Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters, Andy Murray, and Robin Söderling are all through to the second round at Roland Garros after Day 3 of the 2011 French Open.
Rafael Nadal Survives French Open 2011 Match Against John Isner In Five Sets
French Open 2011 results from Day 3 at Roland Garros, which saw the undisputed champion of clay taken to a five-setter, a pair of seeded upsets in the women’s field, and a few surprises from the American players.
• No. 1 Rafael Nadal def. John Isner, 6-4 6-7(2) 6-7(2) 6-2 6-4.
The outcome was expected; the process, anything but. An unseeded American took the World No. 1 to an epic five-setter in what’s indisputably the highlight of the first round, and that Isner did this on clay is story enough in itself. Next in line for the Rafa buzzsaw: Spanish compatriot Pablo Andujar.
Read Article >French Open 2011 Results: Rafael Nadal Forces Fifth Set Against John Isner
As their first-round 2011 French Open match nears the four-hour mark, World No. 1 Rafael Nadal appears to have regained a modicum of control over John Isner. Nadal has only lost once in his entire career at Roland Garros, you’ll recall, to Robin Söderling in 2009, and whatever momentum Isner accumulated in attaining a 2-1 set lead over the Spaniard appears to have run out in a pretty big hurry.
Isner’s 12 unforced errors to Nadal’s zero in the fourth set helped make short work of him, as did two double faults, one of which cost him a game. Nadal takes the set, 6-2, the most lopsided and shorted of the match thus far. Of all the times for Isner to shake himself awake and remember he’s playing Rafa on clay, this is perhaps the most inopportune. Nadal leads 2-1 in the fifth set on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Read Article >French Open 2011: John Isner Leads Rafael Nadal In Potential Massive Upset
Don’t look now, but something extraordinary is in the works in Paris: Unseeded American John Isner, who drew Rafael Nadal in the first round of the 2011 French Open, is making a match out of what was supposed to be a cakewalk for the five-time Roland Garros champ. After dropping the first set 4-6, the 39th-ranked American has taken two in a row from the modern undisputed heavyweight of clay court play. Both sets ended in tiebreakers, and neither was close: 7-6(2), 7-6(2). The third set was visibly Isner’s for the entirety of the tiebreaker despite having to battle back from being down a double set point to get there.
This is, of course, Rafa we’re talking about. He hasn’t been unbeatable on clay this year, but the guy beating him has been Novak Djokovic, not some American upstart.
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