Novak Djokovic vs Ricardas Berankis French Open 2020 Preview and Prediction
Novak Djokovic looks to continue his winning streak on Thursday, where a win over Ricardas Berankis would make it seven…
Novak Djokovic looks to continue his winning streak on Thursday, where a win over Ricardas Berankis would make it seven…
Stefanos Tsitsipas has a great opportunity to make the semi finals with the Greek now becoming the highest seed in his quarter…
With the news that Serena Williams is out of the tournament, Garbine Muguruza is one of just three former champions remaining…
Britain’s Dan Evans says his doubles opponents were “embarrassing” after becoming involved in a on-court row at the French Open.
Karolina Pliskova looks to make her mark at the French Open on Thursday when she takes on Jelena Ostapenko for a spot in the…
Rafael Nadal made a statement on Wednesday at Roland Garros, losing only four games in his second-round victory. Top seed Novak Djokovic will try to respond with a message of his own on Thursday when he plays Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis.
Djokovic will take confidence from a comprehensive straight-sets victory in the first round against Mikael Ymer. The Serbian only lost five games in his win.
“If you keep on winning, obviously with every match that you win, your confidence level raises a notch higher,” Djokovic said. “Obviously these conditions are different than what we are used to here [at the] French Open. Everyone has been talking about it. The balls, the heavy clay, the cold weather. It all affects the play, of course.
“But I think it’s quite suitable to my style of the game… I think generally the game is there. I’m ready physically, mentally, emotionally to go deep in the tournament. Hopefully I can have another successful year here in Paris.”
The 2016 champion beat Berankis 7-6(2), 6-4 in his first match of the ATP Tour’s return at the Western & Southern Open. He leads their ATP Head2Head series 2-0.
Reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas did not have an easy first-rounder against Jaume Munar. Tsitsipas, who rallied from two sets down for the first time in that encounter, plays Pablo Cuevas on Thursday.
The Greek leads their rivalry 3-0, including a 7-5, 6-4 win against the Uruguayan shotmaker at last week’s Hamburg European Open.
“I have a lot of respect for him. He is a very difficult opponent to face, particularly on this surface,” Tsitsipas said of Cuevas in Hamburg. “He is a good friend and one of my idols growing up.”
Andrey Rublev (below), who like Tsitsipas rallied from two sets down in his opener, will face tricky Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for the first time. Both players are Next Gen ATP Finals alumni. Davidovich Fokina showed his hard-court prowess at the US Open, where he made the fourth round. But he excels with the drop shot, which Djokovic said is a key in these conditions on clay.
“It’s going to be a very important shot in these conditions, because it’s just so heavy and so slow,” Djokovic said. “I think it’s a great variety shot, the drop shot. I think it’s important tactically to have it and to use it at the right time so that you can keep your opponent always guessing what is the next shot.”
Four Italians are already into the third round at Roland Garros, an Open-Era record. Seventh seed Matteo Berrettini can make it five when he plays South African Lloyd Harris for the first time. The 24-year-old made the third round on his tournament debut two years ago, losing against Dominic Thiem in four sets.
Ninth seed Denis Shapovalov is one of the hottest players on the ATP Tour, and he will try to keep his level high against Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena, whom he has never faced previously. The lefty, who made his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the US Open, is fresh off a run to the semi-finals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
One of the matches to watch will be 22nd seed Dusan Lajovic taking on two-time Grand Slam finalist Kevin Anderson. The South African has won their two previous clashes, including a three-set victory in the 2018 Mutua Madrid Open quarter-finals.
Tenth seed Victoria Azarenka suffers a shock straight-sets defeat by Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the French Open second round.
Third seeds Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram opened their Roland Garros campaigns on Wednesday with a 6-4, 7-6(5) victory over French wild cards Gregoire Barrere and Quentin Halys in one hour and 24 minutes.
Salisbury and Ram surged to a 3-0 lead, before Barrere and Halys broke for their first game. The 2020 Nitto ATP Finals qualifiers started the second set strongly, but were broken in the eighth game. They saved one set point at 5-6, 30/40 and went onto win the first six points of the tie-break.
Salisbury and Ram, who captured their first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open (d. Purcell/Saville) in January, have reached two semi-finals at the Western & Southern Open (l. to Murray/Skupski) and the US Open (l. to Koolhof/Mektic) since the resumption of the ATP Tour in August. They are now 15-6 on the 2020 season.
They will next challenge Australians Alex de Minaur and Matt Reid, who were 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(5) victors over Nikola Cacic and Dusan Lajovic in two hours and six minutes.
Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour
Fourth seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo (above) dropped just four games in a convincing 6-2, 6-2 win over French wild cards Arthur Cazaux and Harold Mayot.
