Roland Garros / French Open [Men] - Grand Slam

[MargaretMcAleer]

That is so quaintly old school! I love the smell of sheets that have dried on the line.

Me too,I hardly put anything in the dryer.I live on 5 acres not a apartment.

 

[rafanoy1992]

No formula? Will Fed be seeded in top 8 at least?

Don't worry GSM, Federer will be in the Top 8 safely at Wimbledon unless Berrettini wins RG.

 

[rafanoy1992]

If Tsitsipas can not beat Medvedev on Clay with its current form, then it is really all mental from Tsitsipas at this point when it comes to Medvedev. This is an opportunity for Tsitsipas to show Medvedev and the rest of the tennis world that he is one of the future great players of the sport!

As for Medvedev, I am happy that he is playing well at RG. It means that he is willing to be an-all court player and not just a very good hard-court player. Now, I am curious to see on how he does at Wimbledon.

By the way, ranking implications for both players:

If Tsitsipas reaches the Final, he will be seeded 4th at Wimbledon that means he gets to get his own quarter at Wimbledon. Even though he can still potential face the Big Three in the Quarters, Semis and Final.

If Medvedev reaches the Final AND Djokovic loses before the final, he will be the new no.1 ranked player in the world by June 14, 2021.

I actually want to fix my error regarding about Tsitsipas' ranking. He only needs to win against Medvedev to get No.4 ranking ahead of Thiem going into Wimbledon.

I miscalculated Thiem's ranking points so it why I thought Tsitsipas needed to reach RG final in order to overtake Thiem.

I just look at the rankings scenarios for Thiem, Tsitsipas. and Zverev:

Basically, whomever wins a potential SF match between Tsitsipas and Zverev will climb up to the No.4 ranking and more than likely will be the 4th seed at Wimbledon.

Thiem will either drop to No.5 (if Tsitsipas beats Zverev) or No. 6 (if Zverev beats Tsitsipas).

Either way, it will be a HUGE ranking implication for both Tsitsipas and Zverev going into potential SF match, IF they win their respective QF matches, of course.

 

[kskate2]

French Open Results for Round 4 Day 8 - Sunday, June 6, 2021

 

[Moxie]

Its going to be interesting with this year being the first with no more special formula seeding for Wimbledon. Rafanoy you bring out a great point that the French Open results impacts Wimbledon more than ever.

Yikes, the odds are the other Players could potentially have to play the big 3 consecutively at W

or.....
Medvedev as the #1 seed at W could mean possible Federer/Djokovic or Nadal/Federer quarterfinals matchups, all on the same side of the draw; tennis gods have a warped sense of humor.

But it already had a warped sense of humor at RG. No wonder Roger dropped out. To win, he was almost certainly going to have to beat Novak, then Rafa, then the winner of the bottom half. And that's Roger, who has a title here. Roger being seed #8 at Wimbledon is already a complication. I don't know if this is a possibility, @rafanoy1992, but can Nadal get to #2 before Wimbledon? Can Novak and Rafa be seeded 1-2? If not, it gets to be a scrum, and maybe this is where things go, moving forward vis-a-vis Big 3. And especially as the protected Covid ranking drops off. Better rankings provides better opportunities, so maybe this is how the hegemony begins to wind down.

 

[rafanoy1992]

But it already had a warped sense of humor at RG. No wonder Roger dropped out. To win, he was almost certainly going to have to beat Novak, then Rafa, then the winner of the bottom half. And that's Roger, who has a title here. Roger being seed #8 at Wimbledon is already a complication. I don't know if this is a possibility, @rafanoy1992, but can Nadal get to #2 before Wimbledon? Can Novak and Rafa be seeded 1-2? If not, it gets to be a scrum, and maybe this is where things go, moving forward vis-a-vis Big 3. And especially as the protected Covid ranking drops off. Better rankings provides better opportunities, so maybe this is how the hegemony begins to wind down.

Both Djokovic and Medvedev are guaranteed to have the Top 2 seedings at Wimbledon after Roland Garros. Unfortunately, Nadal can potentially get Federer at the Quarters AND potentially get Djokovic at the Semis. You can say the same thing to Djokovic's and Federer's potential paths to title.

I will dread a potential Nadal/Federer QF match at Wimbledon even if Nadal is in Medvedev's half of the draw.

 

[Moxie]

Both Djokovic and Medvedev are guaranteed to have the Top 2 seedings at Wimbledon after Roland Garros. Unfortunately, Nadal can potentially get Federer at the Quarters AND potentially get Djokovic at the Semis. You can say the same thing to Djokovic's and Federer's potential paths to title.

