Ricky Dimon of The Grandstand and Jared Pine of the Second Serb preview and pick the four best men’s singles matches on Wednesday at the French Open. A battle between mercurial performers Fabio Fognini and Benoit Paire headlines the action.
(28) Fabio Fognini vs. Benoit Paire
Ricky: Get your popcorn ready for this epic showdown. It won’t be the most high-quality contest of the fortnight, but it very well could be the most entertaining–regardless of the scoreline. Fognini and Paire have actually faced each other twice before (2009 French Open qualifying, 2012 Belgrade) but never on a big stage. Now they have a spotlight with which to showcase their uproarious shenanigans. Fireworks are guaranteed, especially with the French crowd sure to be all over Fognini’s case at every opportunity. The Italian will go off the rails at times, but he is playing well enough right now to get the job done. Fognini 7-6(11), 6-1, 0-6, 6-0.
Jared: Fognini entered the tournament with a career record of exactly 200-200, but on the Parisian clay he is an impressive 13-4 this decade, reaching at least the third round all five times so far. He has played in many memorable five-set matches at Roland Garros with fifth set scores of 9-7, 11-9, 8-6, and 2-6, and Wednesday’s match against Paire could be another one. The two split their first two meetings, which were both on clay. Fognini’s win over Paire was in Roland Garros qualifying when he was a 20-year old ranked outside the top 600. Since then, Paire has peaked at a career-high ranking of 24th. The crowd, which has gotten under Fognini’s skin before, will be completely behind Paire. However, Fognini is no stranger to being the villain in France. Fognini 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(2), 1-6, 6-2.
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Dominic Thiem vs. (21) Pablo Cuevas
Ricky: Don’t be fooled by Thiem’s huge game; even though he can crush serves and groundstrokes, he continues to be at his best on clay. His heavy topspin forehand works well and he likes having time to set up for his one-handed backhand. The Austrian was awesome on the slow stuff last season and 2015 has been no different. After winning his first ATP title in Nice on Saturday, Thiem got right back in action just two days later and handled Aljaz Bedene in four sets (should have been straights). Cuevas, of course, also produces his best tennis on clay–so this should be a competitive and high-quality encounter. A slight edge goes to Thiem, who is capable of getting super-hot when he is confident. He is also no stranger to success at majors (2014 U.S. Open fourth round). Thiem 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(5).
Jared: Following his first career title last week in Nice, No. 31 Thiem is the highest-ranked player in the draw without a seed. In Nice he defeated four consecutive players that did receive seeds into the second major of the year. Meanwhile, Cuevas built his ranking of 23rd almost entirely on the red dirt. However, those ranking points have come from the 250-level tournaments or Challenger tour. He has yet to enjoy much success at the top tier. This will be the pair’s first meeting and Thiem’s confidence from the Nice result is going to make the difference. Thiem 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5.
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(5) Kei Nishikori vs. Thomaz Bellucci
Ricky: Nishikori is obviously an overwhelming favorite on paper, but both the surface and Bellucci’s current form could make this one interesting. Always an outstanding performer on the slow stuff, Bellucci is playing some of the best tennis of his life right now. The Brazilian is 18-5 in his last 23 matches dating back to the start of the Miami Masters and he is coming off a title in Geneva. At the same time, though, Nishikori is 32-7 this season and has only two losses to opponents outside the top 10 (John Isner and Feliciano Lopez). A confident underdog will come out firing, but he has played a ton of recent tennis and will eventually wear down. Nishikori 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, 6-0.
Jared: Bellucci’s career has had its share of hot streaks and the talented left-hander is on another one right now. He has won 13 matches in the last four weeks, including a title in Geneva, and he even took a set off Novak Djokovic in Rome. However, 15 matches in 25 days and six consecutive weeks with tournaments has to be taking its toll on Bellucci ahead of his match against the No. 5 player in the world. Meanwhile, Nishikori isn’t playing bad, himself. After defending his title in Barcelona, his only two losses came to the eventual champions in Madrid and Rome. Despite having a tough matchup early in the tournament, Nishikori is one of the title favorites behind Djokovic. Nishikori 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-2.
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Martin Klizan vs. (12) Gilles Simon
Ricky: Their only previous meeting ended in retirement (Klizan) and their second scheduled encounter resulted in a withdrawal (Klizan) before it started. A similar scenario would not be unexpected, as both were injured coming into this event. Klizan has been battling a wrist issue and Simon pulled out of Nice citing a neck problem. Both men capitalized on inexperienced opponents in the first round to pick up somewhat encouraging wins. Assuming they can get through another match, Simon’s consistency and home-court advantage should see him through an extended battle. Simon 6-3, 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3.
