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The picks at Roland Garros: Sunday, May 28

May 28, 2023 by
John Isner
Tom Grason

Roland Garros has started already, in 15 days, with a lot of competitors, 256 men and women in the singles. That is a lot. It would be impossible to walk over at the event, sit down near the chair, and match for three games, and then, go to another one, and another, and another, and another… Possibly, in Paris, you could see 24 matches, but not much. Try it out. Or words…

Match predictions were written before start of play.

John Isner over Nuno Borges
The older American has gone deep on the hardcourts and the grass, too, but he has really beaten the excellent competiteors on clay. Yes, the tall man has 14,222 aces, the most ever, but he has yet to win a Grand Slam. His forehand is huge, but his backhand is marginal. Now, he has to turn it on, and he did reach into the fourth round three times, but he could not crack into the quarters. To do it again would be surprising, as he is 38-year- old, so pretty soon, he will retire.

Borges has had a mediocre year, even though the Portugal can be consistent, and with some solid spin, but he has yet to win a match at the French Open, ever, so Isner will grab it in five, long, sets.

Sebastian Korda over Mackenzie McDonald
This is a toss-up, as Korda is just returned, and McDonald has put together a few excellent matches at the beginning of the year. He is very consistent, he is quick, running around, and he can smack his backhand. But over the past two months, he did not win hardly at all.

Korda can hit both sides, with his heavy forehand. He can really run, and he can returns pretty decent. Korda can trip up, but he wants to go into the top 20 this year, so in the first round, he will win it in three, simple sets.

Camila Giorgi over Alize Cornet
Will this be the French woman retire next year? You never know, as last year, she thought that this will be the end, but she stayed on, and because of that, she is still pretty good. She is not great, though, but she still puts together some wonderful winners. On the hardcourts, she won some wonderful matches, but she travels all the time, so when she is confused, on court, she can lose pretty early.

The same goes with Giorgi, the Italian can split the ball, and she can play with some hard shots, but she can also hit into the middle, and not deep enough. However she has had a few tournaments this year, really trying how to figure it out and really go for it when the time is right there. It will be a very close match, but Giorgi will edge Cornet in a dramatic, three sets.

Jessica Pegula over Danielle Collins
She has certainly better over the past two years, and Pegula has decided to really meld it up, and attack if she feels that she can put it on the lines. She is a true submarine, and she can also rush into the net, and put it away. There are times when she back off, and that is why that she has not gone deep at Roland Garros. Maybe she is ready to do it right now.

Collins can looks be brave, and she can slam at it almost immediately. Her forehand is big, and her backhand is pretty solid, but she will miss a lot of errors. She has had a medicare year, and they last time that they met, in Miami, Pegula beat her in two, tough, sets.

Perhaps in the second week, the No. 2 Pegula will fine reach it into the semis at Roland Garros for for the first time. As she said, “That would be another amazing result for me, especially on clay, I think to go further, I think you have to get to those points first and you have to just keep playing your game every single match. And I think that that’s what helps build confidence and takes you through the later rounds.”

This is Pegula’s time to shine and she will win in two close sets.

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The Finals Picks: Saturday, May 29

May 27, 2023 by
Elina Svitolina

In Geneva: Grigor Dimitrov over Nicolas Jarry
The Bulgarian just said that in the next couple years, that the veteran wants to win a few more big events. Well Dimitrov can, as long as he can not only be consistent, but to crack the ball with his heavy forehand and his stylish backhand. He can lose control, and he will be upset, physically, and then he will lose, but he can recover.

In the final against Jarry, he will have to figure it out how. Last year he wasn’t doing much, but this week he upset Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev . “I have been playing good tennis and working a lot,” Jarry said. “To be able to play like this against Casper [Ruud] and against Sascha, I am so happy with all the work.”

He must have worked all the time, and also, he added more types of new shots. On clay, Jarry is very comfortable on the dirt, but the Chilean still has to nail the ball, especially in the final. Because of that Grigor Dimitrov will win a very long match in Geneva.

In Lyon: Francisco Cerundolo over Arthur Fils
The Argentine has had a pretty good years, on the hardcourts and in the clay, with some interesting strokes. He can really mix it up, and he is also fast, when he is running. He does really like to use the crosscourt, and down the line, off both sides. His serves are so-so, and his return is good, but not great, as he has yet to go into the top 20. But close, now.

