andrewbroad
May 25th, 2009, 02:01 AM
=============
ROLAND GARROS (Paris, France; red clay; Major)
============= http://www.rolandgarros.com/
Contents
--------
1. UK TV-alert
2. First-round draw
3. Lucie Šafářová preview
4. Women's Doubles: First-round draw
5. Order of play for Monday
My French Open 2009 master-thread:
http://www.tennisforum.com/showthread.php?t=379808
--------------
1. UK TV-alert
--------------
The French Open will be televised on BBC Red Button from 10:00 BST each day of the tournament (digital viewers press Red or select the appropriate Freeview-channel - 301 or 302).
Sunday 24th May to Friday 5th June, 10:00-19:00, BBC Red Button
Women's final: Saturday 6th June, 14:00-16:30, BBC 2
Men's final: Sunday 7th June: 14:00-18:00, BBC 2
-------------------
2. First-round draw (Sunday's losers removed)
-------------------
The players on the left are the ones I want to win.
2.1 Top quarter
---------------
* Anne Keothavong v DINARA SAFINA [1] (let's get rid of Safina)
* Vitalia Diatchenko [Q,S] won
* Julie Coin won
* ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA [27] won
* Polona Hercog [Q] v ALISA KLEYBANOVA [23] (dajmo Polona!)
* Aravane Rezaď v Ai Sugiyama (allez Aravane!)
* Michelle Larcher de Brito [Q] v Melanie South (Brito > this Briton)
* ZHENG,JIE [15] v Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro (jia you Jie!)
* VICTORIA AZARENKA [9] won
* Kristina Barrois won
* Lucie Hradecká [s] v Yvonne Meusburger [Q] (pojďme Lucie!)
* Edina Gallovits v CARLA SUÁREZ NAVARRO [22]
* IVETA BENEŠOVÁ [32] won
* Alla Kudryavtseva won
* Camille Pin v Tamarine Tanasugarn
* ANA IVANOVIĆ [8,DF] won
2.2 Second quarter: Lucie Šafářová, Maria Sharapova
---------------------------------------------------
* VENUS WILLIAMS [3] v Bethanie Mattek-Sands
* Lucie Šafářová [EF] v Sabine Lisicki [DF] (my loyalty is to LUCIE)
* Elena Vesnina won
* ÁGNES SZÁVAY [29] v Corinna Dentoni [Q]
* DOMINIKA CIBULKOVÁ [20] v Alyona Bondarenko (my loyalty is to Domi)
* Kirsten Flipkens v Stéphanie Foretz (komaan Kirsten!)
* Gisela Dulko [DF] won
* Anna-Lena Grönefeld won
* NADIA PETROVA [11] won
* Maria Sharapova [EF] v Anastasiya Yakimova (DAVAI MARIA!!)
* Arantxa Rus [Q] won
* Yaroslava Shvedova [Q] won
* LI,NA [25] won
* Timea Bacsinszky won
* Irena Pavlović [WC,S] v Akgul Amanmuradova (allez Irena!)
* Katie O'Brien [LL] v Olga Govortsova (my loyalty is to Katie)
N.B. Katie O'Brien [LL] replaces VERA ZVONARËVA [6,EF]. :bigcry:
2.3 Third quarter: Chakvetadze, Hantuchová, Dokić
-------------------------------------------------
* Petra Cetkovská v JELENA JANKOVIĆ [5] (pojďme Petra!)
* Magdaléna Rybáriková [DF] v Kristina Mladenović [WC] (poďme Magda!)
* Jarmila Groth v Kinnie Laisné [WC]
* ANNA CHAKVETADZE [26,EF] v Mariana Duque Marino [LL] (DAVAI ANNA!!)
* ALIZÉ CORNET [21] v Maret Ani (allez Alizé!)
* Sorana Cîrstea v Carly Gullickson [Q] (hai Sorana!)
* Tsvetana Pironkova [DF] v Jill Craybas (aide Tsvetana!)
* CAROLINE WOZNIACKI [10] v Vera Dushevina (kom sĺ Caroline!)
