That’s all from me today after another dramatic day in Paris. Thanks all for following and here is a summary of the day.
- Simona Halep avenged last year’s loss to 19-year old Amanda Anisimova with a vicious 6-0 6-1 win.
- Rafael Nadal reached the fourth round with a 6-1 6-4 6-0 win over Stefano Travaglia.
- Stan Wawrinka was upset 2-6 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-0 by 20 year-old Hugo Gaston, a resourceful 5’8 Frenchman ranked 238.
- Caroline Garcia defeated 16th seed Elise Mertens 1-6 6-4 7-5 in a high quality match on Chatrier.
- 3rd seeds Dominic Thiem and Elina Svitolina progressed in straight sets.
Speaking of Simona Halep, here is Kevin Mitchell on the the top seed and tournament favourite, who reached the fourth round with a 6-0 6-1 win over Amanda Anisimova.
What happens when a tennis player isn’t traveling around the world every single week and has a moment to stop, breathe and think about their lives? Simona Halep has learned that her happiness doesn’t have to depend only on her results
Q. You mentioned just now that your happiness doesn’t depend on tennis anymore. I wonder, when did that change and why did it change?
SIMONA HALEP: Actually, yeah, I worked on this before, and I worked to not putting everything I have in the tennis, like all the life that I’m doing and I’m living.
But pandemic helped me a lot to change this inside myself, and I became very relaxed. I saw that the bigger problems are in normal life, not in our sport. So we have the privilege to play these beautiful and great tournaments.
So I relaxed it in some way. I don’t really know how to explain. I don’t know how it’s gonna stay like this. Now I have a good form and I’m feeling very confident. Might be changed in next year, only few months, but for the moment I have learned also to live in the present, so I enjoy the time and I have learned so many things from pandemic which I want to keep them.
Sebastian Korda of the United States faces his idol Rafael Nadal in the fourth round. Korda is, of course, son of Petr Korda, the 1998 Australian Open champion who was then banned from tennis after testing positive for nandrolone at Wimbledon 1998. His mother is Regina Rajchrtová, who reached No.26 in the WTA rankings.
His sisters, Jessica and Nelly, are both Australian Open champions on the LPGA. He won the 2018 junior Australian Open to complete the Korda slam in Australia. In other words, this is a very sporty family:
Q. Your father said once, I don’t remember what the answer is, as to why your sisters went to golf and you went to tennis. What is your golf like? What is Jessica and Nelly’s tennis like?
SEBASTIAN KORDA: I think my oldest sister Jessica, she didn’t really like sweating growing up. So tennis wasn’t the ideal sport for her. Yeah, she fell in love with golf. Of course, my sister watching my sister Jessie play, she just wanted to be like her. She followed in her footsteps.
They’d be both unbelievable tennis players. Whenever they get on court, they got some nice-looking strokes. No, they’d be some pretty good tennis players.
As for myself and golf, I played a lot of golf during the time at home. I don’t know, probably like a three or two handicap. I golfed a lot my whole life. My dad is a club champion where we live. So, yeah, we’re all pretty good golfers.
Taylor Fritz of the United States on losing the longest men’s singles tiebreak in Roland Garros history 19-17 to Lorenzo Sonego, which allowed the Italian to move on 7-6(5) 6-3 7-6(17):
I’m gonna be up all night thinking about what I could have done different, especially in that third set, like on every single set point I made the return and I made like pretty good returns on almost all of them.
He made first serves every single time he was down set point, and I made the return every single time.
It’s tough, you know. I think that’s why the tiebreaker went so long is because both of us were playing so well when we were down. You know, I’d be down match point. I’d play a great point. He’d be down set point. He’d play a great point.
It was just the level was so high, neither one of us were missing. I just kept hoping I keep making these returns, making the returns, like one of these forehands he might miss.
But he was in a groove with it all match. He wasn’t giving me anything. I was having to really be aggressive and work for every single point.
You know, I have definitely never played a tiebreaker like that and probably never will again.
19 year old Iga Swiatek, who beat Eugenie Bouchard earlier to reach the fourth round without dropping a set, faces Simona Halep on Sunday. They played each other in the same round last year, her first ever slam fourth round, and she was brushed aside 6-1 6-0 in 45 minutes.
Q. You will play against Simona Halep next round. She beat you last year 6-1, 6-0 if I remember correctly. It was a very bad game. What do you think you can change from that game and what happened in that game?
IGA SWIATEK: The biggest reason that this match lasted, like, 40 minutes was that I was super stressed. I wasn’t experienced. Right now I feel more experienced. I know that it’s going to be different.
Tennis-wise I wasn’t able to play all the things that we were talking with my team, like about tactics. I wasn’t able to do that. I think this year is going to be different because I’m more experienced. I’m not going to be that stressed.
Yeah, last year, this match was like the first match I played on a big stadium, against a player like that. I was sad that I lost, but I kind of knew it’s my first time on Philippe Chatrier, so it’s not that bad. I made it to the fourth round. It was amazing for me anyway.
Rafael Nadal’s stat line today:
- 28 winners
- 13 unforced errors
- 73% first serves in
- 78% first serves won
- 82% second serves won
- 53% return points won
- 6/7 break points won
- 0 break points faced
Easy.
Rafael Nadal easily reaches round four, beating Stefano Travaglia 6-1 6-4 6-0
With a slick foray to the net, an excellent stretch volley and then a jumping fistpump, Rafael Nadal moves on.
