Tennis News

Following a fortnight of enjoyable matches, the French Open will culminate with the latest chapter in the riveting rivalry between top seed Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka. The two have played some of the best ATP World Tour matches over the past three years. Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 17-3, including a win at the Australian Open semi-final this year.

In a match that required two days to complete due to stormy weather, Novak Djokovic needed five sets to dispatch a valiant Andy Murray and secure his place in the final of the 2015 French Open. After playing sublime tennis during the opening two sets of the match, Djokovic witnessed a momentum shift that saw Murray pounce to snatch the third set with spectacular play before the match was called off for the evening due to stormy weather. Once play resumed the following morning, Murray forced a fifth set against Djokovic but was unable to stop the Serb’s final charge to the final.

“I don’t think I was lucky,” Djokovic said. “I think I was playing some great tennis yesterday. He found his game late in the third. I had many opportunities to finish the match in straight sets, but credit to Andy.

“He showed why he’s one of the biggest competitors and fighters on the tour. A bit different conditions, with sun and then later in the evening it got a bit slower. He was using his variety in the game very well. It was a really tough match, over four hours all together, yesterday and today. No different from any other match that we played against each other. It’s always a thriller, always a marathon.”

After suffering an opening round exit at the French Open last season, Stan Wawrinka found himself in the final of that very same tournament the following year when he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets to earn a place in his second Grand Slam final. He won the match 6-3, 6-7(1), 7-6(3), 6-4.

This is the 21th time that Djokovic and Wawrinka will cross paths on the professional tour, with the Serbian star leading the series with a convincing 17-3 record. However, it was only over the past couple of years that Wawrinka because competitive against Djokovic, and they have since produced some sublime tennis together. However, is Wawrinka going to be able to do what Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray could not do, which is deny Djokovic his career slam title this year.
 

While all eyes are on the semi final between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, the bottom half of the draw sees what could be one of the matches of the tournament if both players perform to the same high level they have shown throughout the tournament. Seventh seed Stan Wawrinka will face home favourite and fourteenth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Losses for Tsonga to Marin Cilic, Marcel Granollers and David Goffin did little to inspire confidence coming into this tournament, one he made the semi finals of in 2013. However, the Frenchman has looked inspired after easing his way through the first three rounds. Tomas Berdych had little answer in the fourth round, only getting a look in due to Tsonga’s level dipping late in the third set and early in the fourth. Tsonga stopped the rot before it was too late in the fourth set finally taking the match 6-3 6-2 6-7 6-3.

His quarter final against Kei Nishikori showed a similar pattern with Tsonga dominant for the first two sets, only to fade as the finish line got closer. Nishikori looked to have turned a corner after saving break points at 4-4 in the third, breaking in the next game and pushing the match to a fifth set. Nishikori’s fifth set record has been well documented, losing just once at a slam prior to this match. Tsonga broke for a 3-1 and held onto it to make his second Roland Garros semi final.

After a shock loss in Geneva previously, Wawrinka had been going about his business quietly in week one, losing just one set on his way to the quarter finals. In the eagerly anticipated match between the Swiss No.1 and No.2, it turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment as a contest with Wawrinka playing some stunning tennis to win in straight sets against Roger Federer. It was a marked turnaround from Rome, where Federer won 4&2.

After losing in round one last year, Wawrinka is now favoured to make the final but will have to deal with a raucous crowd supporting a confident Tsonga. There always is the possibility that the occasion could get to Tsonga as seen in his last French Open semi final where David Ferrer comfortably beat him in straights – an anticlimax after his surprise win against Roger Federer in the previous round.

Five of the six meetings between the two have been played on clay with Wawrinka leading these 3-2. They went five in back-to-back years in 2011 and 2012, splitting the pair while Wawrinka also won a BO5 in Davis Cup action last year in four sets.

The serve could be vital here with Tsonga in particular not wanting to get into a slog after two lengthy matches. Both players have had plenty of free points, as they sit No.1 and No.2 in terms of first serve points at 81% each while Federer failed to break in a grand slam match for the first time in a long while. Wawrinka has been hitting the ball outstandingly with 43 winners overall in his last match.

It seems unlikely that we will get a classic five setter like their 2011 and 2012 meetings but an impressive display of attacking is sure to be on the cards. Question marks over Tsonga lasting the distance have to remain after twice almost throwing away extremely dominant leads. Wawrinka will be quick to latch onto any drop in Tsonga’s level if he finds himself behind.

