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NO SPOILERS 🎥

If you don't want to see the results yet, and want to catch up with the highlights first, stop scrolling now. (Highlights that are available will be linked here).

Nadal 🎥 Maden

Otte 🎥 Federer

Tsonga 🎥 Nishikori

Pella 🎥 Moutet

Kohlschreiber 🎥 Mahut

Gasquet 🎥 Londero

Paire 🎥 Herbert (Match Of The Day 🔥)

RESULTS 🎾

💥 = Beatdown \\ 🤕 = Injury \\ ‼️ = Upset \\ 🤯 = Epic

Featured Matches

Federer d Otte: 6-4, 6-3, 6-4

1st Set: Both started well on serve, with Otte employing a similar strategy to his compatriot Hanfmann (vs Nadal on Monday), crushing many of his groundstrokes as hard as he could:

— Boom. (Eurosport)

The German was playing with impressive freedom, swinging for the fences and ambushing Federer with some effective net-rushing. But, when it came time to serve for the set, Federer found a brilliant forehand pass, followed by some Otte unforced errors, and suddenly Federer had taken the opener (6-4).

2nd Set: The 2nd followed a very similar path to the first, with Otte doing well to hold onto his serve through the first few games, but then Federer pouncing when it mattered (this time at 3*-4). Fed broke and then, despite having to save two break back points while trying to serve it out, took a commanding two sets lead.

3rd Set: Otte created two early BP’s with Fed serving at 1*-2, but Federer cleverly coaxed some short balls out of the German to save both:

— Otte, with his quite lanky frame, didn’t seem that comfortable hitting his backhand off these low pace balls. Offering up quite a few short balls, which Fed promptly dispatched. (Eurosport)

After saving the BP’s, and in what must have felt like déjà vu, Otte was broken late in the set at 4-4 (after once again looking very comfortable on serve in his previous games). The Swiss served it out with ease to cruise into the 3rd Round.

TL;DR: A match that featured Otte looking comfortable on serve until he approached the business end of each set. Broken at 4*-5 in the 1st set, 3*-4 in the 2nd and 4-4 in the 3rd. Each break featured some slightly wild misses from the German, but also Federer raising his game and cutting down his own errors when it mattered. As soon as Federer could manufacture some time on his forehand the point was effectively over, and the Swiss managed to do so thanks to some decent serving and slices into Otte’s backhand. Fed had to save BP’s in both sets 2 and 3, but responded impressively each time, taking control of the point away from Otte. Fed finished with a solid 35 winners to 24 unforced errors, Otte with a very respectable 26 winners to 22 errors. An unflashy match, largely devoid of rhythm thanks to both players desire to take huge cuts at the ball early in each point. Fed much too good when it mattered today (& plays Ruud next).

Nadal d Maden: 6-1, 6-2, 6-4

1st Set: After 3 games played (Nadal leading 3-0*), Rafa had hit 5 winners (two of them 90mph+) and just 1 unforced error, Maden 1 winner to 5 unforced errors. Rafa continued to open his shoulders after playing somewhat within himself in the first game of the match, cruising to a quick, breadstick first set. This was simply a mismatch of firepower, with Rafa finishing the opener with 11 winners to Maden’s 1. The German just didn't have a big enough serve or follow up shot to get through his service games without trouble. Rafa looked comfortable standing back and easily cancelling out his opponents serving advantage with heavy returns.

2nd Set: Maden, clearly aware that his first set willingness to trade with Nadal from the baseline had been entirely fruitless, found some fleeting success with serves into drop shot combos. This caught out Nadal’s deep return position and stopped the German from getting caught in a rally (also known as certain death):

— This combo works particularly well against Nadal as long as the Spaniard can’t find depth off the return. But as soon as he can find better depth than above, this strategy (playing a drop shot as a follow up to the serve) becomes a bit like trying to put a leash on a kangaroo. (Eurosport)

Maden clearly thought the drop shots were the way to go, but came out on the losing end of a ridiculous cat and mouse point to surrender the double break in the 2nd set. It was admirable however, to watch the German mix up his strategy in the face of a beatdown. Nadal now 2 routine sets to love up.

3rd Set: Maden continued to fight hard, grabbing a break back (after Rafa had broken his serve in the first game) mid-way through the third set, before being broken again straight away. Rafa’s rhythm seemed to have deserted him, donating his serve at 4*-3 to complete a run of 4 consecutive service breaks. Predictably however, yet another break followed in Maden’s subsequent service game, and Nadal finally consolidated the break to serve out the match.

TL;DR: Aside from a bit of a concentration lapse in that third set, compounded by an impressively determined Maden, Nadal struck the ball excellently today. Rafa hit nearly double the number of winners to unforced errors (43W to 23UE’s) and consistently overpowered Maden from the baseline. The German was completely dead in the water if the point developed into a usual baseline rally, and as a result he came up with some nice strategy tweaks to disrupt the baseline patterns that Rafa so loves. Plenty of drop shot attempts from Maden had some short lived success, but in the end, inevitably, Nadal got the better of the attempted change-up. Rafa plays an in-form Goffin (yet to drop a set) next.

