With rain having washed out the entire Day 9 of the 2016 French Open and with the Day 10 weather forecast looking equally grim, it is a good time to reminisce what transpired over the past one week in Paris. Injuries, upsets, fashion faux pas – the French capital served a handful of it these past eight days.
Here’s a recap of all the action so far:
The Shocks
The Rafa blow
The biggest shock of them all – quite literally a body blow – was delivered by the nine-time champion Rafael Nadal, who withdrew a day before his scheduled third round match against his countryman Marcel Granollers.
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It was a left wrist injury that felled the 29-year-old who was looking very much a man on a mission in his first two rounds, having dropped just nine games. A sombre-looking Nadal revealed during a hastily-arranged press conference that he played his second round match with an anesthesia injection and playing on further might even snap the injured tendon sheath.
Without a doubt, that became the biggest talking point of Week 1 because nobody saw that coming especially after the tournament had already lost the 2009 winner Roger Federer to a back injury.
Raonic stunned
World No. 55 Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who had never been past Round 2 of a Slam and had never even won any ATP title, upended the eighth seed and 2016 Australian Open semi-finalist Milos Raonic to make his maiden Major quarter-final. This was the first time the Spaniard won back-to-back matches at Roland Garros since suffering first round defeats the last four years.
Kerber, Azarenka, Kvitova ousted
Angelique Kerber, Victoria Azarenka, Petra Kvitova – these are the names that you expect to see in the second week of a Slam. But each of these Grand Slam champions won’t feature in the next few days anymore.
While Kerber’s form had been inconsistent, a first-round exit is an absolute dampener from the reigning Australian Open champion. With her three-set loss to the 58th ranked Kiki Bertens, the German became the fifth Australian Open winner in the Open Era to suffer such humiliation in Paris.
The 10th seeded Kvitova, whose day-to-day form is hard to predict, took a turn for the worse as she was shown the door by the 108th ranked Shelby Rogers in the third round.
Azarenka’s story was a little different. The Belarusian, whose career has been plagued by injuries in recent times, made a painful departure from the French Open after having to retire in Round 1 against Karin Knapp. A right knee injury dashed her hopes.
The Tsonga heart-breaker
Two-time semi-finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga too bore the brunt of an injury that broke the hearts of the French crowd. Up 5-2 against fellow former semi-finalist Ernests Gulbis, the 31-year-old strained his grain and had to bid a tearful adieu to his adoring fans.
End of the Santina Slam dreams
This was a bolt out of the blue. Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis, who are the reigning Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open champions, were sent packing by an unseeded Czech team comprising 20-year-olds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova. The score was even more shocking – 3-6, 2-6.
The Surprises
The five-setters you did not expect
Andy Murray fighting for his life in back-to-back five setters in the first two rounds of a Major? That looks hardly plausible but that is exactly what happened. The second seed, a strong second favourite this time, had to come back from the brink against Radek Stepanek and the unheralded Mathias Bourgue in Round 1 and 2 respectively.
Similarly, defending champion Stan Wawrinka too was stretched to the distance in his opener by Lukas Rosol, a player whom he had defeated the week before the claycourt Major.
Pressure, anyone?
Lucky 13
12 times he had faltered in front of his home crowd but not the 13th time. France’s Richard Gasquet finally made his maiden quarter-final at his home Slam on his 13th attempt, outlasting the fifth seed Kei Nishikori in four sets.
Given that he had lost to the Japanese at Madrid and Rome on clay this year, it was indeed a pleasant surprise and a moment to cherish for French tennis.
Underdogs rising to the occasion
It is always a gratifying experience watching an underdog realizing his dreams. Just like the above-mentioned Ramos-Vinolas, the USA’s 108th ranked Shelby Rogers has been quite the story at this year’s Roland Garros. The former ball-girl has accounted for three top-25 seeds, the biggest of which is the two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova.
Having never been past the third round of a Major, this is truly a coming-of-age performance from the 23-year-old.
The future is here!
13th seed Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev gave a taste of what’s to come. Their third meeting in the past four weeks was a much-awaited clash. Just like their last two matches, this one too went the way of the 22-year-old Austrian, who is now slightly more experienced than the 19-year-old Zverev.
This is surely a prelude to a rivalry that is heating up and can set the circuit ablaze. Don’t be surprised if you find these boys in a French Open final five-six years from now.
The performances that impressed
Nadal was in a rampaging mood before injury struck him down. He might still not be alive in the tournament anymore but he surely left his mark as always. With a dazzling 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 thrashing of Sam Groth, the former World No. 1 recorded his fastest-ever win at his beloved Roland Garros.
18-year-old half-Japanese, half-Haitian Naomi Osaka gave a testimony of her massive talent, albeit in a loss. She forced the 2014 runner-up Simona Halep to elevate her level for a three-set win in the third round.
Buoyed by the French crowd, local hope and 26th seed Kristina Mladenovic put up quite an audacious display against the World No. 1 Serena Williams. No prizes for guessing who won but Mladenovic’s gritty fight left everybody, including the American, impressed.
The milestones
Nadal completed 200 wins in a Major while Tsonga achieved 100 Slam wins. On the women’ side, Kvitova reached 300 career wins by virtue of her 6-4, 6-1 victory over Su-Wei Hsieh in the second round.
Unfortunately, none of them still remains in the tournament.
Zebras spotted in Paris!
And finally, Adidas apparel made heads turn with their uncanny resemblance to the black-and-white stripes of a zebra which they claim to have been inspired from ‘dazzle camouflage’ prevalent during the First and Second World Wars. From Simona Halep to Ana Ivanovic and from Tomas Berdych to Tsonga, everyone has been a striped zebra.
The fashion statement reached its crescendo when youngsters Thiem and Zverev clashed in the third round. With both flaunting the same kit, it made for quite a showing!
Needless to say, it has so far seen mixed reactions from the fans and has managed to elicit a few laughs on social networking sites.
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here