He still has not dropped a set or been pushed at all. After all the talk about the conditions and how they may not suit him, so far he looks great and each of his opponents have failed to deal with his heavy topspin for sustained periods. Nadal was notably aggressive today, moving to the net and attacking his forehand down-the-line whenever the opportunity presented itself.
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With a trademark running forehand down-the-line winner, Rafael Nadal breaks and he will serve for the match against Stefano Travaglia at 6-1 6-4 *5-0.
There are no such dramatic scenes on Chatrier. Rafael Nadal now leads 6-1 6-4 4-0 and he is marching to victory.
HGJGISFNFZHZOFZF
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) October 2, 2020
Le 🇫🇷 Hugo Gaston, 239e joueur mondial, vient juste de sortir le match de sa carrière ! Il élimine Stan Wawrinka en 5 sets 2-6 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-0.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/VyXvNOf8TZ
Sebastian Korda on his upcoming opponent in the fourth round of the French Open, Rafael Nadal:
— Ricky Dimon (@Dimonator) October 2, 2020
“He’s my biggest idol. Everything he does is perfect. I even named my cat after him. That explains how much I love him.”
20 year-old Frenchman Hugo Gaston upsets Stan Wawrinka 2-6 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-0
World number 239 Hugo Gaston, the final Frenchman in the draw, pulls off one of the big shocks of the season to topple the 2015 French Open champion with a beautiful performance. He is now crying in his chair, and for good reason. He will face US Open champion Dominic Thiem next.
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Sadly for Stan Wawrinka, that was a miserable end to his service game and it he is very unlikely to come back from this. From 40-15 up, he threw in 4 unforced errors in a row to drop his serve. Gaston now leads *5-0 in the 5th and he will serve for a delightful, unexpected career win.
19 year-old Italian Jannik Sinner, highly rated by so many due to his clean, brutal ballstriking off both wings, is also looking very good. Sinner leads Federico Coria 6-3 7-5 *0-1.
It isn’t much, but the small French crowds have been loudest today and the French players Caroline Garcia and Hugo Gaston have clearly been huge beneficiaries of being able to play in some atmosphere. And so are the viewers. Gaston now leads Wawrinka 4-0* in the fifth set. Two breaks.
As Wawrinka is on the verge of succumbing to a big upset, Rafael Nadal is going about his business quietly. He leads 6-1 6-4 over Stefano Travaglia.
Hugo Gaston now leads Stan Wawrinka *3-0 in the fifth set and he is firmly in the Swiss’s head. After ample dropshots, angles and one incredible point where he retrieved two overheads before dipping a passing shot at Wawrinka’s feet, forcing a volley error, he secured the second break by stepping onto the baseline and crushing a backhand crosscourt.
Hugo Gaston had three break points in the opening game of the fifth set, Stan Wawrinka had three break points in the second game. Gaston took his chances and Wawrinka didn’t. The Frenchman now leads 2-0 in the fifth.
Tsvetana Pironkova, one of the stories of the US Open, has brought her high level to Paris. She is up 7-5 1-1 on Barbora Krejcikova.
Stan Wawrinka is really up against it on Lenglen. After falling down two sets to one and then pushing 20 year-old Frenchman Hugo Gaston to a 5th set, he has now dropped his service game at the start of the third set.
The Frenchman is just delightful. In that opening game alone, he chased down a Wawrinka overhead and blazed a backhand passing shot, then he moved towards with a sickly sweet dropshot-lob combination.
Playing against him in these slow conditions looks like absolute hell. He is throwing in loopy balls, knifed slices, flat backhands, dropshots and chasing every ball down. This is not fun for Wawrinka. Wawrinka 6-2 3-6 3-6 6-4 0-1* Gaston.
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Ended with two consecutive drop shot winners. Incredible.
The 36-point tiebreak in the third set of the match between Lorenzo Sonego and Taylor Fritz, won by Sonego, is the longest tiebreak in a men's singles match in @rolandgarros history.
— ITF Media (@ITFMedia) October 2, 2020
After a string of holds to start the second set, Rafael Nadal breaks Stefano Travaglia’s serve with a searing crosscourt backhand return from miles behind the baseline. Nadal leads Travaglia 6-1 *4-3.
The incredible scenes on Simonne-Mathieu court come to an end. On his 7th match point and after saving 9 set points, Lorenzo Sonego of Italy wins the marathon half hour tiebreak 19-17 to advance 7-6(5) 6-3 7-6(17) over 27th seed Taylor Fritz.
After so much pressure and stress, he finished it off so boldly, throwing in two consecutive drop shot winners after two long points. Well deserved.
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Taylor Fritz just broke a string on his missed first serve while down 15-16 and a 6th match point in the third set tiebreak. He calmly saved it to bring up a 9th(!) set point. This tiebreak may never end.
Rafael Nadal now leads 6-1 2-2 on Chatrier as Travaglia has now been able to put a lot more pressure on the Spaniard early in the second set.
Sonego and Fritz go on. The score is now 15-15. 5 match points for Sonego, 8 set points for Fritz.
On Court Simonne-Mathieu, the second set tiebreak between Taylor Fritz and Lorenzo Sonego just won’t end. The pair are now at 12-12 in the tiebreak with Sonego leading by two sets. The Italian has had 4 match points and Fritz has had 6 set points, including an easy volley into the open court which he dumped into the net. We go on.
