By Markin Abras
Images by Javier Delgado
French Open - Day One Paris, May 22nd
French Open - Day One Paris, May 22nd -- The fist round of Roland Garros opened today with rain and cold wins but no shortage of high-profile matches. Day one started with cancellation of 11 of the 16 matches scheduled and we hope full completion of all matches tomorrow. Key Nishikori leads 6-1, 7-5, 2-1 against Simone Bolelli while Nick Kyrgios, Benoit Paire, Igor Sijsling, Teymuraz Gabashvili and Andrey Kuznetsov all won their first round matches before the rain arrived. The rain forced Milos Roanic, John Isner, Grigor Dimitrov, Viktor Troicki, Kyle Edmund, Robin Hasse, Jack Sock, Dustin Brown and Dubi Sela to have their matches cancelled. Tomorrow numerous top seeds will battle the red play in Paris including Garbine Muguruza, Serena Williams, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Furhter more, Andy Murray plays with Radek Stepanek on Chatrier, while Frenchmen players Frenchmen Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon plays on Suzenne-Lenglen Court. For full match schedule, click here.
What is new this year at Roland Garros?
There is a lot going on behind the scenes to make the French Open a better tournament this year and for years to come. Miami Living Magazine got a first look at some of the major improvements:
Safety Takes Priority: If you are attending the French Open this year, you will notice additional security check points. When entering the facilities, you will encounter a double barrier system, which was set around the stadium in order to create a more secure perimeter. France’s national security alert system and new security measures have been established along with the Paris police force. Security officers in the in and out the premises provide extra security for the public and tennis players. Please note that all security staff has been extremely helpful, friendly and professional.
Improved Eating Options: Tennis fans will now be able to enjoy gourmet food at the new "La Divine" restaurant located underneath the Suzanne-Lenglen court. Enjoy a gastronomic meal at reasonable prices. Open from 11.30 am to 2.30 pm. From 3:00 p.m on-wards, "La Divine" offers a range of refreshments. Miami Living recommends that you make a reservation via he MyRG system.
A major investment for the Stadium: The former National Training Center was demolished and moved to Porte Molitor. This means courts7, 9 and 11 are not usable for this season. Practice courts will now be under the newly-renovated Jean-Bouin and court 13. In addition, court 4, 5 and 14 have all been improved to accommodate more tennis fans. Specifically, court 5 has a brand new design.
New Practice Center: The new Jean-Bouin site, which was recently renovated, is now the practice center for Roland Garros featuring 9 practice courts. Players will also enjoy access to the renovated club-house with a restaurant, lounge, physical training, warm-up, medical services, stringing area including nursery.
A Better and Functional Website: The official ticket website for Roland Garros has been re-designed. It is now mobile-friendly making ticket purchases via your smart phone or tablet much easier. It also gives you a precise seat location when purchasing tickets. The new site can be found here.
French Open - Day Two Paris, May 23
Paris, May 24th - Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal are all scheduled for play on Tuesday in Paris. First Murray plays veteran Radek Stepanek which qualified to play this year on Court Philippe Chatrier which Stepanek leading 6-3, 6-3, 0-6, 2-4.Novak Djokovic plays immediately after Murray against Yen-Hsun follwed with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga which plays against Jan-Lennard Struff, a qualifier from Germany.On Court Suzanne Lenglen Rafa Nadal plays Sam Groth followed by David Ferrer which will play Evgeny Donskoy of Russia.Other notable matches for today are Tomas Berdych goes up against Vasek Pospisil, David Goffin against French wildcard Gregoire Barrere and Dominic Thiem plays against Inigo Cervantes of Spain.
