Friday, May 31, 2013

Exciting Encounters: Day 6 at Roland Garros '13

Damp Thursday calls for a Fiery Friday. The plate of Tennis enthusiasts would be full today. And thankfully the weather forecasts predict clear skies and even some Sun. TGIF! We are moving closer to the second week of a Grand Slam and its gonna get more and more exciting. We have today all the exciting encounters of yesterday and more from today; looks like a feast after skipping a meal. Let's have a look:

1. Roger Federer vs Julien Benneteau

Federer leads their head to head 4-2; is a way better player than the Frenchman; is ranked 3 in the world opposed to Benneteau's 30. So what makes this match exciting? It's the match up. Tennis is all match-ups and Federer doesn't like Benneteau on the other side. Last year at Wimbledon, Julien Benneteau gave the eventual champion Roger Federer a hell of a scare in the third round. He lead Federer two sets to love and after losing the third took the fourth to a tie-breaker which Federer won but....just. Maybe one point here and there and 2012 would have seen a different Wimbledon champ. And this year Benneteau has defeated Federer in Rottedam, that too in straight sets. Federer himself acknowledged in the recent interview that he has troubles against Julien. Benneteau has a powerful serve and an accurate backhand to dictate and of course, Federer can do anything with the ball. Clay may be Federer's least preferred surface but he's better than most here as well. Also, Benneteau will have to move really well on clay to challenge Federer. Pick: Federer in Four Sets!

2. Sabine Lisicki vs Sara Errani

Sabine Lisicki has too much talent to not cause a threat. The German has big shots in her bag and can blast through any opponent. But a career marred with injuries has always prevented her from the heights. Sara Errani is more like the female David Ferrer - consistent, counter puncher and her game suits for clay. The theme of the game would be - Lisicki will blast the ball and Errani will put it back in play. Who blinks first? Lisicki motivates herself well against bigger opponents in Grand Slams and can pull an upset but she has to be very very consistent. But since its clay...Pick: Errani in three!

*Yesterday's two exciting matches are now on today's roster.

3. Fernando Verdasco vs Janko Tipsarevic

The mini version of Spain vs Serbia. The mini version of Nadal vs Djokovic. Both have always been in the shadows of their legendary countrymen; both have been involved in some great matches but never crossed the line to be considered in the top tier. Both are experienced campaigners at the Grand Slams. Their head to head encounters are lead by Tipsarevic 4-2 but they all have been close. They are meeting at the French Open for the first time and their only clay meeting was back in 2009 with Verdasco winning in straights. Verdasco has the power and dash, and is a lefty, but is quite inconsistent. Tipsarevic, not so flashy but gets the work done, that's why he's the eighth seed. Tipsarevic in Four!

4. Tommy Haas vs Jack Sock


Its like yesterday vs tomorrow or may be even day after. Its's 35 yrs vs 20 yrs - that's too much of a gap in terms of Tennis or any professional sport. It's their first competitive meeting but they are practice partners. Yes, they know each other and each other's game well. Jack Sock is a budding US player with big serve and big forehand (like all other US players) but is young and promising. He can dictate the match with his energy, power and 'go for the shots' attitude. Tommy Haas must be the oldest player in the competition but he's enjoying a resurrection at this late age. He has an all court game and much more variations in his bag than the young American. However good the young Jack Sock may be, it's not wise to pick against a complete player who is cherishing his each day on the court as his last. Tommy Haas in Four!

Roland Garros '13: Day 5 Review

Day 5 had rain written all over it. It came, it went and came again was the pattern of the entire day. Let's look at whatever little that could happen.

Women's Draw

In the biggest upset in the Women's side till now, the 2011 Roland Garros Champion Li Na is sent packing in the second round by the burly and muscular Bethanie Mattek-Sands of USA. The sixth seed from China Li won the opening set but had no answers to the big hitting of BMS who hit like a woman possessed to win the next two. The match had two long interruptions due to rain, but it was Mattek Sands who held her nerve and the game plan better. Except for the fashion statement in Zebra like outfit, Mattek-Sands was a delight to watch. She hammered the groundstrokes on both wings, leaving the Chinese running all over the place but never gaining control.

The other encounters had no upsets. Victoria Azarenka faced German Annika Beck who did push the number 3 seed but couldn't take the match into a third set. Samantha Stosur also won her match in straight sets with little discomfort. In a battle of pretty ladies, Maria Sharapova is leading 4-2 in the second after winning the first set over Eugenie Bouchard of Canada when the play got suspended. 15 minutes of play today i guess will be enough to put Maria through.

