Grass

Getty

Julien Benneteau of France and Kevin Anderson of South Africa play their match while a rain cloud approaches during their second round singles match on the third day of The AEGON Championships tennis tournament at Queen's Club in west London on June 9, 2010.

::

You all have already been talking about the tennis on the green grass of London (and Halle and Birmingham), so I decided to get my act together and give you an open thread to continue the discussions. I won't be able to follow tennis till this weekend, and I'm not even sure about that.

Enjoy.

Roland Garros 2010 Men's Final Open Thread

AP

Argentina's Agustin Velotti, left, holds his first place trophy next to runner up USA's Andrea Collarini after a boy's finals match for the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Sunday, June 6, 2010.

::

From peytonallen:

So we get the “other” final everybody wanted. Personally, this one is more fascinating to me than another Fed/Nadal matchup. Roger wasn’t winning that one, no matter how many people gathered hands and prayed. We’ve seen that match too many times. Why would it change now when Fed is a year older? Madrid proved it wouldn’t. But Sunday we find out if Soderling is Nadal’s Panatta.

A lot on the line for both guys. I don’t see Soderilng becoming a future #1 player or really even a Slam champion at any point, but there have been late career surges before. Rafter isn’t an all-time talent but for a couple of years there he was Pete’s main rival and the best player in the world. I can see why the Swedes would push the hype, though I think Robin’s career path has already been set. But as Peter Korda proved anyone can rise up and win a slam.

If he wins it certainly would be the most interesting/explosive 12 month run at the French. Beating the new Borg, then ending Fed’s streak and taking home the title. Who would’ve thought Soderling at any point in his career would be regarded as the best clay court player?

If Nadal loses it’s the end of the Federer/Nadal stranglehold on tennis. They may both win another slam, but a loss at the French, in his element, would signal a slight end for Rafa. It’d be a sign he’ll always struggle against the ‘power merchants’ for the rest of his career.
If he wins, he’s #1 and on his way to 10-11 slams and proves his break last year was just that, a pit stop while on the road to more glory. He’d have the rest of his career to chase Borg’s French mark and he’d be the overwhelming favorite to defend his Wimbledon crown.

Soderling may be a little less nervous than last year, but I still think he’s got an uphill battle to win this title. He was hitting winners from everywhere last year and like his win over Federer serving out of a tree. He’ll play well Sunday but he has to match his performance from last year, if not exceed it to win. I’m not sure he can do that. If he has an average service day, he’s out in straights.

Rafa has to save his BP’s against and show his new aggressive game was worth it. If he repeats last year’s performance and gives Robin a steady diet of short balls he’ll be in for a long day.

A few weeks before their match last year Nadal beat Soderling 6-1, 6-0. It’s hard for me to believe suddenly he’s the only man Nadal can’t beat in Paris.

Nadal in 4.

Roland Garros 2010 Day 11 Open Thread

Getty

Yesterday, Francesca Schiavone became the first Italian woman in the Open Era to advance to a Grand Slam singles semifinal at the ripe old age of 29.

Schedule for Day 11: Wednesday, 2 June 2010

Court Philippe Chatrier 14:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Quarterfinals
Serena Williams (USA)[1] v. Samantha Stosur (AUS)[7]
2. Men's Singles - Quarterfinals
Nicolas Almagro (ESP)[19] v. Rafael Nadal (ESP)[2]
3. Mixed Doubles - Fourth Round
Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)[6] v. Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP)/Oliver Marach (AUT)[3]

Court Suzanne Lenglen 14:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Quarterfinals
Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[4] v. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ)
2. Men's Singles - Quarterfinals
Jurgen Melzer (AUT)[22] v. Novak Djokovic (SRB)[3]
3. Mixed Doubles - Fourth Round
Vania King (USA)/Christopher Kas (GER) v. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ)/Julian Knowle (AUT)

Court 1 11:00 Start Time
1. Legends Over 45 Doubles - First Round
Andres Gomez (ECU)/John Mcenroe (USA) v. Pat Cash (AUS)/Mikael Pernfors (SWE)
2. Legends Over 45 Doubles - First Round
Mansour Bahrami (IRI)/Henri Leconte (FRA) v. Guy Forget (FRA)/Thierry Tulasne (FRA)
3. Women's Doubles - Semifinals
Kveta Peschke (CZE)/Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)[12] v. Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP)/Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP)[2]
4. Women's Doubles - Semifinals
Serena Williams (USA)Venus Williams (USA)[1] v. Liezel Huber (USA)/A. Medina Garrigues (ESP)[3]
Not Before 17:00
5. Women's Legends - First Round
Martina Navratilova (USA)/Jana Novotna (CZE) v. Mary Joe Fernandez (USA)/Conchita Martinez (ESP)
6. Legends Under 45 Doubles - First Round
Goran Ivanisevic (CRO)/Michael Stich (GER) v. Thomas Muster (AUT)/Mark Woodforde (AUS)

Roland Garros 2010 Day 10 Order Of Play

Getty

Spain's Nicolas Almagro eyes the ball after hitting a forehand to Spain's Fernando Verdasco during their men's fourth round match in the French Open tennis championship at the Roland Garros stadium, on May 31, 2010, in Paris.