Women First Round:
Myrtille Georges (FRA) bt Christina McHale (USA) 6-7 (7/9), 6-0, 6-3 Naomi Osaka (JPN) bt Jelena Ostapenko (LAT #32) 6-4, 7-5 Veronica Cepede (PAR) bt Sabine Lisicki (GER) 6-2, 6-2 Sloane Stephens (USA #19) bt Margarita Gasparyan (RUS) 6-4, 6-3 Barbora Strycova (CZE #30) bt Lucie Hradecka (CZE) 6-4, 7-5 Polona Hercog (SLO) bt Lourdes Dominguez (ESP) 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #2) bt Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) 6-0, 6-2 Garbine Muguruza (ESP #4) bt Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #13) bt Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 Caroline Garcia (FRA) bt Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) 6-3, 7-5 Simona Halep (ROM #6) bt Nao Hibino (JPN) 6-2, 6-0 Heather Watson (GBR) bt Nicole Gibbs (USA) 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 Annika Beck (GER) bt Maryna Zanevska (UKR) 6-1, 6-2 Elena Vesnina (RUS) bt Madison Brengle (USA) 6-2, 6-3 Shelby Rogers (USA) bt Karolina Pliskova (CZE #17) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO) bt Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 6-1, 6-2 Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) bt Sara Errani (ITA #16) 6-3, 6-2 Cagla Buyukakcay (TUR) bt Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR) 5-7, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) bt Alexandra Dulgheru (ROM) 6-1, 6-3 Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) bt Roberta Vinci (ITA #7) 6-1, 6-3 Coco Vandeweghe (USA) bt Naomi Broady (GBR) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 Irina-Camelia Begu (ROM #25) bt Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 Johanna Larsson (SWE) bt Magda Linette (POL) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 Zarina Diyas (KAZ) bt Carina Witthoeft (GER) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
Today's Notable Matches
Paris, May 24th, 2016 - Azarenka out of Roland-Garros: Victoria Azarenka’s drive to win the 2016 French Open has come to a disappointing end after a knee injury forced her to retire. Karin Knapp was the lucky winner and moves on. Serena Cruises: Serena Williams easily won her match today against No.77 Magdalena Rybarikova 6-2, 6-0 in 42 minutes.
Murray Wins in Dramatic Fashion: Andy Murray’s dramatic first round match finally ended with a victory against Radek Stepanek 3-6, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5. The single break on the 5th set lead the word’s No. 2 seed the win.
Kerber Kncoked Out: "I came here to play round by round, and I know that you must play your best tennis in the first rounds as well because everyone is a tough opponent to play," Kerber said after loosing 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 loss to unseeded Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens.
Djokovic Moves On: Novak Djokovic's mission for a career Grand Slam started today with success by easily winning his match against Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei 6-4, 6-1, 6-1.
Men's Results
Rafael Nadal (ESP)[4] d. Sam Groth (AUS) 6-1, 6-1, 6-1
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)[6] d. Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
Tomas Berdych (CZE)[7] d. Vasek Pospisil (CAN) 63 62 61
David Ferrer (ESP)[11] d. Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) 6-1, 6-2, 6-0
David Goffin (BEL)[12] vs. Gregoire Barrere (FRA)
Dominic Thiem (AUT)[13] d. Inigo Cervantes (ESP) 3-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-1
Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP)[14] d. Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) 6-3, 6-3 ,6-1
John Isner (USA)[15] d. John Millman (AUS) 6-7(4), 7-6(12), 7-6(7), 7-5
Stephane Robert (FRA) d. Kevin Anderson (RSA)[18] 6-4, 6-2, 1-6, 7-5
Bernard Tomic (AUS)[20] d. Brian Baker (USA) 63 64 64
Feliciano Lopez (ESP)[21] d. Thomas Fabbiano (ITA) 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Nicolas Almagro (ESP) d.. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)[24] 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4
Pablo Cuevas (URU)[25] d. Tobias Kamke (GER) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6(4)
Joao Sousa (POR)[26] d. Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-4, 7-5
Lucas Pouille (FRA)[29] d. Julien Benneteau (FRA) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(4)
Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) d. Federico Delbonis (ARG)[31] 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4
Marcel Granollers (ESP) d. Fabio Fognini (ITA)[32] 7-5, 6-4, 6-3
Nicolas Mahut (FRA) d. Ricardas Berankis (LTU) 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-1
Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) vs. Santiago Giraldo (COL)
Carlos Berlocq (ARG) d. Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) 6-3, 6-0, 6-2
Quentin Halys (FRA) d. Hyeon Chung (KOR) 6-1, 6-4, 6-4
Borna Coric (CRO) d. Taylor Fritz (USA) 63 61 63
Jiri Vesely (CZE) d. Rajeev Ram (USA) 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-0
Victor Estrella Burgos (DOM) d. Illya Marchenko (UKR) 7-5, 6-4, 6-3
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) d. Thiemo De Bakker (NED) 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(3)
Aljaz Bedene (GBR) d. Gerald Melzer (AUT) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
Malek Jaziri (TUN) d. Florian Mayer (GER) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
Denis Istomin (UZB) vs. Juan Monaco (ARG)
Steve Darcis (BEL) d. Marsel Ilhan (TUR) 6-3, 6-4, 6-0
Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) d. Gilles Muller (LUX) 7-5, 6-4, 6-1
Facundo Bagnis (ARG) d. Kenny De Schepper (FRA) 6-0, 6-2, 7-6(2)
Alexander Zverev (GER) vs. Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA)
Ernests Gulbis (LAT) d. Andreas Seppi (ITA) 6-3, 7-5, 6-4
Novak Djokovic (SRB)[1] d. Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) 6-4, 6-1, 6-1
Andy Murray (GBR)[2] d. Radek Stepanek (CZE) 3-6, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5
French Open: Day 4
Paris, May 25th, 2016 - Another exciting day today at Roland Garros as sun shines and most seeded players advances.