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Rafael Nadal takes the first set 6-1 against Stefano Travaglia in 23 minutes, sealed with a laser forehand down-the-line winner.
Nadal may not prefer the balls and so much has already been said about them, but his forehand is clearly still cutting through bouncing high up into his backhand and giving him fits.
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Rafael Nadal is in a hurry on Chatrier. He breaks to love for a second time, this time outmaneuvering Travaglia with a wicked angled crosscourt forehand. He will serve for the set. Nadal *5-1 Travaglia.
Italy will play a huge part future of ATP tennis. Italy will host the ATP Finals and the Next Gen ATP Finals next year, the ATP CEO, Andrea Gaudenzi, is Italian and they currently boast a strong mixture of young stars and veterans.
This week has underlined the steps Italy has taken in tennis. For the first time in the Open Era, 5 Italian men have made the third round of a slam: Matteo Berrettini, Stefano Travaglia, Lorenzo Sonego, Jannik Sinner, Marco Cecchinato.
Three of those Italians are in action now:
- Lorenzo Sonego is so close to the biggest win of his career as he leads 27th seed Taylor Fritz 7-6(5) 6-3 6-6.
- 19 year-old Jannik Sinner is up 6-3 Federico Coria as he also chases his first slam fourth round.
- Stefano Travaglia has just secured his first game against Nadal today, now trailing *1-4.
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On Chatrier, Rafael Nadal is already moving fast and distancing himself from the newest challenger in his arena. He leads Stefano Travaglia 3-0* in 9 minutes.
This Roland Garros marks the first slam since 2006 Wimbledon that none of Gael Monfils, Gilles Simon, Jo Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet have reached the second round.
In their stead, 20 year-old Gaston, ranked 239, is showing that the French commitment to tennis is still alive. He is small and underpowered, but he has driven Wawrinka crazy with his resourcefulness, variety and ability to constantly change the pace and trajectory of his groundstrokes.
There is a surprise brewing outdoors as the diminutive 20 year old lefty Hugo Gaston leads Stan Wawrinka 2-6 6-3 6-3. After the pair split the sets, it’s Gaston who emerged from the break in better shape, immediately breaking and then saving break points in an edgy final game.
Rafael Nadal has arrived on Philippe Chatrier for his third round against Stefano Travaglia. One suspects that this won’t be quite as dramatic as the preceding match, but let’s see what the Italian veteran can do.
Caroline Garcia has so much in her game - a good serve with a lot of variety, a huge forehand that she can flatten out and whip with heavy topspin as she pleases, great athleticism and a good net game. Few players are so obviously talented.
It was Andy Murray who infamously predicted that she was a future number one after she led Maria Sharapova 6-3 4-1 at Roland Garros in 2011, a tweet that only further increased the pressure on her. Despite reaching the top 5 after a great period at the end of 2017, she has never been able to fulfill all of that talent because of her head.
Chatrier has always seemed to stand as a representation of her mental weaknesses. She has always made it clear how much she doesn’t like playing on her country’s biggest court as prefers the smaller stages with a little less attention. Chatrier may have been far from full today, but by beating an in-form top 20 player on that court she may have just taken a step forward mentally.
Although she has reached the quarters of her home slam, Garcia had never beaten a top 30 opponent at Roland Garros. This year, she has beaten two.
The girl sharapova is playing is going to be number one in the world one day caroline garcia, what a player u heard it here first
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) May 26, 2011
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Caroline Garcia defeats 16th seed Elise Mertens 1-6 6-4 7-5 to reach R4
An excellent match from both players ended with a fitting final game. There were so many nerves, beginning from 30-30 when Garcia didn’t quite do enough with her overhead. Mertens made an incredible get, scrambling to retrieve the overhead and throwing up another lob. It left Garcia with the easiest overhead, which she bunted long.
But she responded so well, defending a great Mertens backhand down-the-line before flipping the point with a heavy topspin backhand crosscourt which flew high, looked to be flying out and then dipped in right at the bounce. On her fourth match point, Garcia shanked a forehand into the sky. Then she laughed.
After bringing up a 5th match point with an ace down the T, she went for a second serve and double faulted. She responded with another ace, this time a slider out wide.
Finally, on her 6th match point, Mertens tried to take control after a long point and she sent a backhand long.
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Elsewhere, play is restarting on the outside courts.
Most people would have been expecting a collapse from Garcia after failing to serve out the match. Instead, she responded with one of her best return games of the entire match as the crowd roared.
After a series of brutal, well-considered pointe-ending forehands, she swept to the net and picked a backhand drive volley out of the air to break again. She will attempt to serve for it again. Garcia 1-6 6-4 *6-5 Mertens.
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Elise Mertens saves three match points to break back for 5-5!
Incredible resilience from Mertens, particularly considering how Garcia moved up match point with an ace and two huge crosscourt forehand winners.
On the first match point, Garcia’s poor drop shot was easily swept up. On the second, she netted a backhand after a gruelling point. At deuce, she was so bold, slicing a serve out wide and then connecting with a great forehand down the line winner.
Mertens scuppered the third match point with an incredible backhand down the line. From deuce, Mertens made two great returns, and Garcia overhit as she tried to get ahold of the point, ending with a forehand well long. What a match this is. Garcia 1-6 6-4 5-5* Mertens.
