Busted Racquet previews Tuesday's action at the 2011 French Open.
? Rafael Nadal takes on John Isner in the third match of the day of Court Phillippe Chatrier. In any other Grand Slam, this would have been a nightmare draw for the top-seeded Spaniard. On clay, with his big serve muted, Isner doesn't pose as much of a threat.
? Before Nadal and Isner take the court, Maria Sharapova will make the 2011 debut in Paris against Mirjana Lucic. Keep an eye on Masha's first serve. If it's clicking, she may be a threat to stay in the tournament for a while. If not, another early exit could be in the offing.
? Court 2 was the site of Monday's biggest upset when French qualifier Stephane Robert came back from two sets down to defeat No. 6 seed Tomas Berdych. If history is going to repeat itself on Tuesday, look at the Fernando Verdasco-Juan Monaco match for the possibility. The Argentine is hardly a pushover and with Verdasco struggling this season, the conditions could be ripe for another seed to fall.
? Pity poor Patty Schnyder and Sorana Cristea. The women are set to play the final match of the day on Court 7. Ordinarily that wouldn't be an issue but the match immediately before them is Nicolas Mahut vs. Kevin Anderson. The Frenchman playing a big-serving giant on a distant court in the opening round of a Grand Slam? We've all seen this movie before.
? There will be some heavy hearts at the opening match of the day on Chatrier. Virginie Razzano will face Jarmila Gajdosova one week after her fiancee passed away after a long fight with a brain tumor. Other players have worn black ribbons in memory of Stephane Vidal and to support Razzano.
Don't miss: Nadal (1) vs. Isner; Johanna Larsson vs. Ana Ivanovic (20)
Upset possibilities: Monaco over Verdasco (16); Monica Niculescu over Yanina Wickmayer (21)
Other top seeds in action: Kim Clijsters (2), Andy Murray (4), Victoria Azarenka (4), Robin Soderling (5), Li Na (6)
Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
? Danica Patrick squeaks into Indy 500 field
? Bears rookie takes eighth-grader to dance
? Golfer predicts, makes hole-in-one shot
Cristina Dumitru Cat Power January Jones Christina DaRe Malin Akerman
No comments:
Post a Comment