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Teichmann holds, so Muchova must serve for a decider at 1-6 5-3; Michelsen holds against Jodar for 1-1 5-3, and if he can close out the set, he’ll feel like he’s a great chance of winning one of the next two.
Cirstea leads Sierra, who beat Paolini in round two, 6-0 3-0; Muchova takes a medical timeout to address an issue with her right leg, having had one of her breaks taken back, Teichmann leadig her 6-1 2-5, and off we go again.
Next on Chatrier: João Fonseca (28) v Novak Djokovic (3).
Andreeva says that it’s always difficult against Bouzkova – you really have to work the points to win them. She was happy to win the first set despite not playing that well, and happy she was aggressive throughout the match.
She likes it when it’s hot and the ball bounces more – she can give a good shape on it – but when she asked Rublev to finish his last match quickly so she could get the conditions she wanted, he said no, he was going to take it slowly, presumably so she’d have to win in adverse circumstances.
Otherwise, she’s sure her coach, Conchita Martinez, will have notes, and they’ll try to adapt her game to whoever the next opponent is.
Mirra Andreeva (8) beats Marie Bouzkova (27) 6-4 6-2
Andreeva is getting to that point where her basic level of performance is good enough to beat almost everyone; next for her comes Teichmann or Muchova.
Andreeva breaks Bouzkova again and at 6-4 5-2 is serving for the match; Jodar retrieves a break to trail Michelsen 3-1 in the third; and Muchova is all over Teichmann now at 1-6 5-1, a second break telling us that class is overriding form.
I should also note that Michelsen and Jodar are wearing identical outfits, the latter having changed to a blue cap.
I can confirm that the aforementioned salad dressing stained the worktops. Happily, the aforementioned 12-year-old then coated them – the worktops, not the salad dressing – in Cif, so that is now all over my hands. Anyhow, Jodar directs a backhand down the line but just wide, and suddenly, from serving for a 2-0 lead, he’s been broken thrice on the spin, trailing 3-0 in the third.
It takes him a while, but Michelsen endorses his break for 1-1 2-0, as Muchova preserves hers by holding from 0-40 down. She leads 4-1 in the second having lost the first 6-1, and on Chatrier, Andreeva is nearly there, leading Bouzkova 6-4 4-2.
Now then. Jodar leaves the court between sets, returns, and is broken. we’ll see how he responds, but Coach Calv is high on him: “He’s class. Huge hitter. Very composed for his age. He could go very deep here.”
The composure is very apparent – he backs himself, and not in a foolish, youthful way, but because he trusts himself.
On Lenglen, it’s going as we thought it might, Teichmann’s streak expiring as Muchova improves to trail 1-6 2-0; Andreeva leads Bouzkova 6-4 2-0.
My 12-year-old disturbs me to talk the salad dressing she’s just made – yes, I have disowned her – and Michelsen makes 6-4, but a big serve from Jodar amps up the pressure at 6-5. And brutal hitting from the Spaniard opens the opportunity to finish the rally with a mid-court forehand … but he nets! Real talk, I don’t think losing this set will affect the outcome, because Michelsen needs that kind of error to win and I doubt he gets enough of them, but for now, he’s saluting his box having levelled the match at a set apiece.
Andreeva breaks Bouzkova immediately at the start of set two, and she’s on the surge now; part of her development has been taking control of matches when she’s in the ascendancy – the ability to up it when necessary – and that’s what we’re seeing here. Elsewhere, Muchova is made to fight for it, but she holds at the start of set two to trail Teichmann 1-6 1-0, while Michelsen has the mini-break against Jodar, up 4-3.
Michelsen is a gamer, making 30-all, then, when Jodar goes for his big second serve again, this time he misses … and a second double, the second serve of which is butchered, the ball never threatening to bounce in the box, means we’re back on serve with a second breaker upon us.
Yeah, Rafael Jodar is forrreal. Michelsen facilitates him with a pair of unforced errors but then, up 30-40, he races way out of court on the backhand side and smites a winner down the line and at the ankles to secure a break. He’ll now serve for the second set and a 2-0 lead at 7-6 6-5.