Andy Murray wins 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 against French wild-card entry Mathias Bourgue to reach the third round of the French Open. Fifth seed Kei Nishikori easily won his match against Andrey Kuznetsov 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the third round.
Other notable wins includes Ronic, the 8th seed against French player Adrian Mannarino 6-1, 7-6, 6-1, Gilles Simon had to go deep in order to win against Guido Pella in five thrilling sets 4-6, 1-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-4 while Richard Gasquet had a much easier time to win 6-1-, 7-6, 6-3 against American Bjorn Fratangelo. If you haven’t heard much about Bjorn, he is the American who won the boys' singles title at the 2011 French Open. Fratangelo is only the second American out of three to win the event, following John McEnroe in 1977.
On the women’s side Radwanska won 6-2, 6-4 against Caroline Garcia to reach the third round while no. 6 seed Simona Halep had fight hard to win against 90th-ranked Zarina Diyas. Garbine Muguruza’s dismissed the French wildcard player in just under an hour 6-2, 6-0. It is worth noting that this year Venus and Serena Williams are competing in doubles. They won their first double's match easily today 6-1, 6-2 against J. Ostapenko and Putintseva.
Men's Second Round Results:
Andy Murray (GBR)[2] d. Mathias Bourgue (FRA) 62 26 46 62 63Stan Wawrinka (SUI)[3] d. Taro Daniel (JPN) 76(7) 63 64Kei Nishikori (JPN)[5] d. Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) 63 63 63Milos Raonic (CAN)[8] vs. Adrian Mannarino (FRA)Bjorn Fratangelo (USA) vs. Richard Gasquet (FRA)[9]John Isner (USA)[15] d. Kyle Edmund (GBR) 64 64 64Gilles Simon (FRA)[16] vs. Guido Pella (ARG)Nick Kyrgios (AUS)[17] d. Igor Sijsling (NED) 63 62 61Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) d. Benoit Paire (FRA)[19] 63 62 36 62Dusan Lajovic (SRB) vs. Viktor Troicki (SRB)[22]Jack Sock (USA)[23] d. Dustin Brown (GER) 63 76(5) 62Ivo Karlovic (CRO)[27] d. Jordan Thompson (AUS) 67(2) 63 76(3) 67(4) 12-10Andrej Martin (SVK) vs. Lucas Pouille (FRA)[29]Jeremy Chardy (FRA)[30] d. Adam Pavlasek (CZE) 64 62 64Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) d. Marco Trungelliti (ARG) 63 64 75Fernando Verdasco (ESP) d. Ivan Dodig (CRO) 62 61 63
Women's Second Round:
Shelby Rogers (USA) bt Elena Vesnina (RUS) 6-4, 6-2Petra Kvitova (CZE #10) bt Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) 6-4, 6-1Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #13) bt Heather Watson (GBR) 6-1, 6-3Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS #24) bt Cagla Buyukakcay (TUR) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) bt Ekaterina Makarova (RUS x27) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #4) bt Myrtille Georges (FRA) 6-2, 6-0Simona Halep (ROM #6) bt Zarina Diyas (KAZ) 7-6 (7/5), 6-2Naomi Osaka (JPN) bt Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO) 6-3, 6-3Lucie Safarova (CZE #11) bt Viktorija Golubic (SUI) 6-2, 6-2
Our Future Stars
Paris, May 25th, 2016 - Roland-Garros tournament direction has released the list of wildcards provided for the boys' and girls' singles tournaments (29 May to 4 June).
