Women's doubles result of interest:


Women's Doubles -- First Round -- Final
Lisa Raymond/Rennae Stubbs (1) def. Martina Navratilova/Natasha Zvereva 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-4.

Too bad they drew the top seeds in the first round!

Uh, maybe some of you haven't heard, but Serena's bright colors specifically refer to the Cameroonian soccer team, which is in the World Cup. They share the same sponsor, Serena loves the African team and thinks their a WC favorite (I like Senegal's chances better, especially after their 1-0 defeat of France), and she wanted to make both a fashion and political statement. Go Serena! I really like that she and Venus are different, their own people, not simply two sides of the same coin. Venus or Serena, French Open Champion 2002!

With Clijsters gone, the draw is really opening up for a Williams-Williams final. Unfortunately, we'll be watching it tape delayed.

George,
The result is disappointing, considering they were up a set and a break in the second. Then had two game points for a 5-3 lead in the third, and another 2 breakpoints at 4-4. On to Eastbourne. And Moya's out too.

I am hoping Chanda can pull off the big one in the next round.

Hantuchova/Seles and Rubin/Venus in the fourth rd: now those are matches I look forward to seeing...A real shocker: Cljisters losing so decisively...The Belgiums did so well here last year; perhaps the pressure did them in this year...

Amelie just won easily, 6-1, 6-1.

And who hasn't heard why Serena's wearing that outfit? I think it's great that she's showing support for Cameroon, but that doesn't make the outfit attractive. Those socks have got to go. Sorry.

I hadn't heard about the Cameroon connection. Shame on me since I'm a soccer fan. But I think it's safe to say Serena does have fun with her colors.

Get this, in a press conference today she said she may retire the outfit until the finals. Not only is she looking ahead to the finals, she's talking about it! God love her, but she does come across as a cocky to the press sometimes. Yes i said sometimes.

I hope she stays focused on each match or she may not get to bring the dress back out.

I noticed the Jen and Steven Capriati played (and were eliminated in the 1st Rd) Mixed Doubles together at the French Open. I wonder if they have to get a wild card to get into that or how that even works. Does anyone have an idea?

[ May 31, 2002: Message edited by: Musicalidad ]

I guess she plays with her brother for fun and not to really expect to win (they played together before) Steven is not that strong a player. he played in the NCAA tournament and Jesse Witten, freshman sensation at the U of Kentucky, eliminated him 6-1, 6-1.

By the way, how does Steven play these pro tourneys and keep his NCAA eligibility? or would it only be Jen who gets the check? (wink. wink)

Does anybody have any valuable experience to share on Roland Garros, like on buying tickets, sneaking from one court to the other, etc.? I'll be in Paris from Wed to Sun and would love to catch some of the matches. Or is it likely to be all sold out, even weekdays? The web site is not too chatty on the subject.
I remember that you can get Atlanta Braves World Series tickets on the same day, which to us Red Sox fans seems absurd!

Paul-Henri Mathieu: mais oui!
Until I can dig up a pic of Mathieu, here's Sebastien Grosjean:

http://fr.sports.yahoo.com/020601/74/2m0hg.html

http://fr.sports.yahoo.com/tennis/

Many links to Roland Garros, etc.

[ June 01, 2002: Message edited by: twin58 ]

Exciting day at Roland Garros:

Mary Pierce destroyed Farina-Elia 6-1,6-2--easily the best result for her this year. Could she possibly have a chance against Serena?

Serena lost her first set to Zvonareva, who's been having interesting results lately. Anyone know anything about her? Steamrolled her in the final two sets, though.

Venus & Monica advanced to the most interesting quarter-final pairing in straight sets. Can Monica knock Venus out of two slams in a row?
Clarisa Fernandez took Dementieva out in three, which is not a surprise on clay. C.F. has been playing well lately. Dokic appears to be in control of her match 2-0 in the second set, but needed a tie-break to win the first.

Amelie is down a break in the third set to Paola Suarez. Sigh. Amelie had a reasonably easy draw to the semis, but is blowing it again.

Haas went down in straight sets to Pavel! Corretja breezed into the fourth round. Hewitt won the first set against Canas. I bet he was cheering for Canas over Moya yesterday! Should still be a good match, though.

