Tennis News

Preview: Will Djokovic Answer Nadal's Statement Win In The Second Round?

Rafael Nadal made a statement on Wednesday at Roland Garros, losing only four games in his second-round victory. Top seed Novak Djokovic will try to respond with a message of his own on Thursday when he plays Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis.

Djokovic will take confidence from a comprehensive straight-sets victory in the first round against Mikael Ymer. The Serbian only lost five games in his win.

“If you keep on winning, obviously with every match that you win, your confidence level raises a notch higher,” Djokovic said. “Obviously these conditions are different than what we are used to here [at the] French Open. Everyone has been talking about it. The balls, the heavy clay, the cold weather. It all affects the play, of course.

“But I think it’s quite suitable to my style of the game… I think generally the game is there. I’m ready physically, mentally, emotionally to go deep in the tournament. Hopefully I can have another successful year here in Paris.”

The 2016 champion beat Berankis 7-6(2), 6-4 in his first match of the ATP Tour’s return at the Western & Southern Open. He leads their ATP Head2Head series 2-0.

Reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas did not have an easy first-rounder against Jaume Munar. Tsitsipas, who rallied from two sets down for the first time in that encounter, plays Pablo Cuevas on Thursday.

The Greek leads their rivalry 3-0, including a 7-5, 6-4 win against the Uruguayan shotmaker at last week’s Hamburg European Open.

“I have a lot of respect for him. He is a very difficult opponent to face, particularly on this surface,” Tsitsipas said of Cuevas in Hamburg. “He is a good friend and one of my idols growing up.”

Andrey Rublev (below), who like Tsitsipas rallied from two sets down in his opener, will face tricky Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for the first time. Both players are Next Gen ATP Finals alumni. Davidovich Fokina showed his hard-court prowess at the US Open, where he made the fourth round. But he excels with the drop shot, which Djokovic said is a key in these conditions on clay.

“It’s going to be a very important shot in these conditions, because it’s just so heavy and so slow,” Djokovic said. “I think it’s a great variety shot, the drop shot. I think it’s important tactically to have it and to use it at the right time so that you can keep your opponent always guessing what is the next shot.”

Four Italians are already into the third round at Roland Garros, an Open-Era record. Seventh seed Matteo Berrettini can make it five when he plays South African Lloyd Harris for the first time. The 24-year-old made the third round on his tournament debut two years ago, losing against Dominic Thiem in four sets.

Ninth seed Denis Shapovalov is one of the hottest players on the ATP Tour, and he will try to keep his level high against Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena, whom he has never faced previously. The lefty, who made his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the US Open, is fresh off a run to the semi-finals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

One of the matches to watch will be 22nd seed Dusan Lajovic taking on two-time Grand Slam finalist Kevin Anderson. The South African has won their two previous clashes, including a three-set victory in the 2018 Mutua Madrid Open quarter-finals.

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French Open 2020: Victoria Azarenka loses, Simona Halep & Elina Svitolina through

Tenth seed Victoria Azarenka suffers a shock straight-sets defeat by Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the French Open second round.

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Finals Qualifiers Salisbury/Ram Move Into Roland Garros Second Round

Third seeds Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram opened their Roland Garros campaigns on Wednesday with a 6-4, 7-6(5) victory over French wild cards Gregoire Barrere and Quentin Halys in one hour and 24 minutes.

Salisbury and Ram surged to a 3-0 lead, before Barrere and Halys broke for their first game. The 2020 Nitto ATP Finals qualifiers started the second set strongly, but were broken in the eighth game. They saved one set point at 5-6, 30/40 and went onto win the first six points of the tie-break.

Salisbury and Ram, who captured their first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open (d. Purcell/Saville) in January, have reached two semi-finals at the Western & Southern Open (l. to Murray/Skupski) and the US Open (l. to Koolhof/Mektic) since the resumption of the ATP Tour in August. They are now 15-6 on the 2020 season.

They will next challenge Australians Alex de Minaur and Matt Reid, who were 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(5) victors over Nikola Cacic and Dusan Lajovic in two hours and six minutes.

