Top seed and 2016 runner-up Andy Murray will continue his French Open campaign against Martin Klizan on Thursday. The second day of second-round action also includes what could be a competitive contest between Juan Martin Del Potro and Nicolas Almagro.
(1) Andy Murray vs. Martin Klizan
Murray and Klizan will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they collide in round two of the French Open on Thursday. Their only previous encounter came last fall in Vienna, where Murray survived 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-0. The mercurial Klizan is no stranger to such roller-coaster rides and he endured another one on Tuesday at Roland Garros, where he controversially got the best of wild card Laurent Lokoli 7-6(4), 6-3, 4-6, 0-6, 6-4. Lokoli offered no handshake following what was Klizan’s fifth victory in his last three clay-court tournaments. The 50th-ranked Slovak is a mediocre 11-13 in 2017 but has at least managed to heat up somewhat since starting 1-4.
Murray’s opener featured a less significant mid-match wobble, as the world No. 1 eventually coasted past Andrey Kuznetsov 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0. The last two sets and certainly the overall victory were much-needed, and not just because Murray is defending 2016 runner-up points. This season has been a mighty struggle for the Scot, who is a mere 17-7 and an even 5-5 in his last 10 matches since capturing the Dubai title back in February. In his last two outings combined against Borna Coric and Fabio Fognini heading into the French Open, Murray took a total of 12 games–and lost 24 in his two straight-set losses. Clay gives Klizan a real chances of extending the top seed’s woes; perhaps even more than a chance.
Pick: Klizan in 5
[polldaddy poll=9758592]
Nicolas Almagro vs. (29) Juan Martin Del Potro
Neither a lack of form nor injuries have been problems for Del Potro in 2017, but his season has been an abbreviated one due to precautionary rest and the recent death of his grandfather. Tough early-round draws have also put a dent in the Argentine’s progress, as he is ranked lower (30th) than his current level would suggest. That being said, Del Potro is a solid 12-6 on the year and he delivered a stellar performance from start to finish in disposing of countryman Guido Pella 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 on Tuesday.
Up next for the 2009 U.S. Open champion is a fourth career ATP-level showdown against Almagro, who is a hopeless 0-3 in the head-to-head series and 0-6 in total sets. Del Potro picked up a pair of victories in 2013 and most recently prevailed 6-4, 6-3 at the indoor tournament in Stockholm last fall. Almagro evened his 2017 record at 9-9 when he defeated Marcos Baghdatis 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(1) during first-round action at Roland Garros. The 69th-ranked Spaniard is always a force on clay, but nothing about his current form suggests he is ready to reverse the trend of his past failures against Del Potro.
Pick: Del Potro in 3
[polldaddy poll=9758395]
come at me
? no way! Murray may have it the hard way but he will win!! Andy in 4 or 5!
Delpo in 4
The “in 5” is a tell.
I was 4-1 in picks I had different from Ricky in the first round.
The Murray match will make it 5-1.
Murray FTW.
#MurrayIsNotBack
#Big3AreBack
HAHA freaking love it. Come at me lmao
No! Murray WILL beat Klizan. Come on Andy!
Delpo in 4, I think.
Wow! Ricky thinks Klizan will beat Andy! I think Andy will win in four sets.
I think Delpo will get the win in 3 or 4 sets.
They are not showing Rafa’s match yet. Still showing Novak.
Novak struggling to hold here. Rafa already up a break.
Novak holds. One game away.
Andy in 4, Delpo in 3
Truly an “awful” pick by Ricky.
Klizan is a 10:1 underdog LOL.
#MurrayIsNotBack
Very Bold Ricky pick
let’s see if it pays off
Del Potro in 4, Murray in 4
With the way Nadal is playing he could beat anybody
Klizan in 5????? Tenngrand must be having a laugh! Andy has upped his game with his 1st round match win and even though Klizan could be tough I really don’t see him beating Andy over the best of five sets. The longer the match goes, the more it favours Andy, I’m going with Andy in four sets.
I think Ricky wanted to have some fun!
Murray for the win!
Does Ricky know something we don’t know?
Murray and DelPo in 4.
