French Open Days 2-3: Down Goes Zverev!

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

First things first. Kissing anyone when they don't want it is only acceptable in bedroom situations agreed upon by both parties beforehand. Apart from that, just try to avoid it. Tennis needs to quit it with these headlines now. First Margaret Court, who Andy Murray ironically criticised, and now this. Even the French are pretty shocked.

In the men's doubles the top seeds, Henri Kontinen and John Peers lost to David Marrero and Tommy Robredo 7-6[3], 6-3. In that same quarter, Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos beat the defending champions, the Lopez's, 6-2, 6-3. There are going to be more shocks along the way. Men's doubles used to be fairly consistent. Even ten years ago it was fairly reliable. Now it is a mess. The talent is there, the personalities are there and so are the storylines. But a lack of raw star power, popularity in general, and lack of consistency is causing problems.

Mixed doubles is one of my favourite 'sports' in the world and it too does not get the attention it deserves. Tennis really needs to sell doubles better. But it is difficult when the stars crash out in the first round.

In other news, Nick Kyrgios survived his many injuries and looked good in his straight sets win over Philipp Kohlschreiber. He fired 20 aces in the 6-3, 7-6[3], 6-3 win. Tomas Berdych and Gael Monfils also went through.

And a BACKSPIN favourite did, as well. Hyeon Chung caused an 'upset' by beating Sam Querrey, seeded 27th, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. He broke the American six times and won in two and a quarter hours. With an ailing Kei Nishikori in his section and some other big upsets in round one, the quarterfinals could beckon for the South Korean. If he can keep it together physically and mentally.

Well, let's see what else happened. How did the big names fare?...

MS 1st Rd: Lopez d. [q] Fratangelo {W}
MS 2nd Rd: Ramos Vinolas d. Benjamin Bonzi
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WS 1st Rd: Jankovic d. Hogenkamp {L}


CHATRIER: VERDASCO D. A.ZVEREV
...There it is. The big upset. The German has learned a tough lesson. Sometimes you just get a landmine early in a slam. He played well. He had a decent match. Perhaps the interruption, the break in play, affected him more than was immediately apparent. Maybe Verdasco was too good. The Spaniard's forehand was particularly venomous. In a way, Alex Zverev didn't really see it coming. He went down 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in ten minutes under three hours. No aces for Ferver in the match, which is extraordinary. He also won just 60 per cent of his first serve points. Combined the pair of them were 50-99 on the winners count. Ouch. It had a lot of good rallies, with both peppering the baseline. Zverev's positioning was all over the place for much of it. Had he just taken three steps forward he might have gotten past him. So one of my picks is a bust. Easy come, easy go. The win gives the Spaniard a path through to the quarters, maybe even further. He plays P-H Herbert next. But with Nishikori and Murray the biggest seeds in his quarter a semi-final is on the cards. If he can maintain his current level.
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CHATRIER: DJOKOVIC D GRANOLLERS
...Sometimes matches look on paper as if they will be closer than they really are. This was one of them. Marcel Granollers could not muster much resistance, though he did drag it out to two and a half hours. In the end, Novak was too strong in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 rout. No it wasn't perfect. It was a bit rusty. The winners ratio was only 30-29. Nole struggled to find his feet, but being the defending champ seemed to give him a real boost. But the best players always find a way to win. They just know how. Nole moves on, while Granollers goes onto the men's
doubles.
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CHATRIER: MURRAY D. KUZNETSOV
...The world number one has had better days. Andrey Kuznetsov has improved massively. He had a very good under the radar year in 2016. He is a tricky player who can nick nets off even the very best. But Muzza didn't look good at all in the 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 win. He lost his serve four times and hit only 29 winners during the four set match. He relied on his defence, which his opponent was unable to break through. Considering the second set was a bit of a blip, the Scot actually had a very good match. He has other challenges coming up, like Klizan and the 2009 U.S. Open Champion. That third round match has to happen. It has classic potential. Fueled, of course, by the testy relationship and how much is on the line. The Russian had an unfortunate draw. He can now look to Wimbledon.
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LENGLEN: NADAL D. PAIRE
...Roland Garros does not like Rafael Nadal. The crowd boo him. The organisers have always tried to mess with him. For his first round clash, with FRENCHMAN Benoit Paire, the NINE TIME CHAMPION was put on Suzanne Lenglen. What a rubbish decision. What a terrible, stupid, decision. The same guy who refused Maria Sharapova a wild card no doubt had a hand in this. With all of Paire's prodigious skill and Frenchness... and you put this on the second court. Boo hiss! Anyway, Rafa didn't even need two hours to win 6-1, 6-4, 6-1. Nadal didn't even play out of skin, hitting 18 errors and losing serve twice, but if that match is Rafa not quite at his best, well, it's going to be easy work for Rafa coming up. Paire tried his best to play spoiler.
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LENGLEN: WAWRINKA D. KOVALIK
..At his third best slam, the Swiss man kicked off his camapign with a very straightforward 6-2, 7-6[6], 6-3 win. His opponent, playing with nothing to lose, threw the kitchen sink at our third seed, but it was in vain. The former champion, and slam guru, knew how to handle the situtation though. He went 38-33 on the winners to errors ratio. He battened down the hatches and when he won a very tight second set the match was all over. Stan, resplendent in an eyecatching blue shirt, was able to see off the almighty ponytail. His next two opponents are going to be Alex Dolgopolov and then Andreas Seppi or Fabio Fognini. So it's about to get a lot harder. That Dolgopolov clash has to be on Chatrier.
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OUTER COURT SELECTION: NISHIKORI D. KOKKINAKIS
...Faced with a tough first round, Kei Nishikori responded well. You get the feeling he's always on borrowed time at a slam because he can't keep healthy. If he can actually get onto the court and playing, he is very effective. He showed it in round one against Kokkinakis, winning 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. Koko went 41-41 on the winners count and showed off his immense talent. If his recent results and play are anything to go by, his comeback could yield some very juice fruit. Kei Nishikori looks good and, if he can keep his body from breaking, could go very far here. If he can survive Jeremy Chardy in round two he will face Hyeon Chung for the first time. The winner will be the king of Asia.
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