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Preview: Will Sinner Stun Sascha At Roland Garros To Continue Historic Run?

  • Posted: Oct 04, 2020

Will reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Jannik Sinner’s breakout Grand Slam continue at Roland Garros, or will in-form German Alexander Zverev send the history-making teen packing in Sunday’s fourth round?

Nineteen-year-old Sinner is the youngest player to reach the fourth round on the Parisian clay since Novak Djokovic in 2006. The Italian has not dropped a set through three matches, including his impressive victory against 11th seed David Goffin in the first round. Sixth seed Zverev, who was extended to five sets in the second round, knows he faces a stiff challenge.

“[Sinner] is playing incredible… He is somebody that is definitely coming up and playing really well right now,” Zverev said. “[He is] somebody who has a lot of power. We will see how the match goes, but I feel like I am playing better and maybe I have a little more experience. But the young guys, they have no fear, no reason to be nervous, so it can go both ways.”

When Roland Garros was played last year, Sinner wasn’t ranked highly enough to earn a spot in qualifying. But despite his rapid ascent, the World No. 75 thinks like a veteran. He is not feeling overly confident heading into one of the biggest matches of his career just because he hasn’t yet dropped a set.

“You have to think match after match. I played a great first-round match against David, which gave me a little bit of confidence, for sure. But it’s tough, it’s not about winning in straight sets or winning in five sets,” Sinner said. “I have [to] improve even my performance after three sets, for sure. Like in the US Open I lost in five sets, so I still have to learn very much about playing Grand Slams. I played one Grand Slam at [last year’s] US Open, [this year’s] Australian Open. This is my third main draw. I’m still young, I can improve everything.”

This will be the pair’s first ATP Head2Head meeting. Zverev has enjoyed a successful year at the Grand Slams, reaching his maiden major final at the US Open after advancing to the Australian Open semi-finals. The 23-year-old is trying to reach his third consecutive quarter-final at Roland Garros, which would make him the only German man to accomplish that feat. Former World No. 1 Boris Becker made the last eight in Paris four times (1986-87, ’89, ’91), but never in three straight years.

Alexander Zverev

Sinner is one of four remaining tournament debutants — a group that also includes Daniel Altmaier, Hugo Gaston and Korda — at Roland Garros. If any of them advances to the quarter-finals, they will be the first to reach the last eight on debut at this event since Rafael Nadal in 2005.

Perhaps fittingly, Korda plays Nadal himself. The 12-time Roland Garros champion will have a major advantage over his opponent: experience.

Entering the tournament, Nadal owned a 992-201 tour-level record. His fourth-round opponent #NextGenATP American Sebastian Korda’s mark? 0-3. Korda had never played a tour-level match on clay prior to this event.

Nadal has been in top form throughout his opening three matches at Stade Roland Garros, dropping a combined 19 games to move past Egor Gerasimov, Mackenzie McDonald and Stefano Travaglia.

Rafael Nadal owns a 13-1 record in Round of 16 matches at Roland Garros.

Nadal is aware of the unique situation he will find himself in on Sunday, as he continues his quest for a record-equalling 20th Grand Slam crown. The Spaniard will be competing against a player who considers him his idol, a feeling Nadal can relate to from his early experiences on the ATP Tour. The 19-time Grand Slam champion handled the pressure of playing his childhood inspirations well, winning his first ATP Head2Head clashes against Carlos Moya and Andre Agassi.

“[Being Korda’s idol] means that I have been on the TV for such a long time, that’s the main thing,” Nadal said. “The same like when I was a kid, I was watching Sampras, Agassi, Carlos Moya… I know he’s playing great. He’s a very young kid with a lot of power. I think he has an amazing future – hopefully not yet.” 

Despite his lack of experience, Korda is already making his mark in Paris. The 20-year-old, son of 1992 runner-up Petr Korda, became the first qualifier to reach the Roland Garros fourth round since 2011 with a straight-sets win against Pedro Martinez on Friday.

