French Open 2015: The week hence, and a week hence
Few upsets in the women’s section
It has been eight days since the 114th edition of the French Open began. A week of drama, action, revenge, victories, defeats and disappointments hence, the event moves towards its business end. Complementing the red clay has been the omnipresent black at this year’s French Open. Yet, the hues of wins and losses have engulfed the black to turn the event colourful.
The women’s draw continues with three of the top four and four of the top eight withstanding the first three rounds. The most prominent casualties were Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki, with Carla Suarez Navarro joining them a round later. Among those who have manifested their presence loud and clear are the favourites Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova, though ironically, the above two adjectives cannot be attributed to Sharapova’s throat. Though she has progressed to this stage, Serena Williams found it difficult to get going in the second and third rounds and she faced very stiff resistance from Victoria Azarenka in the later of the two rounds.
Sharapova, on the other hand, has had convincing wins in the early rounds. With Carla Suares Navarro out of sight, she has firmly set her sight on the finalist spot, though Flavia Penetta, het possible last eight opponent could be a hurdle. Apart from this, twenty year old Elina Svitolina extinguished the last french fighter to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. Ana Ivanovic has progressed to the quarterfinals for the first time since her 2008 triumph at the same event.
No surprises in the men’s section of the draw
In the men’s draw though, stability has endured, in the lines of widespread expectations. Nadal and Djokovic are gearing themselves for the imminent last eight clash, a rather early meeting given their statures. Neither has lost a set in their three respective matches. Their wins have also been convincing, though against unseeded players. Trying to complete the quarterfinal line up in the intriguing top half will be third seed Andy Murray and seventh seed David Ferrer. Once the line up is complete, the real action will start amidst intense fights for the lone finalist spot from the top half.
The less fancied, but still intriguing, bottom half is led by the Swiss maestro Roger Federer in his capacity as the second seed. All of the top sixteen in this half reached the pre-quarters barring Feliciano Lopez. Being seeded fourth for the first time in his career, Tomas Berdych had a good outing until he met the resurgent frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. After having failed to make an impact in the two month long clay season, the Frenchman stunned many with his win over the Czech. Kei Nishikori awaits him in the quarters while an all-Swiss match is looming large with Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka vying for spots in the last eight. Given this, Federer will not have an easy path to the finals, with it being crowded by first time aspirants, all of whom have managed to unseat him.
Can Sania Mirza win her first Grand Slam in women’s doubles?
For the doubles fans, the men have made their quarterfinal line up another show of stability with only the fourth seeds Marc Lopez and Marcel Granollers missing among those drawn to reach this stage. This means that both Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes will not vie for the title, having lost in the previous round. The competition is strong with the Bryan brothers, Simone Bolelli & Fabio Fognini and Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock being the toughest contenders.
The women’s section saw some of the strongest teams being ousted early in the week. Garbine Muguruza & Carla Suarez Navarro along with Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic bit the dust in the first and the second rounds respectively. Being touted as the possible winners, their losses came in as surprises. The top seeded pair of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis stands firm, having already reached the quarterfinals with three convincing wins.they could face their most difficult test in the quarters against the Australian Open Champions Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Safarova.
At the end of one, or rather two, weeks, Sania Mirza stands as the lone Indian at the seniors event. Sumit Nagal and Pranjala Yadlapalli have entered the juniors draws, though not much is expected of them.
Who will emerge victorious as the clay Slam draws to a close?
The forthcoming week could shape the destinies of many with the titles being at stake. Fierce competition among the men is a sure prospect, each being a contender quarterfinals onwards. The sheer unpredictability piques interest among fans. With each one trying to impose her superiority on the other, the women will also fiercely contend for the silverware. The doubles players too, will vie for the title which could bring them some stardom back home, though not as much as their singles counterparts.
Today, teams like Mirza-Hingis and Pospisil-Sock are garnering huge attention from fans, prompting organisers to make them play on bigger courts. At the end of two tiring weeks, those left standing will be the victors, and that is who every one of the remaining players want to be. May the best players win!