Almagro wins in 5 sets
With 81 unforced against a much weaker opponent, I am 90% sure that Klizan will lose in 3 vs. Andy who, as someone wrote above, increased his level, got back in shape with the 1st match.
The above pick + 3-0 Monfils, handicap+ Lorenzi, at least 1 set Chardy my ticket 🙂 Inspiration to all!
ricky definitely smoking something there. as poor as andy has been… best of 5 he will pull through… surely he cant get worse
delpo in 4… too solid
Klizan could win but no way he wins a 5th set against Murray, too unstable mentally
not if he wins the fourth also….
Oh yeah if Klizan wins the fourth with his game he can use momentum to full advantage and replicate that set nando played against Rafa in the Aus open 2016 where he was just plastering winners the whole time.
Murray isn’t that clutch but it’s true that Klizan is even less clutch.
Klizan is hilarious but at same time an asshole so I don’t know whether to like him. I remember his antics throughout Rotterdam last year were both hilarious and jerky. I didn’t like it when he did it against Mahut cuz I really wanted Mahut to win that one lol. He is definitely a character that’s for sure. He was pretty out of hand vs Lokoli in fact that whole match was just wild. I think he is capable of winning but I don’t really think he will.
I have a very soft spot for Mahut, too, mainly for sentimental reasons, though. He seemed to be quite the specialist for heartbreaking losses. Jon Wertheim once wrote that someone needed to have a long talk about Mahut with the tennis deities. His career changed when he teamed up with Herbert, and I’m glad that he will be remembered for more than having lost the longest match in the history of tennis.
Agreed. Glad he’s come into his own. And yeah he doesn’t even serve and volley too much I also like him for those sentimental reasons. So great to see him playing so well at this age after a career that was originally defined by that loss to Isner. I don’t even think about his loss to Isner when I see him playing.
There wasn’t just the loss to Isner. There were a few other heartbreaking losses. He was absolutely unconsolable after he lost with his former partner the FO Doubles final in an extremely tight match against the Brian Brothers a couple of years ago. That’s when Jon Wertheim suggested a stern talk with the responsible higher authorities 😉 And it worked. Two weeks later Mahut won his first ATP tournament on grass. And as we know now, better things were in store for him. Yes, rooting for him is sentimental. But his achievements so late in his career with Herbert, whom I like very much, too, is quite remarkable.
Murray and Del Po in four setters
Klizan will get a early start then Murray up his level. Klizan gets frustrated and break racquets. Ref gives Murray a point for penalty and klizan melts down hard and loses last set 6.0
won’t the french crowd be against klizan because of his previous match?
There is a large contingent of Eastern European supporters at RG who’ll be routing for Klizan and goading Murray
Rooting NOT routing
Murray and Del Potro should both win. Del potro may have a tougher one .. http://www.138mph.com/murrays-recap-del-potros-prediction-nicks-clay-affair-maximes-ban-and-kontas-debacle/
When assessing Andy’s form bear in mind he had a run of ill health for the first few months this year, including shingles (something some people may not know or have forgotten) which can be very debilitating.
# Ricky is winding up Muzz supporters
Who’s up a break in the first? KRAZY KLIZAN!! Also Del Po fell and is freaking moving slowly and like hobbled right now. Screw you clay. Hang in there JMDP
Yes!!..Great point by Andy!!…C’mon Andy!..get him!!
Yes!!!There is the break back!!!…C’mon Andy!Let’s go!!
First set to Klizan, but I think Andy’s playing better now after a very slow start. Hopefully he’ll get the next 3!
Almagro retired, Berdych on the point of going out, CCs not his best surface though, aside from the run in 2010 ….
Yes!Break!..now hold on to your serve Andy!!
Almagro having a melt down after retiring, Kudos from Delpo for the way he sportingly sat with him comforting him after the match ….
Oh really Al?..I didn’t see it…DelPo always have a soft heart…
Almagro lay down on the court and cried loudly:
https://twitter.com/TennisChannel/status/870268313720438784/video/1
Oh God that was terrible to see! Poor Almagro! Delpo was so wonderful and caring in that moment. But you don’t often see a player break down in tears on the court. It shows the toll injuries can take on players.,
I feel for Almagro. I hope he can recover soon.
It looks like Murray may be going to a fifth set. Klizan up 5-2 in the fourth set.
