Season II Roland Garros

[SirBloody Idiot]

I don't have the authority to change first posts after a day now, so I'll figure something out to put in here in the next 24 hours.

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Originally Posted by SirBloody Idiot

I don't have the authority to change first posts after a day now, so I'll figure something out to put in here in the next 24 hours.

Just ask James to give you back permissions to edit. I'm sure he won't mind, mate.

[SirBloody Idiot]

Roland Garros II - Men's Singles
GRAND SLAM - Sunday (Day One) - Paris, France - Clay (Red)

• West CWLand's Sven Oxenstierna was the first player out on Court Philippe Chatrier in Season II, and for the first time since his finals defeat last season, as he opened his campaign with a straight sets victory over Paraguay's Aldo Marín. The World No. 4 expected a big win over the World No. 90, but, as is so often the case against these lower ranked players early in Grand Slams, Marín threw the kitchen sink at Oxenstierna and even edged a break in front in the second set. But it was clear to all in the stadium that he wasn't on the same level as the Ox whose rampant clay run continued with some confident baseline tennis in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win.

• He meets fellow Scandinavian-born opponent Kasper Buur after the World No. 57 survived an opening jolt against wildcard entrant Rick Langley to coast into the second round. Langley started in awesome fashion to hold a double break lead at 4-1 before his game dropped right off the face of the earth. Buur, a PTA tour title winner, was rocked into action and managed to claim an unbelievable eighteen of the next nineteen games to cripple the West CWLander's confidence. Langley essentially threw in the towel in the second set after being subjected to nine breaks of serve throughout the match; Buur into the second round 7-5, 6-0, 6-0.

• Following the Oxenstierna-Marín match was a battle between 28th seeded Aussie David Champion and French hope Jean-Christophe Genghini. Champion has never been a great mover on clay at the best of times, but drew Genghini into the match he wanted early as neither player broke service in the first set. Champion fired down eleven aces to take it in a tiebreaker 7-1, before being broken for the first time early in the second by Genghini. As the gloss wore off Champion's game, the Court Phillipe Chatrier crowd grew in voice as the World No. 77 eliminated the first seed from play 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.

• Nearest to a big upset, though, was the unknown 172nd ranked qualifier Scott Whitehouse. The Brit at one stage led two sets to one and was at 5-5 against the sixteenth seed Miroslav Brdar and one of the biggest upsets of the year was looming. Brdar, though, caught a lucky break as Whitehouse missed an open court with a volley to hand him the fourth set and the Croat eased past the Brit in a fifth to win 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1.

FIRST ROUND
WC-Ducard def. Highsmith, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
Villaneuva def. Q-Bruce, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 (Match of the Day)
30-Joaquin def. Z.Boniek, 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-1
Quezada def. Bertolotto, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(0)
11-Altman def. Isaev, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-0

Genghini def. 28-Champion, 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-2, 6-1
Day def. Brookes, 6-4, 6-4, 6-1
Engel def. Zakov, 6-0, 7-5, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3

4-Oxenstierna def. Marin, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
Buur def. WC-Langley, 7-5, 6-0, 6-0
WC-Lebegue def Aguero, 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-4
27-Emelio def. Q-van der Cleer, 6-1, 6-2, 7-5
Donaldson def. Lazzeri, 6-3, 6-0, 6-3
16-Brdar def. Q-Whitehouse, 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1

12-Z.Varga def. Mandonna, 6-0, 6-4, 6-2

• Seeded players out: David Champion.

[Samuel_Vimes]

What, no 16-14 fifth set? Clearly this world has too few Raonics.

Seeded players out: David Champion. <--- Awww.

Commserations to Langley.

[SirBloody Idiot]

Roland Garros II - Men's Singles
GRAND SLAM - Monday (Day Two) - Paris, France - Clay (Red)

• Cremona champion Scotland Rivers has taken a five-set victory in his first round match in Roland Garros against Croatia's Adem Tadić. On his least favourite surface, the West CWLander struggled early as he dropped the first set to Tadić before he began to find his feet on the red clay and storm back into the match with some aggressive tennis. Claiming twelve of sixteen games, he looked set for a four-set victory before Tadić managed to break in the sixth game of the fourth set and cling on to send the match to deciding fifth. The pressure was on, and although Rivers gave up an early break he managed to bring up two match points with a slick backhand winner off the Croat's second serve. It was enough to pick up the win as Tadić bowed out with a double fault; Rivers through 5-7, 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

• He meets thirteen seed Rick Henson after the former champion ousted Rivers' compatriot Rob Bowenburg in straight sets. The scoreline didn't really sum up how Bowenburg played as the improving Westerner had two set points to level the match at a set each. He couldn't convert either of them - admittedly in the face of two fine winners from Henson - and dropped the set 10-8 in the tiebreaker. Down two sets to love, Bowenburg needed a miracle but didn't get it - falling away abruptly to a 3-6, 6-7(8), 2-6 defeat.

