Rain wrought havoc with the first day of the French Open as play was abandoned on Sunday after a frustrating start to the year’s second grand slam tournament. The fact he lost to Novak Djokovic a year ago will not have dented his aura in Paris because Djokovic has been beating everybody.
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The big difference for Serena in 2016 has been her losses in the last two Grand Slam events.
Can Rafael Nadal reclaim his throne? He also went without a Masters title, leaving some to wonder if he was nearing the end of his remarkable career.
At 29 years, Djokovic possesses all the advantages to win Roland Garros but the time gap won’t stay open forever. The Spaniard seems to have rediscovered his game in 2016. “Focus in that first set is obviously very crucial to win in a best-of-five match”.
Serena Williams tries again for Grand Slam #22. That’s tough. They have won three matches here.
And Tuesday’s tweet included this line: “For her last Roland Garros, Francesca Schiavone, 35 years old and the champion in 2010, deserved a real ovation”. Williams will open her quest for a fourth Roland Garros title against No. 76 Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia. “Four tournaments, three finals isn’t bad for, I think, everyone else”.
Will Moya’s guidance help Milos on clay? . “I’ve kept trying to improve on the surface and my results have got better over the last few years”. The clay season hasn’t been as successful.
She’s the fifth Australian Open women’s champion to lose in the first round at Roland Garros, after Chris O’Neil (1978), Barbara Jordan (1979), Lindsey Davenport (2000), and Li Na (2014).
Nick Kyrgios was warned by a French Open chair umpire for shouting at a ballkid to retrieve a towel, leading to a prolonged and angry monologue by the 21-year-old Australian. Raonic is projected to meet Wawrinka in the quarters, an opponent he beat at the Australian Open.
She cited the frustrating year-long period between 2013 and 2014 when she was stalled at 17 majors. The Czech hit two more double faults in that game to drop her serve.
She buried some of those concerns last week in Rome, and none too soon: The French Open, the only major on clay, begins Sunday. To get there would be an achievement for Murray – he has never before reached the final here – but he wants more than that.
Djokovic, who will face 100th-ranked Lu Yen-hsun in the first round, was put in the same side of the draw as Nadal on Friday.
How big of a concern is Victoria Azarenka’s back injury? . This year has been a different story. Sadly for the lovers of tennis, we won’t see the unpredictable Frenchman on his home turf this year. All eyes will be on her first-round match against Karin Knapp.
Murray or Wawrinka: Who has a better chance at making the final? It is well known that clay is the most demanding playing surface.
Venus Williams avoided a second consecutive first-round Grand Slam loss – and a second consecutive first-round French Open loss. Other famous tennis players are Rafael Nadal, DJokovic, Andy Murray, Simona Halep, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and many more.
The question is, can he play well enough to beat Novak Djokovic who he has lost to seven straight times (0-15 in sets)!
Four months shy of 35, Williams continues to set new standards at a time when players typically begin to stall. As he returned to the European tour after his wedding to Kim – and a brief “mini-moon” in Scotland – his prospects were hampered by a mediocre clay-court record: no titles, and only a single career victory over a top 10 opponent (Juan Martin del Potro, since you ask).
With that win, Serena is once again the favorite to claim the French Open title. He won a title on clay this season in Madrid, defeating Murray in final. He may break that streak in Paris. Here’s five players in the men’s and women’s draw who could be potential dark horses in Paris.
Looking at a draw where you could potentially have to beat half of the top ten seeds to win a major title would leave you wondering why on earth you packed your bags for Paris. Expected to make the quarter-finals.
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Fourth-seeded Garbine Muguruza has recovered after losing the first set and advanced to the second round of the French Open.
