Tennis News

With just a day to go before the biggest clay court event in the world kicks-off at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, there are some major questions that need to be answered as the world’s elite players try to wrestle it out for ultimate glory at the second Grand Slam title of the year.

Novak Djokovic is perched at the top of the ATP rankings since July 2014 and goes into the French Open as the top contender. With a phenomenal start to the season, he is definitely the man to beat.

Rafael Nadal, the 5-time defending champion, has not been at his usual best and is struggling to find the form that saw him win 9 out of the last 10 French open titles.

Roger Federer will try to bounce back from an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Andreas Seppi at his last Grand Slam outing in Australia.

Andy Murray’s recent successes on clay have made him the dark-horse for the event and he will be trying to build momentum in Paris before the grass-court season.

Tomas Berdych and Kei Nishikori have made steady starts to the season and it seems like they are ready to break into Grand Slam Champions.

Can the young brigade of Nick Kyrgios, Dominic Thiem & Thanasi Kokkinakis step it up this year?
Here are just some of the questions that will be answered at the Second Grand Slam tournament of 2015.

1. Will Novak Djokovic finally shake the monkey off his back?
Novak Djokovic enters Roland Garros 2015 after an outstanding start to his season. He finds himself in a similar situation like 2011 when he entered Roland Garros as the Aussie Open Champion and winner of 4 Masters 1000 titles. The pressure is on the World No.1 to finally add the Coupe des Mousquetaires to his already impressive resume.

With a possible win in Paris, Djokovic will probably try to put up the greatest calendar season in Tennis History. Baring no injuries, he could end up winning the Calendar Grand Slam along with winning 8 Masters 1000 (skipped Madrid) and the ATP World Tour Finals. Apart from this he could also be the Davis Cup Champion with Serbia at the end of the season.

However, he may have to face the five-time reigning champion as early as the quarter-finals, and it could spell doom for the Serb as he is 0-6 against Spaniard in Roland Garros losing once in the QFs, thrice in SFs and twice in the finals (2012 & 2014).

With Rafa Nadal not at this perennial best, the pressure is on Novak to finally win in Paris and join the elite group of players with Career Grand Slam.

DRAW METER – Kevin Anderson (4R), Rafael Nadal (QF), Andy Murray/David Ferrer (SF), Roger Federer/Kei Nishikori/Tomas Berdych (F)

2. Will Rafael Nadal turn up and prove everybody wrong with an Unprecedented Tenth Roland Garros Title?
Nine-time champion Nadal will have his lowest ever seeding at a Grand Slam tournament, with his unusually poor European clay court swing, during which he failed to capture any of Monte Carlo, Madrid, Barcelona or Rome for the first time since 2004, seeing him drop to seventh in the world rankings.

It could be a worrying sign that his invincibility on clay could be coming to an end, however the French Open should still continue to bring the best out of the Spaniard. He has only ever lost once at the tournament since debuting in 2005 holding a 66-1 overall record.

Even last year, when Nadal was world number one, the Spaniard was not considered the outright favourite to win. That tag went to Novak Djokovic, who beat him in the Rome Masters final and had also ended his eight-year stranglehold at the Monte Carlo Masters in 2013.

But still, Nadal proved too good for Djokovic in the final by way of a four-set victory, despite losing the first set in a championship match for the first time since 2006 against Roger Federer.

Despite failing to fire in 2015, the nine-time French Open champion will be out to prove that he is anything but a spent force and claim an unprecedented tenth title at Roland Garros. Or will his mass achievements finally start to catch up with him?

DRAW METER – Grigor Dimitrov (4R), Novak Djokovic (QF), Andy Murray/David Ferrer (SF), Roger Federer/Kei Nishikori/Tomas Berdych (F)

3. Can Roger Federer come back strong at Grand Slam events?
Roger Federer has had a good start to the season in 2015. With titles in Brisbane, Dubai &Istanbul and finals in Indian Wells and Rome, he is still playing at a very high level. But his loss at the hands of Italian Andreas Seppi in Melbourne earlier this year has more or less ended his consistency at Grand Slam level which at once was impenetrable.