• There was a big Grand Slam debut for Ishan Narang as the East CWLander played fine tennis to oust Spanish qualifier Rafael Fernando. Narang, fresh off a successful qualifying campaign, started like a rocket to take a two-sets to love lead with big serving and some solid baseline play. Fernando struggled with Narang's power, but managed to take the third set 6-4 and lead by a break in the fourth. It wasn't enough, though, as Narang fought back strongly against the weak serving of Fernando to pick up a 6-3, 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 win. He meets eighteenth seed Diego Hurtado in the second round after the Colombian beat Ukraine's Roman Dorogan 6-3, 6-1, 6-3.

• In the all-Western qualifier bout, it was Jason Lawley who picked up the win over Pierre Rose in four sets. It was really a perfect opportunity to pick up some much-needed ranking points for both players, but in fairness it wasn't a match fought at the highest quality. Both players blew numerous opportunities, and Rose somehow managed to throw away a 5-2 lead in the second set and four different set point opportunities. Despite going down two sets, he showed some fight to clinch the fourth 6-4 before Lawley got the jump on him early in the fifth to lead 5-1. While he couldn't convert his first match point against the Rose serve, he clinched the match on serve to secure a second round appearance. 6-2, 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-2. His next opponent is 23rd seed Antonio Bachunelli who smashed Ivan Češljar 6-1, 6-1, 6-2.

• There was no such luck for East CWLand's Martti Korpinen who was on the receiving end of a disastrous defeat to Janos Varga. Varga was in great touch last week in Dusseldorf with a 3-0 record, and ensured that the World No. 125 would have time to focus on his doubles assault with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-2 win.

• Spas Delev came in as a bit of an underdog for his first round clash against highly touted Spanish youngster Marc Carretero, but ultimately outgunned the World No. 59 in a highly entertaining affair. It was a battle of the steely defence of Carretero against the all out assault of Delev whose style, if he was born in a different universe, could be described as Andrew Ilie-esque. Despite dropping the first set, Delev continued to chip away at Carretero with a barrage of searing forehands and continually created chances. Against the barrage of the Easterner, though, Carretero resisted and prevented being blown off the court against a man who was in the zone. While he couldn't win another set, it was a sign of the maturity of the young man which is a positive to come out of his defeat. Delev's 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 win sets up a second round clash with the Czech Republic's Petr Brožík after he ousted twentieth seed Henry Charles in an awesome five-set performance 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3.

• Delev could be shaping up for another third round meeting with rival Jojo Mustard after the fourteenth seed came from a set down to beat Dutchman Maarten Berg. It was always going to be a particularly difficult contest for Mustard with Berg fresh off a semi final appearance in Nice. The Dutchman was typically solid right throughout the match and wasn't too far behind Mustard who just had the extra polish and firepower as he picked up a 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(7) win. The Westerner was dealt a tough draw, and now meets in form Ukrainian Viktor Vuriak who cruised past local teenager Dominic Viens 6-1, 6-0, 6-3.

• Finally, Phoenix Wleft put up a fantastic fight against ninth seed Dwayne Murdoch before succumbing in three sets. Amazingly, Wleft was never a break ahead of Murdoch despite the extremely close scoreline as he produced a far bigger contest than the American admitted he suspected. The man who beat Blanco not long ago was pushed deep into each set, but ultimately the World No. 9 had just too much polish for the youngster in his 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 win.

