Roland Garros is down to its last Frenchman in the singles draw, and an upset will be required if the host nation wants to have a representative in the semifinals. Richard Gasquet may not have been France’s best hope prior to the tournament, but he has battled his way into a Tuesday showdown with Andy Murray.
Andy Murray and Richard Gasquet will be squaring off for the 11th time in their careers when they clash in the quarterfinals of the French Open on Tuesday. Murray is leading the head-to-head series 7-3, including 2-1 on clay and 4-0 in their last four meetings dating back to a collision at this same tournament in 2012.
What was a burgeoning Grand Slam rivalry between 2008 and 2012 has stalled out of late. Murray and Gasquet faced each other four times at slams–twice at Roland Garros and twice at Wimbledon–in a five-year span, but they have not met in such a situation since the Scot prevailed 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 during fourth-round action in 2012. Murray has recovered from two-set deficits at the Frenchman’s expense on two occasions; 5-7, 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-2, 6-4 at the All-England Club in 2008 and 4-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 in the 2010 French Open first round.
Speaking of opening-round scares on the red clay, that is exactly what the world No. 2 endured last week. Veteran qualifier Radek Stepanek surged to a two-set advantage over Murray only to eventually succumb 3-6, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5. Murray struggled though another five-setter in round two–against little-known wild card Mathias Bourgue, whom the favorite overcame 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. A pair of huge servers proved to be just what the doctor ordered for Murray, who raised his level considerably in straight-set defeats of Ivo Karlovic and John Isner.
Surprisingly, Gasquet had never been to the French Open quarters prior to this fortnight. The world No. 12 finally got over the hump in his 13th appearance, and he did so by upsetting Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 on Sunday. That was preceded by straight-setters against Thomaz Bellucci, Bjorn Fratangelo, and Nick Kyrgios. Thus run has really come out of nowhere for Gasquet, whose clay-court preparation was derailed by none other than Nishikori (the Japanese cruised in third-round contests in Madrid and Rome).
But avenging those losses to Nishikori should have Gasquet brimming with confidence heading into this one. Unfortunately for the underdog, the pressure will be ratcheted up for his first-ever quarterfinal at Roland Garros. He handled it well on Sunday, but an even bigger test against an even better opponent could be a problem. Murray’s propensity to take the ball early–especially off the return of serve–will take time away from a player who does not have compact strokes off either the forehand or backhand side. Nishikori had previously managed to execute that tactic but let himself get pushed around in rallies during the most recent contest.
Murray has been improving with each match, and the upswing in form should see him through to an impressive third consecutive French Open semifinal.
Pick: Murray in 4
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Agree with Ricky! Andy in 4.
Typo in the tite….it is QF stage not SF.
Good preview though. Agree with the pick as well.
Done and dusted.
I think Murray in five in a topsy-turvy rain-interrupted match .
Very possiblr
I am going with Ricky.
Murray in 4 sets over Gasquet.
it’s been forever for Gasquet. sooner or later he’s gonna do something big in Paris. I think this is the year.
It’s possible
Hopefully
I think Murray wins in four but I’m really gonna be pulling for Gasquet in that one.
If I had never seen either of these two play before this week, and knew nothing about their respective careers and characteristics, I would be picking Gasquet for the win in a heartbeat. As it is however, Andy’s grit v Reechard’s brittleness makes it hard to do so. But if both carry their current tournament form into this one it will be the Frenchman emerging the victor. I’m optimistically going for Gasquet in 4 but expecting Murray to grind that prediction down.
Gasquet has always been capable of beating top 10 players and has been playing well so far but the fact remains he has only ever won 13 titles out of 25 finals and all of those came at 250 events.
Murray in 4, unless he take the low road in which we’re looking at another five setter.
correction: unless he takes the low road in which case………..
Still raining hard at RG (and where I live 70 milles east of Paris) but they must be expecting play some time soon as there are intrepid spectators huddled under brollies already sitting courtside on Chartrier.
11.40am
They are taking the covers off and drying off the courts.
12.00pm
Djokovic and RBA have arrived on court. Spectators look miserably cold.
Djokovic got the break but then lost his serve in the next game..
WTA-like match!
RBA takes it 6-3!!
