Bracket Busters
Reigning Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka and world #10 Kei Nishikori both fell during the first two days of competition in Paris. Nishikori's loss wasn't unexpected after his injury woes during the clay court warm up swing, but we'll have to wait and see if he can bounce back in time for Wimbledon. Wawrinka, on the other hand, continued to be somewhat inconsistent through the clay court season, though I expected a better result than a first-round meltdown.
Decisive Set Tiebreaks
Currently the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon eschew the tiebreak in the decisive set, requiring players to play the match out and win by two. Implementing the decisive set tiebreak became something of a topic of debate amongst the commentators during Facundo Bagnis' five-set win over French veteran Julien Benneteau. The match ended with an 18-16 fifth set that lasted two hours and twenty-four minutes—the first four sets of the match combined took two hours and three minutes. Of course, that's still nothing compared to the Isner and Mahut marathon at Wimbledon 2010 that lasted 11 hours, 5 minutes and ended with a 70-68 fifth set.
Speaking of which…
Nicolas Mahut was eliminated by Mikhail Kukushkin to derail an Isner vs. Mahut clash in the second round at Roland Garros.
Nadal vs Ginepri
Nadal took care of business and steamrolled Ginepri 6-0, 6-3, 6-0. For me, the most interesting tidbit to come out of that match was that Ginepri is the only active American male player to have reached a Grand Slam semifinal… yikes! Fortunately, Serena Williams continues to carry the flag for US tennis.
Speaking of Serena
She cruised through her first-round matchup with Alize Lim 6-2, 6-1 in just 88 minutes, moving closer to a third round matchup with her older sister Venus. If she can go the distance, Serena will be the first female player to win back-to-back French Open titles since Justine Henin did it in '05/'06.
Floral Print
Aga Radwanska sure turned some heads with a bright, floral dress. Personally, I thought it was pretty neat, though I'm hardly the one to turn to for fashion advice. Tomas Berdych also sported a tropical looking floral shirt. It wasn't as bright as Radwanska's kit, but it was still pretty unique.
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