The Roland Garros Report Card: Who impressed and who disappointed in Paris - UBITENNIS
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The Roland Garros Report Card: Who impressed and who disappointed in Paris

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TENNIS – The 2014 Roland Garros crowned Rafa Nadal for the ninth time and Maria Sharapova for the second time. The French Open was also been highlighted by Ernests Gulbis who reached the semifinal after beating Roger Federer in the third round and revealed rising stars like Eugenie Bouchard, Garbine Muguruza, Ajla Tomljanovic, Ajla Tomljanovic. It’s time to look back at the most successful players and those who disappointed more in the two exciting weeks in the French capital. Diego Sampaolo

The King and the Queen of Clay

Rafa Nadal: Rafa has been crowned as the King of the Roland Garros for the ninth time becoming the first player to win so many titles in a Major. He won the last five editions with 66 match wins and just one defeat in ten years against Robin Soderling in 2009. With 14 Majors the Mallorcan legend has tied Pete Sampras as the the second most successful Grand Slam winner. Only Roger Federer was more successful with 17 Grand Slams. Only Bjorn Borg and Roger Federer won a Grand Slam tournament for five consecutive editions. Moreover he has extended his winning streak at the Roland Garros to 35 victories and improved his winning record to 23-19 in head-to-head matches against Djokovic

He did not enjoy a particularly successful build-up to the Roland Garros on his favourite clay surface to his traditional extraordinary standards. He suffered quarter final exits in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona before winning his only European clay tournament in Madrid (he was on the verge of defeat against Kei Nishikori who suffered an unlucky back injury in the most crucial stage of the match). He lost in three sets against Novak Djokovic in a close three-set match in Rome in the final tournament before Paris. In the French capital he recovered from a set down in the final against Djokovic but he edged the Serb in four sets with 3-6 7-5 6-2 6-4. He lifted his ninth Roland Garros Trophy after dropping just sets in the whole tournament

Maria Sharapova: The Siberian Queen of Clay faced three very hard battles in which she recovered from a set down in three consecutive matches to reach the final. She again had to fend off a tough match in the match against Romanian 22-year-old Simona Halep in which she was forced to third set for the fourth time in the tournament. This year Masha has enjoyed a successful clay campaign on clay winning three tournaments in Stuttgart, Madrid and the Roland Garros.

Sharapova did not played her best tennis during the tournament. She was two games from losing against Sam Stosur. She was one game from dropping the quarter final match against Garbine Muguruza in the quarter final and one game from losing against Eugenie Bouchard in the semifinal but she raised the game in the most crucial moments of the tournament and celebrated her second triumph at Porte d’Auteuil two years after beating Sara Errani in 2012. Sharapova has moved from 8th to 5th in the WTA Ranking.

“This was the toughest Grand Slam final I have ever played. All the respect to Simona. She played an unbelievable match”She had an amazing two weeks and this is just the first step. Simona will have an incredible career”, said Sharapova.

The runners-up:

Novak Djokovic: The Serb missed the chance to win the only elusive Grand Slam time of his career and complete the Career Grand Slam. He dropped his first set of the tournament in the semifinal against Ernests Gulbis in the semifinal before losing a four-set battle in the final against Nadal. In the final Djokovic made a crucial double fault handing the win to Nadal. In the final he won the first set but Nadal bounced back to clinch his third match against Djokovic in three consecutive editions of the Roland Garros after the final in 2012 and the epic semifinal in 2013.

Simona Halep: The 22-year-old Romanian player has completed her rise from the 57th spot in the Ranking in 2013 to her career-high Number 3 overtaking Agniewska Radwanska after her incredible Roland Garros in which she won three consecutive matches in straight sets against Sloane Stephens in the fourth round, Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarter final and Andrea Petkovic in the semifinal. In the final she forced Sharapova to the third set and give the Siberìan star a run for her money

“This is my first Grand Slam speech, but I wish to have many more in the future”, said Halep after the Roland Garros final. She will certainly have the chance to celebrate her first Grand Slam in the future if she continues to play so well.

