Week 21 - Roland Garros

tony_orient · ATP qualifying

RE: Week 21 - Roland Garros

vohor · Grand Slam Champion

Well done Heather; her ability to take her mercurial opponent's winners on the chin and keep bouncing back was excellent :)
May need to raise her game a level in R2; GL Heather

Sooo close for Jo :(

philwrig · Hall of fame

Hev probably was a little lucky to survive, it was a little like watching a retro version, letting her opponent dictate, and defending from the back of the court. Fortunately MJ imploded at the end of each set, otherwise it might have been a different result. Hev will have to play better against Sloane, but I've no doubt she will. I suspect Sloane will be a tougher nut to crack than in their 4 previous meetings as she is in form and always raises her game at the slams, but she hates playing Hev, and an upset is a real possibility again.

As for Jo great to see her playing well again, but she just had to win that 1st set, and then it probably would have been a victory. I wonder where her ranking would have been if she'd won even 50% of these tight matches.

A131 · Intermediate Club Player

''As for Jo great to see her playing well again, but she just had to win that 1st set, and then it probably would have been a victory. I wonder where her ranking would have been if she'd won even 50% of these tight matches''

You could go on and on with things like that. You could argue that should the Russian she played in the second round of qualifying not squandered a first set lead or taken that first set point in the 12th game of that first set, then JK might have gone on to lose that. Possibly? Still think we need a bit of perspective as JK is concerned.

DF · Tennis legend

Hev playing doubles against the no 3 seeds today. Third match on court 16

Spectator · All-time great

Time is tight, so I don't have the leisure to translate ... but just went onto the RG website as Amandine Hesse's match finished. She was demolished by Stosur ... but this is what the website published:

En 53 minutes et d'une dernier coup droit en décalage, Samantha Stosur domine Amandine Hesse : 6-0, 6-1. La Française, présente pour la première fois à ce stade de la compétition en Grand Chelem, sort sous les bravos du public. Elle n'a pas démérité, mais la marche était encore haute. Allez Amandine, c'est l'expérience qui rentre !
Read more at www.rolandgarros.com/fr_FR/social/live_blog/index.html

Yes! Such a counterweight to the relentless negativity that GB players can often face.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Very good point,, Spectator. And as a v. quick rough translation:

After 53 mins, and a final inside-out forehand, Stosur completed her domination of Hesse, 0&1. Amandine, playing in round two of a Grand Slam for the first time, left the court to the claps and cheers of the crowd. She played pretty well but it was always a big ask. Well done, Amandine - the experience will stand you in good stead for the future.

wimdledont · Challenger level

Fully agree with all the above about Hesse.

Heather is now in the only section of the draw with both of the seeds MIA after R1. So there is a guarantee of an unseeded player making R4. Just saying.

After initially completely welcoming Heather adding the extra aggression to her game, I'm now beginning to question whether she isn't in danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. She is one of the best defensive players on the circuit; and she has absolutely no need to go out there swinging wildly, as Johansen did, or like Giorgi, even Stevens.

Particularly on clay, where point construction is so important, I do think Heather can occasionally, and advisedly, just revert to her more natural game, getting everything back, with variety, and just let her opponent go ahead and beat herself.

tony_orient · ATP qualifying

wimdledont wrote:
Fully agree with all the above about Hesse.

Heather is now in the only section of the draw with both of the seeds MIA after R1. So there is a guarantee of an unseeded player making R4. Just saying.

After initially completely welcoming Heather adding the extra aggression to her game, I'm now beginning to question whether she isn't in danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. She is one of the best defensive players on the circuit; and she has absolutely no need to go out there swinging wildly, as Johansen did, or like Giorgi, even Stevens.

Particularly on clay, where point construction is so important, I do think Heather can occasionally, and advisedly, just revert to her more natural game, getting everything back, with variety, and just let her opponent go ahead and beat herself.

Along these lines I think Heather can improve her game just by being more in control of how aggressive she plays - depending on surface and her opponent there will be times where she needs to be aggressive and times when she just needs to be solid and let her opponents make the mistakes. Currently, it seems to be more down to her own confidence than tactical how aggressive she plays.

Meanwhile on court Heather and Marina are 1-2* down - can't imagine Heather being too bothered about this one against the No. 3 seeds and a big singles match up tomorrow.

siver fox · Newbie

If she is not bothered, she should not of entered, Joss and Anna are 2 out of getting in. Heather and a lot of them get in on their singles ranking

wimdledont · Challenger level

Welcome, siver fox, and agreed.

They're making quite a good fist of it, though.

Trailing 4-6, 6*-5...

wimdledont · Challenger level

But it's not to be, as the No3 seeds advance 6-4, 7-6(2).

wimdledont · Challenger level

Back tomorrow, fourth match on Court 7, with Kyle Edmund the first match on that court.

philwrig · Hall of fame

Worryingly according to Simon Cambers Hev was wearing a bandage around her right elbow/ arm on court today. It didn't particularly affect her play but still a concern. That problem seems to crop up from time to time, and originally occurred coincidentally when playing MJ previously.

Spectator · All-time great

Fabulous that they're on Court 7, which seems like a lot of fun. And well done on the doubles; that was a lot closer than I thought it would be.

And thanks, CD!