Roger’s performance at Roland Garros has declined over the years. He was a finalist from 2006-2008 before completing his Career Grand Slam in 2009 beating Robin Soderling in the Finals. In 2011 he ended Djokovic’s 43 match unbeaten streak in one of the best matches of his career before surrendering to Nadal once again in the finals. Since then he has lost one round earlier each year with SF in 2012, QF in 2013 and 4R last year to Ernests Gulbis.
A Strong performance in Paris could lay foundation for an 8th Wimbledon title and a 6th US open crown.

DRAW METER – Gael Monfils (4R), Stan Wawrinka (QF), Kei Nishikori/Tomas Berdych (SF), Novak Djokovic/Andy Murray/Rafael Nadal (F)

PREDICTION – Finals (loses to Djokovic in 4 sets); the match against Monfils could be a classic with the Parisian crowd cheering for Gael.

4. Can Andy Murray continue his recent success on clay?
Andy Murray has been undefeated this season on clay (10-0) winning in Munich and demolishing Rafa in Madrid. He became the first Briton since Buster Mottram in 1976 to win a tour level clay court event. He had to withdraw from Rome due to tiredness and fatigue but is expected to come back strong in Paris. The performances against Milos Raonic, Kei Nishikori and Rafael Nadal in Madrid were clinical even after a tight schedule which saw him play 9 matches in the space of 10 days.

Also Andy has come back stronger and fitter this season with final appearances at the Aus Open and also in Miami. The only major roadblock for him is his recent struggles against Novak. He has lost the last 7 matches against his Serbian rival since beating him at SW 19 almost 2 years back. The French open has been the least favoured Grand Slam event for Andy with his best performances coming in 2011 & 2014 when he made it to the SF (losing to Rafa on both occasions).

With a determined approach to his game after his marriage to Kim, Andy could very well find himself lifting his third grand slam title (Fred Perry in 1936 was the last Briton to win in Paris, Bunny Austin reached the final in 1938).

DRAW METER – John Isner (4R), David Ferrer (QF), Novak Djokovic/Rafael Nadal (SF), Roger Federer/Kei Nishikori/Tomas Berdych (F)

5. Will Kei Nishikori and Tomas Berdych step it up at the majors?
Kei Nishikori has been continuously progressing under the tutelage of former French Open Champion Michael Chang. He made his major breakthrough last year beating Novak Djokovic in the SFs of the US open before losing to Marin Cilic in the finals. Like his mentor he has proved to be an excellent clay courter winning back-to-back titles in Barcelona and consistently improving his game on the surface. With a solid defensive game along with aggressive shot making he could very well play the spoiler to Djokovic’s French open success.

Tomas Berdych has made an excellent start to his season reaching the QFs of all the 9 events he has entered. With Dani Vallverdu coaching him, Tomas has been extremely consistent this season. He defeated Rafa Nadal in the QFs of the Aus Open this year, demolishing the Spaniard and ending his 17 match losing streak against him. Yet he is still looking for his first Grand Slam breakthrough and trying to achieve what Wawrinka and Cilic managed to do last season. This season could finally see him accomplish his mission.

DRAW METER – Feliciano Lopez (4R) – Nishikori; JW Tsonga (4R) – Berdych
Nishikori vs Berdych (QF)

Roger Federer (SF); Novak Djokovic/Andy Murray/Rafael Nadal (F)

How will Nick Kyrgios fare at the French open as a seeded player for the first time? Also can Dominic Thiem be the surprise package at this year’s event?

How will Simon, Monfils and Tsonga perform and will France produce its first champion since Yannick Noah in 1983 (Henri Leconte was the last French to reach the final in 1988 losing to Wilander).

These are just some of the questions that will be asked as the countdown to the French Open continues. Will the big names be there when it matters most? Who will win the men’s and women’s titles in 2015? And can Novak Djokovic finally get the monkey off his back and complete his Grand Slam set?

After an eventful clay swing, the time has come for the second slam of the year. This year, Rafael Nadal‘s struggles were even more noticeable than ever as he went without a European clay court title prior to the French Open for the first time since 2004. With a 72-7 record over the past year, Novak Djokovic comes into the tournament more favoured than ever as he looks to complete the career grand slam.
Quarter 1 – Nadal vs Djokovic

After a drop in the rankings to number 6, it opened up the possibility of Nadal being placed with Djokovic much earlier than many would hope for – much like in 2013 when the pair met in the semi final . It feels like this has been said every year since 2011 but Djokovic will have his best chance to date of winning his first French Open. In recent years, Nadal remained favourite with the bookmakers but they are strongly in favour of the World No.1 on this occasion and if he can see off Nadal in the quarter finals, assuming they meet, the title almost seems a given.