* MARION BARTOLI [13,DF,S] v Pauline Parmentier (allez Marion!)
* Ayumi Morita [s] v Tathiana Garbin (ganbatte Ayumi!)
* Daniela Hantuchová [EF] v Virginie Razzano (POĎME DANIELA!!)
* Ekaterina Makarova v ANABEL MEDINA GARRIGUES [18]
* SAMANTHA STOSUR [30] v Francesca Schiavone
* Urszula Radwańska v Yanina Wickmayer (my loyalty is to Urszula)
* Jelena Dokić [EF] v Karolina Šprem [DF] (my loyalty is to JELENA)
* ELENA DEMENTIEVA [4] v Chanelle Scheepers [Q]
2.4 Bottom quarter: Nicole Vaidišová
------------------------------------
* SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [7] v Claire Feuerstein [WC]
* Sania Mirza [DF] v Galina Voskoboeva (go Sania!)
* Anastasija Sevastova [Q] v Melinda Czink
* Nathalie Dechy v SYBILLE BAMMER [28]
* Kateryna Bondarenko v PATTY SCHNYDER [17]
* Maria Kirilenko [DF] v Olivia Rogowska [WC] (davai Maria!)
* Patricia Mayr v Mariya Koryttseva
* Rossana de los Ríos v AGNIESZKA RADWAŃSKA [12]
* FLAVIA PENNETTA [14,DF] v Alexa Glatch (forza Flavia!)
* Barbora Záhlavová Strýcová v Lourdes Domínguez Lino
* Mara Santangelo v Petra Martić [Q]
* Monica Niculescu [s] v ALEKSANDRA WOZNIAK [24] (hai Monica!)
* PENG,SHUAI [31,S] v María José Martínez Sánchez (jia you Shuai!)
* Viktoriya Kutuzova v Zuzana Ondrášková [Q] (my loyalty is to Viktoriya)
* Nicole Vaidišová [EF] v Virginia Ruano Pascual (my loyalty is to NICOLE)
* Klára Zakopalová v SERENA WILLIAMS [2] (pojďme Klára!)
-------------------------
3. Lucie Šafářová preview
-------------------------
After enduring an injury-induced slump in 2008, Lucie's recent form is much more encouraging. She has a positive win/loss record of 17:11 for 2009 so far, and has risen from #63 to #46 in the rankings.
Prior to the main clay-court season, Lucie had two wins in each of Brisbane, the Australian Open, Memphis and Monterrey, and one win each at Indian Wells and Miami. Her only first-round losses came at Sydney and Acapulco. She also won both Fed Cup rubbers that she played for Czechia (one in February, the other in April).
Lucie's form improved even more in the clay-court season. She reached the quarter-finals of Barcelona, then took a set off #5-ranked Venus Williams in the second round of Rome.
Then she reached the third round of Madrid, beating world #19 Kaia Kanepi 6-2 2-3 retired in the first round, and #57 Anne Keothavong 6-1 7-5 in the second round. She then lost 6-0 4-6 6-3 to world #1 Dinara Safina - and was the only player to take a set off the eventual champion all week.
To take sets off the world #5 and #1 in her last two tournaments is a very encouraging sign for Lucie ahead of the French Open!
What's not so encouraging, however, is the draw: Charleston-champion Sabine Lisicki, potentially followed by a second-round showdown against world #3 Venus Williams.
3.1 First-round preview: Šafářová v Lisicki
-------------------------------------------
19-year-old Sabine Lisicki is a top player in the making. She has a huge serve and a big backhand, and I consider her the most exciting up-and-coming player in women's tennis at the moment. I recently decided to become a demi-fan of Sabine, and was hoping for her to have a great run at the French Open until I learned that she had to play Lucie!
Sabine's 2009 so far has been even more impressive than Lucie's: while they have both won 17 matches, Sabine has only had 8 losses to Lucie's 11. Sabine is currently ranked #39, but will surely be much higher by the end of the year.
After a second-round loss at the Australian Open, Sabine beat Lucie 6-3 6-4 in the quarter-finals of Memphis - their only prior meeting. Sabine then lost her semi-final 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7/1) to eventual champion Victoria Azarenka.
Sabine only won two matches in her next three tournaments (Indian Wells, Miami and Ponte Vedra Beach), but then she stunned the tennis-world by winning the Premier tournament at Charleston for her first WTA singles-title: she stunned world #5 Venus Williams 6-4 7-6 in the third round, then thrashed #57 Elena Vesnina 6-4 6-0, #12 Marion Bartoli 6-3 6-1, and #12 Caroline Wozniacki 6-2 6-4 to take the title!
I already knew that Sabine was talented, pretty, and a great fighter, but I think her Charleston-victory proves that she is one of the fine young players making their way towards the very top of women's tennis.
But things haven't really gone Sabine's way since Charleston: she had a respectable 7-5 5-7 6-3 loss to world #4 Jelena Janković in the second round of Stuttgart, then retired in the quarter-finals of Estoril with a right-shoulder injury.
Alarmingly, Sabine was hospitalised with severe abdominal pains two weeks ago. But she arrived in Paris on 20th May, and has been Tweeting to say that her French Open preparations are going well <http://twitter.com/sabinelisicki>.
In conclusion: a very tough first-round draw for Lucie, but there are large question-marks over Sabine after her recent health-problems.
------------------------------------
4. Women's Doubles: First-round draw
------------------------------------
* Lucie Šafářová [EF]/Vladimíra Uhlířová v Stéphanie Foretz/Camille Pin [WC]
---------------------------
5. Order of play for Monday
---------------------------
Court 6 (start 11:00 CEST = 09:00 GMT = 10:00 BST)
MS 1r: ROBIN SÖDERLING [23] v Kevin Kim
WS 1r: Lucie Šafářová [EF] v Sabine Lisicki [DF]
MS 1r: Robby Ginepri v Pablo Andújar
WS 1r: Jarmila Groth v Kinnie Laisné [WC]
Full order of play:
http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/
--
Dr. Andrew Broad
ROLAND GARROS (Paris, France; red clay; Major)
============= http://www.rolandgarros.com/
Contents
--------
1. UK TV-alert
2. First-round draw
3. Lucie Šafářová preview
4. Women's Doubles: First-round draw
5. Order of play for Monday
My French Open 2009 master-thread:
http://www.tennisforum.com/showthread.php?t=379808
--------------
1. UK TV-alert
--------------
The French Open will be televised on BBC Red Button from 10:00 BST each day of the tournament (digital viewers press Red or select the appropriate Freeview-channel - 301 or 302).
Sunday 24th May to Friday 5th June, 10:00-19:00, BBC Red Button
Women's final: Saturday 6th June, 14:00-16:30, BBC 2
Men's final: Sunday 7th June: 14:00-18:00, BBC 2
-------------------
2. First-round draw (Sunday's losers removed)
-------------------
The players on the left are the ones I want to win.
2.1 Top quarter
---------------
* Anne Keothavong v DINARA SAFINA [1] (let's get rid of Safina)
* Vitalia Diatchenko [Q,S] won
* Julie Coin won
* ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA [27] won
* Polona Hercog [Q] v ALISA KLEYBANOVA [23] (dajmo Polona!)
* Aravane Rezaď v Ai Sugiyama (allez Aravane!)
* Michelle Larcher de Brito [Q] v Melanie South (Brito > this Briton)
* ZHENG,JIE [15] v Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro (jia you Jie!)
* VICTORIA AZARENKA [9] won
* Kristina Barrois won
* Lucie Hradecká [s] v Yvonne Meusburger [Q] (pojďme Lucie!)
