Binoculars On - Feature matches on Day 7 of the French Open

(1) Novak Djokovic (Serbia) vs (26) Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) [Head-to-head: Djokovic leads 2-1]

Trivia: What connects a 25-yr old Serbian World No.1 and a 22-yr old Bulgarian World No.26? – Maria Sharapova. Djokovic was rumoured to have been dating the Russian star couple of years ago while Dimitrov and Sharapova are the current ‘in’ couple of tennis. Jokes apart, they’re both fantastic tennis players and that’s why today’s clash at the French Open between the two is going to have a lot of the public watching with heightened interest.That last meeting mentioned above is what made the world sit up and take note of Dimitrov. In an absorbing encounter, Dimitrov got the better of Djokovic at the Madrid Masters early in May.

For some time the Bulgarian has been touted as the flag-bearer of his generation with both current players and pundits heaping praise on his game. Dimitrov idolizes Pete Sampras and Roger Federer, so it’s no surprise that his playing style resembles that of Federer’s – the similarity is glaring to a ridiculous level of detail.  Dubbed ‘Baby Fed’, the Bulgarian has traded the baby steps for giant strides that he’s made in his march towards the top. The Madrid result apart, Dimitrov has had a very good year; he made the finals at Brisbane in January losing to Andy Murray in the final. In fact, a good number of his 11 losses on the circuit have come to players ranked in the top 5 – Djokovic, Murray and Del Potro. He lost to Djokovic in the Round of 32 at Indian Wells before that famous victory in the very same round at Madrid. Off the court, the time with Maria seems to also have had a positive rub off on his game.

Novak Djokovic has so far breezed through his opening 2 rounds without breaking much of a sweat. A mixed clay court season It has been for ‘Nole’; he beat Rafael Nadal to win the Monte Carlo masters ending the Spaniard’s 46 match unbeaten streak at the event, he then lost to Dimitrov in Madrid in the Round of 32 and then very surprisingly lost to Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals at Rome after being a set and a break up and serving for the match in the 2^nd set. The patchy form aside, Djokovic, when he’s focussed and zoned in has looked imperious and unbeatable boasting a 28-4 record for the year. He will need to be at his best against Dimitrov who has won their only previous meeting on clay.

Each of the top players who have broken through and gone on to become World No.1 has had that one match that catapulted them forward after beating an established star – Federer’s victory over Pete Sampras at Wimbledon rings loud in that regard. Dimitrov has a good all court game with his backhand a lethal weapon especially when he uses it to go up the line. His serve has also improved vastly – he had 15 aces to Djokovic’s 6 in that Madrid encounter. His movement is still not the greatest and it remains to be seen whether he can compete at a high level in a best of 5 Grand Slam match. We know that the ‘Djoker’ definitely can; you can never discount the World No.1 in games of such magnitude and going by how well he’s been playing in the first week you reckon Dimitrov will have to be at his very best to trouble the Serb.

Dimitrov recently mentioned that he does not mind the fervent attention of the paparazzi trying to snap up pictures of him and girlfriend Sharapova. “Next time I’ll wave, maybe”, said the Bulgarian jokingly in response. If he beats Djokovic today, he won’t have to worry about going to such lengths.

[Expected start 21:30 IST]

(9) Stanislas Wawrinka vs (21) Jerzy Janowicz [first ever meeting]

For the first time since 2008, Switzerland has a representative not named Roger Federer in the top 10. Stan Wawrinka’s form in 2013 has something to do with it. After spending a brief while in the top 10 in 2008, Stan is now back where he feels he rightly belongs. And nobody would question that, for Wawrinka is one of the most talented players around. His shortcomings have been on the mental side of the game where he has struggled to piece together good phases of play often suffering lapses in concentration at key moments.

Wawrinka began the year with a disappointing warm-up at the Chennai event where he exited early. His results since have been superb, a 26-9 record with many a final and semi-final appearance. His epic match against eventual champion Djokovic at the Australian Open was one for the ages. Following that heart-breaking loss, Stan made the finals at Buenos Aires where he lost to David Ferrer, reached the semi’s at Casablanca before losing to Tommy Robredo. At Monte Carlo, he lost in the quarter-finals to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, after which he put together a 9 match unbeaten run that saw him lift the trophy at Estoril and reach the finals at Madrid where he lost to Nadal. His association with former Top 10 player Magnus Norman on the coaching front has paid rich dividends.

Janowicz made his name when he reached the finals at the Paris Masters which he lost to Ferrer. The Pole at 6’8” is an imposing figure on court and has an explosive game that can neutralize many an opponent. His forehand is a beast of a weapon when he gets it right and can keep the unforced errors down. His best result this year was at the Rome Masters, just 2 weeks before Roland Garros. He beat Tsonga and Richad Gasquet, the first time he had beaten 2 Top 10 players back-to-back. He fell to Federer in the quarters, but his performance there was well received by both the fans and experts.

Stan likes playing on clay and has good results of late. His backhand is one of the very best in the business as he can go both ways – up the line and cross-court – to rip the winner. Also has a good variety to his game with the slice backhand and the ability to draw his opponent out and being a good doubles player has good hands at the net. Janowicz likes to finish the points quickly playing one-strike tennis. He is a great mover across the court, especially for such a tall person. He uses the serve and volley to good effect as his monster serves get him a lot of cheap points.

This one should be a ripper!

[Match going on]

(12) Tommy Haas vs (19) John Isner [Head-to-head: Isner leads 3-2] [Last meeting: San Jose 2013 (Hard), Haas won 6-3 6-4]

German veteran Haas at 35 is the oldest player remaining in the men’s singles draw. His 2^nd round match versus Jack Sock of the USA was billed as the ‘Clash of the Generations’ with Haas at 35 and Sock at 21. The German is 21-9 this year and that is a top record for someone in the twilight of his career. His resurgence on the circuit has been one of the stories of recent years. He is one of 4 people to have beaten Djokovic this year; he became the third oldest player to beat a World No.1 when he beat the ‘Djoker’ at the Miami Masters. Another of the single-handed backhand masters in the game, Haas is having a remarkable season that has seen him reach a World ranking of 14, his highest since 2009.

John Isner isn’t having the best of years on the circuit. He has seen Sam Querrey overtake him in the rankings after his performances dipped late last year and the first half of this year. He has won 1 tournament though, on clay at Houston. That should give him some confidence going into this one. He fired a tournament record 64 aces in that one. ‘Marathon man’ Isner had to come from 2 sets to love down in the previous round against compatriot Ryan Harrison and with not even a full day’s rest in between due to the rain affected schedule, it remains to be seen if it hampers him on court today.

Isner’s game is very simple – get the big serve in that helps him dictate the play and finish the point quickly. He isn’t the best mover on court, so his game tends to breakdown when made to move a lot laterally. Haas has a more complete game and you would back him to neutralize ‘Big John’s weapons after which he can take control of the game from the baseline. Some motivation for Isner is that he can move ahead of Querrey if he wins today and once again become the top-ranked American on the tour.

[Expected start: Has just started sometime back ]