::

We have arrived at the final eight. MadProfessah has posted his predictions and we'll talk about them here as the action unfolds.

Conventional wisdom states that Elena Dementieva is the best active player on the WTA never to have won a slam. I reject that. That honor goes to Miss Nadia Petrova. No, she's never been to a Slam final, never won an Olympic Gold, but she has the most talent and most complete game of the non-Slam winners in the women's field. And she can serve. We know what her deadliest weakness is and I, for one, am hoping she can smother it this week and make her first Slam final.

I'm also rooting for Francesca Schiavone, one of the most imaginative players on the tour who fights to the bigger end. She'll have her work cut out for her against the backboard that his Caroline Wozniacki, but if the veteran can frustrate the youngster enough, she'll advance to her first Slam semifinal in the latter days of her career. What a story that would be.

As for the men, it probably goes without saying but I'll say it anyway: I wanna see Robin Söderling play Tomas Berdych in the semifinals. Let it be, let it be.

Schedule for Day 10: Tuesday, 1 June 2010

Court Philippe Chatrier 14:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Quarterfinals
Francesca Schiavone (ITA)[17] v. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)[3]
2. Men's Singles - Quarterfinals
Roger Federer (SUI)[1] v. Robin Soderling (SWE)[5]
3. Men's Doubles - Fourth Round
Marc Lopez (ESP)/Pere Riba (ESP) v. Wesley Moodie (RSA)/Dick Norman (BEL)[4]

Court Suzanne Lenglen 14:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Quarterfinals
Elena Dementieva (RUS)[5] v. Nadia Petrova (RUS)[19]
2. Men's Singles - Quarterfinals
Tomas Berdych (CZE)[15] v. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)[11]
3. Men's Doubles - Fourth Round
Lukasz Kubot (POL)/Oliver Marach (AUT)[6] v. Daniel Nestor (CAN)/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)[2]

Court 1 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - Fourth Round
Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)/Leander Paes (IND)[3] v. Mariusz Fyrstenberg (POL)/Marcin Matkowski (POL)[8]
2. Women's Doubles - Fourth Round
Monica Niculescu (ROU)/Shahar Peer (ISR) v. Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP)/Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP)[2]
3. Mixed Doubles - Third Round
Vania King (USA)/Christopher Kas (GER) v. Tathiana Garbin (ITA)/Marcin Matkowski (POL)
4. Women's Doubles - Fourth Round
Kveta Peschke (CZE)/Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)[12] v. Alona Bondarenko (UKR)/Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR)

Court 2 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - Fourth Round
Marcelo Melo (BRA)/Bruno Soares (BRA) v. Julian Knowle (AUT)/Andy Ram (ISR)[10]
2. Girls' Singles - Second Round
Nastja Kolar (SLO)[4] v. Charlene Seateun (FRA)
3. Mixed Doubles - Third Round
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ)/Julian Knowle (AUT) v. Cara Black (ZIM)/Leander Paes (IND)[2]

Roland Garros 2010 Day 9 Order Of Play

Reuters

Jurgen Melzer follows up his upset-of-the-tournament victory over David Ferrer and has just become a Grand Slam quarterfinalist for the first time in his career at the ripe old age of 29. Raise your hand if you saw this coming.


AP

The little backhand that couldn't. It was a long time coming, but Justine Henin finally loses her first match at Roland Garros in six years. Samantha Stosur got over herself and sent the diminutive one packing.

Schedule for Day 9: Monday, 31 May 2010

Court Philippe Chatrier 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Singles - Fourth Round
Robby Ginepri (USA) v. Novak Djokovic (SRB)[3]
2. Women's Singles - Fourth Round
Serena Williams (USA)[1] v. Shahar Peer (ISR)[18]
3. Men's Singles - Fourth Round
Thomaz Bellucci (BRA)[24] v. Rafael Nadal (ESP)[2]
4. Women's Singles - Fourth Round
Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[4] v. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)[23]

Court Suzanne Lenglen 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Singles - Fourth Round
Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) v. Jurgen Melzer (AUT)[22]
Not Before 13:00
2. Women's Singles - Fourth Round
Justine Henin (BEL)[22] v. Samantha Stosur (AUS)[7]
3. Men's Singles - Fourth Round
Fernando Verdasco (ESP)[7] v. Nicolas Almagro (ESP)[19]
4. Women's Singles - Fourth Round
Jarmila Groth (AUS) v. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ)

Court 1 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - Third Round
Lukasz Kubot (POL)/Oliver Marach (AUT)[6] v. Stephen Huss (AUS)/Andre Sa (BRA)
2. Men's Doubles - Third Round
Julien Benneteau (FRA)/Michael Llodra (FRA)[15] v. Wesley Moodie (RSA)/Dick Norman (BEL)[4]
3. Women's Doubles - Fourth Round
Liezel Huber (USA)/A. Medina Garrigues (ESP)[3] v. Gisela Dulko (ARG)/Flavia Pennetta (ITA)[5]
4. Women's Doubles - Third Round
Monica Niculescu (ROU)/Shahar Peer (ISR) v. Yung-Jan Chan (TPE)/Jie Zheng (CHN)[10]
5. Women's Doubles - Fourth Round
Serena Williams (USA)/Venus Williams (USA)[1] v. Maria Kirilenko (RUS)/Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[11]

