Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic both face tough draws at Roland Garros 2011, while Andy Roddick’s withdrawal makes the path to American victory seems even bleaker than usual. In the women’s field, the stage is set for an unfortunately early meeting between favorites Kim Clijsters and Maria Sharapova.
French Open 2011 Results: Marin Cilic First Seeded Player To Fall
No. 19 Marin Cilic of Croatia became the 2011 French Open’s first upset victim on the men’s side, falling 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4 to Spain’s Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo. Most other ranked players at Roland Garros won handily, with No. 7 David Ferrer, No. 14 Stanislas Wawrinka, No. 17 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 30 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and No. 31 Sergiy Stakhovsky all moving past the first round.
The women’s side saw a pair of upsets, with No. 18 Flavia Pennetta and No. 19 Shahar Peer losing to Varvara Lepchenko and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez respectively. No. 8 Samantha Stosur, No. 10 Jelena Jankovic, No. 13 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 14 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, No. 17 Julia Goerges and No. 32 Tsvetana Pironkova remain in contention after picking up day-one victories.
Read Article >French Open 2011 TV Schedule: Sunday Coverage Begins At 5 A.M.
The 2011 French Open gets underway on Sunday as the first wave of first round matches get started at Roland Garros. Coverage begins bright and early as the Tennis Channel ushers in the French Open at 5 a.m. EDT on Sunday morning. Throughout the tournament, three different networks will alternate coverage, with broadcast windows split between NBC, ESPN/ESPN2 and the Tennis Channel.
The men’s and women’s draws were set on Friday, giving us an idea of what a few of the favorites are up against. The men’s draw can be found here and the women’s draw can be found here.
Read Article >French Open 2011 Draw Preview: Five Players To Watch
The 2011 French Open is upon us, a waiting world settles in to watch the dust fly for two weeks as May turns to June in Paris. The tennis courts have been buffed to an orangey sheen. The draw is Friday, mere hours away. Below, five players to watch at Roland Garros 2011:
1. Novak Djokovic. Riding the mother of all hot streaks and within three wins of catching John McEnroe’s all-time straight victories record, the World No. 2 will reach a singularity of hype if he makes the finals here. The Serb has never made it past the semis at Roland Garros, but his play over the past 39 matches has proven he can beat anyone, on any surface, including clay, long the sole provenance of Rafael Nadal.
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