French Open 2021

yerwanthere123

Federer probably saved his best for last there, didn't want to be up too much longer

can't see Fed making it much further in Paris.

Augme

Week one done. Much like the autumn french open I've been more impressed with Novak performances than nadals. Dropping two service games in a row against a no mark like Norrie was a big surprise. He will need to drastically up his game against Sinner if he wants to get it done in 3. Still massive ve favourite though obviously. The other half could produce some excellent contests though.

On the women's side, very difficult to see past Swiatek. She had a bit of a wobble in the first today but recovered to win the first and then decimated her opponent in the second. The other side of the draw is wide open anyway.

Girly Gal

Federer did well to get over the line yesterday considering how little he has played and how well Koepfer played, but, very hard to see him go any further as that match was very draining for him. Still hard to see anything other than a Nadal Djokovic semi with Rafa the likely winner. On the other side Tsitsipas looks the most likely, but, as we all know the next gen players are so inconsistent it's difficult to predict anything with any great certainty.

In the women's Swiatek looks the class of the field, hard to see who can beat her, unlike a lot of the other women's players she looks composed and mentally strong. The other side of the draw is opening up for Serena, but, I still find it difficult to see her reach the final, but, a lot of her opponents are beaten before they set foot on the court, so definitely wouldn't rule her out reaching the final, but, don't see her winning it, unless someone upsets Swiatek, then it's up for grabs.

whiterebel

Fed talking about pulling out. Not surprised, that was gruelling last night. FO would need to rethink the start time for the evening session and bring it to 7.30pm latest local time.

Royale with Cheese

Federer, 39, is due to play Matteo Berrettini in the last 16 on Monday.

But he said he will decide later on Sunday whether now would be the "perfect time to take a rest".

I'm a huge Federer fan but cmon now, you don't turn up at one of the grand slams to so openly use it as a training session and pull out at the first sign of it getting a little bit difficult.

Augme

It will be incredibly disrespectful of Fed to just withdraw when he isn't actually injured. Using a Slam as a glorified warm up event is really poor form towards the tournament and his other professionals imo. Again, if Novak did this he would be crucified.

yerwanthere123

Nervous about this Azarenka-Pavlyuchenkova match. I know Azarenka is 5-1 against her but Pavlyuchenkova likes to go on one or two random decent runs a year before returning to general irrelevance. Would love it if we could get the Azarenka-Serena QF too, could potentially be one of the matches of the tournament, especially now Vika would have the added belief that she can now actually beat Serena in a slam.

Floppybits

Augme wrote: »

It will be incredibly disrespectful of Fed to just withdraw when he isn't actually injured. Using a Slam as a glorified warm up event is really poor form towards the tournament and his other professionals imo. Again, if Novak did this he would be crucified.

I am not surprised by this but I am surprised he has said it. This was always about the build up to Wimbledon. I do think that nowadays when Federer has a match like that he is always going to be knocked out a round or 2 later. He just can't recover in time. Last night he looked off and I didn't think he was going to win.

Furze99

Floppybits wrote: »

I am not surprised by this but I am surprised he has said it. This was always about the build up to Wimbledon. I do think that nowadays when Federer has a match like that he is always going to be knocked out a round or 2 later. He just can't recover in time. Last night he looked off and I didn't think he was going to win.

Could easily have gone against him - Koepfer lost it in the head a bit.

Royale with Cheese

I don't think he's going to get past Berrettini but he needs to go out and fúcking play him. If not he shouldn't have entered the tournament in the first place.

Floppybits

Furze99 wrote: »

Could easily have gone against him - Koepfer lost it in the head a bit.

Yeah think he couldn't hold it together to beat one of the greats of the game. Thought he was very disrespectful when he just missed a shot up the line and then questioned it, walked around the net to check it himself and the spat on it. He got docked a point for that and rightfully so.

Furze99

Furze99 wrote: »

Could easily have gone against him - Koepfer lost it in the head a bit.

that's why he's ranked 59

blew the third set completely with a mental lapse.

Fed himself is mentally checking out if not actually dropping out because he knows that he's going nowhere with the draw ahead of him.

Rob2D

Floppybits wrote: »

Yeah think he couldn't hold it together to beat one of the greats of the game. Thought he was very disrespectful when he just missed a shot up the line and then questioned it, walked around the net to check it himself and the spat on it. He got docked a point for that and rightfully so.

Yeah, not a good look.

Girly Gal

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

I don't think he's going to get past Berrettini but he needs to go out and fúcking play him. If not he shouldn't have entered the tournament in the first place.

