This all kicks off tomorrow (Roland Garros starts on a Sunday nowadays. The French like to be different, don't they?). So let’s have a dedicated thread for the duration.
First up, the nominal third round draws, correct as of now I hope, i.e. assuming there have been no more seeded withdrawals since I started writing! They have been dropping like flies, so that feels possible.
Men's Singles
Novak Djokovic Srb [1] vs Federico Delbonis Arg [31]
Bernard Tomic Aus [20] Borna Coric Cro vs Roberto Bautista Agut Esp [14]
David Ferrer Rus [14] vs Feliciano Lopez Esp [21]
Pablo Cuevas Uru [25] vs Tomas Berdych Cze [7]
Rafael Nadal [4] vs Fabio Fognini Ita [32]
Kevin Anderson RSA [18] vs Dominic Thiem Aut [13]
David Goffin Bel [12] vs Phillipp Kohlschreiber Ger [24]
Joao Sousa Por [26] vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Fra [6]
Milos Raonic Can [8] vs Lucas Pouille Fra [29]
Jack Sock USA [23] vs Marin Cilic Cro [10]
Gilles Simon Fra [16] vs Viktor Troicki Srb [22]
Jeremy Chardy Fra [30] vs Stan Wawrinka Sui [3]
Kei Nishikori Jpn [5] vs Steve Johnson USA [33]
Nick Kyrgios Aus [17] vs Richard Gasquet Fra [9]
John Isner USA [15] vs Benoit Paire Fra [19]
Ivo Karlovic Cro [27] vs Andy Murray GBr [2]
Women's Singles
Serena Williams USA [1] vs Kristina Mladenovic Fra [26]
Elina Svitolina Ukr [18] vs Ana Ivanovic Srb [14]
Carla Suarez Navarro Esp [12] vs Dominika Cibulkova Svk [22]
Andrea Petkovic Ger [28] vs Victoria Azarenka Blr [5]
Angelique Kerber Ger [3] vs Daria Kasatkina Rus [29]
Johanna Konta GBr [20] vs Madison Keys USA [15]
Venus Williams USA [9] vs Jelena Jankovic Srb [23]
Monica Niculescu Rou [31] vs Timea Bacsinszky Sui [8]
Roberta Vinci Ita [7] vs Irina-Camelia Begu Rou [25]
Karolina Pliskova Cze [17] vs Petra Kvitova Cze [10]
Svetlana Kuznetsova Rus [13] vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Rus [24]
Ekaterina Makarova Rus [27] vs Garbine Muguruza Esp [4]
Simona Halep Rou [6] vs Jelena Ostapenko Lat [32]
Samantha Stosur Aus [21] vs Lucie Safarova Cze [11]
Sara Errani Ita [16] vs Sloane Stephens USA [19]
Barbora Strycova Cze [30] vs Agnieszka Radwanska Pol [2]
Tips.
Mens:-
Djokovic. Has to be. He is the dominant force, and this is his central aim for the season. He must be incredibly short odds to win a seven-round knock-out tournament, with all the things that could possibly go wrong in such.
There is then a clear gap in perception to the next three seeds. Andy Murray has the draw, and now has the clay court experience and Masters series titles to have genuine hopes of taking the crown. But it would still be rather a shock if he did. So would it be if Rafa were to claim the La Decima, which seems a strange thing to say. But not only has Djokovic seemingly got his number on his favourite surface, now even Murray is beating him on it.
Stan Wawrinka is always a wild card as his form veers up and down. He, almost alone on the tour, seems not to be intimidated by taking on Djokovic but instead to relish it. He has the raw power off the ground to get through Nole’s defences. The question for the defending champion is whether he can get to the later stages and get the juices flowing again. Probably handy then that he has found some form this week in Geneva.
Anyone beyond those four is a real outsider, beginning with the best of the rest both in terms of seeding and clay court results, Kei Nishikori. One can imagine him taking Murray in a QF, but seeing him manage this two or three times in a row to claim the crown? Very, very unlikely.
Outsiders to make an impact could well be Nick Kyrgios, who seems remarkably at home on a clay court and when he is zoned in is exceptional. Or Dominic Thiem, who is another rising force and could well cause Rafa serious problems if they meet in R4. That is if Rafa gets that far, as Fabio Fognini lurks in his part of the draw, and FF has given Rafa a bloody nose on clay a few times in the past (all over best-of-three, mind). Another who may show up is David Goffin, as he is well adapted to a clay court.
