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!
No comments:
Post a Comment