* Edina Gallovits v CARLA SUÁREZ NAVARRO [22]
* IVETA BENEŠOVÁ [32] won
* Alla Kudryavtseva won
* Camille Pin v Tamarine Tanasugarn
* ANA IVANOVIĆ [8,DF] won
2.2 Second quarter: Lucie Šafářová, Maria Sharapova
---------------------------------------------------
* VENUS WILLIAMS [3] v Bethanie Mattek-Sands
* Lucie Šafářová [EF] v Sabine Lisicki [DF] (my loyalty is to LUCIE)
* Elena Vesnina won
* ÁGNES SZÁVAY [29] v Corinna Dentoni [Q]
* DOMINIKA CIBULKOVÁ [20] v Alyona Bondarenko (my loyalty is to Domi)
* Kirsten Flipkens v Stéphanie Foretz (komaan Kirsten!)
* Gisela Dulko [DF] won
* Anna-Lena Grönefeld won
* NADIA PETROVA [11] won
* Maria Sharapova [EF] v Anastasiya Yakimova (DAVAI MARIA!!)
* Arantxa Rus [Q] won
* Yaroslava Shvedova [Q] won
* LI,NA [25] won
* Timea Bacsinszky won
* Irena Pavlović [WC,S] v Akgul Amanmuradova (allez Irena!)
* Katie O'Brien [LL] v Olga Govortsova (my loyalty is to Katie)
N.B. Katie O'Brien [LL] replaces VERA ZVONARËVA [6,EF]. :bigcry:
2.3 Third quarter: Chakvetadze, Hantuchová, Dokić
-------------------------------------------------
* Petra Cetkovská v JELENA JANKOVIĆ [5] (pojďme Petra!)
* Magdaléna Rybáriková [DF] v Kristina Mladenović [WC] (poďme Magda!)
* Jarmila Groth v Kinnie Laisné [WC]
* ANNA CHAKVETADZE [26,EF] v Mariana Duque Marino [LL] (DAVAI ANNA!!)
* ALIZÉ CORNET [21] v Maret Ani (allez Alizé!)
* Sorana Cîrstea v Carly Gullickson [Q] (hai Sorana!)
* Tsvetana Pironkova [DF] v Jill Craybas (aide Tsvetana!)
* CAROLINE WOZNIACKI [10] v Vera Dushevina (kom sĺ Caroline!)
* MARION BARTOLI [13,DF,S] v Pauline Parmentier (allez Marion!)
* Ayumi Morita [s] v Tathiana Garbin (ganbatte Ayumi!)
* Daniela Hantuchová [EF] v Virginie Razzano (POĎME DANIELA!!)
* Ekaterina Makarova v ANABEL MEDINA GARRIGUES [18]
* SAMANTHA STOSUR [30] v Francesca Schiavone
* Urszula Radwańska v Yanina Wickmayer (my loyalty is to Urszula)
* Jelena Dokić [EF] v Karolina Šprem [DF] (my loyalty is to JELENA)
* ELENA DEMENTIEVA [4] v Chanelle Scheepers [Q]
2.4 Bottom quarter: Nicole Vaidišová
------------------------------------
* SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [7] v Claire Feuerstein [WC]
* Sania Mirza [DF] v Galina Voskoboeva (go Sania!)
* Anastasija Sevastova [Q] v Melinda Czink
* Nathalie Dechy v SYBILLE BAMMER [28]
* Kateryna Bondarenko v PATTY SCHNYDER [17]
* Maria Kirilenko [DF] v Olivia Rogowska [WC] (davai Maria!)
* Patricia Mayr v Mariya Koryttseva
* Rossana de los Ríos v AGNIESZKA RADWAŃSKA [12]
* FLAVIA PENNETTA [14,DF] v Alexa Glatch (forza Flavia!)
* Barbora Záhlavová Strýcová v Lourdes Domínguez Lino
* Mara Santangelo v Petra Martić [Q]
* Monica Niculescu [s] v ALEKSANDRA WOZNIAK [24] (hai Monica!)
* PENG,SHUAI [31,S] v María José Martínez Sánchez (jia you Shuai!)
* Viktoriya Kutuzova v Zuzana Ondrášková [Q] (my loyalty is to Viktoriya)
* Nicole Vaidišová [EF] v Virginia Ruano Pascual (my loyalty is to NICOLE)
* Klára Zakopalová v SERENA WILLIAMS [2] (pojďme Klára!)
