. However that was last year and things can change quite a bit over the space of a year, although in terms of ranking very little has changed except Andy is now ranked a spot higher at the top and Stan is still ranked at No.3 (although he will rise to No.2 next week after Novak's defeat).
However what might change this year between these two is the level of tennis in this tournament so far as if we look at both men's matches, Stan has been by far the more impressive as he has got to this point without dropping a single set, whereas Andy has dropped three and at times looked great but at others looked a bit flat. This could well be bad news for Andy because if he takes on an in form Stan and Andy is off his game just a little, then there will be only one winner.
So even though Andy's win was a surprise last year, this year I don't quite see a repeat performance, even though it could still happen and Andy could dig out the win as you can never underestimate him. But this time round I think Stan will take the win and make it to the final as he has been far more consistent at this year's tournament, which could potentially see him claim a 2nd French open title should he get there.
So, for my final prediction I will go with Stan winning in four sets.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and I will return with the results of the men's and ladies semi finals matches once they are over and done with.
Until then its au revoir for now!
QUARTER FINALS
Rafael Nadal vs Pablo Carreno Busta
First up was this match (or mis-match more like it!) between two Spaniards, the 9 time champion, Rafa Nadal and the first time quarter finalist, Pablo Carreno Busta. Rafa going into this match dropped just a mere 20 games and no sets, whereas Pablo dropped significantly more as he battled past Milos Raonic in five sets to get to this point alone.
So the match on paper was not much of a contest and in practice it was even less so as Rafa sped to a double break over Pablo in the 1st set after just 30 minutes. And in the 2nd set, Rafa broke Pablo straight off to go 2-0 and from there, Pablo was feeling the effects of an abdominal strain he picked up earlier in the tournament and was forced to retire, handing Rafa another easy victory as he reached the semis with a 6-2, 2-0 ret scoreline.
This match was obviously disappointing for the fans and the players, particularly Pablo since he was forced to retire but again it saw Rafa come through untarnished to the last four. The only problem however from here for me is that Rafa is yet to be tested in the tournament as he has frankly been handed a string of relatively easy players to dispatch. But tougher tests lie ahead for Rafa just around the corner surley as he is about to play the semis.
Novak Djokovic vs Dominic Thiem
This match however was much more highly anticipated even though Djokovic owns Thiem in their head to head going into this one he lead 5-0 with Thiem only winning a single set in all of them. However this match promised to be a more different animal and it proved to be just the case although the 1st set was a pretty close encounter, which saw both men tread breaks of serve until play went to a tiebreak, where it was Thiem that took the initiative and nabbed the breaker and the set. In the 2nd set however, Thiem started to swing more freely and he broke Novak to take a two sets to love lead, endangering the defending champion's title. And in the 3rd, the unthinkable happened as Novak just collapsed on serve and he was dumped out of the tournament by an impressive Thiem, who handed him a bagel set, which saw Thiem get his first win over Novak six attempts with a 7-6, 6-3, 6-0 result.
Well, this match certainly was a real surprise and I didn't expect to see Novak go out at this stage of the tournament, given that he had appeared to be making solid progress with his new coach, Andre Agassi throughout the event so far. However it did show an alarming capitulation from Novak on his serve, which I'm sure for him will be a big concern in how he gave up the match so tamely with much of a fight.
However as for Thiem, this was a thoroughly deserved victory as he had shown himself to be the 2nd best player and most consistent player throughout the clay court season behind Rafa, so it was not surprising that he would score a victory over Novak on clay at some point. So, this will now see Thiem take on Rafa in the semi finals but I will say more on that in a bit.
Stan Wawrinka vs Marin Cilic
This next match was between two US Open champions, the reigning champ, Stan Wawrinka and the 2014 champ, Marin Cilic although this match saw Stan with the big advantage in their head to head as leaded 11-2 going into this one, winning the last 5 in a row.
And it has to be said that the head to head very much reflected the match as Stan was pretty ruthless in his efficiency in this one as he raced broke Cilic in the first two sets to take the lead and in the 3rd set he brushed aside his opponent with a triple break and he secured the win in 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. This now sees Stan into the final four without even dropping a single set.
Well this match was definitely one-sided and rather troublingly so for Cilic as he didn't any chance at all here and this will certainly send out a strong message to the other players that are left in the tournament that Stan is looking for his 2nd title in Paris and he yet might just get it.
Andy Murray vs Kei Nishikori
And last but not least was this match between the World No.1, Andy Murray and the 8th seed, Kei Nishikori as the two of them faced off for the first in Paris. Andy however had lost their last previous slam meeting at the US Open last year where Andy lost in five sets to an in form Kei, who was two sets to one down at one point.
As for the match itself it started with a similarly dangerous looking complexion as Kei raced out the blocks in the 1st set and mercilessly broke Andy twice, playing great attacking tennis to take the opening set. The 2nd however saw Andy fight back as after a time violation warning from the umpire (Carlos Ramos) it fired him up and enabled him to break Kei and he sped to level the match with a double break. The 3rd set however was a more tense and even affair that saw Andy go up a break twice only to hand them back to Nishikori, who pushed play to a tiebreak, which Andy went on to win 7-0 to gain the lead. And in the 4th set, despite being broken straight away by Kei, Andy broke back and went on to ruthlessly dispatch Kei with a further double break to serve out the match and reach the semi finals with a lop-sided 2-6, 6-1,7-6, 6-1 win.
Well, there's little doubt that this was probably Andy's worst match of the tournament so far in terms of quality as he found himself down a big hole in the 1st set and went on to break twice, only to be broken back twice in the 3rd set and being broken again in the 4th set before he finally sped to victory. It certainly was one of Andy's least consistent performance alongside his match with Klizan this was certainly not him at his best.
However what was more important was that he was able to win this one and put himself in a position where he is getting close to winning another major, although it has to be said Andy will have his work cut out with his next opponent before he can even think of reaching the final. And depsite the season Andy has had so far, his comeback at the French open has been very impressive as I'm sure no one would have thought he would get this far.
SEMI FINAL PREDICTIONS
Now that's over let's take a look at how I think the men's semi finals might go....
