By TW Contributing Editor, Ed McGrogan
Last Week's & This Week's Tournament**
Roland Garros (ATP & WTA - Clay - Paris, France)
- Men's Singles
- Women's Singles
- Men's Doubles
- Women's Doubles
- Mixed Doubles
- Boys' Singles
- Girls' Singles
- Boys' Doubles
- Girls' Doubles
(Television Schedule)
By the Letter (Roland Garros Edition)
T...ournament summary? Read the second paragraph from Kamakshi Tandon's latest blog post - spot on and wonderfully written. With a few notable exceptions, most of the top men's and women's seeds have advanced without difficulty. But that hasn't been the only theme in Paris this week - a number of players off the radar have produced other compelling storylines. I've written about some of them already, but here are ten more names that have made their mark during the opening week of play.
E...stonian Kaia Kanepi has had success at Roland Garros before, winning the Girls' Singles title in 2001. But she's struggled as a pro, winning just one match in her first two appearances. She's already tripled that win total this year, which included an upset of No. 6 seed Anna Chakvetadze.
N...ext up for Kanepi is Petra Kvitova. The 18-year old from the Czech Republic is one of only four unseeded players to reach the fourth round, and did so at her first career Grand Slam tournament. Her biggest win came in the third round against No. 12 seed Agnes Szavay.
N...otwithstanding the beating from Ana Ivanovic in her final match (0-6, 0-6), Petra Cetkovska had an excellent showing in Paris this week. She turned pro back in 2000, but last year's U.S. Open was her first main draw appearance at a Slam. Her fourth round finish this week is by far her best performance on the sport's loftiest stage.
I...van Ljubicic was last in the Top 10 exactly one year ago, but has steadily fallen since then. Seeing the [28] next to his name is a shock for anyone who's followed tennis over the last few years. But coming back from two sets down against Nikolay Davydenko rekindles memories of more prosperous times.
S...imilar struggles have befallen Fernando Gonzalez, who is now ranked No. 25 after failing to defend significant points earlier this year at the Australian Open and Rome. Gonzo seemed to be on his way out of Paris early as well, until he came back from two sets down to thwart Stanislas Wawrinka.
W...ith Davydenko out of his way and assured of not seeing Roger Federer until the semis, Gael Monfils has a real shot to make this year's French Open the defining tournament of his young career. He's been strong so far, getting by a number of early threats in Arnaud Clement, Luis Horna, and Jurgen Melzer. Things get harder quickly, with Ljubicic next and Ferrer likely to follow. But nobody said it would be easy.
O...ut of the tournament, Katarina Srebotnik still deserves mention for her third round upset of Serena Williams. Few players relish the opportunity to play Williams, but Srebotnik's game attitude paid off in a 6-4, 6-4 victory.
R...obby Ginepri's first round win against Donald Young had to be a relief for the Georgian. Ginepri had a relatively strong showing in Poertschach a week earlier, but losing to someone seven years his junior - himself still only 25 - would not have done much to further fuel his confidence. Now, three rounds later, Ginepri is the last American standing in either bracket.
L...ast year, Julien Benneteau didn't survive the first round of Roland Garros. It was a disappointing result on the surface, especially because he was a quarterfinals in 2006. To quarter again, he'll have to get by Federer today.
D...inara Safina's high seeding (No. 13) differentiates her from others on this list, but her play has been no less impressive. Safina last played in Berlin, where she defeated both Justine Henin and Serena Williams on her way to the title. [Who would have guessed then that they'd both be out of the French by now?] She pulled out of Rome the following week with a back injury, but has come back strong in Paris, winning all six sets she's played.
McGrogan's Heroes
ATP - Ernests Gulbis!Gulbis
Tennis is a difficult sport to play, both physically and mentally. Add the extra pressure and demands that come with being a pro, it's a wonder that anyone succeeds. It usually takes years of experience to get comfortable in this cutthroat environment. That's what makes Ernests Gulbis' performance at this year's French Open even more astounding to me.
Gulbis, 19, hasn't yet won a title on tour, or even reached a final. But he's already been noticed for his play at Grand Slam tournaments. At last year's U.S. Open, the first of his career, Gulbis celebrated his 19th birthday with a surprise run to the fourth round. The highlight of this week was a 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 thrashing of eighth-seeded Tommy Robredo. Gulbis made believers out of those watching on the Grandstand court that evening by whistling countless balls past the disbelieving Spaniard.
Gulbis eventually succumbed to veteran Carlos Moya in the next round, but he made Latvia quite proud. I attended his post-match press conference, and saw the same attributes he displays on court - composure and confidence. The shot he's most confident with is his forehand, a lethal weapon that he often unleashes to end points. Michael Llodra was the latest person to find that out, in the fourth round.
Ernests has only dropped one set (against James Blake) on his way to the quarterfinals, which matches his best result of the year in any tournament. Admittedly, his draw has been kind, but taking out Blake is always impressive, and beating Llodra in straight sets with the entire crowd pulling for him may have even more difficult. Gulbis faces Novak Djokovic next, and the only way he'll win is by coming out firing. At least we know he has the tools to do it.