[ June 02, 2002: Message edited by: JC ]

Who do we have to thank (blame?) for the backwards baseball craze at Roland Garros? Andy Roddick? Seems all the guys are doing it now. Two examples:

http://fr.sports.yahoo.com/020602/74/2m1j6.html

http://fr.news.yahoo.com/020601/85/2m0jf.html

The ball boy has a better view:

http://fr.sports.yahoo.com/020602/74/2m1k8.html

[ June 02, 2002: Message edited by: twin58 ]

why? Because its an American thing, and as much as some Europeans hate to admit it, they emulate us.

and Puckman.. before all the fratboys and the chumps at Hooters started wearing their hats (casquettes) backwards... it was originally done by blacks in america. so the world, and the rest of america are emulating blacks.

[quote]Originally posted by twin58:
Who do we have to thank (blame?) for the backwards baseball craze at Roland Garros? Andy Roddick? Seems all the guys are doing it now.

---

I have seen Haas and Grosjean wear the baseball cap backwards before, perhaps for as long as a year, but I don't remember. I am sure I saw Hewitt sport this fashion before I ever saw Roddick. It's not a Roland Garros thing, I don't think. It looks cute on all these guys and I bet it would also look ok on Henin with her teenage boy looks. But please not on Safin, Serena, or Jason Giambi! We're back to fashion again.

Hewitt fell to Canas, so even Moya dropping couldn't save him on clay. And Kuerten looks to be on his way out to Albert Costa (not really a surprise). I think Costa could make it to the final, but my instinct is the winner will come from the bottom of the draw (Agassi, Ferrero, or Safin my preferred candidates).

OK--everybody predicted the all-Argentinean quarter final match-up of Suarez & Fernandez on the women's side, right? The French has once again proven to be the most unpredictable of the slams, at least on the women's side.

Don't look know, but the A-Train is in serious danger of being derailed...

Paul-Henri Mathieu leads Andre Agassi 6-4, 6-3, 2-0. Yikes!

Agassi has won the third set, 6-3; he just now broke his French Open to open the fourth set.

Juan Carlos Ferrero is ahead of Gaston Gaudio, 5-4.

Andre won the fourth set; Andre leads 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 1-0

Gaston Gaudio and Juan Carlos Ferrero are in a tussle. Gaudio won the first set 7-6 but Juan Carlos is up a break in the second set (leading 2-0)

Agassi won, 6-3 in the fifth.

Wow, has to be one of the biggest comebacks in Andres' career. Way to go Andre!!!!!!! Job well done!

Anyone else hoping Corretja wins his first Slam this week?

i hope corretja sucks...

i love you andre. well done! win the french.

Andre is a bald pigeon toed ugly troll.

Corretja deserves to win the french at least once. Vamos Alex!!

GO ANDRE!

CORRETJA SUCKS!

Corretja is my sentimental fave as well. But I picked Juan Carlos in a contest sponsored by my tennis group, so I'd be okay with him winning as well. Alex deserves it, though. He's had so many tough losses.

As far as the girls, with Amelie out I'm left to pull for whoever comes out of the Venus/Monica quarter to take the whole thing.

The Venus/Monica match is a tough one to call. Venus hasn't been pushed at all, Monica toughed it out against an extremely talented youngster...neither Venus or Monica have lost a set...Monica's more accomplished on clay, Venus is arguably the best player in the world--yes, I still think she's better than her sis....While Venus did have some tendinitis or something at the Aussie Open, I was more impressed with how tough Monica was playing against her...Seles really shows up for the big matches and I don't think the endurance issue is a factor any longer.....The result: One entertaining match for us diehards...Seles had the hardest rd of 16 match and now she's got the hardest quarterfinal matchup...if she get through Venus, watch out, this tournament will get even juicier.....

Pierce is capable of beating Serena as long as she doesn't get down on herself and let up...JenCap and Suarez will make it through their quarterfinals in straight sets...Although I will admit a desire to see the cranky JenCap taken out by Dokic who's more than ready for her big breakthrough....

As far as the men go...Isn't it obvious that we're going to be watching Agassi and Corretja in the final? Five sets to Corretja....

We knew that there would be a great story on the women's side at the end of this French. Now it's down to an out-of-nowhere winner (one of the Argentines), a heart-warming winner (Mary or Monica), a "show the haters I can do it on clay" winner (V or S), an overcoming-dad-bigtime-breakthrough winner (Jelena), or a "WHO'S the best in the world?" winner (The Cap).