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Elise Mertens has been a rock on serve in this set since losing her opening service game. She rolls through an easy hold to 15, secured with an unreturned serve and punctuated with a loud cheer. Mertens has established herself as one of the scrappiest fighters in the game and she will be present until the final point. Garcia to serve for it. Garcia 1-6 6-4 *5-4 Mertens.
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Caroline Garcia comes through another service game unscathed. This time, Mertens can only blame herself. After some good serving from Garcia to move up 30-15, Mertens tried to take control early and offered up two unforced errors instead. She will serve to stay in the match. Garcia 1-6 6-4 5-3* Mertens.
The level is sky high right now. Mertens responded to that excellent game by Garcia with one of her own. She held to love with consecutive searing backhand down-the-line winners, followed by an unreturned serve. Love hold. Pressure back on Garcia. Garcia 1-6 4-6 *4-3 Mertens.
Caroline Garcia just held with four points in a row from 0-15 down. The sequence: an unreturned kick serve out wide, a 112mph ace down the T, a 109 service winner down the T, a huge down-the-line forehand.
Mertens is still in this, her level has risen since the beginning of the set and she will take advantage of any lapse from the Frenchwoman. So far, there have been none. Garcia 1-6 6-4 4-2* Mertens.
As Mertens quickly holds for 2-3* in the third set against Garcia, the covers are finally off around the grounds. Play is slated to resume at 4pm BST. Let’s hope it remains that way.
This is Caroline Garcia in full flow. She is serving extremely well, attacking and moving into the net. She is 14/20 at the net today.
At 30-30, she pulled off an incredible point in the forecourt. As Mertens desperately tried to put the ball past Garcia at the net, she defended it so well, eventually leaping up to reach a backhand overhead before reflexively meeting a huge forehand by Mertens with a backhand volley winner.
Mertens did well to push Garcia to deuce, but then she netted two successive backhands as she tried to attack. Not a bad idea, but the execution was not good enough. Garcia 1-6 6-4 3-1* Mertens.
Caroline Garcia keeps herself ahead and it took some fortitude. After badly missing a sitter at 30-30, Garcia saved break point with a kick serve out wide followed by a huge, courageous inside out forehand winner.
At deuce she found an excellent slice serve out wide and then moved forward to take the following forehand out of the air as a drive volley. On game point she found another first serve, forcing a backhand error from Mertens with a deep, weighty crosscourt backhand. Such great, varied serving. Garcia 1-6 6-4 2-0* Mertens.
This is so good by Caroline Garcia now, who is attacking and moving forward in waves. She immediately breaks to open the third set.
For the first time in the match, Elise Mertens is clearly feeling the pressure from Garcia’s level. Two routine netted backhands from her in that game after hitting a total of three unforced errors in the first set. She seems to be in two minds about whether to attack or wait out this hot period from Garcia, and the indecision is costing her. We will see how long Garcia can move with this momentum. Garcia 1-6 6-4 *1-0 Mertens.
We’re off to a third set under the roof on Chatrier.
Caroline Garcia had no problem at all serving it out, sealing her final game to love and with a statement: she closed it off with a lovely backhand drop volley winner at full stretch. Garcia 1-6 6-4 Mertens.
An impressive recovery from Garcia, who played an excellent return game to immediately regain the break. She opened with a big forehand down the line winner, then at 15-30 she crushed a forehand return down the middle, forcing a Mertens error. On break point, she moved into the net and delicately executed a lovely drop volley. She will serve for the second set. Garcia 1-6 *5-4 Mertens.
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We’re back on serve. After trying to bait Garcia into errors in her previous return game, this time Elise Mertens burst into the return game with aggression and intent, immediately establishing a 0-40 lead.
Garcia saved the first break point with a booming forehand, but she sent a backhand volley well wide to hand over the break. Garcia 1-6 4-4* Mertens.
Every shot working for @elise_mertens under the roof#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/lGvRBqiaKS
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) October 2, 2020
Elise Mertens continues to remain in contact, firing an ace to quickly hold to 15. Garcia 1-6*4-3 Mertens.
Bold play from Caroline Garcia to hold serve and retain her lead. On game point at 40-30, Mertens decided to leave it to Garcia to win or fall on her own terms. She rolled in multiple loopy crosscourt backhands to Garcia and waited to see what she would do. What Garcia did was sweep around to find her forehand before burying an inside-out forehand winner into the corner. Garcia 1-6 4-2* Mertens.
After a strong hold from Caroline Garcia, Mertens cuts the momentum swing at three games in a row, holding with a potent backhand crosscourt winner.
The question is whether Garcia can keep ahold of her serve for the rest of her set. She looks confident now. We will see for how long. Garcia 1-6 *3-2 Mertens.
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Caroline Garcia has indeed built on her opening hold. She breaks for an early *2-1 lead in the second set, secured on break point with a lovely drop shot. As loud as they have been all week, the ~1000 strong crowd roars. Garcia 1-6 *2-1 Mertens.
Still, a good hold from Caroline Garcia to open up the second set, sealed with the first ace of the match. Let’s see if she can build on it.
Unforced errors:
Caroline Garcia - 20
Elise Mertens - 3
Another backhand error from Caroline Garcia and Elise Mertens moves up 6-1 1-0*.
“If you’re French, you’d want to watch this from behind the sofa, really,” says Simon Reed on Eurosport.
A set to forget for Caroline Garcia in front of her home crowd as she is blitzed 6-1 by Elise Mertens.
Mertens was gritty and solid as always. She saw that Garcia was struggling on her forehand wing and she has peppered it with excellent backhand down-the-line strikes throughout the set.
