Eduardo Schwank might have fallen today, but how about Jeremy Chardy? And Ernests Gulbis? I might not have been going for Chardy per se - Tursunov, his opponent, being a personal favourite of mine - but what a victory for him! This is only his sixth ATP level tournament, and to reach the round of sixteen at a Slam - what an achievement!
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But Gulbis was the one that really impressed me. This kid is going to be something else, if he can keep it together. He reminds me a bit of Richard Gasquet, actually - though hopefully he can tough it out mentally better than Richou has been of late. His win over Lapentti was maybe not as big an upset as his win over Blake yesterday, but it's not like Lapentti is a pushover. He's been around forever, and he knows how to play on clay. Gulbis is what, nineteen? Give him two years, and this boy is top ten, if you ask me.
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I've written a lot about the up-and-coming youngsters this week - Schwank, Chardy, Bellucci and now Gulbis. Although all of them have the potential for excellence, the one I'd really keep an eye on to make it big would have to be Gulbis. Schwank and Bellucci have excellent claycourt games but really have yet to prove themselves on other surfaces. Gulbis has been popping up here and there on hard courts as well - he was the only one I'd actually heard of before the claycourt season. He played Safin in the first round of the Australian Open, and I remember people being surprised that Safin won. I had no idea why, as, like, who was this Latvian kid? But I get it now.
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I think Gulbis's game will translate very well to grass and so it's going to be interesting how he handles the next swing of the tour. He plays Llodra in the round of sixteen here and I like him to win, which would put him in a quarter final against the winner of the Djokovic/Mathieu match. Oh, wouldn't I like to see Ernests take out the Djoker...
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Djokovic also won today (surprise surprise) over Wayne Odesnik. I think Odesnik was a bit shell-shocked to find himself in the third round, and one can hardly blame him. He did not disgrace himself, however... though I would have loved it if he could have taken Djokovic out. Anyone sense a theme?
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The man who I do think will take Djokovic out, Rafa Nadal, won superbly today. I'm fond of Nadal, but I think this might be the first year I'm actually barracking for him to reach the final. It would be a travesty to see Djokovic there. And besides, Rafa is #2 and Djokovic is #3. Djokovic needs to aim to overtake the #2 player before the #1 player... and Rafa needs to teach Djokovic some respect and unload a whole world of hurt on him. In my opinion. Which is, as always, very biased.
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Almagro beat Murray, as I predicted, so I think we're looking at a Nadal/Almagro quarter there to match up with Djokovic/Gulbis. I'll give you my predictions for the top half tomorrow, when the round of sixteen there has been determined.
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Some cracking upsets on the women's side today with Serena and Venus both getting knocked out (oh, how sad I am. See me cry copious tears.) Dellacqua also lost, which was sad, but what a great run nonetheless. And Sharapova came perilously close to getting knocked out... and I am beginning to revise my views of her chances. If all goes as expected, she'll face Safina in the round of sixteen and if she plays like that against Dinara, she'll be off court before she knows what's happened.
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Actually, wouldn't that be great? I would love Dinara to do well. That would put her with a quarter final against Dementieva (probably) and a semi against Kuznetsova (almost definitely), and I think she'd stand a good chance of winning those matches. I'd love to see Dinara make a run for a title... the Safin family need more Slams in their trophy cupboard.
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Cornet went out today, but she put up a good fight against Radwanska - she could have won the match if she'd just been a little tighter on the big points. Like Gulbis, she's going to grow up awesome. Radwanska, to her credit, played very well, though she's probably going to come up against Jankovic in the next round, and I don't like her chances. My quarter final predictions for that half of the women's draw are Jankovic/Pennetta and Schnyder/Ivanovic. Predictions for the other half tomorrow. In that half, Safina and Szavay are the ones to keep an eye on, I think. They're the dark horses that could knock out the Sharapovas and Kuznetsovas and come out surprise finalists. And both of them - Safina especially - are capable of taking out one of the Serbian girls in the final. With Cornet out, I am now choosing Safina to back. Go Dinara!
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But if there's one thing to take out of my ramble today, dear readers (however few you may be), it is this: keep an eye on Ernests Gulbis, because he is going to be something else.
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Roland Garros Results - Day #6
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Men's Draw
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Michael Llodra def. Simone Bolelli, 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 7-6 (7-5)
Rafael Nadal def. Jarkko Nieminen, 6-1 6-3 6-1
Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Eduardo Schwank, 6-2 6-3 3-6 7-6 (11-9)
Novak Djokovic def. Wayne Odesnik, 7-5 6-4 6-2
Julien Benneteau def. Alejandro Falla, 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-0
Jeremy Chardy def. Dmitry Tursunov, 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 6-4
Fernando Verdasco def. Mikhail Youzhny, 7-6 (7-5) 5-7 7-5 6-1
Ernests Gulbis def. Nicolas Lapentti, 6-3 7-5 6-2
Nicolas Almagro def. Andy Murray, 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 7-5
Florent Serra def. Victor Hanescu, 6-4 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-5)
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Women's Draw
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Maria Sharapova def. Bethanie Mattek, 6-2 3-6 6-2
Flavia Pennetta def. Venus Williams, 7-5 6-3
Ana Ivanovic def. Caroline Wozniacki, 6-4 6-1
Agnieszka Radwanska def. Alize Cornet, 6-4 6-4
Katarina Srebotnik def. Serena Williams, 6-4 6-4
Patty Schnyder def. Emilie Loit, 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-2
Vera Zvonareva def. Stephanie Cohen-Aloro, 6-2 6-4
Carla Suarez Navarro def. Casey Dellacqua, 6-3 6-3
Petra Cetkovska def. Iveta Benesova, 6-3 6-3
Nadia Petrova def. Alisa Kleybanova, 6-3 6-3
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