Notes from French Open 2013

RUNNERS-UP

Maria Sharapova

Sharapova had a super tournament! Make no mistake, she has not repeated her title triumph simply because she ran into the unstoppable force that is Serena Williams. The defending champion was very, very impressive and some of the tennis she played at Roland Garros over the past fortnight was the best that we’ve ever seen her play.

Sharapova knows her limitations but she is never a quitter and she did not go down without a fight. There was a steely resolve to the Russian’s game in glaring evidence in the semi-finals and final. The first set she played against Victoria Azarenka in the semi’s was breath-taking as she hit winners at will and the ball-striking was so clean and perfect. Azarenka is one of the best defenders in the women’s game and she had simply no answer and was blown away, as she lost the set 6-1. After the Belarussian’s fight back to take set 2, Sharapova managed to find that early rhythm once more in the third as she unleashed another barrage of winners to take the match.

In the final, she saved 11 of the 15 break points fashioned by Williams. Under pressure, Maria played superbly and the 2 finalists were clearly a notch above the others. The caravan moving to grass will only be more beneficial to her.

David Ferrer

The 3^rd seed benefited hugely from the withdrawal of Andy Murray from the tournament. He also benefited from Roger Federer’s rather meek surrender against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals. Ferrer has a horrendous record against both Federer and Nadal; he had to face only one of them and we all saw what happened. Ferrer continues to be the perennial outlier – better than the chasing pack but still a step short of the big 4. He was consistent through the tournament and it got him to his first Grand Slam final. Yes, the Spaniard has lots of fight, is full of running and never gives up, but the fact is he simply does not possess the weapons to hurt the bigwigs and one reckons that his chances of repeating such a run would massively hinge on a little help from the top 4 players in the world.