2019 French Open

Shadowlight

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The French Open is underway and Federer won his first round match. Will Nadal roll out of bed and bag another French solidifying his status as the greatest clay court player of all time?

Last year Simona Halep finally broke through and won her first major. Too bad I can't count on her winning another major because she has to fight so hard throughout. She lacks the punch out power that so many other top players possess. But I will be rooting for her. Last year she showed great perseverance on her way to the title by beating Sloane Stephens in a great comeback win in the title match.

Keep an eye on Greek sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas. He has entered the top ten now and has beaten Djokovic, Federer and Nadal. But the younger generation breakthrough has been predicted for over a year now and no one has yet stepped up to bag a major. ST is a seriously gifted player and athlete and is very exciting. The chicks will be behind him you can bank on that.
 

Quiet Speed

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I see number 5 seed Angelique Kerber was upset by Anastasi Potapova, a Russian. Never have seen Potapova play before, she must have some talent to beat the fighter Kerber. Glad to see Fed come back to the French with a win.
 

Quiet Speed

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Number 2 seed Karolina Pliskova was taken out today. In the bottom half of the draw, I believe Sloane Stephens is the highest ranked seed left at number 7. Garbine Muguruza in there too, she is very capable of beating anybody. Haven't followed her lately, don't know what her descent in the rankings is due to. There is a young 17-year-old American I'm keeping an eye on, Amanda Anisimova. But she is in the top half of the draw which is very tough.
 

FootballDad

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SOFIA KENIN OUSTS SERENA WILLIAMS IN FRENCH OPEN THIRD ROUND

https://sports.yahoo.com/serena-williams-loses-french-open-182557163.html



It's always good news to hear that the Linebacker was defeated. Sofia is a little easier on the eyes:
1200px-Sofia_Kenin_(USA)_(20803503314).jpg
 

Quiet Speed

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Congrats to Sofia. Also, the number 1 seed and world number 1, Naomi Osaka, was defeated by Katerina Siniakova.
 

Don Wassall

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Seventh seed Sloane Stephens beaten in straight sets by 26th seed Jo Konta, who becomes the first British woman to reach the semis of the French since 1983, an amazing drought ended.
 

FootballDad

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Sadly for Shadowlight, Simona Halep was ousted from the French Open. At least she wasn't beaten by one of the "diverse" players at the event and instead by Russian-American Amanda Anisimova, who is slightly easier on the eyes than Brutus or Sloane Stephens....
Amanda+Anisimova+Mimi+Prober+Front+Row+September+H7cGLHWPkJnx.jpg
 

Freethinker

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The women’s final winner will earn their first grand slam championship. I don’t think anyone could have predicted a final 4 of Amanda Anisomova, Ashleigh Barty, Johanna Konta and Marketa Vondrousova.
 
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Shadowlight

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Right the women's final four is unexpected. In complete contrast the men will have Federer/Nadal and Djokovic/Thiem in the semi finals Friday if rain doesn't mess things up like it did on Wednesday.

Unless you get the Tennis Channel and I don't, the French Open is difficult to follow apart from some weekend coverage on NBC and today and Friday it is on NBC from 11:00-2:00 EST. Where I live they removed the Tennis Channel from the sports package which means it is on a higher much more expensive tier.

I have seen, in bits and pieces this past year plus, three out of the four women semifinalists. Haven't even heard of Vondrousova. Konta was an up and comer at one time but has disappeared in recent years. Barty the Australian is about Halep's size and scurries around but has a better serve.

As mentioned above Anisomova, who overpowered Halep this morning, is only 17. Shades of Maria Sharapova with her lanky build. However in the looks department (the most important thing right gentleman --ha) lets just say Maria has her beat by a country mile.

I have no idea who will win among the four women but if Barty can get her teeth in a grind out match she might outlast them all despite her size.
 

Quiet Speed

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Several days ago the great Rod Lavar was lauding Barty and thought she could win the whole thing.

You can't make predictions with these teenagers, because so many flame out or get distracted by life. Anisimova seems driven and focused. She's very talented and a natural. She could run circles around Maria Sharapova. Does this girl have the determination that Maria had? Time will tell. Barty is also a heck of a player.
 

Shadowlight

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I have never been a Nadal fan but what he has accomplished here at the French and his general latter day mastery over Federer is nothing short of miraculous. 12 French titles is beyond comprehension.

But I am happy Ash Barty won and this quick little player appears to be following in Simona Halep's footsteps although most seem to think Barty has a sturdier game (better serve for starters) which will enable her to withstand things better. Halep was in the same position Barty was in two years ago facing a youngster but Halep lost. Meanwhile Barty put away youngster Vonrousova with professional ease.