Pablo Carreño Busta beats Thiago Agustín Tirante 7-6(0) 7-5 3-6 6-4
Next for him: Jodar or Michelsen.
Teichmann serves out what is surely one of the best sets (of tennis) she’s ever played, leading Muchova 6-1; Andreeva does likewise, up 6-4 on Bouzkova.
Gosh, there’s been a bit of doubles upheaval:
Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez tripped over an advertising sign and crashed into a wall while chasing the ball in her doubles match at the French Open on Friday, with the leg injury she sustained bringing her campaign to an early end.
Sonmez, who was partnering German Tatjana Maria in their second round match against Ukrainian duo Anhelina Kalinina and Dayana Yastremska, ran towards the back of Court Six as she chased a high ball at 2-0 down in the opening set.
The 24-year-old looked to have given up her chase as the ball bounced over her head but she tripped on a small sign that served as an advertisement for a sponsor and fell face first towards the wall.
Although Sonmez reacted quickly to avoid a more serious injury to her head and face, she stayed down and clutched her bruised right leg, as her teammate and opponents ran to her.
After returning to her seat at the centre of the court and following a check by the tournament doctor, Sonmez pulled out and the contest came to an abrupt end after 17 minutes.
I love Andreeva’s inside-out forehand, a helluva thump, and she leaps into one to break Bouzkova for 5-4 in the first; she’ll now serve for the set. Meanwhile, Muchova is on the board but still down 5-1 to Teichmann, and Jodar leads Michelsen 7-5 4-5 on erve. v.
A second-serve ace saves Jodar from being broken, bravery and creativity under pressure another big tick next to his name; he leads 7-6 4-4; Teichmann now leads Muchova 5-0; and Carreno Busta is serving for the match against Tirente.
Teichmann has come out firing – she breaks Muchova again for 4-0 in the first and it’s not that her opponent is playing poorly, she’s just roasting hot. I doubt she can maintain that level through another set, but if she can, she’ll be hard to stop.
On Mathieu, Jodar, at net on the sideline but facing the baseline, somehow diverts a shoulder-high volley cross-court; it’s so good, Michelsen applauds. For now, though, he’s just about staying in the contest, down 6-7 3-3, but struggling to hold.
On Chatrier, Andreeva and Bouzkova are level at 3-3, but Andreeva is starting to play, a tremendous backhand taking her to deuce on return, and though she nets in the next point, prior to it she was dictating. And it’s that increased aggression which will give her a chance of winning majors – her defensive work is supreme, but without a big weapon, she needs to find other ways of finishing points, and conviction might just be the way.
What I really like about Muchova is the intelligence of her play – she has power, but varies spin, speed and angles better than almost everyone. Of course, as I type, she’s broken for 0-2; let’s see how she handles that.
We’re under way on Lenglen, where Teichmann has taken the first game against Muchova. Muchova is a brilliant player whose career has been hampered by injuries, but her grand slam record tells us just how good she is – she’s made the final of this competition, losing to Swiatek in three tight sets, the semis of the two hard-court majors, and the last eight at Wimbledon. It’s been a couple of years since the most recent of all those, but she lost a three-setter to Gauff in Melbourne, won in Qatar, lost to Gauff in the Miami semi, beat Gauff in Stuttgart – and Svitolina – then lost the final to Rybakina. She might just be ready for this.
Michelsen responds really well when down break point, but the feeling persists that the match is on Jodar’s racket: he’s got bigger power, but also a terrific understanding of what a rally requires. He leads 7-6 0-1.
It’s getting close on 14, Tirante retrieving a set to trail Carreno Busta 6-7 5-7 6-3 2-12, while on Chatrier we’re on serve, Bouzkova leading Andreeva 2-1.
Back with the dubs, longtime readers will know that Calv Betton, a great friend of the blog and whose insights are the best bit of it, coaches Henry Patten. He and Harri Heliovaara are currently on court against Mattia Bellucci and Fábián Marozsán; they lead 5-1 in the first set.