The come-back of the tournament:

Andy Murray: Clay is not the favourite surface for Murray but the Scotsman has showed encouraging improvement reaching the quarter final in Rome and the semifinal in Paris losing on both occasions to Nadal. In Rome he played a great match against King Rafa losing a hard-fought match in the third set. In Paris Nadal was simply too strong but Murray is gradually reaching top form and his coach relationship with Amelie Mauresmo could boost his confidence ahead of his title defence at Wimbledon.

Gael Monfils: The Frenchman pleased the local crowd with an impressive win in a roller-coaster third round match against Fabio Fognini 5-7 6-2 6-4 0-6 6-2. He went on to reach the quarter final where he lost 4-6 1-6 6-4 0-6 against Andy Murray.

Ana Petkovic: The German player beat 2012 finalist Sara Errani 6-2 6-2 in the quarter final achieving a great result especially considering that the Italian clay specialist beat Jelena Jankovic in the quarter final two weeks after reaching the final in Rome. Her dream ended in the semifinal where she lost to Halep in three sets. . She faced rivals who are ranked Number 71 or lowerin the early rounds but the semifinal is a well-deserved prize after so many injury problems. She has showed the same form which propelled to a career high World Number 9 in 2011.

Svetlana Kuznetsova: The 2009 Roland Garros champion played one of the best matches of the tournament against Petra Kvitova in the third round. The Russian player edged the 2011 Wimbledon champion in three sets with 6-7 6-1 9-7.

Other good notes go to:

Carla Suarez Navarro: The Spanish player reached the quarter finals without dropping a single set before losing against Eugenie Bouchard in the round of eight.

Sara Errani: The Italian player reached her third consecutive quarter final after a great win in the fourth round against Jelena Jankovic but she lost in round of 8 against Petkovic. Errani also reached the final in the doubles with her close friend Roberta Vinci but the Italians lost against Peng Shuai and Hsieh We who won 11 of the final 13 points

Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger Vasselin: French crowd had something to celebrate as Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger Vasselin became the first French doubles winners at the Roland Garros in 23 years after beating Marc Lopez and Marcel Granollers 6-3 7-6. It was just their third Grand Slam tournament together.

The major surprises:

Milos Raonic: The young Canadian is continuing to make big progress on clay. He followed the semifinal in Rome (where he lost against Djokovic in three sets) with a quarter final in Paris (losing again to Djokovic in straight sets). He has become the first ever player from Canada to reach the quarter final at the Roland Garros and has moved a step closer to reaching the ATP Finals in London at the end of the season.

Ernests Gulbis: He followed up his win win in Nice in the warm-up to Paris with a remarkable semifinal in the French capital where he knocked out Roger Federer in the fourth round after a five-set epic match and Tomas Berdych in the quarter final. He reached his first Grand Slam semifinal where he forced Novak Djokovic to the fourth set. He jas joined the Top-10 for the first time in his career.

Garbine Muguruza: The young Spanish player produced the major upset of the tournament knocking out defending champion Serena Williams in the second round and advanced to the quarter final where she lost a hard-fought battle against Sharapova.

Taylor Townsend: She was the sensation of the first week when she reached the third round in her Grand Slam debut. She beat Alizè Cornet in the second round before losing against Carla Suarez Navarro in the third round.

Eugenie Bouchard: At the age of 19 she has already reached two Grand Slam semifinals after reaching this stage at this year’s Australian Open. Sharapova had to dig deep to beat the young Canadian. It’s a matter a time before Bouchard could join Sharapova in the list of Grand Slam champions.