Non-seeds to look out for are Sascha Zverev, who lurks in Thiem/Anderson’s section of the draw and Borna Coric, who is in with Tomic and Bautista Agut.
Women’s:-
Serena was ominously good in Rome. She has been pretty strong in Paris recently. Looking past her is nigh-on impossible. Tipping the two no.1 seeds to win the titles seems dull, but how can one not when they are both so far ahead?
After Serena, the Women’s draw gets much less predictable. There are strong caveats about many of the rest of the top 10. Aga Radwanska has never done it on clay, and surely never will. She lacks the power to get the ball away. Angie Kerber has been very up-and-down since her unexpected triumph down under. I’m not sure she even knows when it will all come together and when not, so for an outsider to say...
Vika Azarenka has admitted to struggling with injury again since she lost in Rome. That isn’t good news, given recent problems. She says she is practicing ‘pain-free’ now, but that she was not recently makes it hard to back her to maintain the form of the rest of the season. And besides, clay is not a massively successful surface for her even when she is at full-pelt.
Simona Halep has demons by the bucket load these days, unfortunately. Roberta Vinci and Timea Bacsinskzy are nice players with good recent results, but don’t really convince as Grand Slam champions. With Venus Williams the question is fitness, as it is with Petra Kvitova with the added dash of mental toughness. Fitness is also a doubt for last year’s runner-up Lucie Safarova.
The perceptive amongst you will have noted that one name got skipped over; Garbine Muguruza. I rate her extremely highly, and think her path to the Final looks very navigable. She would be my tip to play second fiddle to Serena in two weeks time.
Outsiders amongst the seeds? It would be folly to write Sveta Kuznetsova off, given her record in the event. Madison Keys looked more at home than ever on clay in Rome, but remains highly streaky. A hot streak and she could break through, though surely Wimbledon is more likely with her awesome power. Irina-Camelia Begu is moving up the rankings and posting good results (the two do tend to go hand-inhand). She could be one to watch, but the best under-the-radar player (for now) is surely Dasha Kasatkina. She is rising rapidly and looks likely to establish herself right at the very top of the game.
Finally amongst the lesser seeds, some in the British press have been bigging up Jo Konta as capable of not just a good run but winning the whole shooting match. Ms Process wants nothing to do with such speculation, and for me her results on clay, just two wins, me it is wildly misplaced. I would be delighted if she just made the second week.
As for the non-seeds to watch, rather than out-and-out youngsters it is more a case of young stars whose initial light has faded possibly coming again. The names that stand out are Julia Goerges, Alize Cornet, Genie Bouchard and Caroline Garcia. Goerges is tough on clay, and streaky as hell. She hasn’t shown much form this year, but with that forehand she will always be a threat. Similar sort of thoughts about Cornet, who is an emotional sort who could ride the home crowd to achieve something notable. Bouchard has been showing sparks of the play that got her to the Semis two years ago. If only her mind wouldn’t hold her back. And finally Garcia is coming off her second WTA title as of a few hours ago; if she plays with the power and accuracy she just showed, then she could well emerge from Radwanska’s section of the draw.
Finally, the British players R1 draws, now that these are confirmed
Laura Robson vs Andrea Petkovic [28] - oh dear
Jo Konta [20] vs Julia Goerges - strong potential for a banana skin
Naomi Broady vs Coco Vandeweghe - 2nd favourite
Heather Watson vs Nicole Gibbs - definitely winnable. Apparently they are due to play the Doubles together, so it’s a meeting of if not quite friends then at least people who get on decently.
Aljaz Bedene vs Gerald Melzer [Q] – veteran, and one has just won three straight to get here. Tricky.
Kyle Edmund vs Nikoloz Basilashvili [Q] – don’t know a lot about him if I’m honest. Edmund if happy on clay so I would be hopeful here
Andy Murray [2] vs Radek Stepanek [Q] – not ideal. Stepanek caused Murray proper problems in Madrid a few weeks back, and is just really... annoying. The match being over 5 sets may give Murray time to get used to the unusual looks and put it to bed. Actually the Madrid meeting helps in this regard as well.
