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ROLAND GARROS (Paris, France; red clay; Major)
============= http://www.rolandgarros.com/
Contents
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1. UK TV-alert
2. First-round draw
3. Daniela Hantuchová preview
4. Women's Doubles: First-round draw
5. Order of play for Tuesday
My French Open 2009 master-thread:
http://www.tennisforum.com/showthread.php?t=379808
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1. UK TV-alert
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The French Open will be televised on BBC Red Button from 10:00 BST each day of
the tournament (digital viewers press Red or select the appropriate
Freeview-channel - 301 or 302).
Sunday 24th May to Friday 5th June, 10:00-19:00, BBC Red Button
Women's final: Saturday 6th June, 14:00-16:30, BBC 2
Men's final: Sunday 7th June: 14:00-18:00, BBC 2
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2. First-round draw (Sunday and Monday's losers removed)
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The players on the left are the ones I want to win.
2.1 Top quarter
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* DINARA SAFINA [1] won
* Vitalia Diatchenko [Q,S] won
* Julie Coin won
* ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA [27] won
* Polona Hercog [Q] won
* Aravane Rezaď won
* Michelle Larcher de Brito [Q] won
* ZHENG,JIE [15] won
* VICTORIA AZARENKA [9] won
* Kristina Barrois won
* Lucie Hradecká [S] won
* CARLA SUÁREZ NAVARRO [22] won
* IVETA BENEOVÁ [32] won
* Alla Kudryavtseva won
* Tamarine Tanasugarn won
* ANA IVANOVIC [8,DF] won
2.2 Second quarter: Lucie afárová, Maria Sharapova
---------------------------------------------------
* VENUS WILLIAMS [3] won
* Lucie afárová [EF] won
* Elena Vesnina won
* ÁGNES SZÁVAY [29] won
* DOMINIKA CIBULKOVÁ [20] won
* Kirsten Flipkens won
* Gisela Dulko [DF] won
* Anna-Lena Grönefeld won
* NADIA PETROVA [11] won
* Maria Sharapova [EF] won
* Arantxa Rus [Q] won
* Yaroslava Shvedova [Q] won
* LI,NA [25] won
* Timea Bacsinszky won
* Akgul Amanmuradova won
* Olga Govortsova won
2.3 Third quarter: Daniela Hantuchová, Jelena Dokic
---------------------------------------------------
* Petra Cetkovská v JELENA JANKOVIC [5] (pojdme Petra!)
* Magdaléna Rybáriková [DF] v Kristina Mladenovic [WC] (podme Magda!)
* Jarmila Groth won
* Mariana Duque Marino [LL] won
* ALIZÉ CORNET [21] v Maret Ani (allez Alizé!)
* Sorana Cîrstea v Carly Gullickson [Q] (hai Sorana!)
* Jill Craybas won
* CAROLINE WOZNIACKI [10] v Vera Dushevina, 4-6 7-5 *0-0
* MARION BARTOLI [13,DF,S] won
* Tathiana Garbin won
* Daniela Hantuchová [EF] v Virginie Razzano (PODME DANIELA!!)
* Ekaterina Makarova v ANABEL MEDINA GARRIGUES [18]
* SAMANTHA STOSUR [30] v Francesca Schiavone
* Urszula Radwanska v Yanina Wickmayer (my loyalty is to Urszula)
* Jelena Dokic [EF] v Karolina prem [DF] (my loyalty is to JELENA)
* ELENA DEMENTIEVA [4] v Chanelle Scheepers [Q]
2.4 Bottom quarter: Nicole Vaidiová
------------------------------------
* SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [7] v Claire Feuerstein [WC]
* Sania Mirza [DF] v Galina Voskoboeva (go Sania!)
* Anastasija Sevastova [Q] v Melinda Czink
* Nathalie Dechy v SYBILLE BAMMER [28]
* Kateryna Bondarenko won
* Olivia Rogowska [WC] won
* Mariya Koryttseva won
* AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA [12] won
* Alexa Glatch won
* Lourdes Domínguez Lino won
* Mara Santangelo v Petra Martic [Q]
* Monica Niculescu [S] v ALEKSANDRA WOZNIAK [24] (hai Monica!)
* PENG,SHUAI [31,S] v María José Martínez Sánchez (jia you Shuai!)
* Viktoriya Kutuzova v Zuzana Ondráková [Q] (my loyalty is to Viktoriya)
* Nicole Vaidiová [EF] v Virginia Ruano Pascual (my loyalty is to NICOLE)
* Klára Zakopalová v SERENA WILLIAMS [2] (pojdme Klára!)
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3. Daniela Hantuchová preview
-----------------------------
Daniela has yet to regain the kind of form she was enjoying prior to a ten-week
lay-off with a stress-fracture in her right heel from April to June 2008, but
she has a respectable win/loss record of 19:13 for 2009 so far. Still, it feels
strange to see her outside the top 32 (currently #33) after all the time she has
spent in the top 20 and top 10 in recent years.