Rafael Nadal vs Dominic Thiem
This match is actually a very intriguing one and it remains something of an unknown quantity in a way, particularly as Rafa has not really been tested yet in the tournament and so late in the event that's something he might have needed by now. However this match promises to change all that as Thiem should be a far more challenging proposition for Rafa to deal with than what he's played against so far.
As for my prediction however, I still would have to go with Rafa for this one simply because of how he has played throughout the whole clay court season, having won three titles and lost only one match (albeit to the man he is about to play!). Rafa's record at Roland Garros speaks for itself and I think Thiem in the end will find it tough to get past that at this stage in his career.
So for me I think prediction wise that Rafa will come through this but it won't that easy for him and I think Thiem will nab a set before Rafa moves on to the final, so I'll go with Rafa in four sets.
Andy Murray vs Stan Wawrinka
As for this one, well its a rematch of a match that took me really by surprise last year when Andy Murray took on the defending champion, Stan Wawrinka and beat him in four sets to reach his first French open final. However that was last year and things can change quite a bit over the space of a year, although in terms of ranking very little has changed except Andy is now ranked a spot higher at the top and Stan is still ranked at No.3 (although he will rise to No.2 next week after Novak's defeat).
However what might change this year between these two is the level of tennis in this tournament so far as if we look at both men's matches, Stan has been by far the more impressive as he has got to this point without dropping a single set, whereas Andy has dropped three and at times looked great but at others looked a bit flat. This could well be bad news for Andy because if he takes on an in form Stan and Andy is off his game just a little, then there will be only one winner.
So even though Andy's win was a surprise last year, this year I don't quite see a repeat performance, even though it could still happen and Andy could dig out the win as you can never underestimate him. But this time round I think Stan will take the win and make it to the final as he has been far more consistent at this year's tournament, which could potentially see him claim a 2nd French open title should he get there.
So, for my final prediction I will go with Stan winning in four sets.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and I will return with the results of the men's and ladies semi finals matches once they are over and done with.
Until then its au revoir for now!
2017 French Open - Ladies event Part 2
OK, so this year's French Open tournament is now drawing ever nearer to a close right now and this article will cover the four quarter finals matches on the ladies side of the tournament.
So without further ado, let's take a look and see how they went....
QUARTER FINALS
Kristina Mladenvoic vs Timea Bacsinzsky
So, this first match was between the French home favourite, Kristina Mladenovic and the 2015 semi finalist, Timea Bacsinzsky. So there was much riding on this far both players and the match itself was fairly close and it saw breaks of serve aplenty throughout, however it was Timea that took the first set. In the 2nd set it was more of the same with breaks of serve but in the end it was Timea that outdid Mladenovic in straight sets to reach another French Open semi final with a 6-4, 6-4 win.
Well this match saw the French hopes end, well actually half of the French hopes end as the other French player, Caroline Garcia was still to play her match. And Mladenovic had to battle her through to the last eight and early on was suffering from back inury, however she did well to get herself in this position. In the end, Timea Bacsinzsky played the more solid match and deserved to go through to have another crack at the final in Paris.
Caroline Wozniacki vs Jelena Ostapenko
This match was quite an interesting one given that Caroline Wozniacki was on a losing streak against this young teenager, Jelena Ostapenko, who had already gained a 3-0 lead in their head to head. However going into this match, based on slam experience, Caroline looked to be the favourite but in the end it didn't turn out that way as despite a strong start from Caroline, who took the 1st set, she went on to lose the 2nd. And in the 3rd set, Ostapneko slammed the door shut with a double break to seal her first grand slam semi final and dump out the former World No.1 with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory.
Well given their head to head, the result of this match in a way was no surprise although given that there was much more at steak than in their previous meetings (this was their first in a slam) I thought that Caroline may have come through it. However in the end, their head to head was the main influence and Ostapenko was the stronger player as the match progressed and she used her ability to hit winner after winner to seal the deal.
Caroline Garcia vs Karolina Pliskova
Next is this match between Caroline Garcia of France and the Czeck player, Karolina Pliskova as the two of them battled it out on Court Philippe Chatrier (the main court at Roland Garros). And the 1st set was a pretty tight affair, which saw Garcia go a break down to Pliskova but she eventually broke back and pushed the set to a tiebreak, which Pliskova went on to win. In the 2nd set however all it took was a break of serve and consolidation from Pliskova to seal the win and she reached her 2nd grand slam final with a 7-6, 6-4 result.
So, this match now saw all the French hopes go out of the tournament with Garcia going out and in a way it may have been surprising given that Pliskova has herself said that clay isn't her favourite surface. However in the end, Pliskova was that bit more solid in the match on serve and that made the difference here.
Simona Haelp vs Elina Svitolina
And last of all is this match between the 3rd seed Simona Halep and the 5th seed, Elina Svitolina and this would be only their 2nd career meeting with Svitolina winning their first in the final of Rome a couple of weeks ago. And the match appeared to start going the same way as the last one as Svitolina raced to a 5-0 lead in the 1st set before Halep managed to break back although ultimately she lost the set. The 2nd set was more of the same from Svitolina as she dominated the dimunitive Romanian and went 5-1 up before Halep fought back to level the scores at 5-5 and pushed play to a tiebreak in which Halep saved a match point before levelling the match at a set all. And in the 3rd set there was no contest from Svitolina as Halep finally got herself going and sped to victory, handing her opponent a bagel set to close out the match and reach her 2nd semi final in Paris with an impressive 3-6, 7-6, 6-0 comeback win.
This was an excellent match between these two players for two sets we were treated to a fine battle although in the end it was a surprising capitulation from Svitolina, who looked to be in charge of the match in the 2nd set before she lost it. However in the end, it was credit to Simona Halep for fighting back to win this one and reach another semi final in Paris as she looked to have been shown the door Svitolina.
SEMI FINALS
So, this leaves me to look at the ladies semi finals and here are my prediction for these matches...
Timea Bacsinzsky vs Jelena Ostapenko
This match is actually a bit of a funny one as the match will take place on their birthday as they both share the same birthday together! So for this match its going to leave one player pretty disappointed while the other will get a rather nice pressie in the shape of a place in the final of Roland Garros. As for how the match will go, its hard for me to say as I'm not overly familiar with either player here and they are both playing for a new experience of reaching their first major final.
