French Open (Roland Garros, 2014) Day 5 - Second Round

Nadal and Murray cruise into Third Round 

Rafael Nadal made light work of his second round opponent Thiem, coming through with a straight sets victory. A double break in the first set was followed up with a double break in the second set before Nadal sealed the third 6-3. Meanwhile, fourth seed Simona Halep overcame a battling Heather Watson to progress into the third round at Roland Garros with a hard fought straight sets victory.

My Opinion:

No surprise to see Nadal defeat Thiem comfortably whilst it was very pleasing to see Murray overcome Matosevic very easily. Both matches were mismatches and were over pretty quickly. David Ferrer moved into the third round after beating Bolleli which was to be expected whilst home favourite Richard Gasquet gave the French crowd something to cheer about after defeating Berlocq in three tough sets. Expressive Italian player Fabio Fognini looked impressive during his win over the hard-hitting Bellucci whilst Kevin Anderson moved swiftly past Michon. There was one upset as Feliciano Lopez crashed out to Donald Young in straight sets. A result that surprised me and maybe we could see bigger and better things to come for the American.

Heather Watson gave it a real go against Halep but the fourth seed was just too strong on the clay. Kvitova overcame a tough encounter against Erakovic whilst Jankovic progressed into the third round with a strong win over Nara. Sara Errani, Ana Ivanovic and Sloane Stephens all claimed straight sets victories but a couple of seeds were knocked out. Flipkens lost in three sets to Glushko whilst Pavlyuchenkova retired from her match against Bertens in the third set. Flipkens has been through a tough year with results and a second round exit will not do her any good. Despite that, no major upsets on day five at Roland Garros.

Mens Singles Second Round

Nadal (1) beat Thiem 6-2, 6-2, 6-3

Gasquet (12) beat Berlocq 7-6, 6-4, 6-4

Ferrer (5) beat Bolleli 6-2, 6-3, 6-2

Murray (7) beat Matosevic 6-3, 6-1, 6-3

Young beat Lopez (26) 6-3, 7-6, 6-3

Fognini (14) beat Bellucci 6-3, 6-4, 7-6

Anderson (19) beat Michon 6-2, 6-3, 6-2

Womens Singles Second Round

Jankovic (6) beat Nara 7-5, 6-0

Ivanovic (11) beat Svitolina 7-5, 6-2

Kvitova (5) beat Erakovic 6-4, 6-4

Stephens (15) beat Hercoq 6-1, 6-3

Halep (4) beat Watson 6-2, 6-4

Errani (10) beat Pfizenmaier 6-2, 6-4

Bertens beat Pavlyuchenkova (24) 5-7, 6-4, 3-0 Retired

Glushko beat Flipkens (21) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4

Mens Doubles First Round

Huey/Inglot (7) beat Giraldo/Gonzalez 6-3, 3-6, 6-3

Mens Doubles Second Round

Bryan/Bryan (1) beat Eysseric/Gicquel 6-3, 6-3

Nestor/Zimonjic (3) beat Bautista Agut/Sijsling 6-3, 6-7, 6-3

Womens Doubles First Round 

Makarova/Vesnina (3) beat Collombon/Paquet 6-2, 6-3

Hsieh/Peng (1) beat Kuznetsova/Stosur 6-2, 6-4

Errani/Vinci (2) beat Babos/Lepchenko 6-1, 6-3

Mixed Doubles First Round

Mirza/Tecau beat Peschke/Matkowski (4) 4-6, 6-3, 10-7

Kops-Jones/Klaasen beat Rodionova/Fleming 3-6, 6-3, 10-8

French Open (Roland Garros, 2014) Day 4 - Second Round

Serena Williams suffers shock second round exit

The biggest story of the day and of the tournament so far was that Serena Williams crashed out of the French Open in the second round. Muguruza played the match of her life as the relatively unknown star pulled off quite an incredible result. Serena made continuous mistakes throughout both sets and looked completely out of form. Nonetheless, it still took a whole lot of guts to defeat Serena Williams and Muguruza certainly was a credible winner. I guess if Serena is going to beaten early in a major it is most likely to occur at Roland Garros but it still comes as a massive shock to the tennis world when it happens. That result will give everyone else in the draw a humongous boost as the favourite bows out so early.

Meanwhile, in the men’s draw it was business as usual as the top guns cruised into the third round. Novak Djokovic made light work of Jeremy Chardy with a straight sets win whilst Roger Federer battled past Schwartzman after three well fought sets.

