The second round took three days to complete in total due to rain and the first major upsets of the event occurred.
(Rank/Seed)
5/5 Errani had the easiest win, beating Putintseva 61 61 and (1/1) Serena was overwhelming against wild card Garcia, winning a 26th straight match 61 62. (8/8) Kerber had a tidy 62 62 win over Cepelova and (4/4) Radwanska wasted little time in beating Burdette 63 62. (2/2) Sharapova had to battle over two days to beat Burdette 62 64, whilst (3/3) Azarenka had her hands full against Beck, letting a 5-0 first set lead become 5-4 until she won the set en route to a 64 63 win. (7/7) Kvitova and (9/9) Stosur also won 64 63 against Brussels finalist Peng and Mladenovic respectively.
However, (6/6) Li was stunned by Mattek Sands 57 63 62 in a repeatedly rain interrupted match. Li was always struggling, letting a 4-0 first set lead slip to 4-4 before edging the set out. From there on in though, Mattek's aggressive game took hold as she took charge of the middle of the court. It's Li's earliest ever exit from the French Open, the event she won in 2011. It isn't surprising though considering Li's poor clay court season, even though she recently beat Bethanie in Stuttgart.
(10/10) Wozniacki's nightmare continued against nemesis Jovanovski as she was bundled out 76(2) 63 in a repeat loss from Rome just over two weeks ago! Having led 6-5 30-0 against the Serb's serve, Caroline collapsed and soon lost the tiebreak and fell 0-3 down in the second. Her game seems to have completely dismantled lately as her much lower ranked opponents are now beating her with alarming regularity. It's the Dane's earliest loss since 2007 here.
Friday, 31 May 2013
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
No First Round Upsets!
All of the top ten players made it through their first round matches.
(Rank/Seed)
Most of them won their matches comfortably; (1/1) Williams beat Tatishvilli 60 61 for a 25th successive victory, (4/4) Radwanska beat Peer 61 61, (9/9) Stosur beat Date Krumm 60 62, (2/2) Sharapova beat Hsieh 62 61, (5/5) Errani beat Rus 61 62, (10/10) Wozniacki beat Robson 62 62 and (3/3) Azarenka beat Vesnina 61 64.
Others had a slightly closer battle; (6/6) Li edged Medina Garrigues 63 64 and (8/8) Kerber saved three set points in the first set to beat Barthel 76(6) 62.
Only (7/7) Kvitova was tested, once again being pushed to three sets on clay before winning 63 46 62 against former top 20 player Rezai.
I also have to mention a fantastic 1st round match between Venus Williams and Urszula Radwanska, which the Pole won 76(5) 67(4) 64 in 3 hours 19 minutes! It was a brilliant scrap which saw many engaging rallies but most of all fantastic fight from both players. Venus, 32 years of age and a noted sufferer of Sjogren's Syndrome battled from 0-4 down in the second set tiebreak to win seven straight points and even reduced a 1-5 deficit in the third before running out of puff! Though its' only a second 1st round loss for Venus at this event ever, she deserves a huge pat on the back for effort!
(Rank/Seed)
Most of them won their matches comfortably; (1/1) Williams beat Tatishvilli 60 61 for a 25th successive victory, (4/4) Radwanska beat Peer 61 61, (9/9) Stosur beat Date Krumm 60 62, (2/2) Sharapova beat Hsieh 62 61, (5/5) Errani beat Rus 61 62, (10/10) Wozniacki beat Robson 62 62 and (3/3) Azarenka beat Vesnina 61 64.
Others had a slightly closer battle; (6/6) Li edged Medina Garrigues 63 64 and (8/8) Kerber saved three set points in the first set to beat Barthel 76(6) 62.
Only (7/7) Kvitova was tested, once again being pushed to three sets on clay before winning 63 46 62 against former top 20 player Rezai.
I also have to mention a fantastic 1st round match between Venus Williams and Urszula Radwanska, which the Pole won 76(5) 67(4) 64 in 3 hours 19 minutes! It was a brilliant scrap which saw many engaging rallies but most of all fantastic fight from both players. Venus, 32 years of age and a noted sufferer of Sjogren's Syndrome battled from 0-4 down in the second set tiebreak to win seven straight points and even reduced a 1-5 deficit in the third before running out of puff! Though its' only a second 1st round loss for Venus at this event ever, she deserves a huge pat on the back for effort!
Sunday, 26 May 2013
My quarter final predictions
So, the second Grand Slam is upon us. These are my predictions for the quarter finals. I was very successful with my Australian Open predictions so I hope I am here too!
1st Quarter- Serena VS Robson
Serena will breeze through, but I feel Kerber may lose her first round against Barthel! I think Robson really has a chance in her section because I feel she will beat Wozniacki, though Kuznetsova is the dark horse in this section.
2nd Quarter- A.Radwanska VS Errani
This section is relatively weak and I feel that Errani wont have much trouble. I wouldn't have chosen Radwanska before the draw was made but here she has a massive chance to reach a first French Open quarter final.
3rd Quarter- Kanepi VS Azarenka
I think Li will be beaten either before the fourth round or by Kanepi at that stage. The Estonian always plays well on clay and is coming off the Brussels title so I think she may reach a third quarter final here. Azarenka shouldn't have too much trouble.
4th Quarter- Stosur VS Sharapova
Sharapova is a dead cert, but the other section's tricky to predict. I feel Kvitova will lose early because she just hasn't been winning easily on clay this year whilst Jankovic is just too unpredictable. I'm going to guess that Stosur will come through this section, but I'm not confident!
1st Quarter- Serena VS Robson
Serena will breeze through, but I feel Kerber may lose her first round against Barthel! I think Robson really has a chance in her section because I feel she will beat Wozniacki, though Kuznetsova is the dark horse in this section.
2nd Quarter- A.Radwanska VS Errani
This section is relatively weak and I feel that Errani wont have much trouble. I wouldn't have chosen Radwanska before the draw was made but here she has a massive chance to reach a first French Open quarter final.
3rd Quarter- Kanepi VS Azarenka
I think Li will be beaten either before the fourth round or by Kanepi at that stage. The Estonian always plays well on clay and is coming off the Brussels title so I think she may reach a third quarter final here. Azarenka shouldn't have too much trouble.
4th Quarter- Stosur VS Sharapova
Sharapova is a dead cert, but the other section's tricky to predict. I feel Kvitova will lose early because she just hasn't been winning easily on clay this year whilst Jankovic is just too unpredictable. I'm going to guess that Stosur will come through this section, but I'm not confident!
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