Non c’e problema.
Nadal wins the 2nd set tie-break 7-4. He was 3-0 down. You’d imagine he’ll run out an easy winner from here.
French open matches remind of those matches you see down the local tennis club between 2 players who are happy to just hit the ball back to each other in the hope that one or the other makes a mistake, neither one willing to hit a winner when the opportunity arises.
Clay court players are just ball fetchers, bit like the man throwing the ball for the dog to fetch and bring it back. Except for Nadal you hardly ever see clay courts win on other surfaces.
Nadal breaks first game of 3rd set. All belief and spirit has just drained out of Brands on losing that 2nd set tie-break, which he had chances of winning. He’ll add about 2 more games to his haul in this match.
2-0 to the king dirt baller in the third.
Djokovic would be my tip to win the tournament. Good piece from Simon Cambers in the Guardian on Friday which deals with a few key issues. Novak was very sore about how he lost the final last year. He seemed to have all the momentum on the Sunday last year, when he came back and won the 3rd set and went a break up in the 4th and Rafa was more than opportune in invoking the help of a light bit of drizzle to get off court and get it put back to the next day.
The suspicion would be that Novak has been pacing himself all year for Paris and after going out early in Madrid & Rome, he should be very fresh. Rafa has appeared in 8 straight finals since his comeback after an 8 month lay off. That’s a lot of tennis and freshness will be a big factor when these two more than likely meet in the semis.
[FONT=arial]Defeat by Rafael Nadal in last year’s French Open final still rankles with the Serb who seeks to complete career grand slam[/FONT]
[LIST]
[*][B][U]Simon Cambers[/URL] [/U][/B][URL=‘http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian’]The Guardian, Friday 24 May 2013
[/LIST]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=arial]Such has been Novak Djokovic[/URL]'s dominance over the past two years that at times it has seemed as if a greater power has lent him a helping hand. The 26-year-old has won five of the past nine grand slams, denying Andy Murray in two of them, reached two other grand slam finals and opened up a huge lead at the top of the world rankings. The only thing missing from his resume is a [URL=‘http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/frenchopen’]French Open title and although, when the tournament begins here on Sunday the seven-times champion Rafael Nadal will be the favourite, the Serb believes this is his time.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=arial]“I believe in destiny,” he says, perched on the corner of a sofa. Should he emerge victorious a fortnight on Sunday, Djokovic will emulate Nadal, Roger Federer, Andre Agassi and the four other men, including Fred Perry, who have won all four grand slam titles in their career.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=arial]“Your place in history is very important. Not many athletes, not manytennis players, experience and have the privilege to have their names in the books. Knowing I’ve already done something that makes me part of history [winning titles and being No1] makes me feel incredibly proud. But there is still a long way to go. I’m 26. I feel that I’m at the peak of my career but I still have many years in front of me. Hopefully, I’m going to make some new history, but I’m going to try to take it slowly because thinking too much ahead or too much behind can really disturb the moment. That’s something that I’ve learned over the years.”[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=arial]When it comes to winning titles at the very top level, experience is everything. Players who learn from their losses, who are able to take something positive from a heartbreaking experience, tend to come back stronger. Twelve months ago, Djokovic arrived in Paris chasing his fourth straight grand slam title, a non-calendar-year Grand Slam, and came very close, losing to Nadal in a four-set match that spanned two days because of rain.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=arial]Having dropped the first two sets, Djokovic had won eight straight games to take the third set and was leading by a break of serve in the fourth before the rains came. Not surprisingly, Djokovic wanted to play on and an hour after the match was called off on the Sunday night, Paris was bathed in sunshine. When they returned next day, his momentum had gone.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=arial]“I wanted to play [on], I really wanted to play,” Djokovic says. "Who wouldn’t have wanted to play? I had won eight games in a row. I was in the fourth set, up by a break, and I wanted to play. I felt great. I think it was close to 8pm, 7.45 or whatever. Then I think sunset was, like, 9.15. It was still light, you could still play. So I think in that hour’s space I could do some more good things on the court.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=arial]“I remember that I was talking to a supervisor and I remember I said: ‘I want to play.’ They made a decision not to play. Why? How? For what reason? I don’t know.” Back to destiny. “Maybe I could have won if we had continued that day. But at the end of the day it wasn’t to be. Maybe this year it’s going to be. I still keep believing it is the year for Roland Garros.”