Here we are! The Roland Garros in on the roll.
TSONGA – KUZNETSOV 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4
Jo has never performed really well at the Roland Garros and he had a horrible start also this year to lose the first set.
To be fair to the Russian, he was the one to cause Tsonga’s problems with a very deep tennis, but that feast lasted only one set. In fact, the Frenchman managed to regroup to win the next 3 sets without many problems.
“I had a feeling I was not hitting that well. I was always fighting difficulties,” Tsonga commented . “I was not right on my stance because he was playing very deep. In intensity, I was OK. I had break points right from the beginning.”
DEL POTRO – MONTANES 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-1
As expected, this was not an easy start for Juan Martin.
Montanes is not a top 10 player, but he is bloody tough on the dirt. The Argentine has more weapons, but a bad day could have been fatal against the Spaniard. Juan Martin managed to get an easy opener (6-2) to then lose the second set at the tiebreak. At that point there was a bit of a drama since Juan Martin appeared to suffer from an injury to his knee that was definately slowing down his movements. Finally, Delpo didn’t lose his focus to win easily the next 2 sets.
“I was struggling a little, but I had some good treatment which allowed me to finish the match,” said Del Potro. “Roland Garros is a physically-demanding tournament. I have to keep that in mind as I am playing well at the moment.”
MAHUT – RODDICK 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
Horrible stuff for Andy that after his “historical” win against Federer in Miami (see article) is badly struggling with his tennis. It was since 2007 that the American didn’t lose an opener at a major to find himself at a horrible 0-4 record on clay in 2012. The loss came also at the hand of the 88th player in the world that lost 8 times in the first round in the last 9 editions of the French Open.
“When I saw Roddick, I thought he would always kill me,” Mahut said “You know, six or seven or eight times I played against him… at the Queen’s final with the match point, you know what happened.
“When I see him in the locker rooms , I’ll feel better. I won’t feel like … he was shooting at me like a pigeon.”
“I was defeated eight times during the first round and another time during the second round.
“It was my 10th time here. The audience were waiting for this. They want to support the French players. They want us to beat seeded players.
“This was the time for me. I wanted to make the most of it. And at the age of 30, there we are. It happened. It’s almost one of my best matches.”
OTHER RESULTS
Ferrero – Dasnieres De Veigy 6-1 6-4 6-3
Verdasco – Darcis 6-3 6-2 7-6 (4)
Fognini – Mannarrio 6-0 7-5 6-1
Muller – Sijsling 2-6 7-5 3-6 6-4 8-6
Vasselin – Pospisil 3-6 6-3 6-2 6-2
Berrer – Melzer 6-7 (5) 4-6 6-2 6-2 6-3
Cilic – De La Nava 6-4 6-4 7-5
Stebe – Souza 6-3 2-0 ret.
Devider – Krajinovic 6-2 6-2 6-0
Wawrinka – Cipolla 6-3 6-3 4-6 3-6 6-2
Andujar – Hanescu 6-1 2-6 1-6 6-3 6-1
INTERESTING MATCHES – Monday 28-May
Djokovic – Starace
Simon – Harrison
Federer – Kamke
Troiki – Bellucci
