Roland Garros 2015: Daily Prediction game Day 4 Wednesday 27-May

I watched on and off today but it looks like everyone is tired!
I saw bits of Halep going down, looked like she was drowning.
Nishi had tough moments too.

Strange episode of RG so far.

Tenez wrote:Wow Schartz thought he had won the match....and started to play conservative before choking entirely.

wow, missed that. I switched to the czech matchup

Tenez wrote:I agree. It looks like he hates it! He threw a few shots by frustration....it seemed.

Fed is furious with these conditions and rightly so- especially the balls.  Did you see him scream into his towel in the backcourt after chastising himself! Very rare. He was knocking the stuffing out of the ball, 4, 5 times in a row and Grano could get to them with ease.. Such effort- you could hear Federer audibly grunting louder than I can remember. He's upped his head speed considerably to compensate.

The Comms are so clueless. Cahill who I usually like, kept saying that Fed has strangely been tense in both matches and it must be because he's feeling the pressure of his last great chance of a French Open given such a good draw..   They kept saying how he seemed aggravated... well of course he is! 

After the match, Mary Joe Fernandez interviewed him and said that he must have taken confidence from making the finals of Rome because conditions are so similar.   Fed's eyes about popped out of his head! He said "actually, it's quite different conditions. these balls are flat, very flat and it's as slow conditions as I've  ever experienced here.  I'm just trying to get used to how to play it and what balls to hit." 

Such a shame conditions have ruined what could be a great tourney.

gallery play wrote:

Tenez wrote:Wow Schartz thought he had won the match....and started to play conservative before choking entirely.

wow, missed that. I switched to the czech matchup

But otoh: just what you can expect from Monfils. Especially in Paris

I'm beginning to think Monfils is doing this on purpose, just to tease the crowd

Truffin - I can't find the interview transcripts on teh FO site. Does anyone know where to get them. The FO is such an annoying slam for that!

GP - Yes Monfils is a showman. I believe he thinks his pay is proportional to the number of sets he plays!

truffin1 wrote:

Tenez wrote:I agree. It looks like he hates it! He threw a few shots by frustration....it seemed.

Fed is furious with these conditions and rightly so- especially the balls.  Did you see him scream into his towel in the backcourt after chastising himself! Very rare. He was knocking the stuffing out of the ball, 4, 5 times in a row and Grano could get to them with ease.. Such effort- you could hear Federer audibly grunting louder than I can remember. He's upped his head speed considerably to compensate.

The Comms are so clueless. Cahill who I usually like, kept saying that Fed has strangely been tense in both matches and it must be because he's feeling the pressure of his last great chance of a French Open given such a good draw..   They kept saying how he seemed aggravated... well of course he is! 

After the match, Mary Joe Fernandez interviewed him and said that he must have taken confidence from making the finals of Rome because conditions are so similar.   Fed's eyes about popped out of his head! He said "actually, it's quite different conditions. these balls are flat, very flat and it's as slow conditions as I've  ever experienced here.  I'm just trying to get used to how to play it and what balls to hit." 

Such a shame conditions have ruined what could be a great tourney.

The irony is that this is only helping the very player who needs it less. If you can't attack what can you do against Djokovic? Even for NAdal this isn't ideal. He's been trying to shorten the rallies against Djoko, under these conditions there's no such thing.

Tenez wrote:
GP - Yes Monfils is a showman. I believe he thinks his pay is proportional to the number of sets he plays!

yeah, that must be it.

To him there's no point of playing Bo5 when you don't play a fifth set

gallery play wrote:The irony is that this is only helping the very player who needs it less. If you can't attack what can you do against Djokovic? Even for NAdal this isn't ideal. He's been trying to shorten the rallies against Djoko, under these conditions there's no such thing.

It's a thin line. We have seen Djoko tire in the FO, especially under hot conds. Nadal can cope better under the heat. I think!

Tenez wrote:

gallery play wrote:The irony is that this is only helping the very player who needs it less. If you can't attack what can you do against Djokovic? Even for NAdal this isn't ideal. He's been trying to shorten the rallies against Djoko, under these conditions there's no such thing.

It's a thin line. We have seen Djoko tire in the FO, especially under hot conds. Nadal can cope better under the heat. I think!

Where's the heat? Another plus for Djoko.
Mind you: i really want Djoko to beat Nadal. But i hope he'll at least need to dig deep after that.

It can be very hot in the middle of the day...like it was for the last 2 years final.

yes I would take Djoko over Nadal and like you I would want Djoko to lose a few feathers on the way!

Gulbis couldn't beat Mahut on these slow-mo court and balls? Not like it was grass or anything...

He will end up with less than 5 wins this year.