• The match that promised the most delivered as West CWLand veteran Brett Read took out a tough five-set tussle against 21st seed Carlo Amato. After his finals appearance in Nice this past weekend, Read started like a shot to take a two-sets to love lead in seriously tense affair to leave the fiery Italian with his back firmly against the wall. It was a typical case of grafter vs. shotmaker as Amato continued to be frustrated by what was essentially a game of Pong as Read continued to get the ball back. But after taking the third and fourth sets with some inspired shots, the Italian looked like staging a miraculous comeback. However with the match heading into a fifth hour, it was clear that Amato's energy reserves were running low. Finally Read was sprung into a more assertive style and managed to shut off any talks of a dream comeback to secure his place in the second round 7-6(4), 6-4, 4-6, 4-6, 6-2. He meets Jason Bradley who tamed the Latvian giant Ivars Emsis 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6(5) in a typical Emsis affair.

• In news that will have Sven Oxenstierna grinning ear-to-ear, Czech rival and third seed Radek Špidlá's horrific clay run came to an end with a four set loss to German leftie Alex Peters. The third seed was awful against the World No. 66 who even managed to get a read on the Špidlá serve in three of the sets en route to a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 win. Elsewhere, top seed Jason Hall made a winning start with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win over Ion Andueza of Spain.

FIRST ROUND
1-Hall def. Andueza, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2
17-Micic def. Q-Scalforo, 7-5, 6-4, 6-1
Santos def. Q-Martins, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(7)

13-Henson def. Bowenburg, 6-3, 7-6(8), 6-2
Rivers def. Tadic, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
Q-Narang def. Q-Fernando, 6-3, 6-0, 4-6, 6-4
18-Hurtado def. Dorogan, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3
5-Cowan def. Cordiero, 6-1, 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-5

Read def. 21-Amato, 7-6(4), 6-4, 4-6, 4-6, 6-2
Bradley def. Emsis, 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6(5)

Parmentier def. T. Vollan, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, 4-6, 9-7
Q-Lawley def. Q-Rose, 6-2, 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-2
23-A.Bachunelli def. Cesljar, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2
26-Haas def. LL-Murray, 6-0, 6-1, 6-3
J. Varga def. Korpinen, 6-3, 6-0, 6-2
LL-Banks def. Menon, 6-0, 6-3, 6-1
7-Boros def. Aksu, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5

32-Orlov def. M-W. Li, 6-7(1), 6-2, 6-3, 7-5
Denisov def. Rodrigues, 6-1, 6-3, 6-1
Depuis def. Navarro, 4-6, 7-5(5), 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
Peters def. 3-Spidla, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1

Brozik def. 20-Charles, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 (Match of the Day)
Delev def. Carretero, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3
Vuriak def. WC-Viens, 6-1, 6-0, 6-3
14-Mustard def. Berg, 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(7)

9-Murdoch def. Q-Wleft, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5
WC-Lachance def. WC-Sagna, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(0), 6-0
Q-Holland def. Machado, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-5
22-Kennedy def. LL-Konc, 6-0, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(1)

• Seeded players out: Carlo Amato; Henry Charles; Radek Špidlá.

[Johnners]

Schweeet

[ripper868]

Nein Maxum bitte?

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Nice work, Mustard.

And some decent other results to boot.

[morgieb]

Hell yeah!

Pretty easy draw to pick up some ranking points now it seems.

[vic_orthdox]

Good to win I guess. Disappointing to spend five sets on clay, will cause massive issues with my allergies.

[SirBloody Idiot]

Originally Posted by HeathDavisSpeed

Nice work, Mustard.

And some decent other results to boot.

Yep big day for all involved. A few more CWLanders in action today, too.

Originally Posted by morgieb

Hell yeah!

Pretty easy draw to pick up some ranking points now it seems.

Would be disappointed with anything less than a third or fourth round appearance tbh.

After the next update, I'll put the whole draw up again.

[SirBloody Idiot]

Roland Garros II - Men's Singles
GRAND SLAM - Tuesday (Day Three) - Paris, France - Clay (Red)

• Youngster Matt Bre was on the receiving end of a first round pounding as he fell in straight sets to 29th seed Tiago Matias. The World No. 78 started poorly by being broken in his first two service games, and was always playing catchup from there as the World No. 36 kept at him with an aggressive returning game. Bre's style is certainly more suited to the hard courts, and he continued to struggle against a player who is born to play clay court tennis. The match got closer, but Matias was too good as he won 6-2, 6-4, 6-4.