Court 2 11:00 Start Time
1. Girls' Singles - First Round
Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor (ESP) v. Leolia Jeanjean (FRA)
Not Before 13:00
2. Men's Doubles - Third Round
Thierry Ascione (FRA)/Laurent Recouderc (FRA) v. Mariusz Fyrstenberg (POL)/Marcin Matkowski (POL)[8]
3. Mixed Doubles - Third Round
Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP)/Oliver Marach (AUT)[3] v. Alisa Kleybanova (RUS)/Max Mirnyi (BLR)[5]
4. Women's Doubles - Third Round
Alona Bondarenko (UKR)/Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) v. Nadia Petrova (RUS)[4]/Samantha Stosur (AUS)[4]

Court 3 11:00 Start Time
1. Boys' Singles - First Round
Taro Daniel (JPN) v. Lucas Pouille (FRA)
2. Girls' Singles - Second Round
Ester Goldfeld (USA) v. Amandine Hesse (FRA)
Not Before 13:00
3. Mixed Doubles - Second Round
Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)/Bruno Soares (BRA) v. Cara Black (ZIM)/Leander Paes (IND)[2] To Finish 5-7 2-0
4. Boys' Singles - Second Round
Gianni Mina (FRA)[3] v. Alessandro Colella (ITA)
5. Mixed Doubles - Second Round
Vania King (USA)/Christopher Kas (GER) v. Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB)/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK)

Roland Garros 2010 Day 8 Open Thread

AP

Austria's Jurgen Melzer reacts after defeating Spain's David Ferrer during their third round match for the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday May 29, 2010. Straight. Sets. With a middle-set bagel. Upset of the event so far.

::

Just returned from my Harvard 20th anniversary reunion. Tennis comes on ESPN at noon in my market today, so I'm sure they're air matches that have already been decided and since I haven't watched a lick of tennis today, I'm posting this thread as though play has only just begun.

Humor me.

Right not, I'm barely watching this pushy pushy dogfight between Caroline Wozniacki and Flavia Pennetta on Tennis Channel. Ugly day in Paris.

I won't be commenting because I don't want to read any spoilers.

Schedule for Day 8: Sunday, 30 May 2010

Court Philippe Chatrier 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Fourth Round
Elena Dementieva (RUS)[5] v. Chanelle Scheepers (RSA)
Not Before 12:00
2. Women's Singles - Third Round
Maria Sharapova (RUS)[12] v. Justine Henin (BEL)[22] To Finish 2-6 6-3
3. Women's Singles - Fourth Round
Nadia Petrova (RUS)[19] v. Venus Williams (USA)[2]
4. Men's Singles - Fourth Round
Roger Federer (SUI)[1] v. Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)[20]
5. Men's Singles - Fourth Round
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)[11] v. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)[8]

Court Suzanne Lenglen 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Fourth Round
Maria Kirilenko (RUS)[30] v. Francesca Schiavone (ITA)[17]
2. Women's Singles - Fourth Round
Flavia Pennetta (ITA)[14] v. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)[3]
3. Men's Singles - Fourth Round
Marin Cilic (CRO)[10] v. Robin Soderling (SWE)[5]
4. Men's Singles - Fourth Round
Andy Murray (GBR)[4] v. Tomas Berdych (CZE)[15]

Court 1 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Doubles - Third Round
Olga Govortsova (BLR)/Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS)[15] v. Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP)/Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP)[2]
2. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Julien Benneteau (FRA)/Michael Llodra (FRA)[15] v. Rohan Bopanna (IND)/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK)
3. Men's Doubles - Third Round
Julian Knowle (AUT)/Andy Ram (ISR)[10] v. Nicolas Almagro (ESP)/Santiago Ventura (ESP)
4. Women's Doubles - Third Round
Serena Williams (USA)/Venus Williams (USA)[1] v. Andrea Hlavackova (CZE)/Lucie Hradecka (CZE)[16]

Court 2 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Lukasz Kubot (POL)/Oliver Marach (AUT)[6] v. Leonardo Mayer (ARG)/Horacio Zeballos (ARG)
Not Before 13:00
2. Men's Doubles - Third Round
Guillaume Rufin (FRA)/Alexandre Sidorenko (FRA) v. Daniel Nestor (CAN)/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)[2]
3. Men's Doubles - Third Round
Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)Leander Paes (IND)[3] v. Santiago Gonzalez (MEX)/Travis Rettenmaier (USA)
4. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Vania King (USA)/Michaella Krajicek (NED) v. Nadia Petrova (RUS)/Samantha Stosur (AUS)[4]
5. Mixed Doubles - Second Round
Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)/Bruno Soares (BRA) v. Cara Black (ZIM)/Leander Paes (IND)[2]