From all reports, it just doesn't look like Mary Pierce is going to be able to hang with Serena tomorrow. Even if Mary can take the first set like Zvonareva did, Serena's got the conditioning, inner fire, and ability to flip the switch that few out there have. And she's impervious to anti-her crowds.

As for J-Cap, a loss in the quarters is hard to figure. Yes, Jelena has talent, but she's still raw and is neither crafty enough nor overwhelming enough to beat Jen here. Quarters at Wimbledon? Maybe give Dokic the edge. But not here, not now, not given Jen's performance so far here.

The resultant semi will almost certainly be a three-setter, with Serena increasingly desperate to get back to the center stage limelight she had in '99, and Jennifer perhaps even more desperate to prolong her career. Serena's reached at least the quarters of the last seven Grand Slams she's played; Capriati has been in the semis of the previous five, winning three. Too close to call. Should be the final. Edge to Serena.

I'm not familiar enough with either Suarez' or Fernandez' game to even think about picking a winner. My gut says that, based on experience, Suarez will have an answer for whatever clay tricks Fernandez pulls out of her sleeve. And I will predict that neither player will be toast in the semis. It's just that, to me, Paola's wins over Testud, Kremer, and Mauresmo are more impressive put together than Clarisa's wins over Dementieva (yawn), Clijsters (!), and Kostanic. Paola on experience in three.

Finally, Seles/Venus. Venus beat Rubin 3&2. Seles beat her in Spain 4&2. Seles is 1-6 versus Venus, all on hard courts. Her only win was also their only Grand Slam meeting - the three-setter at the 2002 Australian. Venus's injury there was a mitigating factor, and Seles's health here is also a consideration. SO HARD TO CALL!!!!! My heart says Monica's clay success, my head says Venus's serve and nerve, my gut is upset from Chinese food at lunch. I'll say another three-setter with Venus pulling it out, 8-6 in the end.

Oh, by the way, if Monica can win the whole thing, I believe she'd have a shot at #2 in the world! And she could pass Venus as #1 with a decent showing at Wimbledon!!!!! Go Monica! Oh why do I get ahead of myself??

And Go Alex in the men's.

Argentina is the new Belgium!

I just wanted to say that.

Tomorrow - I can't call the Argentine match because I just don't know that much about either of them, other than they've both had big wins. Suarez has been around for a while though.

Jennifer Capriati will probably beat Dokic. They play the same game, but J-Cap is bigger and stronger.

I can't see Serena losing to Mary just because Serena is so determined to win.

I have a hard time calling the Monica/Venus match because I adore both of them so much (and Bryan, Monica did lose a set, in the first match.) So I'm not calling it at all. As for Monica being #2, by winning the whole thing, I don't think that's possible. Serena, who has far more points than Monica, needs to win AND beat Jen Cap to be #2. Monica should be a solid #4 by the time Wimbledon comes around though.

No dude,

Check it out:

if the tournament were to end today, the rankings would stand like this ...

1. Venus.....................4817
2. Serena....................4084
3. Capriati..................3915
4. Seles.....................3786

Let's say Monica, Suarez, Serena & Capriati all win tomorrow. Then the points would be ...

1. Venus.....................4817
2. Serena....................4218
3. Capriati..................4131
4. Seles.....................4066

Then if Monica can beat Suarez, and Capriati beats Serena, the rankings would be ...

1. Venus.....................4817
2. Capriati..................4427
3. Seles.....................4250
4. Serena....................4218

Then if Seles beat Capriati in the Finals, the totals would read:

1. Venus.....................4817
2. Seles.....................4644
3. Capriati..................4427
4. Serena....................4218

However, if Serena were to beat Capriati, then lose to Monica in the finals, the ranking would be:

1. Venus.....................4817
2. Serena....................4582
3. Seles.....................4576
4. Capriati..................4131

What they haven't said is that if Venus loses tomorrow, and Serena can beat J-Cap and Seles - a very possible situation - the new #1 would be:

1. Serena.....................4862

All this comes with the caveat ... "IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN" ...

