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French Open 2017: Juan Martin del Potro consoles injured Nicolas Almagro

  • Posted: Jun 01, 2017
French Open
Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Dates: 28 May- 11 June
Coverage: Listen to live radio commentary and follow text coverage of selected matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online.

Juan Martin del Potro consoled opponent Nicolas Almagro after the Spaniard quit their French Open match in tears with a knee injury with the scores level.

The Argentine helped a sobbing Almagro from the court and will now face Andy Murray in the third round.

Del Potro is playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2012 having suffered a series of injuries.

“I told him that tennis is important, but health matters more than tennis in this case,” Del Potro, 28, said.

“He was in agony. It was tough.”

  • Murray comes from behind to beat Klizan

Former US Open champion Del Potro, who is now ranked 30th in the world, took the first set 6-3 only for Almagro to level with the same score. The third set was tied at 1-1 when the Spaniard was forced to concede.

Del Potro injured a groin in the opening set, which affected his movement, but he said it was “not a source of concern” for his match against Murray.

“Today I think I got lucky, because I don’t feel good enough with my body,” he added.

“It’s not new. Last year I had some problems with my groin. This is something that I have experienced already.”

Wawrinka powers through

Elsewhere, third seed and former champion Stan Wawrinka progressed to round three with victory over Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov.

The Swiss, 32, won 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 against the world number 89.

But 13th seed Tomas Berdych has been knocked out, losing 7-5 6-4 6-4 to world number 53 Karen Khachanov.

Controversial Australian 18th seed Nick Kyrgios, who has never gone past the third round at Roland Garros, is also out after he was beaten 5-7 6-4 6-1 6-2 by South African Kevin Anderson.

Kyrgios, 22, destroyed two rackets – including one that he smashed six times on a cooler – and was given a penalty point at the end of the second set.

World number 56 Anderson goes on to play Britain’s Kyle Edmund, who has reached the last 32 in Paris for the first time.

Seventh seed Marin Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion, reached the third round with a 6-3 6-2 6-2 win over Russia’s Konstantin Kravchuk.

Japan’s Kei Nishikori, the eighth seed, progressed by beating Jeremy Chardy 6-3 6-0 7-6 (7-5).

France’s 15th seed Gael Monfils beat Thiago Monteiro 6-1 6-4 6-1 in just 91 minutes, while it took Spain’s Feliciano Lopez almost four hours to beat compatriot David Ferrer in five sets.

Top seeds through in women’s draw

Czech second seed Karolina Pliskova is into the third round of the women’s singles for the first time after a 6-2 4-6 6-3 win over Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Third seed Simona Halep eased through with a routine win against Germany’s Tatjana Maria.

The 25-year-old Romanian, a beaten finalist at Roland Garros in 2014, progressed in an hour and 22 minutes.

Elsewhere, fifth seed Elina Svitolina came from behind to beat Tsvetana Pironkova 3-6 6-3 6-2.

Ninth seed Agnieszka Radwanska also dropped the first set but recovered to win 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 6-3 against Alison Van Uytvanck.

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French Open 2017: Andy Murray fights back to reach Roland Garros third round

  • Posted: Jun 01, 2017
French Open
Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Dates: 28 May-11 June
Coverage: Listen to live radio commentary and follow text coverage of selected matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online.

World number one Andy Murray came from a set down to beat unseeded Slovakian Martin Klizan in the French Open second round.

The Briton won 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-3) and goes on to face Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro.

It was Murray’s 18th win of a season that has been interrupted by illness and injury.

British number two Kyle Edmund also progressed after beating Renzo Olivo 7-5 6-3 6-1.

The 22-year-old Yorkshireman will next play South Africa’s Kevin Anderson, who beat Australian Nick Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 6-1 6-2.

Del Potro, seeded 29th after his own injury struggles, went through when his opponent Nicolas Almagro retired at one set all.

