Tennis News

Medvedev Growing In Confidence On Clay

Could Daniil Medvedev be growing fond of the clay at Roland Garros?

Much has been made of the second seed’s lack of previous success in Paris, but Medvedev advanced to the third round of the year’s second Grand Slam on Wednesday with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 win against American Tommy Paul.

The two-time major finalist arrived in France with an 0-4 record at Roland Garros. But Medvedev has only lost one set through two matches, and he will next play big-serving American Reilly Opelka for a spot in the fourth round.

After his first-round win against Alexander Bublik, Medvedev said, “I’m feeling that here, at least this year with this weather, with these balls, I can play like on hard courts.”

On hard courts, Medvedev often finds a “lockdown mode” in which he makes few unforced errors and frustrates his opponents. Despite a slow start against the 2015 Roland Garros boys’ singles champion, that’s exactly what Medvedev did on Wednesday inside Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Medvedev, who uncharacteristically sprayed shots in the first set, made just three unforced errors in the second to claim the momentum. Instead of falling well behind the baseline and taking risks from tough court positions, the 10-time ATP Tour titlist settled down and tested Paul’s consistency and patience.

Medvedev broke the World No. 52’s serve eight times and won 80 per cent of his first-serve points to advance after two hours and 18 minutes.

The World No. 2’s next opponent, Opelka, battled past Spaniard Jaume Munar 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 earlier in the day. The 32nd seed had never won a match at Roland Garros before this week.

“Medvedev [is] one of the best returners in the world,” Opelka said.

Their clash promises to be a tight one. Medvedev leads their ATP Head2Head series 2-1, but all three of their clashes have gone the distance. This will be their first meeting on clay.

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Christian Ruud On Son Casper: 'I'm Very Happy He Has Beaten All My Records'

There have been many cases over the years of professional tennis talent running in the family. The Ruud family may just be one of the most successful cases, as father, Christian Ruud, and son, Casper Ruud, are the two greatest players in the history of Norwegian tennis.

Casper, who on Tuesday advanced to the third round at Roland Garros, has established himself as one of the best clay-court players in the world, and is viewed by many, including his father, to be a threat at this Grand Slam for years to come.

“He has the game for it, he has the weapons and he has a good clay-court game,” Christian told Chris Bowers for ATP Tennis Radio. “I think there are a lot of good players coming behind [Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic], and I think Casper is one of them, especially on the clay.”

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Christian Ruud has a dual role as his son’s father and coach. He also doesn’t seem to mind that Casper has eclipsed many of his own achievements from when he was a player. Christian reached a career-high No. 39 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, while his son is now at a career-best World No. 16.

“Casper is quite easy to coach I would say. I think that inside he has a big drive and he shows that every day when he goes to practice,” Christian said. “My goal is for him to become as good as possible so in that sense I am very happy that he has beaten all of my records now.”

Casper has thrived on clay the most during the early stages of his career. He possesses a 17-4 record on the surface so far in 2021, winning a title in Geneva (d. Shapovalov) and making  semi-final appearances in two clay-court ATP 1000 Masters events this year, in Monte-Carlo and Madrid.

The 22-year-old’s level on the clay has put him in 10th place in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin. With a successful campaign in Paris, the Norwegian could climb even higher into contention for a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals. 

While Ruud has reached the third round at Roland Garros in 2019 and 2020, he carries more momentum into this major than ever before. His father believes that winning the tournament this year is not such a far-fetched notion.

“I think that bigger surprises have happened before,” Christian said. “I think we have to respect guys that have won here many times before like Rafa, and [other stars like] Djokovic, but I think certainly (that) Casper is in the mix of contenders a little bit this year.”

According to Christian, Casper has big aspirations, and his results this year have backed up that self-belief.

“I think he believes that he can become a Top 10 player and I think he dreams about being No. 1 and winning a Grand Slam,” Christian said. “He’s playing well at the moment and feels like he belongs, especially among the clay-courters in that ranking. We had a good start of the year and we’re really happy with the position he’s in, so I think he’s optimistic about the rest of the year and the future.”

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De Minaur/Reid Save 5 M.P. In Roland Garros Win

On Wednesday, doubles teams kicked off their Roland Garros campaigns with two Australian teams saving a flurry of match points.  

Alex de Minaur and Matt Reid escaped with a 3-6, 7-6(11), 6-4 win over Federico Delbonis and Divij Sharan. The Aussies saved five match points in the second-set tie-break to advance. De Minaur is seeded No. 21 in the singles draw and faces Marco Cecchinato first on Thursday before retuning for more doubles. 

Aussies Max Purcell and Luke Saville outlasted French wild cards Gregoire Barrere and Albano Olivetti 6-2, 6-7(2), 7-6(10), saving three match points before closing out the win.

Home favourites Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut survived a challenge from Brits Cameron Norrie and Jonny O’Mara. The French duo, who won the Roland Garros title together in 2018, moved on with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory. 