The 18-year-old Arthur Fils from France is now quickly rising, and he has beaten a number of a few good players. He can really hustle, and he can also be super patient. Yes, he can miss a number of error, but he still will continue to drive with some engaging strokes. Fils will got into the top 100 this year, or faster, but in the final, Cerundolo will grind it down in three, longish, sets.

In Strasbourg: Elina Svitolina over Anna Blinkova
The former No. 2 Elina Svitolina has recently returned after she had a child, and it is still time to reset all of her goals. She really likes to rally, and she can be intense, although the reason why she has yet to win the Grand Slam is because she gets pretty troubled, and then she would back off. But perhaps she is changing.

This week, Anna Blinkova said that she was thinking about what she should do, to either just stay back and hope the opponent will miss one, but now on clay, she decided to attack early. Apparently, she did, and it will be close, but Svitolina will win it, her 17th titles, which is very, very good.

In Rabat: Lucia Bronzetti over Julia Grabher
The Italian Lucia Bronzetti can be loyal, and she can also scramble. Last year she put together some fine wins, but she also tripped it, at the the matches. This week, it does look like that she wants to be more fitting, and to figure it out, win or lose. This week, she certainly has.
 
The Austria has had a medicore year, winning a few decent matches, but losing against to a variety with the players. Grabher can be solid, at times, but she doesn’t hit the ball with enough pace. However, this week she was very solid, and damn steady. She might do it, again, but Bronzetti will out hit her with her better forehand and she will win it in three, savage, sets.

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Preview: ATP at 2023 Roland Garros

May 24, 2023 by
Carlos Alcaraz

It is possible that Daniil Medvedev will win Roland Garros for the first time, but he has to play for two weeks, in a three out of five, and while he rarely gets tired, on the famous clay, there have been some stunning upsets. But not with Rafa Nadal, who has won it 11 times, but unfortunately, he won’t be able to play because he is still injured.

So he will not go, and then you can throw 10 players who can grab it. You can look at Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas,  Holger Rune, Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, Jannik Sinner, Taylor Fritz and Felix Auger-Aliassime. You can also throw in even more, but you have to think that they are very good, each day in Paris, or they can fall down in the second week.

In the 1990s, the American men were very valid, eventually, winning at Roland Garros with Jim Courier and Andre Agassi. It did take them a decent about of time to get hooked on the clay.   
They became patient, and when they had a real chance to crush there hard forehand, and also, there steady backhand. It was spot on.

Currently, over the past two months on clay, once again, the U.S. guys have not been deep enough. Fritz  has played terrific on the hardcourts, but in the past three years, he lost very early at Roland Garros. Perhaps he went too early,  and he didn’t want to rallies for hours. Sure, he can dish  quick and he can alloy it up, and return, too, but on the clay, he still isn’t sure what to do during the match.


The same thing goes with the No. 12  Frances Tiafoe, who put together a couple very good matches on the hardcourts, but on the clay, he is fumbling again. Last year, he was on fire at the 2022 U.S. Open and Tokyo, and he hit some phenomenal shots, but now he has been missing a lot. He is 25-years-old, so maybe he can re-adjust in the strokes, and to return, better. Also, both he and Fritz are cover good at the net, but they really have to put it away, and also, chuck in some excellent drop shots.

The rest of the U.S. men have had a good last 12 months, moving up, with Tommy Paul, Sebastian Korda, Brandon Nakashima, Jenson Brooksby, Maxime Cressy, J.J. Wolf and Ben
Shelton. But into the quarters at Roland Garros, that would be surprising, but one person will turn on the lights.

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Ka-boom: Can the American men go deep on European clay?

April 24, 2023 by
Taylor Fritz
Mal Taam/MALTphoto

Taylor Fritz: “Maybe not all the other, older generation of Americans wouldn’t want to play so much on clay, but it’s important.”

The American men have not won the ATP 1000 in Madrid was in 2002, when the Grand Slam eight time champion Andre Agassi won it on clay. He had been No. 1, and he also won all four, winning the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. But with the current men, no one has won it, and it has been almost 20 years. The last one was Andy Roddick, who grabbed it at the 2003 U.S. Open.

