Dominic Thiem vs Diego Schwartzman French Open 2020 QF Preview and Prediction
In both draws, there will be Argentinian players seeking a shock win against more decorated opponents. Diego Schwartzman…
In both draws, there will be Argentinian players seeking a shock win against more decorated opponents. Diego Schwartzman…
Rafael Nadal can secure his semi-final place on Tuesday evening, taking on yet another unseeded player in his draw. However,…
While the journeymen and journeywoman making waves at the tournament have been getting some attention, the rise of Iga…
Elina Svitolina will never have a better chance of winning her first grand slam as she remains in a draw that has now collapsed…
Rafael Nadal’s primary weapon on a hot summer’s day in Paris is to make the ball jump up high with vicious spin to his opponent’s backhand. It’s now autumn in the northern hemisphere, where the weather is cold and damp at Roland Garros, so the World No. 2 is strategically switching gears to another trusted asset in his arsenal: extending the rally.
An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of rally length in the first round this year compared to 2017 when Roland Garros was played in much hotter conditions uncovers that the ‘First Strike’ rally length of 0-4 shots has plummeted in the cold weather. A significant amount of points are spilling over to the mid-length rallies of 5-8 shots, and extended rallies of nine shots of greater.
Roland Garros: Rally Length: 2017 (hotter) vs 2020 Rd 1 (colder)
| Rally Length | 2017 | 2020 First Round |
| 0-4 Shots | 71% | 53% |
| 5-8 Shots | 19% | 29% |
| 9+ Shots | 10% | 18% |
It was a hot summer in 2017 in Paris, which helped the ball race through the air and become more menacing at the beginning of the point. Seventy-one per cent of all points were played in the 0-4 shot rally length, which was considerably higher than the 53 per cent (4785/8994) in round one this year. The 2020 data set is comprised of 40/64 first-round matches that were played on show courts, where rally length data was collected.
Which brings us to Nadal.
Pre-tournament, the Spaniard spoke warily of the heavy conditions and the heavier ball that would blunt the ferocious spin he uses to take the battle up high around the shoulders of his opponents.
Nadal may very well struggle to hurt opponents with spin and height as in previous years, but with the length of the rallies becoming significantly longer because of the colder conditions, Nadal is merely exchanging one weapon for another.
Through his first four matches at Roland Garros this year, against Egor Gerasimov, Mackenzie McDonald, Stefano Travaglia and Sebastian Korda, Nadal is a one-man wrecking crew once the rally moves past the 0-4 shot rally length with a fifth ball in the court.
Nadal: Through 2020 Roland Garros 4th Rd.
| Rally Length | Won | Total | Win % |
| 0-4 Shots | 171 | 283 | 60% |
| 5-8 Shots | 105 | 161 | 65% |
| 9+ Shots | 63 | 97 | 65% |
Nadal has impressive metrics at all three rally lengths, but they get better as the rally gets longer.
Nadal was best-in-class on the ATP Tour from 2018-2020 in mid-length rallies of 5-8 shots, winning 60 per cent (652/1092) of those points. He is at 65 per cent won through the fourth round this year in Paris. Nadal won 55 per cent (412/745) of 9-plus rallies in the same period, which was good for fifth best on Tour. To see him at 65 per cent in his first four matches on Court Philippe-Chatrier this week should stop people in their tracks.
Good luck hitting high backhands against Nadal in Paris on a 30-degree Celsius afternoon in mid-summer. What is proving even more challenging is trying to outlast and outwork the Spaniard in cold and heavy Parisian conditions in late September.
Novak Djokovic says it was a “a very awkward situation” when a ball flew off his racquet into a line judge’s face in his French Open win.
Alexander Zverev says he has tested negative for Covid-19 a day after stating he should not have played his French Open match against Jannik Sinner.
First held in 1972, the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships is the longest-running tour-level event in Asia and the only Japanese stop on the ATP Tour.
The tournament would have been held this week if not for the COVID-19 pandemic.
ATPTour.com looks at five things to know about the ATP 500 event.