Wawrinka d Garín: 6-1, 6-4, 6-0

The Wawrinka of old (2014-2016) decided to show up. Stunning performance from Stan who looked pretty much unplayable from the baseline, crushing forehands and backhands (21 winners from open play) at will. As @MertovsTDesk noted, Stan made just 7 forehand unforced errors across 3 sets, which, given how enormous his ground game was today, is scary news for the opposition. Wawrinka absolutely feasted on Garin’s 2nd serve, standing far back on return and ripping dive-bombing yellow spheroids onto Garin’s baseline (Garin was allowed to win just 10/35 2nd serve points today).

Tsitsipas d Dellien: 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5

Dellien took the first set after recovering from a 1-3 deficit (and after being treated for a tweaked ankle). Tsitsipas was guilty of a poor service game at 4*-5, throwing in a very wide double fault and some strange half-speed 1st serves, ending up getting punished by excellent Dellien baselining. The Greek responded well however, bagelling Dellien with some improved, aggressive tennis to level up the match. Stefanos still seemed to be battling some inner-demons, but managed to open up a 2 sets to one lead despite still struggling for consistency. The Greek then went down an early break to Dellien in the 4th set, cutting a very frustrated figure. The frustration seemed to spur Tsitsipas on however, with the Greek breaking back and playing his best tennis of the day to break Dellien once again to close out the match.

The real difference-maker today was serve effectiveness. Dellien had a much harder time looking after his service games than Tsitsipas, with the Greek’s early point aggression and 1-2 punches allowing him greater comfort. Tsitsipas finished with 71% of 1st serve points won and 56% on 2nd, compared to Dellien’s 59% on 1st serve and 39% on 2nd.

Nishikori d Tsonga: 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4

A match that veered violently between the sublime and the messy, with Tsonga going up a break, early in the 4th set, only to completely fall apart thereafter. Nishikori did very well to target the Tsonga backhand throughout, with the Frenchman at one point so unwilling to play his backhand as the 2nd shot after his serve that he resorted to a front tweener instead (after trying to run around his BH):

Nishikori struggled to find his most consistent tennis today, but when he was on, he was much too stable for Tsonga (Nishikori finished with 35 winners to 39 unforced errors, Tsonga with 33 winners to 50 errors). Particularly impressive was Kei’s big point play in the final set, coming up with some wonderful forehands to stave off a late, attempted Tsonga comeback in the last throes of the match.

It’s going to be interesting to see whether Tsonga can adjust his game now that he’s not quite as fast as he once was. His backhand weakness was far less pronounced when he was one of the fastest on the circuit (and could therefore functionally hit more forehands from his backhand corner without losing court position), but nowadays it’s most definitely easier for opponents to exploit.

Dimitrov d Cilic: 6-7(3), 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3 🤯

The first four sets of this match had all the hallmarks of Dimitrov’s last year and a half. Missed break point chances (Grigor was 2/11 on BP’s after two sets), a 2nd serve pts won % in the 30’s for sets 1 & 3, and generally a mix of the sublime and the terrible. But what happened in the 5th set may represent a turning point in Dimitrov’s mid-career slump. The Bulgarian played fantastic tennis, when it mattered no less, as the match approached the finish line. Dimitrov hit a measured 10 winners to just 6 unforced errors in the 5th set, saved 6/7 break points with gutsy play, and served just one double fault (vs 9 over the course of the rest of the match). Simply, Grigor found his brain in the most tense and important moment of the match. Something that’s been incredibly rare in the last 18 months.

*Huge* win for Grigor. Another bad slam loss for Cilic:

Paire d Herbert: 6-2, 6-2, 5-7, 6-7(6), 11-9 🤯

— Worth watching for the 5th set alone. Match of the day.

Also:

Goffin d Kecmanovic : 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 (plays Nadal next)

Mahut d Kohlschreiber : 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 ‼️‼️

Carreno Busta d De Minaur : 6-3, 6-1, 6-1

Londero d Gasquet : 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

Moutet d Pella : 6-3, 6-1, 2-6, 7-5 ‼️

Djere d Popyrin : 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-4

Krajinovic d Carballes Baena : 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(1), 3-6, 8-6 🤯

Ruud d Berrettini : 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 ‼️

L.Mayer Leading Schwartzman: 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-3… Match suspended due to darkness.

SHOTS OF THE DAY 😮

— Pretty absurd to hit a 91mph backhand from this low down and still find the court. (Eurosport)

— Nadal finding angles that shouldn’t really exist. (Eurosport)

— Ridiculous from Rafa.