Play suspended again! Djokovic would be very annoyed.
He was the one who was pissed off in Rome when he wanted play suspended and Andy wanted to continue.
What goes round comes around.
Hope this on-off malarkey doesn’t continue all day 🙁
Delay extended! No play before 3 pm Paris time. AT LEAST an hour to go.
is nole going to lose to rba!!! shocking conditions out there. the damp courts and balls would have been terrible for rafa….
#clutching at straws to ease the pain…
nole seems to be turning into a basket case over this rg…
this tournament sucks anyway with no fedal and the awful weather…
actually i am really starting to think that the wiiner of the stan and andy semi..assuming THAT one takes place and we don’t have gasquet and what’s his name….will win rg. it seems like nole is heading for meltdown..(meltdown is obviously the wrong word given the weather conditions…)
Yeah…Rafa doesn’t like these conditions but it is only against a peak Djokovic that these conditions would put him at a real disadvantage, as lon as he is playing well. He can take care of the rest of them.
Weather aside, Novak’s been playing fragile tennis and everyone’s been expecting him to raise his level but so far he hasn’t. He won’t lose to RBA as RBA does not quite have any weapons. But, if he continues his sloppy play, he might need 5 sets to win!
Strange RG this is. Stan looks the best bet followed by Andy but won’t be shocked if Stan loses today!! Anything can happen now.
the conditions are a leveller vr. but surely not enough for the 3 big names to lose. stan beat what’s his name 6-1 6-1 a week or so ago so that would be a big big psychological advantage against him. i suppose nole can’t slide into his shots in the way he likes to do??!
the comment about rafa is just a grasping at straws one as i am so miserable he isn’t out there…especially with nole looking like a rabbit in the headlights…
haha yeah…. pity Rafa is not in the draw. Stan SHOULD be able to crush his opponent …agreed
Haven’t seen Novak play today so can’t comment. Just following the scoreline…
maybe if nole has to play a long match and is still fragile against thiem in the semis (assuming it is thiem) then he could go under?? he would have to be very fragile and thiem would have to be good but it’s not impossible…
Sigh. apparently guy bloody forget has said they won’t extend the final to monday. that players will just have to play back to back matches if need be.
this is just becoming a joke. maybe nole already knows this and he is worked up inside about it…? big advantage to either stan or murray.
maybe nole will have to finish playing his semi on sunday morning and play the final in the afternoon? assuming he gets to the semi…
I have been maintaining for months all is not well with Djokovic. He has been skating on thin ice ever since the AO. He has managed to pull through in most of his matches but I’m not holding my breath he will get to this Slam final – let alone win it.
i think thiem may go through!!!
14.50PM
Covers coming off, My daughter and son in law are watching Thiem.Granollers. Have spotted them in the stands.
I’m about to put my electric blanket on and curl up in my bed with my computer for the rest of the afternoon 🙂
that’s making me jealous!! Working on my laptop in the office :/
the rain is getting worse…i reckon they’re not coming out now…
Oh lawdy, lawdy, lawd: I’m getting bored with this.
is it?! they had taken the covers off! happened like 25 mins ago
they’re coming out in the rain…
okay this is getting frustrating now!!Will Djokovic be able to finish his match today?
this is very dangerous for nole. if they play it in bits going on and off there is a much bigger chance he could slip up…excuse pun…
not a big fan of rba. i saw some of thiem playing in the rain and making errors. the conditions are very difficult…
\https://twitter.com/rolandgarros?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Djokovic, holding an umbrella, takes a stroll on PC!
nole doing his ‘singing in the rain’ impersonation….
he has come out pretty well…
Play about to resume! there is still drops of rain I guess
are*
RBA rallies from 0-40 to hold! just following the scores
nole should have got the break! but he hasn’t lost a single point on his serve…
looking much better
not even watching and I can tell he is playing a lot better
Thiem got the first set. 6-2
good for the game
vamos Thiem
I’m watching Nole v RBA…nervously. Just have scores for Thiem. Thiem already with a break in the 2nd set. Go Dom!
wth! 5 BPs saved! or wasted?
wasted some of them vr..
another love hold though
again he should have broken! that back hand he hit long!!
could be up 4-0
cruising on serve
Halep losing. Aga losing too. Wow — Pironkova. Up 3-0 in the 3rd.