WTA - Carla Suarez Navarro!Csn
Carla Suarez Navarro's path to the quarterfinals has been very similar to Gulbis'. Both players are 19 years old, both are in the same quarter of their respective draws (along with the No. 3 seed), and both have only dropped one set so far. But there's one big difference about their journeys. While Gulbis was taking his time on practice courts before the tournament started, Navarro was already in must-win mode in qualifying matches.
Navarro's prior results this year were good enough to earn her the No. 13 seed in the 96-player qualifying draw. Her highlights include a semifinal run at Bogota (a clay tournament that she also had to qualify for) and a finals appearance at the Tenerife ITF event a month later. Still, at No. 132 in the world, she was forced with the onerous task of qualifying. After winning three matches in her octet, she reached her first Grand Slam main draw.
After making the final 128, Navarro has not slowed down whatsoever. Navarro opened her tournament by defeating two Frenchwomen - the unheralded Pauline Parmentier, and the former Grand Slam champion Amelie Mauresmo. Her next two matches have continued to raise eyebrows. She defeated Casey Dellacqua, who reached the fourth round of this year's Australian Open, 6-3, 6-3, and then upset clay specialist Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 6-2.
Like Gulbis, Navarro faces a tall order in her next match. Waiting for Navarro is Jelena Jankovic, whom she has never before played. The favored Serbian has not lost a set so far at Roland Garros, but has looked noticeably shaky at various points. It will be up to Navarro to apply as much pressure as possible to Jankovic, in hopes that those hiccups resurface.
Tennis Theatre
This is the Gulbis/Robredo match I was referring to:
Beyond the Bracket
"You've got to go to the first week of a Slam."
"The best tennis is during the first week of a Slam."
"If you've never been to a Slam, you've got to go in the first week."
I hear this all the time, and I've even said it myself. But why? Aren't blowouts rampant during the first week of a Slam? And more importantly, aren't the matches we're going to be talking about thirty years from now usually played in the second week?
Like all things in life, it depends. If you only follow a particular player, going to the second week of a Slam may be ideal. For one, you can plan your trip accordingly because you'll probably have a better idea of when that player will be playing. Secondly, that player might be on court for more than an hour (women) or 90 minutes (men). Rarely are the top seeds tested in the opening week, but there's always exceptions.
But if you enjoy the sport of tennis more than one tennis player - which I implore all of you do to (you're missing out on so much if you don't) - the opening week of a Grand Slam tournament is heaven on earth.
The key word is choice. The opening week of a Slam provides the greatest number of matches. Not only can you pick what you'd like to see from a wide range (which you can quickly change if it doesn't suit your taste), you can change the type of tennis you're watching. Bored with a bruising men's singles battle? Switch to a more tactical brand of tennis like women's doubles. (I find women's doubles to be more enjoyable to watch than men's.)
As a writer, I'm also thankful for an abundance of matches to choose from. There's more stories to uncover, more things to learn, and thankfully for you all, more than one thing to read about. How many ways can sports journalists dissect what happened at the Super Bowl? I can count it on one hand. How many ways can the first round of a Slam be discussed? Give me an abacus.
I was discussing this the other day with a friend of mine, Clair Maciel of the USPTA. After rehashing some of the day's results at Roland Garros, we got talking about how much the Slams have to offer, as compared to other tournaments. With so many matches going on at once, there is bound to be something noteworthy to catch, whether it's a fantastically competitive match, or a jarring upset.
This includes matches played during the first week. Here's what you could have seen with a grounds pass (no access to Chatrier, Lenglen, or Court 1) at this year's French Open:
- Eduardo Schwank (ARG) def Carlos Moya (ESP)[16] 7-6(4) 6-2 6-7(1) 4-6 6-3
- Michael Llodra (FRA) def Tomas Berdych (CZE)[11] 6-3 4-6 5-7 6-3 6-4
- Bethanie Mattek (USA) def Madison Brengle (USA) 6-3 2-6 6-4
- Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) def Karolina Sprem (CRO) 7-6(3) 3-6 8-6
- Jeremy Chardy (FRA) def David Nalbandian (ARG)[6] 3-6 4-6 6-2 6-1 6-2
- Kaia Kanepi (EST) def Anna Chakvetadze (RUS)[6] 6-4 7-6(2)
- Bob Bryan (USA)[1]/Mike Bryan (USA)[1] def Rohan Bopanna (IND)/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) 6-1 6-4
- Nicolas Almagro (ESP)[19] def Andy Murray (GBR)[10] 6-3 6-7(3) 6-3 7-5
- Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)[24] def Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)[9] 5-7 2-6 6-4 6-4 6-4
- Kaia Kanepi (EST) def A. Medina Garrigues (ESP)[29] 6-1 6-7(5) 7-5
- Cara Black (ZIM)[1]/Liezel Huber (USA)[1] def Alisa Kleybanova (RUS)/ Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 6-4 6-7(4) 6-2
As we closed our conversation, we each looked forward to this year's U.S. Open (the next Slam we'll get to cover). If you come join us, I have just one piece of advice for you: come during the first week.
if...
you had to guess, how many sets does Gulbis take from Djokovic? Almagro from Nadal?