FRENCH OPEN DAY 3 RESULTS AND DAY 4 PICKS AND PANS

Day 3 Results and Day 4 Picks and Pans

Some of the matches in the bottom half of the draw were cancelled due to the weather in Paris today.  Matches to recommence tomorrow include Azarenka and Kvitova. 

Of the 20 matches scheduled for Day 3 on the ladies’ side, only 10 matches were completed. Of the 10 completed matches, Spin had a 60% success rate.  The matches which are to be completed tomorrow are:-

Klara Zakopalova [23] vs Kaia Kanepi

Stefanie Voegele vs Heather Watson

Ashleigh Barty vs Lucie Hradecka

Nina Bratchikova vs Maria Kirilenko

Sandra Zahlavova vs Annika Beck

Elena Vesnina vs Victoria Azarenka [3]

Petra Kvitova [7] vs Aravane Rezai

Shuai Peng vs Camila Giorgi

Anna Karolina Schmiedlova vs Yanina Wickmayer

Jamie Hampton vs Lucie Safarova [25]

Spin’s picks are highlighted in red.

Spin’s Day 4 Picks and Pans are below.  Spin’s Picks are in red.

Serena Williams v Caroline Garcia –the World’s No. 1 is on a mission, but the young upstart will have the French crowd behind her all the way.  This is the last match scheduled on Chartrier

Johanna Larsson v Sorana Cirstea – she proved me wrong in the first round. Let us see what happens going forward

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Petra Cetkovska – she battled hard to get through her first match.  Maybe she has learned something

Galina Voskoboeva v Roberta Vinci– I will take the veteran

Caroline Wozniacki v Bojana Jovanovski – rematch of Rome when Woz led 4-0 in the third set

Magdalena Rybarikova v Svetlana Kuznetsova – Sveta seems to be playing the tennis that we all know that she is capable of producing when she took down Makarova

Varvara Lepchenko v Elina Svitolina – Lepchenko seems to be trying to prove something … I can play tennis

Jana Cepelova v Angelique Kerber - another player who wants to make a statement

Agnieszka Radwanska v Mallory Burdette  - Aga will prove to be too consistent for Burdette

Dinah Pfizenmaier v Urszula Radwanska – has Ula recovered from her big win over Venus? If she has she may take out her opponent, but I don’t think so

Zuzana Kucova v Virginie Razzano– is Razzano ready for the third round? Last year after taking out Serena she fell in the very next round

Mathilde Johansson v Ana Ivanovic– after a letdown in the second set, she rebounded and won her first round match. Look for her to maintain that focus in this match, that is if she does not let the partisan crowd get to her

Monica Puig v Madison Keys – battle of the youngsters. While I would ordinarily pick Keys, she showed that she has huge lapses in concentration, something that her opponent does not show. Look for Puig to make it to the next round

Shelby Rogers v Carla Suarez Navarro– CSN seems to be on a mission.  Her consistency will overwhelm the young American

Sabine Lisicki [32] v Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor – even though Sabine won her first round match convincingly I am still not sold on her clay court prowess. Look for the Spaniard to take advantage of her lack of movement on this surface.

Yulia Putintseva v Sara Errani [5] – I am calling the upset here.  Yulia is a fighter and she will get under Errani’s skin. 

French Open Day Results and Day 2 Picks and Pans

Day 1 Results (Spin's Results are in Blue).  Of the 16 first round matches played today, Spin had a 68.75% accuracy rate.  Good going for the first day of play.

Serena Williams [1] v Anna Tatishvili

Caroline Garcia [WC] v Yuliya Beygelzimer [Q]

Sorana Cirstea [26] v Kiki Bertens

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova [19] v Andrea Hlavackova

Petra Cetkovska v Olga Puchkova

Galina Voskoboeva [Q] v Grace Min [Q]

Mallory Burdette v Donna Vekic

Mandy Minella v Dinah Pfizenmaier [Q]

Venus Williams [30] v Urszula Radwanska

Virginie Razzano [WC] v Claire Feuerstein [WC]

Ana Ivanovic [14] v Petra Martic

Nadia Petrova [11] v Monica Puig

Irena Pavlovic [WC] v Shelby Rogers

Sabine Lisicki [32] v Sofia Arvidsson

Ayumi Morita v Yulia Putintseva

Sara Errani [5] v Arantxa Rus

Day 2 Picks and Pans are below.  Spin's Picks are in red. 