I will dread a potential Nadal/Federer QF match at Wimbledon even if Nadal is in Medvedev's half of the draw.

Well, I like to think that Federer would dread it, too. Thanks for the rankings update.

 

[Carol]

Tennis Channel is showing now the replay of Zverev vs Nishi match so I'm very surprised than yesterday they didn't show the replay of the Federer match....

 

[rafanoy1992]

Well, I like to think that Federer would dread it, too. Thanks for the rankings update.

He would definitely rather face Nadal at Wimbledon than Djokovic especially after what happened in 2019 Final...

 

[kskate2]

Tennis Channel is showing now the replay of Zverev vs Nishi match so I'm very surprised than yesterday they didn't show the replay of the Federer match....

Tented mentioned it yesterday that TC didn't have the rights to air the match live or replay it.

 

[Carol]

Tented mentioned it yesterday that TC didn't have the rights to air the match live or replay it.

I know , they will do again in the quarters but yesterday they didn't even show the replay, today they do

 

[Moxie]

He would definitely rather face Nadal at Wimbledon than Djokovic especially after what happened in 2019 Final...

Yes, but as #8 ranked, he could well have to face both, no?

 

[Jelenafan]

If you thought it was going to ruin the draw for Roger to go out, then why do you keep rooting for just that, every round? He was in a path to meet Djokovic, and on the short list to have taken him out, too. (Not so realistically, but still.) As a Nadal fan, I should think you would root for Federer at this tournament. As to fining Roger for dropping out to protect his Wimbledon, tell me what you thought was the #1 or #2 reason that Rafa chose not to come to the US last August to play on the HCs?

Just getting to this post. There is no equivalency IMO. Rafa did not come to the US and play a few HC matches at Flushing Meadow and then withdraw for the abbreviated clay court season with Roland Garos as the ultimate goal. If he had done that THEN one could argue he was simply transparently using the USO as prep for the FO.
.
Contrast with Novak who entered the USO with the intent of winning it all.

Now, I understand why Federer did what he did here in Paris but in fact it does seem he used a Major, the French Open as a warmup for Wimbledon. There are commercial obligations also with sponsors. It’s clear to me he had no intention of playing it through. Again, I get why he did it, I get that the FO/W corridor is a limited time frame, but that doesn’t mean he’s inmune to crtiticm that he deliberately entered a Major as a high seed with no intention of playing it through.

And Again I hate how every Federer situation has to have a Rafa comparison.

 

[Carol]

I understand Roger needs more time on the court before to play on grass where he thinks he can do something better so he probably thought he couldn't be able to win more than two matches but surprisingly he won the third. I disagree with his last decision trying to be more resting for the grass (not injury) where he doesn't even know if he is going to do something great. Sorry but he should be fined, he got already too much help coming back to play as #8 when he should be #100 or more high.

 

[Moxie]

Just getting to this post. There is no equivalency IMO. Rafa did not come to the US and play a few HC matches at Flushing Meadow and then withdraw for the abbreviated clay court season with Roland Garos as the ultimate goal. If he had done that THEN one could argue he was simply transparently using the USO as prep for the FO.
.
Contrast with Novak who entered the USO with the intent of winning it all.

Now, I understand why Federer did what he did here in Paris but in fact it does seem he used a Major, the French Open as a warmup for Wimbledon. There are commercial obligations also with sponsors. It’s clear to me he had no intention of playing it through. Again, I get why he did it, I get that the FO/W corridor is a limited time frame, but that doesn’t mean he’s inmune to crtiticm that he deliberately entered a Major as a high seed with no intention of playing it through.

And Again I hate how every Federer situation has to have a Rafa comparison.

I made that comparison because I get sick to death of a couple of Nadal trolls slagging Roger just to counter all the nasty things that some Fed fans/all Fed trolls have said, or they believe they have, about Nadal over the years. (And more than one has cited that specific reason.) That aside, yes, it's an imperfect comparison because Nadal didn't play the USO.

