Tennis_FrenchOpen_Wrap

2011 French Open special edition

SIX-TIME FRENCH OPEN MEN’S SINGLES CHAMPION RAFAEL NADAL

M O R E AT tennis.com

+

COVER / CONTENTS / EARLY ROUNDS / SEMIFINALS / FINALS

www.longines.com

Maker of column-wheel chronograph movements since 1878.

The Longines Column-Wheel Chronograph

2011 FRENCH

ALL PHOTOS GETTY IMAGES

open

22

5 Day 1

9 Day 5

6 Day 2

10 Day 6

Marin Cilic becomes the first seeded player to be eliminated.

French qualifier Stephane Robert shocks six-seed Tomas Berdych.

7 Day 3

John Isner scares the bee-jeezus out of Rafael Nadal.

8 Day 4

The most compelling secondround match ends with Sabine Lisicki leaving on a stretcher.

M O R E AT tennis.com

Former No. 1 Kim Clijsters loses to world No. 111 Arantxa Rus. No. 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki loses in straight sets to 28thseeded Daniela Hantuchova.

11 Day 7

Novak Djokovic runs his remarkable win streak to 42.

12 Day 8

Vera Zvonareva suffers another ugly defeat at a major.

13 Day 9

17 Women’s Semifinals

Fan favorite Gael Monfils ignites the packed house at Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Li Na and Francesca Schiavone advance with impressive wins.

19 Men’s Semifinals

14 Day 10

Rafa’s win over Andy Murray serves as an appetizer t0 the Djokovic-Federer main course.

Marion Bartoli is almost painfully intense throughout her quarterfinal win over Svetlana Kuznetsova.

22 Women’s Final

Li Na becomes China’s first-ever Grand Slam singles champion.

15 Day 11

It’s the way Maria Sharapova competes—scrapping, junkyarddog style—that allows her to beat Andrea Petkovic.

23 Men’s Final

Rafael Nadal ties Bjorn Borg with his sixth French Open title.

+

COVER / CONTENTS / EARLY ROUNDS / SEMIFINALS / FINALS

GO BALLISTIC

BigShot is the fastest shoe in tennis. You’re more explosive with our Propulsion Plate™ technology. Now you can get to any ball, just like the Bryan Brothers. Now that’s gonzo. kswiss.com/bigshot

2011 FRENCH

open

Day 1 Marin Cilic became the first seeded player to be eliminated from the French Open when on the tournament’s opening day he fell to Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo of Spain 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4. The first seeded women’s player to lose was Israeli Shahar Peer, 7-6 (4), 6-1, to Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain. In the final match of the day, No. 18 Plavia Pennetta of Italy lost to American Varvara Lepchenko 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.

The 19th-seeded Cilic, who reached the fourth round at the Australian Open, is a former Top-10 player. But he had 67 unforced errors in the match and was broken five times. For Ramirez Hidalgo, it was only his fourth win in 15 Grand Slam tournaments. Besides reaching the fourth round at the 2006 French Open, the Spaniard lost in the first round in each of his other 13 appearances at a major.

“It’s my greatest victory this season, that’s for sure,” the 33-year-old Ramirez Hidalgo said afterward. “I would not say this is the beginning of a new career, because I’m too old for this, but it’s a kind of relief.”

M O R E AT tennis.com

+

COVER / CONTENTS / EARLY ROUNDS / SEMIFINALS / FINALS

2011 FRENCH

open

Day 2 It’s futile to keep track of every “unbelievable” shot when someone is playing the match of his life—there are always too many to count. They came in bunches for Stephane Robert, the 31-year-old French qualifier who had won one previous main-draw match at a major, that against Potito Starace at last year’s Australian Open. His second is slightly more remarkable: The crowd favorite came back from two sets down to shock sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych, 3-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 9-7.

The final set especially was full of YouTube-worthy shots from Robert: Running forehand winners, running backhand winners, clean return winners, scrambling defense, even a second-serve ace for good measure. He seemed to overpower Berdych, who reached the 2010 French semis on the strength of his supersonic strokes.

