French Open Men’s Final

This match went as predicted in this blog, with Djokovic winning in 4: 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.  In the first set Djokovic came out a bit flat or nervous, and Murray came out the way he played in the Italian Open final.  Murray was driving his forehand with conviction and covering the court like a blanket.  In the beginning of the second set, though, Murray started waiting for Novak to miss rather trying to force him to miss.  A few straightforward rallies were all that Djokovic needed to get his rhythm and his feet moving.  After that, Novak played pretty much unbeatable tennis. 

The crowd was clearly behind Djokovic – so much so that on a couple of occasions they deliberately tried to disrupt Andy’s play.  It’s really disappointed to see that sort of thing.  Fortunately that behavior did not really influence the outcome.

Djokovic added a couple of new wrinkles to his game in this tournament.  In the earlier rounds he began hitting a cross-court backhand drop shot, while beforehand almost all of this drop shots were backhands hit from his backhand corner down the line toward the right hander’s forehand.  In the final Djokovic added another shot, the forehand cross-court drop shot.  Never before had I seen either of these cross-court droppers.  Whether these shots will make Djokovic even more effective than he already is remains to be seen.

Can Djokovic win the calendar slam?  He has the first two majors in his pocket, Federer is injured and getting older every day, and Nadal is injured.  The Olympics may affect how players deal with the schedule, but all things considered, Djokovic has a real chance.  It will be interesting to watch.   

French Open Women’s Final

We didn’t’ know it when the tournament started, but this was the final we were hoping for!  The tremendous all-court skills and power of both Serena Williams and the winner by 7-5, 6-4, Garbine Muguruza, were on full display in this one.  The difference between this loss and others in Williams’ past was that she was matched for power and outhit.  Muguruza also covered the court incredibly well and served big when it counted.  The only thing apparently missing from Muguruza’s arsenal is the drop shot, which she did not use at all in this match, but which would have been quite effective.   Garbine also double faulted a bit more frequently than she would like, and this problem was not due only to the intimidating return of Serena – she double faulted rather frequently throughout the tournament.   

One of Muguruza’s most impressive features was her ability to stay calm.  When serving to stay in the match at 3-5 in the second set, Williams saved four match points.  For a player like Muguruza, who had never before won a major, to come so close in that game but still fall short, the situation must have been incredibly nerve wracking.  Yet she stayed the course and served it out, winning the match on an amazing lob.     

What will Muguruza accomplish now that she has gone the distance in a major and come through in such a highly pressured situation?  In addition to her fabulous talent she now has experience.  The two-word answer to that question is easy: Look out!

French Open Semis

The men

1) Djokovic beat Dominic Thiem in straight sets.  Thiem did not get enough free and easy points on his serve, and he tried too hard to hit Djokovic off the court rather than to maneuver him with varied play.  The real factor in this match, though, was Novak’s play.  He played by far his best since the tournament started, and he was all but unbeatable today.  Thiem will be back, take my word for it.

2) Murray beat Wawrinka in 4 sets.  Andy Murray again showed tremendous endurance and powerful shot-making.  In my opinion he has played the best tennis of his career over the past several weeks.  As strong as Wawrinka is, Murray was even stronger today.  This match was never in doubt.

Finals prediction:  Djokovic over Murray in 4 sets.  Murray has played a lot of tough matches since the start of the Madrid Open.  As strong as he has been, I think Novak has more in the tank, and Novak’s play is also peaking at the right time.  If Murray is to have a chance, he MUST get easy points off his serve, particularly when he falls behind in service games.  He was successful at this in Italy, but this is a 5-set match. 

The women.

1) Serena Williams beat a hobbled Kiki Bertens, 7-6, 6-4.  Williams recognized that Bertens could not move forward well because of an injured calf muscle, and tortured Bertens with drop shots.  Bertens held a set point on her own serve in the first set tiebreak but could not convert.  A tremendous tournament for Bertens.  Let’s see what she does from here on out. 

2) Muguruza dominated Stosur in a straight set win.  Garbine hit phenomenal shots from all over the court.   She did not serve well, but it hardly mattered, as she seemed able to break Stosur’s serve whenever she wanted to.  Muguruza’s stellar play has been one of the highlights of the 2016 French Open.  It’s been a real pleasure watching her.  

