Black Tennis Pros

 Men's Singles - Round 4

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) [13]
Novak Djokovic (SRB) [2]


Women's Doubles - Round 3

Madison Keys (USA)
Alison Riske (USA)
Lucie Hradecka (CZE)
Michaella Krajicek (NED)


Mixed Doubles - Round 2

Raquel Kops-Jones (USA)
Raven Klaasen (RSA)
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) [5]
Daniel Nestor (CAN) [5]




 

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PARIS — No. 23 Gael Monfils beat No. 14 Fabio Fognini 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 on Saturday to advance to the fourth round of the French Open and, oh, what a spectacle it was.

In their last meeting at Roland Garros, in 2010, Fognini won 2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 9-7 in a controversial match that was suspended for darkness at 5-5 in the fifth set amid jeers. This time, there was no threat of darkness, and the highly anticipated rematch sizzled when it came to drama, but fizzled when it came to high-quality tennis.

After a nervous start in which he dropped the first set, Monfils rolled through the next two in entertaining fashion. The Frenchman began to suffer from fatigue, however, and completely gave away the fourth set, winning only six points. But Monfils came out firing in the final set, inspired by the constant cheers of “GA-EL, GA-EL” from the crowd. Showing off his trademark athleticism and shot making, he opened a 3-0 lead and avoided a late collapse.

During his post-match interview Monfils discussed coming back in the fifth set,  “I was pretty tired after the third [set], and I took my time. I was suffering with the long rallies. When I arrive in the fourth, he break me like straight away. I tried to break back, but I couldn’t. The first two points were too tough for me, and then it’s easy. I wanted to serve first in the fifth, so the only option I had is to take six‑Love. Why should I make any effort [when trailing that much]?”

Monfils was asked whether he could win a Grand Slam amid the ups and downs of his career, "For me, it’s not about ups and downs. It’s more about saving my ass every day [laughter].”

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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga set up a last 16 meeting with Novak Djokovic as he dismissed last year’s Wimbledon semi-finalist Jerzy Janowicz in front of a roaring Suzanne Lenglen crowd. What he lacked in perfect accuracy, the Frenchman more than made up for with bravura – it was the kind of day he relishes, galloping about the court in front of the home faithful. He beat the No.22 seed 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.


The two traded breaks at the start of the third as Tsonga’s concentration wandered a little. But halfway through the set the Frenchman breached Janowicz’s defences again – and this time it stuck. He closed out the match with a smash, to leave the crowd recalling memories of his epic quarter-final with Novak Djokovic two years ago when Tsonga somehow saw four match points go by. His ranking now is not as high as it was then, and the Serb is hungrier than ever for the title – but their fourth-round match this coming Sunday is an intriguing prospect, just the same.

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Sloane Stephens is through to her sixth straight fourth-round appearance at a major after handily accounting for dangerous Russian lefty Ekaterina Makarova 6-3, 6-4.

In a more evenly-matched showdown than the scoreline would suggest, it was Stephens who converted when it mattered, winning three of four break points as opposed to Marakova’s one from four.

The American’s half-dozen fourth-round berths in a row is the most among any of her rivals on the Tour but the weight of expectation continues to mount. She is the highest-ranked player never to have won a title - and has yet to reach a final.

“Yeah, it's a great thing [the last 16 streak]. If I knew [why she plays better at Slams than in WTA events], I would capitalise on it. I would do it every week. But I guess it's all just a learning experience,” Stephens said. “I just peak at four tournaments a year. Every other tournament just gets me ready for these.”

Still a long way from the business end of the tournament, but Stephens is well-pitted to make the breakthrough on what she says is her favourite surface.

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PARIS (AP) –  Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain thwarted a comeback attempt by Donald Young of the United States and beat him 6-2, 6-4, 2-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4 Saturday at the French Open, making John Isner the only American man in the fourth round.

The 41st-ranked Garcia-Lopez, who surprised No. 3 Stan Wawrinka in the first round, is in the final 16 at a major tournament for the first time.

Young, who is from Chicago, was trying to pull off his first victory in a match after dropping the first two sets, but Garcia-Lopez closed it out after more than 3½ hours.

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American Taylor Townsend's valiant effort to gain as much depth as possible into the 2014 French Open has come to an end.  Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro, the women's 14th seed, proved to be more competition on clay than Townsend could handle.

After the brief twenty-four minute first set, Townsend appeared to gather herself and put forth greater offense than she had in the first set, but even with her adjustments, Townsend was still no match for Navarro who began to steamroll the talented teen into a 6-2, 6-2 defeat.

Townsend used her brief run to bring a great deal of excitement to this year's French Open, especially in light of the Williams sisters being eliminated so early. She can certainly return home knowing that she put her best foot forward and that all of her hard work has been worth the effort.

Great Job Taylor!!

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In his post-match interview American Donald Young said, "I have actually never won a match outside of the U.S. on red clay.  So to win two here at the French Open, it means a lot."

Young advanced to the third round today after a 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 win over Spain's Feliciano Lopez.  This represents only the third occasion that he has been able to get this far at a grand slam tournament.

When asked whether he believes he's doing well because of the big stage and the greater challenge, Young responded, "Yeah, actually, I like the big stage a little more than the challengers and everywhere else.  I feel like I play better against higher level players.

"But, yeah, I just feel like I put the work in and I'm playing well.  I'm just letting my game flow and do what it does."

Awaiting Donald in the third round is yet another Spaniard, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.




Tsonga The First Of The Frenchman To Charge Into Round 3

Austrian Jürgen Melzer fell to the mighty swings of France's own Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Wednesday. The No. 13 seed took the match in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.

Post-match Tsonga stated that, "Jerzy is a difficult player. You never know exactly what to expect on court. I'm not really talking about his behavior but rather his game. He's rather unpredictable. He's very tall, he strikes hard. He can have a very high first ball, first-serve percentage, striking really hard ... so you have to find a way to neutralize him, and it's not always that easy."

Up next for Tsonga is the No. 22 seed Jerzy Janowicz of Poland.




Gael Monfils Flies Through Yet Another Round

The consistently acrobatic Frenchman Gael Monfils also moved through the second round in straight sets 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-1, eliminating Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff.  Struff put up quite a defense in the first set, but was not able to overcome the game of the 23rd seed.

Italian Fabio Fognini, the tournament's 14th seed, awaits Monfils in the 3rd round.

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