Definitely should play the match, probably a straight sets victory for Berrettini, but, think Federer should and probably will play that match. If he can't play after a match like that it's very difficult to see him as a genuine contender for Wimbledon.

Floppybits

Tsitsipas looking good here

Rob2D

OMG that Women's Doubles was the match of the tournament so far. Unreal stuff.

yerwanthere123

Rob2D wrote: »

OMG that Women's Doubles was the match of the tournament so far. Unreal stuff.

3 hours and 10 minutes on court for Swiatek, won't exactly help her singles prospects.

HeidiHeidi

Rob2D wrote: »

OMG that Women's Doubles was the match of the tournament so far. Unreal stuff.

Is there any way to watch matches back? The looked like a cracker, but I missed it

whiterebel

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

I'm a huge Federer fan but cmon now, you don't turn up at one of the grand slams to so openly use it as a training session and pull out at the first sign of it getting a little bit difficult.

He should have got more grief for doing it in the ATP final a couple of years ago. If he signs up he should play. Very disrespectful to everyone to just pull out.

Royale with Cheese

Jesus, he's actually pulled out now.

Rob2D

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Is there any way to watch matches back? The looked like a cracker, but I missed it

You can watch replays on Eurosport player. I paid the €7 for 1 month and it's pretty good.

whiterebel

That's terrible. Much as Koepfer wasn't a bundle of manners, its extremely ignorant to him as well. He should have had every evantuality planned well in advance and shaken hands (or racquets) and given him the win.

yerwanthere123

Not really getting the outrage tbh. Surely at Federer's age, and with everything he's contributed to tennis, he doesn't really have to explain himself if he's prioritising looking after his body and extending his career? As for Koepfer, I think the onus is on him to take his chances rather than hope for a Federer withdrawal. Don't think Federer has anything to apologise for tbh.

Floppybits

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Not really getting the outrage tbh. Surely at Federer's age, and with everything he's contributed to tennis, he doesn't really have to explain himself if he's prioritising looking after his body and extending his career? As for Koepfer, I think the onus is on him to take his chances rather than hope for a Federer withdrawal. Don't think Federer has anything to apologise for tbh.

Hate players giving walkovers and to make the call this early as well. Hasn't even given himself a chance to see if he can recover. I know Wimbledon is the priority but it's still a few weeks away plenty of time for him to recover.

dublin49

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Not really getting the outrage tbh. Surely at Federer's age, and with everything he's contributed to tennis, he doesn't really have to explain himself if he's prioritising looking after his body and extending his career? As for Koepfer, I think the onus is on him to take his chances rather than hope for a Federer withdrawal. Don't think Federer has anything to apologise for tbh.

I agree Koepfer had his chance ,I supose Federer could easily have said the knee was acting up and regrettably he had to withdraw and nobody would have doubted him,he told the truth so we should respect him for that.The big regret is the hole it leaves in the playing schedule.

Royale with Cheese

Tsitsipas - Medvedev quarter looks tasty now.

Slashermcguirk

Very poor form by Federer. I found it strange when he said in a press conference the other day, he saw no way of getting past the Djokovic quarter. While i appreciate he has been out injured up until recently, very strange for a player to say something like that even if he thought it was a real possiblity. To just enter to play a few matches in preparation for another tournament seems disrespectful.

I think Djokovic would have beaten him handy enough anyway, Federer hasnt beaten Novak since 2012 in a grand slam. Even still, I dont think it looks good if he isnt actually too injured to play.

Girly Gal

whiterebel wrote: »

That's terrible. Much as Koepfer wasn't a bundle of manners, its extremely ignorant to him as well. He should have had every evantuality planned well in advance and shaken hands (or racquets) and given him the win.

Why give Koepfer the win, he beat him fair and square, the match obviously drained Federer more than he thought it would, at the end of the day he's almost 40, been out for over a year and only played 2 or 3 matches before the French Open. If he hadn't withdrawn, it's likely he would have had to retire during the match anyway, which think is actually worse, because he would have known coming into the match he probably wouldn't be able to finish it, so at least this way everyone can just get on with it. I don't like seeing walkovers either, but, I don't think Federer took this decision lightly and it probably means his knees aren't up to Grand Slam level tennis anymore, which will probably be proven at Wimbledon if he's involved in an extended match.

Rjd2

Girly Gal wrote: »

Why give Koepfer the win, he beat him fair and square, the match obviously drained Federer more than he thought it would, at the end of the day he's almost 40, been out for over a year and only played 2 or 3 matches before the French Open. If he hadn't withdrawn, it's likely he would have had to retire during the match anyway, which think is actually worse, because he would have known coming into the match he probably wouldn't be able to finish it, so at least this way everyone can just get on with it. I don't like seeing walkovers either, but, I don't think Federer took this decision lightly and it probably means his knees aren't up to Grand Slam level tennis anymore, which will probably be proven at Wimbledon if he's involved in an extended match.