Following his sixth win from qualifying, Korda admitted that he was ‘praying’ for Nadal to be his next opponent. When the American steps onto court, not only will he be playing one of his biggest inspirations, but he will also be attempting to beat the man he named his cat after.

“I named my cat Rafa after him,” Korda said. “That says a lot about how much I love the guy.”

Sebastian Korda named his cat after Roland Garros fourth-round opponent Rafael Nadal.
Sebastian Korda and his cat, Rafa, named after Rafael Nadal. Photo Credit: Sebastian Korda
US Open champion Dominic Thiem will aim to reach the quarter-finals in Paris for the fifth straight year when he meets 20-year-old Frenchman Hugo Gaston in the final match on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Thiem, who owns a 4-0 record in fourth-round matches at this event, has been in top form throughout his opening three matches at the clay-court Grand Slam championship. The Austrian has claimed straight-sets victories against Marin Cilic, former World No. 8 Jack Sock and Casper Ruud, who owns the most tour-level wins on clay this year (17).

Gaston will need to complete a second consecutive shock victory if he is to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final. The World No. 239 stunned 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 on Friday.

“I’m very happy to play against Dominic,” Gaston said. “He’s a fantastic player. A great fighter. It’s a tough match for sure, but I [will] try to take pleasure [from my time on the] court and we will see.”

Thiem

Diego Schwartzman will face Lorenzo Sonego for the first time on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. The Argentine will look to continue his fine form when he battles the Italian, following an impressive run through his opening three matches.

Schwartzman has continued to play at the level that helped him reach his first ATP Masters 1000 final at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia last month. The 2018 quarter-finalist has clinched straight-sets wins against Generali Open champion Miomir Kecmanovic, Lorenzo Giustino and Norbert Gombos in Paris.

Sonego is competing in the Round of 16 at a Grand Slam for the first time. Prior to this event, the 25-year-old had never advanced beyond the second round at a major championship. Sonego survived a five-set battle against Emilio Gomez in his opening match, before earning straight-sets wins against Alexander Bublik and Taylor Fritz.

ORDER OF PLAY – SUNDAY 4 OCTOBER 2020
COURT PHILIPPE-CHATRIER start 11:00 am
WTA Match
Sebastian Korda v [2] Rafael Nadal
WTA Match
Hugo Gaston v [3] Dominic Thiem

COURT SUZANNE-LENGLEN start 11:00 am
WTA Match
[6] Alexander Zverev v Jannik Sinner
Lorenzo Sonego v [12] Diego Schwartzman
[6] Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut v [9] Wesley Koolhof/Nikola Mektic

Click here to view the full Roland Garros Day 8 schedule.

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Korda’s Code: Strike Early, Strike Often

  • Posted: Oct 03, 2020

The first two times you touch the ball in a point account for half of the winners you will make in the match. That’s worth re-reading.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the first two rounds at Roland Garros this year identifies that 50 per cent (2154/4349) of all winners struck have been in the 0-4 rally length, which means either player had to have hit the winner in their first two touches of the ball.

Before robust analytics arrived in tennis, we preached consistency, shot tolerance and building a point ad nauseam. Now, big data identifies that short rallies greatly outnumber longer ones and striking first is the most effective way to arrive first at the finish line. The data set includes 63 matches through the first two rounds that were played on show courts where rally length was recorded.

Twenty-year-old Sebastian Korda, currently ranked No. 213, became the first qualifier to reach the Round of 16 at Roland Garros in nine years after defeating Andreas Seppi, John Isner and Pedro Martinez. Korda is also the youngest American male to reach the Round of 16 at Roland Garros since Michael Chang in 1991.

Korda, son of former World No. 2 Petr Korda, has not dropped a set en route to the biggest match of his life against Rafael Nadal in the fourth round. Below is the percentage of winners struck in the 0-4 shot rally length through his first three rounds.

Percentage Of Total Winners In 0-4 Shots
• Round 1 vs Seppi = 55%.
• Round 2 vs Isner = 64%
• Round 3 vs Martinez = 46%

In each of the three main draw matches, Korda has been able to amass more winners in the 0-4 rally length than his opponents.

