Day 8 Matches
The first of the 2016 Roland Garros quarter-finals is all set and will be contested between Garbiñe Muguruza and Shelby Rogers! Rogers didn’t play the last Slam at the Australian Open but she is into the quarters of the French Open after defeating Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets on Sunday. Her on-court interview with Marion Bartoli was a wonderful moment. I love these magical moments at the Slams and its bringing back memories of Zhang Shuai at the Australian Open… just great to see.
I managed to find a pocket of decent wi-fi to watch the majority of the Muguruza-Kuznetsova match over lunch. For the most part, I thought it was an excellent display from Muguruza who was more lethal on both serve and return. She lost her way after a bad miss on a break point in the second set that could have seen her take a double break lead. Muguruza backed off allowing Kuznetsova to dictate and get the break back. In a pivotal ninth game, Kuznetsova’s lack of first serves was telling as she allowed Muguruza to attack on the return and get the opportunity to serve for the match… it was a struggle but she got there in the end. Muguruza won, 6-3 6-4.
At the close of play of Sunday, Simona Halep leads Sam Stosur 5-3 in the first set and Agnieszka Radwanska leads Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-2 3-0. The Halep-Stosur first set was really great… the final point of the day was a stunner with Halep finishing off at the net to hold yet another deuce-decided game.
Day 9 Matches
Bacsinszky-V.Williams – Loving this match-up… and it’s unexpected for me because I really didn’t anticipate Venus making it far. Bacsinszky is less of a surprise and had a straightforward win over Pauline Parmentier in the third round. Venus is never to be discounted, even on clay, and on any other surface i’d probably go for Venus. However, I think i’m leaning towards Timea on this one… she seems in a great place right now with her tennis, so calm and assured of what she’s doing, and right now, one of the most consistent players on the tour after a ropey start to the year. A concern for Venus would be the added hours on the court with doubles although she’s battled through many tough situations with flying colours.
S.Williams-Svitolina – Serena v Mlads sounded decent and here’s hoping that the Frenchwoman can push on from here and have a successful grass court season. She has so many impressive facets to her game but has had a very disappointing year up till now in singles. I was pleasantly surprised to see Svitolina snap her seven match losing streak to Ivanovic and score the win… while Ivanovic is having a dire year by her standards, it was still a noteworthy victory for Svitolina in my opinion. The Ukrainian player can certainly make things awkward for Serena if the American player is having an off day. Add to that, Svitolina will no doubt get some useful tips from Justine Henin prior to this match. I wouldn’t be surprised if Svitolina bagged a set, but i’d question whether she has the staying power and mental fortitude to knock out the number one seed.
Suárez Navarro-Putintseva – CSN scored an excellent win over Cibulkova in the third round… I was definitely leaning towards Domi in that one and was surprised to see such a dominant third set scoreline for the Spaniard. Poots has flown through this draw, dropping just eight (!) games in three matches. I’d guess she will lose more than eight in this match alone because Suárez Navarro will be tough to break down on clay. This is an interesting match-up and i’d fancy it to go the distance… leaning towards Carla battling back for the victory.
Keys-Bertens – I’ve been super impressed with both… Bertens has not only backed up her title in Nurnberg but also the first round upset win over Angelique Kerber. Her 10-8 third set marathon win over Daria Kasatkina in the third round sounded truly epic. Match points were missed, but Bertens hung in there to match her 4th round appearance at the French Open from 2014. Keys has also kept up the good form from Rome and has yet to drop a set at Roland Garros. Keys has looked mentally secure of late, not being perturbed by missed opportunities or deficits, and has demonstrated a sound ability to peak for the events that really matter. I think that all those matches over the past two weeks will finally catch up with Bertens and therefore, going for Keys in straights.
Moo's Tennis Blog 
Radwanska leads Pironkova 6-2 3-0, unless there is a major fuck up from her tomorrow, she should win! Pironkova looked like her left leg was bothering her quite a bit!
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Wasn’t happy this match had to be postponed. It will give Pironkova a chance to regroup, and less time for Aga to rest if she comes through.
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Agree…but now even worse for Radwanska, are the heavier conditions, which will favour Pironkova who is taller and physically stronger. It becomes more about strength in these heavy conditions. Aga definitely looked have the match wrapped up on Sunday – before Pironkova called for the trainer (to disrupt Radwanska IMO),and then the rain came (so it ended up not mattering). So bad luck for Aga…hopefully she can find her way through this tough situation.
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So it’s proved; Tsvetlana’s just levelled the match at one set all, having won six games in succession, so definitely her morning and not Aga’s.
I’ll bet Aga’s cursing the rain right now for letting Tsveta back into the match although Tsveta still had to take the chance once it had been offered to her (and as you say, even if Aga does win she’ll be left with less time to fit her remaining matches, however many there are, into and that’s not a situation she copes with very well).