Tenez wrote:Truffin - I can't find the interview transcripts on teh FO site. Does anyone know where to get them. The FO is such an annoying slam for that!

GP - Yes Monfils is a showman. I believe he thinks his pay is proportional to the number of sets he plays!

http://asaptext.com/fft/media/rolandgarros2015/browse.php?browse_file_name=./transcripts/roger_federer_2015_05_27_15_42.html

Above is the link that someone used on Federers website forum to post the official presser today--   usually asapsports carries the transcript for all the playerss. 

The Mary Joe interview with Fed was on ESPN after the match.

Says you need a login :/

yes...requires a password.

noleisthebest wrote:Lenglen seems to play faster than Chatrier, but the balls are still dead.

Interestingly enough our (German speaking) commie said the exact opposite. He said that the surface on SL was softer than on PC, so they absorb more pace. He had also talked to Fed about it. The balls only make it worse, since they seem tough to feel which robbs players who thrive on feel something of their advantage.

And what do you think?

It looked definitely very slow, but the looks on TV can be very deceiving because of the angles.

The slowest element in this year's RG are the balls.
Courts are more or less irrelevant compared to balls.

I am very interested to establish before the QF which court might play faster (to me Langlen looked faster), even by a little bit.

Nole said Chatrier played (compared to itself) a little slower than last year and that clay is slippery a bit, that the underlay is quite hard.

Apparently, Langlen has underground court watering system (however that works), which keeps clay moist and probably soft, which can explain why the ball sat on it so terribly today.

Different players make the surface look different, as well.

Nole is playing on Langlen tomorrow, so I hope to see the difference, as I gain most accurate information on anything conditions wise when I watch him.

But from all I've seen, balls are the main problem, they are very energy demanding.

I dread to think what they'll be like if it starts raining...

The weather will also play its part with speed. It's incredibly cold in Europe so far this year, next week might get warmer though. Why are you worried about the QF wrt SL? It won't be played on SL for sure.

There are 8 QF matches (men and women) over two days, so two if each will be played on Langlen.

We'll see when the draw gets closer.

Tenez wrote:yes...requires a password.

Yep- they are talking about it on the forum now. Usually you can read most of the tournaments transcripts no problem and the 1st few days they were posting the French open too.   Suddenly it's password protected so they are thinking the French Open called them out for some type of infringement or don't want it accessed until the RG releases it.

Heres the easy access link to many tournaments

http://www.asapsports.com/show_year.php?category=7&year=2015


and here's Feds presser at least that someone got before the link went password

Notice how diplomatic Fed is about the Bernades situation. For some reason he just can't crap on Nadal.. but in the end he admits it's not right.

and he has changed tension on the racquets to deal with conditions.

Roland Garros 2015
Wednesday, May 27
Roger Federer

R. FEDERER/M. Granollers
6-2, 7-6, 6-3
An interview with:
ROGER FEDERER

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. I have a question about can we say that the presence of your daughters in your career have rejuvenated or made your career longer and stronger in these last years?
ROGER FEDERER: Maybe, yeah. Yes. Why not (smiling). I really don't know. The goal was always to play for a long time regardless if I had kids or not. I'm happy I'm still going and I'm happy that my kids occasionally come to watch me play. So, yeah, I would definitely think it had a positive effect on me as a person and my life, as a player. My relationship with my wife, it's been wonderful. So, yeah, we'll see how much longer I'll play.

Q. Were you a bit nervous out there today? If so, why? Because at one point you seemed a bit frustrated.
ROGER FEDERER: No, I mean, I think I was actually playing very well, you know. I wasn't nervous really, to be honest. I think things went well for me for the first couple of sets. I think I was in control. Even though I was down a break in the second set, I still felt the match was in my racquet. And when you feel that way, obviously you're always going to feel more confident, more comfortable, not nervous. But the thing you don't want to do is you want to start off badly sets, and that's what happened in the beginning of the third. I played a horrible game. It was just very disappointing and frustrating. But after that, I must say, it was probably my best spell of the match right after that. I was down 2-Love in the third. The reaction was what I wanted. Maybe that's also one of the reasons why I did get a bit angry with myself, because it was really just such a bad game. I was able to play with variation today. I was offensive. I was successful at net. So overall, I was very, very pleased.

Q. You play a Bosnian player in the next round. What do you know about him and what's it like seeing young players coming out of countries who've never really had players before coming up?
ROGER FEDERER: We have seen it now for a few years that smaller countries produce players, Switzerland, Serbia, you name it, now Bosnia. It's nice to see that, you know, Cyprus, as well, who he played against. It's nice to see, and that's what has taken away spots in the rankings from the bigger nations. That's why everybody starts complaining, you know, they don't have young up and coming juniors, because many smaller countries also take their spots. It's been interesting to become clearly more global. It's nice to see that tennis has reached the smaller countries, really. So I don't know him very well. I might even go so far to say I have actually almost never seen him play maybe before. Interesting matchup clearly, and different approach to the match I played today.

