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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007

    2019 French Open

    Meant to start this over the weekend before the tournament started but was too busy.

    Round 1 (round of 128) is over and we're starting round 2 (round of 64) today.

    Tennis isn't the most popular sport on DBR but hopefully those of us that watch can get some good conversation in, as we've done previously for these Slams / Majors.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    On the men's side, Nadal isn't being treated as the favorite that he's been in past seasons. For example, at the time of this post on OddsChecker, Nadal is looked at as a 5 to 6 favorite to win the tournament, which translates to a 54.5% chance to win. And if the sportsbooks are doing their jobs correctly, they are posting bad odds for you to bet into, especially with a popular bet like Nadal at the French Open. So the sportsbooks are basically saying that they think Nadal has less than a 50% chance to win this thing.

    The reason for this is because of the 4 big clay lead-up events to the French Open (Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome), Nadal only won 1 of them this year. A typical dominant clay season from him has him winning 3 of those on average.

    Maybe the bookies are crazy to post these odds (afterall, Rafa has won 11 of the past 14 French Opens), or maybe Nadal is vulnerable. We'll see.



  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    Maggie Valley, NC
    Trouble - thanks for starting.

    I'm interested to see 2nd round match-up of Bautista Agut against Taylor Fritz. Can Agut take out a 2nd American? And I would not have guessed Fritz is up to #42 in the world. He beat Agut earlier this year. Pulling for him.

    And Wawrinka already into the 3rd round, where he'll get the winner of the Cilic-Dmitrov match. Think all 3 of those guys were top 10 not too many years ago. Stan top 5.

    And finally, a shout out to Nicholas Mahut, who took his wildcard and also is already into the 3rd round. Can't imagine he's been to the 3rd round of a major very often in singles - if at all. Now if we're talking doubles, then different story.

    Pulling for Fed...

    And last thing, see where the Bryans play the Skupskis in the 2nd round. Can't imagine there have been many 2nd round Grand Slam contests between 2 pairs of brothers (no, I did check - Skupskis are not twins).

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Quote Originally Posted by Green Wave Dukie View Post
    And Wawrinka already into the 3rd round, where he'll get the winner of the Cilic-Dmitrov match. Think all 3 of those guys were top 10 not too many years ago. Stan top 5.

    And finally, a shout out to Nicholas Mahut, who took his wildcard and also is already into the 3rd round. Can't imagine he's been to the 3rd round of a major very often in singles - if at all. Now if we're talking doubles, then different story.

    Pulling for Fed...

    And last thing, see where the Bryans play the Skupskis in the 2nd round. Can't imagine there have been many 2nd round Grand Slam contests between 2 pairs of brothers (no, I did check - Skupskis are not twins).
    Yeah, while the competition hasn't been great so far, Stan looks like he could be rounding into slam-winning form. As we all know, he randomly peaks every now and then, resulting in 3 slam titles. He's probably going to destroy Dimitrov tomorrow.

    Fed's been looking good, too, in his return to clay. I think we'll see an all-Swiss QF in that section of the draw.

  5. #5
    Quite an ouster for Osaka today, straight sets in the 3rd round. Obviously she never really got off the ground in this tournament, dropping the 1st set each match, and needing 7 wins just to stay alive in each of her previous second sets (tie-break in the 1st round, 7-5 in the second). Good luck to her at Wimbledon.
    Demented and sad, but social, right?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Serena also lost today (at least it was to American Sofia Kenin) and was (once again) embroiled in a bit of controversy.

    She apparently didn't want to wait for Dominic Thiem to finish his press conference so the French Open organizers booted him from the main interview room.

    The fourth seed at the French Open, Dominic Thiem was uncomfortable when he was asked to leave the press conference by the Roland-Garros officials and then he replied, “I’m not a junior player anymore”. The round-of-16 contestant at Roland-Garros 2019, Thiem was furious with this attitude of the organisers.

  7. #7
    That reflects really poorly on the tournament officials. If Serena doesn't want to wait, that's on her. She can stew or she can leave. Interrupting another player to cater to her is really unfair.
    Demented and sad, but social, right?

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    Maggie Valley, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by Troublemaker View Post
    Yeah, while the competition hasn't been great so far, Stan looks like he could be rounding into slam-winning form. As we all know, he randomly peaks every now and then, resulting in 3 slam titles. He's probably going to destroy Dimitrov tomorrow.

    Fed's been looking good, too, in his return to clay. I think we'll see an all-Swiss QF in that section of the draw.
    Though this was far from an outlandish prediction, got to give it to you Trouble. When you made it last week I just thought there was too much tennis to play, too much 'anything can go wrong', too many possibilities. But here we are now, a day away from the all-Swiss quarterfinal you predicted. The whole men's quarters pairings look like Grand Slam finals - rooting for Zverev (an admitted underdog) over Djokovic, Thiem over the Del Potro/Khachanov winner, Fed over Stan the Man, and Nishikori over Nadal. Haven't watched any live, but the Tsiitsipas/Wawrikna and Nishikori/Paire highlights I just watched over lunch were incredible. Go Fed!!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Nice run into the quarters for Anisimova. Hasn't had the toughest draw due to upsets elsewhere, but getting through four rounds without dropping a set is still impressive. Now she will have a real test in Simona Halep, who has looked like the player to beat on the women's draw throughout the tournament.

    I always find it remarkable how much more turbulent the women's draws tend to be than the men's in the major tournaments. The men will have 6 or 7 of the top 8 seeds in the quarters, no unseeded participants, and the lowest seed to make it through is a 3-time major winner. On the women's side, only three top-8 seeds remain* and there are two unseeded players still going.