However if I were to choose a player I would probably go with Bacsinzsky given that she is the more experienced player (but then again I said that about Caroline Wozniacki!!) although this will be the first meeting, which makes this more difficult to call. But if you ask me I think it might go the distance and Timea could well be the winner at the end of the day in three sets.
Simona Halep vs Karolina Pliskova
As for this match well here both players have an established head to head already as they have played each other six times with Halep leading 4-2. So for me this makes the match a bit easier to make a prediction and given Halep's taste for playing on clay and Pliskova's distaste for it, I will opt for Halep to come through this match. However it promises to be a pretty good one but in the end I think its Halep's match for the taking.
So for my prediction I will go with Halep winning in straight sets but I think it will be close straights with possibly a tiebreak involved but I think it should go the way of the Romanian and she will reach her 2nd slam final in Paris.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back soon with my results of the mens' quarter finals.
See you in a bit!
So without further ado, let's take a look and see how they went....
QUARTER FINALS
Kristina Mladenvoic vs Timea Bacsinzsky
So, this first match was between the French home favourite, Kristina Mladenovic and the 2015 semi finalist, Timea Bacsinzsky. So there was much riding on this far both players and the match itself was fairly close and it saw breaks of serve aplenty throughout, however it was Timea that took the first set. In the 2nd set it was more of the same with breaks of serve but in the end it was Timea that outdid Mladenovic in straight sets to reach another French Open semi final with a 6-4, 6-4 win.
Well this match saw the French hopes end, well actually half of the French hopes end as the other French player, Caroline Garcia was still to play her match. And Mladenovic had to battle her through to the last eight and early on was suffering from back inury, however she did well to get herself in this position. In the end, Timea Bacsinzsky played the more solid match and deserved to go through to have another crack at the final in Paris.
Caroline Wozniacki vs Jelena Ostapenko
This match was quite an interesting one given that Caroline Wozniacki was on a losing streak against this young teenager, Jelena Ostapenko, who had already gained a 3-0 lead in their head to head. However going into this match, based on slam experience, Caroline looked to be the favourite but in the end it didn't turn out that way as despite a strong start from Caroline, who took the 1st set, she went on to lose the 2nd. And in the 3rd set, Ostapneko slammed the door shut with a double break to seal her first grand slam semi final and dump out the former World No.1 with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory.
Well given their head to head, the result of this match in a way was no surprise although given that there was much more at steak than in their previous meetings (this was their first in a slam) I thought that Caroline may have come through it. However in the end, their head to head was the main influence and Ostapenko was the stronger player as the match progressed and she used her ability to hit winner after winner to seal the deal.
Caroline Garcia vs Karolina Pliskova
Next is this match between Caroline Garcia of France and the Czeck player, Karolina Pliskova as the two of them battled it out on Court Philippe Chatrier (the main court at Roland Garros). And the 1st set was a pretty tight affair, which saw Garcia go a break down to Pliskova but she eventually broke back and pushed the set to a tiebreak, which Pliskova went on to win. In the 2nd set however all it took was a break of serve and consolidation from Pliskova to seal the win and she reached her 2nd grand slam final with a 7-6, 6-4 result.
So, this match now saw all the French hopes go out of the tournament with Garcia going out and in a way it may have been surprising given that Pliskova has herself said that clay isn't her favourite surface. However in the end, Pliskova was that bit more solid in the match on serve and that made the difference here.
Simona Haelp vs Elina Svitolina
And last of all is this match between the 3rd seed Simona Halep and the 5th seed, Elina Svitolina and this would be only their 2nd career meeting with Svitolina winning their first in the final of Rome a couple of weeks ago. And the match appeared to start going the same way as the last one as Svitolina raced to a 5-0 lead in the 1st set before Halep managed to break back although ultimately she lost the set. The 2nd set was more of the same from Svitolina as she dominated the dimunitive Romanian and went 5-1 up before Halep fought back to level the scores at 5-5 and pushed play to a tiebreak in which Halep saved a match point before levelling the match at a set all. And in the 3rd set there was no contest from Svitolina as Halep finally got herself going and sped to victory, handing her opponent a bagel set to close out the match and reach her 2nd semi final in Paris with an impressive 3-6, 7-6, 6-0 comeback win.
This was an excellent match between these two players for two sets we were treated to a fine battle although in the end it was a surprising capitulation from Svitolina, who looked to be in charge of the match in the 2nd set before she lost it. However in the end, it was credit to Simona Halep for fighting back to win this one and reach another semi final in Paris as she looked to have been shown the door Svitolina.
SEMI FINALS
So, this leaves me to look at the ladies semi finals and here are my prediction for these matches...
Timea Bacsinzsky vs Jelena Ostapenko
This match is actually a bit of a funny one as the match will take place on their birthday as they both share the same birthday together! So for this match its going to leave one player pretty disappointed while the other will get a rather nice pressie in the shape of a place in the final of Roland Garros. As for how the match will go, its hard for me to say as I'm not overly familiar with either player here and they are both playing for a new experience of reaching their first major final.
However if I were to choose a player I would probably go with Bacsinzsky given that she is the more experienced player (but then again I said that about Caroline Wozniacki!!) although this will be the first meeting, which makes this more difficult to call. But if you ask me I think it might go the distance and Timea could well be the winner at the end of the day in three sets.
Simona Halep vs Karolina Pliskova
As for this match well here both players have an established head to head already as they have played each other six times with Halep leading 4-2. So for me this makes the match a bit easier to make a prediction and given Halep's taste for playing on clay and Pliskova's distaste for it, I will opt for Halep to come through this match. However it promises to be a pretty good one but in the end I think its Halep's match for the taking.
So for my prediction I will go with Halep winning in straight sets but I think it will be close straights with possibly a tiebreak involved but I think it should go the way of the Romanian and she will reach her 2nd slam final in Paris.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back soon with my results of the mens' quarter finals.
See you in a bit!