Na Li [6] vs Anabel Medina Garrigues - tough one but Li should pull through in straights

Su-Wei Hsieh vs Maria Sharapova [2] 

Agnieszka Radwanska [4] vs Shahar Peer - how is the shoulder feeling Aga?

Caroline Wozniacki [10] vs Laura Robson - big match but Woz should pull through

Stephanie Foretz-Gacon vs Roberta Vinci [15] - 2 veterans but Vinci is playing great tennis

Flavia Pennetta vs Kirsten Flipkens [21] - Flavia, if only because Flipper does not do clay very well

Chanelle Scheepers vs Mathilde Johansson - home crowd advantage 

Mona Barthel vs Angelique Kerber [8] - battle of the Germans. Mona has been MIA but is Kerber  healthy?

Julia Goerges [24] vs Zuzana Kucova - how is Julia's wrist? If healthy should be fine

Melinda Czink vs Francesca Schiavone - veteran battle, but Fran with memories should pull through

Simona Halep vs Carla Suarez Navarro [20] - this was a tough one as both ladies are playing really well

Varvara Lepchenko [29] vs Mirjana Lucic-Baroni - when Lucic is on she is devastating. this will be a battle

Eugenie Bouchard vs Tsvetana Pironkova - Bouchard has been playing great tennis recently. Should be a good one

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova vs Bojana Jovanovski - this will be a battle to the death or an easy victory for the Serb

Jie Zheng vs Vesna Dolonc - Zheng has been having good results on the clay

Tatjana Maria vs Paula Ormachaea - have not seen the young Argentine since the USO qualies last year.  Should be a good battle

Madison Keys vs Misaki Doi - Keys in straights

Svetlana Kuznetsova vs Ekaterina Makarova - this was a tough one as Sveta should have great memories of her victory here 

Pauline Parmentier vs Magdalena Rybarikova - again, another tough one but the French woman will prevail

Karin Knapp vs Sloane Stephens [17] - has Sloane got her head sorted out? We will see

Jana Cepelova vs Christina McHale - Same for McHale?  is she healthy?

Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor vs Julia Glushko - the young Spaniard impressed recently in Madrid, losing a tough 3 setter.  Look for her to play lights out here in Paris

Karolina Pliskova vs Garbine Muguruza - the young Spaniard has impressed everyone with her fight on hard courts. She was beaten handily by Sharapova in Rome recently.  Remains to be seen how she does against an opponent who does not have the weapons of Sharapova

Monica Niculescu vs Johanna Larsson - the wily Romanian will outfox the defender

Bethanie Mattek-Sands vs Lourdes Dominguez Lino - this is a toss up as BMS has been playing great on clay, however, Lino will frustrate but BMS should be able to come through

Vania King vs Alexandra Cadantu - Vania came through qualifying and is match tough but I just don't see her getting past Cadantu

Romina Oprandi vs Elina Svitolina - the wily veteran lost a tough 3 setter in Brussels. Look for her to make amends here

Tamira Paszek [28] vs Melanie Oudin - I am shocked that Tamira is ranked that high enough to be actually seeded. I think Oudin takes her out in straights. 

The Match that Broke my Heart on Day 1 

She served to take a 5-4 lead in the first set and got broken. She was 0-4 down in the second set tiebreak after serving for the second set on 2 occassions and having set points.  She was 5-1 down in the third set and stared defeat in the face. She eventually lost the match 5-4 in the third against Ula Radwanska, but today Venus Ebony Starr Williams showed us that when healthy, or even something remotely resembling healthy, it will take a special player to bring her down, and bring her down without a fight. 

Those of us who watched the match from beginning to end stood and applauded the shots from both ladies.  While I am still upset that she lost, I can only bow down to the younger Radwanska as she never gave up and she continued to fight. 