In a sense, it is somewhat decent, as over the years, many people thought out in the county began to really like tennis. Not just in Switzerland, and Spain, but also, with Serbia, as Novak Djokovic has won 21 Grand Slams. He can play spectacularly, as did the now retired Roger Federer, as well as Rafa Nadal, who is still playing.

Unfortunately, both Djokovic and Nadal are hurt so they cannot play in Madrid this week. But the No. 10, Taylor Fritz, is playing and he has had a pretty good year, but not phenomenal. He has yet to reach into the semifinals in the Slams, but at least he had won an ATP 1000 at the 2022 Indian Wells. He was rising, and at times, he looks amazing, yet on the dirt, he has yet to go deep at Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros. He wants to go further, and he wants to, but he is not quite there, yet.
 
“Well, look, if you want to be one of the best players in the world, you really do have to perform on all surfaces. I think what other choice do you have? You have to embrace it,” Fritz said. “You have to try to enjoy playing on it, try to get better, try to have the best results possible. I’m still obviously improving a lot, but it’s always been important for me to try to play a serious clay court schedule. Maybe not all the other, older generation of Americans wouldn’t want to play so much on clay, but it’s important if you want to be top-5, top-10 player to be able to perform on every surface.”

Not only did Agassi finally became so much better in the clay courts, but Jim Courier and Pete Sampras both won at Rome. In the early 1990s, Courier won Roland Garros twice, with some long, hard points. You can also throw in Michael Chang, another American, who when he was so young, he flew up into the sky and nailed it, winning with some incedible matches, and he won Paris in1989. That was mind blowing. Those four combined for 27 Grand Slams. Ka-boom.

Right now, with the current men, it is possible that someday, someone will win a major. But we are not sure. As Fritz said, that the Russian Andrey Rublev has become so steady. Last week, he won the ATP 1000 Monte Carlo. “He’s very consistent. He’s made lots of quarters, semis, and I think this is his third final. It’s kind of just whoever plays the best on that week” Fritz said. “He has been unlucky. But yeah, obviously he’s 100% at the level of a player who you would expect to have one and he’ll have one soon.”

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Rafa Nadal wins Roland Garros, but will he play Wimbledon?

June 10, 2022 by
Rafael Nadal

Rafa Nadal reached his 14th final at Roland Garros. And, he has won them all. On Sunday he easily won, stepping on Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0.

He lost just six games. He played almost seamless. The new comer, Ruud, could not get in and find any kind of a solution. He was battered.

Nadal was already to sprint on the clay, and he poked it to take-no-prisoners.

Nadal, who now has won 14 majors in Paris, and overall, he has 22 Grand Slams. He is the current best player ever.

The “King of Clay” is ahead of Novak Djokovic, who has 20 Slams, and also, Roger Federer has 20, too. It is possible that Djokovic can win a few more Grand Slams, and if the Swiss returns at some point, the 40-year-old Federer will have a slight chance to win again, but that would be almost impossible because he has been seriously injured a lot in the past few years.
 
The 36-year-old Nadal is also hurt quite a bit. He has to decide to play Wimbledon in a couple more weeks, as his foot is very sore, so much so that he couldn’t feel it. The doctor helped him, each day, and he managed to not only smack his phenomenal forehand, but his backhand is so steady. Plus, at the net, he can just put it away, and at the drop shots, too.

Will Nadal go to Wimbledon?

“If I am able to play with anti-inflammatories, yes – to play with anesthetic injections, no. I don’t want to put myself in that position again,” Nadal said. “That’s what we are gonna try. If that works, I gonna keep going. If that not works, then gonna be another story. And then I gonna ask to myself about if I am ready to do a major thing… a major surgery that don’t guarantee me to be able to be competitive again and it gonna take a long time to be back.”

If he does not play, Djokovic will be there, the favorite [who Nadal beat him in the quarters at RG]. Alexander Zverev looked terrific at RG, and then he wrenched his leg and he retired against Nadal. It would be surprising that Zverev can actually play at Wimbledon.