Court 3 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Doubles - Third Round
Liezel Huber (USA)/A. Medina Garrigues (ESP)[3] v. Iveta Benesova (CZE)/Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE)[13]
2. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Alexandr Dolgopolov Jr (UKR)/Denis Istomin (UZB) v. Mariusz Fyrstenberg (POL)/Marcin Matkowski (POL)[8]
3. Women's Doubles - Third Round
Maria Kirilenko (RUS)/Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[11] v. Lisa Raymond (USA)/Rennae Stubbs (AUS)[7]
4. Mixed Doubles - Second Round
Yung-Jan Chan (TPE)/Eric Butorac (USA) v. Aurelie Vedy (FRA)/Michael Llodra (FRA)

Court 4 11:00 Start Time
1. Girls' Singles - First Round
Danka Kovinic (MNE) v. Kristyna Pliskova (CZE)[8]
2. Boys' Singles - First Round
Jozef Kovalik (SVK) v. Agustin Velotti (ARG)
3. Boys' Singles - First Round
Lucas Szewczyk (FRA) v. Dane Webb (USA)
4. Boys' Singles - First Round
Micke Kontinen (FIN) v. John Morrissey (IRL)
5. Girls' Singles - First Round
Anna-Lena Friedsam (GER) v. Katarena Paliivets (CAN)

Court 5 11:00 Start Time
1. Girls' Singles - First Round
Morgane Pons (FRA) v. Karolina Pliskova (CZE)[2]
2. Boys' Singles - First Round
Sam Barry (IRL) v. Mitchell Frank (USA)[13]
3. Boys' Singles - First Round
Sebastian Lavie (NZL) v. Tiago Fernandes (BRA)[5]
4. Girls' Singles - First Round
Elina Svitolina (UKR) v. Jana Cepelova (SVK)
5. Boys' Singles - First Round
Filip Horansky (SVK) v. Darian King (BAR)

Court 6 11:00 Start Time
1. Boys' Singles - First Round
Gianni Mina (FRA)[3] v. Ricardo Rodriguez (VEN)
2. Girls' Singles - First Round
Monica Puig (PUR)[1] v. Clothilde De Bernardi (FRA)
3. Boys' Singles - First Round
Daniel Berta (SWE)[1] v. Junior A. Ore (USA)
4. Girls' Singles - First Round
Charlene Seateun (FRA) v. Jovana Jaksic (SRB)

Court 7 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Colin Fleming (GBR)/Ken Skupski (GBR) v. Wesley Moodie (RSA)/Dick Norman (BEL)[4]
2. Men's Doubles - Third Round
Marcelo Melo (BRA)/Bruno Soares (BRA) v. Daniele Bracciali (ITA)/Potito Starace (ITA)
3. Men's Doubles - Third Round
Marc Lopez (ESP)/Pere Riba (ESP) v. Frantisek Cermak (CZE)/Michal Mertinak (SVK)[9]
4. Women's Doubles - Third Round
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA)/Zi Yan (CHN)[9] v. Gisela Dulko (ARG)/Flavia Pennetta (ITA)[5]
5. Mixed Doubles - Second Round
Julie Coin (FRA)/Nicolas Mahut (FRA) v. Alisa Kleybanova (RUS)/Max Mirnyi (BLR)[5]

Court 8 11:00 Start Time
1. Girls' Singles - First Round
Grace Sari Ysidora (INA) v. Ulrikke Eikeri (NOR)
2. Boys' Singles - First Round
Alessandro Colella (ITA) v. Hugo Dellien (BOL)
3. Girls' Singles - First Round
Nour Abbes (TUN) v. Daria Gavrilova (RUS)[7]
4. Boys' Singles - First Round
Mikhail Biryukov (RUS)[14] v. Juan Sebastian Gomez (COL)
5. Girls' Singles - First Round
Timea Babos (HUN)[5] v. Ilona Kremen (BLR)

Court 9 11:00 Start Time
1. Boys' Singles - First Round
Dominic Thiem (AUT)[8] v. Ashley Hewitt (GBR)
2. Girls' Singles - First Round
Adriana Perez (VEN) v. Garbine Muguruza Blanco (ESP)
3. Girls' Singles - First Round
Paula Kania (POL) v. Silvia Njiric (CRO)
4. Boys' Singles - First Round
Andrea Collarini (USA) v. Jiri Vesely (CZE)[4]
5. Girls' Singles - First Round
Emi Mutaguchi (JPN) v. Doroteja Eric (SRB)

Court 10 11:00 Start Time
1. Girls' Singles - First Round
Ons Jabeur (TUN) v. Sophia Kovalets (UKR)
2. Boys' Singles - First Round
Carlos Boluda-Purkiss (ESP) v. Jannick Lupescu (NED)
3. Girls' Singles - First Round
Tamara Curovic (SRB)[12] v. Ester Goldfeld (USA)
4. Boys' Singles - First Round
Andrew Whittington (AUS) v. Tobias Blomgren (SWE)
5. Girls' Singles - First Round
Zarah Razafimahatratra (MAD) v. Lauren Davis (USA)[10]