^{Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour}
Fourth seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo (above) dropped just four games in a convincing 6-2, 6-2 win over French wild cards Arthur Cazaux and Harold Mayot.

Elsewhere, top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, semi-finalists in 2017 and 2019, swept past French wild cards Corentin Denolly and Kyrian Jacquet 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 34 minutes. They await the winners of Robert Lindstedt and Jordan Thompson or Robin Haase and Joao Sousa.

Second seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, who have compiled a 21-5 record as a team this year, recovered from 1/4 down in the deciding set tie-break to scrape past Americans Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) in one hour and 49 minutes.

Granollers and Zeballos have captured titles at the Argentina Open title in Buenos Aires (d. Duran/Londero), the Rio Open presented by Claro (d. Caruso/Galo) and at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome (d. Chardy/Martin) two weeks ago. They also finished runner-up at the Generali Open in Kitzbuhel (l. to Krajicek/Skugor).

They now face Daniel Evans and Hubert Hurkacz or Marcelo Demoliner and Matwe Middelkoop in the second round.

^{Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour}
US Open champions Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares (above), seeded seventh, enjoyed a 6-2, 6-3 win over Marcus Daniell and Philipp Oswald

Fifth seeds Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek knocked out Henri Kontinen and Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-1 in 71 minutes to set up a match against Aljaz Bedene and Dennis Novak, who were 6-4, 6-3 victors over Ricardas Berankis and Yoshihito Nishioka in 74 minutes.

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Zverev Survives In Five At Roland Garros

It was far from easy, and some of the difficulty was self-inflicted, but Alexander Zverev found a way on Wednesday evening to reach the third round at Roland Garros for the third consecutive year.

The German had to battle hard against home favourite Pierre-Hugues Herbert, triumphing 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4 after three hours and 59 minutes. Six of the 23-year-old’s 12 victories on the Parisian terre battue have come in five sets.

“I think I’m quite
fit, to be honest. I feel like physically I’m okay.
But sometimes I just feel like I find a way [to win],” Zverev said. “Today I was not the better player on court. I was
not hitting my forehand better, not hitting my backhand
better, not serving better. I was not doing anything better
than he did. But I found a way, which was the most
important. Sometimes I manage to do that quite well.”

In the first round, Zverev showed great form against big-hitting Dennis Novak, defeating the Austrian in straight sets. But it was apparent from the early moments against Herbert that the German had his hands full. Both men won 164 points in the match.

The Frenchman, who rushed the net 93 times, was one point from earning a 6-2, 5-1 lead against the sixth seed. But not capitalising on his early lead proved critical, as Zverev improved to 15-7 in five-setters.

“It’s something that I worked on
not in the matches, but outside the court, in the gym [during] the
offseason and the training blocks that I did. It was for
these moments,” Zverev said. “You don’t need to be lifting 170 kilos on dead
lifts or 150 kilos on squats for three-set matches. That’s
not what you’re doing it for. You’re doing it for five-set
matches, for the big moments like this.
I think that the work has been done not on the court, but
off the court.”

^{Photo Credit: Getty Images}
There was a moment when it seemed Zverev would run away with a four-set victory after digging out of his early hole. The German rallied to take the second set, hitting a forehand lob winner to secure the crucial break. He then won six of the final seven points in the third-set tie-break to take the lead.

But Herbert, who has triumphed at all four Grand Slams in doubles with countryman Nicolas Mahut, put his doubles experience on display by continuing to move forward. The Frenchman won 11 of 13 net points in the fourth set and Zverev missed a backhand to send the match to a decider.

Zverev immediately went up a break in the fifth set and even after letting slip that advantage, he broke to serve for the match at 5-3. Herbert never gave up, but he could only battle back so many times. Zverev, the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals champion, hit a perfect backhand lob to earn his sixth service break and secure his triumph.

Zverev has reached the Roland Garros quarter-finals in back-to-back years. He will try to move one step closer to doing so again when he plays Italian qualifier Marco Cecchinato, who eliminated Argentine Juan Ignacio Londero 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.