In a hurry but hope to post a bit more about this tournament soon.
 

Don Wassall

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Has there ever been anything like Rafa Nadal's domination of the French Open? Has any athlete ever dominated a premier event so long and so well as Nadal has the clay court? I can't think of anyone.

Nadal turned 33 during the tournament; maybe he has a year or two or more left to win, you never know when an era of dominance will end. But this era of men's tennis is a golden age that just won't stop and will never be duplicated much less surpassed. How fortunate we are, the only shame is how few of our own kind appreciate the athletic brilliance of White men.
 

newguy

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Unfortunately we did not get the French open final everyone was looking for. I would have liked to have seen Nadal going for 12 French open wins versus djokovic going for four slams in a row. I think if the court conditions In the semifinals weren’t so horrible djokovic would have gotten by Theim. I think Nadal versus djokovic with normal rest would have been something people would have talked about for years. Unfortunately the french open has lagged behind the other grand slams which already have roofs. If they had a roof the wind and rain would not have disrupted the tennis or quality of tennis. They will have a roof next year, but that is one year too late IMO.
 

Shadowlight

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Good question up above regarding Nadal's French Open dominance. Obviously what is happening on the men's side of tennis is unprecedented as the Big 3, all in their 30s, continue to totally dominate.

And consider this. If Roger Federer hadn't pulled out a come from behind victory over his nemesis ( even though they are good friends) Nadal at the 2017 Australian Open, they would both be tied with 19 grand slams. As it stands Roger has 20 and Nadal is up to 18.

Ash Barty is exciting for me because she is a quick athletic player. For historical reference she might fall in between Justin Henin and Simona Halep, smallish players with style, quickness and verve. Barty is 23 and Halep won her first major at the French last year at the age of 25 I think. Henin on the other hand was a prodigy and played in the Wimbledon final in 2001 at just 19. Henin won her first major in 2003 at the French. Her first of seven grand slams. She never won Wimbledon though.

That said does Barty have that kind of talent? At this point I can't compare her to Henin. However her game is more offensive minded and has a sturdier base than Halep's so her future does seem bright at the moment even though she is only 5'5". Oddly Barty took a couple of years off to play cricket. I guess it worked though. Maybe cleared her head? At the end of the day the emergence of Barty, who is not as cute as Halep, was a very positive thing here at the French Open.

I caught the latter half of the match of the tournament where Stefanos Tsitsipas (ST from now on) and Stan Wawrinka duked it out in a tight five setter. Wawrinka eventually overpowered ST and won a very emotional match. ST smacked his own head violently in frustration towards the end of the match. He knew it was slipping away and just couldn't muster that extra thump that most champions resort to in clutch time.

The media took up on ST's stirring press conference afterward. Instead of the usual "trying to take it in stride" stance many players resort to, ST would have none of that. He was pissed off at the world and playing a close match with a top player offered him no consolation. The media mentioned his fiery demeanor and they like me were duly impressed. This young man wants to win and win now. I like that fire in his belly. It strikes me that too many of these obviously spoiled young players lack that burning desire. Just happy to have gofers and kiss ass people follow them around all day as they collect decent pay checks. Young tennis players are soft because they have everything before they even win. Some say the same thing about young golfers and point to the time with gritty ultra competitive players like Gary Player and Lee Trevino.

Too many male and female young tennis players are coddled to death these days and it hampers their drive and development. Go to a tournament and you would think they are royalty. Of course on the women's side they have even more distractions. Mainly male tennis players who might become their boyfriends. However it is worth pointing out there was a 17 year old player and a 19 year old player in the women's semifinals this go around. But as we head into post Serena era land it is hard to tell who will be the next big things.

I get the sense the media is getting anxious for a new hero to emerge ( they like ST a lot) and I can't think of a better candidate than ST. His game is fluid, exciting and stylish and he has the easy athleticism that is bit reminiscent of a young Roger. He is a major chick magnet and is articulate and very intelligent. He is 20 years old and won't turn 21 until after Wimbledon. Will this mercurial 6'4" talent be the first to actually challenge the Big 3 ( or big 2 of Djokovic and Nadal)? He has beaten all three but not in a major. This is a huge question as we await the prime jewel of tennis, Wimbledon.

I like ST. Quite a lot. Can he mature into a champion? I hope so.
 
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Quiet Speed

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I've said it before, imagine around 15 years ago someone told you there will be a player who will dominate the French Open for over a decade and win 12 or so championships. I would have dismissed this person as knowing nothing about tennis and delusional.
 
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