As part of his 35-2 season to date, Djokovic won both the Monte Carlo and Rome Masters defeating six top 10 players in the process. One of those was a straight sets win over Nadal in Monte Carlo, their only meeting so far this year. Djokovic is clearly the best player in the world right now and the numbers back it up, only a Madrid withdrawal denying a chance at the clay Masters sweep.

Meanwhile, Nadal lost matches to Djokovic, Fabio Fognini, Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray during the European clay swing, the last of which was in the Madrid final against an opponent he had dominated on the surface. It’s cliché to say that Nadal over 5 sets is a different animal but a 66-1 record at Roland Garros means you can never really count him out. If he can make to the final four, there’s no doubt he is the favourite to win once more. Already outside the top 5, Nadal’s ranking is set to drop even further if he flops. With his 2000 points from last year removed, he would be projected to be outside the top 10 if he departs from the tournament early.

In terms of this quarter, Djokovic looks like he will have no issues in the early rounds. The first seed he can meet is Bernard Tomic, who has struggled on clay. Australia might have a better chance of a run to the third round from Thanasi Kokkinakis who continues to improve and was a Challenger winner last week in Bordeaux. Richard Gasquet has a clay title to his name this year but has a 1-11 career record against Djokovic. While he performs better on faster surfaces, Kevin Anderson is at least capable enough of playing to his seeding and making the third round.

Meanwhile, Nadal opens against the young wildcard Quentin Halys. Already 2-0 against him on the year, Nicolas Almagro is a possible opponent in round two while Adrian Mannarino is another vulnerable seeded player. 18th seed Tommy Robredo may well play Borna Coric in round two, a classic case of the experienced vet against the raw youngster – who already has a win over Nadal in his career. With a seeding of 10, Grigor Dimitrov will improve on his career best third round at the tournament although many see his opener against Jack Sock as a potential upset.

Quarter 2 – Murray vs Ferrer

Once seen as easy pickings for the top guys on clay, Andy Murray is making a strong claim for the player with the best chance outside of the top two. Prior to 2015, he had never won a clay ATP tournament – although rarely playing outside of Masters partly accounts for this. He then went back-to-back in Munich and Madrid, the latter coming without dropping a set to three top 10 players in Raonic, Nishikori and most impressively Nadal. An impressive display of attacking tennis saw him seize the initiative from the start and he never really let up in the 6-3 6-2 victory.

He made the semi final here last year but much of that was put down to a favourable draw and this was backed up by many when Nadal lost just six games to book his place in the final. Seventh seed David Ferrer looks to have the best chances of stopping Murray from at least repeating his 2014 run. The Spaniard was a finalist in 2013 and had solidified himself as someone who you could count on to live up to his seeding. 10 straight quarter finals or better at slams have since been followed up by three fourth rounds or worse. You would expect that the French Open will be the place that Ferrer ends this miniblip.

In amongst this quarter are a number of players who are capable of shocking either player. Nick Kyrgios put to bed any concerns about his ability to perform on clay with a final in Estoril before defeating Roger Federer in Madrid. He feels like someone who thrives on the big stage and has a game to trouble the best if he can keep his head together – his temperament has been called into question on a number of occasions. John Isner remains one of the few players to win two sets at this tournament from Rafael Nadal but as usual, will need to serve out of this world and avoid lengthy matches to do anything worthwhile.

Leonardo Mayer remains a strong player on clay and last year defeated Ferrer in the Munich final. Marin Cilic has failed to hit the heights of his US Open triumph but remains dangerous as he looks to make his first French Open quarter final. The Croatian narrowly missed out on a top 8 seeding which would have markedly improved his chances to do so.

Quarter 3 – Nishikori vs Berdych

With three of the favourites in the top half of the draw, there is no doubt that the draw looks a little kinder to those placed in the bottom half. A first time finalist may well be crowned with just Roger Federer in this half having made one before. Who is fourth favourite is not so clear but of the other contenders, it is probably Kei Nishikori that will have the strongest claim. His run up to the French Open consisted a Barcelona title defence and losses to Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. It says a lot that the latter was seen as a surprising defeat. After losing in round one last year, the only way is up for Nishikori.