Ana Tomljanovic: The 21-year-old player beat 2010 Roland Garros champion Francesca Schiavone in the first round, Elena Vesnina in the second round and Agniewska Radwanska in the third round before losing to Carla Suarez Navarro in the fourth round

The major disappointments:

Roger Federer: The Swiss Maestro, Roland Garros winner in 2009, played just one match in the five weeks between the end of the Monte-Carlo and the start of the French Open following the birth of twin sons Lenny and Leo and this had an impact on his preparation for the Roland Garros. He lost in five sets in the fourth round against Gulbis but he will have the chance to bounce back on his favourite green surface in Halle and Wimbledon in the coming weeks

Stan Wawrinka: The Lausanne player came to Paris with the dream to win a back-back Grand Slam tournament after clinching the Australian Open last January. He won his first Master 1000 in Monte-Carlo on clay which boosted his hopes to lift the Roland Garros crown but he suffered a major upset losing to Guillermo Garcia Lopez in the first round. The Spaniard, who won in Marrakesh and reached the quarter final in Monte-Carlo on clay earlier this year, inflicted a bagel in the fourth and final set.

Grigor Dimitrov: He travelled to Paris with high hopes following his semifinal in Rome (where he lost to Nadal in straight sets) but he suffered a first-round defeat against Croatian giant Ivo Karlovic in the first round. The young Bulgarian could find some consolation when his girlfriend Maria Sharapova lifted her second Roland Garros Trophy.

Serena Williams: Serena was looking to score her second consecutive Rome-Paris double but she suffered the major upset of the tournament against Garbine Muguruza, who went on to reach the quarter final.

Li Na: The reigning Australian Open champion and World Number 2 could not replicate her triumph in 2011 as she lost in the first round against Kristina Mladenovic.

Agnieszka Radwanska: The Pole started well with Zhang and Pliskova in the first two rounds but she lost in the third round against Tomljanovic

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Paris Olympics Daily Preview: Osaka Plays Kerber, Nadal Teams with Alcaraz

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11 hours ago

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26/07/2024

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Naomi Osaka practicing this week in Paris (twitter.com/ITFTennis)

Olympic tennis gets underway on Saturday in Paris, on the grounds of Roland Garros.

While not traditionally thought of as an Olympic sport, the tennis event at the last several Summer Olympic Games has provided some of the sport’s most memorable and emotional moments.  Representing their country at the Olympics is one of the biggest achievements in the lives of many tennis players, and the 2024 event being staged at Roland Garros is unquestionably a very special one.

This will be the last tournament in the careers of a pair of three-time Major champions: Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber.  And this will be the last Olympics, and likely the last time playing at Roland Garros, for 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal.  Rafa’s status for singles is in doubt, but he is committed to playing men’s doubles alongside four-time Major champ Carlos Alcaraz.

Nadal and Alcaraz will play their opening round doubles match on Saturday evening, while Kerber faces fellow multi-time Major champ Naomi Osaka in a blockbuster first round contest to close out the night session.  The day session sees both of the top seeds in the singles draws, Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek, play their opening round matches.

The draws for men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles will all be played across the next nine days in Paris.

Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule.  Saturday’s play begins at 12:00pm local time.

  • Alcaraz and Nadal practicing this week (twitter.com/ITFTennis

Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni [ARG] (6) vs. Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal [ESP] – 7:00pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier

Eight years ago, Nadal won the gold medal in men’s singles at the Rio Olympics, alongside Marc Lopez.  And eight years before that, he claimed the gold medal in men’s singles at the Beijing Olympics, notably defeating Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.  Now he goes for a third gold medal, teaming with the reigning Roland Garros and Wimbledon men’s singles champion.

But this is a physically compromised, 38-year-old version of Rafa, who has only played six events within the last 18 months.  And while he reached the final just last week in Bastad, that run apparently took a toll on his body.  There are reports he may be pulling out of the singles draw in Paris, as a four-hour quarterfinal match last week against Mariano Navone certainly drained the King of Clay. 

This will be the first time these two Spanish all-time greats team up, and both have rarely played doubles in their careers.  By contrast, Gonzalez and Molteni are both top 20 doubles players.  And while they didn’t team together during the grass court season, they’ve won seven titles together within the last 18 months.

However, facing these two Roland Garros champions on Court Philippe-Chatrier will be a daunting task.  And Nadal should be less hampered on the doubles court than the singles court.  I expect Rafa and Carlitos to embrace the energy of the Saturday night crowd in Paris, and advance to the next round.

