A LOOK AT THE FRENCH OPEN’S FOURTH-ROUND MEN’S MATCHES BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 31st May 2014

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

A LOOK AT THE FRENCH OPEN'S FOURTH-ROUND MEN'S MATCHES BY RICKY DIMON

epa04233888 Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates his win over Leonardo Mayer of Argentina in their third round match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 31 May 2014. EPA/IAN LANGSDON |

Light–or lack thereof–is once again an issue at Roland Garros. As a result, we are still missing one of the eight fourth-round matchups as the season’s second Grand Slam hits its second week. Safely through, however, are Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer.

Let’s take a look at the battles with quarterfinal spots on the line:

(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Dusan Lajovic: They say it’s better to be lucky than good, but Lajovic has been both this spring. The Serb got a lucky-loser spot in Miami and reached the second round. He faced Jurgen Zopp instead of Tommy Haas in the French Open second round and Jack Sock instead of Nicolas Almagro in the third round. This, of course, is where the luck runs out…unless Nadal’s back flares up.

Dusan Lajovic – EPA/CAROLINE BLUMBERG

(19) Kevin Anderson vs. 5) David Ferrer: Speaking of luck, Anderson did not have to play more than one set against an in-form Ivo Karlovic on Saturday. The 6’11” Croat retired due to a back issue. Having to face Ferrer, though, is bad news. It’s not as bad as if he had to play Tomas Berdych (Anderson is a famous 0-11 lifetime), but Anderson and Ferrer also squared off in last year’s Roland Garros fourth round and the Spaniard decimated the South African 6-3, 6-1, 6-1.

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez vs. (23) Gael Monfils: Monfils playing a five-setter against Fabio Fognini in the previous round was entirely expected. In fact, it was never really in doubt. A five-set win over Donald Young may seem less impressive for Garcia-Lopez, but make no mistake about it: that was one of the best matches of the tournament. GGL and Young put on a spectacular show. So while this may look like a friendly section of the draw for Monfils, the French fans better not assume that he will just waltz into the quarterfinals or even semis.

Gael Monfils – EPA/YOAN VALAT

(6) Tomas Berdych vs. (10) John Isner: This has to be one of the most curious statistics in tennis: in just six matches against the huge-serving Isner, Berdych–who is generally not an elite returner–has earned a shocking 52 break points and has broken serve an unreal 21 times. For some strange reason, he can handle the Isner delivery like no other. But, hey, Isner may ramp things up a notch on serve when he sees an opponent in a flower shirt on the other side of the net.

(18) Ernests Gulbis vs. (4) Roger Federer: Gulbis, who has added to his vast history of controversial comments this fortnight, once called Federer “boring.” The previous three contests between these two guys, however, were anything but snooze-fests. All in 2010, all three went deep into third sets–with Federer winning twice and Gulbis prevailing once. The underdog Latvian will have no fear, but he makes the second week of slams about as often as Federer doesn’t make the second week of slams. Experience could be a factor.

Ernests Gulbis – EPA/CAROLINE BLUMBERG

(8) Milos Raonic vs. Marcel Granollers: The only thing more unflappable than Raonic’s hair gel was his mental strength at the end of his match against Gilles Simon on Friday. Actually, I take that back, as Raonic got broken at 5-4 in the fifth. Still, he did well to come back from two sets to one down and to break right back for a 6-5 lead in the fifth, at which point he successfully served it out.

(13) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. (2) Novak Djokovic: In a 2012 French Open quarterfinal, Tsonga extended Djokovic to five sets and even held match points. Unfortunately for the French fans, the 2012 Tsonga ain’t walkin’ through that door. He simply isn’t the same player this season. An upset in this one would be monumental and, quite frankly, hard to believe.

Novak Djokovic – EPA/YOAN VALAT

Topics: David Ferrer, Ernests Gulbis, French Open, Gael Monfils, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, John Isner, Kevin Anderson, Marcel Granollers, milos raonic, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Roland Garros, Tennis, Tennis News, Tomas Berdych

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10sBalls_com says:

May 31, 2014 at 7:06 pm

A LOOK AT THE FRENCH OPEN’S FOURTH-ROUND MEN’S MATCHES BY RICKY DIMON – http://t.co/VlN21G2CBD @RD_Tennistalk #FrenchOpen #RolandGarros
RD_Tennistalk says:

May 31, 2014 at 7:07 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: A LOOK AT THE FRENCH OPEN’S FOURTH-ROUND MEN’S MATCHES BY RICKY DIMON – http://t.co/VlN21G2CBD @RD_Tennistalk #FrenchOpe…
soniaisabeltibo says:

May 31, 2014 at 9:19 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: A LOOK AT THE FRENCH OPEN’S FOURTH-ROUND MEN’S MATCHES BY RICKY DIMON – http://t.co/VlN21G2CBD @RD_Tennistalk #FrenchOpe…