Court 11 11:00 Start Time
1. Boys' Singles - First Round
Guilherme Clezar (BRA) v. Raymond Sarmiento (USA)
2. Girls' Singles - First Round
Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) v. Grace Min (USA)
3. Boys' Singles - First Round
Facundo Arguello (ARG) v. Kevin Krawietz (GER)[7]
4. Boys' Singles - First Round
Denis Kudla (USA)[6] v. Justin Eleveld (NED)
5. Girls' Singles - First Round
Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN)[6] v. Chantal Skamlova (SVK)

Court 14 11:00 Start Time
1. Boys' Singles - First Round
Romain Arneodo (FRA) v. Renzo Olivo (ARG)[11]
2. Girls' Singles - First Round
Risa Ozaki (JPN) v. Lyudmyla Kichenok (UKR)[13]
3. Boys' Singles - First Round
Mick Lescure (FRA) v. Oliver Golding (GBR)
4. Girls' Singles - First Round
Akiko Omae (JPN) v. Nanuli Pipiya (RUS)[16]
5. Boys' Singles - First Round
Yasutaka Uchiyama (JPN)[16] v. Karue Sell (BRA)

Court 16 11:00 Start Time
1. Boys' Singles - First Round
Tristan Lamasine (FRA) v. Peter Heller (GER)
2. Girls' Singles - First Round
Jade Suvrijn (FRA) v. Richel Hogenkamp (NED)
3. Girls' Singles - First Round
Amandine Hesse (FRA) v. Luksika Kumkhum (THA)
4. Boys' Singles - First Round
Thomas Szewczyk (FRA) v. Federico Gaio (ITA)
5. Girls' Singles - First Round
Natalija Kostic (SRB) v. Estelle Cascino (FRA)

Court 17 11:00 Start Time
1. Girls' Singles - First Round
Caroline Garcia (FRA)[15] v. Mai Grage (DEN)
Not Before 13:00
2. Women's Doubles - Third Round
Cara Black (ZIM)/Elena Vesnina (RUS)[6] v. Kveta Peschke (CZE)/Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)[12]
3. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Alisa Kleybanova (RUS)/Francesca Schiavone (ITA)[8] v. Monica Niculescu (ROU)/Shahar Peer (ISR)
4. Boys' Singles - First Round
Mate Pavic (CRO) v. Mathias Bourgue (FRA)

17:00 Start Time
1. Mixed Doubles - Second Round
Andrea Hlavackova (CZE)/Michal Mertinak (SVK) v. Tathiana Garbin (ITA)/Marcin Matkowski (POL)
2. Mixed Doubles - Second Round
Vania King (USA)/Christopher Kas (GER) v. Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB)/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK)

Roland Garros 2010 Day 7 Open Thread

Reuters

Had to cater a dinner party last night. Watched much of the tennis (too much, really) in between set up chores, but was too wiped out to write about any of it. Apologies.

Woke up late to see Serena Williams dizzy and Andy Roddick getting his clocked cleaned by Teimuraz Gabashvili. Whenever tennis genius (/snark) Brad Gilbert boasted that Roddick would be excited to play a qualifier in the third round, I wondered if he'd ever seen the Russian play. I thought Roddick might win a set, but if the Russian kept his head, no way would Roddick get through.

The Russian kept his head.

Funny how everybody else can hit through court Suzanne Lenglen but Roddick who thinks it's the slowest court in Stade de Roland Garros. Gabashvili, a flat ballstriker with virtually no topspin on his shots, hit 58 winners, Roddick 14.

Tennis is mental. It was too much to ask for Roddick to make the second week of Roland Garros twice in a row. At least Serena survived her dizzy spell.

Then the score scrolled by and I saw the Bryan Brothers are also lost while I was asleep. Now, Nadia Petrova is trying to serve for the match for the third or fourth or fifth time against Aravane Rezai in an unending chokefest. Both have held three match points, all of Miss Nadia's on her own serve, and yet they're still out their slugging away. I know the match was suspended by darkness, but it feels like it went on through the night for I can see no progress in this storyline. Much like a soap opera.

Anyway....

Schedule for Day 7: Saturday, 29 May 2010

Court Philippe Chatrier 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Third Round
Serena Williams (USA)[1] v. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)[29]
Not Before 12:00
2. Women's Singles - Third Round
Aravane Rezai (FRA)[15] v. Nadia Petrova (RUS)[19] To Finish 7-6(2) 4-6 7-7
3. Men's Singles - Third Round
Victor Hanescu (ROU)[31] v. Novak Djokovic (SRB)[3]
4. Men's Singles - Third Round
Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)[28] v. Rafael Nadal (ESP)[2]
5. Women's Singles - Third Round
Maria Sharapova (RUS)[12] v. Justine Henin (BEL)[22]

Court Suzanne Lenglen 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Singles - Third Round
Andy Roddick (USA)[6] v. Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS)
2. Women's Singles - Third Round
Shahar Peer (ISR)[18] v. Marion Bartoli (FRA)[13]
3. Men's Singles - Third Round
Fernando Verdasco (ESP)[7] v. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)[30]
4. Women's Singles - Third Round
Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[4] v. Alona Bondarenko (UKR)[27]