Naomi Osaka [JPN] vs. Angelique Kerber [GER] – Last on Court Philippe-Chatrier

Both of these players returned from maternity at the start of the year, though neither has yet rediscovered their top form.  26-year-old Osaka has shown glimpses of it, specifically two months ago at this same venue, when she was just a point away from upsetting Iga Swiatek.  36-year-old Kerber is just 7-14 since returning, and arrives in Paris on a five-match losing streak.  Angie announced earlier this week that she will retire from the sport following these Olympic Games.

These two sure-fire Hall of Famers played six times between 2017 and 2022, with Kerber taking four of those six encounters.  However, most of those occurred while Angie was at her best, and before Naomi had reached her top level.  They’ve never before played on clay, which is certainly neither’s favorite surface.

In the last tournament of her career, Kerber will be extra motivated to achieve a good result.  And she’s done so before at the Olympics, as she was the silver medalist back in 2016.  At the last Olympics in Tokyo, Osaka seemed distracted and overwhelmed playing in her home country’s Games.  But this season, she’s been extremely focused on her tennis, and has dedicated herself to better acclimating to playing on clay.  Based on her performance in Paris two months ago, I like Naomi’s chances of prevailing on Saturday, and thus ending Angie’s singles career.

  • Swiatek practicing this week (twitter.com/ITFTennis)

Other Notable Matches on Saturday:

Iga Swiatek [POL] (1) vs. Irina-Camelia Begu [ROU] – Swiatek is 21-1 this year on clay, and is on a 19-match win streak on this surface.  Three years ago at Wimbledon, she thumped Begu by a score of 6-1, 6-0.

Jack Draper [GBR] vs. Kei Nishikori [JPN] – Nishikori was a bronze medalist at the Rio Olympics, but injuries have only allowed him to play four ATP events across the last three seasons.  Draper currently sits at a career-high ranking of No.26, thanks to 21 match wins in 2024.

Novak Djokovic [SRB[ (1) vs. Matthew Ebden [AUS] – An Olympic gold medal is the one glaring blemish on the Djokovic CV, and at 37 years of age, this will most certainly be his last good chance to win the gold for Serbia, which might mean more to Novak than any of his other career accomplishments.  Ebden replaces Andy Murray in the singles draw, and the Australian hasn’t played a singles match in over two years, as the ITF bizarrely uses doubles players already on site as singles alternates.

Hady Habib [LBN] vs. Carlos Alcaraz [ESP] (2) – Alcaraz will play both singles and doubles on Saturday, and he’s now 33-6 on the year in singles, coming off his fourth Major title at Wimbledon.  Habib is a 25-year-old representing Lebanon who has never been ranked inside the world’s top 250.

Rinky Hijikata [AUS] vs. Daniil Medvedev [AIN] (4) – Three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics, Medvedev lost in the quarterfinals to eventual bronze medalist Pablo Carreno Busta.  Hijikata peaked at No.70 in singles last season, but is just 10-16 in 2024.

Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula [USA] (1) vs. Ellen Perez and Daria Saville [AUS] – Gauff will be the flag bearer for the United States during Friday’s opening ceremony, after missing the Tokyo Games due to COVID.  Her and Pegula are regular partners, while Perez and Saville are not, though Perez is a top 10 doubles player.

Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.

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Matteo Berrettini extends his winning streak to eight consecutive matches to reach the semifinal in Kitzbuehl

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18 hours ago

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26/07/2024

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Matteo Berrettini beat world number 143 Nicolas Moreno De Alboran 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in their first head-to-head match to reach the semifinal at the Generali Open in Kitzbuhel. Berrettini has extended his winning streak to eight consecutive matches. 

Berrettini hit seven aces, dropped just five points on his first serve and saved all three break points. 

Berrettini, who was outside the top 150 last March, returned to the top 50 after claiming his ninth career title in Gstaad.