BPJ - hey, thanks for posting all those hypothetical ranking outcomes! It's fantastic that Monica's assured the #4 ranking when the French is over whether she wins or loses tomorrow. And if Serena wins the whole thing and jumps into #1, that would be an amazing accomplishment......I do think Venus is quietly moving through the draw and although the Seles match will no doubt be a challenge, Venus can take out anyone including JenCap and Serena if she shows up fully armed and firing....I also think that the Serena/JenCap potential semi is the best chance for JenCap to break her losing streak against Serena: Jen's experience on clay will even things out...Of course, we're all forgetting that if the weather gets all rainy again, as it was a little today, then the big hitters could be in trouble, and clay court gals like the Argentines could cause some trouble....My desire to see Monica win is huge but I think it's most likely that we will have another Williams grand slam final...and if Venus doesn't play well, the questions will continue...

The Mens is too hard to call, on clay its give or take. Agassi is a nice guy to watch win these days, he has such a different smile since marrying Steffi and his son! Corretja too, is nice to see win as well! Good luck to all the mens draw!

On the womens side, like everyone else, the South American Quarters are foreign to me, haven't really seen them play till the French.

Dokic/Capriati...Would love to see Dokic pull off a big win over a higher ranked player at a slam, especially Jennifer! But, she is raw, still and her game is fierce but her focus flutters as her scores usually show.

Seles/Williams...Would be fun to see the same type of match as the Aussie Open!!! That was fun and classic Seles to watch. Venus too, as always was exciting to watch. I would love to see my all time favorite woman Seles pull it off somehow. She is reported as having a cold (seems she always has one these days) but I think the rumors of this being her last Roland Garros might be more true than most believe. She may be playing for her last, favorite slam here! I hope they both play well and get to an exiciting third set!

Pierce/Williams...This is a tough one! Mary is playing inspired tennis! She seems very focused and determined! Though she has not truly been tested with a power hitter yet either. Her last true run against the power hitter landed her a double bagle against Capriati. Serena too, is playing inspired, convicted tennis! Screw the fashion, she is just playing some great clay court tennis! To see her look down at the strings after each point (ala Seles) shows her new focus. Hopefully, a nice slugfest, but I would give the edge to Williams. Like Mary Carillo says...."I just love big babe tennis" referring to Davenport and Seles sluggin' balls at each other.

Good Luck To All The Women But My Heart, As Always Pulls For My Babe Monica!

YonexGuy

There's a rain delay right now in Paris, which spells big trouble for Venus Williams...

Venus is up a break in the first set, but it's an early lead (3-1). The rain will make to courts play more slowly, which definitely tilts the scale in Monica's favor.

Should make for a verrrry interesting match...

Right after the rain delay, Venus held serve for a 4-1 lead. Seles held, then broke Venus. Monica is now serving 3-4...

Venus will take on the unsung Clarisa Fernandez, while the other semi could be a real classic-Capriati vs. Serena.

And back to fashion.... Did Pierce and Hantuchova wear the same outfit?

<gasp>

Although their body types do sort of make them look like different ensembles, you gotta wonder what the girls think when someone shows up in the same little black number.

Serena over Venus in a messy three set final.

The Board was malfuction-y today, which was a pisser b/c I had a lot to say!

Did anyone see Capriati's post match interview with Pam and Mary Jo? Is it just me, or did Jenny's face get tight when Pam and Mary Jo started talking about Capriati's semifinal with Serena...?

Other thoughts:
1) why was Matthew Perry there?
2) how hot is Jen's older brother?! there were several shots of him up in the stands (the Friend was sitting next to him)
3) in the post-match interviews (transcripts avail. here: http://www.rolandgarros.com/en/news/interv...iews/index.html ), all of the players were extremely gracious, esp. Mary Pierce, who had nothing but nice things to say about Serena and Venus (I did think it was wierd--and potentially frustrating for the players--that Mary and Monica's interviews
dealt at lot with Serena and Venus...)

I think I wanted to geek out a little more, but that's all I remember now...

[quote]Originally posted by The B Man:
Other thoughts:
1) why was Matthew Perry there?
2) how hot is Jen's older brother?! there were several shots of him up in the stands (the Friend was sitting next to him)

---

1) The tabloids have linked Capriati with matthew Perry for a while now. One of them had a pic of Chandler Bing carrying JCap's raquets!

