Two Round in the Books (Part Two)

Check out Part One of a French Open update.  This is Part Two…

The Del Potro (5) Pod:
THIRD ROUND MATCH SATURDAY – #5 Del Potro vs. #25 Andreev

In the top of this pod, the 5th-ranked player in the world, Juan Martin Del Potro cruised, untested, in straight sets over Frenchman Michael Llodra and Serbian Viktor Troicki.  Del Potro has been as good as advertised so far in this tournament.

The bottom half is a completely different story for the seeded player there.  25th seed, Igor Andreev, has survived to the third round, but just barely.  He survived, 7-5, in the fifth set against Italian qualifier Fabio Fognini, only to get another test in the second round.  Andreev needed five more sets to take out clay-court specialist Martin Vassallo Arguello, coming back from down 2 sets to 1 to win the last two sets 6-3 and 6-4.  Andreev’s second round match was one minute under 5 hours–that after a 3+ hour first round match, so he’s been on the court for well over 8 hours already.  And, now he gets one of the hottest clay court players in the world.

BSB’s PICK:  Del Potro in 3.  Del Potro is too good for even a well-rested Andreev, but after 8 hours of court time, Igor’s tournament will most likely end on Saturday quickly and mercifully.

The Tsonga (9) Pod:
THIRD ROUND MATCH SATURDAY – # 9 Tsonga vs. Rochus

The top of this draw was supposed to be won by Russia’s Dmitry Tursurov, the 21-seed, in this year’s tournament, but Tursurov was upset by the crafty veteran, Arnaud Clement, a former Grand Slam finalist (2001 Australian Open) and former top 10 player.  That opened the door for Christophe Rochus, a Belgian veteran to finally make it out of the second round in Paris.  He has made the second round three times in his career, which dates back to 1999, but this year he finally broke through to win twice on the dirt.  He is also probably France’s enemy #1 right now, as he has already taken out two Frenchmen–“The Magician” Fabrice Santoro and Clement–and now he has a shot to make it three in a row.

The bottom of this pod was probably the best–on paper–foursome in the draw.  It featured the #9-seed, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga taking on countryman journeyman Julien Benneteau in one match and the ever-popular Cyprian, Marcos Baghdatis facing clay-court wizard Juan Monaco.  Well, it did not turn out to be as good as it was supposed to, as Tsonga, though dropping a set, defeated Benneteau and Monaco crushed Baghdatis.  Then, Tsonga won a decent match against Monaco in the second round.

BSB’s PICK:  Tsonga in 4.  The run of knocking off Frenchmen on their home soil probably ends here for Rochus, as Tsonga is just too good of an all-around player.  The only reason I’m not picking a straight-set win is because Tsonga tends to lose focus in the middle of matches, as he did in both his first two matches here.

The Robredo (16) Pod:
THIRD ROUND MATCH SATURDAY – #16 Robredo vs. Gonzalez

Tommy Robredo, a good all-around player whose best surface is here on clay, has cruised to straight set wins over Frenchman Adrian Mannarino and fellow Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver, so he is well-rested heading into the third round.

More American frustration in Paris has gone on this year and it included a disappointing first round loss for 22nd seeded Mardy Fish to 71st-ranked Argentinian Maximo Gonzalez.  Gonzalez’s upset of Fish seemed to clear the way for the solid Italian Andreas Seppi to move into the third round on the back of his first-round defeat of Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, but Gonzalez pulled off another upset, with relative ease, in a straight set win over Seppi.  Gonzalez now tries to make it three in a row against the heavily favored Robredo in the third round.

BSB’s PICK:  Robredo in 3.  We here at BSB are not all that impressed with the level of upsets that Gonzalez has pulled off thus far.  On the other hand, we are very impressed by the level of play of Tommy Robredo and fully expect him to cruise into the Round of 16–probably to face Mr. Djokovic, which could be a fascinating match.

The Djokovic (4) Pod:
THIRD ROUND MATCH SATURDAY – #4 Djokovic vs. #29 Kohlschreiber

Philipp Kohlschreiber has always had the game to be a star in professional tennis, but, for some reason or another, has never fully put it together.  And, at not even 26 years old, this certainly could be the year.  He smoked Bernard Tomic in the first round, 6-1 6-2 6-2 and then won a hard-fought 5-set match with former #1 and former French Open champion, Juan Carlos Ferrero.

As good as the Spaniards (Nadal, Robredo, Verdasco, Ferrer) have looked in their first two rounds, no one has had it easier through two rounds than the big Serb, Novak Djokovic.  His first-round opponent, Nicolas Lapentti, retired down a set and a break, and then his second-round opponent, Sergiy Stakhovsky might as well have retired as Djokovic cruised through that match in straight sets.  With only 4+ sets of tennis under his belt, Djokovic is plenty fresh heading into the third round showdown with Kohlschreiber.

BSB’s PICK:  Djokovic in 4.  I like Kohlschreiber and think he might have a nice year, but Djokovic’s game is just too big right now.  It looks like Novak is heading for a long Round of 16 match with Robredo, so it might be good for him if he got out of this match in 3.