By failing to defend his final four showing, Berdych’s ranking will collapse. What won’t change, in many people’s eyes, is the opinion that Berdych doesn’t have it in the tête to be a consistent threat. After this opening-round disaster, it’s tough to argue otherwise.

M O R E AT tennis.com

+

COVER / CONTENTS / EARLY ROUNDS / SEMIFINALS / FINALS

2011 FRENCH

open

Day 3 Mired in an unmemorable 2011 and handed the cosmic booby prize that is a first-round meeting with Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, John Isner scared the bee-jeezus out of the top seed over a span of four hours. The defending champ ultimately prevailed, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-7 (2), 6-2, 6-4, but the stats from his epic battle with Nadal are interesting: Isner hit a total of just 13 aces, only five more than Nadal.

It was less the pre-emptive nature of Isner’s serve in this one than the inhibitions and doubts Isner can plant just by virtue of what he can do, even if he’s not accomplishing it with maximum force. It was also about what having that cannon can do to keep a guy back, on the defensive, and vulnerable to attack. Isner understands better than any of his other big-serving colleagues just how much of his game he can build around his serve; how fully he can exploit the latent menace of it.

“The game plan was to mix in a lot of serve and volley,” Isner said afterward.

“Any ball he left short . . . I’d attack and come to the net and make him pass me. I won a lot of points at the net. For me, that was my only shot.”

M O R E AT tennis.com

+

COVER / CONTENTS / EARLY ROUNDS / SEMIFINALS / FINALS

2011 FRENCH

open

Day 4 The most compelling second-round match ended with Sabine Lisicki sobbing as she was carried away on a stretcher following her 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 loss to No. 3 Vera Zvonareva. Lisicki had a match point while leading 5-2 in the final set, but Zvonareva held and then broke to stay in the match.

Lisicki twice called for a trainer during the match, the second time coming once the third set had tightened to 5-4, with Zvonareva preparing to serve for the tie. When play resumed after about eight minutes, Zvonareva swept through the 10th game, tying the score at 5-5. Lisicki then fell behind, 0-40, on her serve, at which point she limped along the baseline and began to cry. Although Zvonareva quickly finished off that game, Lisicki wasn’t done battling. She won the first point of the next game with a wicked cross-court shot then took part in a couple of long rallies before Zvonareva finished her off.

M O R E AT tennis.com

+

COVER / CONTENTS / EARLY ROUNDS / SEMIFINALS / FINALS

2011 FRENCH

open

M O R E AT tennis.com

Day 5

It was cloudy, it was chilly, it wasn’t pretty.

Kim Clijsters, former No. 1 and winner of the last two majors, lost on a gusty, dusty day in Paris to world No. 111 Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands. This was the 20-year-old Rus’ 12th career win (that’s matches, not tournaments) against 27 defeats. Last month, Clijsters injured herself in that time-honored way of all professional athletes, by dancing

at a wedding. Most thought she would still be ready enough to do well here, but from the start of her first-round match, she was rusty.

She made 65 unforced errors against Rus. Still, Clijsters was up a set and 5-2 and held two match points. She said afterward, Rus was “missing early in the rallies,” so she didn’t feel pressure to do a whole lot. Then Rus stopped missing, and Clijsters didn’t make

+

her own adjustments. Serving at 1-3 in the third, she missed two feeble drop shots. This was the time to make Rus win it, not take an unnecessary chance.

Rus celebrated with a tiny fist-pump. After the handshake, she gave the crowd a surprised-looking little wave of her racquet. That was it. It was a little bright note on a cloudy and otherwise not very pretty day.

COVER / CONTENTS / EARLY ROUNDS / SEMIFINALS / FINALS

2011 FRENCH

open

Day 6 No. 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki was off in her 6-1, 6-3 third-round loss to No. 28 seed Daniela Hantuchova, no doubt about it; she netted more routine balls and sent more of them wildly over the lines than she had all year. She’d say afterward that she tried to mix it up by using different angles and hitting with more depth, but that Hantuchova had the answers. And it was true, Hantuchova had more pace and depth on her shots, and needed less net clearance to make them. If someone can do those things consistently, they’re going to win.