My opinion:

The men’s draw saw a couple of seed crash out, most notably 15^th seed Mikhail Youzhny who lost in four sets to Radek Stepanek. Not too surprised as Youzhny is either brilliant on the day or just not with it. The other upset saw Granollers defeat 20^th seed Dolgopolov after coming from two sets down to win in the fifth. That was pretty impressive considering the situation but Granollers is decent on the clay. Tsonga managed to defeat Melzer pretty comfortably, Berdych lost the first set to his opponent but came through in the fourth whilst Raonic overcame the promising youngster Jiri Vesely in three sets. Isner lost the first in his match but managed to progress whilst both Robredo and Gulbis moved into the third round.

Third seed Radwanska defeated Pliskova in straight sets and will fancy her chances of going deep into the tournament whilst Maria Sharapova was made to work hard for her third round place after overcoming a battling Pironkova. Despite winning the first set, Venus Williams was knocked out as Schmeidlova fought back to win the second and third sets. Thus, both Williams’ sisters were knocked out on the same day in the second round; something few would have predicted at the start of the day. Kerber, Cilbulkova and Stosur all progressed without any hiccups whilst both Suarez Navarro and Eugenie Bouchard had to comeback from a set down to win their respective matches. Taylor Townsend sent out a few shockwaves after defeating Alize Cornet in a three set thriller whilst Flavia Pennetta was defeated by Larsson in the third set. It was a real shame to see Sabine Lisicki have to retire from her match in the second set but she was losing and would have probably lost anyway. Hopefully, she will be okay for Wimbledon where she made the Final last year.

Men’s Singles Second Round Selected Results

Djokovic (2) beat Chardy 6-1, 6-4, 6-2

Tsonga (13) beat Melzer 6-2, 6-3, 6-4

Federer (4) beat Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4, 6-4

Berdych (6) beat Nedovyesov 6-7, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3

Gulbis (18) beat Bagnis 6-2, 7-5, 6-0

Robredo (17) beat De Schepper 6-2, 6-3, 6-3

Stepanek beat Youzhny (15) 6-0, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4

Raonic (8) beat Vesely 7-6, 6-4, 6-1

Isner (10) beat Kukushkin 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 7-6

Granollers beat Dolgopolov (20) 1-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-0, 6-2

Women’s Singles Second Round Selected Results

Schmeidlova beat V.Williams (29) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4

Sharapova (7) beat Pironkova 7-5, 6-2

Muguruza beat S.Williams (1) 6-2, 6-2

Townsend beat Cornet (20) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4

A. Radwanska (3) beat Pliskova 6-3, 6-4

Kerber (8) beat Lepchenko 6-2, 7-5

Stosur (19) beat Meusburger 6-1, 6-3

Cibulkova (9) beat Paszek 6-3, 6-4

Barthel beat Lisicki (16) 6-1, 3-0 Retired

Suarez Navarro (14) beat Bacsinszky 7-5, 1-6, 6-4

Tomljanovic beat Vesnina (32) 7-6, 6-2

Larsson beat Pennetta (12) 5-7, 6-, 6-2

Bouchard (18) beat Georges 2-6, 6-2, 6-1

Men’s Doubles First Round Selected Results

Peya/Soares (2 )beat Istomin/Rosol 7-5, 6-4

Marrero/Verdasco (4) beat Lamasine/Lokoli 6-4, 6-2

Nestor/Zimonjic (3) beat Ebden/Tursunov 6-2, 3-6, 6-3

Bryan/Bryan (1) beat Emmrich/Kas 6-2, 6-1

Women’s Doubles First Round Selected Results

Peschke/Srebotnik (4) beat Davis/Moulton-Levy 6-1, 6-2

Mixed Doubles First Round Selected Results

Jans-Ignacik/Inglot beat Rosolska/Brunstrom 6-4, 6-4

Follow me on Twitter @mattaylott

French Open (Roland Garros, 2014) Day 3 - First Round

Andy Murray and Heather Watson battle into Second Round

Andy Murray started his French Open campaign with a four sets victory over Golubev. The seventh seed started strongly and raced away in the first set, taking it 6-1. Golubev proved to be more of a handful in the second set but Murray sealed it with a single break. Murray went off his game in the third set which allowed Golubev back into the match as the game went into a fourth set. However, it was Murray who sealed victory after holding onto a break of serve in the fourth set saw the Brit through into the second round. There were wins for Ferrer, Gasquet and Anderson but Karlovic caused a major upset after defeating Dimitrov in straight sets.

Heather Watson progressed into the second round with a hard fought straight sets victory over Strycova. However, there was a major casualty in the women’s draw as second seed Na Li crashed out in the first round after losing in three sets to Mladenovic. It was the Frenchwoman who took the first set 7-5 but Na Li levelled proceedings at one set apiece after claiming the second set 6-3. Amazingly, it was Mladenovic who raced away in the third set and claim a massive scalp, taking it 6-1. Meanwhile, there were wins for Halep, Jankovic and Errani. However, it was a disappointing Grand Slam exit for Wozniacki, who recently split from fiancée Rory McIlroy, crashing out after losing to Wickmayer in three sets.

My Opinion:

It was pleasing to see Murray progress in good form. However, losing the third set showed some weaknesses that may hinder his progress deeper into the tournament but nevertheless, it was important to get through the first round. Gasquet managed to get through what could have been a tough encounter fairly easily, beating Tomic in straight sets whilst David Ferrer progressed unscathed into the second round. There were a couple of upsets as the big serving Ivo Karlovic incredibly knocked out Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets. That was a complete shock to everyone. Almagro and Haas both had to retire from their respective matches which meant that a couple more seeds were taken out of the tournament.

In what turned out to be a good day for British tennis, Heather Watson moved into the second round after overcoming Strycova in straight sets. It was a very competitive match but Watson played really well and hopefully that can spark some form back into the game. There was a major shock as Na Li was knocked out in the first round. Mladenovic had the crowd right behind her and she managed to pull off quite an upset. That result will surely please Serena as one of the few opponents who could give her a match has already been taken out. I had to feel for Wozniacki, who already suffered a terrible week prior to the tournament starting, as she bravely gave it her all but it was just too much for her in the end. Errani and Jankovic both progressed but they needed three sets to get the job done. Halep and Ivanovic were in good form and breezed past their opponents.

Men’s Singles First Round Selected Results

Ferrer (5) beat Sijsling 6-4, 6-3, 6-1

Gasquet (12) beat Tomic 6-2, 6-1, 7-5

Murray (7) beat Golubev 6-1, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3

Karlovic beat Dimitrov (11) 6-4, 7-5, 7-6

Zopp beat Haas (16) 2-5 Retired

Anderson (19) beat Robert 7-5, 6-3, 6-4

Sock beat Almagro (21) 5-0 Retired

Women’s Singles First Round Selected Results

Halep (4) beat Kleybanova 6-0, 6-2

Ivanovic (11) beat Garcia 6-1, 6-3

Mladenovic beat Li Na (2) 7-5, 3-6, 6-1

Errani (10) beat Keys 7-5, 3-6, 6-1

Stephens (15) beat Peng 6-4, 7-6

Wickmayer beat Wozniacki (13) 7-6, 4-6, 6-2

Watson beat Strycova 6-3, 6-4

Torro-flor beat Koukalova (30) 7-6, 6-2

Jankovic (6) beat Fichman 5-7, 6-1, 6-3

Men’s Doubles First Round Selected Results

Pavic/Sa beat Skupski/Venus 6-2, 6-3

Gonzalez/Lipsky beat Fleming/Hutchins 7-6, 6-4

Murray/Peers (15) beat Pospisil/Ram 6-1, 4-6, 7-6

Gabashvili/Kukushkin beat Klahn/Skupski 7-6, 6-4

Follow me on Twitter @mattaylott

French Open (Roland Garros, 2014) Day 2 - First Round

Nadal, Djokovic and Sharapova progress into Second Round

Rafael Nadal proved to be too good for Ginepri, coming out with a straight sets victory that only saw the Spaniard lose three games. It was a completely one-sided affair as Nadal meant business. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic eased through into the second round after comfortably defeating Sousa in straight sets. Sousa won more games during each set as the match went on but there was only going to be one winner between the two. There were some big shocks in the men’s draw today as Australian Open champion and third seed, Stanislas Wawrinka was knocked out in the first round by Garcia-Lopez who came out on top 6-0 in the fourth set. Ninth seed Kei Nishikori was also beaten in the first round after losing to Klizan in straight sets.

Petra Kvitova overcame her opponent Diyas in straight sets whilst Maria Sharapova saw off Pervak in comfortable style with a 6-1, 6-2 victory. There were wins for Cibulkova, Pennetta and Lisicki but 17^th seed Roberta Vinci was knocked out in the first round after losing to Parmentier in three sets. Young prodigy Bouchard wasted little time in her straight sets victory after defeating Peer 6-0, 6-2.