Q. Given what happened Sunday, were you satisfied with the security today? Did you notice any changes at all?
ROGER FEDERER: I mean, a little bit, you know. I think everybody is a little bit more alert. That was the only wish I had. It's just that the security is more alert. They don't need to change anything that we need to have fences and all that stuff, not at all. Tennis is one of the most accessible sports out there, and we are unbelievably close with our fans. That's what I love about it. So for me it was just more important that everybody was doing their job, taking it very seriously, wakes up and that they are standing in the right places and to keep an eye on what's really important and not about just being there, you know. I think I felt that today. So now we have just got to all keep it up for years to come. I know it's a lot of work, but it was a good exercise I think for everybody.

Q. Rafa told us yesterday that he'd made a request to the ATP not to be umpired by Bernardes after they had a row in Rio in February, and he hasn't been officiated by him since. Have you ever put a similar request in at any stage, and what do you think of the principle sort of underlying that?
ROGER FEDERER: It's very personal. I mean, you know, like in life, you can -- you're better off with some people and some not, you know. Maybe in his situation there is maybe enough umpires out there that it's not such a big of a problem for the ATP or for the umpire itself or the player. If that were the case, I don't know if they are going to pull through with it, you know. Something very much between them, you know. So that's why I try to really not focus on who is the umpire; try to focus on my game, so those kind of things don't creep in my head. But it's hard. We have played almost a thousand matches, Rafa as well. So clearly with some umpires you are better off with some and some not. Then it's okay also if umpires don't have the best day. We understand that; it's the same for us, you know. We are not in the best mood every day, as well.

Q. Just a follow-up. Don't you think if every player would ask, I don't want to have that umpire --
ROGER FEDERER: Then it becomes difficult, yes.

Q. It becomes difficult. And don't you think that for the umpire also would become very difficult because it would be afraid to disappoint someone with maybe more powerful or more important than other players? It wouldn't be fair to the other players, too. I would like to know what you think.
ROGER FEDERER: Right. That's why I think it's a very -- that's a situation they need to figure out, you know. And clearly -- it goes back to the same thing that everybody is requesting things when they want to play. I want to play Tuesday, I want to play Monday, I want to play Sunday. The players understand that not every request can be granted. So at the end of the day, you can make a request, but it doesn't mean you're going to get it. I think that's okay. I think at the end of the day the tournament, tournament director, ATP, governing bodies, ITF, whoever, they need to take the decision, I guess, and the players need to be okay with it or then you can have a dialogue, which can be relaxed or not so relaxed. It's important at least to communicate together.

Q. But it would be a big discrepancy between one player and another, because you may ask something and they may accept because you're Federer.
ROGER FEDERER: No, exactly. That's besides the point, who made the request. I think everybody should be treated the same way. Uh-huh.

THE MODERATOR: French questions.

Q. After the break in the second, you changed your racquet in the middle of a game. I think it was after the first point in the game. That doesn't happen very much. Does that have anything to do with your sensations? You talked about your sensations on the ball. Why did you change your racquet? Tell us a little bit about the balls in this match.
ROGER FEDERER: Well, generally I always change racquets before -- not when I serve, but generally when the balls are changed. I could have changed a point earlier, and then I decided to play one more game and then two, because I think we had new balls the following game. And after the first points I played the backhand, and it didn't feel right. So I decided to change racquets then. I said, okay, I have to do it now and instead of later. So I changed my mind. Maybe I did it one point too late, and that's what happened. But my initial decision had been to change my racquets two games later. Since Rome I'm two kilos down, and it's a big difference, as you know. So that's it. I added half a kilos, that's 1.5 kilogram difference between what I played in Rome. So that was the racquet situation. When I was hitting the ball, I didn't want the ball to behave the way it was behaving.

Q. Stan was saying that for umpires it was more difficult to be strict with good players and risk for them could be to no longer arbitrate big games. Do you think there is a risk for you to receive a special treatment because you're big players, you, Rafa, and the others?
ROGER FEDERER: No, I do not want to be treated differently. You know, you're going to get angry or if you break a racquet, you don't want to get a warning right away. If the umpire does, well, again, all players should be treated equally. But then there are suspicions. You know, I think you have to make -- things have to be clear. I hope there are no bonuses. Big tournaments, umpires with a lot of experience, they know how to manage difficult situations. Court 15 you can be stricter to educate players, for example, but I think that has nothing to do with who is playing. It has nothing to do with who is playing. Some referees are a bit stricter on smaller courts, again, to make sure the rules are properly enforced. On center courts you can give a little more leeway to make sure the match goes well, and that's probably what Stan was trying to say.