Wozniacki stuck to the “I’ll just go back and work harder” mantra in her post-match press conference. Is this a bluff? At one level, yes: It was reported, as it was after her loss in Melbourne, that she was in tears afterward. Is the “I’ll keep working” mantra also a sane and level-headed way to make your way from day to day on tour? Yes, but it’s also not the attitude of someone who believes that major titles should be theirs, by right or by talent. Wozniacki has yet to win a Slam, which means, among other things, that she doesn’t know what she’s missing.

M O R E AT tennis.com

+

COVER / CONTENTS / EARLY ROUNDS / SEMIFINALS / FINALS

2011 FRENCH

open

M O R E AT tennis.com

Day 7 While Juan Martin del Potro will never possess Novak Djokovic’s supple athleticism, there are matches when his feet are moving and he gets to every ball with court coverage unprecedented in such a tall man. After a brilliant first set from Djokovic, del Potro’s feet took flight and he evened the third-round match with nine pummeling games that showed why this contest was so eagerly anticipated.

The thing about del Potro’s footwork, though, is that when it’s bad, it can be very bad. At 2-2, 15-40, del Potro had a chance to grab an early and possibly decisive advantage in the third set—and played as if his feet were in wet cement, not clay, netting a routine forehand that he couldn’t get his body around. After the 25-stroke rally, Djokovic reacted with a roar and clenched fist, del Potro’s head dropped, and it was one-way traffic from that point on. With a demoralized del Potro broken in the next game, the story of the match quickly shifted from a close contest to one set of brilliance bracketed by three of inexorable, clinical skill from Djokovic.

+

COVER / CONTENTS / EARLY ROUNDS / SEMIFINALS / FINALS

2011 FRENCH

open

Day 8 She wasn’t walloped in straights, like in last year’s Wimbledon and US Open finals, or this year’s Australian Open semis. But Vera Zvonareva again suffered an ugly defeat at a major, losing 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2 to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the fourth round.

Pavlyuchenkova opened the match with a break, and held for 2-0, then lost the next five games. But a mix of Zvonareva misses and Pavlyuchenkova pressure leveled the set at 5-all.

It would go to a tiebreaker, which Pavlyuchenkova would win.

Zvonareva stormed to a 4-0 lead in the next set and wrapped it up shortly after. It was the superior offense of Pavlyuchenkova that would ultimately decide the final set, which Zvonareva at one point led by a break. If Pavlyuchenkova had to serve this one out, it’s likely we’d have taken another twist on this rollercoaster. But the ride ended with a break of serve, as did Zvonareva’s tournament.

M O R E AT tennis.com

+

COVER / CONTENTS / EARLY ROUNDS / SEMIFINALS / FINALS

2011 FRENCH

open

Day 9 Had David Ferrer earned a break of serve in the opening game of the fifth set—which he had a chance to—in his fourth-round match against French fan-favorite Gael Monfils, he may have quieted the packed house inside Court Suzanne Lenglen. Monfils saved that break point, however, and when the French favorite broke serve in the fourth game, it didn’t look as if he’d encounter much resistance. But when Monfils led 40-15 when serving at 5-3, he put a forehand into net, then succumbed to a down-the-line forehand of Ferrer’s on the second match point.

With the scene set, the dramatics followed: at 6-5 to Monfils, Ferrer bungled a volley to go down match point for the third time, but another down-the-line forehand got him out of danger. Monfils escaped a perilous point of his own in the next game, saving a Ferrer break chance. Then, at 7-6 to Monfils, Ferrer fell behind 0-40 after two errors and a Monfils passing shot. On the fourth point of the game—Monfils’ fourth match point of the day—he slid into a forehand and struck another pass, curling the ball around Ferrer for the win.

M O R E AT tennis.com

+

COVER / CONTENTS / EARLY ROUNDS / SEMIFINALS / FINALS

2011 FRENCH

open

Day 10 In becoming just the fourth Frenchwoman of the Open Era to reach the Roland Garros semifinals, Marion Bartoli was almost painfully intense throughout her 7-6 (4), 6-4, quarterfinal win over Svetlana Kuznetsova, spinning to her box with a clenched fist and a fierce ‘Allez!’ after just the sixth point of the match. Breaking serve twice in the first set, she was pegged back both times, but dug out a brilliant switch-hit backhand winner to force a tiebreak. Bartoli proved more durable in the tiebreak rallies and won the set with a fierce, cross-court backhand.