Elsewhere, top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, semi-finalists in 2017 and 2019, swept past French wild cards Corentin Denolly and Kyrian Jacquet 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 34 minutes. They await the winners of Robert Lindstedt and Jordan Thompson or Robin Haase and Joao Sousa.
Second seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, who have compiled a 21-5 record as a team this year, recovered from 1/4 down in the deciding set tie-break to scrape past Americans Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) in one hour and 49 minutes.
Granollers and Zeballos have captured titles at the Argentina Open title in Buenos Aires (d. Duran/Londero), the Rio Open presented by Claro (d. Caruso/Galo) and at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome (d. Chardy/Martin) two weeks ago. They also finished runner-up at the Generali Open in Kitzbuhel (l. to Krajicek/Skugor).
They now face Daniel Evans and Hubert Hurkacz or Marcelo Demoliner and Matwe Middelkoop in the second round.
Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour
US Open champions Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares (above), seeded seventh, enjoyed a 6-2, 6-3 win over Marcus Daniell and Philipp Oswald
Fifth seeds Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek knocked out Henri Kontinen and Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-1 in 71 minutes to set up a match against Aljaz Bedene and Dennis Novak, who were 6-4, 6-3 victors over Ricardas Berankis and Yoshihito Nishioka in 74 minutes.
It was far from easy, and some of the difficulty was self-inflicted, but Alexander Zverev found a way on Wednesday evening to reach the third round at Roland Garros for the third consecutive year.
The German had to battle hard against home favourite Pierre-Hugues Herbert, triumphing 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4 after three hours and 59 minutes. Six of the 23-year-old’s 12 victories on the Parisian terre battue have come in five sets.
“I think I’m quite
fit, to be honest. I feel like physically I’m okay.
But sometimes I just feel like I find a way [to win],” Zverev said. “Today I was not the better player on court. I was
not hitting my forehand better, not hitting my backhand
better, not serving better. I was not doing anything better
than he did. But I found a way, which was the most
important. Sometimes I manage to do that quite well.”
In the first round, Zverev showed great form against big-hitting Dennis Novak, defeating the Austrian in straight sets. But it was apparent from the early moments against Herbert that the German had his hands full. Both men won 164 points in the match.
The Frenchman, who rushed the net 93 times, was one point from earning a 6-2, 5-1 lead against the sixth seed. But not capitalising on his early lead proved critical, as Zverev improved to 15-7 in five-setters.
“It’s something that I worked on
not in the matches, but outside the court, in the gym [during] the
offseason and the training blocks that I did. It was for
these moments,” Zverev said. “You don’t need to be lifting 170 kilos on dead
lifts or 150 kilos on squats for three-set matches. That’s
not what you’re doing it for. You’re doing it for five-set
matches, for the big moments like this.
I think that the work has been done not on the court, but
off the court.”
Photo Credit: Getty Images
There was a moment when it seemed Zverev would run away with a four-set victory after digging out of his early hole. The German rallied to take the second set, hitting a forehand lob winner to secure the crucial break. He then won six of the final seven points in the third-set tie-break to take the lead.
But Herbert, who has triumphed at all four Grand Slams in doubles with countryman Nicolas Mahut, put his doubles experience on display by continuing to move forward. The Frenchman won 11 of 13 net points in the fourth set and Zverev missed a backhand to send the match to a decider.
Zverev immediately went up a break in the fifth set and even after letting slip that advantage, he broke to serve for the match at 5-3. Herbert never gave up, but he could only battle back so many times. Zverev, the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals champion, hit a perfect backhand lob to earn his sixth service break and secure his triumph.
Zverev has reached the Roland Garros quarter-finals in back-to-back years. He will try to move one step closer to doing so again when he plays Italian qualifier Marco Cecchinato, who eliminated Argentine Juan Ignacio Londero 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.
The German beat Cecchinato in straight sets at this year’s Australian Open. However, Cecchinato is a dangerous clay-court opponent who advanced to the semi-finals at Roland Garros two years ago.
In the same section of the draw, reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Jannik Sinner reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 victory against home favourite Benjamin Bonzi.
With Sinner advancing, there are four Italians into the third round at Roland Garros, marking the first time four Italian men have reached the third round of a Grand Slam in the Open Era. The 19-year-old is fresh off a strong performance in Rome, where he upset Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Sinner will next play Argentine Federico Coria, who ousted 23rd seed Benoit Paire 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. Coria is the brother of 2004 Roland Garros finalist Guillermo Coria.
LTA chief Scott Lloyd dismisses Heather Watson’s concerns about the running of the sport, saying players are “ultimately responsible for their performances”.
