Today’s Men’s News (05/31) – Roland Garros

Written by: Staff on 31st May 2012

Today's Men's News (05/31) - Roland Garros

Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates winning in his men's fourth round match against compatriot Feliciano Lopez at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 22 January 2012. EPA/HOW HWEE YOUNG |

Roland Garros

Singles – Second Round: (2) R Nadal def. D Istomin 6-2 6-2 6-0

What else did you expect when perhaps history’s greatest clay-lover faces a clay-hater? Denis Istomin will land just below the Top Forty.

Singles – Second Round: (4) A Murray def. J Nieminen 1-6 6-4 6-1 6-2

There clearly was something wrong with Andy Murray’s back in this match; he had trouble serving early on. But the trainer managed to patch him up. Jarkko Nieminen will remain below #40.

Singles – Second Round: (5) J Tsonga def. C Stebe 6-2 4-6 6-2 6-1

The overnight rain delay obviously didn’t trouble Jo-Wilfried Tsonga too much. Unfortunately, the points don’t help him too much, either.

Singles – Second Round: (6) D Ferrer def. B Paire 6-3 6-3 6-2

David Ferrer is still behind Tomas Berdych in safe points, but it’s now a straight slog: Whichever one lasts longer is ranked higher (probably #6), with ties to Berdych.

Singles – Second Round: (8) J Tipsarevic def. J Chardy 7-6(7-4) 6-1 7-5

Still no resolution in the contest for #8: Janko Tipsarevic is still 200 points ahead of Juan Martin del Potro.

Singles – Second Round: P Mathieu def. (10) J Isner 6-7(2-7) 6-4 6-4 3-6 18-16

What is it about John Isner and Frenchmen whose surnames begin with “M”?

This took five hours and 41 minutes, making it the second-longest match played here, and in terms of games, it is the longest Roland Garros match of the tiebreak era.

Good think Paul-Henri Mathieu gets a day off! He increases his points by almost 50%, and should rise from #261 to around #190.

As is pretty typical at Roland Garros these days, the Americans are done. John Isner will once again be the #1 American, and he is currently #10 in safe points — but we would guess that he will probably end up at #11. In other words, there may well be no Top Ten Americans next week.

Singles – Second Round: (12) N Almagro def. M Baghdatis 6-4 6-3 7-5

Marcos Baghdatis defends his points but remains below #40.

Singles – Second Round: (13) J Monaco def. L Rosol 7-6(7-4) 6-0 7-6(7-5)

Juan Monaco is still stuck at #14, and needs at least two more wins to climb — but he looks almost sure to stay Top Fifteen at least.

Singles – Second Round: (17) R Gasquet def. G Dimitrov 5-7 7-5 6-2 6-3

Richard Gasquet is still below the Top Twenty in safe points, but he keeps himself close.

Singles – Second Round: (19) M Raonic def. J Levine 6-4 7-5 6-2

There is a slight chance that this will put Milos Raonic in the Top Twenty. We’d guess that this won’t quite suffice. But one more win really ought to.

Singles – Second Round: L Mayer def. (24) P Kohlschreiber 7-6(7-5) 7-6(7-4) 7-5

Philipp Kohlschreiber loses the points from his Halle title, so this means that he will be losing his Top Thirty ranking as well.

Singles – Second Round: S Giraldo def. (25) B Tomic 6-4 6-1 6-3

Bernard Tomic just couldn’t seem to figure out how to deal with Santiago Giraldo’s clay shots. Which means no Top 25 spot at this time. Giraldo will probably rise above #45.

Singles – Second Round: (27) M Youzhny def. R Haase 6-3 7-6(7-5) 6-4

Robin Haase defends his points, but there is a chance he will lose his Top Forty ranking even so.

Singles – Second Round: F Fognini def. (28) V Troicki 6-2 3-6 4-6 6-3 8-6

This particular two-day match might well have taken two days even without the rain delay…. Viktor Troicki loses fourth round points and will lose his Top Thirty ranking.

Singles – Second Round: (29) J Benneteau def. D Tursunov 6-4 6-4 6-4

This is the recently-injured facing the recently-injured. Still, it appears to just about clinch Julien Benneteau’s Top Thirty spot.

Singles – Second Round: E Schwank def. (32) F Mayer 2-6 6-3 6-4 7-6(7-4)

This really does leave us wondering why Eduardo Schwank went into such an awful funk a few years back. He’s making quite the comeback — he should rise above #150. Florian Mayer is still below #30.