Court 1 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Third Round
Jarmila Groth (AUS) v. Anastasia Rodionova (AUS)
2. Men's Singles - Third Round
Jurgen Melzer (AUT)[22] v. David Ferrer (ESP)[9]
3. Men's Singles - Third Round
Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP)[16] v. Robby Ginepri (USA)
4. Women's Singles - Third Round
Anastasia Pivovarova (RUS) v. Samantha Stosur (AUS)[7]

Court 2 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Bob Bryan (USA)/Mike Bryan (USA)[1] v. Marcelo Melo (BRA)/Bruno Soares (BRA)
2. Women's Singles - Third Round
Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)[23] v. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL)[16]
3. Men's Singles - Third Round
Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)[14] v. Thomaz Bellucci (BRA)[24]
4. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Serena Williams (USA)Venus Williams (USA)[1] v. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)/Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)

Court 3 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Thierry Ascione (FRA)/Laurent Recouderc (FRA) v. Andrey Golubev (KAZ)/Paolo Lorenzi (ITA)
2. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Alberta Brianti (ITA)/Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU) v. Gisela Dulko (ARG)/Flavia Pennetta (ITA)[5]
3. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Julian Knowle (AUT)/Andy Ram (ISR)[10] v. Gael Monfils (FRA)/Josselin Ouanna (FRA)
4. Mixed Doubles - Second Round
Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP)/Oliver Marach (AUT)[3] v. Stephanie Cohen-Aloro (FRA)/Thierry Ascione (FRA)
5. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Nicolas Almagro (ESP)/Santiago Ventura (ESP) v. Marc Gicquel (FRA)/Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA)

Court 5 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)/Julia Goerges (GER) v. Andrea Hlavackova (CZE)/Lucie Hradecka (CZE)[16]
2. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA)/Zi Yan (CHN)[9] v. Sara Errani (ITA)/Roberta Vinci (ITA)
3. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Maria Kirilenko (RUS)/Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[11] v. Petra Kvitova (CZE)/Stefanie Voegele (SUI)

Court 6 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Darija Jurak (CRO)/Petra Martic (CRO) v. Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP)/Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP)[2]
Not Before 12:00
2. Men's Singles - Third Round
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)[11] v. Viktor Troicki (SRB) To Finish 2-6 7-6(4) 6-2 3-1
3. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Lucie Safarova (CZE)/Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) v. Iveta Benesova (CZE)/Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE)[13]
4. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Mardy Fish (USA)/Mark Knowles (BAH)[13] v. Guillaume Rufin (FRA)/Alexandre Sidorenko (FRA)
5. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Rennae Stubbs (AUS)/Robert Lindstedt (SWE) v. Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)/Bruno Soares (BRA)
6. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Tathiana Garbin (ITA)/Marcin Matkowski (POL) v. Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA)/Mark Knowles (BAH)[4]

Court 7 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - First Round
Rohan Bopanna (IND)/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) v. Fabio Fognini (ITA)/Michael Russell (USA)
2. Women's Singles - Third Round
Alisa Kleybanova (RUS)[28] v. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ)
3. Men's Singles - Third Round
Nicolas Almagro (ESP)[19] v. Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr (UKR)
4. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Liezel Huber (USA)/Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)[1] v. Yung-Jan Chan (TPE)/Eric Butorac (USA)
5. Mixed Doubles - Second Round
Elena Vesnina (RUS)/Andy Ram (ISR) v. Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)[6]/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)[6]

Court 8 11:00 Start Time
1. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Julie Coin (FRA)/Nicolas Mahut (FRA) v. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)/Horia Tecau (ROU)
2. Men's Doubles - First Round
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP)/Albert Montanes (ESP) v. Wesley Moodie (RSA)/Dick Norman (BEL)[4]
3. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Viktor Troicki (SRB)/Dusan Vemic (SRB) v. Santiago Gonzalez (MEX)/Travis Rettenmaier (USA)

Court 16 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Jonathan Erlich (ISR)/Dudi Sela (ISR) v. Stephen Huss (AUS)/Andre Sa (BRA)
2. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/Max Mirnyi (BLR)[5] v. Marc Lopez (ESP)/Pere Riba (ESP)
3. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR)/Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) v. Frantisek Cermak (CZE)/Michal Mertinak (SVK)[9]
4. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Lisa Raymond (USA)/Wesley Moodie (RSA)[7] v. Vania King (USA)/Christopher Kas (GER)
5. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Flavia Pennetta (ITA)/Dusan Vemic (SRB) v. Alisa Kleybanova (RUS)/Max Mirnyi (BLR)[5]

Court 17 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)/Leander Paes (IND)[3] v. Yves Allegro (SUI)/Andreas Beck (GER)
2. Men's Doubles - First Round
Lukasz Kubot (POL)/Oliver Marach (AUT)[6] v. Thiemo De Bakker (NED)/Rogier Wassen (NED)
3. Men's Doubles - Second Round
Simon Greul (GER)/Peter Luczak (AUS) v. Daniel Nestor (CAN)/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)[2]
4. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB)/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) v. Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE)/Filip Polasek (SVK)
5. Mixed Doubles - Second Round
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ)/Julian Knowle (AUT) v. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE)/Frantisek Cermak (CZE)

Roland Garros 2010 Day 5 Open Thread

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After nearly a five-hour rain delay, live tennis is underway. American Andy Roddick is playing clay court tennis against Blaz Kavcic, a Slovenian clay court challenger who dismissed Argentinean clay court player Edwardo Schwank in the first round and became the first Slovenian male to ever win a Slam match. As per John McEnroe.