First up, the nominal third round draws, correct as of now I hope, i.e. assuming there have been no more seeded withdrawals since I started writing! They have been dropping like flies, so that feels possible.
Men's Singles
Novak Djokovic Srb [1] vs Federico Delbonis Arg [31]
Bernard Tomic Aus [20] Borna Coric Cro vs Roberto Bautista Agut Esp [14]
David Ferrer Rus [14] vs Feliciano Lopez Esp [21]
Pablo Cuevas Uru [25] vs Tomas Berdych Cze [7]
Rafael Nadal [4] vs Fabio Fognini Ita [32]
Kevin Anderson RSA [18] vs Dominic Thiem Aut [13]
David Goffin Bel [12] vs Phillipp Kohlschreiber Ger [24]
Joao Sousa Por [26] vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Fra [6]
Milos Raonic Can [8] vs Lucas Pouille Fra [29]
Jack Sock USA [23] vs Marin Cilic Cro [10]
Gilles Simon Fra [16] vs Viktor Troicki Srb [22]
Jeremy Chardy Fra [30] vs Stan Wawrinka Sui [3]
Kei Nishikori Jpn [5] vs Steve Johnson USA [33]
Nick Kyrgios Aus [17] vs Richard Gasquet Fra [9]
John Isner USA [15] vs Benoit Paire Fra [19]
Ivo Karlovic Cro [27] vs Andy Murray GBr [2]
Women's Singles
Serena Williams USA [1] vs Kristina Mladenovic Fra [26]
Elina Svitolina Ukr [18] vs Ana Ivanovic Srb [14]
Carla Suarez Navarro Esp [12] vs Dominika Cibulkova Svk [22]
Andrea Petkovic Ger [28] vs Victoria Azarenka Blr [5]
Angelique Kerber Ger [3] vs Daria Kasatkina Rus [29]
Johanna Konta GBr [20] vs Madison Keys USA [15]
Venus Williams USA [9] vs Jelena Jankovic Srb [23]
Monica Niculescu Rou [31] vs Timea Bacsinszky Sui [8]
Roberta Vinci Ita [7] vs Irina-Camelia Begu Rou [25]
Karolina Pliskova Cze [17] vs Petra Kvitova Cze [10]
Svetlana Kuznetsova Rus [13] vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Rus [24]
Ekaterina Makarova Rus [27] vs Garbine Muguruza Esp [4]
Simona Halep Rou [6] vs Jelena Ostapenko Lat [32]
Samantha Stosur Aus [21] vs Lucie Safarova Cze [11]
Sara Errani Ita [16] vs Sloane Stephens USA [19]
Barbora Strycova Cze [30] vs Agnieszka Radwanska Pol [2]
Tips.
Mens:-
Djokovic. Has to be. He is the dominant force, and this is his central aim for the season. He must be incredibly short odds to win a seven-round knock-out tournament, with all the things that could possibly go wrong in such.
There is then a clear gap in perception to the next three seeds. Andy Murray has the draw, and now has the clay court experience and Masters series titles to have genuine hopes of taking the crown. But it would still be rather a shock if he did. So would it be if Rafa were to claim the La Decima, which seems a strange thing to say. But not only has Djokovic seemingly got his number on his favourite surface, now even Murray is beating him on it.
Stan Wawrinka is always a wild card as his form veers up and down. He, almost alone on the tour, seems not to be intimidated by taking on Djokovic but instead to relish it. He has the raw power off the ground to get through Nole’s defences. The question for the defending champion is whether he can get to the later stages and get the juices flowing again. Probably handy then that he has found some form this week in Geneva.
Anyone beyond those four is a real outsider, beginning with the best of the rest both in terms of seeding and clay court results, Kei Nishikori. One can imagine him taking Murray in a QF, but seeing him manage this two or three times in a row to claim the crown? Very, very unlikely.
Outsiders to make an impact could well be Nick Kyrgios, who seems remarkably at home on a clay court and when he is zoned in is exceptional. Or Dominic Thiem, who is another rising force and could well cause Rafa serious problems if they meet in R4. That is if Rafa gets that far, as Fabio Fognini lurks in his part of the draw, and FF has given Rafa a bloody nose on clay a few times in the past (all over best-of-three, mind). Another who may show up is David Goffin, as he is well adapted to a clay court.