• No luck either for teenage qualifier Marcuss Deane as he was brought back down to earth with a crushing loss to Atthaphol Sae-ul. Many Western pundits talked up Deane's chances against Sae-ul who has not had much success on the clay. But the World No. 55 was clinical against a nervous Deane who struggled to consistently serve his way out of trouble against the Thai No. 1 who looked convincing in his 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win.

• 24th seed Heath Davis, meanwhile, made light work of Czech straggler Vaclav Zeman in a dominant straight sets win. It is a sign of how far Davis has come in a season as he brutalised Zeman with some great hitting and regular approaches to the net. Whether his style will match up against some of the better players remains to be seen, but Zeman was almost powerless to stop the West CWLander; Davis through to a second round meeting with Sae-ul 6-3, 6-0, 6-4.

• There was a winning start for the eighth seed Jefferson Drake, but it wasn't all one way traffic as he was given a couple of scares by his Austrian opponent Heinz Hainisch. In an error-ridden first set, the Nice champion was forced to come from a break down on two occasions before reeling Hainisch in with a magnificent inside out forehand to clinch the first set 7-5. After the early struggles, Drake quickly adapted to the conditions to cruise past Hainisch with his typical bravado in a 7-5, 6-0, 6-2 win.

• He will meet West CWLand qualifier David Briggs who prevailed in a bizarre affair against World No. 143 Mikel Fosdike. Fosdike, ranked No. 143 in the world, looked in well-placed to pick up a victory after claiming the second and third sets 6-1, 6-1, but Briggs turned the tide to take the fourth to love to begin a dramatic turnaround. Neither player was particularly impressive their performance, but Briggs showed great poise to secure a massive victory 6-3, 1-6, 1-6, 6-0, 6-3.

• The last of the CWLanders in action was Jarkko Maxum who picked up a good victory over the only Swiss player in the draw Pascaul Schmidt. The World No. 40 had it easy early against Schmidt as he claimed the first set 6-2 with an early double break, but was immediately thwarted in the second as Schmidt took the ascendancy early before taking out the set 6-3. The third set was the crucial one, and despot having two opportunities to serve out the set Maxum was taken to a tiebreaker. With the scores locked at 5-5, Schmidt sent a forehand about a foot long giving Maxum the chance to take the set. He took it by drawing an unforced error from Schmidt which essentially sealed the deal for him; Maxum cruising through the fourth to advance 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2. He meets 31st seeded local Pierre L'Estrange next after his 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 win over Slovakian qualifier Mario Timko.

• Elsewhere, defending champion Daniel Paez Blanco got his campaign off to a winning start with a 6-0, 6-4, 6-3 win over brave Russian Oleg Puder. In the big upset, Season I quarterfinalist Oneil Stewart of Jamaica was beaten in four sets by Nilikar Midid of Croatia.

FIRST ROUND
6-Olesen def. Henrikkson, 6-1, 6-3, 7-5
Harmel def. Heug, 2-6, 6-7(7), 6-0, 6-2, 8-6
James def. WC-H.Thompson, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
29-Matias def. Bre, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4
19-Pascaul def. Fok, 6-0, 6-3, 6-1
Durand def. Q-Berianidze, 7-5, 6-4, 6-0
Ortiz def. Morkel, 7-6(0), 6-2, 6-1
Midid def. 15-Stewart, 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2

10-Daneu def. Doh, 6-3, 6-0, 6-0
Juraev def. Q-Marzec, 7-6(8), 1-6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
Sae-ul def. Q-Deane, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2
24-Davis def. Zeman, 6-3, 6-0, 6-4

8-Drake def. Hainisch, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2
Q-Briggs def. WC-Fosdike, 6-3, 1-6, 1-6, 6-0, 6-3
Farkkila def. Maurer, 1-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 8-6
25-K. Vollan def. W. Jones, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 7-5

31-L'Estrange def. Q-Timko, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3
Maxum def. Schmidt, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2
Reiter def. De Kinsele, 7-5, 6-1, 6-3
2-Blanco def. LL-Puder, 6-0, 6-4, 6-3

• Seeded players out: Oneil Stewart.

[SirBloody Idiot]

Pretty sure the doubles start day 4, so I'll make the draw this evening some time. If anyone has requests for partners, now would be the time.

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Obvs going with the Korps.

Good to get an early win with some resistance.

[morgieb]

Who was Read's S1 partner?