Men's Draw

Djokovic lost only four games to move through the next round where an exciting encounter is promised against Grigor Dimitrov, who also won today 6-1, 7-6, 6-1. In another match, the talented Frenchman Benoit Paire (playing on consecutive days due to rain delay) won the very close first set and went on to dominate the next two. 
All the other anticipated big matches including Tipsy vs Verdasco, Haas vs Sock could not take place yesterday due to rain. Nadal also warmed up but the match could not start. However, his anticipated third round encounter with Lukas Rosol is out of equation with Rosol losing to Fognini in four. Rosol bludgeoned his strokes and won the third set in emphatic fashion but could not keep that level before or after. Never mind!


Thursday, May 30, 2013

Exciting Encounters: Day 5

What do we have today? Too early for heavy weights but some notably good encounters nevertheless. Let's have a look.

1. Fernando Verdasco vs Janko Tipsarevic

The mini version of Spain vs Serbia. The mini version of Nadal vs Djokovic. Both have always been in the shadows of their legendary countrymen; both have been involved in some great matches but never crossed the line to be considered in the top tier. Both are experienced campaigners at the Grand Slams. Their head to head encounters are lead by Tipsarevic 4-2 but they all have been close. They are meeting at the French Open for the first time and their only clay meeting was back in 2009 with Verdasco winning in straights. Verdasco has the power and dash, and is a lefty, but is quite inconsistent. Tipsarevic, not so flashy but gets the work done, that's why he's the eighth seed. Tipsarevic in Four!

2. Tommy Haas vs Jack Sock

Its like yesterday vs tomorrow or may be even day after. Its's 35 yrs vs 20 yrs - that's too much of a gap in terms of Tennis or any professional sport. It's their first competitive meeting but they are practice partners. Yes, they know each other and each other's game well. Jack Sock is a budding US player with big serve and big forehand (like all other US players) but is young and promising. He can dictate the match with his energy, power and 'go for the shots' attitude. Tommy Haas must be the oldest player in the competition but he's enjoying a resurrection at this late age. He has an all court game and much more variations in his bag than the young American. However good the young Jack Sock may be, it's not wise to pick against a complete player who is cherishing his each day on the court as his last. Tommy Haas in Four!

Added Note: As Rafael Nadal faces a fellow left hander Martin Klizan today in his 2nd round match, he must have one eye over the potential third round opponent playing on a lesser court against Fabio Fognini. Yes, the one match wonder who sent Nadal packing early at Wimby last year - Lukas "i don't give a shit who you are" Rosol. For Rosol its already tough and unlikely to pass Fognini on clay and i am sure Nadal would be willing to have a rematch, i wonder how it will play out. It'll be interesting if Rosol wins (assuming Rafa does too) and if he'll be afraid more or confident more. Or will Nadal be a tad nervous? No matter  how much Nadal's knees had a role to play in that match at Wimbledon; Rosol played his part and never faded away. Even for one great match, he deserves some credit.
Despite all i feel any upset is unlikely (even Rosol beating Fognini) becaus its clay, and its Nadal's arena. But we are fans, we can hope and we will be watching.

Roland Garros '13: Day 4 Review

Early days are mostly insignificant in Grand Slams with seeds holding up. There aren't much significant upsets (of the big four) in this Golden Era of tennis. Nadal in Wimbledon 2012 was an aberration but the credit mostly went to Rafa's bad knees than Lukas Rosol. Let's have a quick look at the results of Day 4.

Women's Draw

The top seed, who also happens to be the favorite, and who is out to prove a point this year at RG - Serena Williams made a quick work of Caroline Garcia 6-1, 6-2 to advance into round three of the open. Serena lost only 1 game in the opening round and wants to end the drought of a decade to grab her second french crown. She'll be tough to be denied this time. Venus Williams, on the contrary, got out in the first round battling her prolonged illnesses and fitness concerns. The rest of the top seeded women players advanced to the next round. Azarenka, Radwanska, Kerber, Sara Errani had easy wins over their unseeded opponents. Only Petra Kvitova was pushed to three sets by Aravane Rezai but prevailed 6-2 in the third.

Men's Draw

Roger Federer overawed Somdev Devvarman with too much power and variety moving on to greater challenges without breaking much sweat. Tsonga showed an improved backhand under his coach Roger Rasheed to triumph over Jarko Nieminen in straight sets. Nieminen had his moments but Tsonga came out on top in crucial exchanges. Ferrer, Almagro, Tipsarevic advanced in straights with Raonic and Simon taking four sets. However, two of the most interesting clashes of the day for me were - Benoit Paire vs Marcos Baghdatis and an even better Gale Monfils vs Ernests Gulbis.

