Watching this year's French Open without the usual marquee names - Serena, Roger, Maria - has kind of allowed me to zero in on two players whose matches are always shown on the cable channel I decided to concentrate on watching.
And both look like the ones to beat for the title.
I haven't seen Nadal play for more than two years now and his match against Basilashvili of Georgia was great to watch, not because he thrashed the poor Georgian 60 61 60, but because it reminded you of how great he really plays when he's fit and he's in the zone.
Basilashvili did not play poorly and I saw him play against Gilles Simon in the first round and he is doing well. It's just that nothing he did yesterday on court could thwart the total command Rafa had on the court.
I just hope Rafa is not peaking too early because tougher opponents await him - fellow Spaniard Bautista Agut in the next round - while Milos, Novak and Andy are possible opponents next week.
This is also the first time I have seen Garbine play in the early rounds, since last year, most of the coverage was on Serena. And this girl knows how to up her game when needed.
Anett Kontaveit and Yulia Putintseva are two very dangerous players since they have the weapons to hurt the top players. However, they still lack the fitness that's needed for long matches and the mental fortitude to continue the fight even when their body is getting tired.
And Garbine was so calm - even with the onslaught of all those powerful shots these two girls gave her. And she had the weapons needed to subdue the opposition coupled with the fitness that's needed to outlast the opponents.
The opponents keep getting stronger though, with Mladenovic next, and possibly Bacsinszky, Stosur and Halep next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment