Roland Garros Day 3 Update

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

It’s rare for the WTA and the ATP to not have parity in its seeds. But for a long time now the ATP’s top eight seeds are more of a lock for the quarters than their counterparts. And that does seem strange, but it’ll change. Azarenka and Kerber lost. With no Sharapova and Radwanska being pretty poor on clay, will Serena sweep to the title?

Let’s have a look at some matches that happened today. Most of the ATPs seeds are still going strong, even the smaller ones. Cilic lost but that wasn’t really surprising.

*Suicide Picks*
MS 1st Rd: Sousa d. Dzumhur {W}
MS 1st Rd: Chardy d. Pavlasek
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WS 1st Rd: Ivanovic d. Dodin {W}
WS 2nd Rd: Stephens d. Cepede Royg


CHATRIER: MURRAY D. STEPANEK
...Two of our top four seeds have had trouble with a tricky Czech. Murray needed two days and some three and a half hours to get through to the next round. Two points from defeat, at least his next match is easier. A rookie French qualifier will be waiting. Murray should win easily. Stepsy played some of his best tennis in the first two sets and won those 6-3, 6-3. But Murray cruised through the fourth in 18 minutes and won it at love. In the next set Stepanek delayed and played for time as much as possible. It was clear he was struggling in the fading light. He was even spotted fiddling with his contacts. Of course, it mattered little as the next day Murray held serve twice to take us to a fifth. Only Djokovic has beaten him in five this decade. He has also not lost in the first round of any slam since Tsonga did for him in 2008. In the last set they both played some stunning tennis with the veteran net-rushing and causing Murray all sorts of trouble. But when Murray held firm at 4-5, Stepanek melted away. The dramatic collapse sent the oldest player in the draw out and handed Murray victory.
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CHATRIER: DJOKOVIC D. LU
...There was stern resistance from Lu in the first set of this opening round clash, but the Asian soon faded away. He did break Djokovic at least. That is something you and I are unlikely to ever achieve. Djokovic rolled through 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 in around an hour and a half. It was a composed performance from a man who lost his last match. 35 winners and 7 breaks were icing on the cake. Djokovic even won double his opponent's points. In a funny quirk the last time he had played Lu was that Wimbledon quarterfinal. Listening to the excellent Jim Courier did remind this BACKSPINNER that Djokovic has a lot of subtle attributes and his game is a tennis connoisseur's dream. To so lightly dismiss him is incorrect. Next up is an old foe in the form of Steve Darcis. It will be entertaining and it will be straight sets. Our top seed marches on.
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LENGLEN: NADAL D. GROTH
...So badly was Groth battered he was smiling as he departed the court. Nadal needed 80 minutes to sweep past the Aussie 6-1, 6-1, 6-1. This was Rafa at his sparkling best. And from the guy who bought you this:



came this:



He never faced a break point but he broke eight times, lost five points on serve and hit three errors. His opponent won just 38 points. This was domination like you won’t see again. This would have been humiliating anywhere else, but Rafa on clay is excusable humiliation. Nadal even won some 60 per cent of return points. Who is next to the guillotine? Facundo Bagnis is an extremely competent player but he must next face the gauntlet, the buzz saw that is Rafa Nadal.
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CHATRIER: TSONGA D. STRUFF
...Another Frenchie on a show court. Another straight sets win. Would you like to see something interesting? How about watching Azarenka try - and fail - to smash a racket? Yes I thought you might like to see that. [not viewable in all countries - tds]

Mohamed Taha Zaher ,,,, ??? ???? ?? ?? https://t.co/clWcwne32v

— Tamer A. El Nashar (@Tamer145) May 24, 2016

It was Tsonga this time who rolled through. He followed Gasquet’s shining example. Less consistent than Gasquet at slams but with a better set of results at each slam than his compatriot, the firepower of last year’s semi-finalist proved too much. It was a messy match with both players hitting too many errors. Tsonga broke four times but he still lost his serve to the lefty German. Jo came through 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to move through to the second round. You can be certain he’ll make a deep run at here or at Wimbledon. Baghdatis and then Gulbis or Sousa are his next two opponents. We’re going to find out exactly how well he’s playing.
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COURT ONE: BERDYCH D. POSPISIL
...When the last match you played you got no games, the next match comes with pressure. If that match is in a slam and against a tricky opponent then the response to that has to be fantastic. We saw Berdych’s top ten credentials as he blew away Pospisil on court one. The Canadian got to triple digits in minutes on court but was out of his depth in the 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 loss. Berdych broke eight times though he did lose serve twice. Berdman is back in business here. Should he make a run some positive increases in his ranking are more than possible. He faces Jaziri next. The Tunisian has won a small title this year and will be a tricky opponent for a little while. Expect Berdych to romp home, however.
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OUTER COURT SELECTION: THIEM d. CERVANTES
...Yes, Ferrer did defeat Donskoy but he and Thiem are trending in opposite directions. Ferrer cruised through but the Austrian was made to work. He edged it 3-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-1. Thiem, decked out in a zebra print outfit, hit 42 winners across the four sets and never looked realistically like he could lose the match to the Spaniard. The Austrian is a decent shout to make the semi-finals. To do so he needs to work on not dropping sets to players like Cervantes. It comes back to bite you in the end. Up next is Garcia-Lopez in what will be a great match, but a horror draw.
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Kiki beat Schiavone 6-2, 6-4. She had a solid win and was particularly good at winning points on serve. Next up is Babos with the winner getting Williams. The same Williams who won in 40 minutes today. In the doubles she is seeded 5th. Errani/Arruabarrena are the 12th seeds but the second seeds lurk in this quarter. Also here are the Williamses, though whether they will play is anyone’s guess. They will open with Beck/Wickmayer.


Thanks all and visit WTA BACKSPIN please.

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