Stosur winning makes sense, the way it is.
Aga had a set and a consolidated break two days ago.
aga had a mto…
today? well, no matter, score looks like she’s done. These are not good conditions for her but I didn’t know they were good for Pironkova!
yes today. i saw some of the match earlier she looked so unhappy with the conditions…
yes!! go nole!! great backhand to break!
RBA breaks back. amy, I’m prepared for the worst.
utterly unbelievable!! hasn’t lost a point on serve and loses it on the first break point. that was mental for sure.
Djokovic’s going to smash a racket soon…. what’s going on here?!
nerves
jeez what was that??
Gosh, he needs to break and get this set. But no excuses. This is the best RBA has played vs Nole.
OMG on break point!! he is starting to hit short as well
gr8 point nole! now break!
at last nole breaks with his #9 break point
Serving for the set…
15-15 great point
30-30. broke string …sheesh.
2nd serve…double fault!
double fault to give rba break point
yes ace!!
nole loses 2 points through broken strings…!!
got broken again with rba’s second break point. this is horrible.
Much needed ace.
oh lol..I can’t take it. This isn’t going well.
over-hitting. nerves. RBA on fire.
he’s giving rba belief….
This is the worst Djokovic has played in 2 years
reverse of what you expect from the world number one. playing badly on the big points when he has control elsewhere.
And the best RBA has ever played vs Nole!
We all know how dangerous Bautista-Agut can be but he wasn’t worrying me because Nole usually masters him — some wobbles the first time they met but after that…
Pironkova is through…this isn’t the best day for ratstradamus.
second serve return in the net on break point
nole takes second set!!
he’ll be ok now…
are you happier now rc??
a little bit, thanks amy. Glad you are here.
stressful isn’t it?? have been shouting at the tv…
It is, but too much caffeine and I’ve shot myself in the foot – I should know better. Watching Gulbis and Goffin would be a nice anti-dote if I had the option! 😀
nole deserved that. so much bad luck with 2 broken strings serving for the set…
are the rallies physical? both grinding it out I assume. Not sure how long the rallies are given the no. of errors
not as physical as you might imagine given it’s a clay court…
stosur has beaten simona…
granollers and thiem 5-5…come on thiem..
nole saves a break point for the first time! sacre bleu!
Stress is getting to him. Rubbing his neck and rolling his eyes at his box. Every point is a labor the way Roberto is going.
rubbing the neck….typical sing of feeling under-confident
horrible lob by nole..
rba does actually save a break point this time..
The last couple of times these two played, I was struck by how easily RBA gave up; and lacked his usual tenacity. Of course Nole knew how to play him. There wasn’t much RBA could do.
as i said before i think nole has given him belief by playing badly on break points both his own and against him so rba has upped his game somewhat..
nole holds to love.
rc do you really think rba is playing that well?? he is playing better than usual but only hit 4 winners in the second set as opposed to nole’s 14 ….nole was much the better player that set.
Yeah. I think he’s on to Nole’s vulnerability, the pressure today and doing his RBA job — making the most of it. 5 sets — all of these matches could go 5! Gulbis is being dangersous — up a break on Goffin! at least something to laugh about, amy – 😀
ricky will be pleased. he loves gulbis. he’s not my cup of tea tbh….
Wouldn’t say I love EG but for me as a sort of troll in an ATP draw – I can appreciate him that way.
ahh i see!!! not sure quite why ricky likes him so much…think it may be the same sort of thing. ie his cheerful insults in the press conferences and so on…
Ricky likes Gulbis but he likes Goffin waaaaaaaaaaay more.
meeeeeeee tooooooo. There’s something about a Goffin!
that’s not what he told ben and courtney the other day….
Ricky doesn’t like Goffin?
no sorry not that. he said his favourite player was gulbis!!! unless i misremembered because i was doing something else at the same time and was distracted…
ricky said, as i recall, that his 5 favourite players were 1. gulbis 2. isner
3.rafa 4. thiem 5. goffin…..
isner!!!
that wasn’t in order. And I didn’t say it. Ben did.
