The clay court season has seen some surprises and some not-so-surprises, with Serena Williams playing very well, and Rafael Nadal holding his own. We've got a fortnight of tennis ahead of us, where the best of the best descend upon Roland Garros to battle it out for supremacy on the orange courts. Expect a lot of umpires getting up and down off their chairs, plenty of tennis racquets hitting trainers to dislodge any errant clay, and plenty of bright and colourful outfits. It's the French Open!
Roland Garros 2014
Published by Christine Blachford on
Last minute thread for the tennis. Will hopefully catch as much as possible, think it's on Eurosport.
Mr C is a Radwanska fan. Glad to see she's got through relatively easily. But gosh that dress.
wohoo, love the tennis, starts at a good time here so plan to watch a bit, and get little sleep over the next two weeks, will predict a couple of upsets this year, maybe not nadal or djokovic, maybe dmitrov to get the win, someone new. also on the womens side, not serena or maria, but halep or radwanska to win, a year of upsets i think.
not a fan of her fashion sense.
nice to have x2 channels of HD coverage for this.
Odd to be watching men, we spend most of our tennis hours watching the WTA on BT Sport!
yeah me too much prefer the wta.
my favourites are cirstea, cornet, lisicki and about 25 others.
saw both cornet and cirstea play 2 matches each at the oz open, had my photo taken with both. they will remain my favourites for a while now.
I like Lisicki but was a bit put off whenever it was that she was playing and crying at the same time.
yeah they get emotional from time to time, i think most seem to do it, except serena and maria, they are quite tough which probably separates them from the rest
Emotions aren't bad, but it was really tough to watch. Haven't really seen her since then.
Watching Tsonga at the moment, a set up.
have two channels here, tsonga on one and isner close to winning on the other.
isner won,
Tsonga two sets up now. Tough to have France vs France in the first round.
Couple of match points but he can't do it. Must be about to serve it out though.
Done it!
sleepy, very sleepy, thats it for me, 2am will do for today.
It's wrong to chuckle at the strap marks on this woman's dress, right? Clearly she's had a change of design since last being in the sunshine!
well the rain has stopped and its maria time......
Pretty in pink!
Only caught the last few games, but that looked pretty easy for Sugarpova.
well, that was a bit easy.
lisicki won in straight sets too.
i believe the other lady was cheque collecting
Watching James Ward now, thought this was an interesting post about how difficult it is making ends meet if you're not one of the top stars: http://www.espn.co.uk/tennis/sport/story/310549.html
i have not watched enough of this slam yet, thankfully there is loooots of time to rectify!
No sleep till you've caught up :)
ive been doing 4 hours a night for the last few weeks, im sure 0 isn't too much worse
If anyone can do it, you can!
ive seen none of the clay tournaments this season aside from one match at monaco, seems a good time to start
We've watched loads of WTA cos there's stuff on practically every day on BT Sport and it makes for good background. You'd be impressed, Mr C is a proper expert now!
i am impressed! hooray for tennis :)
i know lots about the women's game, but this must be the first men's match i've think i've seen this year. very one-sided view of tennis.
It has all suddenly got a lot faster :)
thankfully the rules are all the same!
I think best of five sets will do your head in too. #notspeedsporting
i got all excited and turned it on
'play suspended. recorded earlier'
bah, i just sat down tooooo.
that would be right, go away for a while, come back and its raining........
Replay of Lisicki on now.
I think we might be back live again with Djokovic coming up.
Raining again. Novak invites the ball boy to sit with him under the umbrella, gives him a bottle of drink. They clink bottles! Genius. Love a bit of personality.
Umpire looks like William Shatner.
points!
I feel like he's gonna be a super great dad
not sure why they show these top seeds dominating early in these tourneys, 6-2 6-1 6-1 borefests isnt great to watch, yet there are much more competitive matches with slightly lesser known players throughout the early rounds they could show.
guess you don't want to be the broadcaster that misses a major upset?
but they can always cut to other courts if an upset is brewing.
true. maybe it's a ratings thing. more people tune in to watch people they know so they sell more ads.
thats exactly what it is, they think people only want to watch the bigger stars but for me id like to see the closer competitive matches.
for wimbledon i know the beeb have 16 channels of court cameras on their sports app. that's the kind of choice to die for, but sadly not the norm.
stosur is on now against puig, this will be a tough match for stosur, puig won her first wta title a couple of days ago
they have done that once or twice for the aussie open here but mostly we get three or four channels, these days they could just broadcast every court and stream it online, even if its just with one dodgy camera. for the french we have a choice of two courts.