Daniela had what the French might call "une problčme Cornet" earlier in the
year: after losing to Alizé Cornet in the third round of the Australian Open,
she also lost to her in the second round of Paris.
Daniela reached the third round of Dubai, but lost 6-2 1-6 6-2 to #58-ranked
Virginie Razzano: her first-round opponent here. She then reached the fourth
round of Indian Wells, but suffered a disappointing 6-3 6-2 loss to #29 Sybille
Bammer, and was thrashed 6-3 6-1 by Anna Chakvetadze - who's having a much worse
year than Daniela - in the second round of Miami.
Daniela reached the quarter-finals of Ponte Vedra Beach - only to be thrashed
6-2 6-2 by #12-ranked eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki. She then scored a
6-7 6-3 6-4 revenge-win over Cornet in Fed Cup, then thrashed her 6-3 6-1 in the
first round of Stuttgart before losing 6-4 6-2 to world #1 Dinara Safina in the
second round.
At Rome, she beat Vera Dushevina 6-4 6-1, only to lose 6-3 6-3 to #8 Svetlana
Kuznetsova in the second round. At Madrid, she beat Gisela Dulko 7-6 6-1 - a
fine win on clay - but lost 7-5 6-2 to Jelena Jankovic in the second round.
At Warsaw, Daniela battled past claycourt-specialist Nuria Llagostera Vives 3-6
6-3 6-3, thrashed #81 Urszula Radwanska 6-3 6-1, then came through another tough
battle against #116 Klára Zakopalová
6-3 4-6 6-4 to reach the semi-finals.
There, she lost to #201-ranked qualifier Alexandra Dulgheru - whom I'd never
heard of before this week, and who caused perhaps the biggest upset in
tennis-history by winning the Premier title!! Daniela lost 6-4 6-7 6-1.
Summary: Daniela has no trouble winning her opening match of a tournament - in
fact, she hasn't lost a first-round match since Brisbane in January. But then
she loses her second or third match, and it doesn't seem to make much difference
whom she's playing.
Conclusion: Daniela still doesn't seem to be as fit as she was before her big
injury last year, when she was one of the very fittest players on the Tour. To
lose 6-1 in the third set to Dulgheru seems to emphasise this.
The draw has certainly not been kind to Daniela. First the dangerous Virginie
Razzano, then, potentially, clay-court expert Anabel Medina Garrigues followed
by Marion Bartoli.
3.1 First-round preview: Hantuchová v Razzano
---------------------------------------------
On the surface, there's not much to choose between #33-ranked Daniela and her
fellow 26-year-old: #36-ranked Virginie Razzano.
Daniela leads their head-to-head 3:2, but all her wins came in 2000-2002, while
Razzano won their last two encounters: 6-1 7-5 at Auckland 2007, and 6-2 1-6 6-2
at Dubai 2009.
Razzano has a 17:11 win/loss record for 2009 so far (61% to Daniela's 59%).
She reached the semi-finals of Hobart, third round of the Australian Open by
thrashing world #15 Patty Schnyder 6-3 6-1, but lost 6-4 6-1 to Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova at Paris.
Razzano then had an amazing run to the final of Dubai, beating #2 Dinara Safina
6-4 6-2, Daniela 6-2 1-6 6-2, #5 Vera Zvonarëva
7-6 7-5, and #24 Kaia Kanepi 6-1 6-2, before losing 6-4 6-2 to Venus Williams in
the final.
She then retired from the second round of Indian Wells with a mid-back injury,
lost to #115 Julia Görges in the first round of Miami, and to #12 Caroline
Wozniacki in the second round of Ponte Vedra Beach.
Razzano was playing Vera Zvonarëva in the third round of Charleston when Vera
suffered a nasty ankle-injury, from which she has yet to return. :sad: Razzano
was then hammered 6-2 6-0 by Wozniacki in the quarter-finals.
Razzano beat #51 Magdaléna Rybáriková 6-0 6-7 6-4 in the first round of Rome,
then lost 7-6 6-1 to world #1 Dinara Safina. She beat #48 Tamarine Tanasugarn
6-0 4-6 6-3 in the first round of Madrid, then lost 7-5 6-3 to #52 Elena
Vesnina.
Conclusion: Razzano is a streaky player who can be a very dangerous floater, and
being French, is likely to have the support of the fickle crowd at Roland
Garros. I've got a bad feeling about this.
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4. Women's Doubles: First-round draw
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* (DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [EF]/AI SUGIYAMA)[7]
v Emilie Loit/Kristina Mladenovic [WC]
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5. Order of play for Tuesday
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Court 1 (start 11:00 CEST = 09:00 GMT = 10:00 BST)
MS 1r: JUAN MARTÍN DEL POTRO [5] v Michaël Llodra
WS 1r: Daniela Hantuchová [EF] v Virginie Razzano
WS 1r: ELENA DEMENTIEVA [4] v Chanelle Scheepers [Q]
MS 1r: JAMES BLAKE [15] v Leonardo Mayer [Q]
Full order of play:
http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/
--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://tinyurl.com/andrewbroad-hantu