Asked about facing former US Open champion Del Potro as early as the third round, Murray said: “It’s a tough match. In my opinion he’s one of the best players in the world.”

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Murray made to work hard

Murray needed three hours and 34 minutes to see off Klizan, the world number 50, and claim his second four-set win of the week.

The Scot, 30, could again be heard to complain he was struggling with his movement, but once again his form improved as the match wore on.

“I’m playing way better than I was two weeks ago, and today’s match will have done me a lot of good,” said Murray.

“Physically I pulled up well and felt good, so I will gain a lot of confidence from that. And also, I hit a lot of balls out there today, more than the first-round match.”

It could have been a much quicker afternoon on the Suzanne Lenglen Court had Murray completed a comeback from a break down in the first set.

Having weathered the expected early storm from his big-hitting opponent, Murray drew level at 5-5 only to play a poor tie-break and fall a set behind.

Klizan, 27, began the match with his left calf heavily strapped and it was no surprise that his level dropped in the second set.

Murray raced through seven straight games and when he made it 11 out of 13 to take a two-sets-to-one lead, there looked no way back for the Slovakian.

He was offered a lifeline early in the fourth thanks to a wayward Murray forehand and made it through to 5-3, only to fail once again when trying to serve out the set.

Klizan was broken for the sixth time when he framed a smash over the baseline and, despite brilliantly saving one match point, saw his challenge end in another tie-break.

Murray lunged to his right to send a superb volley past the Slovakian on the second match point.

“Consistency is definitely what I’m looking for,” Murray told BBC Sport.

“I felt a little bit more in control of the first-round match than I did today. At times today I played some very solid stuff.

“The most positive things for me are physically I felt good after a pretty long match in tough conditions, and also I made some quite significant changes during the match to my tactics.”

A career first for Edmund

Edmund’s progress was considerably easier as he beat Argentina’s Olivo, ranked 91st in the world, in straight sets.

It is the first time the 22-year-old has progressed to the third round of the French Open after being knocked out in round two in 2015 and 2016.

The world number 49 dropped just nine games, hitting 30 winners along the way, 18 on his impressive forehand side.

“There was a stage when I really felt the match turn in my favour and helped me get on top,” said Edmund.

“Olivo had beaten Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last round and I knew I had to play well today. I am pleased I got it done.”

Analysis

Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent

Murray expended more energy than is ideal in a first-week Grand Slam match, but time on the match court is important right now – and every win valuable. He is starting to play very well for periods of a match and now seeks to add the consistency required.

Edmund knows he has a formidable game when he is on song and is learning to trust his instincts in the Grand Slams. He beat Richard Gasquet and John Isner in his run to the fourth round of the US Open last year and will emulate that with a victory over the slightly lower-ranked Kevin Anderson on Saturday.

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Court a racist and homophobe – Navratilova

  • Posted: Jun 01, 2017

Eighteen-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova has renewed her call for the Margaret Court Arena to be renamed – describing the Australian as a “racist and a homophobe”.

Court, 74, has said she would not fly on Qantas “where possible” in protest at its support of same-sex marriage.

She then told a Christian radio station “tennis is full of lesbians”.

In an open letter, Navratilova said: “We should not be celebrating this kind of behaviour.”

The 60-year-old addressed her letter to the Margaret Court Arena, one of the main show courts at the Australian Open.

She said: “It is now clear exactly who Court is: an amazing tennis player, and a racist and a homophobe.

“Her vitriol is not just an opinion. She is actively trying to keep LGBT people from getting equal rights (note to Court: we are human beings, too).”

In 1990, Court said Navratilova was a poor role model for young tennis players because of her homosexuality.

Navratilova said she had forgiven Court for those comments, but had only just been made aware of remarks the Australian made about South Africa’s apartheid regime.

In 1970, Court said: “South Africa has the racial situation rather better organised than anyone else, certainly much better than the United States.”