However, Garcia is much better than this and it would be a huge shame for her to fall so limply after playing well in her opening two matches. She needs to show it in the next set.
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It is raining really heavily in Paris right now and that rain is very audible from the broadcast. Both players have stolen glances upwards. After taking so long to get a roof on this stadium, Roland Garros have managed to get the noisiest roof of all.
However, it certainly isn’t affecting Elise Mertens here. The Belgian strolls to a 5-1* lead with a slick point-ending backhand down the line.
Hello, this is Tumaini Carayol again, and I have returned just in time to see Caroline Garcia finally get herself on the board for 1-4 in the first set against Elise Mertens. She did it the hard way, saving break point with a big unreturned serve. Perhaps the Frenchwoman can settle now. Garcia 1-4* Mertens.
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Elise Mertens looks to be in a hurry. She’s raced into 2-0 lead against Caroline Garcia, who is really struggling with her ball toss and general rhythm. In fact, a second break has made the score 3-0 already.
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On Chatrier, former top 5 player Caroline Garcia and in-form 16th seed Elise Mertens are warming up for what should be a tight match.
I’ll be off for a short break, but I will be back soon.
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As things stand around the grounds:
[16] Stan Wawrinka 6-2 3-6 2-2* Hugo Gaston
Lorenzo Sonego 7-6(5) 6-3 [27] Taylor Fritz
Pedro Martinez 4-6 3-6 1-4* Sebastian Korda
Simona Halep:
“Indeed. I think I played really well. I played exactly what I had to. I have learned so many things from last year so I wanted to show myself that I’m able to win a match against her. So I’m really happy with the way I played and so even if the ball is very heavy, I’ve been very aggressive.”
“I knew that last year I played very far from the court and I needed to change this.”
As Halep and Anisimova departed the courts, the forecasted rain has finally come. Caroline Garcia vs Elise Mertens will be next under the roof on Chatrier, but every other court has been suspended.
Final stats in Simona Halep vs Amanda Anisimova:
Simona Halep: 15 winners, 7 unforced errors
Amanda Anisimova: 18 winners 32 unforced errors.
Halep won 81% of second serve return points.
Simona Halep obliterates Amanda Anisimova 6-0 6-1 to reach R3
A poor performance from Amanda Anisimova, but a brutal one from Simona Halep who gave absolutely nothing away and forced Anisimova to match her intensity point by point. She could not.
Anisimova’s one dimensional game, which rests firmly on her ballstriking, completely contrasts with the countless ways that the top seed can win any point.
18 wins in a row and counting. Halep will now face 19 year-old Iga Swiatek next.
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The great Gabriela Sabatini is indeed very happy to see an Argentine female player in the big stages of the sport again.
The struggles of South American female players to match the successes of their male counterparts has been a theme for a while.
Partidazoooo!!! Vamoooossss @nadiapodoroska #RolandGarros @rolandgarros pic.twitter.com/WXmrm2jZCV
— Gabriela Sabatini (@sabatinigabyok) October 2, 2020
On Chatrier, things are moving even quicker than in the first set despite the one game secured by Anisimova in this set. Simona Halep now leads 6-0 5-1*. This nightmare for Anisimova will be over soon.
Away from the big courts, a really nice story unfolds: 23 year-old Nadia Podoroska of Argentina reaches her first slam fourth round with an easy 6-3 6-2 win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
Although she is undoubtedly unknown to most, it has been coming: Podoroska is 41-6 at all levels this year and she has risen from outside of the top 300 to what will be a new career high around ~90 at worst. There have been so many quality Argentine men, so a high-performing Argentine female player is always welcome.
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After a couple more errors from Anisimova, some good work from Simona Halep to extend her lead to 6-0 3-1.
From 30-15, she once again exposed Anisimova’s movement to her backhand wing with an excellent forehand down-the-line. On game point, she slipped in a lovely angled forehand passing shot before putting away the response from a helpless Anisimova at the net.
Stan Wawrinka has dropped the second set of his third round to French wildcard Hugo Gaston, 6-2 3-6.
Simona Halep moves to a set and a break lead against Amanda Anisimova, 6-0 *2-1.
Anisimova hit four unforced errors there: one forehand error, two backhand errors and a double fault. Just not good enough against the tournament favourite.
Amanda Anisimova is on the board against Simona Halep, holding firm through a tight deuce game. It’s something.
That was a very poor set from Amanda Anisimova, who hit some nice forehand winners but they were counterbalanced by far too many [14] unforced errors. She looks extremely tense.
However, I love how Simona Halep has started here. She could have taken a step back and waited to see which Anisimova showed up, as she did last year. But she is so confident right now and she has happily stepped in from the very beginning, constantly looking to open up the court and then exploit Anisimova’s poor movement on her backhand.
That was exemplified by an incredible point from Halep at *5-0 15-30, when she hit an excellent backhand down-the-line off an awkward bounce before turning on a lovely angled crosscourt backhand to eventually win the point.
Simona Halep dips into the nearby patisserie and emerges with a bagel for Amanda Anisimova. 6-0.
Last year, Simona Halep and Amanda Anisimova were competing at Roland Garros for a spot in the semi-final against Ashleigh Barty, who beat Anisimova and went on to win the title.
This year, Simona Halep and Amanda Anisimova are competing at Roland Garros for a spot in the fourth round. Meanwhile, 2019 champion Ashleigh Barty is chilling at the Australian Football League Finals without a care in the world.