Oh, okay, thanks…that makes sense. Was guessing he pays to much attention to Goffin to not like him. It’s been a pleasant surprise.
Justin Gimelstob absolutely loves saying Thiem is country strong lol…
as per your avatar, halep said that the conditions were impossible to play in after she lost….
does feel they were the overriding factor with aga as well…
less said about gimelgob the better no??
isner????
gulbis as his favourite????
hahahahahahahahahahahaha
Nah, Rafa is obviously RD’s fav.
And, he still likes Goffin waaaaay more than Gulbis despite what he said.
that’s what i thought hawks!!
unbelievable!!!!
ricky has a nice voice though to compensate for these strange statements…
I didn’t tell them anything during the show. Ben was reading off names from a previous off-air conversation.
Still though, isner? Must be the American connection.
Same reason I cheer for Raonic so can’t really blame you even though Isner is a pox on tennis.
Gollieee, ack! Granollers got a set. haha, I give up.
you’re kidding me!! please let’s not see granny in the quarters…anyone for an rba/granny semi?? not me thanks
rainus interruptus
it’s becoming very difficult to see the ball it’s so covered in the clay
the plot literally thickens
hahahah rc!!
it’s just tennis in the end, amy. Gotta love it! ironic, nerve-wracking tennis…
if you say so…! been doing a lot of shouting today!! nole is showing some heart and guts now..
He’s going to need a lot of heart and guts to get through this episode in his career. I want him to do it!
this could be the turning point for him. having to really guts it out and that giving him belief and calming him.
i was shouting at him to grind it out and stop the flashy stuff and he did just that.
imo, Rafa having to abandon increases the pressure to perform. Nole is supposed to win — it’s gotta be immense, the pressure, that is. It would be nice to go home and relax with Jelena and Stefan!
that’s probably true. remember how fed struggled after rafa went out in 09?
same thing going on….
nole breaks!! he is grinding it out now
the other courts have stopped play
Djokovic’s NOT losing this! no matter what
Well? RBA is the more calm/aggressive. But Nole got him that last point at deuce. It’s been difficult to execute a usual plan vs RBA — attack the backhand and stay the heck away from the guy’s forehand. Bobby has a wicked cc forehand.
since when did rba become david ferrer? retrieving everything…
what a hold by nole!! that was more like the world number one. saved several break points…
they’re going off. commies saying they kept them on so that rg didn’t have to pay the money back to the spectators…got to the 2 hour mark.
no more tennis for the day??
they are hoping to get back on after a while vr
andy is watching….but he won’t get on today
:/
Is that a fact! Crumbs. I thought it was Nole who wanted to keep on because he had the momentum with him at that point.
This is turning into a Mickey Mouse tourney. Up until now Forget has always got up my nose but I’m beginning to feel sorry for him being at the helm of this sinking ship.
that was a bit like a carry on film. couldn’t see the ball. court covered in mist. only needed to be at wimby with cliff richard singing i’m forever blowing bubbles…
They are talking about a Monday finish on the tennis channel. Rain delay! What a surprise! I am just surprised to hear that Novak is having a tough time.
Remember that year well with Cliff leading the sing-along.
Guess we have a rainy Wimbledon to look forward to.
nothing we brits like as much as a rainy singalong.
won’t stop people camping out in their tents for tickets and flooding the hill.
i heard earlier that guy forget said it had to be sunday.
Then someone is going to be at a real disadvantage. On the tennis channel they said that they can’t see how it can be done and a Monday finish is the only way to go.
I checked the scores and novak seems to have gotten control of his match. Surprising to see him lose the first set.
it will be very very unfair if they make them play back to back matches. will nole finish his semi in the morning and play the final in the afternoon??
play stopped for 45 minutes.
I can’t believe that Granollers won a set off Thiem. Must be the experience factor.
Does anyone know when they will call it for the day?
Nole suffering the same nerves of expectation Fed felt in 2009 going two sets down to Haas after Rafa lost.
exactly.
add that to the fact that he’s not been playing too well lately….
I only saw the first set but so many UEs from Nole.
Can’t blame the conditions because Nole took eight straight games from Rafa in the 2012 final under the same wet conditions.
All nerves.
Tennis at this level is 90% between the ears.