Two other seeded teams advanced: No. 14-seeded Germans Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 6-4, 6-4 over Italians Lorenzo Sonego and Andrea Vavassori, and No. 15-seeded Raven Klaasen and Ben McLachlan 6-3, 6-2 over Frenchmen Mathias Bourgue and Lucas Pouille.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and his partner Dan Added took out Ricardas Berankis and Albert Ramos Vinolas 7-6(1), 6-2 to set up a showdown with second seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah.

Top seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic withdrew and were replaced by Pablo Andujar and Pedro Martinez. The Spaniards will play an alternate team in the first round.

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French Open 2021: Daria Kasatkina knocks out 10th seed Belinda Bencic

Daria Kasatkina delivers an early surprise on day four of the French Open as she knocks out 10th seed Belinda Bencic.

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Laaksonen Makes Breakthrough At Roland Garros, But Still 'Not Satisfied'

Henri Laaksonen arrived in Paris without a tour-level win this season. But on Wednesday, the Swiss stunned 11th seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 at Roland Garros to reach the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time.

“Today was just an amazing match for me,” Laaksonen said. “I was playing really aggressive and it paid off.”

The 29-year-old’s major breakthrough is on a comfortable surface for the World No. 150. Although Laaksonen is Swiss, he spent his first 16 years in Finland and grew up in Hyvinkää, which is north of Helsinki.

“They opened the clay courts really early, sometimes [at the] end of March, beginning of April already. Sometimes we were playing when it was snowing a little bit,” Laaksonen said. “I just like it generally when I have a little bit more time for my strokes and slower conditions, so [the clay] fits me.”

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As a junior, Laaksonen’s best result came at Roland Garros. In 2009, he reached the semi-finals of the boys’ singles event, and in 2010 he climbed to a career-best World No. 20 in the junior rankings. But it would take until July 2017 to break into the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings.

In February 2018, however, he ran into an issue. Laaksonen ate a lot of seafood growing up, especially salmon. But he began feeling intense pain throughout his body whenever he would eat it.

Laaksonen would have seafood one night, then would only be able to practise for a short time the next day and the resulting inflammation would force him to stay in bed for two days. But once he stopped eating salmon, things would get better.

“My body is starting to work again in a more normal way,” Laaksonen told ATPTour.com in 2019.

Now Laaksonen has been battling to find the form that has helped him to two ATP Tour semi-finals and a career-high World No. 93 in 2017. The Swiss snapped a five-match losing streak at all levels two weeks ago in Geneva, where he qualified for the main draw. Laaksonen then qualified for the Roland Garros main draw for the third time.

“I wasn’t playing bad. It was just missing one, two, three per cent, and that makes the difference on this level. Either you win those matches or you lose,” Laaksonen said. “I didn’t feel bad actually on court. I was just missing a couple parts on my game. Here it has been going my way so far, so it’s close always. And I wasn’t really happy and I’m still not happy. My ranking is 150. That’s not my goal, but that’s what it is. I just try to improve.”

Laaksonen reunited a few weeks ago with coach David Pultr, whom he had previously worked with two years ago.

“I think we communicate well. We have good relationship,” Laaksonen said. “I think that’s important for a player to feel comfortable and to perform well.”

Things are moving in the right direction for the 29-year-old, who admitted he’s “not satisfied if I’m 140, 130, or 150” in the FedEx ATP Rankings. For now, he will focus on trying to make the fourth round at a major when he plays Kei Nishikori, who has needed five sets to win his first two matches.

“To be honest, I wasn’t expecting that I [would] win today, so first I have to enjoy this one,” Laaksonen said. “Then I think I have a day off tomorrow. I’ll do my practise, and then when I have the next match, I’ll try to continue from there where I left today.”

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French Open 2021: Jamie Murray says Wimbledon should have full house to reward vaccinated people

Britain’s Jamie Murray criticises coronavirus restrictions around Wimbledon, saying people should be “rewarded” for having had vaccines.

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French Open 2021: Alexander Zverev through in straight sets

Sixth seed Alexander Zverev overcomes dogged Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin in straight sets in the French Open.

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Zverev Battles Into Roland Garros Third Round

Sixth seed Alexander Zverev dug deep on Wednesday as he defeated Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin to advance to the Roland Garros third round.

Safiullin did not show any signs of being overwhelmed on the big stage, but it was Zverev who emerged the victor, 7-6(4), 6-3, 7-6(1), in what was another intense battle against a player who came through the qualifying stages.

The 24-year-old Zverev, who is now 20-8 on the season, will next play a Serbian: Laslo Djere or Miomir Kecmanovic.

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Zverev, who recovered from two-sets-to-love down against qualifier Oscar Otte on Sunday, was given a stern test in the 60-minute first set. He was broken when serving for the set at 6-5, but got off to a strong start in the tie-break. The German came back from 1-3 down in the second set, and a 1-4 deficit in the third set.