6-0 first set for Nadal. That's ominous!
Also, Ward lost.
stosur wins 6-1 6-1. wasnt thetough match i thought it would be,
now they are showing cornet v barty. cornet winning easily
i love a good gif http://twitpic.com/e4s9ky
That is amazing. Rafa gets points on the Rubens rankings, I'm not sure how but yeah
while we're hanging out and talking sports I wanted to say that I've gotten good feedback from our digital and marketing managers about my tweets for my hockey team, and the only actual journalist in this country who writes about ice hockey said my post game pieces are really good. i am pleased i went out of my comfort zone to volunteer because it appears i don't suck at it!
Yay :)
That's awesome!
That's great news :) especially to have journos saying that as well! But then again Amy doesn't do ice hockey half hearted after all.
I kinda feel the same about running. I was very anxious that, mainly due to my craptastic diet that it would be a 'running joke' (get it?) and I'd give up after a few weeks. 100+ miles later, people think I'm foing well and I've signed up for a half flipping marathon.
Just tuned in to the epic game between Bag and Ben (don't know either).
Two sets each, 15 games apiece in the fifth.
Finally home from work (what bank holiday?!?)
This is a crazy match!!
Longest final set at Roland Garros ever, I think he just said. We've got some way to go to get to Isner levels though :)
One of them in his first ever Grand Slam final match too. Jeepers.
you're doing super well. i ran for semi regularly for 3 years and still never felt ready for a half marathon!
It's enough to put you off for a bit!
4hr 27m
lunacy!
still 2 hours to go until its the longest match at roland garros. all the time in the world.
there should be laws against that :)
i get the feeling the us open is your favourite
I missed it! The longest match for an age, I step out of the room and miss the end. Typical.
Bagnis wins, Frenchman loses.
minus-islas wawrinka isn't having an easy time with it.
i had missed that andy murray is 7th seed. god i'm so out of the loop.
With that match done I can finally go back to game of thrones s3. I was expecting to carry on hours ago!
It makes me sad so I'm ignoring it.
well that's awkward
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bok4Ys-IUAAbqWo.png
Oh my god!
even i do better than that at press conferences and i couldnt get grand slam credentials!
goodness me. Journalism at it's finest...
Stan ended up losing.
I guess all of his power was in the islas.
woah we now have three channels of tennis. lleyton on one channel, li na who is down a break early and my pick for the tourney halep who leads 5-0 in the first.
Keeping an eye on Heather Watson this morning, but don't hold out much hope!
up 5-2 in the first set.
Good start, been here before though :)
booo, cirstea lost the first set in a tiebreaker. she is having a shocking year, i think she has only won a couple of games this year, gets a little too emotional and lets things get to her way too easily, i watcher her at the oz open against a kiwi and that was a great match, the crowd was giving it to her as it was full of rowdy kiwis, it was a great atmosphere but you could tell she didnt like the fact that everyone except me was cheering for erakovic.
lleyton wins the first set, halep wins easily, and date krumm just won a set 6-0, she was born in 1970.........still taking it up to these whipper snappers,
i wonder when the last time the australian open winner in both the mens and womens are out in the first round of the french, probably never. li na down a break in the third set.
epic fail by me, out in the first round, in straight sets.... oops
Watson got through. I should have had more faith.
Big surprise to see Li Na knocked out.
lleyton out, tomic getting flogged by gasquet. time to watch me some ana ivanovic.
loving all the upsets.
wozniacki is out.... for the second time this week.
Murray had a wobble but got through.
Lots of surprises today, amazing!
Errani on TV now. Still not used to her bizarro serve.
Beeb agree with never http://twitter.com/bbctennis/status/471256013606518784/photo/1
Errani gets through. Interesting match, though. That last game, Keys was full of rage.