Winners in 0-4 Shots
• Round 1: Korda 18 / Seppi 13
• Round 2: Korda 24 / Isner 23
• Round 3: Korda 23 / Martinez 8
• TOTAL: Korda 65 / Opponents 44

The 0-4 shot rally length has also accumulated the majority of errors at Roland Garros through the first two rounds this year, with 56 per cent (5362/9622) of total errors happening in 0-4 shots. It’s important to note that rally length is predicated by the ball landing in the court, not hitting the strings, which potentially adds a fifth shot into the 0-4 rally length as an error only. For example, a fifth shot error in a rally means four balls landed in the court, therefore it would be designated in the 0-4 shot rally length.

Big data is shattering big myths in our sport and providing a clearer picture of what matters most to advancing further into the draw. The deeper we dig, the more evidence we find that the first two times you touch the ball matter more than the aggregate of shots that follow.

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Djokovic Overtakes Federer, Sets Khachanov Clash

  • Posted: Oct 03, 2020

Novak Djokovic moved clear of Roger Federer with his 71st Roland Garros victory on Saturday, claiming sole ownership of second place on the wins leaderboard at the clay-court Grand Slam championship.

The World No. 1 cruised past lucky loser Daniel Elahi Galan of Colombia 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 to improve to 71-14 at Stade Roland Garros. Djokovic broke serve on seven occasions and saved all five break points he faced en route to victory.

Most Roland Garros Men’s Singles Wins

Rank Player Roland Garros Win-Loss
1 Rafael Nadal 96-2
2 Novak Djokovic 71-14
3 Roger Federer 70-17
4 Guillermo Vilas 58-17
5 Ivan Lendl 53-12
5 Jaroslav Drobny 53-14

Djokovic showed great sportsmanship throughout the third-round encounter. With rain falling heavily on Galan’s side of the court as the new Court Philippe-Chatrier roof was closing, the Colombian slipped over. Djokovic responded by calling a halt to the match in the fourth game of the second set until conditions were equal for both players.

The 33-year-old even helped the ground staff tasked with adding extra clay to Galan’s end of the court. Djokovic grabbed a brush and helped smooth the surface around the World No. 153’s baseline.

Novak Djokovic helps ground staff smooth the clay surface on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

With his 34th win from 35 matches this year, Djokovic equals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer’s Open Era record of 11 consecutive fourth-round appearances in Paris. Nadal and Federer reached the Round of 16 at this event each year from 2005 to 2015.

Most Consecutive Roland Garros Round Of 16 Appearances (Open Era)

Player Length Of Streak Years
Novak Djokovic 11 2010-2020
Roger Federer 11 2005-2015
Rafael Nadal 11 2005-2015
Ivan Lendl 9 1981-1989
Yannick Noah 9 1980-1988
Guillermo Vilas 9 1975-1983

Djokovic has showcased his best form to reach the second week in Paris. Through his opening three matches, the five-time year-end World No. 1 has dropped just 15 games. Djokovic is riding an eight-match winning streak, following his record 36th ATP Masters 1000 title run at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome last month.

”If you impose yourself from the very beginning on the court, which I have in those first three matches here, then it makes it hard for them to really believe that they can come back and make a turnaround in the match,” said Djokovic.

The Serbian will face Karen Khachanov for a place in the semi-finals. Djokovic owns a 3-1 ATP Head2Head record against the World No. 16, but Khachanov emerged victorious in the pair’s previous encounter in Paris. At the 2018 Rolex Paris Masters, Khachanov stunned Djokovic in the championship match to earn the biggest title of his career.

Djokovic took no time to find his best level against Galan on Court Philippe-Chatrier. The 2016 champion regularly used the drop shot to mix up play — as he has throughout this European clay swing — and dictated rallies with his forehand to win the opening eight games of the match.