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The final four is set and this year Roland Garros will have a first time winner. In the more anticipated final of the two, the top seed and No.3 seed will compete after both Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic lived up to their billing to make the semi finals.

Djokovic was in stunning form to defeat nine time champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets, rarely letting up after an early 4-0 lead was erased in the first set. From 4-4, Djokovic dropped just five more games to finally get over what had been the toughest hurdle of his career and move ever closer to that elusive first French Open title. With the 7-5 6-3 6-1 victory, Djokovic has now won 20 sets in a row dating back to the Rome quarter finals and will look to extend that to 23 when he takes on Murray.

It wasn’t as straight forward for Murray against David Ferrer, who won in four sets. After saving set points at *5-6 in the first set, Murray was rarely troubled as he raced into a two sets and a break lead. Ferrer would fight back to force a fourth set but any ideas of a comeback were quickly erased after Murray broke at the first time of asking. He would add a second break on his way to a 7-6 6-2 5-7 6-1 victory, his first on clay against Ferrer in five attempts.

For someone who has historically struggled on clay relative to his ranking, Murray’s 15 match winning streak (and accompanying two titles) has come as somewhat of a shock, especially the wins over Nishikori and Nadal en route to the Madrid title. Although Murray has made the semi finals of this tournament before, he is probably in the best clay form of his career but unfortunately runs into the clear best player in the world, on any surface including this one.

Djokovic is 40-2 on the year and has not lost since February, picking up titles in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Rome along the way. Ten top-10 wins have been collected in that streak including twice over Murray, in addition to the Australian Open final victory. These three wins extended Djokovic’s winning streak over Murray to 7 and the head to head to 18-8 overall. In what was once a close record, Djokovic blew open from 2012 onwards.

The Australian Open and Miami meetings this year feel notable for the fact that Murray was well in both of these matches, especially the former in which he held a break lead in the third set. Both saw Djokovic take the final set 6-0 though, with Murray failing to keep up with the World No.1 the longer the match went on.

Interestingly, this will only be the third meeting on clay out of 27. The unstoppable Djokovic of 2011 needed a third set tiebreak to see off Murray in Rome and for all his dominance this year, it is still difficult to suggest Djokovic is playing at a higher level than what we saw in that year with 3 clear rivals being left in his wake.

After seeing off Nadal, everyone is waiting to crown Djokovic as the new king. The pressure is all on him to deliver and it’s hard to imagine a scenario that involves Murray winning without Djokovic completely disappearing and letting the occasion get to him. Murray has shown promise with greater aggression but over five sets it seems unlikely that Murray could perform consistently enough to live with Djokovic in the lengthier rallies.

A compelling quarter-final will take place on Sunday afternoon, as World No. 1 Serena Williams and Italian No. 1 Sara Errani will meet for an eighth time on the professional tour at the prestigious Roland Garros Grand Slam event. Serena leads the head-to-head series 8-0 and has been entirely dominant throughout the series.

In a match that many expected to end in straight sets based on the remainder of their rivalry, Serena Williams had to claw her way back from a set and a break down to defeat Sloane Stephens in three sets to work her way into the quarter-final round. In the end, Williams was able to regroup in the third set and closed out the match 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.

“I felt like if I had made a shot here or made a shot there, then maybe the first set could have been different. But today I started out slowly, even though I was really warmed up and really ready,” Williams said. “But it’s not how you start, I guess it’s how you finish. That’s kind of how I’m looking at it.

“Obviously I’m disappointed. Usually I’m winning in straight sets, and I’m business both on and off the court. Now I’m just winning, and that’s a good thing too, but there’s always room for improvement.”

In a far simpler match on court, Sara Errani continued her impressive run in Paris with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Julia Goerges. She struck five winners and broke serve on five occasions to earn her place in the final eight.

Williams leads Errani 8-0 in the head-to-head series, with four of those wins taking place on clay, including their most recent three encounters. While the Italian is coming off a fantastic week in front of her adoring fans, it is not likely to give her much of a boost against Williams, who has overpowered her in all of their previous meetings.
 

The biggest rivalry in men’s tennis will write another chapter on Wednesday afternoon, as nine-time champion Rafael Nadal and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic meet for a unprecedented 44nd time on the professional tour. The Nadal vs Djokovic Head to Head stands at 23-20, but has lost the most recent match against Djokovic at Monte Carlo Masters event. The two players have already surpassed John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl and will likely continue to add to their rivalry’s ever-growing legacy, yet the stakes are high at the French Open, as Nadal attempts to close in on his 10th title at Roland Garros, while Djokovic will get one step closer to completing his career Grand Slam.