Meanwhile, it has been a recurring theme for Tomas Berdych in 2015. He is unbeaten against players outside the top 10, going 30-0, but has won just two of the nine against those ranked inside the top ten and 0-7 in semi finals and finals combined. With Nishikori’s 3-1 record against Berdych, it would not be a surprise at all for Berdych to make the quarter finals before losing to the first elite opponent – assuming Nishikori gets there.

Nishikori has wins over two of the closest seeds in his draw – Roberto Bautista Agut and Fernando Verdasco but did lose Feliciano Lopez in Indian Wells earlier in the year. Given Lopez’s losses on clay this year, there is little to suggest he could pull it off again against an opponent far more capable on the surface than he is. Berdych appears to have a much tougher route to the quarter finals with Fabio Fognini amongst the possible opponents. The 28th seed’s best run on European clay in 2015 was a Barcelona quarter final yet at the same time he is one of the few players to beat Rafael Nadal multiple times in a year.

Philipp Kohlschreiber‘s last two completed losses were against Andy Murray, who went on to take the titles in Madrid and Munich. A Rome withdrawal will ask questions of his fitness although 2 weeks has passed since then. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga played some of his best tennis in blitzing Roger Federer in straight sets in 2013 but these matches have been few and far between.

Quarter 4 – Wawrinka-Federer

The final quarter throws up some fascinating potential match ups, including of course a battle between the Swiss No.1 and No.2. An early loss in Geneva is hardly ideal preparation for the tournament for Stanislas Wawrinka who has plenty of space to improve on his rankings after losing in round one last year. Wawrinka was another who picked up a victory over Rafael Nadal, this one coming in Rome.

Meanwhile, Roger Federer possibly has his best chance to make another slam final after avoiding Djokovic or Nadal before then. Winning Istanbul before making the final in Rome is a good warm up for the No.2 seed who only made the fourth round last year, losing to Ernests Gulbis. In winning that Istanbul final, Federer defeated Pablo Cuevas in straight sets and did so again the next week in Rome. It feels that the 2008 semi finalist Gael Monfils will be the biggest threat before the quarter finals for Federer, especially with Monfils already having a win over Federer in Monte Carlo this year.

Ernests Gulbis was a semi finalist last year after shocking Federer but his year has been disastrous, going 2-12. An early loss could see Gulbis fall as far as outside the top 80, which would be some drop for the current 24 seed. If he gets it together, last year could be repeated but he would likely need to also beat Wawrinka to have any chance of putting together such a run. Having lost in round one last year, Wawrinka sailing through is far from guaranteed either. After winning Monte Carlo, a disastrous end to the run to the French Open saw him go 1-3 in the following events topped off by a four set loss to Guillermo Garcia Lopez, who interestingly can play Wawrinka in round three.

Back in Zagreb closer to the start of the season, Marcos Baghdatis saved a match point en route to collecting an upset win over Ivo Karlovic in his hometown. Now, the enthralling contest can be relived in Paris, although this time with bigger stakes to play for. Overall, this marks the fourth time that Karlovic and Baghdatis will cross paths on the professional tour, with Baghdatis leading the head-to-head series 2-1.

As one of the players who have had little on-court time on the red dust, it is difficult to determine what to expect from Karlovic. He defeated Borna Coric in Bucharest before losing to Jiri Vesely the following round. He then followed up with another loss in the opening round of the Madrid Masters, where he fell to Richard Gasquet. He has remained off the tour since then.

Another similarly underworked player this clay court season in Marcos Baghdatis, who played three clay court tournaments ahead of the French Open. In a funny coincidence, he also has just three matches to his name on the surface, and, much like Karlovic, only managed to win his first match on the surface before suffering back-to-back losses thereafter. He is another player whose lack of court time makes him a questionable success at the event.

Apart from his awe-inspiring performance against Karlovic in Zagreb, where he was able to partially turn back the clock to save a match point and topple the towering Croat, Baghdatis has been the better of the two players in this head-to-head series. He holds another win against Karlovic back in 2008 and only lost to the big man when he retired from a contest in Metz that very same year. With a 2-1 lead in the series, it will be interesting to see if Baghdatis has another upset up his sleeve.