Hey, @ashbarty 👋#AFLFinals pic.twitter.com/xgf1baipd1
— AFL (@AFL) October 2, 2020
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Simona Halep is already cruising up a double break and 4-0* on Anisimova. The Romanian is returning extremely well and doing a great job of attacking her forehand down the line, forcing Anisimova to move to her backhand side. Anisimova does not look comfortable.
Tough moments already, but Simona Halep saves five break points in her opening service game to extend her lead.
Anisimova is starting to find her range, lasering three forehand winners in that game alone and bullying Halep on that wing. But Halep responded from 15-40 with some hulking forehands of her own and she found some good first serves on the other break points.
Anisimova’s biggest chance came on the 5th break point but she just could not do enough with a forehand crosscourt drive volley. Halep anticipated it, flipped the point and made Anisimova pay. The standards are so high against Halep right now.
Stan Wawrinka takes the first set 6-2 on Hugo Gaston of France.
Simona Halep immediately breaks serve in the opening game, sealed by a double fault from Anisimova. The 19 year-old came out of the blocks pressing a little too hard in those opening exchanges. Halep *1-0 Anisimova.
Updated
It is hard to remember a time when a player not named Serena Williams was considered such a heavy favourite at a slam, but that is what rests on Simona Halep’s shoulders today.
It has been such an interesting journey for Halep. In 2018, she finally won her first slam title at Roland Garros after losing three finals, two of which were heartbreakers against Jelena Ostapenko and Caroline Wozniacki.
She spent much of 2019 calling it her “chill year” - she had finally won her first slam title and so she could continue to work hard without really stressing out over the results. That led to an inconsistent year by her standards, but it also meant that she was completely relaxed in her biggest match of the year and she shocked herself by destroying Serena Williams 6-2 6-2 in the Wimbledon final.
Reunited with coach Darren Cahill, it seems like things have really slipped into place again in terms of her intensity and consistency. After losing in the Australian Open semis to Garbine Muguruza, she is now on a career best 17 match winning streak. At 29, she is playing some of the best tennis of her career.
A big match follows Dominic Thiem on Chatrier: Simona Halep will face Amanda Anisimova, the teenager who spectacularly scuppered her title defence last year.
Anisimova burst onto the tour at 17 years old with one of the best backhands in the game. Her speciality is her early ballstriking and her ability to redirect any ball to any corner at any time. At her best, she is a vicious, precise shotmaker who is lovely to watch and clearly has the ability to contest slam titles. She was not too far last year, losing an extremely tight semi-final to eventual champ Ashleigh Barty.
However, it has been a tough time for Anisimova since then. A few days before the 2019 US Open, her father [and former coach] passed away, which has naturally had a negative effect on her results and many other aspects of her life. She hasn’t looked great since the restart, but she has in Paris so far. After two matches, she has only lost two games with identical 6-2 6-0 wins, both in under an hour. It is hard to tell how her game will hold up against Halep, but it sure will be interesting.
Coincidentally, Stan Wawrinka has just started his 3rd round against No 239 Hugo Gaston. The pair have traded holds to begin. 1-1.
Dominic Thiem reaches the fourth round with a 6-4 6-3 6-1 win over Casper Ruud
That was not as easy as the score suggests. Thiem struggled in the early stages and did not look particularly fresh, but he overcame those early struggles and separated himself from Ruud by the third set.
Thiem himself will be wondering how much is left in his tank after his exhausting US Open title run. There is a good chance he will know soon as he is slated to face the great Stan Wawrinka in the fourth round should Wawrinka win his third round against French wildcard Hugo Gaston.
Updated
Dominic Thiem is cruising on Chatrier now. He leads Casper Ruud 6-4 6-3 *5-1 and will serve for the fourth week.
Speaking of underrated, not many people are talking about 3rd seed Elina Svitolina but perhaps they should be. She has been one of the best players in the world for nearly four years now, but until recently she was known as the player who beat everyone at WTA events before faltering at the slams. In short, she was the female Alexander Zverev. So often she would play too passively on the big stage and would inevitably be picked off by an inspired shotmaker.
Last year, she finally worked through those issues at slams by reaching consecutive semi-finals at Wimbledon and the US Open despite actually underperforming elsewhere. Now everything may just be coming together. After a slow start to the year, she won her 15th WTA title in Strasbourg last week with two top 20 wins.
Svitolina loves slow conditions more than just about any other top player, as reflected in her winning on the shockingly slow 2018 WTA Finals hard courts in Shenzhen before returning to the final last year. She also has a nice draw and faces the winner of Caroline Garcia vs Elise Mertens in the fourth round. If she wins that, she would face one of Anna Karolina Schmiedlova Nadia Podoroska, Barbora Krejcikova or Tsvetana Pironkova in the quarters. You cannot hope for a better draw.
Svitolina is seeded to meet top seed and tournament favourite Simona Halep in the semis. She holds a 5-3 record against Halep in recent years. In her loss to Halep at Roland Garros in 2017, she was actually demolishing Halep 6-3 5-1 and held a match point before she faltered. Should they meet, her game clearly matches up well against the Romanian on all surfaces.
I think I have made a pretty good case for her here.
Updated
On Court Simonne Mathieu, 3rd seed Elina Svitolina comes through a tight slugfest against the underrated Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4 7-5.