2) Yeah he is quite a hottie. Bummer he won't have a career because it would be nice to watch him!

Monica's loss was very disappointing. She had opportunities, especially in the first set, but she simply hit too many unforced errors. Her first serve was sadly lacking as well. I'm sure she's disappointed in her effort whatever gracious things she has to say about Venus who's admittingly one of the most difficult players to face. Venus said herself in her post match interview with Pam and Mary Jo that Monica wasn't playing her best. Monica caught up beautifully in the first but from 4-4 all she just faltered. There seemed to be some life in the beginning of the second set but it soon wilted...She may have been a little physically off and that'll do it against Venus.

But hey, the serving dunce cap of the day goes to Jelena Dokic. Oh my god, she needs help. She was so impressive off the ground, basically dominating JenCap in many of the rallies and games. But she served something like 14 double faults! That's more than three games lost to double faults..just ridiculous for a player in the top ten. She will not win with that stuff. But off the ground, she was a pleasure to watch. And JenCap just burnt her time and again with the down the middle serve; it was like she knew exactly how to get to Jelena...

Pierce was simply demolished. Serena had her full powers going today. Mary needs to hit the gym and get in phenomenal shape if she expects to come near the top ten again. She showed flashes though of a dominant player so the potential is still there.

I think Fernandez will get soundly beaten but she's got the kind of game that may frustrate Venus, especially when Venus is coming off playing basically a hard court match with Monica...could be interesting...

Serena and JenCap will get bloody..I have no doubt.

Obviously, Matthew and Jennifer are an item.

I don't think Jen's bro is all that hot..he's resembling his father a little too much for my tastes. But I'll happily spend time behind closed doors with Juan Carlos, Marat, or the young French wild card who gave Andre so much trouble...for tennis pointers, of course...

If Serena plays the way she played today, she's unbeatable. She can't even be touched. Today's match reminded me of the Hingis match, from last year's US Open, I believe it was. Capriati's only hope is that Serena doesn't play like this.

[ June 04, 2002: Message edited by: PCC ]

I guess I've just been taking Jenny's word re: Matthew Perry (she says they're just friends). I mean, there is a HUGE difference between Xavier Malisse, Jen's last boyfriend, and Matthew Perry.

But maybe she wants a man she can dominate...

I'm very curious to see Clarisa Fernandez play. Ordinarily, I don't get too excited about women players who haven't really made a mark by age 20, but she has very little tournament experience and has really had a torrid clay court season. In Monica Seles' interview, she referred to Fernandez "not picking up a racquet until five years ago." If she's really only been playing five years, she should continue to improve significantly. She's tall, too...is she a hard hitter? Does she move well?

The women's semis are interesting for sure. I expect that Venus will cruise, unless she has some weird out-of-body experience. The occasion will be huge for Fernandez and Venus is always tough when she is in sight of the finish line.

Serena is playing like the champion of the event. However, she has done this before, only to tighten up late in a Slam. She was a shoo-in for the 2000 Wimbledon champion, until she came across big sis in the semis. Could not keep the ball in play.

She also was cruising at the last couple of U.S. Opens until she ran into Lindsay and then Venus respectively.

If she can maintain her level of play, she is going to win the thing. Incredibly focused and striking the ball really clean.

I still would like Jennifer to repeat. She has some lost time to make up for, and not all that many years to do it. And her younger brother is really hot to spot up in the stands.

About Clarissa Fernandez (courtesy of Jon Wertheim and Sports Illustrated):

http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news/cnnsi/200...ndezisfren.html

The Spanish Armada is conquering. Three Spaniards in the semis, and Safin (if he gets past Grosjean today) grew up largely in Spain, too.

Very odd scheduling for the women's semis. Serena-JCap up first and Venus-Fernandez to follow. That order would definitely be reversed at the US Open or Wimbledon.

Ferraro and Safin were on a mission today, huh? But I'd love to see Corretja pull off his first Slam.

After being up a break in the second set, Serena Williams is serving for survival at the French. Jennifer Capriati won the first set 6-3. Serena is serving at 5-6, hoping to send the match into a tie-breaker.

Serena's unforced errors are out of control, but she has twice as many winners as Jen...

Wish I were at home watching this match!

Serena won set two in a tie-break (7-2). This should def. be the match of the day on ESPN tonight...