I have nothing against Koepfer, but if he can't beat a near 40 year old Roger on his worst surface who is clearly worried about his body, then nope I have no sympathy whatsoever.

I'm not keen on the call, but I understand it from a pragmatic POV.

Girly Gal

Serena out now, not surprised as she looks very slow around the court, looks like number 24 is out of reach

Furze99

whiterebel wrote: »

That's terrible. Much as Koepfer wasn't a bundle of manners, its extremely ignorant to him as well. He should have had every evantuality planned well in advance and shaken hands (or racquets) and given him the win.

Very disrespectful to both Koepfer, the tournament and the public for that matter. Federer raised his arms in victory last night, to pull out today without any real injury is not really on. I wonder will he be fined and/or penalised in any way. If he tries to enter again, maybe they'll put him in the qualifiers.

Rob2D

Kei looking like he's nearing the end of his road as well. Which is a shame. I don't think he ever quite got the career he deserved.

Girly Gal

Furze99 wrote: »

Very disrespectful to both Koepfer, the tournament and the public for that matter. Federer raised his arms in victory last night, to pull out today without any real injury is not really on. I wonder will he be fined and/or penalised in any way. If he tries to enter again, maybe they'll put him in the qualifiers.

Why disrespectful to Koepfer, he wasn't able to beat a clearly tiring Federer, it would be a lot more disrespectful to retire from a match he was winning and went onto win. In all likelihood he'd likely have had to retire during his next match or take a really heavy defeat, so at least this way the organisers and Berrettini know in plenty time and can plan accordingly.

As the current joint record men's GS titles holder, quitting on the stool before a match in the second week of a GS is poor.

Don't be in it if you're not trying to win it.

Girly Gal

glasso wrote: »

As the current joint record men's GS titles holder, quitting on the stool before a match in the second week of a GS is poor.

Don't be in it if you're not trying to win it.

If you're not Nadal you know you're unlikely to win it! Federer knows his own body and obviously knows his body can't take another match tomorrow. Federer used the French Open to find out if his body could stand up to GS level tennis after his long layoff, I have no problem with that, obviously he's found out that his body can't take it right now, he also knows continuing on risks his participation at Wimbledon which is likely to be his last one, so I don't really blame him for pulling out. He had nothing to gain and a lot to potentially lose.

yerwanthere123

Rob2D wrote: »

Kei looking like he's nearing the end of his road as well. Which is a shame. I don't think he ever quite got the career he deserved.

If I could reverse just one result in tennis, that US Open final against Cilic would be pretty high up there.

Slashermcguirk

Federer was basically saying in recent days his mind is on Wimbledon. That is hugely disrespectful to the French open organisers and public. If Djokovic pulled out like that he would be getting abuse left, right and centre. Federer is the media darling and they dare not say a bad word about him.

Disappointed to see such a poor showing here from Nishikori. Really thought he would win more than he did, a very talented and likeable player but he never quite lived up to the heights I expected. I thought back around 2013 he was destined to win a few slams, would love to have seen it. David Nalbandian was similar, he was even better and on his day he was nearly unbeatable but just never got the slam wins his talent and ability promised

Floppybits

Rob2D wrote: »

Kei looking like he's nearing the end of his road as well. Which is a shame. I don't think he ever quite got the career he deserved.

There are a few of them coming to the end of the road now that didn't have the careers they deserve. The main one would be Murray, how many more slams would he have if there wasn't a Djokovic, Federer or Nadal in the way.

klr87

Girly Gal wrote: »

Serena out now, not surprised as she looks very slow around the court, looks like number 24 is out of reach

After Azarenka lost earlier to Pavlyuchenkova, Serena looked to have a straightforward path to the final, although winning that might have been a very difficult proposition.

The French has been her poorest slam since she returned to the tour in 2017. I think she's just not putting in the effort on clay anymore. She's played two matches in Rome in that time, and none in Madrid. She did play a smaller event in Parma this year, but lost to the first good player she faced (Siniakova).

She'll try harder to win Wimbledon, even without playing a warm-up tournament. But there are a lot of good grass court players who probably won't be seeded. She can't get lucky with draws for ever (... can she?)

The women's draw is now completely unbalanced, and there could be another one-sided final this year.

Slashermcguirk

The following players probably would have won a slam or multiple slams if Fed, Nadal and Djoko were not so dominant:

Nalbandian
Nishikori
Berdych
Ferrer

To a lesser extent Tsonga, he was too up and down but on his day he could beat anyone. Del Potro had he not been injured so much would have won more than his solitary US open.

