Matches Get Interesting, 3rd Round Preview! – Shubert Blog

Written by: Staff on 1st June 2012

Matches Get Interesting, 3rd Round Preview! - Shubert Blog

epa03243876 Paul-Henri Mathieu of France celebrates winning his second round match against John Isner of the USA for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 31 May 2012. EPA/IAN LANGSDON |

Paul-Henri Mathieu provides another stunning upset in dramatic fashion, defeating John Isner 18-16 in the 5th set. Let’s see who’s left standing on the Men’s side tomorrow!

Tsonga faces a weary Fabio Fognini (went 5 sets yesterday), Roger Federer plays the improbable Nicolas Mahut (I think we all know what the outcome here will be… And as a side note – Federer hasn’t lost to a player with a one-handed backhand since Rome 2011!) Gilles Simon and Stanislas Warwrinka lock horns, and Novak Djokovic looks to dominate French qualifier Nicolas Devilder. Kevin Anderson and Tomas Berdych will try to bulldoze each other in a slap-shot-fest kind of match. Same could be said about the match up between Juan Martin del Potro and Croatian Marin Cilic. Resurgent Andreas Seppi could sneak by Fernando Verdasco in this open section of the draw, but it’s unlikely!

You know that a tournament is completely out of sorts when commentators can be recorded claiming that one player is going to win guaranteed and ends up losing, or vice versa. There shouldn’t be many upsets in the Women’s draw tomorrow but sparks will fly between Angelique Kerber and Flavia Pennetta. A couple veteran pairings are on display tomorrow: Sam Stosur and Nadia Petrova test each other’s movement on the clay, Agnieszka Radwanska looks to out maneuver Svetlana Kuznetsova. If you want to avoid the shrieking, stay away from Court Suzanne Lenglen (That’s where Azarenka and Sharapova play their matches tomorrow).

Unlike Wimbledon a couple years ago, the court did not help Big John Isner in his serving efforts. Clay, the ultimate equalizer, allowed Mathieu to “redeem” himself in front of compatriots and country by closing out one of the biggest wins of his career. What’s going to happen next…?? Stay tuned to 10sballs.com for continuing coverage of the 2012 French Open!

Topics: 10sballs.com, Fabio Fognini, French tennis news, John Isner, Kevin Anderson, Nicolas Devilder, Nicolas Mahut, Paul Nenri Mathieu, Roger Federer, Tomas Berdych