Roland-Garros

[Softball Bat]

The French Open draw has been released.

https://www.rolandgarros.com/en-us/results/SM?round=1


Of note...

14 time champion R. Nadal, unseeded, got what looks to be an awful draw.
He will face 4th seed Sascha Zverev in the first round.
Wow!
Zverev won the Italian Open last week.

Andy Murray will square off against Stan Wawrinka in the first round.
Both unseeded.

J. Sinner and C. Alcaraz are seeded 2 and 3, and have both been battling injuries.

NoVax Djokovic is the #1 seed, but he hasn't been in good form for a number of months.


Looking forward to the action!

[Softball Bat]

Andy Murray will square off against Stan Wawrinka in the first round.

Stan W. rolls in straight sets.

Luv his one-handed backhand.
Check out the bullet at 2:10. Caught Murray with that one.
And the one at 2:03. Wowz!

C. Alcaraz

Off to a good start.
Knocks off American J.J. Wolf in round 1.
Straight sets.

[JPGettysburg]

You know quite a bit about tennis. On the women's side, I like Iga.

[Softball Bat]

Talk to SM about the ladies draw.
I have very little interest in it.

[L45B]

A bit more open on the men’s side this year. If Zverev can get past Rafa in the first round, which I think he will, it could be a launchpad for him.

Djoker has looked crappy this clay court season. Sinner and Alcaraz not 100%. Someone outside of that upper tier could rise up this year on the dirt.

Watch out for those South American grinders (think Andres Gomez and Gaston Gaudio).

[Mikey]

Of note...

14 time champion R. Nadal, unseeded, got what looks to be an awful draw.
He will face 4th seed Sascha Zverev in the first round.
Wow!
Zverev won the Italian Open last week.

Down goes Nadal!!

[Screw_Michigan]

Talk to SM about the ladies draw.
I have very little interest in it.

I haven't seen the ladies draw. Iga is tough and she's wearing a shorter skirt out on the courts, so I love that.

[Softball Bat]

13th seed Holger Rune survived, 7-6 in the 5th set to advance to the 3rd round.





A couple of interesting 3rd round matches I see are...

15 seeded American Ben Shelton v. F.A. Aliassime (21)
Top seed NoVax Djoker vs A. Musetti (30)

Americans left in the draw are...

Taylor Fritz
Ben Shelton
Tommy Paul
S. Korda

Korda, seeded 27th, will square off against Carlitos Alcaraz (3) in round 3.

[Screw_Michigan]

I watched the Iga Swiatek vs Naomi Osaka match on Wednesday and it was pretty epic. Osaka was rolling Iga. Iga won the first set 6-4 but lost the second set 1-6 and Osaka was rolling her in the third set. Hitting winners left and right and Iga was melting.

Then all of the sudden Iga fought back down 2-4 (I believe) and rolled back to beat Osaka. Was an impressive match.

Iga celebrated by telling the French fans how out of control they were and to STFU. Roland Garros responded by banning booze sales in the stands.

[L45B]

Americans left in the draw are...

Taylor Fritz
Ben Shelton
Tommy Paul
S. Korda

Fritz and Paul both had good clay court seasons this spring. Paul plays Cerundolo next, who took out Fritz last year in Paris. Fritz has a favorable draw and looks to be on a collision course to meet Casper Ruud in the 4th round, which is a match I believe Fritz can win. Both Americans are in Djoker’s section, so we’ll see what happens. Shelton has Auger-Alliasime next, who has been playing better on clay.

I’m still sticking with Zverev as my sleeper pick. Tsitsipas is the other guy who could sneak thru also.

[Softball Bat]

Korda, seeded 27th, will square off against Carlitos Alcaraz (3) in round 3.

One American down.


Shelton and F. A-A are in action (1st set) as I type.

Zverev
Tsitsipas

Yes, both have been playing well of late.

[Screw_Michigan]

I demoed a few new racquets today for the first time. My first real adult tennis racquet purchase in Oct 2022 was a Volkl V Cell 8 300g 100 sq inch. I really like it, provides a lot of power and I don't get any arm, elbow or shoulder soreness. Overall it's a great racquet.



But like chicks, nobody wants to marry the first chick they date and I was always curious about playing with different racquets. And Babolat is known for making some of the best racquets on the market. So I demoed a Babolat Pure Aero 300g 100 sq inch. I have been obsessing over the newest Pure Aero.