-------------------------
3. Lucie Šafářová preview
-------------------------
After enduring an injury-induced slump in 2008, Lucie's recent form is much more encouraging. She has a positive win/loss record of 17:11 for 2009 so far, and has risen from #63 to #46 in the rankings.
Prior to the main clay-court season, Lucie had two wins in each of Brisbane, the Australian Open, Memphis and Monterrey, and one win each at Indian Wells and Miami. Her only first-round losses came at Sydney and Acapulco. She also won both Fed Cup rubbers that she played for Czechia (one in February, the other in April).
Lucie's form improved even more in the clay-court season. She reached the quarter-finals of Barcelona, then took a set off #5-ranked Venus Williams in the second round of Rome.
Then she reached the third round of Madrid, beating world #19 Kaia Kanepi 6-2 2-3 retired in the first round, and #57 Anne Keothavong 6-1 7-5 in the second round. She then lost 6-0 4-6 6-3 to world #1 Dinara Safina - and was the only player to take a set off the eventual champion all week.
To take sets off the world #5 and #1 in her last two tournaments is a very encouraging sign for Lucie ahead of the French Open!
What's not so encouraging, however, is the draw: Charleston-champion Sabine Lisicki, potentially followed by a second-round showdown against world #3 Venus Williams.
3.1 First-round preview: Šafářová v Lisicki
-------------------------------------------
19-year-old Sabine Lisicki is a top player in the making. She has a huge serve and a big backhand, and I consider her the most exciting up-and-coming player in women's tennis at the moment. I recently decided to become a demi-fan of Sabine, and was hoping for her to have a great run at the French Open until I learned that she had to play Lucie!
Sabine's 2009 so far has been even more impressive than Lucie's: while they have both won 17 matches, Sabine has only had 8 losses to Lucie's 11. Sabine is currently ranked #39, but will surely be much higher by the end of the year.
After a second-round loss at the Australian Open, Sabine beat Lucie 6-3 6-4 in the quarter-finals of Memphis - their only prior meeting. Sabine then lost her semi-final 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7/1) to eventual champion Victoria Azarenka.
Sabine only won two matches in her next three tournaments (Indian Wells, Miami and Ponte Vedra Beach), but then she stunned the tennis-world by winning the Premier tournament at Charleston for her first WTA singles-title: she stunned world #5 Venus Williams 6-4 7-6 in the third round, then thrashed #57 Elena Vesnina 6-4 6-0, #12 Marion Bartoli 6-3 6-1, and #12 Caroline Wozniacki 6-2 6-4 to take the title!
I already knew that Sabine was talented, pretty, and a great fighter, but I think her Charleston-victory proves that she is one of the fine young players making their way towards the very top of women's tennis.
But things haven't really gone Sabine's way since Charleston: she had a respectable 7-5 5-7 6-3 loss to world #4 Jelena Janković in the second round of Stuttgart, then retired in the quarter-finals of Estoril with a right-shoulder injury.
Alarmingly, Sabine was hospitalised with severe abdominal pains two weeks ago. But she arrived in Paris on 20th May, and has been Tweeting to say that her French Open preparations are going well <http://twitter.com/sabinelisicki>.
In conclusion: a very tough first-round draw for Lucie, but there are large question-marks over Sabine after her recent health-problems.
------------------------------------
4. Women's Doubles: First-round draw
------------------------------------
* Lucie Šafářová [EF]/Vladimíra Uhlířová v Stéphanie Foretz/Camille Pin [WC]
---------------------------
5. Order of play for Monday
---------------------------
Court 6 (start 11:00 CEST = 09:00 GMT = 10:00 BST)
MS 1r: ROBIN SÖDERLING [23] v Kevin Kim
WS 1r: Lucie Šafářová [EF] v Sabine Lisicki [DF]
MS 1r: Robby Ginepri v Pablo Andújar
WS 1r: Jarmila Groth v Kinnie Laisné [WC]
Full order of play:
http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/
--
Dr. Andrew Broad