Wildcards for the boys' singles:
- Elliot Benchetrit (FRA)- Constantin Bittoun-Kouzmine (FRA)- Maxence Broville (FRA)- Evan Furness (FRA)- Mattéo Martineau (FRA)- Corentin Moutet (FRA)- Rafael Wagner (BRA) Winner of the "Rendez-Vous à Roland-Garros in partnership with Longines" event- The eighth wildcard will be attributed to an American player at a later date
Wildcards for the girls' singles:
- Schena Benamar (FRA) - Loudmilla Bencheikh (FRA) - Sandra Bozinovic (FRA) - Mylène Halemai (FRA) - Manon Leonard (FRA) - Yasmine Mansouri (FRA) - Emmanuelle Salas (FRA) - Ayano Shimizu (JPN) Winner of the "Rendez-Vous à Roland-Garros in partnership with Longines" event
French Open 2016: Day 5
Rafael Withdraws from Roland Garros
Paris, May 27th, 2016 - Sad day tennis as No.4 seed Rafael Nadal, who was to meet fellow countryman Marcel Granollers in the third round, has withdrawn from the Roland-Garros. Rafa was forced to withdraw due to an injury to his left wrist. In today's press conference, Nadal stated: "I arrive here with a little pit of pain but something that I was able to manage. We tried to manage it. I hand an injection in the wrist yesterday but this morning I could not move the wrist. It is not broken but if I continue to play it will be broken. We tried our best, we took risks. Roland Garros is an important tournament for me. To win the tournament I need five more matches. The doctor says it is not 100% possible because it will be broken. There is no chance I can even practise today. It’s a very bad decision for me but that’s part of life. I will try to be back as soon as possible.”
Granollers advances to the Round of 16 via walkover, where he’ll face the winner of the match between German Alexander Zverev and Austrian Dominic Thiem (No.13 seed).
In a thrilling match, Nishikori dispatched Verdasco in a physical demanding match 6-3 6-4 3-6 2-6 6-4. Nishikori now faces Frenchman Gasquet in the 4th round. Gasquet had a much easier time today winning his match agasint Kyrgios 6-2 7-6 6-2.
Men's Third Round:
Milos Raonic (CAN #8) bt Andrej Martin (SVK) 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, 6-3 Andy Murray (GBR #2) bt Ivo Karlovic (CRO #27) 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) bt Jack Sock (USA #23) 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
Women's Third Round: Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #4) bt Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 6-3, 6-0 Simona Halep (ROM #6) bt Naomi Osaka (JPN) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 Irina Begu (ROM) bt Annika Beck (GER) 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 Shelby Rogers (USA) bt Petra Kvitova (CZE #10) 6-0, 6-7 (3/7), 6-0 Simona Halep (ROM #6) bt Naomi Osaka (JPN) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 Samantha Stosur (AUS #21) bt Lucie Safarova (CZE #11) 6-3, 6-7 (0/7), 7-5
French Open 2016: Day 6
Paris, May 26th, 2016 - Another exciting day today at Roland Garros as Serena Willimas wins her match against noisy Brazilian player Teliana Pereira 6-2, 6-1 to get reach the third round.
Top seed Novak Djokovic cruised into the third round of the French Open, defeating Belgian player Steve Darcis 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. Today marked Novak's 50th win at Roland Garros and he will play against Aljaz Bedene who won agasint Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain in a five-set thriller 7/6 (7/4), 6-3, 4-6, 5-7, 6-2.
Rafael Nadal won in straight sets today against Facundo Bagains from Argentina. Today's win placed Nadal in history by makig him only the eighth man to win 200 Grand Slam matches. Nadal won 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 and plays Marcel Granollers on the next round. Suffering an injury to his left knee, France’s Nicolas Mahut unfortunatly retired from his second-round match against Spain’s Marcel Granollers. Mahut was down 6-3, 6-2, 1-0.