Q. What have you been doing with your foundation? Have you done anything special with the foundation?
ROGER FEDERER: Yes, I created the foundation more than 10 years ago, and so far the foundation has been very successful. We spend approximately 6 million every year. I'm very proud of this experience, and my intention is to continue. We hope to reach out to a million children that have directly benefited from my organization. I think the quality of this support is great. It really makes a difference, and this is really always what I tried to do. I have also been quite active in Switzerland. I support children in sports, children's education, children's integration. But again, the bulk of my work today is in Sub-Saharan Africa, and it makes me feel very good. I will be traveling, as a matter of fact, this year to see one of the projects.

Q. What do you think about the game between Rafa and Almagro?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I have watched some matches yesterday. I like to watch. I watched Nishikori simply because I felt like watching some, you know, good tennis. Generally when I'm at a tournament I like to watch. When I leave the tournament I don't. But I'm here, so I might as well enjoy it (smiling). It gives me the necessary information. You never know. Plus I'm a fan. I'm a tennis fan. It simply feels good. Tomorrow I don't know. I don't know when Rafa is playing tomorrow. I don't know if I will be training. I don't know, you know, at all the program. I have to discuss things with my wife, with my coach, and then we will see. Maybe I will get a chance to watch the game.

Q. Coming back to your racquet, again, you talked about changing the tension.
ROGER FEDERER: Yes, I think I went from 27 to 25 because it changed the rebounds and the ball trajectory. It's quite different from the racquets I was playing the past six weeks. So you can make little tweaks, and that's how you can get some good winning points with my racquets. What you don't want is to get -- I want my rebounds to go exactly where I expect them to be.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Q. But it would be a big discrepancy between one player and another, because you may ask something and they may accept because you're Federer.
ROGER FEDERER: No, exactly. That's besides the point, who made the request. I think everybody should be treated the same way. Uh-huh.

Yes, because it works exactly like that in the real world. 

Thanks for the transcript, truffin, it seems RG changed policy on the interviews and don't allow publishing anymore, maybe to make them more exclusive to media outlets, but effectively it will lead to "selective" publishing probably with journalists quoting the more sensational parts (out of context obviously) and ignoring e.g. analysis of the match. The questions are boring enough sometimes, so much about family and kids.

@nitb yes, there are four QF, but a certain one will be on PC.

noleisthebest wrote:

Tenez wrote:Federer with a plaster on his finger...never saw him with one before.

You don't miss a thing, do you!

Actually he does as I had noticed the plaster on his finger (was it the (left) index?) already in Rome when playing vs. Nole!

He, he, I had a look...there are quite a few tickets still available for Chatrier on the 3rd

Autumnleaf wrote:

Q. But it would be a big discrepancy between one player and another, because you may ask something and they may accept because you're Federer.
ROGER FEDERER: No, exactly. That's besides the point, who made the request. I think everybody should be treated the same way. Uh-huh.

Yes, because it works exactly like that in the real world. 

Thanks for the transcript, truffin, it seems RG changed policy on the interviews and don't allow publishing anymore, maybe to make them more exclusive to media outlets, but effectively it will lead to "selective" publishing probably with journalists quoting the more sensational parts (out of context obviously) and ignoring e.g. analysis of the match. The questions are boring enough sometimes, so much about family and kids.

@nitb yes, there are four QF, but a certain one will be on PC.

Thanks Truff for the transcript indeed but the FO has been keeping them for themsleves for at least 2 years now. They are such a pain.....trying to cash in on those interviews which are made available on all the other slams. ...actually one of them strated to apply the same policy as well. (the AO?).

sphairistike wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:

Tenez wrote:Federer with a plaster on his finger...never saw him with one before.

You don't miss a thing, do you!

Actually he does as I had noticed the plaster on his finger (was it the (left) index?) already in Rome when playing vs. Nole!

Attention to details! Well done Sphair!

Tenez wrote:So disappointing from Fognini....So inconsistent. Glad for Paire though.

His heart wasn't in the match, he was merely hitting the ball.
Paire on the other hand, was one with the crowd...like Fabio in Rome.

It was a one man show, and unlucky draw for Fognini. Paire is back to his old form now, and the two matches he won in RG seem to have repaired his confidence.

He needed it.

noleisthebest wrote:It was a one man show, and unlucky draw for Fognini. Paire is back to his old form now, and the two matches he won in RG seem to have repaired his confidence.