Singles – Second Round: T Haas def. S Stakhovsky 6-2 6-3 6-2

Not really a big deal on clay, but this should put Tommy Haas back in the Top Hundred.

Singles – Second Round: D Goffin def. A Clement 3-6 7-6(7-2) 0-6 6-2 6-1

Arnaud Clement first played here all the way back in 1997. He did miss 2006, so he doesn’t have a long run of never missing a Slam the way Roger Federer does, but still — quite a streak. Too bad it couldn’t have been on a surface he likes, like grass….

Doubles – First Round: (3) Llodra/Zimonjic def. Ramirez Hidalgo/Ramos 6-1 6-1

Llodra/Zimonjic have a faint chance of #1 here. It probably won’t happen even if they win the title (they need the Bryans to lose pretty early), but at least they’re off to a fast start.

Doubles – First Round: (4) Fyrstenberg/Matkowski def. Andujar/Garcia-Lopez 6-3 3-6 7-5

Kinda ugly, but the Poles defend their points and are likely to stay Top Ten.

Doubles – First Round: (5) Lindstedt/Tecau def. Bogomolov/Norman 6-4 6-2

If Fyrstenberg/Matkowski somehow do lose their Top Ten spots, it will be in part because Lindstedt/Tecau pass them. But Lindstedt and Tecau still need some 700 more points for that…. Coming in, the only players with a chance to pass the Poles appear to be Lindstedt/Tecau (need a final), Bhupathi/Bopanna (need a title), and Marc Lopez (needs a title). And one of those possibilities has been eliminated:

Doubles – First Round: Gicquel/Roger-Vasselin def. (6) Bhupathi/Bopanna 1-6 7-5 6-3

It really, really feels as if Bhupathi/Bopanna will be — or at least should be — history after the Olympics. They obviously means they will not hit the Top Ten; even their Top Fifteen rankings are in some slight danger.

Doubles – First Round: (7) Paes/Peya def. Bolelli/Fognini 6-1 6-7(2-7) 6-3

Interesting that Leander Paes, even playing with a pickup partner, outlasted Mahesh Bhupathi. Paes kees himself in the hunt for a Top Five spot; we currently show the Top Ten as follows:

1..(3) Bryan…………..7800

3..(1) Mirnyi………….7540

3..(1) Nestor………….7540

5..(5) Llodra………….6490

6..(6) Zimonjic………..6470

7..(7) Paes……………6375

8..(8) Fyrstenberg……..5905

8..(8) Matkowski……….5905

10.(10) Lindstedt……….5200

10.(11) Tecau…………..5200

Doubles – First Round: (11) S Gonzalez/Kas def. Bachinger/Moser 6-2 7-6(9-7)

Doubles – First Round: (13) Erlich/A Ram def. Brunstrom/Marx 6-7(2-7) 6-2 7-6(8-6)

Doubles – First Round: (14) Bracciali/Starace def. Emmrich/Siljestrom 7-6(7-4) 6-7(2-7) 6-1

Doubles – First Round: Dodig/Melo def. Stebe/Tomic 6-3 6-4

Doubles – First Round: Ebden/Harrison def. Cipolla/Seppi 7-5 7-6(7-5)

Doubles – First Round: Dlouhy/Mahut def. Gimeno-Traver/Machado 6-1 7-5

Doubles – First Round: Hanley/Kerr def. Clement/De Schepper 6-3 7-6(7-5)

Doubles – First Round: Marach/Zeballos def. Kohlmann/Waske 3-6 7-6(7-5) 6-4

Doubles – First Round: Becker/Kubot def. Charroin/Robert 6-2 6-2

Doubles – First Round: Knowles/Malisse def. Mertinak/Sa 6-3 6-6, retired

Doubles – First Round: Berlocq/Marrero def. Kukushkin/Kunitsyn 6-3 6-2

Mixed Doubles – First Round: (1) Huber/Mirnyi def. Dushevina/Cabal 6-2 7-5

Mixed Doubles – First Round: (2) Peschke/M Bryan def. Parmentier/Paire 6-4 6-1

Mixed Doubles – First Round: (3) Srebotnik/Zimonjic def. Rodionova/Kas 6-3 6-3

A dull day for Mixed rankings. The Mixed rankings say Srebotnik/Zimonjic should be seeded higher, and the other teams in action lower, but did not predict any alternative outcomes.

Mixed Doubles – First Round: Llagostera Vives/Marach def. Hesse/Llodra 7-6(7-4) 2-6 10-3