Serving at 0-6, 0-2, Galan ripped a cross-court forehand winner to earn his first game of the match. The winning shot was met with applause from the limited number of fans sat courtside, which brought a smile to Galan’s face as he walked to his chair. After the brief rain delay, Djokovic maintained his advantage and broke serve once more at 5-3 with a forehand winner up the line.

After saving two break points to start the third set, Djokovic claimed his sixth service break en route to a 3-0 lead. The Belgrade native closed the match with another break, playing with aggression on his backhand side. Galan committed a cross-court forehand error to end the third-round meeting after two hours and eight minutes.

“You watch videos and you watch him on TV, and… it seems like he’s not playing that fast, like he’s playing heavy, with a lot of spin. But today it was like a rocket, every forehand,” said Galan.

“I was not able to even react. I don’t know. Maybe I was not moving… I felt like he was a rocket every time he was hitting his forehand.”

Karen Khachanov has reached the Round of 16 in each of his four visits to Roland Garros.

Earlier in the day on Court 14, Khachanov ended Cristian Garin’s run with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the Round of 16 in Paris for the fourth straight year.

The 16th seed, who owns a 13-3 record at Roland Garros, landed 33 winners and broke serve on eight occasions to hand Garin only his fourth loss in 19 tour-level matches on clay this year. Khachanov will be attempting to equal his best Grand Slam result when he meets Djokovic on Monday. Last year, the 24-year-old reached his first quarter-final at a major championship at this event with a fourth-round victory against Juan Martin del Potro.

“[Against Novak, I will] try to be steady, to try to maintain the level that we will play [for the] most time possible… [I will] keep pushing to try to break the guy if something is going wrong on [my] serve,” said Khachanov.

“You don’t have to be surprised if you lose a few games even if you serve hard or not. A lot of balls are coming back, especially in the current situation. I think the most important thing for me [is] to stay steady, to believe in myself, to believe in the game that I’m playing. At the end of the day, [I need] to enjoy it. [I am] looking forward to a good match.”

Garin was attempting to become the first Chilean man to reach the fourth round at a Grand Slam since Fernando Gonzalez’s run to the Round of 16 at the 2010 Australian Open. With a 15-4 clay record in 2020, Garin is in second place on the tour-level clay wins leaderboard this year. Only Buenos Aires champion Casper Ruud owns more victories on the surface this season (17).

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Herbert/Mahut Save 1 M.P. In Second-Round Scare

  • Posted: Oct 03, 2020

Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut’s hopes of a second Roland Garros crown were almost ended in the second round on Saturday, but the French pair survived one match point to defeat Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-4.

The 2018 champions trailed 0/3 in a second-set tie-break and needed to save match point at 7/8, before claiming victory in two hours and seven minutes. Herbert and Mahut, who became the eighth men’s doubles team to complete the Career Grand Slam at last year’s Australian Open, dropped just five points on serve in the third set and converted the only break point of the decider to complete a memorable comeback win.

The Frenchmen will next face US Open finalists Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic in the third round. Koolhof and Mektic, who reached the Hamburg European Open semi-finals last week, are yet to drop a set in Paris.

Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski became only the second team to beat Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos on clay this year. The British pairing broke serve on three occasions to defeat the Rome champions 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 on Court 12. Granollers and Zeballos drop to 18-2 on clay in 2020.

Murray and Skupski have required a final set in each of their three victories at the event so far. The 13th seeds will meet reigning champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies for a spot in the semi-finals. The Germans saved three match points at 4/5 in the final set to defeat Benjamin Bonzi and Antoine Hoang 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(5) on Court 11.

Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury continued their impressive run through the draw in Paris, notching a third straight-sets victory in as many matches in the French capital. The third seeds, who captured the Australian Open crown in February, beat last year’s finalists Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin 6-3, 6-2 in 65 minutes. Ram and Salisbury will face 12th seeds Jean Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau or US Open champions Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares in the quarter-finals.

Pablo Cuevas and Feliciano Lopez eliminated Generali Open champions Austin Krajicek and Franko Skugor 7-5, 6-4. Cuevas and Lopez will meet American duo Nicolas Monroe and Tommy Paul in the third round.

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