Let's start here: No one is predicting Rafael Nadal will lose at Roland Garros. The Spaniard is a 10-time champion at the clay-court Grand Slam and, at times this year, the 31-year-old has looked better than ever on clay. Before losing to Dominic Thiem in the Mutua Madrid Open quarter-finals on 11 May, Nadal had clay-court winning streaks of 50 sets – an Open Era record – and 21 matches. But legends do stumble. So if, on the off chance that Nadal has a bad day in Paris, who might have a chance at challenging him? We present six who could trouble Rafa on la terre battue. [ALSO LIKE] Keep in mind, however, these six – Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem,...
Japanese superstar Kei Nishikori lost in the first round at Roland Garros in 2014 against Martin Klizan. But the No. 19 seed showed no intentions of letting that happen again this year. Nishikori moved past French wild card Maxime Janvier 7-6(0), 6-4, 6-3 in two hours, 19 minutes, advancing to the second round at the clay-court Grand Slam for the fourth year in a row. "It wasn't easy. He was playing pretty good tennis. I didn't know him, so I checked a little bit, but I had to check in the match," Nishikori said. "I think I was a little lucky to finish in three sets... he was playing pretty good." Last year in Paris, Nishikori earned his seventh Grand...
Roland Garros has been the site of many memories for 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up David Goffin. Some, like his first Grand Slam quarter-final in 2016, are great. Others, like being forced to retire due to a fluke accident — he got his foot stuck in a tarpaulin cover — last year in the third round, are not as great. When he trailed two sets to none against Robin Haase on Sunday evening, it appeared the No. 8 seed's tournament was heading toward the latter category. But Goffin battled back to oust the Dutchman, beating Haase 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 to advance to the second round for the fourth consecutive year. The 27-year-old won 17 of the match's final...
Grigor Dimitrov adapted well to the challenge of facing a late replacement in the draw on Sunday, beating lucky loser Mohamed Safwat 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(1) to reach the second round at Roland Garros. “We spent a bit of time [together] when we played juniors,” revealed Dimitrov. “I [have] known him for quite some time. He's a great guy.” Dimitrov had prepared to face Viktor Troicki in the opening match of the tournament on Philippe-Chatrier Court before the Serb withdrew with lower back pain, handing Egypt’s Safwat a place in the main draw. Safwat, the first Egyptian man to compete at a Grand Slam since Tamer El Sawy at the 1996 US Open, only discovered he was playing Dimitrov one hour...
Watch as Marton Fucsovics becomes the first Hungarian to win an ATP World Tour title since Balazs Taroczy in 1982, defeating Peter Gojowczyk at the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open. Photo credit: Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open.