The first three games featured a total of three break points. Both players went on serve en route to the tie-break. De Alboran earned the first mini-break to take a 4-3 lead, but Berrettini won four consecutive points from 3-5 down to claim the tie-break 7-5. Berrettini improved to 9-0 in tie-breaks during the past two tournaments. 

The second set went on serve until the eighth game when Berrettini earned his decisive break to take a 5-3 lead. The 2021 Wimbledon finalist sealed the win on his first match point after a double fault from De Alboran. 

Berrettini set up a semifinal match against Yannik Hanfmann, who beat Thago Seyboth Wild 7-6 (7-2) 6-4. 

“I am really happy with the performance, I have never played against him so I did not really what to expect. It was a really high level of tennis and I think he was playing and serving really well, hitting the forehand really well, so I had to dig deep with my energy and my level”, said Berrettini.

Hugo Gaston battled past Sebastian Baez 7-5 5-7 7-6 (8-6) in 3 hours and 8 minutes. Gaston saved two match point as he won the last four points of the tie-break in the third set. The Frenchman fended off 12 of the 16 break points.

Gaston set up a semifinal clash against Pedro Martinez, who came back from one set down to beat Pedro Martinez 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 6-4 in 3 hours and 32 minutes.   

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Novak Djokovic’s Potential Second Round Clash With Rafael Nadal Headlines Olympics Draw

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic could meet in the second round of the Olympics.

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2 days ago

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25/07/2024

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(@TheTennisLetter - Twitter)

Novak Djokovic’s potential second round clash with Rafael Nadal headlines an exciting Olympics draw.

The draw was done this morning for the Olympic Games which will take place at Roland Garros.

After Andy Murray’s late withdrawal from the singles event, the next big headline would take place in the men’s singles draw as Novak Djokovic could collide with Rafael Nadal in the second round.

It would be a titanic tussle between two of the best players of all time but first Djokovic will have to get past doubles specialist Matthew Ebden while Nadal takes on Hungarian Marton Fucsovics in the opening round.

Djokovic is the top seed after Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal and could play Hamburg champion Arthur Fils in the third round before a potential quarter-final clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Meanwhile as for Carlos Alcaraz the Spaniard will begin against Hady Habib in the opening round and could face Cameron Norrie in the second round with the Brit facing Tallon Griekspoor in his opener.

Other key obstacles in his half of the draw are Rome finalist Alejandro Tabilo, Alex De Minaur and Casper Ruud.

Here are some of the other key matches in the men’s singles draw in the first round:

Lorenzo Musetti v Gael Monfils

Jack Draper v Kei Nishikori

Alexander Bublik v Taylor Fritz

Alex De Minaur v Jan-Lennard Struff

Kerber and Osaka first round clash headlines Women’s Singles Draw

In the Women’s singles draw the headline clash will see Naomi Osaka take on Angelique Kerber in a battle of the Grand Slam champions.

Kerber has announced this morning that this will be her final tournament of her career before retiring.

The winner of that match could take on Elena Rybakina in the second round with the Kazakh beginning her campaign against Jaqueline Cristian.

Rybakina has landed in Iga Swiatek’s half of the draw with the world number one beginning against Irina-Camelia Begu with the in-form Diana Schnaider awaiting in the third round.

In the bottom half of the draw, Coco Gauff will begin her campaign against Ajla Tomljanovic with Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekic awaiting in the third round.

Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova will face Sara Sorribes Tormo with Jessica Pegula awaiting in the third round.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray headline doubles draw

In the doubles draws, Andy Murray will compete in his last ever tournament as he and Dan Evans are drawn against Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori in the first round.

The dream duo of Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal face sixth seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni.

Meanwhile the Tsitsipas brothers face Nuno Borges and Francisco Cabral while Daniil Medvedev and Roman Safiullin face second seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz.

The headline match of the men’s doubles is Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul facing Felix Auger-Aliassime and Milos Raonic.

On the women’s side top seeds Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula take on Ellen Perez and Daria Saville.

Also featuring in the draw are Caroline Garcia, Angelique Kerber, Barbora Krejcikova and Maria Sakkari.

The events start on Saturday and will conclude a week later.

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