England announced that Russia and Belarus cannot play there, due to the terrible Russian invasion into Ukraine. So at least right now, the No. 2 Daniil Medvedev won’t be there, as well as Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov, among others.

It is early, but in a few weeks perhaps that Stefanos Tsitsipas, Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime will ready to touch on the grass.

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Novak Djokovic: ‘It could not be better going into Roland Garros’

May 20, 2022 by
Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal

It took Serbian Novak Djokovic weeks before he came back into top form this spring. In Rome, he won the tournament, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-0, 7-6(5). The No. 1 has won 38 ATP Masters 1000s. He has also won 20 Grand Slams. He has had a tough year, but now, he is finally in the zone.

“Two days ago I played great. I have been building my form for the past couple of weeks and I knew that my best shape on clay usually comes around Rome, so it could not be better going into Roland Garros,” Djokovic said. Djokovic knew his form was improving through the final and, gradually, he exploited Tsitsipas’s backhand.

“I always believed that I could come back and win the match, and I stayed there even though a lot of things were against me in terms of how I felt on the court. Game-wise, physically I was just far from my best,” Djokovic said. “So, of course, in those types of conditions and circumstances, then you have to really work two times more than you normally would. I played a clay court specialist. I have to try to be optimistic and build, to Roland Garros and where I want to peak.”

With him being sidelined though the early part of 2022 due to not having been vaccinated for COVID-19, he practiced all the time. But, without match play the 34-years old gets irritated and frustrated. When he is on court, he can be lethal and so steady. But now he is in a better space and he is driving on the train.

His backhand might be the best ever, when he is almost perfect cross-court and also down the line, too. He can smack his very good forehand, and he can return quite deep. His eyes can focus, and he can be very thoughtful.

Djokovic is peaking, and at Roland Garros, he has a shot to win the tournament, assuming whether Rafa Nadal will be healthy. If they advance, the two legends will meet in the quarterfinals. The Spaniard stopped playing after Rome. He has won 13 Grand Slams at the French Open, and he has been clearly the best player ever in Paris, but if his legs or his sore back seize up, he might not be able to win it for the millionth time.

Another Spaniard, the 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, is winning almost everything. He is so fast, he can bash the ball, and he can hit some amazing drop shots. He can sprint, and he smiles when he hits a winner. However, even though he won Barcelona and Madrid, he has yet to dominate the three-out-of-five set matches. He will, one way or another, but can he do it next week? Maybe in the first week, but in the second week? Possibly as long as he can be more consistent.

Here are a few players who can reach the second week including Tsitsipas, Taylor Fritz, Denis Shapovalov, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and of course, Daniil Medvedev, who just returned to action.

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Novak Djokovic loses first 2022 match in Europe

April 14, 2022 by
Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic lost at Monte Carlo on Monday, the first time that he had played on court after Dubai. There, in February, he lost in the quarters against Jiri Vesely. In April, Djokovic could not shake it off, and he went down against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner decided not to take the COVID-19 vaccine, and because of that he could not play at the 2022 Australian Open. He also could not play Indian Wells and Miami, which was a huge challenge mentally.

When he is on court, he can be lethal and so steady. But when you cannot play, even while he can practice all the time, the 34-years old gets irritated and frustrated.

“I’m disappointed. No one likes to lose,” he said. “I didn’t like the way I felt physically in the third. I just ran out of the gas completely. Just couldn’t really stay in the rally with him. I mean, if you can’t stay in the rally, not feeling your legs on the clay, it’s mission impossible. So, I don’t like that.”

Before he went down against Davidovich Fokina on clay, he had played only three matches this year. Now, after the loss, that is four contests in three-and-a-half months. That is nothing for him.

“Obviously I miss competition. I still feel motivation to be on the tour and compete with young guys and try to challenge the best players in the world for the biggest titles,” Djokovic said. “Obviously last four, five months have been really challenging for me mentally and emotionally, but here I am and I try to leave all of that behind and move on.

“Clay court is the surface in which I grew up in Serbia and played many years only on that surface actually, and historically hasn’t been my most successful surface, but I have had some big success on clay. Of course, Roland Garros win last year is still fresh in my memory, so I try to use that as an inspiration to kick-start the clay court season best possible way.”