Monday 5 June 2017
2017 French Open - Men's event Part 1
Right, now its time for me to catch up with this year's French Open from the men's side as it would see the world's best players duke it out for the title. So, now we are into the 2nd week, let's see how the tournament has gone so far....
1st WEEK - UPSETS AND SEEDS OUT SO FAR
Well in this first we had some upsets of course but one of the biggest ones came in the form of Alexandr Zverev, who had just come off a big win in Rome after defeating Novak Djokovic in the final. However here, Zverev came up against Fernando Verdasco in the 1st round, who played an inspired match and stunned the young rising German star in four sets to put him out of the tournament.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also suffered an early exit as he took on an Argentine qualifier, Renzo Olivo and Olivo took a two sets to love lead in the match before Tsonga fought back and took the 3rd set and it looked poised for a decider. However Olivo managed to grab a final break of the Tsonga serve and with it he sent the 12th seed packing in four sets.
Nick Kyrgios also went out early from the tournament in the 2nd round as he was beaten by Kevin Anderson in four sets, which saw the young firey Aussie go out in the 2nd round of a major for the second consecutive time as he was also put out at that stage in the Australian open. Jack Sock, the 14th seed tumbled early too, as he was defeated by the big Czeck player, Jiri Vesely in straight sets.
As for other seeds that went out, Gilles Simon, one of the home hopes, was stunned in the 1st round by Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia in four sets. David Ferrer, a former finalist, suffered an early exit in the 2nd round as he was beaten by Feliciano Lopez in five sets. Lucas Pouille, another French home favourite, suffered an exit in the 3rd round at the hands of Albert Ramos Vinolas.
And last of all David Goffin, the talented Belgian and 10th seed was one of the casulaties of injury as he sprained his ankle badly as he slip and fell onto the ground covers, which forced him to retire from his 3rd round match in the 1st set against Horacio Zeballos.
TOP SEEDS PROGRESS INTO 2ND WEEK
As for the remaining top seeds, the World No.1, Andy Murray had come into the tournament in poor form as he had failed to win a match in his last two events in Madrid and Rome, which didn't say much for his chances in Roland Garros.
However, so far Andy has been able to prove the doubters wrong as he has succesfully made it into the 2nd week and with every match he has improved his form. Andy started off impressively enough with a four set win over Andrey Kuznetsov in the 1st round, however he was then pushed hard by Martin Klizan in the 2nd round, which he defeated in four tough sets.
In the 3rd round however, Andy really started to find his form as he defeated Juan-Martin del Potro who was on the comeback trail and big Delpo was unable to maintain his form against Andy, despite playing a great first set, the World No.1 went on to win the match in straight sets, handing a bagel set to Delpo in the 3rd. The 4th round however saw Andy put in an even better performance as he swept aside the talented, big hitting Russian, Karen Khachanov in straight sets to reach his first major quarter final of the season.
This now will see Andy take on the 8th seed, Kei Nishikori, who battled his way past Fernando Verdasco in four sets. Andy suffered a quarter final defeat to Nishikori at the US Open last season, however clay is not considered as Kei's best surface, so given Andy's current form its possible we might see him reach the semi finals but we'll just have to wait and see about that one first!
Whatever happens next, this has been a very impressive return to form for Andy so far in the tournament and its good to see that he is finding his mojo again on a tennis court as he continues to get better with each match.
As for the other top seeds, Novak Djokovic, the defending champion so far has shown some fairly solid form although he hasn't been quite at his best just yet. And after a couple of straight set wins in rounds 1 and 2, Nole was pushed to the limit by the talented and diminutive Argentine, Diego Schwartzman, who grabbed a two sets to one lead over Novak before the Serb hit back and sealed the win with the last two sets dropping only two more games to reach the 4th round. In the 4th round, Novak would face the Spaniard, Albert Ramos-Vinolas and despite a close first set, it was really no contest after that and the Serb closed out the match in straight sets 7-6, 6-1, 6-3, which was very entertaining and had its share of fun rallies.
So, this now sees Novak head into the quarter finals against a familiar foe, Dominic Thiem, who has been in very impressive form so far in the tournament and Thiem is yet to drop a set. However, Novak has dominated their head to head so far 5-0 and Thiem has only won a single set in all of their previous meetings. Despite this though, Thiem could still be dangerous to Novak in the tournament and it remains to be seen how Nole will respond to the Austrian's resistance.
Rafael Nadal on the other hand has shown totally dominant form so far at Roland Garros and he has managed to reach the quarter finals without even dropping a single set! In fact Rafa going into the semis hasn't lost any more than four games in one set to any of the players he has faced so far. And Rafa has looked mighty convincing against his opponents, particularly Nikoloz Basilashvili, whom he only dropped one game against in the whole match. Rafa also demolished his fellow Spaniard in the 4th round, Roberto Bautista-Agut as he dropped only five games for the match and won in 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the last eight, where Rafa will take on another Spaniard, Pablo Carreno-Busta.
And from here I think its safe to say that Rafa may well not be tested until he reaches the semi finals where he could potentially face Novak Djokovic or Dominic Thiem with Thiem being the last man to inflict defeat on Rafa. However given that Rafa has expended little energy going into the 2nd week is a big plus as he will be very fresh for he later rounds although you could also argue that his not being tested yet could go against him when he does face the likes of Djokovic or Thiem. Anyway's right now though, Rafa looks well on course to claim his 10th title at Roland Garros.
And last of all, Stan Wawrinka, the former champion two years ago, has also been in great form as he also has managed to reach the quarter finals without dropping a set to any of his opponents althoug he has dropped alot more games than Rafa has so far!
Regardless of this though, Stan again has shown his big match playing skills as he has convincingly defeated Alexandr Dolgopolov, Fabio Fognini and home favourite, Gael Monfils all in straight sets to reach the last eight. And we all know that Stan has the ability to quietly weave his way into a major and play better and better as he goes on, so it would not be surprising to see him reach the final and if he does that 2nd French open title just might be on the cards.
QUARTER FINAL PREDICTIONS
As for the quarter final matches in the men's draw, here are my thoughts on them....
