French Open: First round ladies matches to watch (Part 2)
Frenzy, excitement, tension and trepidation – the four words will define numerous tennis aficionados all over the globe as they cheer on their favourites at the second Grand Slam of the year. Right from Day 1, it has been an action-packed day at Stade de Roland Garros as we have watched champions sauntering through as well as some big names crashing out. And the action will only get bigger and better as we proceed further in this 15-day festival of cracking tennis. Some of the first-round matches themselves are thrilling enough to keep fans engrossed as we have seen on the opening day. Let us have a look at some of those exciting contests waiting in the bottom half of the ladies draw.
Li Na, the higher ranked of the two, has a 4-1 losing record against Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues. (Getty Images)
Li Na (6) v Anabel Medina Garrigues (Head-to-head: Medina Garrigues leads 4-1)
This is an intriguing contest. It is a face-off between two women, one of whom has the most number of clay titles amongst the active players and the other has conquered the prestigious French Open. That is probably a strong testament to the fact that they can play on clay, battle hard and eke out wins.
While Li Na is the higher ranked opponent, she has a losing record against the feisty Spaniard and the last of those losses came in 2008. Since then Li Na has come a long way. Even though she reached the Australian Open final this year, she hasn’t been able to produce that same kind of sterling form in the months that have followed. Returning from an ankle injury, she has managed to reach just one final – on clay – at Stuttgart. Anabel Medina Garrigues also showed some resurgence by reaching the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters. Whether she fluffs the balls or not, she will indeed find Li a tougher opponent than before as Li comes into Paris armed with four-time French Open winner Justine Henin’s former coach, Carlos Rodriguez.
Prediction: Li Na to win in three sets.
Victoria Azarenka (3) v Elena Vesnina (Head-to-head: Azarenka leads 4-0)
To be fair and with all due respect to Elena Vesnina, this is an encounter Victoria Azarenka is expected to win. And the Rome runner-up most certainly will. Even though Vesnina didn’t have a lot of success on clay this season, she has reached the Oeiras quarter-finals and was engaged in a seething three-setter with the eventual champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova before losing. The 36th-ranked Russian had begun the year in impressive form by capturing her first ever WTA singles crown.
Azarenka, however, might like to take a little bit of time to get used to the Parisian clay and Vesnina presents herself as a tricky opposition for the World No. 3 in her opening match. Elena is a gifted doubles player and has reached the Roland Garros ladies doubles final twice. Her variety might become a factor for the hard-hitting Belarusian and it would surely test Azarenka’s new-found confidence on the red dirt this year.
Prediction: Azarenka to win in straight sets.
Jelena Jankovic (18) v Daniela Hantuchova (Head-to-head: Jankovic leads 5-3)
Out of the eight times Jelena Jankovic and Daniela Hantuchova have met, five of them were on clay. And thrice they went the distance on the terre battue. Both the Serb and the Slovak are approaching veteran status in the game with Jankovic just completing 500 wins in Charleston and Hantuchova just two short of reaching that milestone.
Naturally both are players with a vast repertoire and boundless experience. Jankovic, though, has had more success on this demanding surface with her exceptional athleticism and sliding abilities. A former Roland Garros semi-finalist, Jankovic is on a resurgent run this season after a difficult time last year. She won in Bogota and reached the Charleston final. Nevertheless, Hantuchova is a gritty fighter and with wins over Maria Kirilenko and more notably Petra Kvitova on clay, she won’t let it go away that easily.
Prediction: Jankovic to win in three sets.
Samantha Stosur, who has struggled with a calf injury this year, would look to put her troubles behind her and have a good run at this year’s French Open. (Getty Images)
Samantha Stosur (9) v Kimiko Date-Krumm (Date-Krumm leads 1-0)
Age is just a number! Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm has reaffirmed it. She is 42-years-old but has abundant energy and unflinching desire to compete just like a teenager. With all that she brings an old-school game, which is such a rarity these days and a delight to watch. What is more remarkable is that in 2010 she became the first 40+ woman to record a victory over a top 10 player, and that player was none other than Samantha Stosur.
That should be one encouraging fact for her as she heads into this match knowing fully that the Aussie has struggled a bit this year with a calf injury. The Japanese would also be boosted by her grinding doubles victory at Strasbourg just a few days before Roland Garros. Despite all this, the match should ultimately tilt in favour of the Aussie simply because Stosur is finally beginning to rediscover her touch on clay just like she showed in Rome.
Prediction: Stosur to win in straight sets.
Garbine Muguruza v Karolina Pliskova (Head-to-head: First meeting)
This will be one tricky encounter given both these girls have bundles of talent and future stars of WTA. There is little difference even in their rankings as Garbine Muguruza sits prettily at 72, just one rung above Karolina Pliskova. Both these girls have been putting up a few stirring performances on the tour lately. Besides Karolina is one half of a sister duo about to carve out a niche in the tennis world.
For the Spanish 19-year-old this will be the first main draw match at Roland Garros. She won her first title – a doubles crown – at Hobart this year and showed some spark at Miami beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Caroline Wozniacki. Pliskova too excelled on the tour by clinching her first singles title at Kuala Lumpur and reaching the Katowice quarter-finals. Muguruza is rumoured to have an ankle surgery after Wimbledon and this might be a cause of concern. Besides, if the Czech can bring about her smashing serve, which she exhibited at the Malaysian capital, things might get tough. But Muguruza, having displayed consistency on clay in the ITF circuit should be the eventual winner.
Prediction: Muguruza to win in three sets.
For part one on the first round matches to watch out for in the top half of the ladies draw, click here.