ROGER FEDERER LOSES IN STRAIGHT SETS TO STAN WAWRINKA & TSONGA GOES FIVE SETS WITH NISHIKORI PLUS MORE NEWS ABOUT THE WIND AND THE METAL PANEL

Bit long but what a day! Article: The day it all came down – Global Chick on Tuesday’s events

 

The day it all came down – Global Chick on Tuesday’s events

By now the footage of a part of Chatrier court that blew down onto spectators has done many a round on social media. It was only when it was shown to be a metal panel with the spikes used to stop birds lingering, did we realise just how lucky spectators were not to be more seriously injured.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All in all, it has been a bit of a troubling time for the good folk at the FFT. On the eve of the tournament, an established journalist had a scathing piece on Stan Wawrinka published on the official tournament website eliciting some frank wrath from the Swiss, and resulting in that journalist not writing for the site anymore.

 

A Grand Slam is supposed to be a celebration of the end of the European clay court season, culminating in two weeks of the very best battles ticket-money can buy. Yet on the first day there was more egg on their faces after a kid jumped the hoardings to get a selfie from Roger Federer, who helped kick off the proceedings on the first half-day Sunday.

 

Security stood by while Federer looked quizzically at them before they ushered the kid away… and initially let him go! They later stated they had banned him from the tournament, but not before he got some local interview time.

 

Of course no-one could predict that a clunky piece of hoarding would detach itself and come sailing over a bunch of spectators but all in all it has been a tough gig this year for the FFT.

 

Oh and then there was the tennis.

 

To call it the big shock of the day is utterly disrespectful to a player who proved that when he is on form, he is every bit as dangerous as the Big Four, and Wawrinka showed that he was peaking at exactly the right time as he emerged victorious in the battle of the Swiss with a straight sets win over second seed Roger Federer 6-4 6-3 7-6(4).

 

In his first Grand Slam victory over his Davis Cup team mate, Wawrinka put behind him a troublesome lead up to the tournament after announcing he had split with his wife, her brutal rebuttal in the press, and that controversial article. But as he said at the time, now was the time for his tennis to shine, and so it did as Federer looked on the back foot for most of the match.

The World No. 2 started to play a lot more solidly in the final set, but Wawrinka had the edge in the tie-break.

 

“Today was my best match on clay and it’s an incredible moment for me,” said Wawrinka. “I’m playing good tennis and I’m really pleased to be in Paris semi-finals for the first time.”

 

Federer praised his compatriot in his post-match press conference, saying: “Stan was clutch on the big points and really didn’t give me much, so it was a credit to him for playing so well today.”

“I’m already thinking what I’m going to do the next few days, because Wimbledon is going to be a big goal for the season,” he continued.

 

Part of the scoreboard crashing down on a section of the crowd notwithstanding, the rollercoaster was in full effect for the French as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was on fire in the first two sets, outclassing a lethargic looking Kei Nishikori (who was struggling with a strapped up shoulder) but was the pressure about to be too much for Tsonga?

 

Three chances break for a chance to serve out the match came and went for the Frenchman, with the crowd gasping as one. But it was enough to throw him as Nishikori had emerged from the long delay after the incident, snapping Tsonga’s momentum to break him for the third set.

 

A nation gnawed on their fingers as the momentum stayed firmly with Nishikori, who many had picked as a dark horse for the tournament.

 

But it was to be Tsonga’s day as the last Frenchman standing – a single break was enough to put him in the driving seat, and wrong side of the road notwithstanding with two match points, he needed just the one to make his second semi-final in his home slam.

 

After trying to carve out the message ‘Roland, Je t’aime’ and cutely lying down in the T shape, we could see Wimbledon’s groundsmen swiftly sending out a memo that if anyone tries that at SW19 in 4 weeks’ time, Rufus the Hawk will come down on them. Probably like a scoreboard hoarding.

 

Meanwhile if you’d asked us how likely it was that 2008 champion Ana Ivanovic would salvage what had been a bit of a turbulent season so far, we’d have smiled benignly and said, “mais non.”

 

Yet without a dedicated coach, and perhaps relying more on instinct, Ivanovic has tapped into what all players strive to find, which is peaking just when it counts. Heaven knows though she has put us through the ringer, twice having to battle from a set down to prevent being one of our sorry recap statistics of the Little Seed that Couldn’t. She has every chance now of emerging from the bottom half of the draw as a finalist of a Grand Slam for the first time since winning the whole shebang seven (yes, count them) years ago, after defeating WTA Rising Star Elina Svitolina 6-3 6-2.

 

Joining her was Lucie Safarova, who amply showed that her win over Maria Sharapova was not a fluke as she battled past Garbine Muguruza. The first set was a thriller with neither giving an inch, before she charged away in the second set for a 7-6(3) 6-3 win, securing a spot in the Top 10 for the first time in her career and is in her second Grand Slam semi-final, after reaching the Wimbledon semi-final last year.

 

Can we deal with more drama? We’d better, with Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams all to come. Get your baguettes ready for play to start at 2pm CET.

Topics: 2015 French Open, Ana Ivanovic, Federer, global chick, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, Kei Nishikori, Lucie Safarova, Paris, Roland Garros, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis News

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