Finals prediction:  Pick ‘em.  Williams is the best player in the world and has a lot of experience on the big stage.  However, Muguruza has shown that she can beat Serena at the French Open, and has played the better tennis over the past 2 weeks.  This should be interesting.  If things dry out and the surface gets faster, I think Muguruza will have a better chance.  Right now she is moving better than Serena.

French Open Highlights day 12

The men

1) Djokovic beat Berdych in the usual way.  At one point Novak threw his racquet and nearly hit a linesperson, which would have resulted in an automatic disqualification.  That was the tensest moment of this match.  Djokovic has had some issues with his temper in the last couple of tournaments.  More on what Berdych and everyone else must do to beat Djokovic in a later post. 

2) Thiem defeated Goffin in a spectacular match.  The second set tiebreaker was an enthralling display of shot making, court coverage and tactical ingenuity on the part of both players.  Eventually Thiem overpowered Goffin to win an easy fourth set.  That Thiem was able to prevail in this way bodes well for him.  It will be a tough ask for him to defeat Djokovic and then either Murray or Wawrinka to take the title, but if he starts showing up regularly at the end of tournaments, it’s only a matter of time. 

The women.

1) Kiki Bertens, who’s had a great tournament, continued her amazing run by beating Timea Bacsinszky.  This tournament will be remembered for the Cinderella stories, with Bertens, Shelby Rogers, Tsvetana Pironkova Yulia Putintseva being the featured players.

2) Speaking of Yulia Putintseva, she went down as expected to Serena Williams, but not before taking the first set, giving Williams all she could ask for in the second set, and playing very intensely even when down two breaks in the third set.  She really acquitted herself well!!  If Dimitrov is the “baby Fed” on the men’s side, Putintseva is the “baby Kuzy” on the women’s side.  This Russian-born gal looks like Svetlana Kuznetsova and is built like her too, with immensely strong quads.  She is an imposing physical specimen for one so young.  We’ll have to see how she does on other surfaces, but on slow clay this week she was impressive, and her attitude was really outstanding.

French Open Highlights day 11

The men

1) Murray prevailed over Gasquet in 4 sets, a good tournament for Gasquet.  Murray has been intimidating with his strength, speed and resolve. 

2) Djokovic dropped the first set but then cruised through Bautista-Agut, who gave it his best shot.  Wawrinka won easily over Ramos-Vinolas, who also had a good showing here. 

3) Ernie Gulbis finally went down to David Goffin.  Even though Gulbis was given one free round when Tsonga retired, he can be proud of how he did in this tournament.  Goffin will be ranked in the world’s top 10 next week.  It’s time to stop thinking of him as a little guy who’s pretty good at tennis.

4) Dominic Thiem dropped a set before steamrolling Marcel Granollers.  Thiem is looking very strong indeed.  Will this tournament be his breakthrough to the very top level of the game?  We may find out in his next match, when he plays Goffin, who has beaten him before in a final.

The women.

1) Kiki Bertens, who’s had a great tournament, excused Madison Keys.  Keys helped her a little with spotty play, but a great tournament for Bertens.

2) Yulia Putintseva, age 21, rank 53, from Kazakhstan, has also had a fabulous run.  She beat Suarez-Navarro today.  She will now face Serena Williams, who downed Elina Svitolina.  Justine Henin, who, much to her credit, hasn’t wasted a lot of time at the hairdresser, watched from Svitolina’s friends’ box as a “consultant”.  We miss you Justine!

3) Two great runs that ended:  Tsvetana Pironkova finally went down to Samantha Stosur.  Before exiting she beat Aggie Radwanska, seeded #2.  Another woman who had a great run was Shelby Rogers of the USA, ranked 108.  She beat three seeds before falling today to Garbine Muguruza.  If Muguruza plays the rest of the year the way she has in this tournament, she will be knocking on the door of #1 in the world.  What a player!

4) Venus Williams lost, as expected, to Timea Bacsinszky.  Not a bad performance for Venus, who is nearing age 36 and who really prefers a different surface.

Yesterday at the French
In a weather-abbreviated day in which soggy conditions made the ball look like a lump of clay after long rallies, Stosur defeated Halep, who made no excuses, and Pironkova beat Aggie Radwanska, who did attribute her problems at least in part to the conditions.
Quite a tournament for Pironkova!

Now, on both the men's a women's sides of the draw, the top seeds have been relieved of the risk of playing key top players.  Djokovic will not have to face either Nadal or Federer, and Serena Williams won't have to play Kvitova, Azarenka or Halep.