That has led his former coach Brad Gilbert, among other pundits, to claim clay is now his best surface, and Murray said: “Right now, it’s probably hard to argue with that”.
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Serena Williams will be looking to defend the title which she won past year against Lucie Safarova.
As the Spaniard approaches his 30th birthday June 3, he is aiming for his 10th French Open title – La Decima. In all, they were on court for 80 minutes. We have adjoining rooms so I sleep next door during tournaments, but even when we’re back home she has been great. “So I was able to come out fresh today”. He last missed a major event at the 1999 US Open when, as a 19-year-old, he failed to qualify.
The nine-time champion’s 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 victory against Sam Groth of Australia added another notch to the Spanish player’s stunning record in Paris, now at 71 wins, with just two losses. “If I am playing well, I know I can do good things”. “I’m just happy to be here”.
Djokovic turns 29 Sunday and will be playing Roland Garros for a 12th time where he remains the overwhelming favorite to secure a trophy which would also place him halfway to the first calendar Grand Slam since 1969.
He will face Andrey Kuznetsov in the next round.
Kerber, yet to advance past the quarterfinals at Roland Garros, takes on 58th-ranked Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands.
Soylu will face French wild-card entry Virginie Razzano in the first round. She didn’t win a WTA title until just a week ago when she claimed the title in Rome.
He made only three unforced errors in the match.
For the second time in his career, Djokovic has the chance to hold all four slam titles at the same time, but he must put behind him the memory of three final defeats in four years in Paris. Hsieh stopped Lara Arruabarrena 7-6 (6), 6-3.
Wawrinka is trying to avoid becoming the first defending champion to lose in the tournament’s first round.
The 57th-ranked Kovinic, who has never surpassed the second round of a Grand Slam, won four consecutive games to snatch the second set.
In the women’s draw, Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber lost in the first round. But he took the match to the third-seeded Swiss player with frequent forays to the net and a broad array of accurate strokes.
The 10th-seeded Czech looked in control after breaking Danka Kovinic twice to win the first set 6-2 but dropped the second 6-4. He won a title on clay this season in Madrid, defeating Murray in final.
Heavy showers have stopped and play has resumed under still overcast skies at the French Open. “I want to use this year and hopefully next year for a process to make myself the best player possible”. He has opted for a pair of black shorts this year.
Despite rain much of the morning, the French Open has started.
The Pole, ranked number two in the world will head into this tournament with minimal expectations with this tournament historically not having been particularly kind to her. A solitary quarter final appearance in 2013 is her bet performance in the French capital.
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It is still raining in Paris and French Open organizers have announced there will be no play at least before 1 p.m. But in Paris, anything goes, and it’s really a question of how well she plays at the biggest moments in the biggest matches. “He was probably going into the match a bit exhausted, as well, so he was quite frustrated from early on”.
