Roland Garros Day 6: Nadal Suddenly at His Nadir

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

Yes, I am a fool. A giant fool. But more on that later.

Here is a paragraph I have shamelessly taken from Sports Illustrated:

“In the third set, Cornet, visibly cramping, took treatment on five changeovers. She claims that she was treated for separate injuries and not for the cramps. While Cornet did not, technically, violate the rules, she sure bent them. That she is a player known for her theatrics only made the situation more fraught. Cornet won in three sets, but Maria, disgusted and dejected, refused to shake her opponent’s hand. I am also told that Maria’s husband and Cornet’s coach had to be physically restrained outside the locker room. “

And below is the video of that.



In other news Karlovic lost the most amount of games in two sets he has ever lost, losing five against Murray. Only two other times has he lost five. There was this insanity, too

WUT just happened?! Ninjas unite on Lenglen. #RG16 https://t.co/X0WTf1a3NA

— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) May 27, 2016

And as for Nadal, well, he can tell you himself.



His left wrist has never been one of the issues. That’s usually more Del Potro’s area of weakness. Rafa’s legs for once are not the issues. And surely this must be it. If this isn’t what pushes Nadal into retirement, what is? If the wrist, which is his entire game, is starting to fade then surely his time is limited. He’s 30 next week. He has been playing at this level since 2002, when he was just 15. What are we going to do without him?

It really is strange at Roland Garros this year. What else happened today?

*Suicide Picks*
MS 1st Rd: Sousa d. Dzumhur {W}
MS 2nd Rd: Chardy d. Pavlasek {W}
MS 3rd Rd: Isner d. Gabashvili {W}
MS 4th Rd: Raonic d. Ramos-Vinolas
==
WS 1st Rd: Ivanovic d. Dodin {W}
WS 2nd Rd: Stephens d. Cepede Royg {W}
WS 3rd Rd: Kuznetsova d. Pavlyuchenkova {W}
WS 4th Rd: TBA



CHATRIER: GASQUET D. KYRGIOS
...It is another fourth round for Gasquet and his sparkling backhand. He is having a consistent but ultimately frustrating career. He always seems to be just short. He put together a performance that may be the most complete you see all summer. He was too cool-headed and too consistent for the fiery Kyrgios. Stunning rallies were the currency in the Frenchman’s 6-2, 7-6[7], 6-2 victory. His backhand was supreme and he has to use it against Nishikori, his next opponent. Kyrgios complained of a shoulder issue and was booed off the court in another memorable performance. He has made back to back third round appearances here. And that is not unimpressive unless it is compared to his other slams. He should get a fourth round seeding at Wimbledon, but we will see. Kyrgios hit 44 errors, while Gasquet hit just 18. The Frenchie broke five times and won more second serve points. Ritchie will need to be more than just on form against Kei.
=============================
CHATRIER: WAWRINKA D. CAHARDY
...Somehow flying under the radar, Wawrinka didn’t even need two hours to see off Chardy 6-4, 6-3, 7-5. Usually people notice the defending champ, but Stanimal is hiding in the shadows waiting to strike. With Murray looking questionable Wawrinka could very easily make it to the final. There aren’t any players in this half of the draw he need fear. Well, not on clay anyway. Avoid the upset and see off Murray, he will be in the final. He is really playing big tennis now, clocking 36 winners and five breaks. He is also winning 75% of first and second serve points. And the other thing about Stan is the more this BACKSPINNER sees the luminous outfit the less he dislikes it.
=============================
LENGLEN: MURRAY D. KARLOVIC
...You know you’re going to have a bad day when you’re 7 foot tall but get lobbed on break point. After struggling past an old man and an unheralded French qualifier, Murray stormed past his first seed. He beat Karlovic 6-1, 6-4, 7-6[3] to book a place against another big server. Karlovic won less than 50 per cent of 2nd serves. Murray really took away his serve and once he did that it was all over. Incredibly Murray went 34-4 on winners to errors. He broke three times and was never troubled on his serve. It was a consummate performance and it came from nowhere. Now comes Isner in his first fourth round appearance here. He has more weapons than Karlovic, has pushed Nadal to five here previously and is going on with nothing to lose. This is going to go four at least.
=============================
LENGLEN: TROICKI D. SIMON
...This could be the end of Simon, though the decay started when he lost that match to Djokovic. Troicki won 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. It was comprehensive, easy. It was child’s play. It was six breaks to one, and a combined 70 unforced errors. Neither player played well but Simon was abysmal. Troicki was solid enough to see himself through. On any given day at a slam there’s always a dud match. This was it. Now Troicki is through to face third seed Wawrinka and that is a massive potential banana skin for the Swiss. Having beaten Dimitrov earlier, too, the Serb is set to rise 3 places to 21. His highest ranking is 12. Troicki has also equaled his best performance at five of the last six slams. Can he finally improve on one of them?
=============================
COURT ONE: NIISHIKORI D. VERDASCO
...It may have taken three and a half hours but Kei has made it through to the fourth round of a slam again. Verdasco threw the kitchen sink, bathroom sink and a toilet seat at the Japanese man but it was not enough. Ferver came back from the dead but even that proved fruitless. No, it was Nishikori who prevailed 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 6-4. Ferver hit twice the winners and even managed to keep the errors down. In this match of eight breaks apiece, it was the Spaniard’s second serve that proved the difference. He won only 40 per cent of points on his second delivery. Ferver actually won more points and they both won 23 games but it was somehow the 5th seed who escaped again. Kei really is Houdini-like; he is impossible to put away. But if his next match against Gasquet goes four or five, how will his energy levels hold up?
=============================
OUTER COURT SELECTION: RAMOS-VINOLOS d. SOCK
...The Spaniard has had his best ever performance at this level. It was always going to come on clay, too. In some four hours he triumphed 6-7[2], 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. So grateful for the win was the Spaniard he kissed the clay. He is set to rise from outside the top fifty to inside the top forty with the win. Sock hit 65 winners but 76 errors while the Spaniard was a very good 50-39. It was small margins in this match, decided by 7 breaks to 5. Of course, the Spaniard has little chance against Raonic on paper, but this match will be played on clay and not on paper. Can he spring one of the upsets of the year and see himself into a maiden quarterfinal?
=============================

Mladenovic/Garcia won their opener today. They beat Beck/Wickmayer 6-4, 6-2. They won 80 per cent of first serve points, too. The 5th seeds play Johansson/Parmentier next, probably on Sunday. With the 2nd and 12th seeds going out, the French pairing will not play a seed until the semi-finals, but the Williams sisters do lurk. Kiki is up second on Chatrier tomorrow and will attempt to win a handful of games against Williams. She will do better than expected, but the result will not go her way. Sometime in the afternoon she goes to Court 3 and plays her mixed. She is with Herbert playing against Parra-Santonja/Pavic. They are seeded third. Don’t forget Kiki has won two mixed slams and reached the final here. She has also reached the semi-finals in New York. All of those were consecutive with Nestor from 2013-14.


Thanks all and visit WTA BACKSPIN please.

Read more!