Jared: Simon is quietly putting together another impressive season with 20 wins and a title, resulting in a year-to-date ranking of No. 13. Klizan, meanwhile, comes in at No. 22 in the race and the success he has had this season has come almost entirely on clay with a title in Casablanca and a semifinal appearance in Barcelona. He retired from his match in Madrid before getting blown out by Alexandr Dolgopolov in Rome, but he showed that he is in fine form with a three-set thrashing of American wild Frances Tiafoe in round one. Simon tends to not get as much support from the French crowd as some of his countrymen, so the door is open for the upset. Klizan 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
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Some great matches at RG today…lots of’em!…and the Steve Johnson-Stahovsky could be a good one as well. I like Fog, Thiem, and Simon. Who saw Nadal’s backhand crosscourt overhead yesterday…wow!
The Fog, Out.
Thiem, Out.
Verdasco, Out.
Klizan, Out
Gulbis, Out
Fed-slayer, Monfils 2 sets to 1 down………….
Simon was the favourite against Klizan so it’s not an upset.
who said it was
the doctor ordered a cleared path…
I knew it! I tuned in to hear on the tennis channel that Gulbis lost to Mahut! Serves me right for picking him! I should have known better. They showed the end of his match and said that since he was defending a lot of points here, now his ranking will go down to 80 something! I guess Gulbis is okay with trashing his career.
When will I ever learn? Just pick his opponent!
I am watching Monfils struggling now. This is why I disagreed with those who thought he might have a great run here and challenge Fed. He’s too unpredictable and inconsistent. He had the momentum after winning the second set and then had a chance to break Schwartzman early in the third set. But he squandered the chance and then was broken himself.
Monfils doesn’t have it between the ears. He reacts instinctively, sometimes coming up with bizarre shots on crucial points. Honestly, the way he’s playing in this match he wasn’t going to beat Fed anyway.
I was surprised to see Fog out in straight sets to Paire. The French crowd must have loved that one!
nothing should surprise the Fog
except a Grand Slam singles title on grass
the doctor ordered a clearing of the path … 🙂
Monfils is up against it with this guy. He’s not going away. It’s quite the battle in the fifth.
Monfils pulled it out. So the potential fourth round meeting with Fed could still happen.
Cauveas wont be easy. Theim would have been tough too. 3rd round meeting will be super tough for Monfils and super easy for Roger
Nadal’s SECOND round is way harder than Federer’s THIRD round. Typical.
Of all the matches I saw today the Simon-Klizan encounter was easily the most enjoyable tennis and much closer than the scoreline suggests.
Both Paire and Mahut won their matches with ease, largely because neither of their opponents appeared to be interested in the outcome of their matches – unless you count racquestt abuse!!!
I only saw snatches of the Federer v. Granollers but was surprised to see Granoller giving Roger a sufficiently hard time to make him swear at the top of his voice 🙂
They didn’t show the Simon/Klizan match on tv. I would have loved to see that one. I am just happy that Simon won. I assume that Fog had a few meltdowns as he was losing in straight sets to Paire! I was foolish enough to think that Gulbis would beat Mahut, but I am very pleased to be wrong!
I don’t know if I missed Fed/Granollers because I didn’t get up really early this time. The tennis channel does a nighttime review of matches of the day, but I was watching other stuff tonight.
I was happy that Monfils pulled out his tough five setter. He’s too much fun to watch for him to go out this early. Besides, he’s got a date with Fed in the fourth round! 🙂
They showed some women’s matches which I wasn’t particularly interested to watch. Sometimes they are good, but many times it’s just not as exciting as the men’s matches.
Simon could semi here
I mean he won’t, but he could
^^^NNY
I’m not sure if it would be available to you but Eurosport Player is very good value if you take an annual subscription. They cover nearly all the matches although only the show courts transmit commentaries. Here is the link to try
http://www.eurosportplayer.com/live.shtm
ed,
Thanks for trying, but they don’t have it in the states. The tennis channel has been advertising some deal where you can get five matches on your tv screen simultaneously. I don’t know about ESPN. They don’t even stay on the air until all the matches for the day are played. Their coverage is from 5 am to 10:00 am and then they cut off. The tennis channel picks it up from there.
It’s never been easy to watch tennis in this country. It’s the early rounds that are always the worst. They were showing Serena’s match over Rafa’s earlier today. Even the tennis channel replay is showing Serena over Rafa.
If it had not been for ESPN3, I would not have seen any of Rafa’s match. Sometimes they show it again on ESPN3. I will check it out for that and other matches.
This is really the same old, same old in the states. Once we get to the round of 16, it’s better because there aren’t so many matches going on at the same time.
Pretty sure in the US you can get a Tennis Channel subscription for $70 per year and watch the tennis channel on your PC and/or apple TV.
http://www.tennischanneleverywhere.com/channel/tennis-channel-plus
but you can find a stream anywhere