I usually like preparing my day at Roland Garros, and write down the matches I want to watch but more often than not I end up watching different matches than those planned. I had in mind to attend either Coric-Fritz on court 8 or Bouchard-Siegemund on court 16. But given the long long long queues to enter the stadium and the queue to access court 16, I made my way to court 17 as I wanted to watch the end of the match between 2010 French Open finalist Sam Stosur and Misaki Doi. But first on court 17, 74-ranked Qiang Wang faces 17-year-old French wild card Tessah Andrianjafitrimo.
Qiang Wang defeats Tessah Andrianjafitrimo 6-0 6-0
I have nothing against that player I had never heard of before, but I really don’t get why Roland Garros officials awarded a wild card to Tessah Andrianjafitrimo who is ranked 311th and has never won a WTA match. 6-0 6-0 for Wang in an hour… no comment.
Tougher than expected for Andy Murray who needs 3 sets to defeat Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters. Murray had his best clay season last year, with wins in Munich and Madrid, as well as a semifinal in Roland Garros. How well do you think he will play on clay this year?
Kei Nishikori defeats Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-5 2-6 6-3 6-4
Kei Nishikori survived a right wrist injury scare to defeat 26th-seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in four sets.
Lacoste has unveiled its ambassadors’ outfits for the upcoming Australian Open. As always, classic and elegant:
World number 18 Benoit Paire:
World number 31 Jérémy Chardy:
Doubles specialist Pierre-Hugues Herbert:
Stay tuned for more Australian Open coverage on Tennis Buzz, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
As you already know I spent a few days in Paris to attend the BNP Paribas Masters. Nadal, Djokovic, Federer… I’ve had the chance to watch the best battle for the number 1 spot or for a qualification to the ATP Finals in London. Here’s a quick recap of my week.
Day 0 (Sunday, October 27 )
Paris. Last time I was in Paris was in May for the French Open, but the weather is the same: it rains. No tennis for me today but a walk on the Seine waterfront. You can read here about all my wanderings in Paris during the week.
Today is the last day of the qualifiers. Matches are played on courts 1 and 2 (300 spectators each), the reduced capacity of these courts means that spectators are close to the players. Santiago Giraldo, Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Michal Przysiesny, Bernard Tomic, Igor Sijsling and Robin Haase qualify for the main draw.
Day 1 (Monday, October 28 )
No schedule nonsense like last year, and some interesting matches on Centre Court for the day session:
– Lukas Rosol defeats Jérémy Chardy 6-3 6-4
– Feliciano Lopez – Bernard Tomic: an hard-fought victory for Feliciano.
– Fernando Verdasco – Ernests Gulbis: another Spaniard against another headcase.
The day session ends quite early and we are allowed to watch Federer practising. He seems really relaxed and jokes with Michael Llodra. On the other half of the court Nishikori warms up seriously with a sparring partner.
– Kei Nishikori – Julien Benneteau: a solid performance by the Japanese player.
– in the other match of the night session, qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert beats Benoit Paire 6-2 6-2. Booed by the crowd for his lackadaisical play, Paire calls the spectators morons. Yep, a really nice guy that Paire.
On court 1, Marin Cilic -who comes back after a four month doping-ban- defeats Igor Sisjling in 3 sets. Other results:
Santiago Giraldo def. Adrian Mannarino 6-3 2-6 6-4
Robin Haase def. Denis Istomin 7-6 6-3
Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Andreas Seppi 6-3 3-6 6-4
Day 2 (Tuesday, October 29 )
A beautiful day today in Paris. Before tennis, a visit to the Musée des Arts Forains and a walk in the Parc de Bercy.
– I missed the first match on Centre Court, Grigor Dimitrov – Michael Llodra: 6-7 6-3 6-3 for Dimitrov, Llodra announces 2014 will be his last year on the circuit.
– Pablo Andujar – Vacek Popisil: an unexpected win for the 28 year old Spaniard. Andujar was at home in Valencia when he received a call announcing him the forfeit of Gael Monfils. He replaced him in the main draw and got past the young Canadian.
– Richard Gasquet – Fernando Verdasco: with this win, the Frenchman moves a bit closer to the ATP Finals.
A hot dog, a glimpse at Djokovic practice, and I’m ready for the night session and the second round match between Kei Nishikori and Jo Wilfried Tsonga, hands down the most entertaining match I’ve watched all week.
– next match on center court is Djokovic against Herbert, let’s say I’m not Djokovic biggest fan, so I pass. The world number 189 has two set points before losing to the world number 2 in straight sets.
Other results:
Michal Przysiezny def. Jarkko Nieminen 6-3 7-6
Nicolas Mahut def. Alexander Dolgopolov 7-6 6-1
Ivan Dodig def. Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-6 6-4
Marcel Granollers def. Dmitry Tursunov 6-4 6-4
Kevin Anderson def. Mikhail Youzhny 4-6 7-6 2-1 ret.
Day 3 (Wednesday, October 30 )
Nadal, Federer, Ferrer, Del Potro: the big names are out on court today.
– Gilles Simon – Nicolas Mahut: Simon wins the 3 hours battle opposing the two French players. I was quite surprised to see the crowd was really pro-Simon, wonder why because he must have one of the most boring game ever, and let’s not talk about his personnality.
– Juan Martin Del Potro – Marin Cilic: Cilic’ coach Goran Ivanisevic in the stands to watch his player lose to recent Basel winner, Del Potro.
– Rafael Nadal – Marcel Granollers: the indoor court at Bercy is far from Nadal’s favourite surface but he’s targeting a strong finish to the year. 7-5 7-5 victory for the world number, who was playing his first match in four years at Bercy.
Other results:
David Ferrer def. Lukas Rosol 6-0 2-6 6-3
John Isner def. Michal Przysiezny 7-6 4-6 6-3
Nicolas Almagro def. Ivan Dodig 6-4 6-3
Stanislas Wawrinka def. Feliciano Lopez 6-3 3-6 6-3
Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Tommy Haas 6-2 6-2
Tomas Berdych def. Pablo Andujar 6-2 7-5
Roger Federer def. Kevin Anderson 6-4 6-4
Day 4 (Thursday, October 31 )
No tennis for me today, but a visit to the Manufacture des Gobelins, and a street art tour in the 13th arrondissement.
No surprise at Bercy today: all the favorites are through to the quarter-finals. For the first time in the tournament history, the eight quarter-finalists are qualified for the ATP Finals in London.
Stanislas Wawrinka def. Nicolas Almagro 6-3 6-2
David Ferrer def. Gilles Simon (FRA/15) 6-2 6-3
Novak Djokovic def. John Isner 6-7 6-1 6-2
Juan Martin Del Potro def. Grigor Dimitrov 3-6 6-3 6-4
Roger Federer def. Philipp Kolhschreiber 6-3 6-4
Tomas Berdych def. Milos Raonic 7-6 6-4
Richard Gasquet def. Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-2
Rafael Nadal def. Jerzy Janowicz 7-5 6-4
Day 5 (Friday, November 1 )
Last day of my vacation in Paris today, but before I leave, a walk in Chinatown on the morning and two quarter-finals on the afternoon: read the complete quarter-finals recap here.
Hope you enjoyed this recap, you can find all Bercy 2013 articles here.
