Play was suspended due to rain but not before there were quite a few upsets in the draws. On the women’s side, Kristina Mladenovic’s woes continued. The twenty-ninth seed lost 6-7(10), 6-2 to Andrea Petkovic.
The twentieth seed, Anastasia Sevastova, lost to Mariana Duque-Marino 6-4, 1-6, 3-6.
On the men’s side, the ailing twenty-third seed, Stan Wawrinka, lost a gut-wrenching fifth set battle. It looked for all the world that he was going to win this in four sets; however, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez had other plans, and they included getting the upset of the 2015 Roland Garros champion 6-2, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3.
Philipp Kohlschreiber’s struggles in the first round of the majors continued today as the twenty-second seed lost to Borna Coric 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6 for the second consecutive match.
Perhaps the surprise of the day was the twenty-ninth seed, Gilles Muller, losing to Ernests Gulbis. Gulbis is a known talent; however, his inconsistent play over the years has seen his ranking dropped precipitously and he is now ranked 160. He had to go through the qualifying rounds to get to the main draw and he is taking full advantage of his opportunity. Today he won 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
MATCH SUSPENDED DUE TO RAIN: The number one seed and defending champion, Rafael Nadal, is in a battle against lucky loser, Simone Bolelli. This is troubling since Nadal has had a dominant record against the Italian (5:0) and had never surrendered more than two games in a set in their previous encounters on clay. Even more troubling, Bolelli is currently ranked 129 and nowhere at his top level; thus, for him to be controlling the court so confidently against Nadal is concerning. Although Nadal won the first two sets; he was broken in the second set and Bolelli currently has a break lead in the third set. Play resumes tomorrow and hopefully, Nadal will bring his “A” game and squash any ideas Bolelli might have of upsetting him.
TOUGH DAY AT THE OFFICE FOR THE AMERICANS
Danielle Rose Collins lost to the number two seed, Caroline Wozniacki, 6-7(2), 1-6.
Sachia Vickery lost to fellow countrywoman, Madison Keys, 3-6, 3-6.
In a match carried over from Sunday, Christina McHale lost to Alexandra Dulgheru 7-5, 6-7(5), 3-6.
Sofia Kenin lost to the twenty-first seed, Naomi Osaka, 2-6, 5-7.
Grace Min lost to Camila Giorgi 3-6, 2-6.
Vania King lost to Mihaela Buzarnescu 3-6, 3-6.
Frances Tiafoe lost to fellow countryman, Sam Querrey. The twelfth seed won 6-1, 6-2, 7-6(6).
SOURCE OF IMAGE: Zimbio.com (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images Europe: Frances Tiafoe)
