French Open Tennis Preview: Day Two
Posted by Aaress Lawless on May 27, 2007 | Print
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The covers came on the courts early on Sunday at Roland Garros, bumping many of the day’s matches to Monday’s schedule.
Memorial Day may be a special holiday celebrated in the United States, but five American women will be hard at work tomorrow, including Venus Williams, who had her first round match postponed from Sunday.
Key Matches for Monday, May 28
(See the Roland Garros schedule for the complete order of play)
(5) Jelena Jankovic vs. Stephanie Foretz
Sizing up the competition for this year’s title, I’d have to put Justine, Serena, and Jelena Jankovic as my top three. It is amazing how far Jelena has progressed since this time last season and it should only be a matter of time before she wins her first Grand Slam. French wild-card Stephanie Foretz will be a great opener for the fifth seed and Jankovic should easily progress to the second round.
My Pick: Jankovic keeps up with Henin by joining her in the second round, but with a much easier time on Monday.
(18) Marion Bartoli vs. Aravane Rezai
France’s Aravane Rezai just capped off one of the best weeks of her career, but her run at Istanbul ended prematurely against Dementieva in the final with a left knee injury. She may be playing for her birth nation because Iran is not sanctioned, but there is certainly no love lost between her family and the French Tennis Federation, with her father (who is also her coach) being banned from darkening the door at Roland Garros.
Playing a French native on Suzanne Lenglen won’t be easy for the backhanding wielding Rezai, especially if the crowd starts backing Bartoli, let alone if her knee starts acting up again.
My Pick: Marion Bartoli reminds the French crowd that she just might be their best hope for a long-shot champion.
From Sunday’s schedule:
Venus Williams vs. Alize Cornet
She did manage to gain a seeding for Roland Garros, but Venus Williams’ form, not to mention her Tour ranking is not even close to her top level. Fortunately for her, she drew a French wild card, Alize Cornet, for the first round. Cornet has a lot of promise for the future, but her game may not yet be at a point where she can challenge a former Grand Slam champion.
My Pick: It won’t be a stroll up the Champs-Élysées for Venus, but she’ll still manage to reach the second round.
Serena Says
About the up-and-coming Americans at Roland Garros:
“Vania King is a great fighter. I play with her on Fed Cup and, you know, I think she has great potential to do really well. Jamea Jackson is one of my favorites; she’s a fighter. She’s small, but she’s very feisty. Shenay Perry has a different kind of game, more of a tech style, and she does well on the grass and faster surfaces.”
Regarding her tough match on Monday against Tsvetana Pironkova:
“If I’m gonna go down, I’m gonna go down screaming and kicking. Hopefully I won’t have to go down. And I knew that if I did go down, then there’s a 99.9 percent chance that she would not win the next round. So that encouraged me to even fight harder.”
About the pros of having Venus compete in the same Grand Slam:
“We really enjoy having each other here. We have a lot of fun, and she takes care of my dogs, or at least I try to put them on her. So it’s easier.”
What’s Happening in Paris
Henin rues early start
A Sunday start was not to Justine Henin’s liking, but fortunately she blitzed past Elena Vesnina in 89 minutes after being stuck in the locker room for most of the day.
Sunday 27 May in numbers
Serena Williams posted twenty-five unforced errors in just the first set of her opening match on Sunday.
Surface Differences: Alternate French seedings
Ever wonder what the seedings would look like if they were based on the surface, not ranking points?
Sharapova sneaks off from her Istanbul hotel
Maria’s driver in Paris might need to remember this just in case Sharapova decides to go for another impromptu tour.
USA Television Listings for Monday
All Times are Eastern
First Round - TTC - 5:00 am to 3:00 pm (LIVE)
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Joe Parkin | May 28, 2007 | Reply
I found your comments re Aravane offensive and unpleasant! You should get your facts right: she did not MOVE to France, she was born in St. Etienne, that’s in France! She is as French as Andre Agassi is American (both have Iranian parents).
As a sports commentator you should focus on the sport and avoid making irrelevant such racist remarks!
Aaress | May 28, 2007 | Reply
Joe, you are correct about her birthplace being France (thanks for noticing that error), but she is certainly Iranian and unlike Andre Agassi, she has played for Iran by participating in Iran’s Muslim Olympic games.
I’m not quite certain which of my comments you classify as racist, but it is true that her and her father have had difficult relations with the FTT, her father has been banned from Roland Garros, and Aravane herself has had a lot of bad blood between her and the French press.
Race means zilch to me in tennis and I can assure you, my comments were not rascist. As any of the long-time readers of On the Baseline can tell you, I’ve liked Aravane for a while, plus had a chance to do an exclusive interview with her last fall.
Nexty | May 29, 2007 | Reply
”My Pick: Marion Bartoli reminds the French crowd that she just might be their best hope for a long-shot champion.”
I’m shocked Aaress… Marion is such a bad playr really..I mean… you may not be aware of it but actually said that there was no point in playing big tourments because she knows she’s not good…so saying that may be able to make somthing in Paris shocks me a bit…
Sorry
Aaress | May 29, 2007 | Reply
Nexty, my point was that France does not have much of a shot of being a threat for the title in Paris.
Amelie may be No. 4 in the world, but there are a host of other players that I would pick to win RG over her (and I’m not saying Bartoli is one of them). Tatiana Golovin had a decent shot of making some noise, but she’s out with an injury. Bremond has already been knocked out and Dechy has been in a slump for months.
I guess I didn’t make myself clear - I’m by no means saying that Marion Bartoli will win the title - but she may have a better long-shot chance of going deeper into the draw than Mauresmo, especially with Petrova being ousted earlier today.
grumpy | Jun 3, 2007 | Reply
Nexty, if Marion is such a bad player then how did she beat Elena? don’t count this girl out please, the hopes of France are riding with her and hopefully she will rise to the occasion against Jelena!