So now I'm onto my third entry on my look at the 2014 French open and this will cover the ladies days 5-7 which will cover the 2nd and 3rd round action. So let's give this a look.....
Right so to begin with Day 5 first up on court Philipe Chatrier we had Jelena Jankovic take on the Japenese player Kurumi Nara, who after a tight first set put the Nara to bed with a bagel in the 2nd which saw Jelena reach the last 32 in 7-5, 6-0. Ana Ivanovic had a fairly testing time in her match against Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine but came through in straight sets 7-5, 6-2. Kristina Mladenovic had a tough battle on her hands as she fought her way past Alison Riske in three sets in 7-6, 3-6, 6-3. Petra Kvitova put in a solid performance though to move past the Aussie Marina Erakovic in 6-4, 6-4.
On Day 6 we had some drama and another big upset on the ladies side of the net as Agnieszka Radwanska, the No.3 went out against the world no.72 Ajla Tomljanovic who stunned the Pole in 6-4, 6-4. This now means the top 3 seeds in the ladies event have all been knocked as Radwanska joins Serena Williams and Li Na who also were both stunned in their matches. Maria Sharapova on the other hand had no such trouble with her opponent however as utterly trounced Paula Ormaechea of Argentina and was so selfish she didn't even let her win a single game and saw the mighty Pova speed to victory with an emphatic 6-0, 6-0 win. With Serena Williams now out of the tournament, Sharapova it has to be said is now the firm favourite to win the title and I think given her status and warrior qualities she will be very tough to beat. Sam Stosur also made it through with an impressive straight set win over the diminutive player Dominika Cibulkova of the Slovak republic with a 6-4, 6-4 victory. And lastly Angelique Kerber made it into the last 32 as well by defeating another Slovak player, Daniella Hantuchova in 7-5, 6-3.
Now we get onto day 7 which saw the 3rd round matches get firmly under way and we had first up on the Chatrier court an epic battle between Petra Kvitova and the former champion at the French in 2009, Svetlana Kuznetsova. The match itself was a real topsy turvey affair as both players traded breaks throughout and as play went into a deciding set momentum, kept swinging and despite Petra serving for the match at 6-5, Svetlana broke back to keep the match alive, and with no tiebreak in the final set, play went on serve. But in the end it was Svetlana who got the win as she knocked out another top seed in Petra by winning a near three and a quarter hour epic battle in 6-7, 6-1, 9-7. Andrea Petkovic also managed to fight her way past the French player Kristina Mladenovic as she was pushed hard but came through in 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. This sees Petkovic, who had spent time out in the last two years or so with injury make a good return to her tennis and she has an opportunity to go higher up the rankings and maybe soon she will regain her top 10 spot.
In other matches Sloane Stephens, the hotly tipped American player to replace Serena Williams in the future as the next great female player, secured her way into the 4th round as she beat Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. And another big casualty of the top seeds was Ana Ivanovic, ranked No.12 she was taken out the 23rd seed, Lucie Safarova of the Czeck Republic who won her match quite convincingly in straight sets in 6-3, 6-3. It now seems that pretty much most of all the top seeds are going out, which leaves a precious few left in the draw so it will be fascinating to see who eventually manages to get through. And lastly another big favourite for the title, Simona Halep, the No.4 seed continued her convincing and impressive progress and she dismissed the Spanish player, Maria Teresa Torro Flor in 6-3, 6-0 to reach the last 16. Halep definitely looks to be on course for at least making the final four or perhaps even the final as she could be up against Sara Errani or even Jelena Jankovic, so she will have her chances to reach the final.
Right so that's it for my look at the ladies matches so far and I will get back with more results soon for the 4th round and maybe the quarter finals. Now up for the men...
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