Roland Garros Day 2: Monday, May 26 - Order of Play

[Iona16]

Smaller Court for French Open’s Biggest Champ

http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2014/05/25/smaller-court-for-french-opens-biggest-champ/

Is the tournament’s decision a slight against Nadal, a show of bias against a champion whose rugged style of play isn’t exactly the French ideal of tennis? The data suggest probably not.

Since Nadal’s first French Open, in 2005, he has played 47 of his 60 matches on Chatrier (78%). The rest have been on Lenglen other than Nadal’s first ever match at the tournament, which was on Court 1. Nadal has never played more than two matches in any one year outside the main stadium.

Over that same period, Roger Federer has played 44 of his 57 matches on Chatrier (77%), with the rest on Lenglen (not including Sunday’s match on Chatrier.) In 2012, the year after Federer reached the final (he lost to Nadal), Federer played three of his six matches in Lenglen, including the fourth round and quarterfinals. He lost in the semifinals. Federer has done one thing in Paris that Nadal has not: In 2009, the only year he won the tournament, he played all of his matches in Chatrier.

Nadal and Federer are the two most popular players in the sport. But maybe Nadal, having dominated this tournament like no other human in history, should never play outside of Chatrier—especially for his first match after winning the four previous years.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Last year Rafa said the Scheduling in French Open is a Joke. . May be the schedulers, who have full authority to decide the schedule, are "rewarding" him for that comment. uzzled

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Tignor writes:

What stands out on this OOP, of course, is the sight of Rafael Nadal, the eight-time champ, on the schedule in Court Suzanne Lenglen, rather than in the main stadium, Chatrier. This has caused something of a firestorm, especially, but not exclusively, among Nadal fans. Even Isner seemed incredulous when he was asked about it: “What do you have to do to play in Chatrier?” he asked on Rafa’s behalf.

The answer is: Play somewhere other than Paris. This isn’t the first, second, third, or even fourth time we’ve had this discussion at Roland Garros. “Lenglen-gate” is an annual feature of the French, because the tournament typically sends all of the top players to that smaller-but-not-small stadium at least once during the two weeks—Rafa was out there twice last year, and he played his opening match on that court in 2010. The reason he’s there again tomorrow may have less to do with who he is, than with who he’s playing. Schedulers will almost certainly put him in Chatrier for his second-round match, which will be against either a Frenchman, Paul-Henri Mathieu, or one of the game’s up-and-comers, Dominic Thiem. Nadal’s first-round opponent, 31-year-old Robby Ginepri, gives the schedulers a chance to get his tour of Lenglen (or one of them) out of the way early.

I like that the French mixes up the courts, gives other players a chance to experience Chatrier, and lets fans get closer to the stars in Lenglen. And it’s not as if Rafa has been adversely affected by the move in the past—the only match he has ever lost at Roland Garros came on Chatrier; he’s never even been to a fifth set in Lenglen.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Fed will surely be placed on Suzanne for his 2nd round match against a qualifier who has
won just one match in his whole career. Djokovic would get one slot in PC and the other
will go to either Isner (who plays against Mahut, a French guy) or to Tsonga again
or to Gulbis (who plays against Julian Benneteau).

 

[the AntiPusher]

It is my understanding (might be incorrect) that in all other slams, the player that gets
official special treatment is the #1 seeded player and not the defending champion. Moreover,
I believe the ONLY special treatment that they are afforded is the choice of whether they
want to start on 1st or 2nd day, based on which they decide whether the top half plays first
or bottom half plays first. Other than that nothing is guaranteed and the organizers can
schedule in any way that they think is appropriate.

All slams usually make concessions for the #1 ranked player, but that's not the issue here. This year, Nadal and Serena are both #1 and defending champs, so why wouldn't they treat them equally?

Read again as to what is the special treatment they get. The equal treatment is not that
they start on the same day. The equal treatment is that they get to start on the day they
request.

That's not what I'm saying. However they're classifying their special treatment, it's a diss to put an 8-time winner, defending champ and #1 seed on anything but the center court to start their campaign, period.

