TENNIS: Clay-court season so far
May. 25th, 2025 08:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
feather_ghyllMainly gleaned from highlights on YouTube: Jessica Pegula won on the green clay of Charleston. Then the men were on red clay at the Monte Carlo Masters, where Zverev lost early, Tsitsipas reminded us that he was good on clay until he met Musetti, De Minaur did surprisingly well, and Alcaraz came through some tough matches, including the match of the tournament against Fils. It was Musetti vs Alcaraz in the final, with the Italian coming off best in the first set, Alcaraz regrouping and thrashing him in the second. At some point during the third, Musetti got injured but Alcaraz was back on clay.
In Barcelona, it seemed as though Alcaraz was just winding up to higher levels. In an interesting match between Rune and Ruud (the latter being the better player on clay on paper), the Dane’s backhand was excellent, and he made it through to face Alcaraz (who had had fewer problems with Fils at this tournament) in the final. And he matched his level in the very close first set, and maintained it, while Alcaraz pushed too hard and made too many mistakes (although he’d apparently injured his hamstring at some point.) Well, well.
At his home tournament, Munich, Zverev went all the way to the final where he was more solid than Ben Shelton.
At Stuttgart, the final was between Sabalenka and Ostapenko (with a roof on), and it was clear what form had brought Ostapenko to this stage, as she broke Sabalenka early, and the world no. 1 had to fight to keep up with her, but never could quite keep up. The fight appears to have been very insufficient as Ostapenko won the second set 6-1, reminding us that when she’s on, she’s a force of nature, even against the clear no. 1 player right now. And she was on form this week, having already beaten Swiatek on her run to the final.
Alcaraz pulled out of Madrid, citing injury. Djokovic was out early, because Arnaldi seemed willing to run everything down. Defending champion Rublev lost to a more focused than usual Bublik. Musetti was looking good. At the QF stage, I was impressed that Mensik was already this good on clay, and want to know more about Diallo, although neither kid progressed. In the semi-finals, Ruud was better than Cerundelo, unsurprisingly, but I was more surprised and impressed that Draper had too much for Musetti on clay. Apparently, he hadn’t dropped a set (Draper, that is). Clay is his weakest surface! What a 12 months he’s having.
On the women’s side, Swiatek struggled through Snaider and Keys in different ways, but lost 6-1, 6-1 to Gauff. On clay! Sabalenka had too much (power and nous) for Svitolina in the other semi. She also had too much for Gauff in the final, although Gauff managed to fight back at the start of the second set, but Sabalenka just underlined that she’s currently the best.
Draper took the early lead in the final against Ruud, but lost focus a bit at the end of the first set, which Ruud took. Draper came back fighting and bossed the second set. The third was a bit back and forth, but Draper didn’t quite have enough. Apparently, this was Ruud’s first Masters win. From what I could tell from the highlights Ruud's greater clay pedigree sometimes showed, but I am hugely impressed that Draper did this well on clay. If he learns the right lessons, he should face further matches on this surface with confidence.
The big story going into Rome was the return of Sinner. Then Swiatek went out early. Granted, Danielle Collins is a tough opponent to face in the third round, but she was able to dominate in the first and prevail in the second set. (Swiatek will be seeded fifth at the French!) Raducanu shouldn’t feel too disheartened that her best run on clay was stopped by Gauff. Maybe try to work out why so many of the close games went to her opponent, but remember her opponent is a solid top 5 player.
Zheng Qinwen played what the commentators were calling her best tennis of the year to beat Sabalenka in the quarter-finals. Alcaraz’s win over Draper in the quarter-finals was widely described as revenge.
Paolini was having her best run in Rome, getting through to the final, where she’d face Gauff after a marathon against Zheng.
Because Musetti had taken out Zverev, Alcaraz was facing him in a rematch of the Monte Carlo final, but was the stronger in the first set. The second was more competitive, with Musetti taking the early lead, but Alcaraz fought back and although he needed a tiebreak, won through to his first final at Rome. Tommy Paul (it must be something about Rome, because it’s his second back to back semi there) was facing Sinner, the first two sets were routs, the first to Paul, the second to Sinner. Third was a bit more competitive, but Sinner had enough, setting up the final that tennis probably wanted (give or take the fans who are less impressed by the doping situation.)
Paolini turned up for the final, played a smart strategy well against Gauff (I wonder if she was emotionally weary after the semi) and won her home tournament. Brava! And then the first set of the men’s final was nip and tuck, Sinner had the advantage of serving first, but Alcaraz fought to get a tiebreak, where he had enough of a lead to take it. The second set was something else altogether, as if the win had lit up Alcaraz and he was playing in some other sphere. 6-1, meaning he’d won in two sets, underlined that he’s superior on clay (and has to be the favourite going into the French.) I’ve since been reminded that the head-to-head is in his favour, and he’s been the only player truly bothering Sinner since he became world no. 1. Rome had to make do with one Italian winner (Well, two or three, because Paolini and Errani won the women’s doubles too.)
Zverev, Badosa, Rybakina and Djokovic were among those trying to get matches last week before the French Open. Djokovic had a rematch against Arnaldi, and won (though Arnaldi did have a lead in the second set.) And in the (well-fought) final against Hurcacz, he won his hundredth tournament, (having not won one since Geneva last year, while, yes, winning an Olympic gold). He joined Connors and Federer in that elite group. Meanwhile, Rybakina won her first tournament this year at Strasbourg.
Favourites for the French Open: Sabalenka among the women (while remembering that Keys and Ostapenko could overpower her), you have to group Swiatek along with Gauff, Paolini and Andreeva as possibilities. Among the men, Alcaraz and then Sinner, (and let me be the latest person to observe that the two men who've divvied up the last few Grand Slams have yet to meet at a Slam final). Djokovic is always a possibility, and I could see a handful of players making it through to the semis (mainly named above.)
