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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set to Almagro 6-3
Nadal vs Halys 2-2
Seppi breaks Isner
Nadal with a backhand block return winner and he breaks
EXCELLENT return game! 2 great second serve returns, one aggressively played rally with the forehand and then finally an amazing ROS winner off a big first serve.
Certainly playing better now
That’s my sense as well, seems looser in the limbs………..
Rafa has NOT made a single unforced error in set 2. He has struck 7 winners so far , which is already than the 6 winners he hit in set 1 (against 8 UE).
1st serve percentage has also improved to 76%
Court appears very dry and slippery as a result…..
Perfect combination to create set point. Heavy backhand ROS to Halys’s backhand , followed by a booming forehand DTL winner.
ARGH, rafa hits a home run! huge backhand shank and the first UE of the set. 5-3
Rafa scuffed a routine BH there, didn’t get his feet into position in time……..
2nd set Rafa. 2nd set much, much cleaner than the 1st………….
same score line , 6-3, but he played MUCH MUCH better . This was a decent set
Nice way to close the 2nd set .. 2-0 Rafa
Now Nadal is unleashing some huge Forehands down the line.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CF709m3WIAAP2ic.png
Rafa breaks. Now close this out Rafa and go rest………..
Almagro/Dolgo will go to 4 at least………
I was able to see Rafa’s match since it started later. So far so good. This French guy really doesn’t seem to have the game or be ready to test Rafa. But Rafa played some good tennis and hopefully got the feel of the court. Stats look good.
I am not getting carried away. This was a nice start for Rafa. The next match will be more interesting.
ESPN switched to the Isner/Seppi match at one point and I tried to get on ESPN3. By the time I did, they switched back to Rafa!
I am looking forward to Almagro/Dolgo.
GSM Nadal.
Halys gave a good account of himself. I think he’ll do well in the future.
Vamos Rafa!
Good 1st match for Rafa.
Vamos!