Rafael Nadal vs Pablo Carreno Busta
This would appear to be another one-sided match up for Rafa as the Pablo Carreno Busta has only been able to take a single set off Rafa in all of their previous meetings. Also given that Rafa has been unplayable so far in the tournament, I find it unlikely that Carreno Busta will be able to make much of an impression in this match.
However Pablo has shown good resolve so far in the tournament and he did take a big scalp by defeating Milos Raonic in five sets in their 4th round match. However again problem here is that physically he will be left at a big disadvantage to a much fresher Rafa, who has not even dropped a set so far in the tournament.
So, for me this match should be another straight sets win for Rafa but I do think Pablo should be able to nab a few extra games more than Roberto Bautista Agut did in the 4th round match (or mis-match as it was!) before the King of clay marches on to the last four.
Novak Djokovic vs Dominic Thiem
This match is highly intriguing, although so far Novak has dominated their head to head 5-0 with Thiem also only scoring a single set against Nole in all of their meetings, so the signs look better for Novak than Thiem. By the same token though, Thiem has not dropped a set going into this match either, so he will be pretty fresh and up for this one, which could make it all the more dangerous for the defending champion.
So, this time around I'd expect a much sterner test from Thiem than their previous match, which was a demolition derby for Thiem as Novak thrashed the young Austrian in straight sets in Rome, dropping just one game. However I also still see Novak coming through this one but it won't be as anywhere easy as their Rome match, so I think Thiem will nab a set before Novak takes him out of the equation in four sets.
Andy Murray vs Kei Nishikori
This could be another very tough match between these two men and Kei managed to get one over Andy at the US Open last year although the Japanese No.1 couldn't even remember that he had beaten Andy in New York, during his press conference yesterday after he defeated Verdasco! So, this is again a very dangerous match up for both men and we should expect another big scrap.
However it has to be said though that Kei's form has been pretty up and down in the tournament so far as he was pushed to five sets by the talented youngster, Hyeon Chung of Korea (I think!) before he came through. Also in his previous match against Verdasco, Nishikori started badly as he was handed a bagel set by Fernando Verdasco but Kei managed to go on and win the next three sets with the 4th also being a 6-0 set.
Andy by contrast has just been getting better and better as the event has progressed after two ropey matches in the 1st and 2nd rounds, he has picked up his level dramatically is started to look more and more like the World No.1. Andy has also progressed much further historically at the French open than Kei has, who has only made it to the quarter finals, which should go in his favour.
So, I think this should be a tough match for Andy but I think he will come through it in at least four, maybe even five sets if Kei has the legs for it and hopefully for the World No.1, he will make it into the semis in Paris once more.
Stan Wawrinka vs Marin Cilic
As for this last match in the quarter final line-up of the mens', the former champ, Stan Wawrinka will take on the former US Open champ, Marin Cilic. Stan has yet to drop a set going into this match and in fact so is Cilic, so this should actually promise to be a pretty close match. The only problem here is for Cilic, who has not been able to defeat Stan in their five previous meetings and Stan has a commanding lead in their head to head 11-2.
So, for me there is only really one winner in this match and that is Stan but given how fresh Cilic is likely to be having not dropped a set yet, this should be a close one and I can easily so it go at least four sets. However in the end I do think that Stan will continue his dominant lead over the Croatian and he will find his way into the semi finals.
SIGN OFF
OK, so that's it for now and I will be back again soon with another update once the ladies and mens quarter final matches have been played.
Till then its bye for now!
1st WEEK - UPSETS AND SEEDS OUT SO FAR
Well in this first we had some upsets of course but one of the biggest ones came in the form of Alexandr Zverev, who had just come off a big win in Rome after defeating Novak Djokovic in the final. However here, Zverev came up against Fernando Verdasco in the 1st round, who played an inspired match and stunned the young rising German star in four sets to put him out of the tournament.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also suffered an early exit as he took on an Argentine qualifier, Renzo Olivo and Olivo took a two sets to love lead in the match before Tsonga fought back and took the 3rd set and it looked poised for a decider. However Olivo managed to grab a final break of the Tsonga serve and with it he sent the 12th seed packing in four sets.
Nick Kyrgios also went out early from the tournament in the 2nd round as he was beaten by Kevin Anderson in four sets, which saw the young firey Aussie go out in the 2nd round of a major for the second consecutive time as he was also put out at that stage in the Australian open. Jack Sock, the 14th seed tumbled early too, as he was defeated by the big Czeck player, Jiri Vesely in straight sets.
As for other seeds that went out, Gilles Simon, one of the home hopes, was stunned in the 1st round by Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia in four sets. David Ferrer, a former finalist, suffered an early exit in the 2nd round as he was beaten by Feliciano Lopez in five sets. Lucas Pouille, another French home favourite, suffered an exit in the 3rd round at the hands of Albert Ramos Vinolas.
And last of all David Goffin, the talented Belgian and 10th seed was one of the casulaties of injury as he sprained his ankle badly as he slip and fell onto the ground covers, which forced him to retire from his 3rd round match in the 1st set against Horacio Zeballos.
TOP SEEDS PROGRESS INTO 2ND WEEK
As for the remaining top seeds, the World No.1, Andy Murray had come into the tournament in poor form as he had failed to win a match in his last two events in Madrid and Rome, which didn't say much for his chances in Roland Garros.
However, so far Andy has been able to prove the doubters wrong as he has succesfully made it into the 2nd week and with every match he has improved his form. Andy started off impressively enough with a four set win over Andrey Kuznetsov in the 1st round, however he was then pushed hard by Martin Klizan in the 2nd round, which he defeated in four tough sets.
In the 3rd round however, Andy really started to find his form as he defeated Juan-Martin del Potro who was on the comeback trail and big Delpo was unable to maintain his form against Andy, despite playing a great first set, the World No.1 went on to win the match in straight sets, handing a bagel set to Delpo in the 3rd. The 4th round however saw Andy put in an even better performance as he swept aside the talented, big hitting Russian, Karen Khachanov in straight sets to reach his first major quarter final of the season.