The German beat Cecchinato in straight sets at this year’s Australian Open. However, Cecchinato is a dangerous clay-court opponent who advanced to the semi-finals at Roland Garros two years ago.

In the same section of the draw, reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Jannik Sinner reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 victory against home favourite Benjamin Bonzi. 

With Sinner advancing, there are four Italians into the third round at Roland Garros, marking the first time four Italian men have reached the third round of a Grand Slam in the Open Era. The 19-year-old is fresh off a strong performance in Rome, where he upset Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Sinner will next play Argentine Federico Coria, who ousted 23rd seed Benoit Paire 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. Coria is the brother of 2004 Roland Garros finalist Guillermo Coria.

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Heather Watson: LTA chief dismisses concerns over running of sport

LTA chief Scott Lloyd dismisses Heather Watson’s concerns about the running of the sport, saying players are “ultimately responsible for their performances”.

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French Open 2020: Kiki Bertens accused of exaggerating injury after leaving court in wheelchair

Fifth seed Kiki Bertens leaves the court in a wheelchair after her victory over Sara Errani before being accused by the Italian of exaggerating her injury.

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Jamie Murray on the French Open, British struggles & Andy Murray's future

Jamie Murray talks about his hopes of finally winning a French Open title, the singles ‘Brexit’ at Roland Garros and why Mats Wilander was wrong about his brother Andy.

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You Have Rafa At 0/40 In Paris; That's A Good Thing, Right?

You have managed to get Rafael Nadal down 0/40 on serve on Court Philippe-Chatrier at Roland Garros. Three break points are your reward. The game is yours, right? No. The game is his.

An Infosys Insights deep dive into Nadal’s past three title runs at Roland Garros (2017-2019) reveals five startling statistics from his 21 matches played, which include 277 service games and 263 return games.

1) Nadal Has A Winning Record Serving From 0/40
Nadal has only dropped to 0/40 when serving at Roland Garros from 2017-2019 in six service games out of 277, which equates to one out of every 46 service games. That’s twice as good as his ATP Tour average. In the same period from 2017-2019, outside of Roland Garros, he has found himself at 0/40 74 times from 1690 service games, which is one out of every 23 service games.

Getting Nadal to 0/40 is almost impossible in Paris. What’s even more startling is that of the six service games he has yielded a 0-40 start, he has roared back to win four of them.

2) Nadal Has A Winning Record Returning From 0/15
When opponents have won the opening point of their service game and surged to a 15/0 lead, they have gone on to win 70 per cent (86/122) of their service games against Nadal at Roland Garros the past three years. But if they lost the first point and fell behind 0/15, Nadal has instantly surged to become the favorite to win the game, breaking exactly two out of three times (94/141). It’s just one point, but it contains a substantial 37 percentage point swing from 70 per cent to 33 per cent for the server.

3) Nadal Unstoppable From 40/0
At Roland Garros over the past three seasons, Nadal has raced to a 40/0 lead in one out of every three service games he has played (102/277). When he gets to 40/0, he is an unstoppable force, winning all 102 service games from this dominant point score.

4) Nadal Another Level Holding From 0/30
Losing the first two points on serve and dropping to 0/30 is typically cause for alarm bells. The Top 100 on the ATP Tour own an average 42 per cent success rate in holding serve from this position on all surfaces, with the Top 10 owning a 48 per cent record. Both of those percentages are a losing proposition for the server. Nadal has fallen behind 0/30 just 24 times at Roland Garros over the past three tournaments and surged back to win an astonishing 71 per cent of those games (17/24). It’s almost like he is playing another sport.

5) Even Equals Advantage Nadal When Returning
When Nadal has returned serve over the past three years at Roland Garros and moved the point score along to the even moments in time at 15/15, 30/30 and Deuce, he actually becomes the favourite to win the game.

Nadal Returning: Breaking Serve Percentage (2017-2019)

Nadal is looking to add a 13th Roland Garros title to his illustrious trophy cabinet over the next two weeks. His first-round opponent is 27-year-old Egor Gerasimov from Belarus, who advanced to the second round at the Australian Open and US Open this year. Winning the opening point when serving and returning will be more consequential in this match than any other Gerasimov has played in his career.

