FRENCH OPEN OBSERVATIONS FROM PARIS, FRANCE BY CHERYL JONES

Written by: Staff on 4th June 2014

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

FRENCH OPEN OBSERVATIONS FROM PARIS, FRANCE BY CHERYL JONES

epa04239787 Rafael Nadal of Spain in action during his quarter final match against David Ferrer of Spain for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 04 June 2014. EPA/YOAN VALAT |

Eau d’ Roland Garros

By Cheryl Jones

Rain began in the wee hours of Wednesday morning and it continued most of the day, putting quite a hitch in the plans for quarterfinal play at Roland Garros. An umbrella was the most popular accessory. Then, at almost 17:00 (International time for 5:00 p.m.), Italian, Sarah Errani and German, Andrea Petkovic braved the wind that had pushed away the rainy clouds for a bit, and took to Court Philippe Chatrier. Nearly simultaneously, on the other side of the venue, Russian, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Romanian, Simona Halep began their match on Court Suzanne Lenglen. All four of the women had been waiting for a break in the weather – one that would be long enough to complete their match. Both matches ended quickly with identical scores, 6-2, 6-2, and in a flash, Gael Monfils and Andy Murray replaced Halep and Kuznetsova and Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer moved in after the Errani/Petkovic contest.

Petkovic surprised Errani with her snappy and dead-on performance. She ended up at the top of the scoreboard, and it took her just three minutes over an hour to completely dismantle Errani’s usually stellar game plan. Next up for the German will be the semis where she will face Halep. The matchup will be a well-deserved semifinal contest for Petkovic, who has missed out on a good many matches over the past few years coping with a variety of injuries

The German’s ranking (27th as the tournament began) belies her playing prowess. (Halep has been moving stealthily up the rankings to a respectable number 4.) Improving her own rankings is surely at the top of Petkovic’s list. (The last other German who was in the top ten was Steffi Graf and that was in 1998.)

After the match, Petkovic was ecstatic. She said, “I have to say today I was in a real zone. I didn’t think at all. I was just focused on what I had to do. Mentally I was really good.” That isn’t ego. That is reality. She is good. If she can keep that feeling, who knows where it can take her? The semifinal match is going to be her litmus test. She has always been a bright young woman who has an interest in philosophy, reading authors such as Goethe and Oscar Wilde, among others. She admires Che Guevara for his mettle. And, how many young people today are even familiar with what a memorable historic figure he was?

She says she talks a lot, but most of what she says makes perfect sense, “Because I was the happiest when I was in the top 10 and was one of the top players and then it was just taken from me. So now, every time I have happy moments and nice wins, it immediately brings the doubt and the fear that it might slip away again.” The fact that she is aware of her trepidation will probably help to promote a smooth transition into a healthy stage of her career. It looks as if she is on the way.

Halep will have something to say about that. After her match with Kuznetsova, the Romanian standout said, “It will be a tough match, for sure. It’s a little pressure because it’s [a] semifinal, but I feel good. I feel my game. I feel prepared for the next match. For sure, I will try everything to win.”

Tomorrow will serve up the answer as to which of these two fierce competitors will move on to the Saturday final. Tomorrow afternoon on Court Philippe Chatrier there will be two contests worth watching. (Maria Sharapova will face Eugenie Bouchard in the other fray.)

Meanwhile, back to Wednesday evening, Rafael Nadal quickly lost the first set when he went up against his countryman, David Ferrer, but that must have been a fluke, because he came storming back in the second set and reversed those numbers, then moved on to the third and fourth sets with a finesse the eight time champ has shown in past years. He closed out the match, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1. Nadal has lived up to everyone’s expectations and should move on to the final.

Murray’s match with Monfils had a few surprising turns and twists. The approaching darkness didn’t seem to faze either one of the men and Murray finally rushed through the final set, to make it 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 1-6, 6-0. It’s always a difficult job for anyone facing the final French competitor, who this year was Monfils. Murray kept a fairly cool head and prevailed easily when the powers that be kept it going well past sunset.

It will be Murray and Nadal in a semifinal and yesterday’s matches dealt the other face-offs that will be Novak Djokovic and Ernests Gulbis. Friday will give up the final two men who will be the center of attention on Sunday. It looks as if the rain will stay away this year. It’s about time.

Topics: Andrea Petkovic, Andy Murray, Cheryl Jones, David Ferrer, Ernests Gulbis, French Open, Gael Monfils, Novak Djokovic, Paris, Rafael Nadal, Roland Garros, Sara Errani, Simona Halep, sports news, Tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

June 4, 2014 at 8:20 pm

FRENCH OPEN OBSERVATIONS FROM PARIS, FRANCE BY CHERYL JONES – http://t.co/xQzfql9pXc @rolandgarros #FrenchOpen #Paris #France #tennis #RG14
writingkat63 says:

June 4, 2014 at 8:20 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: FRENCH OPEN OBSERVATIONS FROM PARIS, FRANCE BY CHERYL JONES – http://t.co/xQzfql9pXc @rolandgarros #FrenchOpen #Paris #F…
RD_Tennistalk says:

June 4, 2014 at 8:30 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: FRENCH OPEN OBSERVATIONS FROM PARIS, FRANCE BY CHERYL JONES – http://t.co/xQzfql9pXc @rolandgarros #FrenchOpen #Paris #F…