The French Open has been slowed down by rain the past two and a half days. Yet, a lot of results have come and gone. A number of players, some of whom lost on Tuesday in the middle of the rain, have completed very disappointing campaigns in Paris. Which ones have the most reason to be angry or distraught or both?
Simona Halep
There is a pattern at work in many of the past several Grand Slam events. Simona Halep gets a placement in the opposite half of the draw relative to Serena Williams. She doesn’t face the absolute toughest players on the WTA Tour. She doesn’t have to play a number of the highest seeds. She has a great path to the final. She has a chance to improve her reputation and her rankings points. She blows it.
All these descriptions and conditions applied to the 2016 French Open. Halep didn’t have to worry about Serena. Her half of the draw had been thinned out by upsets. She was given a tremendous opportunity to kick-start her season and make the leap so many analysts have expected for her. Furthermore, she led her fourth-round match against Samantha Stosur on Sunday when the rains came, fighting off a break point to go up 5-3 in the first set. When play resumed on Tuesday, she served for the first set at 5-4 and just had to put together a little bit of solid tennis to get a commanding position. She got broken. Then she failed to convert a break point later in the first set. She lost the tiebreaker which followed, 7-0. She was comprehensively outplayed in the second set by a newly inspired Stosur. Her French Open is over. She has failed to reach the quarterfinals yet again in a major tournament. That’s really bad news for a player who seems stuck.
Agnieszka Radwanska
The things which apply to Halep apply a lot more to Radwanska. Stosur is at least a former Grand Slam champion. Radwanska lost in the rain and cold of the fourth round to Tsvetana Pironkova, who is ranked outside the top 100. The thing which has to sting Radwanska is that she whipped through the first set on Sunday before the rain arrived. She was putting together the blowout many people expected. When play resumed on Tuesday, though, both players were completely different. Pironkova ripped off 10 straight games to win the second set and then grab a 4-0 lead in the third. Pironkova held on to win the third set and the match, 6-3. Radwanska was once again denied at the Grand Slams. It’s a crushing loss for her.
Kei Nishikori
The best hope for a new Grand Slam champion among players not named Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Murray, or Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori had a chance to do some damage. It started with the fact that Nishikori got a favorable draw. Remember that Djokovic and Nadal were not in his half, and with Federer out, Nishikori became one of the favorites to go deep into the tournament. Andy Murray was a concern but his first two matches – against a wild card and a qualifier – were five-set survival matches. He has not been playing well and Nishikori would have had a good chance to beat him in the quarterfinals. The only problem is that Nishikori didn’t even get there. He faced Frenchman Richard Gasquet on Sunday but couldn’t muster much against him. Yes, Gasquet had the audience behind him but he’s typically more dangerous on the hard courts than he is clay. Even so, Nishikori was only able to pull one set from him before bowing out. Nishikori had a real opportunity here at the French Open but he has not lived up to his run to the 2014 U.S. Open final.
Marin Cilic
Cilic, the other man who played Nishikori in that U.S. Open championship match, lost to Marco Trungelitti, a player who has spent almost all of his career on the challenger circuit. That’s not just an early-round loss at the French Open; it’s a loss to a player who should never beat a Grand Slam champion. Cilic continues to slide into mediocrity. The more it’s looked at, the more it’s clear that Cilic just had a great run at one specific tournament more so than anything else.