Djokovic’s fourth round match against Richard Gasquet ended in straight sets to hand the Serb his 26th victory of the season. Djokovic struck 47 winners and saved eight break points faced on serve to close out the match 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 in just under two hours.

“Of course it is a different approach mentally when you play Nadal in quarter-finals than any other player,” said the Serb. “There is no doubt about that. I’m going to try to keep my routine the same and not give so much importance to the match.

“I know what I need to do to have a chance to win. That doesn’t mean that I will win. The future is unpredictable.”

Rafael Nadal looked as though he was about to cruise into yet another French Open quarter-final but faced some resistance from Jack Sock when he attempted to serve out the match. From there, he had his serve broken and was forced to contest a fourth set before securing the 6-3, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 win. He will now go on to face Djokovic in the final eight of the tournament.

“It is not the final, you know,” said Nadal, who will turn 29 on Wednesday. “It’s a quarter-final. And, no, the winner of that match will not be the Roland Garros champion.

“They will be a semi-finalist of Roland Garros. That makes a big difference. Even if it’s a special match, it’s a quarter-final match.”

Following their three meetings last year and one meeting so far this season, Nadal leads Djokovic 23-20 in the head-to-head series. Rafa is 14-5 against Djokovic on clay but the gap has closed to 5-5 on that surface since 2011, which certainly evens out Djokovic’s chances on Wednesday afternoon. Given that he has a proven track record against Nadal at clay court Masters 1000 events, Djokovic will now need to find the confidence in himself to complete a historic upset of Nadal at Roland Garros.
 

After meeting on three occasions in 2014, Andy Murray and David Ferrer will meet for an opportunity to further their quest for a first French Open crown on Tuesday afternoon in Paris. Of their previous encounters, Murray leads the head-to-head series 9-6, including wins in two of their last three meetings.

The third seed at this year’s Roland Garros event maintained his undefeated clay court streak on Monday afternoon when he defeated Jeremy Chardy in four sets to advance to the final eight in Paris. It was not the easiest of matches, as Murray had to withstand 49 winners and four breaks of serve to secure the 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win.

“I wasn’t overly concerned,” he said. “I had a lot of chances in the second set. He had one break point, which he obviously won, but throughout the course of the match I was creating many more opportunities than him. I just had to take my chances when they came. I did that in the third and fourth sets.”

In one of his more impressive matches of the season so far, David Ferrer cruised past US Open champ Marin Cilic in straight sets to advance to his sixth quarter-final at the French Open. It was also his 40th win overall at the prestigious Grand Slam event. He won the match 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and 53 minutes.

“When asked about Murray, Ferrer admitted, “He’s much more aggressive. When he uses the different shots he has to play, he’s one of the best players in the Top 3. If, in addition to this, you were to count his talent, I think that he’s more aware of what’s happening. Not just on quick surfaces, but also on clay. He’s much more serene and calm.”

This is the 16th time that Murray and Ferrer will cross paths on the professional tour, with Murray leading the series 9-6. While the Spaniard is more than capable of earning the victory, Murray will likely add to his title win last week with another victory over Ferrer.

When the nine time Roland Garros champ Rafael Nadal steps onto the Philippe Chatrier court Wednesday afternoon to face world no.1 Novak Djokovic for a place in the French Open semi-finals, the whole world will be watching closely. The Spaniard is still 23-20 ahead in the Head to Head series, but the Serbian has been closing the gap in the last 18 months.

For many tennis fans, this clash between the two heavy weights will feel like a final, despite Rafa downplaying the fact that the winner of this showdown will go on to clinch this year’s title: “This is not the final, you know. It’s a quarter-final. The winner will not be the champion of Roland Garros. That makes a big difference. Even if it’s a special match, it’s still a quarter-final.”

The Spanish superstar and undisputed champion of Roland Garros (his only defeat came in the 2009 R16 against Robin Soderling) has produced some high quality clay court tennis during last week here in Paris. After defeating the French youngster Quentin Halys in the opener, he then dismantled Nico Almagro and Andrey Kuznetsov in straight sets before dropping a set to American Jack Sock 6-3 6-1 5-7 6-2. Having been a break up in the third set at 5-3, it almost feels like Rafa lost a bit of focus before regaining his footing and storming into the quater-finals.