    *I realize Kvitova having to withdraw last minute skews this a little bit, but even setting her aside, half of the top 8 lost before the quarters.
    Just be you. You is enough. - K, 4/5/10, 0:13.8 to play, 60-59 Duke.

    You're all jealous hypocrites. - Titus on Laettner

    You see those guys? Animals. They're animals. - SIU Coach Chris Lowery, on Duke

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Quote Originally Posted by Green Wave Dukie View Post
    Though this was far from an outlandish prediction, got to give it to you Trouble. When you made it last week I just thought there was too much tennis to play, too much 'anything can go wrong', too many possibilities. But here we are now, a day away from the all-Swiss quarterfinal you predicted. The whole men's quarters pairings look like Grand Slam finals - rooting for Zverev (an admitted underdog) over Djokovic, Thiem over the Del Potro/Khachanov winner, Fed over Stan the Man, and Nishikori over Nadal. Haven't watched any live, but the Tsiitsipas/Wawrikna and Nishikori/Paire highlights I just watched over lunch were incredible. Go Fed!!
    Ha, thanks my friend. Like you said, not an incredible prediction or anything, but it is cool to see Fed immediately back in a QF (and likely SF) of Roland Garros after being away from clay for 3 years.

    I'm rooting for the favorites, more or less. Would love to see a monster SF of Fed / Rafa and Djoker / Thiem. I think Fed could surprise by keeping the Nadal match close, as it's the first time he's held the mental edge in the rivalry (5 wins in a row).

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Quote Originally Posted by Troublemaker View Post
    Would love to see a monster SF of Fed / Rafa and Djoker / Thiem. I think Fed could surprise by keeping the Nadal match close, as it's the first time he's held the mental edge in the rivalry (5 wins in a row).
    Halfway home. The ease with which Nadal defeats opponents on clay is remarkable.
    Just be you. You is enough. - K, 4/5/10, 0:13.8 to play, 60-59 Duke.

    You're all jealous hypocrites. - Titus on Laettner

    You see those guys? Animals. They're animals. - SIU Coach Chris Lowery, on Duke

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Quote Originally Posted by pfrduke View Post
    Halfway home. The ease with which Nadal defeats opponents on clay is remarkable.
    Indeed. Credit to Goffin for somehow taking a set off Rafa.

    Looking at the hourly forecasts, there's a really good chance all French Open play is rained out today.

    That puts the top halves of both men's and women's draws, those that are still in the quarterfinals, at a disadvantage to their respective bottom halves that have already graduated to the semifinals.

    So, for example, on the men's side, Djokovic, Zverev, Thiem, and Khachanov in the top half will likely have to play QF on Thurs, SF on Friday, and F on Sunday. Rafa and Roger, in the bottom half played QF on Tuesday and will play SF on Friday and F on Sunday. That's a much better rest situation. Of course, more rainout days could even things up a bit.

  13. #13
    Weather playing a factor, giving a nice helping hand to Nadal/Fed, and particularly to the presumptive underdog coming out of the Konta / Vondrousova semi.
    Demented and sad, but social, right?

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    17-yr-old American Anisimova dictating every point against the defending champion Halep and is up 6-2, 4-1 as I type this.

    It's all about nerves at this point. Can she close it out?

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Quote Originally Posted by Troublemaker View Post
    17-yr-old American Anisimova dictating every point against the defending champion Halep and is up 6-2, 4-1 as I type this.

    It's all about nerves at this point. Can she close it out?
    The teenager had a clutch save of break point when serving at 4-4 before going on to win the game and then breaking Halep in the next game to win the match. It's funny how tennis matches can sometimes be reduced to one game or even point. If she goes down 4-5 after having been up 4-1, I think she likely loses the match. Animisova showed good mettle alongside her overpowering game.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    The men's semis are going to be great - Thiem is playing really good tennis and should be a real challenge for Djokovic and who can complain about Federer-Nadal. Will be rooting for Anisimova on the women's side of the draw.
    Just be you. You is enough. - K, 4/5/10, 0:13.8 to play, 60-59 Duke.

    You're all jealous hypocrites. - Titus on Laettner

    You see those guys? Animals. They're animals. - SIU Coach Chris Lowery, on Duke

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    Durham

    Rafa blows out Roger

    The finals should be a war.

    Hope Thiem can give Djoker a bit of resistance, but expect a #1 vs #2 final.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Quote Originally Posted by Troublemaker View Post
    Ha, thanks my friend. Like you said, not an incredible prediction or anything, but it is cool to see Fed immediately back in a QF (and likely SF) of Roland Garros after being away from clay for 3 years.

    I'm rooting for the favorites, more or less. Would love to see a monster SF of Fed / Rafa and Djoker / Thiem. I think Fed could surprise by keeping the Nadal match close, as it's the first time he's held the mental edge in the rivalry (5 wins in a row).
    Whoops, horrible call there. The 5 straight wins on hardcourt against Rafa didn't matter when it came to clay.

    Still cool to see an almost 38-yr-old in the semis after a 3 year layoff.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by curtis325 View Post
    The finals should be a war.

    Hope Thiem can give Djoker a bit of resistance, but expect a #1 vs #2 final.
    After another lost day today for Djoker/Thiem, I'm skeptical that Nadal can be seriously challenged with so much extra rest.
    Demented and sad, but social, right?

  20. #20
    Controversy in the semis after play was questionably suspended for wind and expected rain, except shortly thereafter there was sunshine and rain didn't return for 2 hours. People are accusing Djokovic of leaving the court before the official decision was made and influencing it...Thiem up a break in the third, but a lot of tennis to be played.
    https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/48555775

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