Court won 24 Grand Slam singles titles, 11 of them in the Open era, which began in 1968 and allowed professionals to compete alongside amateurs.

Navratilova described Court’s actions as “bullying” and said sporting venues are named after athletes for “who they are as human beings” and “not just for what this person did on the field”.

“The platform people like Margaret Court use needs to be made smaller, not bigger,” she said.

Navratilova believes the Margaret Court Arena should be renamed after Evonne Goolagong, a 14-time Grand Slam winner of Australian Aboriginal descent.

“I think the Evonne Goolagong Arena has a great ring to it,” she added. “Now there is a person we can all celebrate. On every level.”

Analysis

BBC Sport tennis correspondent Russell Fuller:

Freedom of speech is one thing, but Margaret Court has caused widespread offence within tennis with these most recent remarks.

Tennis Australia has so far tried to separate Court’s views from her achievements as a player to argue the name of the arena does not need to change. But they will find it very hard to withstand such pressure from figures like Martina Navratilova. And the current generation of players have much influence, too.

Andy Murray, who is a member of the ATP Player Council, says it would be difficult for players to boycott a particular court during a Grand Slam. But he points out they could collectively agree a position before the tournament, which would make life very difficult indeed for Tennis Australia.

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Bryan Brothers Survive Upset-Filled First Round

  • Posted: Jun 01, 2017

Bryan Brothers Survive Upset-Filled First Round

May312017

Kyrgios/Thompson defeat Herbert/Mahut on Wednesday

It’s anyone’s guess who will take the doubles title at Roland Garros after a wild first round filled with upsets. For the first time in the Open Era at this event, the top two seeds have not passed the opening hurdle. The last time this happened at a Grand Slam was at the 2015 US Open.

Third seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan avoided an early-round casualty on Wednesday with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Philipp Petzschner and Alexander Peya. The Bryan brothers, finalists in the past two years at Roland Garros, are looking to win their third crown at this event. They’ll next play Sam Groth and Robert Lindstedt, who survived Brian Baker and Nikola Mektic 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(3).

Second seeds and local favourites Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut weren’t as fortunate, falling to Aussie duo Nick Kyrgios and Jordan Thompson 7-6(8), 4-6, 6-3. Kyrgios/Thompson saved three set points at 4-5 in the opening set and another in the tie-break at 7/8. They’ll face off in the second round against Jan-Lennard Struff and Mischa Zverev, who defeated wild cards Gregoire Jacq and Hugo Nys 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

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Fourth seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo overcame a spirited challenge from local favourites Julien Benneteau and Jeremy Chardy to advance 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. The win also gives Melo his 400th career ATP World Tour doubles victory. The in-form Kubot/Melo will square off against Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus for a spot in the round of 16.

Seventh seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers eased past Marcus Daniell and Marcelo Demoliner 6-4, 6-4. Next up for them are Malek Jaziri and Andreas Seppi, who needed two hours and 20 minutes to defeat Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 6-4.

Ninth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Pablo Cuevas had a much easier time, requiring just 53 minutes to move past local duo Mathias Bourgue and Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-1, 6-1. They’ll play Treat Huey and Denis Istomin in the next round.

Other seeded duos to advance on Wednesday include 12th seeds Marcin Matkowski and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, and 15th seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic.

Go inside the tournament at RolandGarros.com

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Tearful Johnson Says Dad 'Was Looking Down On Me'

  • Posted: Jun 01, 2017

Tearful Johnson Says Dad 'Was Looking Down On Me'

May312017

American reaches Roland Garros third round after family tragedy

It would be understandable to anyone if Steve Johnson decided to take time away from tennis after the unexpected and tragic passing of his father, Steve Johnson Sr., on May 11 at age 58. Instead, the American bravely returned to competition last week in Geneva, and completed a dramatic 6-2, 7-6(8), 3-6, 7-6(6) second-round victory over #NextGenATP Croatian Borna Coric on Wednesday to match best result at this event. The events of the past three weeks and tension of the match boiled over after the final point, as Johnson dropped to his knees and burst into tears after the win.