Did Ricky know something we didn’t know?
Now Klizan will try to serve it out and take it to a fifth set.
C’mon Andy!Break him once again!!
Andy has two break points.
Andy breaks back! That could be huge here.
They just said Kyrgios destroyed a racket and has already gotten a point penalty. Next he wil lose a game. Kyrgios having a tough time with Anderson and not holding it together.
Yes!!!..Break indeed!!Woohooo!!
Oh God!..Andy is so good with drop shot and use it to his advantage…very smart!
Yes!!Finish it in 4 Andy!!C’mon!!
I think Klizan blew it when he couldn’t serve it out. Andy should be able to do it in four.
I think so too Nny!
Woohohohoho!!..Great point!!
These guys are crazy!Hahaha..
Wow! Anderson is now up two sets to one!
Kyrgios is in trouble.
I think Klizan is done.
Wawrinka is a dork.
https://twitter.com/usopen/status/870282733024669697
Are you a Wawa fan?
Please tell me you’re joking when u ask hawks if he’s a fan of Stan
Mary Carillo just said that Murray was on antibiotics last week and couldn’t practice.
Murray gets the win.
yes!!!…What a point to finish the match!!!!Woohohohoho!!
Anderson is up a break in the fourth set. This is not looking good for Kyrgios.
Anderson serving for the match. Didn’t see this one coming.
He does it!
Pretty disappointing from NK, he just fell apart there.
Murray wins as expected. 6-1 now on picks I disagreed with Ricky.
Congrats to Me.
(Commies to Ricky.)
Pre-tournament differences from Ricky:
1st rnd:
GGL over Muller
Robredo over Evans
Fognini over Tiafoe
Estrella “Dam” Burgos over Gabba Gabba
Giraldo over Seppi
Kyrgios over Kohls
2nd rnd:
Murray over Klizan
#HawkstradamusRising
#NoleIsBack
Rafa is second on PC tomorrow after Garbiñe Muguruza vs Putintseva.
The weather forecast says it’s going to rain tomorrow afternoon:
http://paris.lachainemeteo.com/meteo-france/ville/previsions-meteo-paris-3903-1.php
🙁
not a bad time to time. I am just hoping we have sunshine in week 2, esp the business end. The only scenario I see where Rafa can may be lose is if we have a cool, damp conditions and his opponent is playing one of their best matches ever and throwing everything (wawrinka for e.g.). Djokovic in rainy conditions can also be very very dangerous. Remember FO 2012 final?
I saw a replay of the 2012 final in the tennis channel last week. It was a mess when they had to play in the rainy and damp conditions until they stopped play.
I hope that tomorrow is just one bad day. I hope that Rafa gets his match in before it pours. He’s scheduled to play the second match.
I think in cold damp conditions, Rafa should play more inside the court and tries to take the ball early to take away time (and space) from any big hitting opponent. He staying behind the baseline would allow big hitters to hit hard to wherever they want without missing much because of the heavier balls.
Rafa would have learnt from his previous experiences playing on rainy days in heavy conditions on damp clay, I hope.
Looks like it is going to rain from 12 noon to 7 pm. Wonder what will happen to Rafa’s match?
and Khachanov certainly has a chance vs. Iz
Well so much for Klizan in five sets but it was very close though. Murray will however really need to up his game no doubt to have a chance against Del potro. Whatever happens it should be quite a match.
Delpo is less than 100 percent
Feel really bad for Almagro – especially since Delpo doesn’t seem to be totally ok either and Almagro had absolutely levelled the match. And suddenly it was the hobbled against the lame. Let’s see how Murray will fare against Delpo. My guess: he will pull off the win.
My man Dolgo played some great tennis in that last set, but Stan the man was too good. Shades of 2015. He looks to be rolling into form just at the right time, as usual.
Fed fawns will no doubt enthusiastically support Wawa.
Wow Mary you got me!!
I was backing Dolgo.
Yeah, amazingly Wawa looks like he will peak again and at the right time…he is becoming a real contender…but he is still a cry baby no matter what…
yup. He is going to be super dangerous again.
Natashao (AT 8:50 PM),
Mrs. Mirka was rude when she call him ‘cry baby’ during the match between her husband and Waw.