The Roddick (6) Pod:
THIRD ROUND MATCH SATURDAY – #6 Roddick vs. Gicquel

Another American nightmare in Paris has been avoided by one man–Andy Roddick.  Roddick, who has never enjoyed a lot of success here on the clay (in fact, this is only the second time he has ever been out of the second round and the first since 2001, when he lost in the third round), has absolutely cruised in two matches.  He beat Frenchman, Romain Jouan, and Czech, Ivo Minar, in straight sets.

The big question about the bottom of this pod is…what in the world happened to Rainer Schuettler?  Frenchman Marc Gicquel–a solid veteran who specializes on the clay courts–won the first two sets from 27th-seeded Schuettler without dropping a game.  Schuettler was down two sets in 51 minutes.  That’s right, Schuettler’s French Open began by being bageled in the first two sets, before bowing out in straights.  Gicquel then moved on to beat Andreas Beck in 4 sets in the second round, setting up a date with Roddick.

BSB’s PICK:  Roddick in 3.  Yes, Andy Roddick will finally make the fourth round of the French Open and should do it easily.  Then again, it is a dangerous thought to have a crafty veteran clay-courter–on his home turf–against a big-serving, confidence-lacking American in the French Open, so anything can happen.

The Monfils (11) Pod:
THIRD ROUND MATCH SATURDAY – #11 Monfils vs. #24 Melzer

The top of this pod has seen Jurgen Melzer, the 24-seed, cruise through two rounds of straight set wins.  He beat Argentinian Sergio Roitman in the first round and then Frenchman Guillaume Rufin in the second round.  He was tested in neither of these matches.

The bottom half of this pod is much the same, with the seeded player cruising without being threatened by either opponent.  11th-seeded Gael Monfils, who may have the largest gap between physical ability and mental stability (dare I say Safin-esque), is right on the edge of breaking through in a major way.  He cruised past Bobby Reynolds and Victor Crivoi in the first two rounds and now gets Melzer.

BSB’s PICK:  Monfils in 5.  Melzer is tough.  Monfils?  Who knows.  But, we may find out on Saturday.  There is no result from this match that would surprise me.  If you told me Monfils won in straights in an hour and a half, I would say makes sense.  If you told me that Monfils imploded and Melzer just methodically took him apart, I would believe that too.  Part of me just wants to see if Monfils can stand the heat of a five-set match, so I am picking that.  I really want this guy to break through, he is exceedingly fun to watch.

The Blake (15) Pod:
THIRD ROUND MATCH SATURDAY – Haas vs. Chardy

There is always one, especially in the French.  There is always one pod that gets blown wide open.  This happens to be it, much to the dismay of American tennis fans (and actually to the joy of yours truly–an admitted Tommy Haas fan).  James Blake, the 15th-seed here in Paris, bowed out, unremarkably, in the first round in straight sets against Argentinian Leonardo Mayer.  That opened the door for Tommy Haas, who smoked Andrei Pavel in the first round, to make it to the third round and continue a nice comeback story, though it wasn’t easy, as it took him five sets to defeat Mayer.

The bottom have of this pod was eerily similar, as 19th seeded Tomas Berdych also lost in the first round, though he did manage to at least send it to five before losing to Italian qualifier Simone Bolelli.  Bolelli then ran out of gas in the fifth set against France’s Jeremy Chardy, who won a straight-set match in the first round against Thiago Alves.

BSB’s PICK:  Haas in 4.  I like Tommy Haas, and I think he manages a solid effort in a third-round win over Chardy.  Interestingly, the winner of this match will have reached the Round of 16 without facing a seeded player.  And, that trend will end, probably abruptly, with a date with Roger Federer.

The Federer (2) Pod:
THIRD ROUND MATCH SATURDAY – #2 Federer vs. #32 Mathieu

The top half of this pod was dominated this week by Jean-Henri Mathieu, the 32nd-seeded Frenchman.  Mathieu made quick work of both Laurent Recouderc and Pablo Andujar (who disposed of Robby Ginepri in the first round).

The bottom half was the half of Federer.  Roger did cruise against Spaniard Alberto Martin in the first round, but actually struggled a good bit against the gritty Argentinian, Juan Acasuso, in the second round.  Federer dropped the first set in a tiebreak, then won the second set 7-5 and the third in a tiebreak, before cruising in the fourth, 6-1.

BSB’s PICK:  Federer in 4.  This will not be an easy match for The Federer, and he better not come out slow, as he has had a tendency to do recently, because Mathieu is solid, experienced and unflappable.  Because of this experience and the fact that he loves the clay and has his home fans behind him, he will not be intimidated by Federer.  I still see Roger prevailing, but it won’t be easy.  Fortunately, for him, an unseeded player (either Haas or Chardy) awaits in the Round of 16 before a possible quarterfinal date with either Andy Roddick or Gael Monfils.