He plays only the biggest events on clay except in Serbia where he grew up. His backhand might be the best ever, where he is almost perfect cross-court, and down the line is very strong, too. He can smack his very good forehand, and he can return very deep. His eyes can focus and be very smart on court.

This year, he has to play on clay anytime the tournaments allow him. The question is: Will the tournaments allow an unvaccinated player?

Djokovic has to continue to raise his game. He knows that when he lost to Davidovich Fokina, he was mediocre at best in the third set. He knows that.

“I always believed that I could come back and win the match, and I stayed there even though a lot of things were against me in terms of how I felt on the court. Game-wise, physically I was just far from my best,” he said. “So, of course, in those types of conditions and circumstances, then you have to really work two times more than you normally would. I played a clay court specialist. He had a match already on center court a few days ago. I expected this match to be really tough match, physical battle, and that’s what it was. Unfortunately, I’m on the shorter end of the stick, and my week ends here. I have to try to be optimistic and build to Roland Garros, where I want to peak.”

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2021 Roland Garros winners: Novak Djokovic & Barbora Krejcikova

June 14, 2021 by
Barbora Krejcikova

Down two sets to love, Novak Djokovic was a little bit frustrated, and he was not sure where to go. He was playing pretty good but Stefanos Tsitsipas was on fire, mixing it up, cracking the ball, and he was super confident.

But, for the 19th time, Djokovic won a Grand Slam, edging Tsitsipas 6-7(6) 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4. He stood up tall, his forehand was deep, his backhand was very steady and he moved it all around. He hits it flat, he touches a lot of spin, and then would hit it powerfully, way up high. He returns very well, and he is very quick. He is not perfect at the net, nor are his drop shots, but he always makes a huge effort.

That is why that Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer are the best players, at least by Slam count. This year, Djokovic could win another Slam, and then he will tie with the Spaniard and the Swiss at 20 majors at the Grand Slams. Then the race will begin, in what will be super intense until they retire.


When? It is hard to say, but they are thinking about it frequently, so perhaps there could be some tension.

Tsitsipas looked great in the first two sets, but then he tired, and began confused. Sure, he can win a Slam, eventually, but he still has to adjust inside his head. And if he does, he can lock in during the fifth set, and finally, grab a major prize.

That Barbora Krejcikova won the title was almost crazy. Yes, over the past eight years, she looked terrific in the mixed and doubles, winning a bunch of titles. But, the singles, she looked OK, but not fantastic.

And then in Paris, she beat a number of very good players, and she took them down. She has a lot of variety, with her forehand, her backhand, her first serve and respectable returns. This is simple but it is very true: when you play in the doubles, and Krejcikova plays at the tournaments — she does it overtime. So, because of that, then each year you improve at the net and serving. She certainly did and during the final, it was a lot of pressure in the third set against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. But, Krejcikova continued to stay calm. The veteran Pavlyuchenkova was close in the third, and she was aggressive, but not enough.

Krejcikova won 6-1 2-6 6-4, which was a gigantic win. Now, everyone will know who the Czech is, making it harder for her to jump into the top 10. Currently, she is ranked No. 15. She is looking for the mountain.

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Roland Garros, Day 12: Novak Djokovic versus Rafa Nadal

June 11, 2021 by
Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal will face off on Friday night at Roland Garros. It is amazing that those two have clashed in 57 matches. If you really like to watch the great players, how about 58? Sit down and watch TV and you can stay there foreve
On court, they totally know each other – their strokes, their attitudes – and they can go for big shots when they see openings. There have been so many winners, hundreds of them. In their first match back in 2006, Nadal beat Djokovic, who retired in the Roland Garros quarters. The Spaniard eventually won the Slam for the second time in Paris, and while the Serbian began to win the majors, Nadal continued to beat him, six times at RG. But know this: Djokovic has taken down Nadal a lot,on the hardcourts. In a sense, they are even.

Djokovic has the overall edge 29-28, but in last year’s French final, Nadal smoked Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5. That was a blow out, but yesterday, the super consistent backhand Djokovic said that this week, he is feeling terrific. “I’m confident. I believe I can win, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. Let’s have a great battle,” he said.

