You know that something must be wrong if I am not all over the Roland Garros tournament. Sadly, I recently loss my Mom, and I find that tennis has taken a back seat as I process my grief. In addition, I accept that the era of Rafael Nadal is over and that also saddens me. Both events have contributed to my not really being engaged in tennis at the moment; however, I have been peaking at it periodically.

American Successes On Day 7

[12] Taylor Fritz will want to rethink this match. When clay is not your favorite surface and you squander a two-set lead, you may live to regret it. Granted he was playing Thanasi Kokkinakis, who can play lights out tennis and disrupt your rhythm. Fritz won 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(4), 5-7, 6-3. The [14] ranked duo of Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands won their match by retirement 6-2, 4-1.

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This was a surprise to see [14] Madison Keys losing to fellow American [22] Emma Navarro. Then again, perhaps not. I have always believed that playing a tournament before a major can backfire. Keys won the tournament in Strasbourg quite easily and should have had all the momentum on her side. Yet, she lost. Why? I propose mental as well as physical and emotional fatigue and she had nothing in the tank left to draw on when the going got rough. Keys lost 6-7(5), 6-7(3).

Alexander Zverev Avoids The Upset Bug

It is that time in the tournament when two seeds play each other; therefore, some seeds will fall. [4] Elena Rybakina defeated [25] Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-2. Elina Avanesyan, who I never seen play, defeated [7] Qinwen Zheng 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6).

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[1] Novak Djokovic had another battle with [30] Lorenzo Musetti. Once again, Musetti had Djokovic against the ropes and once again, the Italian crumbled. Djokovic won 7-5, 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0. My question is, “How does Musetti bounce back from this, given that this is the second time he choked away an opportunity to win big?” [4] Alexander Zverev was taken to the brink of defeat by [26] Tallon Griekspoor. What went through Griekspoor’s head after he came so close only to lose the match? Zverev was also probably thinking, how did I get into this predicament. Will this five-set victory have far reaching consequences for the German, who won 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3)? [7] Casper Ruud defeated [29] Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2. What can I say about American [14] Tommy Paul? He is a talented player, who consistently manages to underperform. Paul lost to [23] Francisco Cerundolo after winning the first set 6-3, 3-6, 3-6, 2-6. [21] Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated American [15] Ben Shelton fairly comfortably 6-4, 6-2, 6-1. I will refrain from making any comments on this loss by the American.

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