‘I don’t try to approach things from a point of view of being obsessed with winning this tournament – or any other tournament for that matter.
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PARIS (AP) – Through the years, Rafael Nadal grew accustomed to a couple of givens at the French Open: He would arrive as the defending champion, and Roger Federer would be somewhere in the draw, often awaiting a showdown in the final. “I have made some changes to my technique, quite significant ones that maybe don’t look as big, but significant changes that help me mentally”.
“I love Paris, obviously”, she says.
Djokovic’s quest for a career Grand Slam remains one of the most discussed storylines surrounding the French Open. A repeat of his Paris run of four years ago should be on the cards at the very least, with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga projected to be his last-16 opponent, and at the moment, Goffin would appear to be favourite should those two clash. The clay season hasn’t been as successful. Djokovic finally got past a lackluster version of Nadal in the 2015 quarterfinals, only to fall to Stan Wawrinka in the final that year.
For the past six months, Murray has established himself as the second best player on the planet, second only to Djokovic.
This is a French Open of quiet desperation for some, rising hope for others. But there could be an emerging threat from her fellow American Madison Keys, who ran Williams close in the Rome final, and who seems to have developed a taste for claycourt action at just 21. And perhaps her relatively short residence on clay this year will give her the reserves to make life rather easier than they were last year: She played five three-setters, four of them after losing the first set. The draw was not been favourable for Bouchard, who will have to get through world No. 39 Laura Siegemund in the first round just to potentially face No. 8 Timea Bacsinszky in the second round. The 28-year-old hasn’t played on clay in 2016.
Men’s 17th seed Kyrgios beat Italy’s Marco Cecchinato 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 while Kvitova beat Danka Kovinic of Montenegro 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. Only Novak Djokovic has won more matches (37) than Thiem (36) in 2016. Her best result at a Grand Slam came in 2009 when she made the fourth round at the French Open, so she’s had success in Paris before.
“I’m not thinking too much that I won the first grand slam of the year because every tournament starts from zero”.
Chris Evert believes the defeat by Murray can be a positive, saying: “I think Djokovic’s loss is a blessing in disguise for him because this guy has won so much in the last year and a half, two years”.
“I am still not 100 percent and feel I might be taking an unnecessary risk by playing in this event before I am really ready”. After whistling through the first set, Kvitova continued her onslaught at the start of the second, the latest in a sequence of spectacular returns bringing an immediate break. Caroline Garcia, a finalist this week in Strasbourg, and Sara Errani, a former finalist at Roland Garros, could present huge challenges for her before the quarter-finals.
Kvitova, who raised her modest record to 12-11 for the year, comes off a disappointing tournament in Rome, where she lost her first match to American Madison Keys.
FOR all the talk of the new generation, when the women’s event begins here at the French Open today, it will be the case, as always, of which Serena Williams will show up.
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Sixth seed Simona Halep and the 2015 Wimbledon runner-up Garbine Muguruza were among the players left kicking their heels due to the inclement weather in the French capital.