I also demoed a Babolat Pure Strike 98 sq inch 302 g racquet.



My first observation was that the Pure Aero felt heavier than my V Cell despite both weighing 300 g. The Pure Aero also felt much top heavier than my V Cell and I had to mentally tell myself to swing early when playing with it. Probably something I'd have to get use to.

The Pure Aero also provided a ton of power, even more than my V Cell. Makes sense, the Pure Aero is marketed as having tons of easy spin, but I'm not as good with the forehand topspin, so I mostly hit it flat.

I also felt the Pure Aero to be a little more difficult to serve with. I kept double faulting during my class today. I unfortunately double fault a lot on my serve, but I seemed to have a bad day serving with my Pure Aero.

One thing I did like about the Pure Aero is that it's heavier feel felt better on my volleys and in my net play. The extra weight provided oomph in my volleys and I made some great plays at the net in my class. Really enjoyed that.

I did enjoy the Pure Strike a bit more, though I wish the guy at my tennis store would have given me a 100 sq inch version. Felt slightly lighter than the Pure Aero but heavier than my V Cell. Made some good plays with it.

The guy from my tennis store also gave me a Yonex VCore 98 sq inch racquet, I'll review that in the future.

[Softball Bat]

Interesting, SM.

I have been out of the loop for almost 20 years, so I have no input on the racquets you've shown here.

However...

You mentioned a racquet being heavy a couple of times.

Fwiw, I always played with a very heavy racquet with a very large grip.
I put extra weight on the sides of my racquet, and built the grip up to about a 5 3/8.
Huge grip and a heavy stick.

Most people were in disbelief when they picked up my racquet.
But it worked extremely well for the style of game I played.

[Screw_Michigan]

Interesting, SM.

I have been out of the loop for almost 20 years, so I have no input on the racquets you've shown here.

However...

You mentioned a racquet being heavy a couple of times.

Fwiw, I always played with a very heavy racquet with a very large grip.
I put extra weight on the sides of my racquet, and built the grip up to about a 5 3/8.
Huge grip and a heavy stick.

Most people were in disbelief when they picked up my racquet.
But it worked extremely well for the style of game I played.

So apparently the Pure Aero has a strung weight that is 8 g heavier than my V Cell. The Pure Aero is also available in a lighter model, 283 g. Is that too light? I guess I'd have to try it out. I want to keep the weight and the racquet face size similar to my V Cell.

[Softball Bat]

So apparently the Pure Aero has a strung weight that is 8 g heavier than my V Cell. The Pure Aero is also available in a lighter model, 283 g. Is that too light? I guess I'd have to try it out.

Yes, try it out.

Weight of the racquet, grip size, stiffness of the racquet, string tension,head size, overall feel of a racquet -- are all things that are subject to personal preference.

[Screw_Michigan]

I used the Pure Aero today during my parastanding class. It's not bad for fooling around with but if I was playing against guys my own skill level, it would probably make me tired. Though I do love it for volleys. Helps put volleys away.

[Softball Bat]

Americans left in the draw are...

Taylor Fritz
Ben Shelton
Tommy Paul
S. Korda

Shelton got roasted by F. A-A.
6-4, 6-2, 6-1

T. Paul and T. Fritz are the only Americans remaining.

[Screw_Michigan]

Interesting, SM.

I have been out of the loop for almost 20 years, so I have no input on the racquets you've shown here.

However...

You mentioned a racquet being heavy a couple of times.

Fwiw, I always played with a very heavy racquet with a very large grip.
I put extra weight on the sides of my racquet, and built the grip up to about a 5 3/8.
Huge grip and a heavy stick.

Most people were in disbelief when they picked up my racquet.
But it worked extremely well for the style of game I played.

How did you determine that a heavier racquet was better for your game? What about your game worked well with one?

[Softball Bat]

I grew up playing with a wood racquet, so the basic strokes I developed as a youngster were pretty standard for that era.
Eastern(ish) forehand grip, two handed backhand (I was small), and all court ability.
I could play the net, but was more comfortable at the baseline, mostly because I was small and not very strong.

As I grew bigger, I was rangy and had good feet.
I covered the court extremely well.

So I was a very consistent baseline player who looked for the short ball to attack and come to the net.
Good return of serve, but only a fair serve.