On Mathieu, they’re playing a breaker and, from 0-2 down, Jodar rips through seven points on the spin to lead Michelsen 7-6. He’s looking very good indeed, his ability to change tempo and intensity a rare one; he’s seeded to meet Zverev in the last eight and though there’s plenty of work for both to do before then, it’d be a tremendous tussle.
Next on Lenglen: Jil Teichmann v Karolína Muchová.
I really like Rublev – he seems like such a good lad and I’m told he is. What he said about charisma is really interesting, because a s a bloke, he has it, but competitively, he doesn’t quite have the belief in himself, which is a major reasons he struggles against the best in the biggest tournament. Juvenile though this sounds, if he can introduce a bit of swagger to proceedings, he’ll be a much better player.
Rublev says he played a tough player who is dangerous and has good shots; he thinks they played good rallies at good speed, and he’s happy to have won.
“How do you manage to stay calm?” Fabrice Santoro wonders; “I’m not a good person to ask,” Rublev responds. “So what’s going on in your head?” comes back at him; “You know, Looney Tunes, the Tasmanian Devil? The one that’s crazy” is the answer.
Working with Marat Safin, now coaching him, is something unique and special, he’s grateful and it’s been amazing to work with him. The thing Safin is trying to bring to his game is “charisma” but also to see the court, how to move the opponent and when to step in, not just hitting the ball.
Andrey Rublev (11) beats Nuno Borges 7-5 7-6(2) 7-6(2)
An excellent performance from Rublev, who served well when he needs to and found winners when he needed them. Next for him comes Mensik or De Minaur, and like every man left in the draw, he’ll be wondering if this might be his time.
And that might be that, a backhand swatted cross as Borges chugs from corner to corner makes it 5-2 Rublev, a booming ace out wide follows, and he now has four match points.
Borges secures his hold, so here comes our second breaker in a row, and he’s immediately down a mini-break, Rublev dashing in to whip a winner down the line by way of consolidation.
Visiting on Lenglen, Borges is serving to stay in the match at 5-7 6-7 5-6 while, on Mathieu, Jodar and Michelsen have swapped breaks once more, the Spaniard just holding to lead 5-4.
I really don’t have a clue what’s going to happen in week two of the women’s competition. Five to ten years ago, it was the least predictable sport in the world because no one was all that good so anyone could win any tournament; now, it’s the least predictable sport in the world because so many players are so damn brilliant.
Next on Chatrier: Mirra Andreeva (8) v Marie Bouzkova (27).
Swiatek says sometimes you have to be patient as it’s easy to go for a winner and miss, so her forehand top-spin did a lot today, and she’s also happy with her second serve and general solidity.
Asked about spending time training with Rafael Nadal, she says it was an amazing experience. She didn’t think he’d have time to come to her practises and he gave her some technical tiops, but the main thing to take from him is his approach to the game – it’s not always easy, sometimes the best players struggle, the key is to get over it, work on stuff, and never give up. He had some stories to share and is really open to giving advice, which she really appreciates.
This was the first time two Polish players have met at Roland Garros in the open eara – she hoes to see the fans again in the next days.
Iga Swiatek (3) beats Magda Linette 6-4 6-4
Swiatek is so good at improving through the rounds, and that was the best she’s played this week. But her next match, against Kostyuk, will offer a very different challenge – an elite athlete, with big power, and lots of confidence. I can’t wait.
And very quickly, it’s 6-4 5-4 40-0…
On more than a few occasions, Linette has done the hard work then missed with her winner, and a forehand swiped down the line but wide, means that at 30-all, she’s two points away from defeat. But she then plays a really good rally for 40-30, then Swiatek goes long on the backhand, meaning she must serve for the match after change of ends.
Of course, as I type, Jodar serves three doubles in the process of surrendering his break, so he now leads 3-2 while, on Lenglen, Borges has the umpire down so he can chunter about a ball he thinks is out and on Chatrier, Linette is serving at 4-6 3-5 to stay in the mach.
Jodar breaks Michelsen for 3-1, and there’s a really good composure about him – he knows he’s meant to be here. Unlike the lads who try taking four of the 11 spare seats in his box – his old fella hoofs them out in short order, but biggup for trying.
