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The picks at Roland Garros: Monday, May 28

May 28, 2023 by Matthew Cronin

Brandon Nakashima over Denis Shapovalov
The Canadian has looked decent this year, but he is certainly struggling a lot. Shapovalov has a lot of spin, and he can also attack early, but at times, he isn’t concentrating enough. The young American had a fine year in 2022, but over the past five months, he has been disappointed. He can be proper, and he does like to sit in near the baseline and swing it, at times, hard. However, his serve is mediocre , and his return is OK, but they aren’t harsh enough. Last week he did reach in the semis in Lyon, so perhaps his pride is rising.

Shapovalov is ranked No. 32 and last year he was a charmer, but this year he has done almost nothing. Maybe he is hurt, on the court, or perhaps he is thinking about whether he can add some new shots, or stable. Eventually, he will, but who knows when? This is a huge toss-up between the both of them, but at least Nakashima had a good week, so then he will win it in five brutish sets.

Felix Auger-Aliassime over Fabio Fognini
This should be a blast in Paris. The Italian Fognini has played so many clay courts matches, for many years, and he has won so fantastic matches. He has a lot of roll, and he can also chop it, here and there. He can return, and he can touch with the the drop, shots. But at the Slams, he has been OK, but he has yet to reach the semis. Maybe this week, he can coup so high.

But I doubt, that. The other Canadian Auger-Aliassime, had a tremendous year in 2022, beating a number of the very good players. He is a colossal
hitter, and he is fast when he is running. He can slap his forehand and his backhand, and he can crush it down the line. But this year he is another player who is really struggling. Even with that, though, Auger-Aliassime will start to twirl, and he will win the match, with some gigantic forehands.

Sloane Stephens over Karolina Pliskova
The American Stephens has had a tough year, but she plays constantly, and while she has lost some odd matches, there are times when she can lock it in. The former 2017 U.S Open champion was so steady, from the backcourt, and she could really mix it up with her solid backhand and her forehand.

She may never win another Grand Slam again, but if she wants to push herself one more time, then maybe she can do it.

The Czech Pliskova can look tremendous, beating anyone, with her massive first serve and her forehand. She came so close to winning the U.S. and Wimbledon, but in the third set she misses a few critical shots. However, when she is feeling good, she can put it together with so many winners. Stephens has beaten Pliskova four times, including at the 2021 French Open, and while she can check out, at time, she will do it again, in three, wild, sets. As she said: ‘I think now I’ve kind of picked up some momentum. The clay-court season is always nice. And being able to win matches and collect a lot of points is always good. So just been trying to keep the momentum going from here.”

Elina Svitolina over Marina Treisan
They have not played with each other before, but the Ukranian is on fire again, as she just won another event, 19 all together. Svitolina is such a competitor, and she can hit some phenomenal strokes. She just returned, as she had a child, so now it is different, when you run, but already, she is much more snug. The Italian Treisan said, “I’m living in a dream.” Well that is good, except a few days ago, she became injured. She can skid it side to side, but if you are not 100 percent, then against Svitolina, she won’t be able to bring her down. Svitolina will win it in two sets.

Matt’s yesterday picks

Correct: Sebastian Korda over Mackenzie McDonald
Correct: Camila Giorgi over Alize Cornet
Correct: Jessica Pegula over Danielle Collins
~~John Isner over Nuno Borges~~

Matt’s picks from Roland Garros

3 out of 4, 75% correct

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Brandon Nakashima, Elina Svitolina, Felix Auger-Aliassime, french open, Matthew Cronin, paris, roland garros, roland-garros, sloane stephens

The picks at Roland Garros: Sunday, May 28

May 28, 2023 by Matthew Cronin

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.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Alize Cornet, Camila Giorgi, french open, Jessica Pegula, John Isner, Matthew Cronin, paris, roland garros, Sebastian Korda

The Finals Picks: Saturday, May 29

May 27, 2023 by Matthew Cronin

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.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Elina Svitolina, Francisco Cerundolo, french open, Grigor Dimitrov, Lucia Bronzetti, Lyon, Matthew Cronin, Rabat, roland garros, Strasbourg