I had considered getting Discovery+ to watch the French Open, but they’re charging £30.99 a month when I just want to watch two weeks of tennis? Forget it, TNT Sports/Discovery+! Radio, news reports and highlights for me...
In Barcelona, it seemed as though Alcaraz was just winding up to higher levels. In an interesting match between Rune and Ruud (the latter being the better player on clay on paper), the Dane’s backhand was excellent, and he made it through to face Alcaraz (who had had fewer problems with Fils at this tournament) in the final. And he matched his level in the very close first set, and maintained it, while Alcaraz pushed too hard and made too many mistakes (although he’d apparently injured his hamstring at some point.) Well, well.
At his home tournament, Munich, Zverev went all the way to the final where he was more solid than Ben Shelton.
At Stuttgart, the final was between Sabalenka and Ostapenko (with a roof on), and it was clear what form had brought Ostapenko to this stage, as she broke Sabalenka early, and the world no. 1 had to fight to keep up with her, but never could quite keep up. The fight appears to have been very insufficient as Ostapenko won the second set 6-1, reminding us that when she’s on, she’s a force of nature, even against the clear no. 1 player right now. And she was on form this week, having already beaten Swiatek on her run to the final.
Alcaraz pulled out of Madrid, citing injury. Djokovic was out early, because Arnaldi seemed willing to run everything down. Defending champion Rublev lost to a more focused than usual Bublik. Musetti was looking good. At the QF stage, I was impressed that Mensik was already this good on clay, and want to know more about Diallo, although neither kid progressed. In the semi-finals, Ruud was better than Cerundelo, unsurprisingly, but I was more surprised and impressed that Draper had too much for Musetti on clay. Apparently, he hadn’t dropped a set (Draper, that is). Clay is his weakest surface! What a 12 months he’s having.
On the women’s side, Swiatek struggled through Snaider and Keys in different ways, but lost 6-1, 6-1 to Gauff. On clay! Sabalenka had too much (power and nous) for Svitolina in the other semi. She also had too much for Gauff in the final, although Gauff managed to fight back at the start of the second set, but Sabalenka just underlined that she’s currently the best.
Draper took the early lead in the final against Ruud, but lost focus a bit at the end of the first set, which Ruud took. Draper came back fighting and bossed the second set. The third was a bit back and forth, but Draper didn’t quite have enough. Apparently, this was Ruud’s first Masters win. From what I could tell from the highlights Ruud's greater clay pedigree sometimes showed, but I am hugely impressed that Draper did this well on clay. If he learns the right lessons, he should face further matches on this surface with confidence.
The big story going into Rome was the return of Sinner. Then Swiatek went out early. Granted, Danielle Collins is a tough opponent to face in the third round, but she was able to dominate in the first and prevail in the second set. (Swiatek will be seeded fifth at the French!) Raducanu shouldn’t feel too disheartened that her best run on clay was stopped by Gauff. Maybe try to work out why so many of the close games went to her opponent, but remember her opponent is a solid top 5 player.
Zheng Qinwen played what the commentators were calling her best tennis of the year to beat Sabalenka in the quarter-finals. Alcaraz’s win over Draper in the quarter-finals was widely described as revenge.
Paolini was having her best run in Rome, getting through to the final, where she’d face Gauff after a marathon against Zheng.
Because Musetti had taken out Zverev, Alcaraz was facing him in a rematch of the Monte Carlo final, but was the stronger in the first set. The second was more competitive, with Musetti taking the early lead, but Alcaraz fought back and although he needed a tiebreak, won through to his first final at Rome. Tommy Paul (it must be something about Rome, because it’s his second back to back semi there) was facing Sinner, the first two sets were routs, the first to Paul, the second to Sinner. Third was a bit more competitive, but Sinner had enough, setting up the final that tennis probably wanted (give or take the fans who are less impressed by the doping situation.)
Paolini turned up for the final, played a smart strategy well against Gauff (I wonder if she was emotionally weary after the semi) and won her home tournament. Brava! And then the first set of the men’s final was nip and tuck, Sinner had the advantage of serving first, but Alcaraz fought to get a tiebreak, where he had enough of a lead to take it. The second set was something else altogether, as if the win had lit up Alcaraz and he was playing in some other sphere. 6-1, meaning he’d won in two sets, underlined that he’s superior on clay (and has to be the favourite going into the French.) I’ve since been reminded that the head-to-head is in his favour, and he’s been the only player truly bothering Sinner since he became world no. 1. Rome had to make do with one Italian winner (Well, two or three, because Paolini and Errani won the women’s doubles too.)
Zverev, Badosa, Rybakina and Djokovic were among those trying to get matches last week before the French Open. Djokovic had a rematch against Arnaldi, and won (though Arnaldi did have a lead in the second set.) And in the (well-fought) final against Hurcacz, he won his hundredth tournament, (having not won one since Geneva last year, while, yes, winning an Olympic gold). He joined Connors and Federer in that elite group. Meanwhile, Rybakina won her first tournament this year at Strasbourg.
Favourites for the French Open: Sabalenka among the women (while remembering that Keys and Ostapenko could overpower her), you have to group Swiatek along with Gauff, Paolini and Andreeva as possibilities. Among the men, Alcaraz and then Sinner, (and let me be the latest person to observe that the two men who've divvied up the last few Grand Slams have yet to meet at a Slam final). Djokovic is always a possibility, and I could see a handful of players making it through to the semis (mainly named above.)
I had considered getting Discovery+ to watch the French Open, but they’re charging £30.99 a month when I just want to watch two weeks of tennis? Forget it, TNT Sports/Discovery+! Radio, news reports and highlights for me...
