Rafael Nadal will begin his bid for a ninth French Open title when he takes the court against Robby Ginepri on Monday. The winner will face either Dominic Thiem or Paul-Henri Mathieu in the second round.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (WC) Robby Ginepri
Nadal and Ginepri will be going head-to-head for the first time in nine years when they meet in round one of the French Open on Monday. Their only previous encounter came at the 2005 Madrid event, played on indoor hard courts back then, with Nadal winning a semifinal showdown 7-5, 7-6(1). In his prime at that point, Ginepri is still toiling away at 31 years old. From just about out of nowhere, even considering retirement, he earned the USTA’s wild card into Roland Garros by taking the Tallahassee Challenger title. Ginepri is 0-2 at the ATP level this season and registers at 279th in the world.
Meanwhile, Nadal comes in exactly 278 spots ahead of his American opponent and he is looking for a ninth French Open title. The top-seeded Spaniard has won it on four consecutive occasions but is not an overwhelming favorite this time around due to three clay-court setbacks in a year for the first time since 2004. Losses have come to David Ferrer (Monte-Carlo), Nicolas Almagro (Barcelona), and Novak Djokovic (Rome). Nadal did, however, manage to capture the Madrid title. Look for Ginepri to be somewhat competitive in the first set before Nadal blows him off the red clay.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 8-10 games
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(WC) Paul-Henri Mathieu vs. Dominic Thiem
Two players at very different ends of the career spectrum will square off on Monday when Mathieu and Thiem face each other for the first time. At 32 years old, Mathieu is still inside the Top 100 (90th) and has a decent six ATP-level match wins to his credit this season. The Frenchman was a quarterfinalist in Bucharest last month and is coming off a second-round Nice loss to eventual runner-up Federico Delbonis.
Thiem has been the breakout star of 2014. The 20-year-old Austrian has been successful in seven of eight qualifying attempts and main-draw highlights include third-round showings in Indian Wells, Barcelona, and Madrid. Mathieu made a memorable run to the French Open third round in 2012 (beat John Isner 18-16 in the fifth along the way), so the crowd knows how to get behind him. The discrepancy in talent, however, will be too great.
Pick: Thiem in 4
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@augusta,
Thanks so much for the info! 🙂
http://tennis.si.com/2014/05/27/andy-roddick-picks-novak-djokovic-to-win-french-open/
“You know what, I look back at all the titles that Rafa has won and I want to pay him all the respect he deserves,” Roddick said. “[But] I think Novak Djokovic wins this French Open and it’s hard for me to say. But I can’t put stock in 2011 and in 2012 when it’s 2014 and Novak’s beaten him the majority of the time on clay the last couple of years. The only time he didn’t was at the French Open semifinal last year. Novak’s playing great tennis and he can hurt Rafa, he can go through the court, attack the lines. I think Novak wins it this year. I don’t like myself for saying it. But I think he wins it.”
Roddick also weighed in on the French Open’s surprising decision to put Nadal’s first match on Court Suzanne Lenglen.”He’s won the tournament eight times. You pay him his respect…. This is so Roland Garros to do. They’re trying to create headlines by being a little different and putting him out there. Credit to Rafa, he said he was fine with it. I’m sure he wasn’t. He’s letting everyone else talk about it for him and fight that battle for him.”
Thanks A-Rod. Regarding your pick, I respect your opinion, even though I do not agree with it. As for THAT other issue, couldn’t have put it better myself, “So Roland Garros” Enough said…………..
https://twitter.com/carole_bouchard/status/471409120516771841
^^Wawa tweeted right back and said, “Sorry Andy”.
I saw a clip of Elvis smashing his racquet in anger so not sure whether he retired because he was being battered and bruised by Sock or whether he was really injured.
I watched the 3rd & 4th sets of Johnson and Locoli and they were both hitting the ball like there was no tomorrow. I hope neither of them make it to play Rafa because they would be hard to contain with their wild nothing to lose attitude.
RT @bgtennisnation: “The road to RG is made of Clay. My new mantra: Clay is the key to success. Play on Clay. I’ve said it before I’ll say it again – especially in USA especially for juniors – if you want to be a better player train on Clay. I’m at RG14 watching these guys glide and slide like magic.”