Men's Second Round:
Novak Djokovic (SRB #1) bt Steve Darcis (BEL) 7-5, 6-3, 6-4Aljaz Bedene (GBR) bt Pablo Carreno-Busta (ESP) 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 4-6, 5-7, 6-2Borna Coric (CRO) bt Bernard Tomic (AUS #20) 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (8/6)Roberto Bautista (ESP #14) bt Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 6-1Pablo Cuevas (URU #25) bt Quentin Halys (FRA) 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 7-6 (8/6)Tomas Berdych (CZE #7) bt Malek Jaziri (TUN) 6-1, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4Rafael Nadal (ESP #4) bt Facundo Bagnis (ARG) 6-3, 6-0, 6-3Dominic Thiem (AUT #13) bt Guillermo García-López (ESP) 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3)Ernests Gulbis (LAT) bt João Sousa (POR x26) 6-2, 7-5, 6-3
Women's Second Round:
Ana Ivanovic (SRB #14) bt Kurumi Nara (JPN) 7-5, 6-1Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP #12) bt Wang Qiang (CHN) 6-1, 6-3Dominika Cibulkova (SVK #22) bt Ana Konjuh (CRO) 6-4, 3-6, 6-0Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) bt Andrea Petkovic (GER #28) 6-2, 6-2Karin Knapp (ITA) bt Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) 6-3, 6-4Kiki Bertens (NED) bt Camila Giorgi (ITA) 6-4, 6-1Pauline Parmentier (FRA) bt Irina Falconi (USA) 6-3, 6-1Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #8) bt Eugénie Bouchard (CAN) 6-4, 6-4
Roland-Garros Program to Stop Food Waste
Paris, May 28th, 2016 - For the third year in a row, Roland-Garros is working to fight food waste. The restaurants at Porte d’Auteuil are again setting an example by distributing surplus food in good condition to people in need, for the duration of the tournament.
Gaël Monfils is the patron of this community-oriented initiative, supported by the French Tennis Federation and the Mairie de Paris. It is coordinated by Le Chaînon Manquant, a non-profit organisation which has established local distribution channels throughout the Paris region.
Since the beginning of the tournament, 5000 meals have been distributed to non-profit organisations supporting people in need.
This initiative is an excellent reflection of the French Tennis Federation’s commitment to community activities, especially those run by its educational, social and solidarity department in recent years. This commitment helps make Roland-Garros a socially responsible tournament. Gaël Monfils, who is supporting the initiative for the third year in a row, said, “I wasn’t rich growing up. My parents made a lot of sacrifices for me to get to where I am today. Every cent counted, so not finishing your food was just not an option. When you consider how many people in France and around the world don’t get enough to eat, you have to do something. Sustainable development is a key issue for the planet and for future generations. For too long we’ve produced and consumed without considering the environmental and societal impacts. We need to start worrying now; every little bit helps. Everyone has to get involved, everyone has to be aware of their actions on a daily basis.”
French Open: Day 7
Paris, May 28th, 2016 - Unfortunate news today for French fans as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retires due to an injuly. He was winning the first set 5 x 2 against Meanwhile, Ernests Gulbis. David Ferrer won the an all-Spanish match with Feliciano Lopez today by winning in straight sets: 6-4, 7-6 (6), 6-1.
On the women's side, Serena Williams won a challenging match after the 5th match point 6-4, 7-6(10) against French-woman Kristina Mladenovic. Spain's Carla Suarez advances to third round of French Open. She won her match against the Dominika Cibulkova 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
Men's Third Round:
Marcel Granollers (ESP) bt Rafael Nadal (ESP #4) w/oDominic Thiem (AUT #13) bt Alexander Zverev (GER) 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-3, 6-3
Women's Third Round:
Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #8) bt Pauline Parmentier (FRA) 6-4, 6-2Elina Svitolina (UKR #18) bt Ana Ivanovic (SRB #14) 6-4, 6-4Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) bt Karin Knapp (ITA) 6-1, 6-1Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP #12) bt Dominika Cibulkova (SVK #22) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
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