This now will see Andy take on the 8th seed, Kei Nishikori, who battled his way past Fernando Verdasco in four sets. Andy suffered a quarter final defeat to Nishikori at the US Open last season, however clay is not considered as Kei's best surface, so given Andy's current form its possible we might see him reach the semi finals but we'll just have to wait and see about that one first!
Whatever happens next, this has been a very impressive return to form for Andy so far in the tournament and its good to see that he is finding his mojo again on a tennis court as he continues to get better with each match.
As for the other top seeds, Novak Djokovic, the defending champion so far has shown some fairly solid form although he hasn't been quite at his best just yet. And after a couple of straight set wins in rounds 1 and 2, Nole was pushed to the limit by the talented and diminutive Argentine, Diego Schwartzman, who grabbed a two sets to one lead over Novak before the Serb hit back and sealed the win with the last two sets dropping only two more games to reach the 4th round. In the 4th round, Novak would face the Spaniard, Albert Ramos-Vinolas and despite a close first set, it was really no contest after that and the Serb closed out the match in straight sets 7-6, 6-1, 6-3, which was very entertaining and had its share of fun rallies.
So, this now sees Novak head into the quarter finals against a familiar foe, Dominic Thiem, who has been in very impressive form so far in the tournament and Thiem is yet to drop a set. However, Novak has dominated their head to head so far 5-0 and Thiem has only won a single set in all of their previous meetings. Despite this though, Thiem could still be dangerous to Novak in the tournament and it remains to be seen how Nole will respond to the Austrian's resistance.
Rafael Nadal on the other hand has shown totally dominant form so far at Roland Garros and he has managed to reach the quarter finals without even dropping a single set! In fact Rafa going into the semis hasn't lost any more than four games in one set to any of the players he has faced so far. And Rafa has looked mighty convincing against his opponents, particularly Nikoloz Basilashvili, whom he only dropped one game against in the whole match. Rafa also demolished his fellow Spaniard in the 4th round, Roberto Bautista-Agut as he dropped only five games for the match and won in 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the last eight, where Rafa will take on another Spaniard, Pablo Carreno-Busta.
And from here I think its safe to say that Rafa may well not be tested until he reaches the semi finals where he could potentially face Novak Djokovic or Dominic Thiem with Thiem being the last man to inflict defeat on Rafa. However given that Rafa has expended little energy going into the 2nd week is a big plus as he will be very fresh for he later rounds although you could also argue that his not being tested yet could go against him when he does face the likes of Djokovic or Thiem. Anyway's right now though, Rafa looks well on course to claim his 10th title at Roland Garros.
And last of all, Stan Wawrinka, the former champion two years ago, has also been in great form as he also has managed to reach the quarter finals without dropping a set to any of his opponents althoug he has dropped alot more games than Rafa has so far!
Regardless of this though, Stan again has shown his big match playing skills as he has convincingly defeated Alexandr Dolgopolov, Fabio Fognini and home favourite, Gael Monfils all in straight sets to reach the last eight. And we all know that Stan has the ability to quietly weave his way into a major and play better and better as he goes on, so it would not be surprising to see him reach the final and if he does that 2nd French open title just might be on the cards.
QUARTER FINAL PREDICTIONS
As for the quarter final matches in the men's draw, here are my thoughts on them....
Rafael Nadal vs Pablo Carreno Busta
This would appear to be another one-sided match up for Rafa as the Pablo Carreno Busta has only been able to take a single set off Rafa in all of their previous meetings. Also given that Rafa has been unplayable so far in the tournament, I find it unlikely that Carreno Busta will be able to make much of an impression in this match.
However Pablo has shown good resolve so far in the tournament and he did take a big scalp by defeating Milos Raonic in five sets in their 4th round match. However again problem here is that physically he will be left at a big disadvantage to a much fresher Rafa, who has not even dropped a set so far in the tournament.
So, for me this match should be another straight sets win for Rafa but I do think Pablo should be able to nab a few extra games more than Roberto Bautista Agut did in the 4th round match (or mis-match as it was!) before the King of clay marches on to the last four.
Novak Djokovic vs Dominic Thiem
This match is highly intriguing, although so far Novak has dominated their head to head 5-0 with Thiem also only scoring a single set against Nole in all of their meetings, so the signs look better for Novak than Thiem. By the same token though, Thiem has not dropped a set going into this match either, so he will be pretty fresh and up for this one, which could make it all the more dangerous for the defending champion.
So, this time around I'd expect a much sterner test from Thiem than their previous match, which was a demolition derby for Thiem as Novak thrashed the young Austrian in straight sets in Rome, dropping just one game. However I also still see Novak coming through this one but it won't be as anywhere easy as their Rome match, so I think Thiem will nab a set before Novak takes him out of the equation in four sets.
Andy Murray vs Kei Nishikori
This could be another very tough match between these two men and Kei managed to get one over Andy at the US Open last year although the Japanese No.1 couldn't even remember that he had beaten Andy in New York, during his press conference yesterday after he defeated Verdasco! So, this is again a very dangerous match up for both men and we should expect another big scrap.
However it has to be said though that Kei's form has been pretty up and down in the tournament so far as he was pushed to five sets by the talented youngster, Hyeon Chung of Korea (I think!) before he came through. Also in his previous match against Verdasco, Nishikori started badly as he was handed a bagel set by Fernando Verdasco but Kei managed to go on and win the next three sets with the 4th also being a 6-0 set.
Andy by contrast has just been getting better and better as the event has progressed after two ropey matches in the 1st and 2nd rounds, he has picked up his level dramatically is started to look more and more like the World No.1. Andy has also progressed much further historically at the French open than Kei has, who has only made it to the quarter finals, which should go in his favour.
So, I think this should be a tough match for Andy but I think he will come through it in at least four, maybe even five sets if Kei has the legs for it and hopefully for the World No.1, he will make it into the semis in Paris once more.
Stan Wawrinka vs Marin Cilic
As for this last match in the quarter final line-up of the mens', the former champ, Stan Wawrinka will take on the former US Open champ, Marin Cilic. Stan has yet to drop a set going into this match and in fact so is Cilic, so this should actually promise to be a pretty close match. The only problem here is for Cilic, who has not been able to defeat Stan in their five previous meetings and Stan has a commanding lead in their head to head 11-2.