Fun fact: Alexandrova is the highest-ranked Russian female player today. After the likes of Anna Kournikova, Maria Sharapova, Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina, Anastasia Myskina, Vera Zvonareva, Svetlana Kuznetsova and even Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, I cannot think of a lower-profile Russian women’s no 1 since the 1990s.
Dominic Thiem has raised his level in set two and he takes it over Casper Ruud with a second break, sealed by an incredible, improvised backhand down-the-line winner. Thiem is still far from his best, but it has been good enough so far.
Casper Ruud just does not have the weaponry to hang with him at that level and Thiem continues to expose his backhand and deep return position on with his topspin serve out wide. Thiem has now won 62% of second serve points, which is a lot.
ITV at it now showing HawkEye calls and claiming the umpire was therefore wrong. He may have been wrong but HawkEye doesn't prove that. It isn't used on clay for a reason. Imagine if a mark clearly shows HawkEye was wrong. What then?
— Eleanor Crooks (@EleanorcrooksPA) October 2, 2020
Keep an eye out for this one. She is good.
🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) October 2, 2020
19yo Iga Swiatek at #RG20:
d. Vondrousova, 61 62 (23W/19UFE)
d. Hsieh, 61 64
(24W/17UFE)
d. Bouchard, 63 62 (30W/15UFE) pic.twitter.com/89ypn8qhN7
Around the grounds:
3rd seed Elina Svitolina leads Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4 5-4*.
3rd seed Dominic Thiem is now up 6-4 4-2* on Casper Ruud.
Lorenzo Sonego versus 27th seed Taylor Fritz is next on Simonne-Mathieu.
Other singles matches that will begin shortly: Anna Karolina Schmiedlova vs Nadia Podoroska and Pedro Martinez vs Sebastian Korda. Big opportunities there.
19 year-old Iga Swiatek dispatches Eugenie Bouchard 6-3 6-2 to reach a second consecutive fourth round at Roland Garros.
Swiatek has not dropped a set and she will be a challenge for anyone. In a mouthwatering section, she plays the winner of Simona Halep and Amanda Anisimova.
Last year, Halep smoked Swiatek in the fourth round before falling to Anisimova in the quarter-final. Now she will have to beat them in the opposite order to reach the quarters this time.
Updated
Iga Swiatek dispatches a slick crosscourt backhand to lead 6-3 5-2*.
No matter how this one goes for Eugenie Bouchard, this has been a great tournament for her and she has recovered her form significantly since the tour suspension.
Bouchard had fallen all the way down to #332 in March despite playing a full schedule in 2019. Since tennis returned, she is 10-2 at tour level with a quarter-final in Prague, Istanbul final and now Round 3 at Roland Garros. She will be ranked around ~139 if she loses.
Updated
Over on Court Simonne Mathieu, 2014 Roland Garros semi-finalist Eugenie Bouchard, who received a wildcard into the draw, continues to be up against it versus 19 year-old Iga Swiatek. Swiatek is a huge talent and she now leads 6-3 *4-2.
The Pole has hit 27 winners to Bouchard’s 8.
More importantly, the first game of the second set yielded yet another discussion about ball marks. Casper Ruud stopped the point and pointed to one mark he thought was out, the umpire said it was a different mark that was in. Ruud was seething: “I’ve been playing for 15 years, you don’t think I know a mark, or what?”
It feels like there have been than usual and with them countless discussions about hawk-eye on clay, as the Eurosport commentators just had on-air. It should be noted that the reason it isn’t on clay is because hawk-eye is a simulation that estimates where the ball bounces. The uneven clay surface, which constantly changes as it is swept, is problematic for the system.
There are other electronic line calling systems slowly coming into tennis that follow the real ball bounce and will be helpful on this surface in the future. One called Foxtenn was used at the Rio tournament this year and was supposed to also be used in Madrid.
On Chatrier, the second set starts with a break to Dominic Thiem. He quickly consolidated to lead Casper Ruud 6-4 *2-0 with a lovely backhand volley. There’s a good chance that Thiem has gained some energy from taking the first set while far from his best.
First set stats:
Casper Ruud - 10 winners 16 unforced errors, 52% first serve points won.
Dominic Thiem - 11 winners 17 unforced errors, 52% first serve points won.
The big difference is that Thiem won 60% of points on his second serve. Ruud is not having a good time with that topspin serve to his backhand.
Dominic Thiem finally takes the first set 6-4 on Casper Ruud.
Even that last game from Thiem was quite laboured with ample errors, including a sprayed backhand on the first set point. However, he finished really strongly, finding plenty of forehands before closing with a vicious inside out forehand. A very strong fispump from Thiem after the final point, and for good reason.
In truth, that was unimpressive from Ruud. Thiem was there for the taking and he just could not get it done. Still, good work from Thiem to somehow see his way through.
Updated
In British doubles news, 3rd seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury lead Alex de Minaur and Matt Reid 6-3 2-1.
Cameron Norrie and Marton Fucsovics are down 7-6(2) to Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin
On Court Simonne-Mathieu, 19 year-old Iga Swiatek takes the first set 6-4 on Eugenie Bouchard.
3rd seed Elina Svitolina leads Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, but she has lost her serve in the opening game of set two.