Preview: ATP at 2023 Roland Garros

May 24, 2023 by Matthew Cronin

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.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: atp, Carlos Alcaraz, daniil medvedev, french open, Matthew Cronin, Novak Djokovic, roland garros, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Taylor Fritz

Novak Djokovic loses first 2022 match in Europe

April 14, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

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.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: french open, monte carlo, Novak Djokovic, roland garros

Two-time finalist Thiem out of Roland Garros

June 1, 2021 by Matthew Cronin

On the first day at the Grand Slams, the emotions are high or low. At the 2021 Roland Garros, it can be sunny or cold. Or maybe in the middle. Before they start, the players are generally charged up. “Let’s play, let’s sprint, let’s nail the winners and aces.”

But they never know until they began to play. Some can be very nervous, others are calm. On Sunday, there were dozens of matches. “What time is it, where exactly is it, is the clay soft or fast?”

Here are two players who lost and won.
.
Dominic Thiem, who reached RG in the final twice has not had a great year. He lost against Pablo Andujar in five sets. Going in, then former 2020 US champ thought he could pick it up. But in the fifth set, he missed some key points. Thiem was unsure.

“I was not struggling at all with my motivation, but the game was just not there today. Like all the shots are missing power,” he said. “They are not accurate enough. I’m moving not well enough, so everything in my game there are some percents missing. Actually, I don’t really know why, because since I stepped back on court it’s already two months, and I was really practicing well, super intense as well. Shots were there in practice and it got also better in Madrid and Rome. But Lyon [who lost in the first round] and here, the shots and all how I moved and everything was just not the real me.
It’s just not good enough at the moment. It’s very tough situation.”

Aryna Sabalenka is ranked No. 4, winning Madrid a few weeks ago. Mentally she has finally poised. Of course, she is a gigantic hitter, but now she is concentrating more. And she won’t being angry as much when she isn’t playing well.

“I have a lot of experience in these kind of matches. I mean, emotionally,” she said. “That’s why sometimes I scream, ‘Come on, or let’s go,’ because, this character inside of me and that I have to keep trying and don’t waste my energy. In some point, I understand that it’s too much emotions, like bad and good, so I kind of have to start thinking about what should I do to win this match? Put my focus in another place. It’s help me to find this, calmness?

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Dominic Thiem, french open, roland garros, roland-garros

Roland Garros, Day 11: ‘Hang it all out’

October 9, 2020 by Matthew Cronin

What is fascinating in the Roland Garros second week is there are some well-established players, but also some of the new breed.

On the Thursday and Friday, all the men and the women will compete in Paris. The traditional players are still there, such as Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Petra Kvitova and Sofie Keni , all the Slam winners.

One important questions: When they play, are there nervous or not?

Kvitova can win a another major, but she has yet to win RG. So, once again, if she is remains calm and hones her tactics, then maybe she can trick Kenin. Kenin, who crushed Danielle Collins in the final set of the quarters; she wiped her out. Both Kvitova and Kenin are aggressive and play without fear. They won’t push the ball, and they go for the lines. Big serves and returns will determine the match.

How about Nadia Podoroska and Iga Swiatek? Where did they come from all of a sudden?

The youngsters will be around a long time. But, to go way up into the top 10 in the next year, that is pretty questionable. Or they can disappear as quickly as they rose, though Swiatek looks like the real deal. They just have to prove it…

Stefanos Tsitsipas is on the winning streak. Over the past two weeks, he started to be consistent and powerful. Before that, in August, he was on and off, playing well or playing badly. Tsitsipas recently said that at this Grand Slam, he could it hang it all out.

He will face Djokovic in the semis, and the No. 1 Serbian is very controlled. And he is cane astute. If he feels rattled, and realizes it, he can change it up. Tsitsipas has had some tough days, but he never gives up.

Nadal is cruising, taking out Diego Schwartzman on Friday. It was odd to see the Argentine getting into a tiebreak and then not winning another point. But, with Nadal on clay, the mountain is very steep.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: french open, paris, Petra Kvitova, rafa nadal, roland garros, Sofia Kenin

Jennifer Fights for Her Life Grab Women’s Crown

May 30, 2020 by Matthew Cronin

We started TennisReporters.net in May 2001, 20 years ago. We have posted well over 1,500 articles.