Sam Stosur’s also ahead in the second set against Simona, having won the first one on a tiebreak. Simona’s going to have her work cut out for her to make another quarter-final.
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Serena has the better serve and has been more consistent since winning the title in Rome without dropping a set. Since her second round match in Rome, she has served no more than two double faults per match, always had more aces than double faults, and has been solid from start to finish. While Svitolina has been known to push Serena hard, I don’t think she has enough to win a set against her. Even with a tough fight from Svitolina, I predict Serena will win this match in two sets.
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CSN is not that hard to break on clay. Furthermore, she has injuries going into this match. I would say Putinseva in 3.
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Madison is playing her best tennis at the moment. She will make it to the QF.
Again, Timea is good but she hasn’t played with any strong opponent so far. I think Venus will overpower her unless she finds away to play really long rallies to make Venus exhausted.
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Bertens v Kasatkina was well fought encounter. Indeed had it not been such a long match, coupled with the fact that Kiki plays doubles too, I would’ve picked her to wrestle a win from Madison. Madison is in good form(infact, she is in great form relatively), will see what Bertens can do if anything at all to stall her.
Cibulkova seemed fatigued in her match with CSN to me, she was too error prone especially in the crucial third. Not sure if Yulia can sustain her intensity to keep CSN at bay, then she can do better than Cibulkova. I’m thinking CSN in 3.
I’m torn between Timea and Venus, like them both. I think Venus playing 2 doubles matches yesterday may work against her because Timea can bide her time and take advantage of any lull in intensity. The onus will be on Venus so I think Timea has a better chance of coming through.
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Its funny with Bertens because I watched a match of hers a couple of years ago, can’t remember against who, but she played a set of lights out tennis and I thought WOW! Who is this girl? Then she choked and lost… but she really is an excellent player with a lot of weapons.
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Serena will most likely be relieved that she got a few extra days of rest in, considering that she had to play two doubles matches in one day. Thanks to the rain delays in Paris, she’ll be glad that she has more time to prepare herself against Svitolina, Even though she spent more time on court than Svitolina, I believe that Serena will win this match in two sets (http://www.wtatennis.com/news/article/5609292/title/french-open-monday-sisters-on-chatrier). The WTA website predictions are 100% accurate.
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Yes I think so too. I also think it could be good for Kiki Bertens.
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So, do you think Serena will take down Svitolina in two sets? Several websites are already predicting that Serena will win this match in two sets. However, another website predicted Svitolina would win against Serena in straight sets. But, I find that impossibly impossible to believe
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I cant see Svitolina winning in 2 unless Serena throws in a shocker. And the only time she’s done that all year has been against Vika in Indian Wells. She’s been very focused at the Slams though, very sharp. Eli could grab a set if she can live with Serena and keep with her but she needs to serve well and be aggressive.
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It will help all of them, including Stosur-Halep match, but subsequent scheduling may be the difficult bit. Should there be another day of washout tennis, the final may have to go into week 3. This is not good.
We might just as well move onto the grass tennis. Aegon is looking nicely green.
If Serena plays at her own pace(with her power), taking time away from Svitolina and crafting angles for herself, she will come through. Ana failed to do this as Svitolina matched her play. That’s her story these days, an inability to mentally adjust her game when the opponent has her sussed. She breaks down. Hopefully the rain delay doesn’t take Serena out of the tournament and fight ahead, she can adjust in game. Rain delays can be a life saver and a curse all in one.
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I have Garbine v Serena in the final,Sveta was my dark horse,she needed to be more aggressive on return,also her first serve let her down.
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I think Kuznetsova made a bizarre change of tactics halfway through the first set which cost her the match. In the first 4/5 games she was changing up play throwing in chipped balls, spins, slices and drop shots and varying her serve. She has Muguruza on the ropes and was close to a break. Then she seemed to stop doing any of that and trying to outhit her. Not a good plan. Had it been a hotter day and she could get the balls to bounce higher she may have been more effective.
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That’s my guess too unless Maddi Keys (who made the final in Rome) plays her best tennis, in which case I think she’s got a chance of beating Garbi (again). It would certainly be a good semi final between the two of them.
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Easily the worst “Major” out of the Slams, this tournament is a joke. I doubt several players will be back after how things have been handled this year.
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Of course they will be back. Too much money and points at stake in not returning.
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This link (http://lastwordonsports.com/2016/05/29/panelists-predictions-2016-french-open-womens-day-9-matches/) said that Serena will win this match in three sets. But, I say Serena will handle this in two sets. She’s the better clay court player than Svitolina. Plus, Serena got the rest that she needs and when she comes out waaayyyyy later than usual, she’ll crush her opponent in two sets. Even the WTA website predicted that Serena will win this match in two sets. So, my prediction will be Serena in two
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