Roland Garros, Paris, France, ATP GRAND SLAM (Paris Sidewalk Cafe Discussions II)

[britbox]

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

zed is a set away from winning his 1st match at rg. in his 1st maindraw appearance.

coric had a surprisingly easy win vs fritz..i suppose clay must be a surface he isn't good on.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

did anyone see those blokes dressed up in 18th century military jackets?..lots of big round buttons. what's with that lot ?

 

[Carol]

A letter from Agassi to Rafa

 

[britbox]

did anyone see those blokes dressed up in 18th century military jackets?..lots of big round buttons. what's with that lot ?

Yeah I did but no idea what it was about. Maybe they were thinking of invading Belgium.

 

[Moxie]

Murray got

A letter from Agassi to Rafa

Aw...nice! I don't know if the point has been made, but both Nadal and Djokovic are playing for history. Everyone else is just hoping to win the French Open. Not small, but not the same.

 

[Carol]

Murray got

Aw...nice! I don't know if the point has been made, but both Nadal and Djokovic are playing for history. Everyone else is just hoping to win the French Open. Not small, but not the same.

The point to me is saying "nothing is impossible". He knows like all of us that Rafa has gone through a hard time for almost two years but it doesn't mean that he can't get more achievements and even that he has already 9 RG trophies he is trying to reach his 'decimo', it doesn't matter the difficulties in the road nothing is impossible, it's a good lesson

 

[Carol]

Perfect tweener!

 

[Tennis Fan]

Wow, so nice to see Hicham Arazi. He and Marcelo Rios played the prettiest tennis I've ever seen. They glided across the court and it didn't even seem like a sport, more like a dance.

 

[Moxie]

Perfect tweener!

Two funny things about that: Nadal doesn't really ever go for the tweener, and he hit it perfectly, so he was feeling comfortable. And he rarely smiles during a match, so, again, he's feeling relaxed. Both good signs going forward.

 

[Carol]

Two funny things about that: Nadal doesn't really ever go for the tweener, and he hit it perfectly, so he was feeling comfortable. And he rarely smiles during a match, so, again, he's feeling relaxed. Both good signs going forward.

Yep, it's the first time that I've seen him smiling after a point, good sign!

 

[Moxie]

Yep, it's the first time that I've seen him smiling after a point, good sign!

Not the first time, but rare enough to be remarked upon.

 

[Tennis Fan]

Not the first time, but rare enough to be remarked upon.

I remember that. That was so funny. Rafa's smile lights up the world. When he smiles, I smile. It's involuntary!

 

[Moxie]

I remember that. That was so funny. Rafa's smile lights up the world. When he smiles, I smile. It's involuntary!

Once he's got his game-face on, he rarely smiles during a match, though. Which I admire. His focus is one of his strengths, and he rarely lets it drop. No diss to Groth, but it was a huge over-match today, given surface and Groth's recent injury issues. That probably gave Rafa the space to play a bit, and to have a momentary laugh. I don't think we'll see that for the rest of the tournament. (Hopefully 6 more matches.)

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

One of the things I was most impressed with Rafa was his first serve and 2nd serve stats,also his ROS.I too was surprised when Rafa went for the tweener.

 

[Moxie]

One of the things I was most impressed with Rafa was his first serve and 2nd serve stats,also his ROS.I too was surprised when Rafa went for the tweener.

The stats on his serve are one thing, because he can back it up against most players. But it's still a huge liability when the rubber meets the road, say, in the SFs. He's never going to be a huge server, but he's good at spot-serving, and he has to find that. And he has to get more confidence in that 2nd serve.

 

[isabelle]

Gabashvilli is trashing Paire

 

[britbox]

Gabashvilli is trashing Paire

Paire hanging in for dear life...maybe a hangover from the tough first rounder he had.

Nishikori and Verdasco both through in routine straight setters. Zverev advances in 4.

 

[britbox]

Gotta say, I agree with @Mastoor - the Adidas Zebra design is a horror show... and I usually like adidas stuff.

 

[DarthFed]

What's wrong with Murray? Stepped out for 20 minutes and he was up a set and now he lost the 2nd 6-2 and is down a break in the 3rd.