More of the @rolandgarros 🤝 @kewgardens crossover 😍🌵
— Alex Sharp (@Sharpy_89) October 2, 2020
Inbetween greenhouse Court Simonne-Mathieu and Philippe-Chatrier you have this gold#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/ZjYU6Kx8CC
Dominic Thiem saves another break point to move ahead 5-3* on Casper Ruud, sealed with a delicate dropshot winner. He saved this break point with style - another whistling backhand down-the-line winner.
Frankly, Ruud has done a poor job of taking advantage of this slow start from Thiem. Not only has he failed to take his opportunities [he is now 1/6 in break points] but he badly failed to build some momentum when he did break. You do not usually get this many chances against Dominic Thiem on clay.
It is also clear in these opening stages that his backhand just isn’t really up to this level right now. He is unsurprisingly having a hard time with Thiem’s kick serve to his backhand and it is breaking down in the longer exchanges.
It was a big game. Dominic Thiem follows up his long hold with a quick break to love to move into the lead against Casper Ruud for the first time today, *4-3.
After long topsy-turvy game, Dominic Thiem saves three break points to hold for 3-3* against Casper Ruud.
It was not easy. From 30-15 up, Thiem threw in two dire forays to the net that ended in volley errors. Ruud had a huge opportunity but he blew it, dumping a routine backhand into the net.
After Thiem wrestled his way to game point, Ruud did well to generate a second break point. This time, it was too good from Thiem, who was dragged from side-to-side by Ruud’s forehand before crunching a searing point-ending backhand down-the-line from miles behind the baseline.
Facing a third break point, this time Thiem refused to be pushed back, directing traffic before injecting pace into an excellent forehand. Shortly after, he held. That could be a big game.
This is what Dominic Thiem had to say about his physical condition after his three set win over Jack Sock:
Q. How are you feeling, how your legs are holding up after the US Open? Some players have had some trouble, especially on the women’s side. How do you see the tournament going longer and deeper?
DOMINIC THIEM: I feel pretty good, to be honest. I mean, not perfectly perfect. I guess that’s normal. I think the main thing is that I fight 100% like I did today. I mean, it paid off. I was saving three set points to avoid a fourth set. That’s very important in the early rounds, to save energy, to play as less sets as possible. That’s good. Generally I’m feeling pretty good. I’m still a little bit on the happy wave of New York, I would say. Of course, at one point I’m going to get super tired. I guess all the tension and focus on Roland Garros, it’s hiding still the tiredness and everything. I hope I can push it as far as I can.
This has been a strange start on Chatrier. From 40-0 up at 1-2, Dominic Thiem gave up his serve with a series of unforced errors. Between points, Thiem, one of the fittest players in the world, already looked quite gassed and he was breathing heavily.
As quickly as Thiem lost his serve, he broke back after some sloppy errors from Ruud to open his own service game. Some great work on Thiem on the break point though, ending a physical point with a weighty inside out forehand. Thiem *2-3 Ruud.
This is a very big day for 21 year-old Casper Ruud, who has risen from outside of the top 100 to his current ranking of 25. His record on clay this year:
Buenos Aires W
Santiago F
Rome SF
Hamburg SF
Roland Garros R3
Win-Loss: 17-4 (81%)
Ruud’s biggest strength is his relentless consistency, his durability and an extremely heavy topspin forehand that he uses to push opponents back, outmaneuver and grind them down. He has had great success at lower events and the big question is what he can do against the best.
Preamble
Hello! Welcome to day 6 of our Roland Garros coverage as the tournament moves on to the third round. This will be some third round and there are many matches to keep an eye on. It has been raining in Paris this morning so play was briefly delayed on the outside courts and the roof is being used on Chatrier. US Open champion Dominic Thiem starts things off under the roof and he may well get his first test of the tournament as he takes on 21 year-old Norwegian Casper Ruud, who has been one of the breakout players on clay this season.
Immediately after, we will have a redux of last year’s stunning quarterfinal when 17 year-old Amanda Anisimova beat defending champion Simona Halep to reach the 2019 semi-final. Both players return under completely different circumstances, but both are playing well so it will be fascinating. Home favourite and former top 5 player Caroline Garcia will follow as she takes on Elise Mertens of France. Rafael Nadal will close Philippe Chatrier as he looks to continue his leisurely route through. Here is the schedule on singles courts today:
Court Philippe Chatrier
[28] Casper Ruud vs [3] Dominic Thiem
[1] Simona Halep vs [25] Amanda Anisimova
Caroline Garcia vs [16] Elise Mertens
Stefano Travaglia vs [2] Rafael Nadal
Court Suzanne Lenglen
[3] Elina Svitolina vs [27] Ekaterina Alexandrova
[16] Stan Wawrinka vs Hugo Gaston
[6] Alexander Zverev vs Marco Cecchinato
Katerina Siniakova vs [5] Kiki Bertens
Court Simonne-Mathieu
Eugenie Bouchard vs Iga Swiatek
Lorenzo Sonego [27] Taylor Fritz
Norbert Gombos vs [12] Diego Schwartzman
Martina Trevisan vs [20] Maria Sakkari
Court 14
M. Fucsovics/C.Norrie vs [14] J.Chardy/F. Martin
Anna Karolina Scmiedlova vs Nadia Podoroska
Federico Coria vs Jannik Sinner
PH.Herbert/N.Mahut vs V. Pospisil/J.Sock
Court 7
[11] J.Peers/M.Venus vs F.Nielsen/T.Puetz
Martinez vs Korda
Krejcikova vs Pironkova
[16] A.Krajicek/F.Skugor vs P.Cuevas/F.Lopez