Non-seeds to look out for are Sascha Zverev, who lurks in Thiem/Anderson’s section of the draw and Borna Coric, who is in with Tomic and Bautista Agut.
Women’s:-
Serena was ominously good in Rome. She has been pretty strong in Paris recently. Looking past her is nigh-on impossible. Tipping the two no.1 seeds to win the titles seems dull, but how can one not when they are both so far ahead?
After Serena, the Women’s draw gets much less predictable. There are strong caveats about many of the rest of the top 10. Aga Radwanska has never done it on clay, and surely never will. She lacks the power to get the ball away. Angie Kerber has been very up-and-down since her unexpected triumph down under. I’m not sure she even knows when it will all come together and when not, so for an outsider to say...
Vika Azarenka has admitted to struggling with injury again since she lost in Rome. That isn’t good news, given recent problems. She says she is practicing ‘pain-free’ now, but that she was not recently makes it hard to back her to maintain the form of the rest of the season. And besides, clay is not a massively successful surface for her even when she is at full-pelt.
Simona Halep has demons by the bucket load these days, unfortunately. Roberta Vinci and Timea Bacsinskzy are nice players with good recent results, but don’t really convince as Grand Slam champions. With Venus Williams the question is fitness, as it is with Petra Kvitova with the added dash of mental toughness. Fitness is also a doubt for last year’s runner-up Lucie Safarova.
The perceptive amongst you will have noted that one name got skipped over; Garbine Muguruza. I rate her extremely highly, and think her path to the Final looks very navigable. She would be my tip to play second fiddle to Serena in two weeks time.
Outsiders amongst the seeds? It would be folly to write Sveta Kuznetsova off, given her record in the event. Madison Keys looked more at home than ever on clay in Rome, but remains highly streaky. A hot streak and she could break through, though surely Wimbledon is more likely with her awesome power. Irina-Camelia Begu is moving up the rankings and posting good results (the two do tend to go hand-inhand). She could be one to watch, but the best under-the-radar player (for now) is surely Dasha Kasatkina. She is rising rapidly and looks likely to establish herself right at the very top of the game.
Finally amongst the lesser seeds, some in the British press have been bigging up Jo Konta as capable of not just a good run but winning the whole shooting match. Ms Process wants nothing to do with such speculation, and for me her results on clay, just two wins, me it is wildly misplaced. I would be delighted if she just made the second week.
As for the non-seeds to watch, rather than out-and-out youngsters it is more a case of young stars whose initial light has faded possibly coming again. The names that stand out are Julia Goerges, Alize Cornet, Genie Bouchard and Caroline Garcia. Goerges is tough on clay, and streaky as hell. She hasn’t shown much form this year, but with that forehand she will always be a threat. Similar sort of thoughts about Cornet, who is an emotional sort who could ride the home crowd to achieve something notable. Bouchard has been showing sparks of the play that got her to the Semis two years ago. If only her mind wouldn’t hold her back. And finally Garcia is coming off her second WTA title as of a few hours ago; if she plays with the power and accuracy she just showed, then she could well emerge from Radwanska’s section of the draw.
Finally, the British players R1 draws, now that these are confirmed
Laura Robson vs Andrea Petkovic [28] - oh dear
Jo Konta [20] vs Julia Goerges - strong potential for a banana skin
Naomi Broady vs Coco Vandeweghe - 2nd favourite
Heather Watson vs Nicole Gibbs - definitely winnable. Apparently they are due to play the Doubles together, so it’s a meeting of if not quite friends then at least people who get on decently.
Aljaz Bedene vs Gerald Melzer [Q] – veteran, and one has just won three straight to get here. Tricky.
Kyle Edmund vs Nikoloz Basilashvili [Q] – don’t know a lot about him if I’m honest. Edmund if happy on clay so I would be hopeful here
Andy Murray [2] vs Radek Stepanek [Q] – not ideal. Stepanek caused Murray proper problems in Madrid a few weeks back, and is just really... annoying. The match being over 5 sets may give Murray time to get used to the unusual looks and put it to bed. Actually the Madrid meeting helps in this regard as well.
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