Greetings From Paris! By Kristen Tracy

Written by: on 25th May 2013
Balles et raquette de tennis.
Greetings From Paris! By Kristen Tracy  |

To most of the world, Paris is the City of Lights, the City of Love. But to tennis fans, the French capitol is best known for two words: Roland Garros. And while the weather hasn’t been the most cooperative the last few days, I’m confident that the sun will be shining soon and we’ll have some great matches to look forward to in the next two weeks.

 

Monday begins the second major of the year and all eyes are on the red clay and the men and women of the ATP and WTA tours. Draws were released this week and both singles events have the potential for some pretty incredible matches.

 

On the women’s side, American Serena Williams shares a quarter with 10th seeded Caroline Wozniacki. Old sister Venus isn’t in the same quarter but is in the same half, leaving the potential for an all-Williams semifinal. In the bottom half of the draw, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka are the obvious two standouts. Look for the favored youngest Williams sister to have a fairly easy road to the finals, while the Russian Sharapova will have a little bit tougher road, but will still make a final appearance. In the end, I predict your 2013 French Open women’s champion will be Maria Sharapova – winning a well-fought three set match in the finals.

 

With the withdrawal of Andy Murray and Juan Martin Del Potro, the men’s draw lacks a few of its elite attractions. But the big three (Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal) are still in play and they alone are known to provide some pretty entertaining athleticism. Nadal landed in the Djokovic half of the draw, which means that the earliest he would meet the Serbian would be the semifinals – match that would be more indicative of a final. It will be a difficult match for both players, but expect Djokovic to come out on top in four sets. I see no real issues for Federer is his quarter so his appearance in the finals is all but a given. His real challenge will come in facing the world no.1. Though the Swiss holds a 16-13 head-to-head lead against the Serbian they are tied 3-3 on clay, with Djokovic winning the last two meetings. This year’s final has the potential to be another great match up between the two players but in the end, your 2013 French Open men’s champion will be Novak Djokovic – winning in four long and grueling sets.

 

Follow Kristen on Twitter! @KristensKourt








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.