French Open midterm grades: Favorites earn an ace
We have old, reliable standby menus: Iga Swiatek, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal. We have a hot breakout special this year, Carlos Alcaraz. And we will serve Coco Gauff. O Coq au Gauff, ingnon ta. Unfortunately, we were all sold on Krejcikova — popular last year — and Jabeur, a Tunisian specialty. (We blame the supply chain.) We also regret reporting Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s removal from the menu. In the middle of the seven-course meal that is the 2022 French Open, we stopped mixing metaphors and giving midterm grades.
Can Carlos Alcaraz build his breakout Madrid Open win with his first major title?
Susan Mullane/USA Today Sports
A:
Favorites: For all the different and varied troubles, this is the second difference. Typhoon Iga is still going on. The “top half trio” of Nadal, Djokovic, and Alcaraz also continued to accelerate.
Americans: As we write this, there is no man left. (Congrats if you have Mackie McDonald in your ghoul pool.) But there are five girls: Coco Gauff, Madison Keys, resurrected Sloane Stephens, Jessica Pegula, and, at the very least, Amanda Anisimova, who nearly won this event three years ago, went through some personal strife and is now playing like never before.
Jil Teichman: The talented Swiss lefty who is undefeated here so far, defeated Victoria Azarenka in one of the best games of the tournament. Daniil Medvedev: What is Russian for “sandbag”? His protests on the contrary, the second seed Russian can play on clay. Scandinavia: Ruud and Rune (and Ruusavuori)… .no, not a law firm to secure your Baltic Sea and maritime fishing rights. These are three young ascending ATP players. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: The Frenchman played his last game. A famous career — five top appearances; 18 titles — and nothing less than gentleman.
Caper Ruud: He is again. Yes, with the arrival of Week 2. But also because of the abundance of grace he showed in playing Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Ruud, 23, was handed the microphone after the win and said, “I don’t want to talk about myself. This day is about Jo. ”
B added:
Simona Halep: The former champion lost in the second round. But how many people did he help by his normalizing what happened to him in court? “It was just a panic attack. It happened … I lost it. I can’t focus. After the game, it was a bit difficult. But now I’m fine. I have recovered, and I can learn from this stage. Nothing is as dangerous, in my opinion, but it happens. So good now. I can smile. ”
Canada: Denis Shapovalov and Bianca Andreescu come out early; Felix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Fernandez remain late.
Linda Noskova: Failed to close out Emma Raducanu, but what about the 17-year-old’s arrival to qualify and be a player to watch for many years to come.
Ann Li: The young American led a set in the first round before retiring. A disappointing retirement but even more a sign that he has a real game.
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Taylor Townsend: Back after maternity leave, singles and doubles look great.
B:
Maria Bouzkova: The Czech test was positive for COVID-19 and had to be withdrawn. Happier, he is now officially a Hoosier.
Lorenzo Musetti: For the second consecutive year, the Italian shotmaker — bonus points for one hand — led 2-0 sets more than a star. (Last year, Djokovic; this year, Tsitsipas.) For the second consecutive year, he failed to close.
B-minus:
Top 10 female seeds: Swiatek played his role in (almost) perfection. But on Thursday, only two (Badosa and Sabalenka) were fighting.
Andrei Rublev: Still alive in the draw. But, man, was he lucky he didn’t boot after this:
Irina-Camilia Begu: Still alive in the draw. But, man, was he lucky he didn’t boot after this.
C:
Lack of media access: The mission creep is too far away and too long. Putting limits on the written press especially made it a “player-friendly” touch — like sushi bars and courtesy cars — that benefited competitors. It doesn’t. It won’t benefit the fans. It doesn’t benefit the sport. It can hurt everyone.
Atong Jabeur: He faced defeat with good class and perspective. But the second favorite after Swiatek was no longer at noon in the first session on Sunday. In addition to a disappointing loss, that’s a lot of time between games.
Dominic Thiem: One of the best guys of all time. But more than a year has passed since his last win. Not winning the tournament. Win the game. Recovering from a wrist injury was a slog and demanded a price on his confidence.
Garbiñe Muguruza: Don’t think he’s a former champion. He finished 2021 with a WTA Championships title, cutting off all attendees. This year? A sub-.500 season including an appetizing first-round loss here.
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