As coronavirus began to strike the tennis world, Indian Wells cancelled the tournament on March 9. Right after that, the tournaments pulled out quickly, including Miami, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros. Now, the WTA and the ATP have shut down until June 7. Or even further. No one really knows.

However, if you love tennis, you can reminisce with TennisReporters.net. We are resurfacing many of our best stories, written by Matthew Cronin.

FROM PARIS (2001): With a smile that reached all the way around the Seine, Jennifer Capriati celebrated the most important title of her career after she willed her way past Kim Clijsters 1-6, 6-4, 12-10 in a nail biting final at Roland Garros on Saturday.

“I was fighting to the end, for my life out there. I just wanted to win so bad,” Capriati said of two hour and 21 minute sweatfest. “Afterwards, it just all paid off, all the fight. I’m really happy and relieved.”

Sharing seemingly never-ending hugs with her family after a gut-wrenching victory over a more than game opponent, Capriati lit up Roland Garros by beaming toward to sky.

“It doesn’t seem real,” said Capriati to her mother Denise after winning her second straight Grand Slam title.

“It is real,” replied Denise. “You won it with your big heart.”

Capriati dedicated the victory to fellow player Corina Morariu, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy in a Florida hospital for a rare form of leukemia.

“I just wanted to show that my heart is with her,” Capriati said. “We’re all players. It really hits home when something like that happens.”

A heavy favorite entering the contest, a nervous Capriati was completely out of sorts in the first set, becoming distracted by the chair umpire’s microphone and complained loudly to her.

“I can’t play that microphone,” she said to the umpire. “Are you kidding me? Turn that thing off. Don’t you have a switch?”

According to her mother, Capriati became tense last night while watching television and seeing one of her mentors, Chris Evert, saying that she was favorite to win the title and it was her time to shine in Paris. Unlike last year when she never entered an event the favorite, Capriati is now widely considered the best player in the world.

“The expectations were on her,” Denise said. “After what Chrissie said, she gave me a look and I knew that she was affected. Everyone was expecting her to win today and that’s not easy.”

Unlike in her previous matches, Capriati was unable to dictate play early, as she moved slowly and dumped numerous groundstrokes into the net. The 18-year-old Clijsters dominated the first set, running beautifully and and keeping her hard groundstrokes deep. Capriati committed a whopping 25 unforced errors in the set and said she was upset by a l
arge contingent of vocal Belgian fans.

But after changing rackets down 0-1 in the second set, Capriati regrouped and began to stand in more confidently in the neck-breaking rallies. Even though Clijsters wowed the crowd with her retrieving abilities, she was unable to control her huge forehand at key moments. Capriati broke her to go ahead 3-2 when Clijsters hit a forehand long and held on to win the set when the Belgian missed a forehand down the line.

While the first two sets were error strewn, both attacking baselines raised their games in the third set. Capriati broke Clijsters to open the set with by bashing away a forehand volley, but the 18-year-old broke her right back when Capriati dumped a backhand.

Both players served extremely well in the set, with Clijsters moving her serves all over the box and confusing her foe and Capriati frequently jamming Clijsters with hard serves into the body. At 6-6 and deuce , Clijsters tried to sneak in a drop shot, but it fell into the net. Capriati then broke her to 7-6 when the teen missed a backhand.

But Capriati was unable to consolidate the break when she committed series of shaky errors. “I couldn’t watch. I felt like I was having a heart attack,” said her brother and hitting partner, Stephen.

Clijsters was two points from the match on a two occasions, but never could control the center of the court. Serving at 9-9, the Belgian started out sloppily, double faulting and committing a bad forehand error. Capriati gained a a break point and quickly cashed in, emphatically circling a ball mark three times after Clijsters missed a forehand down the line to go up 10-9.

But the 24-year-old Floridian against couldn’t hold, when Clijsters passed her with a forehand that clipped the net cord and bounced over her shoulder.

However, Capriati made another charge, breaking her younger foe with a decisive overhead smash. She convincingly served out the match, winning it it a seeing-eye inside-out forehand winner.

“I just watched and prayed,” said Denise. “But she worked through it. I knew she wasn’t going to give up without a fight. In the last game, she finally said, ‘I’m going for it,” and she did.”

The No. 4-ranked Capriati’s resurgence from a once burnt out teen phenom who left the tour for nearly four year’s to hottest player of 2001 is a remarkable story.

“She has the confidence and will, the motivation and desire,” said Stephen of hsi older sister, who also won the ’01 Aussie Open. “She can beat anybody right now. If she can beat the best players on the biggest stage, she’s the best.”

Jennifer, who reached the semis here as 14-year-old, said that while she was growing up, she could never imagine holding up the trophy on Philippe Chatrier Court.

“It’s a surreal feeling,” she said. “I never thought Roland Garros. Maybe I thought this would be the hardest one or the last one for me to win. I was having chills up there thinking about it.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: 2001, french open, Jennifer Capriati, Kim Clijsters, paris, roland garros

OUR FIRST STORY: Tennisreporters.net, in Paris at Roland Garros

May 29, 2020 by Matthew Cronin

Pete Sampras, French Open, Roland Garros 2001

We started TennisReporters.net in May 2001, 20 years ago. We have posted well over 1,500 articles.

FROM PARIS (2001): Having the glorious distinction of being the reigning Wimbledon champions means little in Paris other than being fortunate enough to have a gaggle of British journalist ask you whether you are planning on taking wildcards into Queens or Nottingham. Pete Sampras and Venus Williams discovered that quickly this year at Roland Garros; Venus, after she was bullied by Barbara Schett in the first round, and Sampras, when he was unable to uncork a bottle of white wine named Galo Blanco in the second round.

Sampras had perfect conditions this year to rid himself of the plague of Sisyphus in Paris — hot, dry temperatures and only a little breeze. He had a great draw and actually followed his coach’s game plan to the tee – come in at all costs, run around your backhand and take a lot of chances on the return.

But Sampras is nothing on clay when he’s not serving well and his forehand is sporadic. He is without a weapon. First, he barely got by No. 250-ranked Cedric Kauffmann. Then his serving performance against Blanco was one of the worst he has ever put on and he made a decent but not great player’s backhand look like Bjorn Borg’s during his prime. Sure, Blanco passed with precision, but it wasn’t as if Pete was making him guess much on his service games or was hitting deep approach shots. The winner of a record 13 Grand Slam titles again failed to put together back-to-back wins at Roland Garros for the fourth successive year. “It’s very frustrating, I knew what I had to do in that match and I just have to give him credit,” Sampras said. “He came out with some clean passing shots. He had me on my heels and dictated all the baseline points. He just played better than I did – plain and simple.”

Agassi zeroed in on Pete’s problems. “It’s straight fundamentals. It’s never been easy for a game like Pete’s to do well here. He’s great at turning an entire point around with one shot. On clay, you know, you can’t. You have to fight off three or four (shots) then slowly turn the point around, then slowly finish it. A guy like Alex) Corretja will slide to the forehand and buy himself a lot of time for the shot selection. Pete on the other hand will run to the ball, slam it, then slide. All that is doing is giving him much less time. There’s nothing that you could teach Pete that’s going to make it any easier.”

Blanco joins the list mediocre players who have taken down the dirt-challenged Pete in Paris: Gilbert Schaller, Ramon Delgado, Thierry Champion. Sampras will be 30 next year when he arrives at Roland Garros and even if he says he has many years to left to try to take the French title, you just don’t see aging serve-and-volleyers do well on the dirt anymore. Sampras may be the worst all-time great to ever comepete at Roland Garros. All of Open-era legends did better here – Borg, McEnroe, Connors, Edberg, Borg, Lendl, Wilander, Courier. Sampras would be better off taking his mind off the clay and zoning in quickly on the grass. He is titleless in ’01, having an awful year and is in danger of finishing the year out of the top-10 for the first time since ’89. He needs to take the fast train to London, find a pub, down a few pints and remember just what kind of player he is supposed to be.

Venus is another question all together. Williams was humbled 6-4, 6-4 by the Austrian powerhouse Schett, rendering her dream of grabbing the No. 1 ranking from Martina Hingis in the near future mute. “I just had a very, very rough day,” said Williams. I wasn’t playing normal.”