For her part, the veteran holder of 7 Grand Slam singles titles, too many other singles titles to mention, Olympian extraordinaire and fighter of life and tennis in general showed us why the women deserve to be paid equally with the men.  For over 3 hours she showed why she is a threat despite not being at her best. 

Venus, this fan salutes you.  My only hope is that you continue to play until I get to see you on the green lawns of Wimbledon. You did well. 

TENNIS BROKEN RECORDS

Pete Sampras – 14 Grand Slam titles.  Most of all time. Broken

Roger Federer – 21 straight Grand Slam semifinals.  Most in the Open Era.  Broken

Serena Williams – 46 straight Grand Slam victories in the first round of Majors.  Broken

The third item in this list is one of the most significant and underrated achievements in all of tennis. Much like the story of Serena Williams.  At times glorified, but most of the time vilified by tennis pundits (who wish they could be her). By tennis fans (because of what she has done to their faves) and general disliked because of the colour of her skin, Serena Williams has made her mark in the world of tennis, so much so that today when she lost her opening round match on Court Philip Chartier, it was Breaking News by every major news network in the world.  That is the power of Serena Williams.

I watched this match from beginning to end with points in between when I turned it off as I, like most fans of  Serena Williams, became disconsolate at her performance during this match. Looking back you could tell that something was not right with Serena. 

If you are a fan of this woman you know her history.  You know what she brings to the court of tennis. You know her aura and you know her game.  Every player in the locker room knows it as well. If you want to beat Serena, you don’t listen to the pundits. You don’t listen to the coaches.  You don’t listen to the noise. You listen to yourself.  You close your eyes and you swing for the fences, and you pray to whatever deity that you believe in that Serena is off her game by just a notch, and you will hear your name echoed for all the ages.

The French Open has not been a pleasant stomping ground for Serena.  She won this title in 2002 on her way to the Serena Slam (holding all 4 Majors though not in a calendar year).  Since that victory, she has only made it to the semifinals one time since then where she lost to Justine Henin in a hard fought match, where it was revealed by Henin that yes she did cheat to win that match.

Serena lost that match to a chorus of boos and jeers from the French crowd, and if there is ever any doubt that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is not a disease or not evident amongst professional tennis player, one need only look at Serena’s career at Roland Garros.

If she wins, it is greeted with a smattering of applause.  If she loses it is met with resounding cheers.

Today, 29 May 2012, in her first round match, Serena, for the first time in her career lost in the first round of a Major.  She lost to Virginie Razzano, a French player ranked 111 in the world and who has herself seen tragedy, having lost her fiancée/coach last year to cancer.

After the match, Serena walked across the net and shook her opponent’s hand. I will not recap the match here as I am sure that everyone in tennis land has seen it, but suffice it to say that Serena could have played a lot better and Virginie could not have played any better than she did.

Is this the end for Serena? I doubt it. She showed an amazing sense of calmness in her post-match press conference.  She did not seem too perturbed by it. It was a bit as if she was almost too accepting of her loss.

Since her return to competitive tennis after her life threatening illness, Serena has seemed a bit complacent in relation to the Majors.  She has taken some hard losses since her return, but what has been lost in the equation is the way how her opponents have played.  The media would like us to think that Serena has lost her aura.  I say that the media needs to stop and take stock of the way in which Serena has lost.  Players have had to bring their A+ games in order to dethrone Serena.

Today, Serena fought and she fought hard.  She was not on her game, but that does not take away the fact that Razzano, with the French crowd solidly behind her did what 46 other women before her could not do.  She defeated Serena Williams in the first round of a Major for the first time in her stellar career.  Does this mean that Serena Williams is done.  No. All it means is that Wimbledon is a few weeks away and by that time Serena’s game should have caught the flight from Florida and made its way to  Europe.

OTHER STUFF

Today, Maria Sharapova had a practice session on Suzanne Lenglen. Alexandra Cadantu needs to join the Futures circuit.  She has no business playing on the WTA Tour. Fans joked on twitter that Cadantu told Sharapova thank you at the net.  Some joked that they were sure that Sharapova passed her $20.00 for the practice session.  I wonder if fans asked for their money back.  They probably should.