The players who might most be in the same mold that I was in are -- Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, Novak Djokovic.
I was what you might call a counte-rpuncher.

These players are not "wristy," flick the ball around players.
No, they are looking for a steady racquet path through the ball, time-after-time-after-time.

I found that the heavy racquet and large grip allowed me the kind of consistency and "steadiness" that I wanted.

[Softball Bat]

Of note, T. Fritz survived a 5 set battle with T. Kokkinakis to move into the round of 16.
T. Paul lost (F. Cerundolo), so Fritz is the lone Yankee left in the draw.
Fritz will play the winner of C. Rudd and TM Etcheverry.

Sascha Zverev outlasted T. Griekspoor, 7-6 in the 5th, to move into the round of 16, where he will square off against H. Rune.
That'll be interesting.

[Screw_Michigan]

I grew up playing with a wood racquet, so the basic strokes I developed as a youngster were pretty standard for that era.
Eastern(ish) forehand grip, two handed backhand (I was small), and all court ability.
I could play the net, but was more comfortable at the baseline, mostly because I was small and not very strong.

As I grew bigger, I was rangy and had good feet.
I covered the court extremely well.

So I was a very consistent baseline player who looked for the short ball to attack and come to the net.
Good return of serve, but only a fair serve.

The players who might most be in the same mold that I was in are -- Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, Novak Djokovic.
I was what you might call a counte-rpuncher.

These players are not "wristy," flick the ball around players.
No, they are looking for a steady racquet path through the ball, time-after-time-after-time.

I found that the heavy racquet and large grip allowed me the kind of consistency and "steadiness" that I wanted.

Fascinating!

[Softball Bat]

The quarterfinals are set.


Djokovic (1)
Ruud (7)

Zverev (4)
Di Minaur (11)

Tsitsipas (9)
Alcaraz (3)

Dimitrov (10)
Sinner (2)


I will make my picks.

Djokovic had to go 5 sets to win each of his last two matches, and he was down 2 sets to 1 each time. He has had to burn a lot of energy to get to where he is.
He will have to hit a lot of balls to beat Ruud. Won't be easy. Ruud is 12 years younger.
Djoker is 5-1 lifetime v. Ruud, but Ruud beat NoVax two moths ago, on clay, in Monte-Carlo.
At the end of the day, I can't find it within myself to call for the upset. So I'll say Djoker wins his 3rd straight 5 set match.


Zverev has also gone 5 sets in his last two matches. He got past Holger Rune in the early hours of the morning to advance to the quarters.
De Minaur upset Medvedev in the round of 16, so he is playing well.
But I will take Zverev in 4 sets here.


I think Alcaraz is going to win this tournament, and I like him to oust S. Tsitsipas in their quarterfinal match. He has never lost to the Greek.
Carlitos in 4 sets.


Sinner v. Dimitrov is a very interesting match-up.
Sinner is 3-1 lifetime v. Grigor, and has won the last 3 meetings. But those have all been on hard courts.
The only time the two players met on clay, Dimitrov came away the winner. But that was almost 4 years ago.
Assuming Sinner is not *dinged*, I like him to prevail.
Sinner in 5 sets.

[Screw_Michigan]

[Softball Bat]

You're an athletic sort, aren't you, SM?

You've probably pulled similar moves.

Just don't go too low, and scrape your balls off on the court.

[L45B]

The quarterfinals are set.


Djokovic (1)
Ruud (7)

Zverev (4)
Di Minaur (11)

Tsitsipas (9)
Alcaraz (3)

Dimitrov (10)
Sinner (2)


I will make my picks.

Good call, Bat. I thought Fritz could get to the quarters but was somewhat disappointed. This was a great shot for an American to break through at Roland Garros. Oh well.

Alcaraz is a pretty safe pick. He’s been breezing thru quietly and hasn’t had a grueling match like some of the others. Nonetheless I’m still sticking with my Zverev and Tsitsipas picks, however unlikely. I’ve got:

Ruud [7]
Zverev [4]

Tsitsipas [9]
Sinner [2]

[Softball Bat]

Djokovic had to go 5 sets to win each of his last two matches, and he was down 2 sets to 1 each time. He has had to burn a lot of energy to get to where he is.
He will have to hit a lot of balls to beat Ruud. Won't be easy. Ruud is 12 years younger.
Djoker is 5-1 lifetime v. Ruud, but Ruud beat NoVax two moths ago, on clay, in Monte-Carlo.
At the end of the day, I can't find it within myself to call for the upset. So I'll say Djoker wins his 3rd straight 5 set match.

