CHAMPIONS PREVAIL IN PARIS BUT SEEDS FALL ON DAY 4 OF ROLAND GARROS TENNIS BY GLOBAL CHICK

Written by: Global Chick on 26th May 2015

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

CHAMPIONS PREVAIL IN PARIS BUT SEEDS FALL ON DAY 4 OF ROLAND GARROS TENNIS BY GLOBAL CHICK

epa04769076 Eugenie Bouchard of Canada in action against Kristina Mladenovic of France during their first round match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 26 May 2015. EPA/CAROLINE BLUMBERG |

This was the day pretty much everyone was waiting for – how would Rafael Nadal perform when he came out onto Court Philippe-Chatrier against French wildcard Quentin Halys? Nadal started bullishly, swinging his brutal lasso forehand and breaking the Frenchman in the opening game, and once more to take a 4-1 lead. We marvelled at temerity of the young man as he broke back but Nadal sealed the first set and just needed one break apiece in the second and third to settle the organisers nerves and get his campaign for a 10th title underway (wearing a rather natty blue ensemble).

Another collective sigh of relief came when tangerine-dream Djokovic delivered a straight sets win over tour veteran Jarkko Nieminen, but not before giving Djokovic a bit of a fright by going 4-1 up in the second set before normal (broken) service was resumed, but it took the World No. 1 and the desperately seeking Djokovic five match points in two games to serve it out.

There were less happy memories on the dirt for Genie Bouchard who made her second successive run to a Slam semi-final here last year. She faced an inspired Kristina Mladenovic who edged the first set and looked to be in cruise control and 5-0 up in the second. From somewhere, Bouchard found some of the confidence that has been sorely lacking in her game this year, to win four games on the bounce, but in contrast to the five set points Mladenovic needed in the first set, she needed just the one match point to get it done (as if serving for the match three times was not enough!)

It is a worrying time for Bouchard – her Plan B is so far off the map, it is in another bookshelf entirely. She clings on to her place in the Top 10 unless Angelique Kerber and Karolina Pliskova enjoy a sold run here, and there is no reason to think they won’t. The German started her clay court season with a win in Charleston and the Stuttgart title, and looked mightily determined in her opener. Pliskova is one of the WTA’s Rising Stars and we’re pretty sure she won’t pass up a chance to show off the kind of form that took her to the Prague title in the run up to the French Open, even if her outings in Madrid and Rome were a little disappointing.

Bouchard has a chance to find herself when she plays in the Mixed Doubles with the experienced Max Mirnyi, after admitting in her press conference that she still wasn’t really feeling herself out there on court. Mixed doubles can sometimes bring out the best in players when they feel more relaxed. Just ask Jelena Jankovic, who went on to the Mixed Doubles title with Jamie Murray in Wimbledon in 2007.

Max playing dubs yesterday with Feliciano Lopez.

Max dining with Pancho yesterday.

Talking of Jankovic, we were undecided between banana-custard or canary yellow for her outfit as she fell to Sesil Karatantcheva in straight sets despite a flurry of focus at the end. With her injury woes since the Indian Wells final, it was always going to be a long shot for her to have a strong run here, and she’s no fan of the grass so it may be the autumn hard court season before we see her back to her dramatic best again.

Is it disappointing that we will be spared the bizarre lilac and pink stripey PJs sported by Grigor Dimitrov? The 10th seed was unceremoniously dumped out of the French in the first round again in straight sets by Jack Sock, as he joins John Isner in the second round.

While we are on the subject, this Slam can sometimes be the undoing of women’s World No. 1 Serena Williams, but she too joined her compatriots with a comfortable first round win, including a delightful squeal at herself being clobbered by a lob, before practising her French which will win over the French crowd no end.

Wednesday brings us Maria Sharapova once more as she starts the day on Chatrier, and Roger Federer will get a chance to see if Court Suzanne-Lenglen is any more to his liking after noting the slowness of the centre court. We could be getting ever closer to a fourth round showdown with Gael Monfils in the fourth round, which will be worth rationing our croissants for.

Topics: Federer, French Open, Genie Bouchard, GRIGOR DIMITROV, Jarkko Nieminen, Maria Sharapova, Novak Djokovic, Paris, Quentin Halys, Rafa Nadal, Roland Garros, Serena Williams, Tennis News

Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:

Facebook:

Twitter:

10sBalls_com says:

May 26, 2015 at 5:09 pm

CHAMPIONS PREVAIL IN #PARIS BUT SEEDS FALL ON DAY 4 OF @rolandgarros #TENNIS BY GLOBAL CHICK – http://t.co/Q9qmkFRqg0 @geniebouchard #RG2015