The French Open Day 0.5: A Triumvirate of Tennis Matches

Hi All. Galileo here.

The French need to fix this Sunday thing. The idea is good but why not start at one in the afternoon and pick three big names from the men’s and women’s draws, have them play and then have good doubles matches on the outer courts. And then you could call it Super Sunday.

Anyway we must start with an apology. This BACKSPINNER said that Daniil Medvedev’s match against Lucas Pouille would be one to watch. That was erroneous. It didn’t even take the Frenchman two hours to win 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. He broke five times and only lost his serve once. It was as dominant a performance as you’re going to see from someone not named Rafa Nadal. Pouille has been practising with the great one so maybe it has rubbed off.

In women’s doubles news the Williams sisters are playing and they are likely to play until beaten. Venus is out and can now focus on it and Serena will want the practice. In the men’s doubles Herbert/Mahut will take on Lindstedt/Matkowski. Matkowski is the blonde Polish dude who looks a bit like Wawrinka but 100 pounds heavier.

*SUICIDE POOL PICKS*
MS 1st Rd: Djokovic [20] d. [q] Dutra Silva
==
WS 1st Rd: Bertens [8] d. Sabalenka

Now let’s dive into the three matches:

CHATRIER: DIMITROV D. SAFWAT
…Mohamed Safwat has helped to bring Egyptian tennis back into repute. Well, in the Davis Cup at least. He took a set off Gael Monfils in Dubai last year. He is a solid player. But unless you have been in or around the top thirty and have since slipped a bit, if you are a unseeded player trying to defeat a big favourite for a title across five sets you really have no chance. The gap between a solid 150-170 player and the fourth seed is oceans. This is not Kim Clijsters winning 2005 Indian Wells or the 2009 US Open, this is the ultimate journeyman. So with that in mind the 6-1, 6-4, 7-6[1] scoreline is pretty good. Usually the lower ranked player contends for a set before disappearing. But this time it took a set and a half for the challenger to find their game. And if Safwat has never played in a stadium of that size it is no wonder. He has a big forehand, which is quite a weapon when it’s on song and some variety. He hit 19 winners. But Dimitrov has a bigger forehand and his entire game is variety. The Bulgarian took all 24 of the net points he played too. Still it was an entertaining match and a good warmup for the 4th seed.

LENGLEN: ZVEREV D. BERANKIS
...When a big gun plays a challenger in the first couple of rounds they fall into one of two categories. Either they are dangerous or they are a pushover. If they’re dangerous that’s when it gets tricky. Fortunately for the big guys the pushover is the far more common type. Ricardas Berankis has a bit of game but not against Alex Zverev on clay. The German’s thumping 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 victory was more than just another win. It was a statement. It was a direct message to Rafa to say I’m here. And I am no joke. 11 aces, 29 winners, 7 breaks to none [and no break points conceded either] and an hour out of the German’s day. Then it was off home. The German is looking supreme right now. Federer’s absence is a Christmas present. And Zverev is taking full advantage of the gift.

COURT ONE: GOFFIN D. HAASE
...Here we see the rarer of the two kinds of challengers- the talented, driven guys. Robin Haase has taken two sets off Rafa at Wimbledon. He has been around the block and been around the top 30. His forehand is fearsome and when he hits a purple patch he can go off. And so it proved against David Goffin. He took out the first two sets 6-4, 6-4 but the Belgian edged the third and ran out the winner in the last three sets by a scoreline of 6-4, 6-1, 6-0. In the first two sets the Dutchman broke five times to his opponent’s three and won just under 50 per cent of his return points. In the third set he had his opponent under the cosh and has four break points. But he couldn’t get any of them. Conversely, Goffin had just two break chances but he won one. And so the match turned, turned on a dime, as they say. He didn’t look back and he should roll into the quarterfinals. Little margins separate two players in a best of five set match. He has a French wildcard up next, Corentin Moutet. If he loses that I’m Steffi Graf.



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