Kuznetsova never recovered.

Whenever she attained a winning position in a rally, the Russian couldn’t close out the point, reeling from the barrage coming from the other end.

This was Bartoli’s show, furiously shadow-stroking between points, bounding around the court with the gait of an unruly puppy during them.

After being broken when serving for the match the first time, the Frenchwoman pulled out yet another stunning backhand to take the 15-15 point—with Kuznetsova pressing— and ultimately take the match.

M O R E AT tennis.com

+

COVER / CONTENTS / EARLY ROUNDS / SEMIFINALS / FINALS

Day 11

2011 FRENCH

open

M O R E AT tennis.com

The most intriguing phase of Maria Sharapova’s quarterfinal victory over Andrea Petkovic came at the start of the second set. As often happens after a love set, the loser, Petkovic, relaxed—there was nowhere to go but up—while the winner, Sharapova, tightened up. It’s a nerve-wrecking quirk of the sport that you can win a set at love, then lose the first game of the second and feel as if you’re behind.

The two players met in the middle, and the result was a scrappy, see-saw, momentum-starved seven-game stretch filled with break points taken and squandered, finely measured winners followed by head-scratching errors, wind-blown tosses, lobs and drop shots. Sharapova was ahead after those seven games, and she went up 5–3 with a point that was typical of the match: After a shaky rally, Sharapova tracked down one of Petkovic’s trademark short balls, followed it in, and forced the German to pass her. She couldn’t; her backhand flew limply wide.

From there, Sharapova had her confidence again. She had achieved separation; her shots came faster now, and they found the corners. But as stinging as those winners were, it was the way Sharapova competed— scrapped, junkyard-dog style, without ever getting down on herself—that won her the match.

+

COVER / CONTENTS / EARLY ROUNDS / SEMIFINALS / FINALS

asics.com

sport releases more than just sweat. the gel-resolution速 3 with enhanced stability.

Women’s Semifinal #1

2011 FRENCH

open

While Maria Sharapova owned a 5-2 record over Li Na, it was her opponent who was the better player and smoother ball-striker from the first point on. Li went up 4-1 and was ahead 0-30 on Sharapova’s serve, two points from likely sealing the set. That’s when Sharapova, as everyone including Li expected she would, staged a comeback. She held at 1-4 with an extreme angle crosscourt backhand. It was an unusually finesse-oriented shot for her, and a seemed like a sign that she would find a way to win no matter what.

But Sharapova’s serve, that great millstone of the second half of her career, came back to haunt her at exactly the wrong moment—the double faults began at the end of the first set, right when she had gotten herself back into it. They bit her just as badly in the second, and she would finish with 10 doubles faults, including one on match point.

When the 29-year-old Li was asked afterward why she was having so much success in her advanced years, she let out a rare scoff. “Age doesn’t mean anything,” she said. “It’s just plus one. Age just paper.”

M O R E AT tennis.com

+

COVER / CONTENTS / EARLY ROUNDS / SEMIFINALS / FINALS

2011 FRENCH

open

Women’s Semifinal #2 Francesca Schiavone’s 6-3, 6-3 semifinal triumph over Marion Bartoli raised the question: What is it about her game that has made her so deadly at Roland Garros for two years running? It can’t be a fluke, or accident.

Schiavone had never been past the quarterfinals before 2010, and in 2009 she suffered a seemingly dispiriting first-round exit. Given that she was already 28 at the time makes her subsequent accomplishments even more impressive—almost improbable.

Mulling over the question of how she arrived at the final despite traveling as far as the semis in only one other clay-court tournament this year, Schiavone said, “Inspiration. When I was young I always dreamed about this tournament. When I come here, I feel something special.”

At the age of 30, Schiavone is an athlete fortunate enough to remain at her physical peak while also being able to draw upon her experience and absolute mastery of her craft. For a master craftsman is, above all, what Schiavone has become, at least on this one and singularly important tennis court at Stade Roland Garros.

