Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka will be the first to admit that much of their clay seasons didn’t meet their lofty standards, but they’ve raised their games at the right moment for a rematch on Friday at Roland Garros. Murray defeated the 2015 champion in four sets at this very round last year, but the rematch is one some tennis critics may not have predicted at the start of the fortnight. Murray arrived in Paris with a 4-4 record on clay this year and lost before the quarter-finals in three of his four events on the dirt. Dropping sets in his first two matches this fortnight to Andrey Kuznetsov and Martin Klizan didn’t do much to fuel optimism, but he...
It’s fitting that the biggest rivalry of this clay season will conclude on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem have already met three times in the past six weeks and will battle one more time on Friday for a spot in the Roland Garros final. There will be no surprises when they share the court once again. Both players have a healthy respect for each other and the weapons they bring to the court. Nadal acknowledged the Austrian’s power and that he “doesn’t give you a lot of options.” With his massive forehand, backhand and big serve, Thiem is one of very few players with the firepower to make life uncomfortable for Nadal on clay. Meanwhile, Thiem praised Nadal’s...
The abiding memory is of a stick-thin figure bedecked top-to-toe in yellow and blue, who unleashed explosive groundstrokes and a monotonous groan, which echoed around Stade Roland Garros, to wear down the best clay-court players the professional circuit had to offer. With each win as Gustavo Kuerten walked off court, came an infectious smile in acknowledgement of his growing legion of followers, to whom he became universally known as ‘Guga’. “To win Roland Garros was unbelievable,” Kuerten told ATPWorldTour.com, on the 20th anniversary of his win. “It’s become more absurd as the years have passed. Now I know how hard it is to win a Grand Slam, but back then I kept questioning, ‘What is this?’ and ‘How did I...
India’s Rohan Bopanna and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada saved two championship points on Thursday to capture the Roland Garros mixed doubles title. Bopanna and Dabrowski recovered from a 7/9 deficit in the Match tie-break to beat Colombia’s Robert Farah and Anna-Lena Grönefeld of Germany 2-6, 6-2, 12-10 in 67 minutes. The team, who also competed at this year’s Australian Open, share €118,000 in prize money. "It is truly special," said Bopanna. "When you start playing tennis, you want to win a Grand Slam... I think we didn't start off great today, but we kept pushing, kept working hard together, and we finally got through... For me, it was always a personal goal to win a Slam. And it's still sinking...
Dominic Thiem enjoyed one of the biggest wins of his career on Wednesday by defeating Novak Djokovic for the first time in six attempts in their Roland Garros quarter-final. But while the Court Philippe-Chatrier crowd may have been shocked, the outcome was perfectly logical for the Austrian. “I didn't play a different game style. I just had a positive winner-error statistic today,” said Thiem. “That's very important because I think that was never the case against him before.” The 23 year old has been in top form throughout this tournament, cruising into the final four without the loss of a set. Although the run can already be considered one of the best results of his career, Thiem said his main...
