Weeks 22 & 23 - French Open, Roland-Garros, Paris (clay)

indiana · Tennis legend

Weeks 22 & 23 - French Open, Roland-Garros, Paris (clay)

flamingowings · All-time great

Ah cool, I was going to start a thread but gave up because I couldn't be bothered to try and find the stats...

If Jo can get past Poots then Brady/Hesse are fairly beatable I would think.

Peter too · Tennis legend

Jo has beaten Putintseva twice before:-
Oeiras 2013 4-6 6-1 7-5
Rome 2017 6-3 6-0

vohor · Grand Slam Champion

I prefer the score from Rome :)

LordBrownof · Futures level

Favourable draw, although in fairness her previous two at RG weren't horrendous either.

What's the weather forecast, hoping it's hot hot hot for Jo!

Andy Parker · Club Coach

It will be really interesting to see how Heather gets on against Ocean Dodin - she will have the partisan French crowd against her, but I think she is a better player than the French girl and maybe this will be the match where she starts to find a bit of form again.

Dodin is currently ranked 139 and has a miserable record at Roland Garros - 3 previous wildcards ended in two 1st round defeats and one second round loss, so although she is gradually moving up the rankings and has managed a second round at the Aussie Open and the US Open, she isn't someone that Heather can't beat or should fear.

Jo looks to have a very favourable draw (as others have commented) - I know her form has dipped (maybe last year she was really playing above her normal level), but it would be a real shock if she didn't make it to the 3rd round at least given such an easy draw, and I don't think that Venus is a dead cert to be her opponent either, as age finally seems to be catching up with her, and her performances are now very inconsistent, so maybe Jo will go further than the last 32 in the tournament this time around.

As for the weather - well there the qualies today were much rain interrupted, and the forecast for the next two weeks looks shocking, with thunder predicted for Monday and Tuesday, and rain for most of the other days, though looks as if they should get a full day's play in on Sunday.

By the way, does anyone know why Naomi (Broady) didn't enter the qualies - is she injured? It is hard to believe that she would not want to enter a Grand Slam qualification event, especially given that qualification into the tournament would significantly have boosted her ranking and would have put her in reach of the top 100 again.

-- Edited by Andy Parker on Friday 25th of May 2018 10:28:40 PM

-- Edited by Andy Parker on Friday 25th of May 2018 10:29:01 PM

Helen40 · Grand Slam Champion

But Jo is really bad on clay isn't she. I thought that she'd never been past the first round?

Michael D · All-time great

Helen40 wrote:
But Jo is really bad on clay isn't she. I thought that she'd never been past the first round?

Jo says it's too 'early' to judge. I have my doubts.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/may/25/johanna-konta-game-prosper-clay-paris

ROSAMUND · Futures level

I think Jo must have forgotten how many times she has qualified in Grand Slams. She says it is twice including the French in 2015. However it is 3 times in all as she also qualified for the 2012 US Open and 2015 US Open.

Etienne · Club Coach

Both Konta's previous wins over Putintseva were on clay. It's not her best surface, but she's perfectly capable of winning her first three matches at least.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

I agree. Jo uses her legs well and has quite a deep knee-bend (unlike Katie B, for instance) which definitely suits clay. So, I agree, if she's set against clay, it's probably in her head as much as anything. She's maybe not as experienced on it as many but there's no reason she shouldn't be quite able on the surface.

flamingowings · All-time great

Also, she just has to be less terrible on clay because it's a fair chunk of a years points wasted otherwise.

Sheddie · administrator

Konta in action tomorrow.

Jajon · Club Coach

Oh god, 2 weeks of John Inverdale. Good luck everyone xo

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

I quite like John Inverdale

Although he is a buffoon, at least he knows he's a buffoon and doesn't really try to pretend otherwise (unlike John Lloyd - the A1 worst - and Andrew Castle - nearly as bad).