Here it’s Memorial Day Monday, in Paris it’s Day 9 of the French Open. If you were judging from the packed stands on Chatrier and Suzanne Lenglen this afternoon, though, you’d swear it was a holiday.
One of the most exciting matches of the tournament so far was the two parter between David Ferrer and Gael Monfils. With Monfils up two sets to one and Ferrer up 2-0 in the fourth set, play was suspended last night due to darkness. The two opponents had to wait out a five setter between Chela and Falla, the former taking the victory, before they could get on court today to finish. There was a great shot of them in the players’ lounge hanging around until they were called with Ferrer sitting up right next to a reclining, possibly sleeping, Monfils.
Finally on court, Ferrer continued to press in the set he already had a lead in and took it rather quickly 6-1. But then Gael actually did wake up from his nap and the fifth set was completely riveting. Gael broke early to take a 3-1 lead. At 5-3 Monfils served for the match. The crowd was just wildly excited. He had two match points and relatively easy shots for the win on both of them and he dinked them into the net. Ferrer ended up breaking for 5-4. That quieted the crowd down.
They go into fifth set no tiebreak battle. In the next game, Monfils had another match point, his third, and couldn’t convert. Ferrer got out of that game, 6-6. At 7-6, Monfils in the lead, Ferrer quickly dug himself in a deep hole, 0-40, and all of a sudden, Monfils is looking at three more match points. After squandering three, who knew he would get all these chances again, and so soon? He was not to be denied this time, winning the match on the fourth match point with a no guts no glory passing shot down the line, 8-6 in the fifth. The French crowd, not a seat empty, were rewarded and could go have dinner.
In the 6-5 game, there were a couple of dicey line calls on Monfils’ serve. On the first, Ferrer walked up to the line and immediately rubbed out the mark, indicating it had been good. But shotspot showed it had been out. It happened again, Monfils now with two serves instead of a second serve only, and the chair umpire came out to have a look and called it good, giving Monfils another first serve, but shotspot again showed it to be out. Now the technology isn’t one hundred percent, but it’s pretty close. At moments like these in matches, this kind of thing gone wrong can be terribly expensive, can cost someone the match. Ferrer ended up winning that point, but still.
Monfils will face Federer in the quarterfinals and I imagine it will be a lot of fun to watch, but I don’t think Roger is going to walk off the loser. I’m a big fan of Ferrer, but I doubt he would have given Roger trouble in the end. Against both these players, Federer has been dominant.
What is great is to see Monfils doing more with his talent than he has previously. His coach, Roger Rashid, has been with him for three years, a record in itself apparently as Monfils has gone through coaches like they were paper napkins. Rashid coached Lleyton Hewitt, a player who is more like Ferrer, no work too hard or too much, fighter spirit, utterly maxing out on what they’ve got to work with on small frames. For Roger Rashid to make an impact on Monfils has been exceedingly difficult it seems. He’s tried hard to get Gael in better physical condition so he won’t suffer all the injuries he’s had, and you can actually see him shouting at Gael on court to play harder, want it more. I’d bet there have been more than a few times that he thought of throwing in the towel, I don’t need this shit, and getting on a plane back to his family in Australia.
That’s the thing about coaching, it takes you on the road for weeks and weeks every year. If you’re going to do it, you damn well better have a player who makes it worth your while.
Nadal won his match against 32 year old Ivan Ljubicic, in straights, but in his press conference afterwards, he spoke candidly about how he still isn’t feeling quite right out there. Not as consistent, more nervous at times. If Rafa thinks he’s a different Rafa, at least so far, on court at his beloved French, I guess we ought to believe him.
Meanwhile, fierce contender and Superman tennis player Novak Djokovic is into the semifinals. He won’t be playing a quarterfinal match because Fabio Fognini had to withdraw with what indeed wasn’t just cramping yesterday. He’s got a muscle tear and it won’t get better in time for him to play the match tomorrow. You had to feel bad for the guy. His best result in a major, about to have the opportunity to maybe be the one who breaks the Novak streak, or at least have the challenge of playing him on Chatrier, a huge pleasure and privilege, and he can’t do it.
Andy Murray and Victor Troicki played the last match of the day on Lenglen and they’ll have to finish it tomorrow. At first it looked like Murray was having real difficulty moving, the result of a bad ankle tweak two days ago. But he fought back and the players walked off at darkness with one deciding set yet to be played. Don’t miss that tomorrow.
On the women’s side, Li Na defeated Petra Kvitova, both surprising and not. Either one of them could have won that match, but Kvitova beat herself.
Maria Sharapova faced off against Agnes Radwanska and piled up huge numbers of winners and unforced errors in a game of total aggression on her part and steady play by her opponent. But Maria is playing well and when you combine that with her dogged determination, she’s going to come out on top. Aggie had five set points to win the second set and take it to a third and she couldn’t close the door. Maria did it instead winning the match 7-6, 7-5.
And on Court One, Andrea Petkovic, the German player who has come into the spotlight this year, won her match in three tough sets against Maria Kirilenko. Last year she lost on the same court to Kuznetsova, so it must have felt good to her to take the victory this year.
Finally, Azarenka dispensed with Makarova in two easy sets.
So it’s down to eight women and you still don’t know who’s going to win. Sharapova, Li Na, Schiavone, Petkovic, Azarenka, Pavlyuchenkova, Kuznetsova and Bartoli. Do you know? I don’t. The quarterfinal matches should all be interesting.
And it’s down to seven men. Nadal, Soderling, Chela, Monfils, Federer, Djokovic and either Murray or Troicki. Besides Novak, already there, who else will be in the semis?
Still some great tennis to come as we now head into the true business end of the tournament. Thanks for reading Cupcakes and Tennis, the tennis blog with a sweet spot.