Because of the delay, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal, both scheduled last on their respective courts, have already been sent home.

Later the Gael Monfils, Fabio Fognini debacle from last night's darkness will commence after Jelena Jankovic cleans the dirt with her opponent. One would think, after all the wait, they would have put them first up. But that would have been too much like right.

Here's hoping the feisty one can send the clownish one home.

Schedule for Day 5: Thursday, 27 May 2010

Court Philippe Chatrier 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Second Round
Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[4] v. Kaia Kanepi (EST)

Not Before 12:30
2. Men's Singles - Second Round
Fabio Fognini (ITA) v. Gael Monfils (FRA)[13] To Finish 2-6 4-6 7-5 6-4 5-5
3. Women's Singles - Second Round
Klara Zakopalova (CZE) v. Justine Henin (BEL)[22]
4. Men's Singles - Second Round
Fernando Verdasco (ESP)[7] v. Florent Serra (FRA)
5. Men's Singles - Second Round
Horacio Zeballos (ARG) v. Rafael Nadal (ESP)[2]

Court Suzanne Lenglen 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Singles - Second Round
Andy Roddick (USA)[6] v. Blaz Kavcic (SLO)
2. Women's Singles - Second Round
Olivia Sanchez (FRA) v. Marion Bartoli (FRA)[13]
3. Men's Singles - Second Round
Kei Nishikori (JPN) v. Novak Djokovic (SRB)[3]
4. Women's Singles - Second Round
Serena Williams (USA)[1] v. Julia Goerges (GER)

Court 1 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Second Round
Alisa Kleybanova (RUS)[28] v. Ana Ivanovic (SRB)
Not Before 12:30
2. Men's Singles - Second Round
Andy Murray (GBR)[4] v. Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) To Finish 6-2 3-3
3. Men's Singles - Second Round
Jurgen Melzer (AUT)[22] v. Nicolas Mahut (FRA)
4. Women's Singles - Second Round
Maria Sharapova (RUS)[12] v. Kirsten Flipkens (BEL)
5. Men's Singles - Second Round
Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr (UKR) v. Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)[12]

Court 2 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Second Round
Elena Dementieva (RUS)[5] v. A. Medina Garrigues (ESP)
2. Men's Singles - Second Round
Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP)[16] v. Pere Riba (ESP)
3. Women's Singles - Second Round
Rossana De Los Rios (PAR) v. Samantha Stosur (AUS)[7]
4. Men's Singles - Second Round
Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)[28] v. Denis Istomin (UZB)

Court 3 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Second Round
Francesca Schiavone (ITA)[17] v. Sophie Ferguson (AUS)
Not Before 12:30
2. Men's Singles - Second Round
Marcos Baghdatis (ESP) v. Marcel Granollers (CYP)[25] To Finish 4-6 6-1 7-5
3. Men's Singles - Second Round
Pablo Andujar (ESP) v. Thomaz Bellucci (BRA)[24]
4. Women's Singles - Second Round
Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)[23] v. Olga Govortsova (BLR)
5. Men's Singles - Second Round
Nicolas Almagro (ESP)[19] v. Steve Darcis (BEL)

Court 4 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Second Round
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) v. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[8]
2. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Alize Cornet (FRA)/Aravane Rezai (FRA) v. Lisa Raymond (USA)/Rennae Stubbs (AUS)[7]
3. Women's Doubles - First Round
Sara Errani (ITA)/Roberta Vinci (ITA) v. Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)/Selima Sfar (TUN)
4. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Maria Kirilenko (RUS)/Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[11] v. Petra Kvitova (CZE)/Stefanie Voegele (SUI)
5. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)/Alexandre Sidorenko (FRA) v. Aurelie Vedy (FRA)/Michael Llodra (FRA)

Court 5 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Second Round
Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) v. Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR)[32]
2. Women's Singles - Second Round
Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) v. Alona Bondarenko (UKR)[27]
3. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Lucie Safarova (CZE)/Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) v. Iveta Benesova (CZE)/Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE)[13]
4. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Vera Dushevina (RUS)/Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)[14] v. Alona Bondarenko (UKR)/Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR)

Court 6 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Second Round
Kimiko Date Krumm (JPN) v. Jarmila Groth (AUS)
Not Before 12:30
2. Men's Singles - Second Round
Marco Chiudinelli (USA)[17] v. John Isner (SUI) To Finish 7-6(3) 5-5
3. Men's Singles - Second Round
Potito Starace (ITA) v. Robby Ginepri (USA)
4. Men's Doubles - First Round
Richard Gasquet (FRA)/Sebastien Grosjean (FRA) v. Gael Monfils (FRA)/Josselin Ouanna (FRA)
5. Women's Singles - Second Round
Jie Zheng (CHN)[25] v. Anastasia Pivovarova (RUS)

Court 7 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Second Round
Stephanie Cohen-Aloro (FRA) v. Na Li (CHN)[11]
2. Men's Singles - Second Round
Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)[14] v. Mardy Fish (USA)
3. Men's Singles - Second Round
Xavier Malisse (BEL) v. David Ferrer (ESP)[9]
4. Women's Singles - Second Round
Sybille Bammer (AUT) v. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL)[16]

Court 8 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - First Round
Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR)/Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) v. David Marrero (ESP)/Stephane Robert (FRA)
2. Men's Doubles - First Round
Marc Gicquel (FRA)/Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) v. Simon Aspelin (SWE)/Paul Hanley (AUS)[7]
3. Men's Doubles - First Round
Ross Hutchins (GBR)/Jordan Kerr (AUS) v. Daniel Nestor (CAN)/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)[2]
4. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Anastasia Rodionova (AUS)/Paul Hanley (AUS) v. Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS)/Simon Aspelin (SWE)
5. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE)/Frantisek Cermak (CZE) v. Patty Schnyder (SUI)/Daniel Nestor (CAN)

Court 9 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - First Round
Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)/Leander Paes (IND)[3] v. Johan Brunstrom (SWE)/Jean-Julien Rojer (AHO)
2. Men's Doubles - First Round
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP)/Albert Montanes (ESP) v. Wesley Moodie (RSA)/Dick Norman (BEL)[4]
3. Men's Doubles - First Round
Stephen Huss (AUS)/Andre Sa (BRA) v. Marcel Granollers (ESP)/Tommy Robredo (ESP)[11]
4. Men's Doubles - First Round
Mardy Fish (USA)/Mark Knowles (BAH)[13] v. Carsten Ball (AUS)/Chris Guccione (AUS)

Court 10 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - First Round
Andrey Golubev (KAZ)/Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) v. Alejandro Falla (COL)/Santiago Giraldo (COL)
2. Men's Doubles - First Round
Lukasz Kubot (POL)/Oliver Marach (AUT)[6] v. Thiemo De Bakker (NED)/Rogier Wassen (NED)
3. Men's Doubles - First Round
Marcelo Melo (BRA)/Bruno Soares (BRA) v. Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG)/Eduardo Schwank (ARG)
4. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Andrea Hlavackova (CZE)/Michal Mertinak (SVK) v. Monica Niculescu (ROU)/Michael Kohlmann (GER)
5. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Rennae Stubbs (AUS)/Robert Lindstedt (SWE) v. Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)/Bruno Soares (BRA)

Court 11 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - First Round
Tomasz Bednarek (POL)/Mateusz Kowalczyk (POL) v. Mariusz Fyrstenberg (POL)/Marcin Matkowski (POL)[8]
Not Before 12:30
2. Women's Doubles - First Round
Darija Jurak (CRO)/Petra Martic (CRO) v. Claire Feuerstein (FRA)/Stephanie Foretz (FRA) To Finish 6-7(6) 6-2
3. Men's Doubles - First Round
Karol Beck (SVK)/Jaroslav Levinsky (CZE) v. Guillaume Rufin (FRA)/Alexandre Sidorenko (FRA)
4. Men's Doubles - First Round
Rohan Bopanna (IND)/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) v. Fabio Fognini (ITA)/Michael Russell (USA)
5. Mixed Doubles - First Round
Pauline Parmentier (FRA)/Marc Gicquel (FRA) v. Cara Black (ZIM)/Leander Paes (IND)[2]

Court 14 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Doubles - First Round
Jamie Delgado (GBR)/Evgeny Korolev (KAZ) v. Thierry Ascione (FRA)/Laurent Recouderc (FRA)
2. Men's Doubles - First Round
Julien Benneteau (FRA)/Michael Llodra (FRA)[15] v. Leos Friedl (CZE)/David Skoch (CZE)
3. Men's Doubles - First Round
Colin Fleming (GBR)/Ken Skupski (GBR) v. Marco Chiudinelli (SUI)/Christopher Kas (GER)
4. Women's Doubles - First Round
Mathilde Johansson (FRA)/Camille Pin (FRA) v. Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP)/Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP)[2]
5. Women's Doubles - Second Round
Edina Gallovits (ROU)/Melanie Oudin (USA) v. Kveta Peschke (CZE)/Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)[12]

Court 16 11:00 Start Time
1. Women's Singles - Second Round
Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) v. Vera Zvonareva (RUS)[21]
2. Men's Doubles - First Round
Bob Bryan (USA)/Mike Bryan (USA)[1] v. Jan Hajek (CZE)/Lukas Lacko (SVK)
3. Men's Singles - Second Round
Victor Hanescu (ROU)[31] v. Yuri Schukin (KAZ)
4. Men's Doubles - First Round
Philipp Marx (GER)/Igor Zelenay (SVK) v. Nicolas Devilder (FRA)/Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)

Court 17 11:00 Start Time
1. Men's Singles - Second Round
Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) v. Grega Zemlja (SLO)
2. Women's Singles - Second Round
Shahar Peer (ISR)[18] v. Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA)
3. Men's Singles - Second Round
Andreas Seppi (ITA) v. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)[30]
4. Women's Singles - Second Round
Jill Craybas (USA) v. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)[29]