[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=arial]Djokovic’s belief in destiny does not quite stretch to the point where he thinks everything is pre-determined but the world No1 believes in the power of the mind. He will need an iron will if he is to win the title because he is scheduled to play Nadal in the semi-finals.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=arial]The Spaniard, whose only loss here, in 2009, came against Sweden’s Robin Soderling, has won six tournaments out of eight, including Madrid and Rome, since February, when he returned from seven months out with knee trouble. On Friday, Djokovic refused to answer any questions about his draw, beyond his first-round opponent, David Goffin, a Belgian who qualified here 12 months ago and made the last 16. He does not want to think about Nadal until he has to.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=arial]That said, Djokovic has beaten him once on clay this year, in the final in Monte Carlo, and he will go into the tournament with confidence. “Prior to Roland Garros, Monte Carlo is the most important tournament on clay and I won against the best player on this surface, Nadal,” he says. “That win against him can give me that necessary mental belief, self-belief.”[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=arial]Djokovic admits that losing to Nadal here last year set him back for a couple of months. Though he reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon and the Olympics, it was not until the US Open that he got his game back, losing narrowly to Murray in the final. Having won the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London, he then denied Murray, missing here this fortnight because of a back injury, to win the Australian Open.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=arial]All he might need, he says, is the help of the notoriously fickle French crowd, whose love of Federer outshines even that for some of their own players at times. Djokovic thrives in adversity but should he find himself cast as the villain, he has a trick up his sleeve.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=arial]“I’ve been learning French,” he says, with a smile. “I’m trying to learn it more and more lately. I feel obliged in a way because I also live in Monaco, where the official language is French. But if I want to do well in Roland Garros I will also have to learn French. That’s what I feel. That’s something that’s missing, that part.”[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=arial]The only other thing missing is the Djokovic name on the Coupe des Mousquetaires. Perhaps not for too much longer.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=14px][FONT=arial]http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2013/may/24/novak-djokovic-paris-french-open[/FONT][/SIZE]
Nadal eventually wins in 4.
Mrs McIlroy beats Miss Robson in the Battle of Britain.
Berdych one set down and a break down in the second against Monfils, this would be a big shock given Berdych has taken out Murray and Djokovic in Madrid and Rome.
Monfils take the second set.
Berdych has clawed two sets back in tie-breakers. On serve in the final set at 5-4 Berdych.
Just tuned in. Monfils seems to be hitting an outrageous forehand winner every point.
Monfils serving for the match!
And the job is done.
Monfils through. What happened to him anyway? He’s been off the radar for a while now, he used be the French no.1.
Gulbis up next is a big ask though.
[quote=“Il Bomber Destro, post: 778035, member: 1052”]Monfils through. What happened to him anyway? He’s been off the radar for a while now, he used be the French no.1.
Gulbis up next is a big ask though.[/quote]
He missed most of last season injured which saw him plummet down the rankings. He was a Top 10 player for a few years and is a former semi finalist at Roland Garros and a quarter finalist on two other occasions. It was a dog of a draw for Berdych first round, Monfils was the one dangerous floater everybody wanted to avoid. You’d expect that Monfils having played so little in last 12 months will find it tough physically against Gulbis next game after such a long lay off and a tough five set opener.
Marion Bartoli looks like she has been munching on some pies.
Straight sets win for Novak. Tight first set went to a tie break and the only break point in the tie break was a Goffin double fault at 5-5. After that Novak was always in control. 7-6 6-4 7-5
Gulbis has taken the first set against Monfils on a tie-break, I’m not watching but it could be a cracker of a game.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Gulbis went on to make the final.
[quote=“Il Bomber Destro, post: 778834, member: 1052”]Gulbis has taken the first set against Monfils on a tie-break, I’m not watching but it could be a cracker of a game.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Gulbis went on to make the final.[/quote]
Monfils won 2nd 6-4. Gulbis serving @ 5-6 in third. Next few minutes are crucial.
Gulbis has been beaten by Monfils, 3 sets to 1.
Bit surprised by that, Gulbis has been playing well lately and has a good record at Roland Garros. That side of the draw is certainly wide open, Tsonga, Federer, Ferrer and Monfils all capable.