Virginie Razzano retires injured and Carla Suarez Navarro is through
Razzano has a word with the umpire and after a short delay, the inevitable announcement comes. She can’t play through the pain and Carla Suarez Navarro is into the third round of the French Open. Er. Bye!
Updated
Second set: Suarez Navarro 6-3, 1-0 Razzano* (*denotes server): After a spot of treatment, Razzano is back on her feet and ready to serve at the start of the second set. But she appears to be struggling and double-faults at 0-15. That’s a bad sign and she’s soon facing three break points. Suarez Navarro can’t take the first, but she can take the second with a hot forehand, and I wonder if Razzano will be able to continue.
Updated
Medical time-out
Virginie Razzano has called for the trainer.
Carla Suarez Navarro wins the first set 6-3
Razzano, her footing all over the place, sends a forehand long on the first point, but she wins the next to make it 15-all. She follows that up with a stinging backhand return to make it 15-30. There’s still some life left in this first set. Until Suarez Navarro stamps it out by winning the next two points to earn her first set point. She can’t take it, though, a strong return from Razzano forcing Suarez Navarro to send the ball past the baseline. Deuce. She carves out another chance - and again it goes begging. But when a third presents itself, Razzano has nothing left in the tank and nets a forehand.
First set: Suarez Navarro 5-3 Razzano* (*denotes server): Suarez Navarro breaks, Razzano hoicking a backhand long at 30-40. She will serve for the first set.
First set: Suarez Navarro* 4-3 Razzano (*denotes server): An easy hold to love for Suarez Navarro. Is anyone out there?
First set: Suarez Navarro 3-3 Razzano* (*denotes server): And a new pattern could be emerging. Suarez Navarro gives some weak serving from Razzano the treatment to earn three break points. It’s looking hopeless for Razzano - but then she rattles through the next three points to force the game to deuce! And she wins the next two as well. That’s a granite hold from the veteran.
First set: Suarez Navarro* 3-2 Razzano (*denotes server): The pattern is broken. Suarez Navarro holds to 15. The atmosphere is muted in the early-evening Paris sun. There are plenty of empty seats on Philippe Chatrier, supporters wandering off to gather themselves after the Monfils rollercoaster.
First set: Suarez Navarro 2-2 Razzano* (*denotes server): After a pair of breaks, a pair of holds. Hopefully we can go on like this for the rest of the evening.
First set: Suarez Navarro* 2-1 Razzano (*denotes server): It looks like this game is heading the same way when Razzano wins the first point, but Suarez Navarro knuckles down to hold to 15.
First set: Suarez Navarro 1-1 Razzano* (*denotes server): Hmm. This has been an inauspicious start from both women on serve and Suarez Navarro is soon up 0-40. Razzano saves the first, but not the second, and just like that the set is level.
First set: Suarez Navarro* 0-1 Razzano (*denotes server): It’s Carla Suarez Navarro to open the serving, but it’s Razzano who takes the first point, pummelling a forehand down the line for 0-15. Soon it’s 15-30 - and Razzano earns two break points with a backhand pass, Suarez Navarro lacking conviction with her approach to the net. Can Suarez Navarro respond? No. Razzano has come out all guns blazing and she seals the break by whacking a backhand return down the line. What a start!
Tok! Tok! Tok! They’re knocking up.
Gael Monfils has edged into the third round, beating Diego Schwartzman 4-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Which means that Razzano and Suarez Navarro will be on court shortly.
Preamble
Hello. They haven’t had a home winner at Roland Garros for a while. The last French man to win it was Yannick Noah in 1983, while the last woman to win it was Mary Pierce in 2000. What are they playing at? Even the British had a winner at Wimbledon two years ago and look how bad are they at tennis. And France are good! They have good players! So this has to change. But is Virgine Razzano the woman to end the drought? Er, maybe not. She’s 32 and she’s never been past the fourth round of any grand slam; indeed the last time she got that far in Paris was 2009, the year of ... er, what happened in 2009? It’s so long ago, I can’t remember. Actually, there’s our riff: your favourite 2009 memories. As for the here and now, it seems unlikely that Razzano is going to razz out Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro, the eighth seed and a quarter-finalist here last year.
Play begins: soon.