My Opinion:

Nadal looked in incredible form and it was an amazing effort from Ginepri to take the three games that he did. Djokovic never looked in trouble and came through with no issues against Sousa. However, the biggest upset of the tournament so far came when third seed Wawrinka was knocked out in four sets against Garcia-Lopez. It was clear to see that Wawrinka had not played too much tennis recently and he paid the heaviest price. I was surprised to see Nishikori bow out in the first round and lose in straight sets to Klizan and disappointed that James Ward was beaten by Tommy Robredo in four sets.

Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova progressed into the second round without any major problems whilst Cibulkova defeated a battling Razzano. There has been a lot of talk and praise for Bouchard and she didn’t disappoint, crushing her way into the second round for the loss of only two games against Peer. The other major upset of the day came when 17^th seed Roberta Vinci was knocked out in three sets against Parmentier. That will most likely see Vinci slide further down the rankings as her strongest surface is on clay.

Men's Singles First Round Selected Results

Djokovic (2) beat Sousa 6-1, 6-2, 6-4

Garcia-lopez beat Wawrinka (3) 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0

Nadal (1) beat Ginepri 6-0, 6-3, 6-0

Klizan beat Nishikori (9) 7-6, 6-1, 6-2

Gulbis (18) beat Kubot 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-1

Robredo (17) beat Ward 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4

Fognini (14) beat Beck 6-4, 6-4, 6-1

Gabashvili beat Pospisil (30) 6-4, 6-2, 6-3

Women's Singles First Round Selected Results

Sharapova (7) beat Pervak 6-1, 6-2

Cornet (20) beat Barty 6-2, 6-1

Cibulkova (9) beat Razzano 7-5, 6-0

Kvitova (5) beat Diyas 7-5, 6-2

Stosur (19) beat Puig 6-1, 6-1

Bouchard (19) beat Peer 6-0, 6-2

Lisicki (16) beat Ferro 6-1, 7-5

Parmentier beat Vinci (17) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

Pennetta (12) beat Mayr-Achleitner 6-2, 6-2

Follow me on Twitter @mattaylott

French Open (Roland Garros, 2014) Day 1 - First Round

S. Williams and Federer both progress into Second Round

Roger Federer started his French Open campaign with a straight sets victory over Lacko in comfortable fashion. The French crowd were treated to some delightful tennis from Federer, who came out on top with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win over his first round opponent. It was just the way the popular Swiss player would have wanted the first round to go as he seeks a second French Open title. There were wins for Berdych, Raonic, Isner and Tsonga who all progressed seamlessly into the second round without dropping a set. However, 15^th seed Youzhny avoided a first round shock after coming back from two sets down to defeat Carrano Busta in the fifth set.

Serena Williams eased into the second round with a very dominant straight sets victory over Lim. The defending champion only dropped three games after starting her campaign very strongly and in devastating style. Third seed Radwanska progressed into the second round with a dominant victory over Zhang whilst Angelique Kerber cruised past Piter. There was a casualty amongst the seeds as 25^th seed Kanepi crashed out after being beaten 6-1 in the third set to Niculescu.

My Opinion:

No real surprises on the opening day of the 2014 French Open at Roland Garros. Roger Federer eased through whilst the top seeds in the men’s draw all progressed into the second round. However, Youzhny looked to be heading out after losing the first two sets but a great comeback saw the Russian through in the fifth set.

Serena Williams was in good form as she crushed her way past Lim in pretty easy fashion whilst Radwanska cruised her way past Zhang. Kerber and Suarez Navarro both progressed as expected but Kanepi was the first seed of the tournament to be knocked out. After winning the first set, all looked well for Kanepi but Niculescu hit back and claimed the second and third set to cause the first upset.

Men's Singles First Round Selected Results

Federer (4) beat Lacko 6-2, 6-4, 6-2

Tsonga (13) beat Roger-Vasselin 7-6, 7-5, 6-2

Raonic (8) beat Kyrgios 6-3, 7-6, 6-3

Isner (10) beat Herbert 7-6, 7-6, 7-5

Berdych (6) beat Polansky 6-3, 6-4, 6-4

Youzhny (15) beat Carrano Busta 3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-0

Dolgopolov (20) beat Ramos 7-6, 6-4, 6-1

Women's Singles First Round

 A. Radwanska (3) beat Zhang 6-3, 6-0

S. Williams (1) beat Lim 6-2, 6-1

Kerber (8) beat Piter 6-3, 6-1

Niculescu beat Kanepi (25) 5-7, 6-3, 6-1

Suarez Navarro (14) beat Beygelzimer 7-5, 7-5

Follow me on Twitter @mattaylott