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Preview: Can Medvedev, Tsitsipas & Zverev Capitalise In Paris?

The past three Nitto ATP Finals champions, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev, will headline Day 4 at Roland Garros as they seek their first Grand Slam title in Paris. 

The trio anchors the bottom half of the draw, where opportunity abounds after two-time finalist Dominic Thiem, the fourth seed, went out in a first-round shocker. And with 13-time champion Rafael Nadal landing in the same half as World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and 2009 champion Roger Federer for the first time ever at a Grand Slam, that means whomever advances won’t have to play a member of the Big Three en route to the final. 

Tsitsipas and Zverev’s victories at ATP Masters 1000 events in Monte-Carlo and Madrid, respectively, have put them among the favourites at this year’s event. But anyone counting out second seed Medvedev might be having second thoughts after seeing the Russian’s victory over Alexander Bublik in the opening round.

Medvedev scored a confidence-boosting 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 win over the dangerous Kazakh to book a place into the second round at Roland Garros for the first time.

“You could see it today in the match, I’m feeling that here, at least this year with this weather, with these balls, I can play like on hard courts,” Medvedev said afterward. “It doesn’t feel different than the Australian Open for me coming into this tournament.

“Now, when I’m coming to these big tournaments feeling like this, I know I’m capable of doing big things. [At the] Australian Open I was in the final. If I lose here in Roland Garros, it’s probably going to be because my opponent will play really good.”

Medvedev will face American Tommy Paul for the first time in the night session on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Unlike his countrymen, Paul, who grew up playing on green clay in North Carolina, enjoys a clay court and he arrives with momentum after reaching the semi-finals in Parma last week.

Zverev, the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals champion, and Tsitsipas, the 2019 winner, will take centre stage on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. Sixth seed Zverev turned heads at the Mutua Madrid Open after taking down Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem and Matteo Berrettini en route to his 15th tour-level title.

High on confidence and flying under the radar, the German was tested in his opening match against qualifier Oscar Otte, but prevailed in a marathon 3-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-0. The victory improved his perfect Roland Garros five-set record to 7-0. 

“I feel quite confident, maybe, in my physical stand. From that side, maybe I know I can go the distance,” Zverev reflected after the match. “I don’t always need to. I know that, but when I need to I feel comfortable doing that.”

Zverev will be hoping to avoid another lengthy battle as he takes on another qualifier, 24-year-old Russian Roman Safiullin, for the first time in the second round.

 

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Tsitsipas, the FedEx ATP Race To Turin frontrunner, will close out the action on Lenglen as he takes on 24-year-old Spaniard Pedro Martinez on Wednesday. Martinez made a statement after knocking out newly minted Parma champion Sebastian Korda to reach the second round for the second year in a row. 

The Greek player had to look inward during his opening match against Jeremy Chardy, who took him to a tie-break in the opening set. Tsitsipas responded by raising his level, and clinched a 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-1 victory to open his account in Paris. 

“I think the first tie-break was a game changer, in a way,” Tsitsipas said afterward. “I did a lot of psychology, a lot of positivity and kind of loosened me up a little bit. Starting the second set a bit more aggressive, starting a bit more free-spirited and those things contributed in breaking and raising my level.”

Another thing that might contribute? Tsitsipas leads the ATP Tour with 18 clay-court matches won, alongside Federico Delbonis and Albert Ramos-Vinolas. He has been one of the most rock-solid players on the terre battue this season after his maiden ATP Masters 1000 win at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and claiming his seventh tour-level title in Lyon. He also held a match point against Nadal in the Barcelona final. 

 

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Also on tap, 23rd seed Karen Khachanov will face Kei Nishikori on Court Philippe Chatrier. The unseeded Japanese player has reached three quarter-finals at Roland Garros, including as recently as 2019, and he’s got the clay-court credentials to back it up, winning back-to-back titles in Barcelona in 2014-15. Back to full health after battling injuries, Nishikori took down 2019 quarter-finalist Khachanov last month in Madrid to bring his ATP Head2Head record against the Russian to 3-2.

Casper Ruud, Fabio Fognini and Cristian Garin are also among the seeds continuing their Roland Garros campaigns on Wednesday. Ruud, the 15th seed, will face World No. 126 Kamil Majchrzak as he seeks a spot in the third round for the third time in a row. Fognini, the 27th seed, will take on Marton Fucsovics, looking to extend his 2-1 ATP Head2Head lead over the Hungarian, while 22nd seed Garin will face American Mackenzie McDonald for the first time. 

Click Here To View Full Day 4 Order Of Play.

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French Open: Carla Suarez Navarro narrowly misses win on return after cancer

Carla Suarez Navarro comes within two points of a fairytale win on her return at the French Open, a month after announcing she is cancer free.

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