A confused Williams appeared to have her thoughts elsewhere, as the muscular Schett ate up her weak second serves and exploited her shaky forehand with blowtorch returns and a wicked forehand. Considered by many to be the tour’s hardest hitter, Williams frequently found herself on the defensive, unable to control the center of the court nor read where Schett was going with her shots. The Austrian also served effectively, stretching Williams out with a biting slice serve and occasionally running flat serves down the middle that left Williams flat footed. “It was my groundstrokes,” said Williams, who committed 43 unforced errors. “I couldn’t keep a ball in. I was making quite a few errors for no apparent reason.”

Williams did manage to fight off three match points in the contest’s final game, but unlike numerous times in the past, Schett didn’t seize up and Williams couldn’t pull herself through.

Venus has played sparingly this year, but did win the Ericsson Open, devastated the field in Hamburg on clay and then was upset on dirt by Justine Henin in Berlin. She has never performed well here and why she thought that playing two clay court warm-up events was enough preparation for her stated to desire to win Roland Garros this year is confusing. She needed more preparation to find her footing on the clay and to be able to groove her groundies. The 20-year-old believes she has been playing enough. “I never dreamed it would turn out like this,” Williams said. “Normally I turn it around but today it wasn’t there.”

The Compton Crusher is not going to win a Grand Slam by using the retreat as her most common tactic, which was her main strategy against Schett. She’s now essentially in the same position she was last year, approaching Wimbledon with two bad losses in her last two Grand Slams. Can she repeat her 2000 performance and grab glory at both the All-England Club? Not if she brings the same attitude that she did to the court against Schett.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: french open, paris, pete sampras, roland garros, tennisreporters.net, Venus Williams

Preposterous? Nadal and Barty win Roland Garros

June 12, 2019 by Matthew Cronin

OK, Roland Garros is over. Finished. Done. It is on the grass now, most of it is in England. There is almost clay throughout the year, and the same thing goes with the hardcourts. But before thinking about the famous Wimbledon, there are a few thoughts about the French Open champions Rafa Nadal and Ash Barty, and others, too.

So, let us do it.

Nadal has won 12 majors in Paris. When he came into the tournament, the Spaniard wasn’t sure that if he would be hurt, which he has done it many times, then maybe he would lose. But, he really knows what he has to do, pay attention all the time, don’t even think about how sore his shaky legs, and swing hard.

Many people have to try to out-think him, to get into his brain. But at RG, Nadal cracked Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem. Those two cannot shake him. Once again, he pushed Federer to the left and the right, and down the middle. Nadal would pass him, or he would nail a winner with his huge forehand.

In the final, against Thiem, he knew that in the first couple hours, the Austrian would attack him frequently, and he would mix it up, too. They split the first two sets, but in the third set, Nadal began to punch away. He made very few errors, while Thiem became too anxious, and he was confused. He was done. Nadal beat him 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1, and now he was thrilled, a new record that may well never be broken.

In the last five years, Nadal has played great tennis, from 2017 until now, but in 2015-2016 he also had to stop for months because he frequently was injured. But he just moves on, and he pushes himself and improves. He recovered, and on clay, in the past year and a half, he won Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome and Roland Garros. Also, on the hardcourts, he won the ATP 1000 in Canada in 2018.

The question is, can he win Wimbledon again? The last time he did was in 2010 — 10 years ago, when he beat Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych. If his legs are fine, Nadal definitely have a good shot.

A new Australian champion
Four years ago, Ashleigh Barty wasn’t playing tennis anymore. She quit for a couple years, playing professional cricket, to be at home in Australia. Then, she came back in 2017, and gradually, she was much more tranquil and steady. Even last year, you could tell that she had a tremendous variety. She was strong, fast and patient. At Roland Garros, she smoked the very young Czech, Marketa Vondrousova, 6-1 6-3, in the final. Barty went out for the first time in the final and dived in. She was perfect.

Now she is ranked No. 2, and she is very close to the top spot, right behind Naomi Osaka. After Wimbledon, both of them can be No. 1. That should be preposterous— and fun.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: ash barty, ashleigh barty, french open, rafa nadal, Rafael Nadal, roland garros