There were other finals, and Djokovic could not find the solution. Back in 2013, the only time, Djokovic nearly upset Nadal in this tournament. The Serb was toe-to-toe, however, the Spaniard fought and fought and he finally won, 9-7 in the fifth. That is clearly one of their classic matches.
 
“l probably pick Rafa as the biggest rival I’ve ever had in my career. The anticipation for the match against him, any match, any surface, any occasion, is always different from any other,” Djokovic said. “His match had it all: falls, crowd, break. It was a lot of intensity. I just felt under tension the entire time. I felt like I missed some of the chances to end the match in the third set. I didn’t want to give him too much opportunities to dictate the match. That’s why it was just super, super stressful to constantly be under pressure on my service games because his service games were quite smooth with the big serve. Yeah, the reaction in the end was just me liberating that tension that was building up for the entire match.”

Nadal has a phenomenal forehand … Djokovic has a better very deep backhand … they are almost tied with the serves. But, with the second serves, the Serb hits it harder. Once again, they are tied with the returns, but Nadal is more comfortable at the net. No matter Nadal’s incredible success on clay, Essentially, they are even.

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Roland Garros, Day 11: Tsitsipas & Zverev on pressure

June 10, 2021 by
Alexander Zverev

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev have reached the semis at Roland Garros and both of them have said that right now they believe that they can finally win a Grand Slam.

In Paris, Tsitsipas had a terrific win, beating Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6 (3), 7-5. He was very patient, hitting the balls deep. When he has a chance, he went for the winners. He didn’t do that at every opportunity, but he knew he could pound it.
“I feel privileged that I’m in that position, and I feel obviously I’ve put in a lot of daily hard work has been a key element of me being here. But my ego tells me ‘I want more.’ ” Tsitsipas said.

Last year at the 2020 U.S. Open final, Zverev was close in the fifth set, but he could not find the finish line against Dominic Thiem. The German backed away from going for his shots while the Austrian was fearless and won. This time in the quarters in France, he easily won 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

The 24-year-old Zverev has won some big titles, taking numerous ATP 1000s and ATP Finals. He has won on clay and on hardcourts. But, holding him back was getting angry at himself. Now, he is so much smarter.

“Obviously, the Grand Slams are the tournaments that we want to win the most,” Zverev said. “Before, maybe, the last few years, I was putting too much pressure on myself. Before Medvedev and Tsitsipas arrived, I was seen as this guy that was going to all of a sudden take over the tennis world. I was not very patient with myself, which I feel like now, maybe, I learned how to deal with the situation a little bit better.”

Tsitsipas is 22 years old and now knows he is more comfortable with his forehand and his returns. His backhand can be flat, or he can swing very hard. He really likes his progress.

“I’m playing good. That will show by itself,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a player that thinks they can’t win the tournament. I’m pretty sure that they all can play well. If someone could grant them the tournament, I don’t think that’s a thought. Of course, I’m playing well. I think if I can keep repeating the process, the everyday hustle that I put in, for sure there’s going to be a reward, why not?”

Why not, that is for sure.

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How about this? Usually at the Grand Slams, in the semis, there have been at least a couple women players who were in the top 10, or how about No. 15? Not now, this week. All four are in their first major semifinal.

Yes, all four players have looked excellent during the matches, but before that, none of them have won a huge tournament. So, on Thursday, it will be the No. 31 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova versus the No. 85 Tamara Zidansek; and then the No.17 Maria Sakkari against the No. 33 Barbora Krejcikova.

Going into Paris, many people, the journalists and the fans, would have thought that the top 10-ers would have reached into the semis, such as Iga Swiatek, Ash Barty, Naomi Osaka, Sofia Kenin, Serena Williams, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova and others. But they lost or withdrew [Osaka]. So, now it will be the new, new players.

Will they be calm, or super nervous? All of them — Pavlyuchenkova, Zidansek, Sakkari and Krejcikova — will be shaking early, but when they can attempt to go for it, and read it, then they can be competitive. Two of them who wins it will start thinking about the final at Roland Garros on Saturday. Maybe they won’t sleep, but take a nap, and dream before they start. A good dream.

Thursday update: Pavlyuchenkova advanced to the final when she took down Zidansek 7-5, 6-3.

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