Tennis French Open 2012

[Lord Camomile]

Quite a bit of Brit interest in the Women's draw (if not actually much chance of winning), and of course the Brooding Scot in the Men's.

Should Murray be playing, nursing a back injury?

Nicking a stat from the BBC Live feed:

Can Djokovic become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam titles at once or will Rafael Nadal overtake Bjorn Borg and sink his teeth into the Coupe des Mousquetaires for a record seventh time?

Of course, Murray and Federer still may have something to say about that. And there's a lot of other decent players in the men's game; even if they're not quite up to the standard of the Big Four, they can still produce some great matches (though it's a shame Soderling isn't playing).

In the Women's, is the Williams' to lose again?

Tournament Draws
Order of Play
Official Site

 

[Lord Camomile]

Coverage can be found on a variety of the ITV channels (plus their website) and Eurosport 1 and 2 (plus their website)

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Shame it's not on bbc. At least it's on free-to-air, though. I'll go for Djokovic to win it.

Am I being unfair by asking who is there apart from Serena Williams? Seems to me that the women's game seriously lacks depth.

 

[Lord Camomile]

Baltacha just broke back to go 4-5 in the first set

Shame it's not on bbc. At least it's on free-to-air, though. I'll go for Djokovic to win it.

Am I being unfair by asking who is there apart from Serena Williams? Seems to me that the women's game seriously lacks depth.

It kinda does when the Williams' turn up... I don't follow it that closely, but there are a few. Sharapova's still a threat on her day, and there's another couple of players from around Eastern Europe who are pretty dangerous (can't remember their names, will Google... ). But yes, the depth of the women's game is still quite a concern in tennis circles I believe. Got quite a few Brits getting into it now, though they generally don't threaten the later rounds of Slams.

Yeah, it's a shame it's not on the BBC, for they are obviously brilliant and wonderous, but at least it's free-to-air. And imagine there'll be quite a bit of radio coverage on the BBC

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Mind you, moaning about lack of depth in the women's game when the same four men turn up in the semis every grand slam at the moment is a bit rich.

Let's face it, it will be a massive surprise if anyone other than Djokovic or Nadal wins.

 

[Lord Camomile]

he he, well yes, I did mean to say.

Baltacha out in the first round, 4-6, 0-6 By all accounts she was up against a very good clay court player. "Looking like a genuine contender", apparently.

 

[Lord Camomile]

Laura Robson out in straight sets

First seed Azarenka is currently a set and two breaks down, "error after error" apparently.

Murray and Anne Keothavong will play tomorrow.

 

[Lord Camomile]

Just got home to this news!

Serena Williams succumbed to a dramatic 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 defeat against world number 111 Virginie Razzano of France in the French Open first round.

Looked like Azarenka was going to be the major casualty, but this is quite possibly even bigger.

In British news, Murray and Watson are through, but Keothavong's out

 

[Lord Camomile]

he he, wow, no-one really cares about Roland Garros, huh?

Anyway, Murray on court in about 15 mins.

In other news, both Williams sisters are out after Venus lost yesterday.

 

[Lord Camomile]

Murray's lost his opening two service games and has just called on the trainer. Really not looking at all good, his serve was just knocking it over the net, like he was warming up.

 

[fadrats]

He needs to bail, now, it's too painful to watch.

 

[Lord Camomile]

It is. I don't know whether to admire him for putting up such a fight, or think he's a damn tool for the same reason.

That must be it.

 

[fadrats]

You'd think...

The latter, definitely.

 

[Lord Camomile]

He actually seems to be loosening up a bit...

 

[The Octagon]

Can't fault his determination, he's practically dragging himself back into it, amazing to watch.

 

[Lord Camomile]

I'm wondering if this is because of his reputation early in his career for being a bit weak and whiny. Is he still trying to prove he isn't that guy any more? Or at least doesn't hold much faith in the media not bringing it up again?

 

[Lord Camomile]

Fuck me, 2-1 in sets, winning the third 6-1! What the bezerkins?!

 

[peterkro]

Well done brave Scottish chappie,although he may have buggered his back.

 

[gabi]

Murray's on court after this sharapova match. Womens and men's tennis really should be separated entirely. There's no value in watching this.

 

[belboid]

Tsonga's playing a blinder at the mo, cracking match.

 

[Lord Camomile]

Djokovic saving four match points to win the fourth set on a tie-break.

Well...

 

[belboid]

yup, shame Tsonga couldn't take his chances, but superb from the pair of them, a real champs performance from Djoko

 

[Badgers]

Murray on court. First set not going so well

 

[belboid]

uhh, they're on the fourth. He's 2-1 down

 

[Lord Camomile]

Murray on court. First set not going so well

They came back on court after a rain break

Why is Murray struggling to capitalise on his breaks so much? Four times he's broken Ferrer, four times he's lost his serve straight after

 

[Badgers]

Typing fail

Knackering match!!

 

[Lord Camomile]

Game, set, match

To be fair, who thought he'd get even this far after the first set of that second round match?

Roll on Wimbledon...

Meanwhile, Nadal seems to be the one who's been in best form leading up to the semis, but the way Djokovic battled through to win yesterday I wouldn't bet against him

 

[Badgers]

Murray could have done better on mistakes but still looked like he would have needed a blinder. I hope he has a good Wimbledon but I see little chance of the final, let alone a chance at the title

 

[Lord Camomile]

Djokovic v Nadal

And I'm probably going to miss a large portion of it

 

[Lord Camomile]

Jim Courier: "we're touching big-time wood".

*snigger*