As to specifically Roger dropping out as a precaution and to protect his Wimbledon: you can't say, first of all, that he had no intention of playing it through. I'm sure that part of him hoped that he'd have a good run, and, as a great champion, he would hope the draws and exits might fall his way. His chances may have been lower than in years past, but he was probably 5th or not much lower of the favored to win it. But by all accounts, that match v. Koepfer was kind of brutal, and you can't know what his body is telling him. He had 2 knee surgeries last year. He's 39. And you also can't tell me that the tournament/sponsors weren't happy to have him. That match last night is behind a pay wall, and that's totally trading on Federer. Peacock TV is hoping to pick up subscribers exclusively based on that. So, to some extent, the game takes him on his terms, and after 20+ years and 20 Major wins, I don't see that that's terrible.

On the other hand, if you want to criticize, Roger has done this before. I don't remember the year, but he declined to play the final of the YEC against Novak, after a brutal SF v. Wawrinka the day before. They had a Davis Cup final the following weekend, something Switzerland had never won, and the strong thinking was he was protecting that DC, in lieu of playing the YEC final. Decide if you think that's right or wrong. That one, personally, I had a bigger problem with. Roger's decision to play minimal clay...Geneva and RG...always left his intentions pretty clear. I just don't have a big problem with that.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I made that comparison because I get sick to death of a couple of Nadal trolls slagging Roger just to counter all the nasty things that some Fed fans/all Fed trolls have said, or they believe they have, about Nadal over the years. (And more than one has cited that specific reason.) That aside, yes, it's an imperfect comparison because Nadal didn't play the USO.

As to specifically Roger dropping out as a precaution and to protect his Wimbledon: you can't say, first of all, that he had no intention of playing it through. I'm sure that part of him hoped that he'd have a good run, and, as a great champion, he would hope the draws and exits might fall his way. His chances may have been lower than in years past, but he was probably 5th or not much lower of the favored to win it. But by all accounts, that match v. Koepfer was kind of brutal, and you can't know what his body is telling him. He had 2 knee surgeries last year. He's 39. And you also can't tell me that the tournament/sponsors weren't happy to have him. That match last night is behind a pay wall, and that's totally trading on Federer. Peacock TV is hoping to pick up subscribers exclusively based on that. So, to some extent, the game takes him on his terms, and after 20+ years and 20 Major wins, I don't see that that's terrible.

On the other hand, if you want to criticize, Roger has done this before. I don't remember the year, but he declined to play the final of the YEC against Novak, after a brutal SF v. Wawrinka the day before. They had a Davis Cup final the following weekend, something Switzerland had never won, and the strong thinking was he was protecting that DC, in lieu of playing the YEC final. Decide if you think that's right or wrong. That one, personally, I had a bigger problem with. Roger's decision to play minimal clay...Geneva and RG...always left his intentions pretty clear. I just don't have a big problem with that.

On twitter Roger is getting very negative press,saying he only used RG for a few matches.before Wimbledon,though there are others who are sticking up for his decision.
May I ask a question if Novak or Rafa did the same,how would they be treated by their peers or the press?I know it is a hypothetical question? still I have my doubts.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

BTW I don't know what court Medvedev was playing on at RG?

"I learned that at Roland Garros.I need to play like on hard court because it is playing low bouncing and fast".

 

[tented]

 

[Fiero425]

On twitter Roger is getting very negative press,saying he only used RG for a few matches.before Wimbledon,though there are others who are sticking up for his decision.
May I ask a question if Novak or Rafa did the same,how would they be treated by their peers or the press?

Oh Pls; Novak would be massacred! He's the biggest threat to the Fedal legend which preempts all others; even Laver & Rosewall! How can they mythologize their rivalry "thru the ages" if Djokovic steals their thunder in any way? Right now he's ahead of schedule and it would be acknowledged if it were any other player! I thought and had no reason to believe Roger wouldn't hold all the records for a long time to come, but things change! Unfortunately for him and his fans, he had 2 detractors instead of 1 as most #1's had to contend with! We might as well get it in our heads that his tenure at the top will be the shortest in history! Facts can be an ugly thing! Same ol' story, different day; SORRY!

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Oh Pls; Novak would be massacred! He's the biggest threat to the Fedal legend which preempts all others; even Laver & Rosewall! How can they mythologize their rivalry "thru the ages" if Djokovic steals their thunder in any way? Right now he's ahead of schedule and it would be acknowledged if it were any other player! I thought and had no reason to believe Roger wouldn't hold all the records for a long time to come, but things change! Unfortunately for him and his fans, he had 2 detractors instead of 1 as most #1's had to contend with! We might as well get it in our heads that his tenure at the top will be the shortest in history! Facts can be an ugly thing! Same ol' story, different day; SORRY!

I have a friend strong on Twitter,a huge Novak fan,who I have known for many years,agree's with your post 100%