Ruud advances to the semifinals in a walkover.

Djokovic won't answer the bell.
Knee injury.

[Softball Bat]

Tsitsipas (9)
Alcaraz (3)

Dimitrov (10)
Sinner (2)

Sinner and Alcaraz both advance in straight sets.

Their semifinal match figures to be a war!

[Softball Bat]

Tsitsipas: (paraphrasing) I have been in very good form. I played well. Carlos is just at another level.

[L45B]

Tsitsipas (9)
Alcaraz (3)

Dimitrov (10)
Sinner (2)

Sinner and Alcaraz both advance in straight sets.

Their semifinal match figures to be a war!

This could be an epic match. Sinner is the new #1 player in the world. He’s been on another level. I give slight edge to Carlitos. His dismantling of Tsitsipas was nothing short of amazing.

[Softball Bat]

I barely watch the women at all, but I was pleased to see the barnyard animal go down.







Completely excessive screaming, grunting, and squawking.

Ridiculous and disgusting.

[Softball Bat]

S. Zverev got past D. Minaur in straight sets.
These are the semifinals...


Ruud (7)
Zverev (4)

Alcaraz (3)
Sinner (2)


Ruud beat Zverev in the Paris semi last year, and they are 2-2 lifetime.
I believe Sascha will get his revenge, but it won't be easy.
Zverev in 5.

Alcaraz and Sinner are 4-4 lifetime, but have only played one time on clay (2022), with Sinner winning it.
I believe Carlos covers the court just a bit better than Sinner, and he has just a bit more *pop* on his big shot, the forehead, than Sinner does.
Sinner has an edge with his serve, but on clay, that doesn't matter very much.
I like Alcaraz to take this one in 4 sets.

[Screw_Michigan]

I barely watch the women at all, but I was pleased to see the barnyard animal go down.







Completely excessive screaming, grunting, and squawking.

Ridiculous and disgusting.

I like Sabalenka. She's hot. Bad loss for her, though, to be losing in the QF.

Rybakina lost as well, though she's not as big of an upset.

[Screw_Michigan]

Thinking about going home in August to see the USTA boys 18s and 16s championship as it is always held in West Michigan. Do you guys know what Feed-In is?

"16s Feed-in & 18s Feed in, Finals"

https://ustaboys.com/tournament-information/schedule/

[JPGettysburg]

Iga
Iga
Iga

[Softball Bat]

"Feed-in" could work in a few different ways, SM, but the basic idea is that players who lose are not eliminated from play.

Losers are put back into the draw, or a consolation draw, so that nobody comes all the way to Kalamazoo and plays just y one match.

With a feed-in system, everyone is guaranteed to play at least 2 matches.

[Screw_Michigan]

"Feed-in" could work in a few different ways, SM, but the basic idea is that players who lose are not eliminated from play.

Losers are put back into the draw, or a consolation draw, so that nobody comes all the way to Kalamazoo and plays just y one match.

With a feed-in system, everyone is guaranteed to play at least 2 matches.

Makes perfect sense, thanks.

[L45B]

Screwy— think of a backwards bracket that branches left from the first round of a tournament, this is for all the first round losers. As Bat noted, this is to ensure if a player loses the first match, they are guaranteed a second and even a possible “feed-in” trophy. This is how all the USTA junior tournaments were when I was growing up. I won a few feeder trophies. Also many times won the first round match, lost the second and went home.

[Screw_Michigan]

Screwy— think of a backwards bracket that branches left from the first round of a tournament, this is for all the first round losers. As Bat noted, this is to ensure if a player loses the first match, they are guaranteed a second and even a possible “feed-in” trophy. This is how all the USTA junior tournaments were when I was growing up. I won a few feeder trophies. Also many times won the first round match, lost the second and went home.

Right. In non tennis speak, it's the losers bracket.

[Biggie]

Sinner and Alcaraz both advance in straight sets.

Their semifinal match figures to be a war!

Yep, it's a beauty.

[Screw_Michigan]

Yep, it's a beauty.

These last few sets have been incredible.