Last Sunday, it all kicked off. The eager crowds mingled through the grounds and play began. Next Sunday, the only match to be played will be the last, the men’s final.
Today, the middle Sunday, some of the story has been told, but not all. The round of sixteen started and the second match on Lenglen between Fabio Fognini and Albert Montanes turned out to be a more than four hour five setter complete with twists and turns, and a lot of drama especially in the last set.
When I turned on the television after seven this morning, I heard Leif Shiras saying someone had 97 unforced errors. Not having seen who was playing or the score, I figured if there were that many errors it had to be a five set match. With a cup of coffee, I watched the exciting finish to a match that was 8-8 at that point.
Earlier in the set, Fognini was experiencing leg cramps and they don’t go away. By the time I tuned in, he could barely walk or even stand up but he played the match out, withstood a slew of foot fault calls, including on his own game point and even his own match point (and he didn’t even blanch, much less walk over and shout Italian obscenities at the linesman…)and saved five, count them, five!, match points before finally closing down the match at 11-9. It was pretty incredible.
He was both cheered and booed, the latter because of some controversy surrounding the leg cramping and whether he was entitled to any medical treatment. Leg cramping can only be treated during changeovers or change of ends and during that allotted time. It doesn’t qualify for a medical treatment time out. But the trainers said Fognini’s troubles were not leg cramping, so I guess he was entitled to what he took. And if the crowd didn’t like the way he won, take it up with the umpire who allowed everything that happened.
The match brings up one of the trickiest circumstances a player can face on court, that of the injured opponent. You’d think it would make it easier, your opponent is hampered in some way, you’re not, just play your game and win. But it really isn’t as simple a it seems. Your concern for the other player enters into it, so now you have trouble competing the way you were before. And you’re trying to calibrate how you need to play against the injured player, go for more, hold back, and it all gets confusing. Change one thing, change everything, as a friend of mine always says, and so it is.
It was a good day for Italy because after that absorbing match, on walked Francesca Schiavone, the defending champion, and Jelena Jankovic for a war that was both expected and realized. Not surprisingly, it went the distance with Francesca taking the first set, Jelena the second and they went neck and neck to 4-4 in the third for a very tense finish.
Both of these girls are emotional and it’s fun to watch. John McEnroe, Mary Carillo and Ted Robinson commentated the match and there was plenty of laughter and teasing as Francesca yelled at her box and Jelena yelled at hers. A lot was on the line for both players. Jelena has never won a major and at twenty six the window starts to close, so she really wanted to win this match and advance.
For Francesca, she’s the defending champion and she’d like to take it home again. Not to mention that the first match of the day on Chatrier saw Vera Zvonareva, the number three seed, lose to the fourteenth seed, Russian nineteen year old Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. So she’s really thinking maybe she can go all the way.
Meanwhile, there’s a match to finish as all these emotions swirl and bubble up. And Francesca broke Jelena in the next game to take a 5-4 lead and then serve for it. She did just that and won it. Before she left the court, after signing a few of those big tennis balls, she got down on the court and kissed it.
By that time it was nearly seven o’clock and once again there was concern if the next match between David Ferrer and Gael Monfils would be able to finish. Ferrer came out the same as he always does, ready to fight to the last. Monfils came out as he always does, so athletic you think he’s made of plastic you can shape and mold, so much the showman you can’t help but be charmed. On Kids Day a few days ago, Gael entertained on Chatrier by doing a one handed handstand! Are you kidding?
So was it to be slow and steady or flash and flamboyance that would take the day? We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out. The players got in three sets, with Monfils up 2-1, there was still some daylight so they opened the fourth set. But no television coverage then, so I listened to RG Radio for the last bit. Monfils injured himself in some way, Ferrer broke him to go up 2-0 and play was stopped until tomorrow.
Roger Federer has traveled under the radar so far, but he hasn’t dropped a set yet. He played his fellow Swiss and friend, Stan Wawrinka, and won in straights.
Djokovic did the same against Richard Gasquet. What was Richard doing, standing ten feet behind the baseline the whole time? Certain things in tennis are determined by the laws of geometry and physics. If you stand that far back, you can’t create angles and your opponent can. And standing back that far it takes longer for your ball to travel back to your opponent which gives him more time to set up for the next shot and you less chance of winning the point.
If you know you can’t win from back there, why be there? You might as well make it a walkover and go have lunch. Hug the baseline, get into net when you can and if you still lose, well, okay, at least you had a chance to win.
Still, no one expected Richard Gasquet to win the match today and it would have been a complete miracle if he had. It’s great that he got to the round of sixteen and now I hope he does as well or better at Wimbledon.
The French were consoled by the win of another countryman, or woman in this case. Marion Bartoli advances to the quarterfinals, and she’ll have plenty of energy since she only played one set and two games before Gisela Dulko retired with an injury.
The final match to talk about today took place on Court One instead of Lenglen, because of the long matches there. Kuznetsova against Hantuchova, it went three and Sveta won it. So she’s a former champion and Francesca is the current champion, and Maria wants to win it to complete her Grand Slam wins.
And maybe none of them does it. Maybe Azarenka wins or Kvitova or Petkovic. It’s still wide open, perhaps even more so with the top three seeds and Stosur all gone.
Lots more tomorrow, what better way to spend Memorial Day weekend? See you then and thanks for hanging out with me at Cupcakes and Tennis, the tennis blog with a sweet spot.
