RICKY’S PICKS FROM PARIS AS THE FRENCHMEN PROVIDE THE DRAMA AT THE 2016 FRENCH OPEN TENNIS

Written by: Staff on 25th May 2016

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

RICKY'S PICKS FROM PARIS AS THE FRENCHMEN PROVIDE THE DRAMA AT THE 2016 FRENCH OPEN TENNIS

epa05328788 Gilles Simon of France in action against Guido Pella of Argentina during their men's single second round match at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 25 May 2016.?? EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT |

By Ricky Dimon

It was not an entirely perfect day at Roland Garros for the French fans, but they got what they wanted if they came to see drama.

And they got it from the unlikeliest of sources.

World No. 164 Mathias Bourge had not played a single ATP-level match in his entire career prior to this French Open. Then he got a wild card into the main draw, and the rest is history. Bourge’s 7-5, 7-6(5), 7-6(6) first-round win over Jordi Samper-Montana in the opening round set the stage for even bigger and better things on Wednesday.

Of course, the 22-year-old was not supposed to last long against Andy Murray on Court Philippe Chatrier. But that is exactly what he did in a thrilling 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 loss. After dropping the first set in routine fashion, Bourge roared back to take the second and the third. During one stretch–from down 2-0 in the second to up 1-0 in the third–the underdog won a shocking 28 of 32 points. He reeled off eight consecutive games, as well, before Murray finally held at 0-2 in the third.

“It was completely incredible,” said Bourgue, whose magic finally ran out after he took an improbable two sets to one lead. “(It) was the first time for me [on] this kind of court, that big, against a huge player. So I’d like to say thanks to all the crowd [for encouraging] me the whole match. It was really an emotional moment for me, and I will never forget it.”

Mathias Bourgue of France in action against Andy Murray of Britain during their men’s single second round match at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 25 May 2016. EPA/YOAN VALAT

Even though Gilles Simon has been around longer–much longer–than Bourge, he may never forget what transpired on Court 1 later in the day when he went up against Guido Pella. For just the second time in his career, Simon staged a comeback from two sets down en route to a 4-6, 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(4), 6-4 triumph that needed four hours and 32 minutes to be completed.

Not only did the 18th-ranked Frenchman trail two sets to love, but he also fell behind 4-2 in the third. But what eventually turned into a raucous crowd was not about to leave its man for dead. Urged to fight on by the home fans, Simon clawed back to tie the third set at 4-4 and he eventually took it 7-5. Despite squandering much of his advantage, Pella soon found himself serving for the match at 6-5 in the fourth. But the Argentine could not seal the deal, as he promptly got broken and then lost the ensuing tiebreaker.

Although Simon and Pella did not play the longest fifth set of the day (that belonged to Ivo Karlovic and Jordan Thompson in the Croat’s 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 12-10 victory), they certainly battled through the most dramatic decider.

During one fifth-set changeover, both men were being visited by trainers. At the same time that was going on, the chair umpire was having a discussion with referee Brian Earley. But the real entertainment took place between the lines. Silencing the crowd as best he could, Pella saved one match point at 3-5, 30-40 before holding serve to stay alive. That set the stage for an epic 10th game in which the unseeded Argentine fought off six more match points–almost all of which featured grueling baseline rallies. In the meantime, Simon staved off three break points.

It finally ended when Pella netted a forehand on Simon’s eight chance to clinch victory.

“I went through a lot of different things, but I guess if you really want to know how I feel now is I’m just tired,” Simon said. “There are a lot of other things, I guess, but I can’t really express these now. When you place yourself in that [situation]…you forget all the other stuff. You forget about tactics. You forget about a lot of other things. And you put yourself in survival mode.

“I’m absolutely tired. I think this was my 30th match in five sets. I don’t know how I would rank this one. Maybe, probably in the top five in terms of exhaustion. I remember against Gael (Monfils) in Australia I was completely exhausted. There have been a few others, so probably in the top five most exhausting games I have ever played.

“I’m dead.”

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: 10sballs.com, Atp World Tour, French Open Tennis, Gilles Simon, Mathias Bourge, Ricky Dimon, Roland Garros 2016, Tennis News

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letradoarmando1 says:

May 25, 2016 at 5:25 pm

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