Yup. The look on his face as he took the court today. Eyes wide and darting around — wasn’t sure if it meant an intense focus or he’d rather be somewhere else and be doing something else — the answer came when they started playing. All the UE’s. I don’t blame the conditions. Between the ears is right. In some circles, I’d be crucified for admitting it.
No play before 6.30 pm
serena’s match has been cancelled…
Not a good sign. Welp. I’m trying to calm down and enjoy the day. You too, Amy, okay? Going to work off some of this caffeine 😉
yep chill out rc!!
both simona and aga furious and saying they could not play for fear of injury. saying that rg didn’t care about the players.
At the end of the day the players are no more than cattle fodder to feed the money making industry that tennis has become. Sadly.
So the top half must play at least 4 out of next 5 days. Has there ever been a RG finals played on a Monday (not due to Sunday rain-out)?
final will be on Monday
Has this been confirmed?
Nope
They had to have 2 hours of play in order to avoid a refund for the tickets. Bad luck for the spectators. Attending these events cost a lot of money when you include travel and hotel accommodation and to end up seeing a soggy match for 2 hours is a disgrace.
My husband wants to treat me to the AO next year, but no way would I go all that way especially if Rafa doesn’t end up biting the trophy, worse still if he goes out early for any reason.
RBA can do this if he keeps his head. Boot the Djoker out, please.
Vamos RBA!
He can’t.
Wishful thinking 🙂
the problem definitely isn’t his head
the problem yesterday wasn’t rba’s head it was nole’s…..
it was nole’s faltering and nerves which gave rba belief…
Hahaha no.
No one underestimates Fed less than Fed.
serena boots out svitolina with some amazing serving.
venus is losing to baszinsky….boo!! i want venus to win…
bertens is beating madison keys convincingly as well…
nole is in the house!! first break point he takes it! forehand on fire so far…great forehands cross court
Beatdown city!
nole takes second set 6-1. he is calm today and looking like the world number one. no-one on this side of the draw will take him down if he plays like this.
great t serves on second serve. cross court forehand opening up the court for the backhand put away
rba saves a break point and wriggles out of his service game with some fantastic play. i didn’t think he could play that well. he is making great shots everywhere.
nole’s lobs are horrible as usual…
sigh. nole broken with first break point against him.
dumps an easy overhead in the net. his overhead is so dodgy at times…
Nole’s luck needs to run out……..about time!
nole breaks straight back taking his first break point.
I’m just keeping up with the scores on Nole/RBA. I am watching Berdy/Ferru instead.
stop playing the drop shot nole!!!
he’s messed up 3 or 4 in a row now…
at last a drop shot which vaguely works…
rba has fought so hard today and yesterday..i am very surprised…
I said he stands a chance if he keeps his head.
Vamos RBA!
nole breaks and will serve for the match!!
rba has tried to emulate rafa with the forehand dtl but he lacks the power to produce the killer shot
that’s rba’s problem no killer shot
GSM
he does it! GSM
his forehand is pretty darn good
yeah i have been surprised by him…
another drop shot to lose the match point
go and put your feet up nole! play piano with jelena and stefan
#fur elise…
thiem up double break in 3rd. go thiem…!
it’s going to be a long day at the office for gasquet. he’s standing so far behind the baseline giving murray the whole court to play with. murray dropshotting a lot and playing very aggressive.
so many empty seats for a qf with a french player. if this were wimby it would be absolutely packed.
I’ve already explained the problems in Paris, apart from the shitty weather, are stopping people attempting to get there unless they are within a cab ride or walking distance. People with hospitality tickets mostly stay in the restaurants and bars and watch the action on the screens.
4-1 to murray has become 5-5 thanks to some unforced errors from murray.
Ferrer pulled out?!
At least Berdych has some firepower to make it interesting against Novak. He has flopped big time in the last few meeting though.
No, Berdych beat him 3, 5 and 3.
oops, sorry…I thought Ferrer had won the second set and when I saw berdych won after the third I thought Ferru pulled out after set 3.
Thanks for correcting.
Good win for Berdy! He needs it after what happened in Rome.
WHAT! Gasquet serving for the set no!
