Rafael Nadal will begin his bid for a 10th French Open title when he takes the court on Tuesday against Quentin Halys. John Isner and Andreas Seppi are also in first-round action.
(WC) Quentin Halys vs. (6) Rafael Nadal
Something will have to give when it comes to Nadal’s 2015 French Open campaign. Will his 66-1 lifetime record and nine titles end up making the difference on his way to a 10th triumph at Roland Garros? Or will current form (Nadal is 25-9 this season with five setbacks on clay) continue and send the Spaniard to a rare loss in Paris? He fell prior to the finals in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, and Rome and got crushed by Andy Murray in the Madrid title match, but Nadal has won the French Open on five straight occasions since getting upset by Robin Soderling in 2009.
Up first for the world No. 7 on Tuesday is Halys, who played his first match at the ATP level last week (he replaced Gilles Simon as a lucky loser) and lost to James Duckworth in Nice. This is, of course, the 18-year-old Frenchman’s debut appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam; he was previously unsuccessful in two Roland Garros qualifying attempts before getting a wild card this time around. Halys won the junior doubles title at this event in 2014 and he finished runner-up in singles a few months later at the U.S. Open. A first-ever meeting with Nadal will be a good experience for the youngster, but it is an experience that will not last long.
Pick: Nadal in 3 losing 8-10 games
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Andreas Seppi vs. (16) John Isner
Isner and Seppi will be squaring off for the third time in their careers on Tuesday. Both of their previous encounters have gone the distance; Isner prevailed 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 6-4 in the 2010 Australian Open first round before Seppi got the job done at home in Italy with a 2-6, 7-6(5), 7-5 victory on the clay courts of Rome in 2012.
It is hard to see this one being similarly competitive. Seppi has been dealing with a back injury and has not won a single match since Indian Wells. Isner, on the other hand, has been in outstanding form since reaching the fourth round in the desert and the semis in Miami. The 16th-ranked American has won at least two matches in all four of his European clay-court events. Although it is a tough draw on paper for Isner, his fortnight should get off to a routine start.
Pick: Isner in 3
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Grisha down a break in the 3rd set, Sock leads 2 sets and 2 games to love………..
The tennis channel is showing Serena’s match after Novak’s match. They briefly switched to the Dimi/Sock match and showed the first tb with Sock winning. But they have only provided score updates on that one.
Ricky predicted Sock beating Dimi when he made his overall tournament predictions. But I am surprised that it looks like this will be a three set win, It was a smart pick by Ricky, because Dimi has lost the plot this year and can’t seem to find his game. On the other hand, Sock has really been playing well.
In the states it’s always all about the Americans. Unfortunately, there aren’t many of them left in the tournament. Both men and women are dropping left and right.
There were times during Novak’s match when I was sorely tempted to use the mute button! The thinking from the commentators is that Novak has an advantage playing Rafa in the quarterfinals because you have to get Rafa earlier in the tournament before he’s peaked and playing his best.
That’s all they are talking about on both ESPN and the tennis channel – Rafa and Novak in the quarterfinals!
For myself, it’s one match at a time!
I heard the same stuff from the Serbian commentator on Eurosport…but don’t you think they are right in a way? I mean this Serbian commentator is the one I really like and he is one of the rare who respects Rafa and has always been less biased than others…but what he said is true: Novak would have more chance to beat Rafa if he met Rafa at earlier stage given Rafa’s current form…once Rafa gets into a grove nobody will be able to stop him…so it seems as fair assessment to me…I only pray for Rafa to get settled into a comfortable pace sooner than that… 🙂
natashao,
Unfortunately, they do have a point. I just can’t stand hearing it over and over again! They are replaying Rafa’s match on the tennis channel right now with Jim Courier and Mary Carillo doing commentary. Courier said that Novak is the one who benefits from meeting Rafa in the quarterfinals because he won’t be at his best.
I just don’t need them telling me something I already know! Rafa might be able to gain confidence from a few good wins leading up to the quarterfinal. But can he be at a good enough level to beat Novak? I just don’t know that answer to that.
The full transcript of Rafa’s post-match press conference:
https://asaptext.com/fft/media/rolandgarros2015/transcripts/rafael_nadal_2015_05_26_17_10.pdf
Grisha out in straights, in 1st round………
Jack Sock………..bless your little cotton socks.
my highest respect for Ricky’s prediction on Dimi…I seriously thought it would not happen…
Yeah, good call from Dimon (even though he never reciprocates – and, yes, sometimes my predictions are right).
#UnrequitedLove
Is Jack Sock whom Rafa practices with a lot? Or was that Souza
how can anyone practice with Sock?! He fires aces all over the place…it’s Souza…
It’s Sousa.
Joao Sousa is a Portuguese player, who lives in Barcelona.
Joao Souza is a Brazilian player, who lives in Rio de Janeiro.
yeah whatever…the emphasis is on Sock not being the one Rafa practiced with…
Hahahaha! Hahahaha! Hahahahaha! I can’t breathe for laughing………….
This is Bodo;
http://espn.go.com/tennis/french15/story/_/id/12942448/rafael-nadal-just-playing-us
“Does anyone else get the feeling that in two weeks’ time Rafael Nadal might be photographed biting that Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy again — and we’ll be left marveling at how he pulled off the greatest con in the history of tennis?”
Methinks Mr. Bodo is definitely worried Rafa might win this thing……………
Love seeing Fedarts squirm……….
If all it takes is to switch on that tiny switch with the bit of masking tape…. so let it be
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Bodo! The guy just kills me! There is a reason why I do not read him anymore!
Right! If Rafa can just flip that little switch in his head, then all will be right with him again. As far as I am concerned, if all it took was that then Rafa would have flipped it a while ago and would now still be in the top four and would have won some clay titles!
This guy is really something! 🙂
Fine picky, ricky! Dimitrov could not even win a set tch tch.
No one knows when he bull will charge. The slump will come to an end, of that I’m sure.
Vamos Rafa!