2017-2019: Nadal Holding Serve (Point Score)

2017-2019: Nadal Breaking Serve (Point Score)

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French Open: Stan Wawrinka beats Dominik Koepfer to move into round three

Former French Open champion Stan Wawrinka beats Germany’s Dominik Koepfer to move into the third round.

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McDonald Couldn't Walk; Today He Faces Nadal At Roland Garros

Mackenzie McDonald departed Roland Garros last year with a devastating injury. In a doubles match, the American tore his right proximal hamstring tendon. Returning to health was a massive undertaking.

“It took a really serious team and a lot of hard work. The surgery was pretty big. I have a massive scar underneath my butt and I wasn’t able to walk for the first month-and-a-half, two months. Time was going by really slowly,” McDonald said. “I didn’t leave my apartment. I was barely able to shower, go to the bathroom. I couldn’t walk.”

The injury caused the former UCLA Bruin, who won the 2016 NCAA Singles and Doubles titles, to lose a lot of muscle mass in his leg.

“I was able to put one pound down on my foot lightly tapping [it at] around 10 per cent. Then the next week it was 20, the next week it was 30, 35, 40. Then it was a one-pound weight three times a week. Then it was two pounds, then it was three. It was gruelling. You make one mistake and you can rupture it again,” McDonald said. “I had to be very patient, something that really taught me a lot. From there, you just slowly creep back. The [work on] court goes from hitting from the centre to two feet around you to three feet around you. We took every step extremely carefully.

“We worked really hard and I really pushed myself… to keep knowing that I was ready for the next step. I can do everything with my hamstring now. All good.”

McDonald’s body will be put to the ultimate test on Wednesday when he faces 12-time champion Rafael Nadal in the second round at Roland Garros.

“[It is] probably one of the biggest challenges you can face in sports, playing him here. I think this year I have the best chance of any year,” McDonald said. “I think with the balls, with the speed, with how much lower it’s bouncing [that will help]. I think I’m playing the best clay-court tennis I have played and he hasn’t played too much this year. I think it’s a tough challenge, but I have to believe that I can beat him.”

Fifteen months ago, McDonald faced a gruelling rehab that kept him out of competition for the rest of 2019. He tried to stay occupied by taking five UCLA classes and doing media work. At the US Open, he created video content for the tournament. While the American was working hard to get healthy, the idea of positioning himself to play the likes of Nadal at a Grand Slam was far from his mind.

“Honestly it was hard to even think about that. My injury was so severe in my opinion that I was just like, ‘I really hope I’m going to get back.’ I wasn’t on Tour for a crazy long time. It hurt not playing tennis for that long. I never had that experience,” McDonald said. “I still was losing my mind a little bit. I love tennis, I love playing. Honestly I can’t even tell you how happy I am to be back. To be here, getting a win yesterday in singles, competing in doubles even though I lost [was amazing]. I know what it’s like on the worst end of it now, so tomorrow will be fun.”

Defeating Nadal on the Parisian terre battue has proven nearly impossible over the years. In 15 second-round matches at Roland Garros, the Spaniard has only lost one set.

“I’m going to keep doing what I have been doing in practice and in the matches. I’ve been playing well,” McDonald said. “I’m just going to keep focussing on myself a little bit. Obviously there are areas you don’t want to put yourself in with him and his game, so I’m going to try my best to work around that.”

The 25-year-old won’t take this opportunity for granted. Not long ago, McDonald was unable to walk. Now he gets to play an all-time great on Court Philippe-Chatrier, one of the grandest stages in tennis. Most importantly, his leg injury is a thing of the past.

“I definitely think I’ve moved past it. It’s extremely unfortunate what happened last year. I wouldn’t really wish that upon anyone. It was a really tough situation, honestly. But I really persevered through it,” McDonald said. “I did an incredible job to even get back to this point. I don’t think a lot of players would even be back as quick as I was, for sure. To be playing exactly if not in better condition than I was, even last year, too, I’m going to pat myself on the back for that.”

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