“I just miss my dad. I wish he was following along. I know he is upstairs,” said a visibly emotional Johnson in his on-court interview with Tennis Channel. “I know he was looking down on me on that last point and gave me the strength to finish it off.

“Physically, I’m okay. Emotionally, I’m a mess,” he added. “[My dad] always taught me to be a fighter and competitor, so that’s what I’m going to do day in and day out. That’s all I can do.”

It was standing room only on Court 6 by the end of the match, with the vocal Parisian crowd adding to an already electric atmosphere. Johnson saved two set points in the second-set tie-break, at 5/6 and 7/8, and another pair of set points in the fourth-set tie-break at 7/8. He converted on his fourth match point at 7/6 after nearly four hours of play.

Johnson’s path to the third round would have been considered treacherous under normal circumstances. Johnson prevailed on Monday in a five-set win over Yuichi Sugita that spanned two days. The American won the first two sets on Sunday, but darkness halted the match midway through the fourth set. He regrouped strongly after Sugita forced a decider the next day and powered through the final set.

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Johnson Sr. worked as a tennis coach and was known as a true devotee of the sport, happy to talk about tennis with anyone who was willing. Even though Johnson has devoted his life to the sport as an ATP World Tour player, he said his father was even more dedicated to the game than him.

“Tennis was his life and his passion, so much more than mine in different ways. He loved tennis and loved to talk about it. I’ll admit it got a little old for me because sometimes I like to get away from tennis,” smiled Johnson during his post-match press conference. “I’ll always look back on these memories and these times we were able to share together tennis-wise.

“He meant a lot to me, but you don’t necessarily realise what he was able to do and who he was able to touch beyond his family’s life,” he added. “I could have told you bits and pieces, but now I’m getting stories of what he was able to accomplish through tennis and how he was able to help a lot of kids. He’s just a remarkable man.”

Johnson will try to channel his emotions as best he can for his next match against sixth seed Dominic Thiem. The match will likely be held on one of the stadium courts at Roland Garros, adding further motivation for what would have been a memorable moment for his dad to witness.

“I’m proud to say he was able to live out some of his dreams. He got to see me on Centre Court at Wimbledon and Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open. The last match he saw me play live was against Roger Federer at the BNP Paribas Open, which was a great match,” said Johnson. “There are some fun memories that I can look back on and know he was there.” 

But regardless of the final score against Thiem, Johnson has gained plenty of new fans over the past two weeks for his courage and bravery in the face of adversity.

“A tremendous heart on him,” noted Tennis Channel commentator Mary Carillo. “He’s always wanted to be like his dad and guess what? He’s just like his dad. What a special man.”

Go inside the tournament at RolandGarros.com

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Confident Raonic Serves Past Clay-Court Veteran

  • Posted: May 31, 2017

Confident Raonic Serves Past Clay-Court Veteran

May312017

Goffin, Garcia-Lopez also advance in Paris

Milos Raonic relied on his most destructive weapon – his serve – to fight back and prevail against a clay-court veteran on Wednesday at Roland Garros. The fifth-seeded Canadian struck 25 aces, including four in the final game, to beat Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 and move into the third round.

“There’s some pluses to take out of it, some things I definitely want to do better. Obviously, I was very competitive. I felt a little bit sluggish to start. Sort of let him really into it, and you could see that he started believing after a while, and that’s always a dangerous state. I managed to weather the storm and hold it out throughout that match,” Raonic said.

Raonic remains on track to match his best showing in Paris, the quarter-finals in 2014, when he fell to Novak Djokovic. The 6’5” right-hander fell in the fourth round last year to Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

This fortnight, however, Raonic arrives at the season’s second Grand Slam with newfound reasons for optimism. He reached his first clay-court final at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open this month before falling to then-World No. 8 Marin Cilic.

