Women’s Semi Final
There aren’t many who would have pipped the kind of semi-final and final in either the men’s or women’s game, but in my eyes the women’s tournament is ultimately more engaging in the surprise-factor sense.
For starters; the semi-final of Jelena Jankovic vs. Samantha Stosur lasted a mere 60 minutes, with Stosur beating the Serb in a rather convincing fashion 6-1 6-2. When it comes to the semi-finals, and there is a fourth seed playing someone attempting to get into a grand slam final for the first time in their career, that’s not necessarily how you see the match playing out. Jankovic was steam rollered throughout the whole of the first set, only managing to grab hold of the game in some sense at the beginning of the second.
Unfortunately the 2-0 lead she had over Stosur was obliterated by both poor play from Jankovic and a steady hand from Stosur. Serve became a key issue in the game for both players; Stosur’s simply wasn’t working for her, until suddenly she seemed to feel the pressure of Jankovic breathing down her neck in the second set and managed to kick her serve into gear. With the experience of closing out tense matches, Stosur dominated the end of the match and there was little inkling of a sudden resurgence from Jankovic. One hour later and it was all over; Stosur was through. This all comes after another stunning performance by Stosur in the quarters when she sent Serena Williams flying from the tournament. Williams was lethargic, her game stilted, and was si more »
Written by:Roger Federer out of the French Open
When writing these blogs, I always set aside one or two for things that may come up unexpectedly in the tournament; newsworthy side anecdotes, steamy revelations, thrilling upsets. This time last year I had to squeeze in one about Rafael Nadal being beaten by a certain Robin Soderling, and that was probably the most shocking bit of news I have so far had to write about, up there with Juan Martin del Potro winning at the US Open.
Well what happened only about an hour ago, in my eyes, beats Nadal going out of the French Open early, beats Delpo taking the US title. Roger Federer, the world number one, has been ousted from the tournament in a stunning upset, and who was the orchestrator of his demise? Robin Soderling, again. The phrase ‘pulling a Soderling’ seems offensive now; this man is not just a one-trick player, he has a real mental and physical strength that could outstrip an on-form Federer at a Grand Slam.
Things seemed business as usual at the start of the match, with Federer taking the first set 3-6. But nobody beats Robin Soderling 13 times in a row. It didn’t take long for things to start swinging the Swede’s way. He broke Federer in the second set and took it 6-3, and soon the momentum was picking up and Federer seemed unable to stop it. His serve faltered, and the Swede’s serve only got better and better. Federer handed him a few opportunities with some unenforced errors, and Soderling picked more »
Written by:A densely packed few days
When you see a man like Andy Murray dressed in a big black wig performing Michael Jackson’s ‘I Want You Back’ (a convincing and skilful performance with real guts and heart, I may add), you can’t help but respect him more as an individual. See, the guy can have a laugh, he can have a bit of fun and doesn’t mind embarrassing himself, good on him.
Unfortunately Berdych wasn’t going to be played as easily as the karaoke machine in the French Open karaoke booth. Andy Murray crashed out of the men’s game against an on-form and confident Tomas Berdych, beaten 6-4 7-5 6-3. The Scot was outplayed both mentally and physically from the first game, and despite some flashes of his usual self he seemed completely out of rhythm. Berdych dominated the game whether he was serving or returning; and his serve played havoc with Murray’s control on the points. Murray is widely believed to be the greatest returner currently in the game, but he struggled to get Berdych’s fast, heavy serves back and therefore crumbled from the first moment, giving him very few chances to break Berdych’s serve. Despite some complaints about the conditions (light, clay and wind), Murray had to admit that he was simply outplayed by Berdych, who after all was playing in the same – admittedly tough – conditions. His former coach Petchey claims that Murray will still be a strong contender for Wimbledon despite his rather poor run since coming runner-up at the Australian Open. If he pulls off a run like he did at Melbo more »
Written by:After the rain…
So, the rain has complicated things rather at Roland Garros. Thankfully, many matches made it to court today and things seem to be largely back on track. Andy Murray managed to avoid the rain in this round, unlike in his previous match against Chela, and beat Baghdatis relatively convincingly in two hours 33 minutes. I say ‘relatively’ convincingly because there was an awful third set that I imagine Murray will want to scrub from his memory, when he succumbed to Marcus Baghdatis 0-6. But with that behind him, he went on to win 6-2 6-3 0-6 6-2, so not a bad pick-up from quite a horrendous blip.
Novak Djokovic had a relatively easy day, beating Kei Nishikori 6-1 6-4 6-4 in a comfortable match. He plays Victor Hanescu next. Roger Federer is preparing for round 4 with a definitely Federer-esque win against German Julian Reister 6-4 6-0 6-4. It was all business as usual apart from a rather unFederer-esque double fault on match point. I think that may be one of the signs of the apocalypse…
Federer Gonzalez and Gael Monfils were the biggest casualties of recent play. Gonzalez (seeded 12th) was sent packing by Oleskandr Dolgopolov Jr, beaten 6-3 6-4 6-3. Well at least the tournament will be more of a challenge to commentators having to get used to saying the name ‘Dolgopolov’ at high speed. Gael Monfils, always a home favourite in Paris, was beaten by Fabio Fognini is a tense and dramatic match yesterday. The match was stopped short on Wednesday evening due to poor light, a more »
Written by:To move or not to move?
With the rain blighting play at Rolland Garros yesterday and poor light causing some drama for the Monfils/Fogini game, the questions will only be increasing over when and how the French Grand Slam organises are going to deal with the possibility of a new site. With Wimbledon’s new roof fitted and functional, and providing rain-cover and manually-controlled air to the players on Centre court, the French Open is under pressure to follow in its footsteps.
“Sacrilege!” the French, and many of the tournament’s international friends, may cry. Public and environmentalist outcries have led to even the idea of its move being stalled and stalled. The players themselves are reluctant to see the historical site move, with Roger Federer, Justine and Henin and France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga among some of the names coming out in support of developing the tournament experience where it is.
But as the developers point out, there is just more space outside of the city limits. The Roland Garros stadium has sat on its current site in Paris for 85 years, and so the time for change they argue definitely on its way. With a hectare size less than half of Wimbledon’s 18.5 hectares, it is definitely the smallest of the two European Grand Slams.
Does size matter though? Some, including the heads of French tennis, argue ‘yes’. Wimbledon has space to add a roof, a museum, more and more attractions and facilities for players and spectators alike. In its current site and size, the only way to achie more »
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