OMG murray double faults to get broken again…! what’s wrong with him?? gasquet to serve for the set..what could possibly go wrong hahaha….
0-15 unforced backhand error
15-15 reflex volley by gasquet
30-15 unforced backhand error by murray
40-15 drop shot gasquet
40-30 forced forehand error gasquet
deuce thanks to a murray drop shot
adv murray double fault gasqet
adv gasquet with a smash
great forehand pass by murray deuce
bp murray
deuce after deuce…dropshot brick by andy on bp
backhand unforced error by murray gives gasquet the set..
murray had 3 breakpoints…
While I was sleeping, TENNIS!??
This was always going to be a four set match and i said yesterday if he took the low road it would be a five-setter.
Muzz always makes life difficult for himself. He will pull this one back eventually though.
I’ve been watching him since he was 16 years old 🙂
#Hope I haven’t jinxed him.
Only been watching since the very end of the first set.
You were right about the match going 4! or more. Richie performing well for the crowd. Wow. This might go five. Andy needs to keep it cool and not make it too difficult for himself. Cheering for both!
Outstanding.
murray had 2 break points and lost them. he is dumping second serve returns in the net over and over again. timing is completely off on ros.
NervRous,
why hawk?
Murray making dumb errors I mean,
#DrenchOpen
Oh, okay. I thought you liked Richie.
But, yeah. I’m leaning toward Andy FTW. But what if Richie has found some sort of Nirvana ………..??
Wait. I think I get it. But maybe not.
Yes, no I’m not nerv(r)ous, Muzza is.
#BetweenTheEars
Bother. He is making life difficult for himself. How many times do we have to watch him fighting back from 2 sets down.
Time to make a dent in the Gasquet confidence.
break murray
Now just consolidate the break, please.
what a point!! great reflexes by both…
Sometimes I don’t know who I’m for until the match actually starts.
Here’s my guess in order as to who I’d like to see win the FO:
1. Berdych (always the bridesmade…)
2. Thiem (would be great to see a young gun make a mark while they are still a young gun)
3.Murray (I like Murray but his celebrations are underwelming.)
4. Goffin, Nole, CB, Gasquet (can’t say for sure because of opening statement)
(not included AVR because he has next to no chances against CB)
Have no way of watching it but the score suggests that Stanimal might be off the leash. And perhaps Ramos has nothing…
And serve out this set.
I’ve seen a few points on twitter! Wish I could be watching this match.
Epic clay ct tennis.
#DrenchOpen
gasquet breaks!! who would have thought he would be able to fight like this…
was hitting his groundies really well that last game…
crowd are into it now..
As Andy would say ***k
what a second serve miss by murray at 30-30
nervrous
In fact he is lucky not to have received a CV. The whole world can lip-read his language.
think he’s been restrained by his standards ed…some swear bombs might help him…
was thinking same
gasquet is playing well but murray’s game is off today…
what is it with the dropshotitis.? don’t think i’ve ever seen so many drop shots as today with both nole and andy.
it’s like watching jerzy…
Andy doesn’t want to win this match.
Jerzy started the trend. Now everyone uses them mostly indiscriminately. Would like to know what the ratio is of points won and points lost as a result.
wow. who is this richard?? full of grit that game. tb.
LOL Muzza broken on both sets serving for the set.
#BetweenTheEars
That all we need – a ruddy tiebreak.
It was boss from Andy.
i knew he was going to df just then!! so tense…
Six straight points on the trot for Muzza to snag the 2nd set.
#NormalcyRestored
set murray.how crucial was that point where the ball sat up on the net on the murray drop shot? changed the whole dynamic of the tb to andy.
how will richard respond now???
What! Gasquet won the first set? I just saw Murray win the second set!
It’s a real match!
I imagine Richie’s had lots of advice on the topic of how to respond. Not sure how I feel right now, lol… sort of want him to win another set, or not.
murray will start scrapping now and psyche richard out. doubt he gets another set…
I’ve also been watching Gasquet since he was 16 or 17. Never seen him play like this before on the big stage. Andy has been off the pace today for good measure but there is the sense the tide is turning in his favour.
#Famous last words.
Andy started off the third set with a break. Will he take control of this match?