As for Murray, he could well have wonva lot more but many of his issues were self inflicted. I lost count of the number of times he would get pulled into unnecessary 5 set slog fests in the 1st and 2nd rounds in slams to players he should be beating in straight sets. He just wasn't as ruthless as the top 3 as well as obviously not being as good. He had a pretty decent record vs Federer overall but a dismal record in slams. Nadal and Djokovic had a dominant head to head against him

Floppybits wrote: »

There are a few of them coming to the end of the road now that didn't have the careers they deserve. The main one would be Murray, how many more slams would he have if there wasn't a Djokovic, Federer or Nadal in the way.

klr87

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

3 hours and 10 minutes on court for Swiatek, won't exactly help her singles prospects.

Hopefully she'll be OK. All her other matches (singles and doubles) have been straight sets, and she's playing late tomorrow evening against Kostyuk.

klr87

Slashermcguirk wrote: »

The following players probably would have won a slam or multiple slams if Fed, Nadal and Djoko were not so dominant:

Nalbandian
Nishikori
Berdych
Ferrer

To a lesser extent Tsonga, he was too up and down but on his day he could beat anyone. Del Potro had he not been injured so much would have won more than his solitary US open.

As for Murray, he could well have wonva lot more but many of his issues were self inflicted. I lost count of the number of times he would get pulled into unnecessary 5 set slog fests in the 1st and 2nd rounds in slams to players he should be beating in straight sets. He just wasn't as ruthless as the top 3 as well as obviously not being as good. He had a pretty decent record vs Federer overall but a dismal record in slams. Nadal and Djokovic had a dominant head to head against him

Soderling could be in that list as well. Likewise Anderson, whose best days are probably behind him. Also, so many slam finals have involved two of the Big 3, there must be still other players who would have at least reached a final if they didn't have those to contend with. Dimitrov has reached the semi-final of Wimbledon, the Australian Open and the US Open, and must be wondering at 30 years old if he ever will get to a slam final.

Agreed on Murray getting pulled into far too many dogfights. Curiously though, if the Big 3 weren't there, he might have won more than 3 slams without ever having to play as well as he did.

Girly Gal

There's no doubt that the big 3 pushed each other to higher levels, but, all 3 especially Djokovic left absolutely no stone unturned in an effort to get the very last bit out of themselves I'm not so sure that can be said about the next gen players or some of the players listed above, Murray being the exception.

It's the same in every sport, the very best put absolutely everything into it and are willing to make massive sacrifices to be the best it's often this that's the difference between the greats and the good players. Even between the big 3 I'd argue that Federer is definitely the most naturally talented, but, both Nadal and Djokovic have worked harder to get to his level, it's why when matches between them became a battle of attrition Federer usually lost.

josip

Floppybits wrote: »

There are a few of them coming to the end of the road now that didn't have the careers they deserve. The main one would be Murray, how many more slams would he have if there wasn't a Djokovic, Federer or Nadal in the way.

That's a reasonably long list after the 'if'
How many slams would Federer have if there wasn't a Nadal or Djokovic in the way? 30 ?

if my aunty had balls she'd be my uncle

yerwanthere123

Nadal-Sinner could be match of the day tokorrow.. but I honestly think it'll follow the same pattern as their first match last October. Straight sets for Nadal, close first two sets before Nadal runs away with the third. Could be wrong obviously, but I don't think Sinner is quite ready to win these kind of matches yet. He will be soon, but he's not there right now.

NoviGlitzko

I think the potential Nadal/Scwartzman match will be fascinating. Really hope Federer continues, will understand if he doesn't.

Absolutely delighted Serena lost and great performance by Rybakina.

NoviGlitzko

Whoop just seen Federer has withdrawn. Ah well.

Rikand

Slashermcguirk wrote: »

The following players probably would have won a slam or multiple slams if Fed, Nadal and Djoko were not so dominant:

Nalbandian
Nishikori
Berdych
Ferrer

To a lesser extent Tsonga, he was too up and down but on his day he could beat anyone. Del Potro had he not been injured so much would have won more than his solitary US open.

As for Murray, he could well have wonva lot more but many of his issues were self inflicted. I lost count of the number of times he would get pulled into unnecessary 5 set slog fests in the 1st and 2nd rounds in slams to players he should be beating in straight sets. He just wasn't as ruthless as the top 3 as well as obviously not being as good. He had a pretty decent record vs Federer overall but a dismal record in slams. Nadal and Djokovic had a dominant head to head against him

Roddick could have won about 10