M O R E AT tennis.com

+

COVER / CONTENTS / EARLY ROUNDS / SEMIFINALS / FINALS

2011 FRENCH

open

Men’s Semifinal #1 At times during Andy Murray’s 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 semifinal loss to Rafael Nadal, it seemed that the players held the games in their teeth and tugged away, like two puppies amusing themselves with a chew toy. The closest thing to a turning point arrived at 5-all in the second set, with Murray ahead 40-15. But a poor drop shot attempt off Nadal’s service return opened a Pandora’s box that ended with one of Nadal’s numerous inside-out forehand winners. The toll that reversal took on Murray was obvious.

Nadal then served what would be one of the only three love games in this match.

The trouble Nadal had winning his service games—Murray had 18 break points against Nadal’s serve, but converted just three—had much to do with Murray’s doggedness, and his almost preternatural ability to come up with remarkable, disaster-averting shots while having a proportionately similar degree of difficulty taking advantage of his opportunities. Murray came up with a genius-grade formula for self-defeat: When Nadal wasn’t clubbing winners on break points against himself, Murray was dismissing them with lackluster play. And we all know this game usually is all about how you play the big points.

M O R E AT tennis.com

+

COVER / CONTENTS / EARLY ROUNDS / SEMIFINALS / FINALS

2011 FRENCH

open

Men’s Semifinal #2 There is no doubt Roger Federer caught Novak Djokovic by surprise with his refusal to step down from the challenge of hitting shot for shot with his younger rival in his scintillating 7-6 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) semifinal win. Except for a brief period after Djokovic broke serve to take a 4-2 lead in the opening set, when he seemed to be outhitting Federer, the world No. 3 gave as good as he got, showing little of the vulnerability we’ve seen at other times this year against both Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

Tactically, Federer had success chipping returns short to Djokovic, forcing him to handle difficult shots close to the net. But tactics aside, the emotional drive of Federer was most impressive. You sensed there was a lot of motivation on his part to show that he could challenge Djokovic after three prior losses to him this year.

The pride of a great champion was rekindled, and it was clear that the Grand Slam stage of Roland Garros was where he wanted to make the statement that he remains a factor among the top ranks of the game.

M O R E AT tennis.com

+

COVER / CONTENTS / EARLY ROUNDS / SEMIFINALS / FINALS

TOPNOTCH TENNIS

Ranked #3 Tennis Resort on Worldwide Survey – Tennis Resorts Online, 2010 # 4 Tennis Resort in the U.S. – Tennis Magazine 2010 Top 10 Best U.S. Tennis Resorts – Tennis Magazine, 2008 500 World’s Best Hotels – Travel + Leisure 2010

At Topnotch, tennis has been raised to an art form.

TO WI N

Named one of the “World’s Best” tennis resorts by Tennis Resorts Online, our dedication to the game reigns supreme.

We prove it daily on six seasonal outdoor courts (four Har

Learn to love tennis (or love your game more) with this great package that combines an overnight stay at our resort with a multi-level “taste” Topnotch’s favorite sport.

Tru) and four indoor hard courts, with over 30 programs for all ages and levels of play. Our USPTA-certified instructors employ the unique Play-to-Win teaching method, and our facilities include cutting-edge technologies like an intelligent ball machine and Dartfish Video Analysis. All of this takes place in the exhilarating setting of the Green Mountains.

If you’re a first-time player, we welcome the opportunity to introduce you to our sport – and to our passion for teaching players of all ages and all levels. Group academies, clinics, and private instruction for beginners to competitive players are offered year-round and are taught by Topnotch’s professional tennis staff.

Courts are available to guests for rental by the hour, or join one of our Round Robins, a great way to meet other guests.

Offering a game-changing “Play to Win” approach to tennis, Topnotch Resort and Spa has a long history of devotion to the game. The resort features a top-five tennis academy, worldclass spa, and the gentile charm created by an intimate scale.

Topnotch Resort has been dedicated to the sport of tennis for decades and was instrumental in bringing both the Head Classic and Fed Cup matches to Vermont.

