RG: DAY 3 RECAP

2012 French Open
May 22 - June 10

DAY 3 RECAP:

© FFT

It was yet another stunning and exciting day three at 2012 French Open. Murray and Nadal strolled into the second round in straight sets. Janko Tipsarevic battled back to beat Sam Querrey in four sets after dropping the first set 6-2. The Americans seemed to be unprepared as they kept dropping out one after the other. Mikhail Youzhny defeated James Blake 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 and Bulgaria’s Grigor DiMitrov defeated Donald Young 7-6(7), 6-1, 6-1. On the women’s side Jamie Hampton lost to Arantxa Rux. Maria Sharapova came out strong today and defeated Cadantu 6-0, 6-0 in 48 minutes. We all know that each grand slam is full of surprises, and unexpected twists. The earliest came today as Serena Williams lost her first ever first round match at a grand slam tournament. Ten years ago she won this same tournament. She lost to Virginie Razzano of France 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3. French woman, Aravane Rezai lost to Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 5-7, 7-5, 2-6. Of the 19 women’s singles matches that were played, only four went into the third set. Kvitova, Wozniacki and last year’s runner-up Francesca Schiavone were also through in straight sets as they faced no trouble whatsoever from their opponents.

Stay tuned for updates on Day 4 at Roland Garros. Of the exciting matches being played tomorrow, Michael Llodra will face Tomas Berdych, Shahar Peer will go up against the No. 13 seed Ana Ivanovic, and USA’s Melanie Oudin will tackle Italy’s Sara Errani. Roger Federer, Venus Williams, Novak Djokovic, Azarenka and Del-Potro will also be out on the courts tomorrow so stay tuned for live updates from our twitter feed if you won’t be watching the matches. It’s too early to pick a favorite on the women’s side but Tennis Speaks will be announcing their picks soon. What say you? Who are your picks for this year’s French open champions?

Nole on FIRE!

Novak Djokovic © Getty Images

Novak Djokovic is the talk of the town.  What an amazing start to the season. If you missed the match against Novak and Nicholas Mahut, he dropped just two games against the Frenchman. You probably remember Nicholas Mahut from that marathon match against John Isner, the 2010 Wimbledon tournament that ran for three days. Something tells me that’s not the kind of record Mahut wants his tennis career to be remembered by but Djokovic the Serbian ace steamrolled into the fourth round of the Aussie Open,  flat lining Mahut 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 in just 74 minutes. Mahut seemed to have some problem with his knee; it was heavily taped and the Frenchman looked like he was limping in the second set.

However all credit goes to Novak. Even with his outstanding record in 2011 (70-6, 10 titles), Nole has improved his game. The world number one is serving way better and moves a lot quicker on the court. He currently holds the coveted title of being the best returner in the game and there is no stopping him. He had just one double fault and eight unforced errors. In his first round match, Novak only dropped two games as well. He hasn’t faced any stiff challenge yet but with the way he is playing, you cannot doubt that he may likely repeat his awesomeness of winning three grand slams last year. Even if he does not win three or all four grand slams, I agree with Darren Cahill when he said Novak Djokovic will finish the year retaining the Number One title. His confidence level is at an all time high and his style of play channels the excellence we witnessed in Pete Sampras in the late 90’s and Roger Federer in mid 2000’s.

Although I am a hardcore fan of the Swiss maestro Federer, I think I am going to be rooting for the Serbian ace this year to avoid the heartache Federer caused me last year. Also Novak is in dominant form right now so it’s a safe bet. Which man do you think will win the Australian Open come January 29^th - Novak Djokovic (heavy favorite), Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer or Andy Murray? Comment and cast your votes below.  Click on the video below to watch Novak goof off with the other tennis stars! – P.S I love the Australian accent.