At the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, Raonic was edged out in the quarter-finals by eventual champion Alexander Zverev. Last week in Lyon, Raonic again made a deep run, making the last four before falling to Czech veteran Tomas Berdych.

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The Canadian also has his health in Paris. Earlier this year, he had to withdraw from matches in Delray Beach and Miami, and had to completely miss Acapulco and Indian Wells.

Still, Raonic’s second-round match against Dutra Silva was anything but straightforward. Fifteen of Dutra Silva’s 21 tour-level wins have come on clay, and the 33 year old favours the surface more than any other, having played eight of his 10 tour-level events this season on clay.

Dutra Silva broke twice to take the first set, but Raonic responded, breaking in the sixth and eighth games of the second set to even the match. In the third set, at 3-2, Raonic converted his fifth break point of the game to go up 4-2 before eventually taking the set.

The Canadian was at his best in the fourth and final set. At 4-4, with Dutra Silva serving, Raonic lost his first six break points. But on Raonic’s seventh chance, Dutra Silva netted a forehand and the Brazilian wouldn’t touch another ball. Literally. Raonic served four consecutive aces to end the match.

He said it was at least the third time he’s finished a tour-level match with four straight aces. “I could name three matches off the top of my head: today; Robin Haase in Paris indoors; and my first match, I think it was against [Carlos] Berlocq the year I lost second round at Wimbledon [2013],” Raonic said.

The fifth seed will next face Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who beat Argentine qualifier Marco Trungelliti 7-5, 6-4, 7-5. Raonic leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-0 but their last match was three years ago.

In other action, 10th seed David Goffin saw 16 break points and converted four of them to advance to the third round 6-2, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 against Ukrainian qualifier Sergiy Stakhovsky. Last year, Goffin achieved his best result at a Grand Slam when he reached the Roland Garros quarter-finals (l. to Thiem).

Goffin will next face Argentine Horacio Zeballos, who withstood 29 aces from Croatian Ivo Karlovic to advance 7-6(5), 7-6(5), 6-3 in two hours and 13 minutes.

Go inside the tournament at RolandGarros.com.

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Beaten Bedene will 'fight on' to play for GB

  • Posted: May 31, 2017
French Open
Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Dates: 28 May- 11 June
Coverage: Listen to live radio commentary and follow text coverage of selected matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online.

Aljaz Bedene was knocked out of the French Open in the second round by Jiri Vesely – but then said he “will fight” to represent Britain over his native Slovenia.

The British number three lost 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-3 to Czech Vesely at Roland Garros on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old then clarified earlier comments suggesting he might switch allegiance back to Slovenia.

“I really want to play for Great Britain and I’m still hoping,” he said.

“I haven’t really thought anything outside of that.”

Bedene became a British citizen in 2015 but has been unable to overturn a ban preventing him from representing Great Britain in the Davis Cup.

After his first-round win on Monday, he said he hopes to play at the Olympics and to do so players must be available for the Davis Cup.

“I read a few interviews, and I don’t actually remember what I was saying because I get nervous,” he added.

“But until it looks like it’s done, it’s not done yet for me.”

Great Britain Davis Cup captain Leon Smith said: “As a player of course you want to the play at the Olympics – that’s why we want to help and get him available for selection as those players already in the team are.”

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Bedene’s French Open campaign ended with defeat by Vesely over two hours and 52 minutes.

The world number 52 started sloppily and, while he was able to win the third set, he had no answer to the tall Czech.

The pair played out a 13-minute final game, but Vesely went through when Bedene hooked a cross-court shot narrowly wide.

World number one Andy Murray and Kyle Edmund are now the only Britons left in the tournament.

“I fought really well and I’m proud of that but disappointed to lose, especially after I thought I was better in the fourth set,” said Bedene.

“I have to learn from it, especially when those first two sets weren’t great.

“Then I played well and started to show myself that if I can play my game. I can beat those guys.”

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