N E W FO R 2011 Topnotch is pleased to introduce “10 and Under Tennis.” Using the QuickStart Tennis play format, 10 and Under Tennis is a right-sized learning method for kids that allows them to play real tennis shortly after picking up a racquet for the first time. Designed around the same concept as other youth sports that use modified gear, courts and fields, the play format of this USTA-teaching method lets kids gain confidence and enjoy the game and the learning experience more.

2011 FRENCH

open

Women’s Final The first Chinese player to win a major singles title, Li Na’s victory felt like a big deal because, when you saw her holding the trophy—the French Open trophy, a trophy of France and Europe and a signature, elite Western sport— the world felt just a little bit smaller.

Even better was to remember all the times Li had hit perfect backhands in Indian Wells and Montreal and Key Biscayne, in Paris and at Wimbledon and on the back courts at Flushing Meadows, all those times people wondered why she wasn’t better. So many players never live up to that potential.

Something gets in their way, usually exactly what had gotten in Li’s way— nerves, errors, outside problems, the immense difficulty in making yourself believe that you—yeah, you—can be a Grand Slam champion.

Li had a reason not to believe. Nobody from her country, from her part of the world, had ever won one before.

Now someone has. She lived up to all of that ability in her 6-4, 7-6 (0) win over Francesca Schiavone. More significantly, she might have made it a little easier for someone else to do the same somewhere down the line.

M O R E AT tennis.com

+

COVER / CONTENTS / EARLY ROUNDS / SEMIFINALS / FINALS

2011 FRENCH

open

Men’s Final Rafael Nadal’s coach Toni Nadal said that he was especially concerned about the French Open final because of the way Roger Federer had played against Novak Djokovic in the semis two days earlier. He had reason to be. Federer broke Nadal’s first service game, went up 3-0, and extended that lead to 5-2. Federer reached set point and stepped forward for a backhand. But instead of giving the ball another rip, he tried a delicate slice drop shot down the line. Nadal scrambled for it; it appeared that the set was over. Federer’s shot, however, landed just wide. A few points later, Nadal hit his best shot of the match to that point—a baseball swing crosscourt backhand pass for a winner.

That’s when everything changed. Or, rather, that’s when everything went back to normal in the world of Roger, Rafa and the French Open. It would end as it usually has: A four-set win for Nadal.

Afterward, Federer said that he had told a reporter back in Australia to “talk to me in six months,” about where he and Rafa were with their games. It only took them five, but the two were back where they used to be in Paris, playing a match we know by heart, with a winner we never should have doubted.

M O R E AT tennis.com

+

COVER / CONTENTS / EARLY ROUNDS / SEMIFINALS / FINALS

GETTING YOU TO THE BALL FASTER IS IN THEIR DNA

V-PRO

PROPULSE 3

Editorial

Editor-in-Chief Scott Gramling

Creative Director Ian Knowles

Art Director Dennis Huynh

Online Editor Ed McGrogan

Senior Writers Peter Bodo, Stephen Tignor

Senior Designer Anthony Scerri

Editorial Direction 10Ten Media

Advertising

2011 FRENCH

open

Group Publisher

Publisher

Director, Digitial Media & Ad Sales

Business Development

Sales Development Director

Marketing Director

Client Services Manager

Sales & Marketing Coordinator

Endemic Sales Director

Midwest Sales Director

West Coast Sales Director

Canada Sales Director

M O R E AT tennis.com

+

Jeff Williams (212) 636-2758 jwilliams@tennis.com Mason Wells (212) 636-2807 mwells@tennis.com Adam Milner (212) 636-2727 amilner@tennis.com Buz Keenan (212) 636-2724 bkeenan@tennis.com Rory Racey Ellis (212) 636-2751 rellis@tennis.com Allison Zinczenko (212) 636-2732 azinczenko@tennis.com Oren Carton (212) 636-2733 ocarton@tennis.com Kate Gillam (212) 636-2741 kgillam@tennis.com John Hanna (770) 650-1102 x125 jhanna@tennis.com James McNulty (248) 649-3835 jamesmcnulty@fuel-media.net Jeff Griffith (626) 229-9955 jeff.griffith@tennis.com Josef Beranek (450) 538-2468 jmberanek@sympatico.ca

COVER / CONTENTS / EARLY ROUNDS / SEMIFINALS / FINALS