So, for me there is only really one winner in this match and that is Stan but given how fresh Cilic is likely to be having not dropped a set yet, this should be a close one and I can easily so it go at least four sets. However in the end I do think that Stan will continue his dominant lead over the Croatian and he will find his way into the semi finals.
SIGN OFF
OK, so that's it for now and I will be back again soon with another update once the ladies and mens quarter final matches have been played.
Till then its bye for now!
2017 French Open - Ladies Event Part 1
Right well the 2017 French open is well under way now and it is now deep into the 2nd week and the matches have reached the quarter final stages for both the ladies and mens.
So, let's take a quick look and see how things have progressed so far for the top seeds...
Ladies 1st Week
Well in the 1st week we had quite a few upsets and the biggest one came in the form of Angelique Kerber, the current World No.1, who so far hasn't been playing anything like the form she had shown last year to get to the position and where she won two mahors. So, here Angie was stunned in the 1st round as she faced off a nightmare opponent in Ekaterina Makarova, who beat the German in straight sets 6-2, 6-2.
Dominika Cibulkova, the 5th seed and last year's WTA Championships winner, also suffered an early exit as she lost to a lucky loser in the 2nd round, Ons Jabeur in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. Johanna Konta, the 7th seed and British No.1 was also dumped out early as she took on the Chinese player, Hsieh Su-wei, who stunned Konta in three sets. Madison Keys also suffered a 2nd round exit at the hands of Petra Martic in three sets. Petra Kvitova, who made her return from her knife attack ordeal last year, also exited early in the 2nd round as she was beaten Bethanie Mattek-Sands in two tiebreak sets.
2nd Week
The 2nd week has seen the exit of a few more seeds and the biggest one being the defending champion, Garbine Muguruza who was beaten in the 4th round by the French home favourite, Kristina Mladenovic in three sets. Muguruza herself after the match break down in tears at point and cited that the French crowd were tough and unfair (well they are really!).
Venus Williams also went out in the 4th round as she was defeated by the Swiss player, Timea Bacsinszky in a three set match that saw Timea reach her 3rd French open quarter final in a row. Svetlana Kuznetsova suffered a 4th round exit aswell when she was taken out by the former World No.1, Caroline Wozniacki who beat her in three sets. And lastly the former French open finalist, Sam Stosur was beaten by the unseeded Jelena Ostapenko in three sets.
As for the top seeds still remaining Simona Halep is in great form this year and she has already made it into the quarter finals after a convincing win over the Spaniard, Carla Suarez-Navarro, who she dismantled in straight sets 6-1, 6-1. Halep is considered by many to be this year's favourite to win the title, especially now given that there are no other grand slam champions left in the drawn, not to mention the absence of Serena Williams.
Elina Svitolina, who won the title in Rome just prior to the French open, is also into the last eight after she came from a break down in the final set to beat, Petra Martic of Croatia in three close sets. Svitolina also remains one of the hot favourites to take the title in Paris and she so far looks very impressive in the tournament.
Karolina Pliskova also survived her way into the 2nd week as she battled past a qualifier, Veronica Cepede Royg in a three set match, which Pliskova won 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the last eight, which is good going since Pliskova has stated that clay is not her favourite surface.
Lastly, Caroline Wozniacki has made an impressive so far right into the quarter finals as she defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach her 2nd French open quarter final. Caroline however next up takes on Jelena Ostapenko, who has beaten her in all three of their previous meeting, however this will be their first meeting in a slam.
QUARTER FINAL MATCH PREDICTIONS
As for the ladies quarter final matches, here are my thoughts on how they might go....
Caroline Wozniacki vs Jelena Ostapenko
This match up is a tricky one to decide on given that these two players have played three times and Ostapenko has gotten the better of the former World No.1 on each occasion. However Ostapenko is a mere 19 years of age and is inexperienced at this stage of grand slam matches whereas Wozniacki has been in two slam finals and has much more experience behind her having reached two major finals at the US Open.
So, for me it would be easy to go ahead and say that Wozniacki has the edge in terms of grand slam experience but Ostapenko has the firm edge in their head to head 3-0, so overall its a difficult one to call. So, I will go with Wozniacki but only based on her experience in the slams, however I would not be surprised if Ostapenko beat her again to reach her first slam semi final, so I could be wrong but I will go with Caroline in three sets.
Kristina Mladenovic vs Timea Bascinszky
This match could not be closer in terms of their head to heads both players are locked at 1-1, so going into this match there is alot riding for both of them. Timea is in her 3rd French open quarter final in a row whereas Mladenovic is in her first although she did previously reach the quarter finals of the US Open two years ago.
Mladenovic will no doubt go into this one with the crowd on her side and it will be very much a Partisan Parisian audience out there, so Timea will be sure to feel the pressue of that. However its hard to predict just how this one might go exactly, but on sheer momentum alone I will go with Mladenovic to come through, especially if she uses the crowd to her advantage. So, I will predict that Mladenovic wins this one in three close sets.
Elina Svitolina vs Simona Halep
This is another interesting match up, which sees the Ukrainian, Svitlona, take on the former 2014 finalist, Simona Halep and so far Svitolina has the edge in their head to head as she has won their only encounter in the final of Rome this year.
However, Svitolina has had the tougher of matches so far in this tournament and she barely managed to battle her way past Petra Martic in the 4th round and Halep is yet to drop a set in the tournament. So, going on freshness, I would say that Halep has the edge on this one but at the same time you can never count out Svitolina's chances.
So, for me I'm actually going to go with Svitolina on this one as she just appears to be gathering momentum and I can see her battle past Halep even if it becomes a physical match. However it will be a tough one and I can see it go three sets just like their match did in Rome where Svitolina also won.
Caroline Garcia vs Karolina Pliskova
For this one its another close evenly matched head to head as both women are locked at 2-2 in their meetings so far, however Garcia won their only previous meeting on clay. Pliskova so far has spoken about how she struggles on clay and doesn't find it to be a natural surface for her, despite that though she has done well to get to the quarter finals.
However given her struggles on clay, I think this leaves Pliskova at a disadvantage and given that Garcia is a home favourite and she has won their only previous meeting on clay, its worth a punt that she will come through this one. So, I will go with Garcia to win this match in three sets and reach her maiden slam semi final.
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back soon with more updates for the ladies and coming up soon is a look at the men's tournament so far going into the last 16.
So, see you in a bit...
So, let's take a quick look and see how things have progressed so far for the top seeds...
Ladies 1st Week
Well in the 1st week we had quite a few upsets and the biggest one came in the form of Angelique Kerber, the current World No.1, who so far hasn't been playing anything like the form she had shown last year to get to the position and where she won two mahors. So, here Angie was stunned in the 1st round as she faced off a nightmare opponent in Ekaterina Makarova, who beat the German in straight sets 6-2, 6-2.
Dominika Cibulkova, the 5th seed and last year's WTA Championships winner, also suffered an early exit as she lost to a lucky loser in the 2nd round, Ons Jabeur in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. Johanna Konta, the 7th seed and British No.1 was also dumped out early as she took on the Chinese player, Hsieh Su-wei, who stunned Konta in three sets. Madison Keys also suffered a 2nd round exit at the hands of Petra Martic in three sets. Petra Kvitova, who made her return from her knife attack ordeal last year, also exited early in the 2nd round as she was beaten Bethanie Mattek-Sands in two tiebreak sets.
2nd Week
The 2nd week has seen the exit of a few more seeds and the biggest one being the defending champion, Garbine Muguruza who was beaten in the 4th round by the French home favourite, Kristina Mladenovic in three sets. Muguruza herself after the match break down in tears at point and cited that the French crowd were tough and unfair (well they are really!).
Venus Williams also went out in the 4th round as she was defeated by the Swiss player, Timea Bacsinszky in a three set match that saw Timea reach her 3rd French open quarter final in a row. Svetlana Kuznetsova suffered a 4th round exit aswell when she was taken out by the former World No.1, Caroline Wozniacki who beat her in three sets. And lastly the former French open finalist, Sam Stosur was beaten by the unseeded Jelena Ostapenko in three sets.
As for the top seeds still remaining Simona Halep is in great form this year and she has already made it into the quarter finals after a convincing win over the Spaniard, Carla Suarez-Navarro, who she dismantled in straight sets 6-1, 6-1. Halep is considered by many to be this year's favourite to win the title, especially now given that there are no other grand slam champions left in the drawn, not to mention the absence of Serena Williams.
Elina Svitolina, who won the title in Rome just prior to the French open, is also into the last eight after she came from a break down in the final set to beat, Petra Martic of Croatia in three close sets. Svitolina also remains one of the hot favourites to take the title in Paris and she so far looks very impressive in the tournament.
Karolina Pliskova also survived her way into the 2nd week as she battled past a qualifier, Veronica Cepede Royg in a three set match, which Pliskova won 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the last eight, which is good going since Pliskova has stated that clay is not her favourite surface.
Lastly, Caroline Wozniacki has made an impressive so far right into the quarter finals as she defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach her 2nd French open quarter final. Caroline however next up takes on Jelena Ostapenko, who has beaten her in all three of their previous meeting, however this will be their first meeting in a slam.
QUARTER FINAL MATCH PREDICTIONS
As for the ladies quarter final matches, here are my thoughts on how they might go....
Caroline Wozniacki vs Jelena Ostapenko
This match up is a tricky one to decide on given that these two players have played three times and Ostapenko has gotten the better of the former World No.1 on each occasion. However Ostapenko is a mere 19 years of age and is inexperienced at this stage of grand slam matches whereas Wozniacki has been in two slam finals and has much more experience behind her having reached two major finals at the US Open.
So, for me it would be easy to go ahead and say that Wozniacki has the edge in terms of grand slam experience but Ostapenko has the firm edge in their head to head 3-0, so overall its a difficult one to call. So, I will go with Wozniacki but only based on her experience in the slams, however I would not be surprised if Ostapenko beat her again to reach her first slam semi final, so I could be wrong but I will go with Caroline in three sets.
Kristina Mladenovic vs Timea Bascinszky
This match could not be closer in terms of their head to heads both players are locked at 1-1, so going into this match there is alot riding for both of them. Timea is in her 3rd French open quarter final in a row whereas Mladenovic is in her first although she did previously reach the quarter finals of the US Open two years ago.
Mladenovic will no doubt go into this one with the crowd on her side and it will be very much a Partisan Parisian audience out there, so Timea will be sure to feel the pressue of that. However its hard to predict just how this one might go exactly, but on sheer momentum alone I will go with Mladenovic to come through, especially if she uses the crowd to her advantage. So, I will predict that Mladenovic wins this one in three close sets.
Elina Svitolina vs Simona Halep
This is another interesting match up, which sees the Ukrainian, Svitlona, take on the former 2014 finalist, Simona Halep and so far Svitolina has the edge in their head to head as she has won their only encounter in the final of Rome this year.
However, Svitolina has had the tougher of matches so far in this tournament and she barely managed to battle her way past Petra Martic in the 4th round and Halep is yet to drop a set in the tournament. So, going on freshness, I would say that Halep has the edge on this one but at the same time you can never count out Svitolina's chances.
So, for me I'm actually going to go with Svitolina on this one as she just appears to be gathering momentum and I can see her battle past Halep even if it becomes a physical match. However it will be a tough one and I can see it go three sets just like their match did in Rome where Svitolina also won.
Caroline Garcia vs Karolina Pliskova
For this one its another close evenly matched head to head as both women are locked at 2-2 in their meetings so far, however Garcia won their only previous meeting on clay. Pliskova so far has spoken about how she struggles on clay and doesn't find it to be a natural surface for her, despite that though she has done well to get to the quarter finals.
However given her struggles on clay, I think this leaves Pliskova at a disadvantage and given that Garcia is a home favourite and she has won their only previous meeting on clay, its worth a punt that she will come through this one. So, I will go with Garcia to win this match in three sets and reach her maiden slam semi final.
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back soon with more updates for the ladies and coming up soon is a look at the men's tournament so far going into the last 16.
So, see you in a bit...
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