The women’s game at the French Open is missing its stars, for sure. The big names are either out, or not playing. The men’s side is strong on that count, and I must admit that I’m missing that little bit of the glitz and glamour the ladies bring to the game. We do need a couple of more stars on that side!
With top seed Angelique Kerber losing, a little more shine has been taken off the ladies’ side. None of the current players, apart from Garbine Muguruza who is still in the fray having won her match on Friday, have even won a Grand Slam, unless you count Venus Williams, but she’s never won here. Now, I think, whoever gets a run will win. You could say Simona Halep and Elina Svitolina are also one of the favourites but the way the women’s tournament is going at the moment, I thing the defending champion is holding the best cards.
As far as Kerber is concerned, I would have to say that Germany is upset, and we are all worried a bit for her because she’s been losing quite a lot lately, in the first and second rounds, and she’s not won a title this year. She’s been having a really troubled year so far. Hopefully, when she gets back to grass — to which her game is well suited — she’ll start winning again.
On the men’s side, the guys have pretty much been in cruise control. I’d rate the bottom half, which features Rafa, Novak and Thiem, a little bit stronger than the top which has Murray and Stan Wawrinka — a man who nobody talks much about but who I like very much and who, for me, is one of the favourites. All the top guys are well-positioned, haven’t shown any weaknesses and are looking good. The big picture is that everything seems to be going to plan, so far, and I think everyone will come through going into the second week.
It was wonderful to see the reception Petra Kvitova got in both of her matches but one of the things I’d like to point out about this year’s tournament is that we’ve seen some really good sportsmanship and fair play among the players on both sides. This sets a nice tone and is an example for the youngsters that, of course, winning is important but there a lot more to it than that. A case in point was Del Potro showing his big heart after Nicolas Almagro was forced to pull out of their match on Thursday. So, the players really want to show everybody that they can play fair and that they are good people, and that’s nice to see.