Tennis writers really need to chill out a bit.  It is only tennis.

The International Tennis Hall of Fame needs to continue its investigation of Bob Hewitt, and preferably remove him from the Hall of Fame pending its investigation.  If you agree, sign this Petition and make the suffering that these women endured at the hands of a man who “carried a tin of Vaseline” with him whenever he went on coaching sessions with young girls go away. 

Venus Williams is a Legend.  There is no denying that.  She is the epitomy of what a champion of this sport is.  As someone who also suffers with an anti-immune disease I can relate to what Venus is currently enduring.  Stay strong my champ.

I personally find Mary Carillo and Martina Navratilova to be 2 of the most negative and least influential in the sport of tennis, with Pam Shriver running a close third.  Neither Carillo or Navratilova have contributed to the development of women’s tennis in the way that Billie Jean King has done.  Their negative views on the state of women’s tennis leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The constant chattering about the shrieking/grunting etc of professional female athletes, leaves me to think that they have nothing else to talk about, or they just want to be one of the boys.   Say something positive about women’s tennis or shut up.

Venus plays her second round match tomorrow against Radwanska.  That is the only match that I am interested in.  Go Venus!!!

LI, NA, WTA PLAYER OF THE YEAR

I have tried on several occasions to write the second in our series on contenders for the WTA: Player of the Year. You would think with 4 different Slam winners, 3 of them first time winners, that it would be easy to write the narrative for these awesome women of the WTA, and especially the narrative for Li Na, but this has been without a doubt the most difficult post I have ever written.

I think one of the reasons why I am finding it so difficult to write about Li is that I am intrigued and confused about Li. I have always been unimpressed with her style of play. There does not seem to be much imagination to her game, and her attitude on court leaves a lot to be desired. However, her press conferences and the paths that she has taken to winning her first Grand Slam title and being the first player from China to win a Grand Slam title has left me being intrigued and admiring of that aspect of her persona.

However some of her recent utterances have left me shaking my head in disgust as for a woman to basically imply that the women of the WTA are not as mentally tough as the men leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. I understand that there is a level of sexism that permeates the narrative about women’s tennis. It is either they are all lesbians; they are on steroids; or as some would say they are so muscular as to not even look feminine, the commentary about the women of the WTA has not always been, to put it politely, very tennis friendly.

However, when a champion such as Li, a champion who has overcome so many personal obstacles in her own life, to now be ranked as one of the biggest stars of the WTA, a signal of hope for a country’s women and a player who will now find herself in the conversation every time she enters a tournament, her recent utterances leave a lot to be desired and really sets back the progress that have been made by Billie Jean and the Gang of Nine in seeking equality and recognition for female professional tennis players.

In reviewing Li’s year, one could be asked how in the name of all that is holy did she manage to win a Grand Slam, beating the likes of Sharapova, the allegedly toughest player on the WTA mentally, or indeed beat defending champion Francesca Schiavone in straight sets. Li’s path to the final was filled with intrigue and drama. She played some tough matches but in the final, just as Schiavone did before, she played absolutely flawless tennis. She served well, returned even better, did not get down on herself, and took the opportunities when they were presented to her.
Li has won one other title this year, at Sydney, beating Australian Open champion Clijsters in what was a very good match.

There have been much written about Li’s slump since winning the French Open, but a quick check of her year in review on the WTA’s website shows an observer exactly what you usually get with Li. There is a reason why she has such a small number of titles since joining the Tour. In her first 5 tournaments, apart from reaching the final of Sydney and the final of the Australian Open, Li’s record at regular Tour events have been a series of 1st rounds, 2nd round etc. Her best performance at regular Tour events prior to the French Open were at Rome where she fell in the semifinals to Stosur and her win at Sydney.

By winning a Grand Slam, Li has put herself in the conversation for Player of the Year. She has qualified for the Year End Championships and one can only hope that despite her recent utterances of not being able to find her game, she will embrace the challenge of being a Year End Champion and play like the champion we know she can be.

Give us your thoughts on Li as WTA Player of the Year

Next up: Petra Kvitova