On the tennis channel they are interviewing Goffin after beating Gulbis. Still showing Murray/Gasquet on split screen.
Murray consolidates. Somehow I don’t think this is over yet. But I did not expect Gasquet to make this much of a match of it.
Gasquet seems to have lost it.
Murray up 3-0. I think the momentum has changed after Murray won the second set.
Stan has had an easy time of it until the third set.
Surprising to ARV battling in the third set after being blown out in the first two sets.
Gasquet is running out of steam
Maybe he’s just resting for a set? Letting Andy swing it out? TC is forcing me to watch ARV v Stan.
It’s a risky proposition to let a set go. Murray will have the momentum for the fourth set.
Gasquet may not have anything left.
Stan will have to win it in a TB.
Tight TB for Stan/ARV.
Stan can’t shake ARV.
Not that he’s did it on purpose. I didn’t mean that. We see these scores all the time. A set here or there where you wonder. I hope he comes back but I wouldn’t know…
Richie sure played some great tennis — and I missed the 1st set!
ARV trying to win a tb and get to a 4th…
done it, not did it. I can’t watch, read, and type.
I missed most of the first two sets with Murray/Gasquet.
6-6. TB
Now set point for ARV.
Stan’s backhand is off.
7-7
Another match point for Stan.
I don’t think gasquet was tanking the fourth set. I think he just has nothing left.
Set point for Ramos. Stan serving. 2nd swerve. Stan saves it 7-7. And gets the next point 8-7 Stan.
Stan is through in 3
I think Murray is going to finish this out pretty quickly. Gasquet had two great sets in him, but it’s best of five sets.
Had a bad feeling Gasquet was toast after losing the second set. That let cord at 3-2 him in the breaker was so unlucky and it seemed like it knocked the wind out of him as he lost the next four points quick. Too bad. Would’ve loved to see Richard go through.
No way did I want gasquet to win this one. I wanted Murray to get to the semis. I want to see Murray and Stan go at it in the semis.
Gasquet just has nothing left.
Murray is cruising now.
Ah, the silence and sad faces…
Stan v Andy SF is ON.
No Frenchman in the semis this year.
Andy v Stan ??
I can’t wait for Stan/Murray! That should be a good one!
Shelby Rogers is up a break on Garbine Muguruza …
This might be a good one, too!
not anymore!
right.
And Sam should win, too, but Pironkova isn’t going away! 2nd set tb. And SP’s best surface is supposedly grass.
Okay. Sam squeaks by in 2. Sam v Garbine SF – sounds good.
just finished watching rogers-garbine and pironkava-stosur. should be a great semi. i am taking garbine to win…
I’m not so sure. He has not looked particularly convincing in the matches I’ve watched, Don’t be deceived by Andy’s erratic progress to date at RG. If the Andy we saw in the Rome final shows up he will get the better of WaWa unless he can up his level significantly. .
I agree with this. I don’t think Stan is in his best form even now. He’s done well to get to the semis. But going up against Murray will not be an easy task!
I think that Murray’s tough path through the draw may actually help him. He’s incredibly fit and coming from behind and being on the brink and then winning, helps to boost confidence.
Murray is playing well now and showing some mental toughness. I am liking Murray’s chances in the semis. It’s up to Stan to raise his level.
hard to make a pick. i haven’t been very impressed by any of stan, nole, andy. all of them have been up and down. against a better opponent andy would have been down 2 sets to love and it would be very hard for him to come back from that score against stan or nole. he made a lot of errors in the first 2 sets and his ros was poor.
stan had such an easy quarter final it’s very hard to judge his level. maybe he had too easy a match and that will count against him? who knows?
will stan try to mainline his shots even when they’re not working? going for broke on the second shot? he’s been doing that all tournament and he will either have to hit his spots or adjust his game against andy.
That’s why I said Stan will have to raise his level of play. One might make the argument that Stan should not have had such a competitive third set. ARV had set point and could have sent it to a fourth set.
Andy had the tougher opponent. Gasquet also played really well from what I did see of the second set.
It may just come down to who plays better on that day or who is mentally tougher. Neither guy is at their best and the weather conditions are not going to help.
apparently the weather forecast for tomorrow is bad. wonder how much play they will get.