Maybe Rafa has exceeded the lifetime appearances limits for one player on court PC :huh:

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Fed will surely be placed on Suzanne for his 2nd round match against a qualifier who has
won just one match in his whole career. Djokovic would get one slot in PC and the other
will go to either Isner (who plays against Mahut, a French guy) or to Tsonga again
or to Gulbis (who plays against Julian Benneteau).

Take Isner off from the list; he has openly criticized the scheduling today. He won't
see PC.

 

[masterclass]

“Center court was a little bit different. I think they make the court new, so it’s like the clay [needs to] get a little bit more fixed. It was moving around a little bit too much. But there remain a few days and probably they can fix it. They are specialists, no?” - Rafael Nadal

I'm guessing that he doesn't mind playing on court Susanna Lenglen the first day. It's only some fans and others that seem to mind.

He and his team will probably inspect Center court in the next couple of days and decide if it's ready for them to play on. No sense having Nadal unhappy, or at risk for hurting himself on the court. It's no secret he doesn't like loose or slippery courts. He likes the solid feel for his movement and to use his legs for power. He wants to be able to play long rallies, and not be slipping and falling.

Respectfully,
masterclass

 

[the AntiPusher]

“Center court was a little bit different. I think they make the court new, so it’s like the clay [needs to] get a little bit more fixed. It was moving around a little bit too much. But there remain a few days and probably they can fix it. They are specialists, no?” - Rafael Nadal

I'm guessing that he doesn't mind playing on court Susanna Lenglen the first day. It's only some fans and others that seem to mind.

He and his team will probably inspect Center court in the next couple of days and decide if it's ready for them to play on. No sense having Nadal unhappy, or at risk for hurting himself on the court. It's no secret he doesn't like loose or slippery courts. He likes the solid feel for his movement and to use his legs for power. He wants to be able to play long rallies, and not be slipping and falling.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Righteous, thanks for posting this MC.. Btw.. tell Clay Death aka Samson , hola and Vamos Rafa

 

[masterclass]

Sure. No worries...

Respectfully,
masterclass

 

[Moxie]

Tignor writes:

I like that the French mixes up the courts, gives other players a chance to experience Chatrier, and lets fans get closer to the stars in Lenglen. And it’s not as if Rafa has been adversely affected by the move in the past—the only match he has ever lost at Roland Garros came on Chatrier; he’s never even been to a fifth set in Lenglen.

Personally, I wouldn't mind it if they'd do it at the USOpen, too. The last time I saw Rafa play outside of Ashe was 2006. It can be perceived as an slight, or as a gesture towards the crowds. Maybe opening on Lenglen seems a bit odd, but if Rafa says it suits him better, I'll roll with that.

 

[masterclass]

Nishikori having a difficult time with Klizan. Down a tiebreaker set and two breaks - 4-0. I'm not sure he'll finish the match. His right ankle has a big ankle support wrapping.

Respectfully,
masterclass

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Kei is about to go 2-0 down against Klizan. Not looking good in the second set at all.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Kei is really struggling on court at the moment
Klizan has 3 BP
Klizan breaks Kei in the first game of the 3rd set
I would not be surprised if he retires.....

 

[Moxie]

I thought Klizan was a tough first round, but this is surprising.

 

[Moxie]

Vesely is about to dump Rosol in straights, looks like, and Andujar is finally in the 3rd set v. Cilic, but that will likely finish in straights, too.

 

[Kirijax]

Wow. What a HUGE disappointment by Nishikori. aka Mr. Glass.

 

[nehmeth]

Rain...

 

[britbox]

Looks like Kei still had his Madrid hangover.

 

[Moxie]

Wow. What a HUGE disappointment by Nishikori. aka Mr. Glass.

And he's totally messed up my draw. I thought Klizan would but tough, but what I saw, he looked great. But that is a big disappointment for Kei. There was a fair amount of attention on him going into RG.

 

[nehmeth]

Wow. What a HUGE disappointment by Nishikori. aka Mr. Glass.

And he's totally messed up my draw. I thought Klizan would but tough, but what I saw, he looked great. But that is a big disappointment for Kei. There was a fair amount of attention on him going into RG.

Back injury in Madrid, heading into the most grueling of the Slams? That's almost as bad as voting Potato Starch for your WC. :snigger