French Open 2016: Quick thoughts on day 6 and looking ahead to day 7

Day 6

Pironkova

Halep d. Osaka, 4-6 6-2 6-3 – Not surpised to see Osaka push Halep to three. I saw the end of the match and Osaka threw in a poor game to get broken at *3-4 in the third set. Still, i’m so excited about her potential and i’d guess her game might stack up well for the grass. For Halep, it was a good win in the sense that she fought back from a set down.

Stosur d. Safarova, 6-3 6-7(0) 7-5 – Sobbing… congrats to Sam as this was a huge win for the Aussie. I got to watch the first two sets although half of that was with a frozen picture and just commentary! There was some peak serving from Stosur, particularly at the end of the first set. Disappointed for Lucie, but it was always going to be tough to back up last year’s run to the final. On the upside, she’ll get plenty of time to prepare for grass and hopefully she be at both Birmingham and Eastbourne.

Rogers d. Kvitova, 6-0 6-7(3) 6-0 – This has to be the PEAK WTA scoreline of the year… I mean, for real?! Congrats to Shelby. A small part of me is happy that Petra can get practising on the grass but mannn, that’s a rough scoreline.

Radwanska d. Strycova, 6-2 6-7(6) 6-2 – This sounded like a treat… not the upset but Strycova competed so much better than their previous matches with an indication of how far she’s come this year and how much she has improved. In the end, a sucky day for WTA Czech tennis! Radwanska’s looking good going forward (hands up, never expected it this tournament) and her scheduling is also coming up trumps again.

Pironkova d. Stephens, 6-2 6-1 – First thought… what the hell, Sloane?! Second thought… well actually, Peak Pironkova can beat just about anyone. Just didn’t expect PP to happen on clay!

Day 7

Ivanovic

S.Williams-Mladenovic – I think this could be a tough match for Serena. While I think she will ultimately prevail, I have a feeling Mladenovic could make this pretty competitive, with help from the crowd.

Ivanovic-Svitolina – A dream draw for Ivanovic as she leads the H2H, 7-0… but Svitolina has danced through her first two rounds vs. Cirstea and Townsend. THIS is where i’d like to see Svitolina take the next step up and prove her mettle. I’m still going for Ivanovic in straights.

Suárez Navarro-Cibulkova – Phwoo, a tough one! Both have floated under the radar somewhat with one straight setter and one three setter. Cibulkova leads the H2H, 3-1, but Carla did win their last match in Moscow. I’ll be surprised if this doesn’t go the distance. The clay suits Carla more but then again, Domi’s had success at the French Open too. I’m leaning towards Domi with her superior intensity although I think I read that she pulled out of doubles today?

Putintseva-Knapp – Knapp has a powerful game, but I think Putintseva wins this one.

Kasatkina-Bertens – Hipster match of the day… I’m all in for Kasatkina but Bertens is probably playing at the higher level right now with more confidence. Tough to call…

Keys-Puig – Huge credit to Puig for coming through her R2 match against Goerges. It sounded fabulous. Keys hasn’t dropped a set yet and faces a really challenging match here. Puig leads the H2H, 2-1 and has won both their previous matches on clay. Keys won their last match at Wimbledon in straight sets in 2014. This will be a solid indicator for Keys’s level…

V.Williams-Cornet – I had JJ-Chirico here in my draw! This should be a fun one. Historically, it has been a good match-up for Venus who has never dropped a set in five previous meetings… in fact, Venus has never dropped more than four games in any of the ten sets they have played.

Bacsinszky-Parmentier – Surprised this gets PC over Venus-Alizé? Timea for the win.

17 thoughts on “French Open 2016: Quick thoughts on day 6 and looking ahead to day 7

  1. You forgot about Kuznetsova whooping Pavs 61 64 with 8 aces and a whole host of winners.

    Aga has really exceeded expectations thus far. I was sure Strycova would be able to topple her. Pironkova could be another test for the Pole though and a very different game from the last two women she’s played.

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  2. Serena’s stats are 56 winners, 22 errors, nine aces, and two double faults. On the other hand, Mladenovic accumulated 44 winners, 40 errors, four aces, and three double faults. I feel like this match is way more in favor of Serena, regardless of the fact that Mladenovic has homecrowd support on her side. Serena had a day off in between to rest, even though she’s playing doubles with Venus. But, Mladenovic didn’t have a day off in between her most recent singles and doubles matches. Also, she will most likely be under pressure when playing at home. Serena has been doing a great job of keeping her double faults low and her aces high, along with having a positive differential ratio in her winners-errors count. Mladenovic is a very good accomplished doubles player, too. But, she has 18 more errors in her game than Serena. While Mladenovic will put up a good fight, I don’t think she has what it takes to push Serena to three sets. I predict that Serena will win this match in two sets with the scoreline being 6-3 6-4, 6-1 6-2, 6-3 6-0, 6-3 7-5, 7-6(7-5) 6-4, 7-6(7-2) 6-4, 7-6(7-2) 6-2, 7-6(7-2) 6-0, 7-6(7-5) 6-2, or 7-6(7-5) 6-0.

    As for Ivanovic and Svitolina, I think I’m going for Svitolina in two tight sets. Even though Ivanovic leads their head-to-head matches 7-0, she has looked very iffy last year and this year – she hasn’t won a single title yet. Despite an improvement in her serve, I feel like there are instances where she gets too tight after winning the first set, especially when she leads by a set and a break and she falls apart. But, even if Ivanovic does win against Svitolina and face Serena in the Round of 16, I think Serena will beat Ivanovic in straight sets.

    If I have to pick the two to face each other in the Round of 16, I’m going for Svitolina & Serena.

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    • Both Ana and Eli have had horrible years! Both seem to be playing with little confidence and unclear game plans. But I rather like how both have played so far this tournament.
      I just think unless Svitolina really puts some bite on her serve, Ana is going to go to town on the return. She has one of the best return of serve’s in the game. And if you look at her losses the past few years, they’ve been big servers who served particularly well.

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    • No disrespect to Sveta intended, but my guess is that Garbine will win. She’s been looking formidable so far in the tournament; her appointing Sam Sumyk as her coach seems to have paid off for her in terms of her increased focus and ability to add variety to her game.

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      • Another prediction I got right, after saying Aga would win in 3 sets. In case this sounds like boasting, I’m happy to admit the ones I got wrong (not that I’ve got any choice because you can’t delete them on here …).

        Here’s another one; I think Garbi will go all the way to the final, and could even win it if Serena has an offday. I also think Aga will win her fourth round match against Tsveta, but I don’t see her reaching the final.

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  3. Rogers d. Kvitova, 6-0 6-7(3) 6-0 ..haha.. what sorcery is this!! Oh Maria, where art thou. I now understand why I sometimes empathize with you even at your worst. A toast to Shelby Rogers, two baskets of bagels, hope she can back it up.

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  4. There are drama queens and there is Alizé Cornet. I hope she realises that Venus doesn’t suffer fools gladly. Going for Timea, Cibulkova and I think Knapp. Puig was tremendous against Julia, but fatigue may work against her cause Keys is hitting harder than Gorges.
    I reckon this is about the only stage for anyone to upset the apple cart in this half, going with purely heart calls Daria, Kristina, Elina. Ana is playing some very good tennis so far, the question being how long can her mind keep up.

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