A Legendary Honour Roll
Across 48 editions of the event, the singles tournament has been won by 11 players who have reached the World No. 1 position in the FedEx ATP Rankings. Those men have combined to win the tournament on 17 occasions.
Three players have reached World No. 1 and lifted multiple Tokyo titles. Stefan Edberg (1987, ’89-91) owns a tournament record four Tokyo trophies and, between 1992 and 1996, Jim Courier (1992, ’95) and Pete Sampras (1993-’94, ’96) combined to win five straight editions of the event.
Edberg also won the 1991 doubles title in Tokyo, alongside two-time doubles champion Todd Woodbridge (1991, ’96). Andy Murray is the only other former singles World No. 1 to have triumphed in doubles in the Japanese capital. The Brit claimed the 2011 crown with his brother, former doubles World No. 1 Jamie Murray.
[ATP APP]Big Four Brilliance
Tokyo is one of only eight tour-level events where each member of the ‘Big Four’ — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Murray — has lifted the singles trophy. Federer was the first Big Four star to lift the Tokyo title, winning the event in 2006 on his only appearance at the Ariake Colosseum.
Nadal won his opening nine matches in the Japanese capital, taking the crown in 2010 before falling in the 2011 championship match to Murray. Djokovic completed the Big Four sweep in Tokyo last year, winning each of the 10 sets he contested to capture the trophy on his maiden tournament appearance.
Kei Ends 40-Year Wait
The inaugural Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships was decided by an all-Japanese final in 1972. Forty years later, Japan produced its third home finalist at the event. Following in the footsteps of inaugural champion Toshiro Sakai and runner-up Jun Kuki, Kei Nishikori rallied from a set down in his opening two matches and defeated 2008 champion Tomas Berdych and Marcos Baghdatis to reach the championship match.
With a three-set victory against Milos Raonic, Nishikori captured his first ATP 500 crown and became the second Japanese singles champion in tournament history. Two years later, Nishikori added a second Tokyo trophy to his collection with another three-set final win against the big-serving Canadian.
Another Japanese Milestone
Nishikori may have ended Japan’s wait for a second home singles champion in 2012, but another milestone was reached at last year’s event. For the first time since 1972, two Japanese players reached the Tokyo quarter-finals in 2019.
Taro Daniel entered the ATP 500 with a 0-4 record at his home event, but the wild card overcame second seed Borna Coric and Jordan Thompson to book his place in the the last eight. Daniel was joined by Yasutaka Uchiyama who, at his seventh attempt, advanced through qualifying for the first time and played with confidence in the main draw.
The Tokyo resident, who had played in the main draw twice before, upset fourth seed Benoit Paire in straight sets and beat Radu Albot to reach the quarter-finals. For 1988 quarter-finalist Shuzo Matsuoka, who runs a Japanese tennis camp for kids aged 10 to 18, the milestone moment had been a long time coming.
“I’m always dreaming [of this]. That’s why I started helping with the juniors 20 years ago,” said Matsuoka. “All the men’s tennis [in Japan] is coming together like one.”
Novak’s Greatest Fan
Fans in Tokyo are known to be some of the most passionate supporters on the ATP Tour. During Djokovic’s debut appearance at the ATP 500, the five-time year-end World No. 1 met Japanese fan Iori Yoshida, who moved to Serbia for four years after watching his idol rise to the top of the FedEx ATP Rankings in 2011.
Yoshida learned to play tennis and speak Serbian during his time in Djokovic’s home country, hoping that one day he would meet his idol. That dream became a reality in Tokyo, after Djokovic spotted Yoshida on YouTube and invited him to the tournament.
“It was a truly remarkable experience, one that really fills my heart with joy and happiness. Seeing the passion he shared while we were together was fascinating,” said Djokovic.