Packed schedule today http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/index.html
currently watching wombat bouchard vs. someone i don't know. wombat is winning.
goerges... and shes out..
got the venus williams v schmiedlova match looks like venus will be out in a few minutes too, schmiedlova is on my ever growing list of favourites, its a long list i must add.
have that on now.
venus' mum fell asleep with boredom.
done. see ya venus.
she needed a quick nap in time for serenas match thats starting now.
:)
awww schmiedlova's hand shaking as she signs the camera.
Don't think I've seen Venus all year except for in the crowd for her sister. Either she's not playing much or not getting very far when she does!
woah whats going on, serena down 4-1 in the first set.
Holy moly, she loses the first set!
and already a break down in the second, muguruza is a player to watch in the future but this seems a bit strange.
Clawed back one break in the second, but it's not looking good for Serena. Wish I was watching instead of just bbc's live text!!
i have taken this opportunity to turn on my tv
this is my least favourite slam so i like when its not boring, even if serena is my favourite.
Crikey, seems like none of the top bods want to win this!
i demand a nadal upset.
the way things are going it wouldnt surprise me.
he didnt win any clay tournaments this year if i recall correctly. so why start here?
hes won 2. madrid and brazil. (i had to look it up) i thought he hadnt won any too.
far from the 'all of them' that he normally wins anyway!
yeah thats right, he lost in monte carlo and barcelona, i think he was going for about 25 straight wins in in both (9 or 10)
ok thats it, now roger is down a break in the first set.......
Roger got through. Torn between Sugarpova on one side and Radwanska on the other.
Both ladies won relatively easily. Just seen Isner win after a bit of a fight. I forgot how tall he was!
Ooh, a replay of Serena's match on now. That's what I wanted earlier :)
Serena seemed really nice to the other woman at the net. Great sportspersonship.
"i'm going to practice now, so that i NEVER LOSE AGAIN"
she scares me.
Not used to losing, I guess!
just backed tsonga at $81 to win the tourney, he wont win but those odds are way out,
Murray looks like he got through easily. Just watching Heather Watson about to be dumped out.
Briefly watching Ivanovic beat whoever she is playing. The losing party is laughing at almost every point... maybe hysterical!
Switched to Monfils now.
big game starting now. stosur v cibulkova. winner of this match plays maria next round, winner of that match should play in the final.
Stosur hasn't seemed on form recently, she must be playing better.
she has struggled a bit but slowly getting some form back, pretty much always does well at the french though, tonights match is tough, cibulkova is having her best year.
things not going so well for radwanska. lost set 1, behind in set 2.
other woman keeps hitting the ball where she can't reach it. bah.
game over
another top seed falls.
i'm not going to know anyone playing in week two.
yes, stosur through to the next round. maria, winner of that match is final bound.
And we did so much homework too! Stoopid tennis.
Literally the only relatively good thing about how ill I'm feeling is that I can stay home and can put some tennis on. I've missed so much this week.
It's been a weird week. No one wants to win! Who ya watching?
ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba bababa.............hey, or something like that.
here that a few time a day at the french open.
woah, some courtside funnel action.
Okay, been listening to the tennis all day while dozing. I was listening to Novak and then the next thing I know I'm listening to tsonga win the first set! Did Novak win?
just witnessed an massacre, a total thrashing, maria sharapova 6-0 6-0 and barely lost a point
yep in 4 sets
Ahh cool. Thanks.
Andy Roddick said on Fox Sports that all the mens top 8 seeds comfortably made it through.
Poor Stan Wawrinka, no one remembers you're ranked 3rd in the world now.
Awww!
monfies v fognini. if anyone hasnt seen fognini play before, expect some racquet smashing. the bloke has a firey temper
Is Christine around? The Indy Car starts in an hour or so and the thread I sent over isn't in the upcoming events
Just tuned in to Isner in the first set. Should probably settle in for a long one, it is Isner, after all.
7-7 hey, geez what a time to restart the match.
Huh, Federer is down 2 sets to 1.
2 sets apiece now! #phew
Yay for more tennis :)
i'm not watching the games, just the scores, but its not looking good for roger
They seem to be playing the longest rallies ever.
I think I should fire up a stream
Ugh, anyone but Ernie "women shouldn't play tennis because they should have babies" Gulbis
Ew, he can't have said that.
eerrrrggggghhh now i dislike him even more. Sad for Roger :(
pretty much https://twitter.com/BenRothenberg/status/472360906345947136
oh now rogers gone. really want to watch the tsonga v djokovic match but its getting late, might watch the start.....
probably will watch most.
Fisichella-esque. Booo.
woah, enjoy your life ladies. no tennis for you.
what a flog.
i am past the age of 27 so i'm doing everything wrong by his book!
urgh. I'm no fan of this way of thinking :/
anyway, i am avoiding packing by waiting to watch the Tsonga/ Djokovic match. Gooooo Jo!
the bloke still thinks its 1955
well, it looks like its going to be one of those games. lots of unforced errors already.
our commentator just called Tsonga's backhand mediocre. bit mean..
oh.. Tsonga.. i was hoping for a bit more of a fight than this.
Stosur versus Sharapova, they both look really nervous.
the water boy high-fiving fans as he comes out the tunnel. brilliant.
Stosur has huge strapping on her leg.
its a huge match, stosurs best chance of beating maria is on clay, i think maria knows this is the toughest match until the final so i think tonights match will decide the finalist. although potentially bouchard in the semi is tough too.
she cut her leg just before the first match.
That was such an underwhelming match, sad times for Tsonga :(
mildly impressed by the lack of ads on eurosport today. feels like watching the beeb.
Not a huge amount of people in the stands for this match, which is a surprise for such a big match.
set 2 to shazza. wasn't expecting that three games ago.
game to maria. looks like one means a lot.
fell asleep after the first set, looks like stosur had a shocker in the third. looking forward to the stephens v halep match, i think the winner of that game is final bound. maria v halep is my guess for the final.
was that prince at the tennis?
Apparently so http://twitter.com/ESPNTennis/status/473433175918915585/photo/1
thought so, seven is probably my favourite prince song, not sure why, always liked it. not really a big price fan but he had a few alright songs. for all his pop weirdness he is an absolute freak guitarist.
really glad this nadal match is going to be a short one, bit tired tonight and i really am looking forward to stephens v halep.
couple of good matches on now, sharapova v muguruza and the bouchard match both in the third set, remotes working overtime.
Sharapova had a rocky start again, then. Another three-setter.
Currently watching Djokovic, tiebreak in the second set.
Murray versus Monfils should be good today.
after the dodgy rain delay, halep wins the first set, wohoo.....
I think the rain delays were just so I could get to see some of the matches today :)
The aforementioned Murray versus Monfils is on now. Monfils put on a good fight in the first but it's gone wrong now in the second. And now he's limping.
4-0 in the second. Crowd getting antsy.
Had to switch to Nadal/Ferrari - that other game was depressing. Somehow Nadal has lost the first set.
One set each now. Momentum must have swung in Nadal's direction.
think we may have seen the best of that match too.
oh semi final time, maria v genie bouchard, andrea petkovic v simona halep. there are no losers today, except me $$ if halep loses, four of my many favourites though.
Just caught the end of Halep there, glad to see her go through.
think murray might win tonight.
forget prince. nicko mcbrain just spotted at the nadal v murray match. now theres a legend.
final time.....
go halep.
halep is in the better form but maria is the toughest player in the game, she will step up in another slam final while its haleps first slam final so that worries me a bit.
geez, try wiping the smiles off the ball boys faces as they hold hands with the players walking out on court.
heeh.
have a bit of time before fp3, kinda want both to win today. #torn
yeah, im a long time maria fan so its really odd to be supporting against her, but ive backed halep to win at the start of the tourney, also im becoming a big fan of the no nonsense way halep goes about the game.
its been a cracking start to this match.
am also a fan of the purple/orange combo.
ducking out to watch fp3. hopefully they'll still be playing in hour :)
yay, they're still playing. just.
one set all :)
yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees
wooooooooohoooooooooo
into the third.
interesting stat, first french open womens final to go to the third set since 2001.
amazing.
bah, i gotta cover the f1 race, i'll miss the end of this match. enjoy it john.
its not looking good now, maria has stepped up her game.
well, that was a disappointing end.
i have seen so little of the womens and i just turned it on and i juuuust missed the end. bah.
it was actually a really good final.