— Fed with an early banana forehand. (Eurosport)

— Effortless power off the return from Federer. (Eurosport)

— Unbelievable defensive lob from Fed. Crazy amount of wrist flick power to get that ball up as high as he does. From the look of that backhand into the net, Otte couldn’t believe it. (Eurosport)

— An Otte lob (sounds like a piece of Ikea furniture). (Eurosport)

— Wawrinka *crushing* a backhand vs Garin. (Eurosport)

— And the very next point (to get the double break in the 1st set):

— The *very* elusive net-cord lob from Dimitrov. Helped him take the match to 5 sets. (Eurosport)

INTERVIEW/PRESSER BEST BITS🎤

Mahut on leaving his wristband on the court after beating Kohlschreiber:

“It was a nod, a tribute to David Ferrer that I could not see finish his career in Madrid. I wanted to pay homage to him.”

(Context: Ferrer started leaving his headband on court during his last year on tour)

Nadal after beating Maden:

“Sometimes people think that I am clay-court player because I achieved all the things that I achieved on clay, but on hard I achieved a lot, too (smiling). And grass. Indoors less (smiling).”

“It was a good match for first two sets, not unbelievable, but good. Then in the third, being honest I think I lost a little bit my concentration and intensity.”

Full Presser 🎥

Federer post-win:

Audio of the question 🎤

— Context:

Zverev on his best mate Marcelo Melo.

Um…

Source

Dimitrov after beating Cilic in 5 sets:

Wawrinka after routining Garin:

— Chatrier on a sunny day is meant to be one of the liveliest clay courts after all.

— Good Thiem Interview by Christoper Clarey.

ORDER OF PLAY FOR THURSDAY 📅

COURT PHILIPPE-CHATRIER

— Approx 11am Local, 10am UK, 4am CT—

🇦🇹 Thiem vs Bublik 🇰🇿 (1st Meeting)

Prediction: Thiem in 3

— Approx 4pm Local, 3pm UK, 9am CT—

🇫🇷 Pouille vs Klizan 🇸🇰 (H2H: 1-0) (Clay H2H: 1-0) 🔥

Prediction: Pouille in 4

COURT SUZANNE-LENGLEN

— Approx 12:30pm Local, 11:30am UK, 5:30am CT—

🇷🇸 Djokovic vs Laaksonen 🇨🇭(1st Meeting)

Prediction: Djokovic in 3

🇫🇷 Monfils vs Mannarino 🇫🇷 (H2H: 1-2) (1st Clay Meeting)

Prediction: Monfils in 4

COURT SIMONNE-MATHIEU

— Approx 12:30pm Local, 11:30am UK, 5:30am CT—

🇩🇪 A.Zverev vs Ymer 🇸🇪 (H2H: 1-0) (1st Clay Meeting)

Prediction: Zverev in 4

🇦🇷 Del Potro vs Nishioka 🇯🇵 (H2H: 1-0) (1st Clay Meeting)

Prediction: Del Potro in 3

COURT 1

— Approx 3pm Local, 2pm UK, 8am CT—

🇪🇸 Verdasco vs Hoang 🇫🇷 (1st Meeting)

Prediction: Verdasco in 4

🇮🇹 Fognini vs Delbonis 🇦🇷 (H2H: 4-2) (Clay H2H: 3-2) 🔥

Prediction: Fognini in 5

BEST OF OTHER COURTS

🇷🇸 Lajovic vs Benchetrit 🇫🇷 (1st Meeting) 🔥

Court 7 - 2nd Match

🇭🇷 Coric vs Harris 🇿🇦 (1st Meeting)

Court 7 - 3rd Match

🇬🇧 Edmund vs Cuevas 🇺🇾 (1st Meeting) 🔥

Court 6 - 1st Match

🇪🇸 Bautista Agut vs Fritz 🇺🇸 (H2H: 2-1) (Clay H2H: 0-1) 🔥

Court 6 - 4th Match

EXTRAS 🔍📊🎤

— This break-up does not seem to be going well…

(Context: Gunter Breznik was Thiem’s coach for 15-ish years until recently when Massu took over).

— Paire and Herbert after their 5 set epic. 🇫🇷🇫🇷

Wawrinka helping a kid who was getting crushed in the mosh-pit that is post-match autograph scrums:

Full Video

— Today featured the two longest Roland Garros matches so far this tournament.

4h, 23m of Dimitrov vs Cilic and the 4h, 33m of Paire vs Herbert.

📊 Nishikori won his 20th Roland Garros match today vs Tsonga. Kei now has at least 20+ wins at 3/4 slams (has 17 at Wimbledon).

NEW BALLS PLEASE 👀

— Mini-Mahut.

— Rafa playing catch with umpire Kader Nouni. (Eurosport)

— Otte up to 3-3 in each set:

— Otte after 3-3 in each set:

GAME, SET, MATCH 👋

— The Racquet is created, and written, by Matt.

— You can find me on Twitter here.

See you tomorrow for Roland Garros Day 5!