However, his next opponent will be the Serbian machine Novak Djokovic, who is missing only the French Open title from his collection of 8 Grand Slam trophies. After defeating Andy Murray in this year’s Australian Open final, he will fancy his chances here in Paris too. Without dropping a set, he overcame Jarkko Nieminen, Gilles Muller, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Richard Gasquet to book his place in the quarters. Djoko’s shot making and movement have been immaculate so far and Rafa will have to come up with something very special if he wants to break down the Serbian’s rock solid defence.

If we look at the stats, Novak has won 5 out of the last 6 encounters against the Spaniard, recently defeating him in the Rome Masters semi-finals in straight sets 6-3 6-3. However, Rafa’s only win came in last year’s French Open final when he overcame the Djoker 3-6 7-5 6-2 6-4 and without a shadow of a doubt, Nadal’s best chance of beating the world no.1 is on his beloved Philippe Chatrier court central, where he still remains undefeated against Djokovic, holding a 6-0 record. Novak said in his press conference: “Playing him here and playing him in any other tournament in the world is completely different. Conditions are very suitable to his style of the game.”

If history is any guide, one would expect for Rafa to find a way past Nole, no matter what it takes. On the other hand, the majority of tennis pundits favour Novak to break the six match losing streak vs Rafa here in Paris and march on to claim the well desired title that has been eluding him up until now.
 

For the second time this season, the Swiss stars Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka will cross paths on the professional tour, this time to determine who will advance to the semi-final of the Roland Garros Grand Slam event. Federer leads the overall head to head series 16-2, including a win in their most recent encounter in Rome.

In a match that required two days to complete, Roger Federer finally got his revenge on Gael Monfils on clay when he defeated the Frenchman in four sets to advance to the quarter-final stage in Paris. The contest began late on Sunday due to a rain delay and was completed on Monday morning with the contest split a set each. Federer managed to take advantage of a dejected Monfils to close out the match 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

“I wanted to get off to a good start, because you never know how he will be playing,” said Federer. “So I felt good. I was calm yesterday. I was calm this morning. So we (Stefan Edberg and I) adopted the right game plan and the right tactical approach. I’m very happy.”

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Seeded eighth at this year’s event, Stan Wawrinka defeated 12th seed Gilles Simon to take out the local favourite 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 and secure his place in the quarter-final round of the tournament, where he will come up against his fellow countryman and idol.

“It [will be] a special match,” said Federer. “It is not a traditional match. There aren’t too many Swiss players in the draw… It’s always special to play each other. There will be a Swiss guy in the semi-final. That’s positive. I hope I will reach the semifinal of a tournament. I will pull out all the stops to advance to the next round. If I will not make it, I will be very happy for Stan.”

This marks the 19th time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, with Federer leading the head-to-head series 16-2. Federer won their most recent encounter en route to the final in Rome this season but also lost another clay court encounter at last year’s Monte Carlo final. It will be interesting to see if Stan will be able to topple the 17-time Grand Slam champ this time around.
 

An intriguing quarter-final match-up is scheduled to take place on Tuesday afternoon in Paris, as the only remaining Frenchman, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, will face Japanese No. 1 Kei Nishikori to determine who will advance to the final four at Roland Garros. This marks the sixth time that the two athletes will cross paths on the professional tour, with the Nishikori – Tsonga head-to-head series poised at 4-1.

Although it was a turbulent finish to the match, Tsonga was able to eventually close out a solid showing against Tomas Berdych to secure his spot in the quarter-final stage of the Grand Slam event. After leading over the first two sets, Tsonga failed to serve out the match in the third set and was forced to contest a competitive fourth set before closing out the win 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3.

“It was not easy because I played really well during (the first) three sets,” added Tsonga. “And when it was time to finish I played a little bit differently and because he’s a good player, he came back in the match. Then I started to miss a little bit more. But I had a good reaction in the fourth and finally I won it. So it’s good for me. I’m happy to beat a guy like this, one of the best at the moment.”

In a historic contest on Sunday, Kei Nishikori became just the second Japanese player to ever reach the quarter-final stage of the French Open. He struck 40 winners to defeat Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in two minutes short of two hours. He will now go on to face the last remaining Frenchman in the draw.

“We haven’t played a long time,” said Nishikori, looking ahead to the Tsonga match. “He’s coming back very strong. He has a big serve [and] big forehand. He’s always a dangerous player… So it’s going to be fun match.”

This is set to be the sixth time that Tsonga and Nishikori will meet on the professional circuit. Nishikori leads the head-to-head series 4-1, including a win in their most recent encounter last season at the Paris Masters. However, this is going to be their first career meeting on clay, which could impact their performances.