Benoit Paire; the young and talented Frenchman is riding on high hopes both from the ever expecting French crowd and the experts as well. He has the potential, they say, particularly on clay. He did well against a tricky opponent in Marcos Baghdatis. The second round tie-breaker was the turning point and had Baghdatis won it, the story would have been different. But Paire came to the tie-breaker with great composure and aggression to turn the tables. He did enough in the next two sets to sail through. He'll be the one to watch for but just to know and not overburden him with expectations, he's in the defending champ's quarter of the draw. Good luck with that!

And now about the Match of the Day: 
Both players unseeded but playing at the Philippe Chartrier whereas Roger Federer got only Suzzane Lenglen...Imagine! Ernests Gulbis - the rich, spoiled, arrogant, big mouth but mightily talented player with every shot in the book against Gael Monfils - the showman, who suddenly comes alive at this time of the year, but returning from a prolonged injury. Nobody was a big favorite over the other before the match and was expected to be close. It was so. The first set went to the tiebreaker with Gulbis prvailing. Monfils came back to win the second. Gulbis, like he generally has, had his ups and downs. He went from looking extremely impressive to pathetically lost, from ruling the proceedings to gifting away the points. He lost the second set with three back to back unforced errors while serving and he came back from 3-5 in the third denying Monfils six set points, only to lose in the breaker. Monfils was more consistent. He didn't play a bad set and was rewarded for the same. That, not without weathering the Earnests Gulbis show in patches. But he stays alive and looks to go far from here.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Looking Back: The Road to Paris 2013

The build up towards the Roland Garros (with three Masters preceding it) is much more significant as compared to the Australian open and Wimbledon. Even US Open build up falls short in this regard. Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome (in that order) set the tone for the only Grand Slam on clay....the slow, red clay. And when you say clay, u inevitably say Rafael Nadal - 11 time Grand Slam Champion but also 7 time French Open champion, 8 time Monte Carlo champion, 7 time victor in Rome and also 3 times in Madrid. These are outrageous results by any standard considering that three of these tournaments are Masters 1000 and one a Grand Slam. Every year the anticipation grows high in regard to a potential challenge or upset of Rafa; ending in the same fashion (except in 2009) with Nadal biting the trophy. Let's look at MC, Madrid and Rome as they happened in 2013 and if they in any way are the sign of things to come.

All red clay is Rafa Nadal's marked terrotory but Monte Carlo all the more. He hasn't lost here since 2004 and has bitten the trophy eight times. Roger Federer generally does not enter this tournament, 2013 was the same. However, the reigning World No 1 Novak Djokovic has showed clear intentions to challenge Rafa at Monte Carlo in the past few years. He lives and practices in MC and has been looking to usurp Rafa's dominance. He did not play in 2011 (his by far the best year in professional tennis), lost to Nadal in the final in 2012 (lost his grand father the same week) but comes back and outplays Nadal on all counts in the 2013 final to take the trophy. This is huge! Novak Djokovic once again proves he can better Nadal on clay and though he came close to winning the French Open in 2012; he still don't have it - making it his primary goal of the season. From Nadal's perspective, it must have been a bit denting in terms of confidence to again lose to Djokovic. This result had build the hopes of all people across the world who wants to see someone else lifting the trophy other than Nadal. However, the contest did not repeat in Madrid and Rome. The very talented Grigor Dimitrov pulled and inspired performance to send Djokovic packing early in Madrid. Result, Rafa goes on to win the title easily. In Rome, Berdych gets the better of Djokovic and Nadal happily whipped and thrashed Federer once again to win Rome. Kind of a dud for people looking to see more of Nadal vs Djokovic, i feel. This changes equations going in to the 2013 French Open.

Rafael Nadal is the favourite once again going in the tournament. Novak Djokovic the only real challenger. Djokovic can beat Nadal if they face but can he beat all the others before to gain the right to face Rafa in the semifinals. Andy Murray has never been in the mix of contenders for the French Open and he rightly pulls out due to an injury to recover for Wimbledon - where he's more of a threat. That leaves only Roger Federer from the big four. He's still a class act but he is not in his prime, and he's 32. Rome final showed us once again that the odds of him beating Rafa on clay are now unreal. However, he is still the second best clay courter of the past decade and he this time gets an easier draw with Nadal and Djokovic in the other half. His moment can come if he makes it to the final and has somebody other than Nadal on the other side - even Djokovic. 

But with all speculations, it's still Nadal and Djokovic who are front runners with Federer a far third in the title race. Let's enjoy the game!