Nicolas Mahut clinched his 300th doubles match win on Wednesday at Roland Garros, saving two match points alongside Pierre-Hugues Herbert to defeat Robert Lindstedt and Marcin Matkowski 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(6). The home favourites secured victory after two hours and five minutes, winning four consecutive points from 4/6 down in the final-set tie-break to secure the win. Mahut and Herbert dropped only eight points behind their first serves and fired seven aces to reach the second round at their home Grand Slam. Mahut, who turned professional in 2000, owns 23 doubles wins from 40 matches on the Parisian clay and is aiming to win his first Roland Garros title on his 18th attempt. The 36-year-old's best result came in 2013 when...
Grigor Dimitrov might not have had the clay-court season he had envisioned before Roland Garros – the Bulgarian reached just one semi-final, at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. But the fourth seed has fought his way through the early rounds in Paris. Dimitrov withstood an aggressive effort from American Jared Donaldson on Wednesday, coming back from two sets to one down to beat the 21-year-old 6-7(2), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 in four hours and 20 minutes. The Bulgarian served from behind in the fifth set, but kept his focus as Donaldson struggled with cramps and took his chances while returning. “It's great to win a match in five sets. I think it stays with you, you keep it, and especially on...
Kei Nishikori once again proved his quality in deciding sets, coming from two sets to one down to beat France’s Benoit Paire 6-3, 2-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 at Roland Garros on Wednesday. Ranked No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Performance Zone for his all-time leading deciding set win percentage (75.9), Nishikori battled past the Frenchman in just under three hours on Court Philippe Chatrier. The Japanese star now owns a 17-6 record in deciding fifth sets after his second win over French opposition in as many rounds. The World No. 21 also moves to 5-2 against home players at the clay-court Grand Slam championship. Nishikori defeated wild card Maxime Janvier in three sets in his opening match. "It was a...
Alexander Zverev, one of the best performers on clay courts this year, survived a scare on Wednesday at Roland Garros. In a match of momentum shifts, the second-seeded German did not play his best tennis in the second round, but recovered from a set and 1-3 deficit to work his way past Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 2-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 in three hours and 24 minutes. Zverev struck 42 winners, but committed 53 unforced errors and was broken five times to equal his best performance in the French capital (2014). He has now won 18 of his past 20 matches and is one victory away from 150 career wins (149-78). “This is important, because I'm still in the tournament...
What would have been an uncommon sight just a few years ago has become somewhat the norm: children of professional players are regularly part of the "action" in the players' tournament lounges. As the average length of player’s career is stretched, the rate of players combining their professional careers with parenthood rises with it. The list of examples is headed by World No. 2 Roger Federer, father of twin girls Myla and Charlene (born 23 July 2009) and twin boys Leo and Lenny (born 6 May 2014). Another Top 10 player, John Isner, is expecting his first child with wife Madison. For a few years now, Novak Djokovic has proven he can be both a doting father and a force...