Ovaj momak me je totalno oduševio. Inspirisan mojom sezonom 2011 godine, pitao je oca da li može da ide da živi u Srbiju @iori_legend. Otac ga je pitao da mu pokaže strast. Ovaj mu je to pokazao i dobio dozvolu. 4 godine je živeo u Pančevu, igrao tenis, učio srpski i nadao se da može da me upozna i odigra jedanput tenis sa mnom. To se nije dogodilo za vreme njegovog boravka u Srbiji ali jeste ovde u Japanu. Privukao mi je pažnju njegov snimak koji mi je pokazao njego prijatelj pre nekoliko dana ovde u Tokiju. Na snimku je pričao srpski i molio me da odigramo tenis jednom jer ima veliku želju da igra na Grand Slam-u. Pozvao sam ga da pogleda moj meč i da posle meča igramo tenis. Upoznao sam mnogo ljudi putujući po svetu ali ne znam da li sam ikada upoznao nekog ovako strastvenog tenisera sa toliko entuzijazma. Ulepšao mi je dan i učinio da doživim jedinstveno iskustvo koje mi je ispunilo srce radošću i srećom. Jako sam se zabavio i uživao. On priča srpski odlično i vrlo je duhovit. Ovo iskustvo me ne podsetilo koliko treba da budem svakodnevno zahvalan na mogucnosti da tako pozitivno utičem na živote mnogih ljudi. Blagosloven sam i počastvovan ??❤?????
Novak Djokovic reaches the French Open quarter-finals for an 11th successive year, while Stefanos Tsitsipas joins him for the first time.
Stefanos Tsitsipas continued his strong run of clay form on Monday, beating Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 7-6(9), 6-2 to reach his first Roland Garros quarter-final.
After falling to Stan Wawrinka in a marathon five-hour, nine-minute battle at this stage last year, Tsitsipas took his second opportunity in Paris with a two-hour, 26-minute victory. The Greek landed 24 winners and saved two set points in the second set tie-break en route to his 10th win in 12 matches this year on clay.
“The tie-break was very tense. The tie-break was where all the money was,” said Tsitsipas on court. “I am glad that I played good tennis and I didn’t panic. I stayed concentrated, stayed low-key and tried to take it point-by-point.
“I think it worked out pretty well at the end. I showed lots of discipline, lots of responsibility. It was a very responsible win in the second set and I am very happy with myself and the attitude that I put out on the court.”
Tsitsipas is building on the form he showed en route to the Hamburg European Open final two weeks ago. After rallying from two sets down in his opening match against Jaume Munar, the World No. 6 has now won three consecutive matches without dropping a set.
“I felt comfortable. I think Grigor can be very unpredictable and he has a great game, so coming into the match you don’t really know what to expect,” said Tsitsipas. “We have a similar style of play, so I knew that if I could be as aggressive as possible, play with my forehand and use my serve to create opportunities, they [would] eventually come.
“There was a very good, high quality of tennis from both of us. I managed to stay concentrated and press on my return games… My aggressiveness from my return games and my focus on every single point, at the end, rewarded me.”
Tsitsipas will meet Andrey Rublev for a place in the semi-finals. The Russian recovered from 6-7(4), 2-5 down to defeat Marton Fucsovics in four sets.
The reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion trails Rublev 0-2 in their ATP Head2Head series. Tsitsipas served for the Hamburg trophy against Rublev just eight days ago, but fell to a 4-6, 6-3, 5-7 defeat.
Dimitrov was attempting to become the 10th active player to reach the quarter-finals at all four Grand Slam events. The Bulgarian did not drop a set en route to the Round of 16, collecting wins against Gregoire Barrere, Andrej Martin and Roberto Carballes Baena.
Under a closed roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Dimitrov gifted Tsitsipas the perfect start with a series of errors in his opening service game. The Greek dropped just seven service points (22/29) in the first set and took the opener when Dimitrov failed to control a backhand return.
A tie-break was needed to decide the second set, which had few break opportunities. Tsitsipas gained an early lead as Dimitrov committed errors on his forehand, but he was soon forced to save two set points at 7/8 and 8/9. Tsitsipas saved the first with an attacking crosscourt forehand and reached 9/9 when Dimitrov fired wide with a forehand up the line. On his third set point, Tsitsipas hit a defensive forehand at the laces of his opponent to claim the set.
Tsitsipas carried the momentum into the third set, defending well to extend rallies and gain a 2-0 lead. The Hamburg runner-up finished the match with his third service break, as Dimitrov fired a backhand into the net.
