Roland Garros aka The French Open

[stotty]

3-2 Carlos

Both men come out the block at full throttle. Carlos gets the first break. Some great clean hitting from both players. Just five games have gone by and they’ve already put the ladies final to shame.

[stotty]

Certainly a very bad look for Sabalenka here, in my eyes. Maybe next time they can move her post match whine fest to a prime time slot. She at the very least deserves that. It is impossible to imagine great players like Agassi, Novak, Nadal, who were so tidy with their errors, ever saying anything like this. Sabalenka reminds me of the ultra unaware parent at the tennis club that states their child "has so much power, they just need to learn to control it better". Yes, no kidding, that is kind of the difference between being a good tennis player or not.

True.

Once the match is over it’s over and there is little point taking and gripes into a post match interview. The best example of how to carry oneself once the match is over is Novak, impeccable.

I think we are about to see a different attitude in the men’s match coming up right now. Win or lose, both men will treat those imposters just the same.

[stroke]

It's actually way worse than just blaming the conditions. After the match Sabalenka said that if Iga had played Coco in the finals Iga would have won. Then she says Coco just got extraordinarlity lucky with the ball magically landing in the court. And she finished it off by saying the only reason Coco won was because she made so many mistakes. This is actually worse than anything Serena ever said. Here are her comments...

“Like I think Iga - if Iga would [have] won [against me] another day, I think she would go out today and she would get the win. It just hurts. Honestly hurts. I've been playing really well, and then in the last match, go out there and perform like I did, that's hurt.”

To add to an extraordinary press conference, Sabalenka added: “She was hitting the ball from the frame. Somehow magically the ball lands in the court. It felt like a joke, honestly, like somebody from above was there laughing, like, ‘let's see if you can handle this’.”

Sabalenka also said: “I think she won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes.”

Certainly a very bad look for Sabalenka here, in my eyes. Maybe next time they can move her post match whine fest to a prime time slot. She at the very least deserves that. It is impossible to imagine great players like Agassi, Novak, Nadal, who were so tidy with their errors, ever saying anything like this. Sabalenka reminds me of the ultra unaware parent at the tennis club that states their child "has so much power, they just need to learn to control it better". Yes, no kidding, that is kind of the difference between being a good tennis player or not.

[jeffreycounts]

It's actually way worse than just blaming the conditions. After the match Sabalenka said that if Iga had played Coco in the finals Iga would have won. Then she says Coco just got extraordinarlity lucky with the ball magically landing in the court. And she finished it off by saying the only reason Coco won was because she made so many mistakes. This is actually worse than anything Serena ever said. Here are her comments...

“Like I think Iga - if Iga would [have] won [against me] another day, I think she would go out today and she would get the win. It just hurts. Honestly hurts. I've been playing really well, and then in the last match, go out there and perform like I did, that's hurt.”

To add to an extraordinary press conference, Sabalenka added: “She was hitting the ball from the frame. Somehow magically the ball lands in the court. It felt like a joke, honestly, like somebody from above was there laughing, like, ‘let's see if you can handle this’.”

Sabalenka also said: “I think she won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes.”

[jeffreycounts]

It's almost like she just goes out there and does what she does, the chips fall where they may. She needs to think more in terms of what she needs to do to win. She has absolutely no lock down game. Fed's game, and Musetti now, their game so easy on the eye. Sabalenka"s game the polar opposite, a very difficult watch. 67 unforced errors in 3 sets. Just gross tennis.

In her speech Sabalenka said the conditions were "horrible" which caused her to play a "horrible" final. Was the wind really that bad?

She reminds me a lot of Serena. Hit hard and if that doesn't work, hit harder and yell louder. There is not much "flow" to her game. More like taking a big rock and trying to bash her opponent into submission with it.

So happy Coco won this.

[stroke]

Terrible final. Sabalenka is just a one trick pony. She just hits massively in straight lines, no angles, no finesse, just crash, bang, wallop. It was a rhythmless, boring game to say the least. Coco faired better in the debacle. Her backhand was great, and her anticipation and movement is about the best I’ve ever seen in ladies tennis. In the end Sabalenka just made so many errors.

Let’s hope the men’s final lives up to it’s billing. I have a feeling it will.

It's almost like she just goes out there and does what she does, the chips fall where they may. She needs to think more in terms of what she needs to do to win. She has absolutely no lock down game. Fed's game, and Musetti now, their game so easy on the eye. Sabalenka"s game the polar opposite, a very difficult watch. 67 unforced errors in 3 sets. Just gross tennis.

[stotty]

Terrible final. Sabalenka is just a one trick pony. She just hits massively in straight lines, no angles, no finesse, just crash, bang, wallop. It was a rhythmless, boring game to say the least. Coco faired better in the debacle. Her backhand was great, and her anticipation and movement is about the best I’ve ever seen in ladies tennis. In the end Sabalenka just made so many errors.

Let’s hope the men’s final lives up to it’s billing. I have a feeling it will.

[stroke]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/PHun4Jmn8YWGVx2u6

Sinner Alcaraz a dead even pick 'em.

[stroke]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yyBMPQnvZbgF4pqY9

Just way way too many errors by Sabalenka.

[jimlosaltos]

Kudos to Coco ! Recovered from losing a 78-minute first set in a tiebreaker to top Aryna 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4. That's some determination at 21 yo.

But what happened to Sabalenka's service? Won only 48% of her first serves, and came out on the short end of an old-fashioned WTA breakfast -- 34 break points combined in 31 games or more than one break per game for two hours and a half hours. Aryna, who has served up to 133 MPH, averaged one 105 MPH on her first serve? She normally does better than that on her second?

Last night we had Sinner winning the first set with only 43% in. Something in Paris' macchiatos ?

[jimlosaltos]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/r3UYGnSqqTpqERqB8

Thanks for the final stats. At least Sinner got his first serves in percentage up to 51% with the tiebreak, after winning the first two sets while only getting 47% of his first serves in.
Weird semi.

[jimlosaltos]

Sinner has beaten Djokovic 4 times in a row, but at least Djokovic finally broke Sinner's serve. Supposedly, he'd gone about two years without breaking his serve. Granted, Novak doesn't play as often as he used to. I'm having a hard time believing this stat, still ... it's 9 sets with Djokovic winning one of those in a tiebreak and losing the other 8 sets.

Stats: Jannik Sinner held serve 45 consecutive times against Novak Djokovic since 2023 before getting broken once in their match today at the French Open 2025 semifinal. Among those Sinner had 40 consecutive service games against Djokovic without facing a break point.

Djokovic finally broke Sinner's serve in the second set, snapping the Italian's impressive streak. This was Djokovic's first break against Sinner since their 2023 Davis Cup clash. The break occurred when Sinner was serving for the second set at 5-4.

[stotty]

I didn’t see the match but heard it was high level. Good that Sinner won. But, look, if players like Sinner and Carlos aren’t beating Novak now, it would be a very sorry state of affairs.

Looking forward to the final.

[stroke]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/r3UYGnSqqTpqERqB8

[jimlosaltos]

Hits an ace on a second serve, loses set point, hits the same serve but as a first -- second set point. Djokovic hits deep.

Who would have guessed that Sinner could get only 47% of his serves in and yet go up 2 sets to love?

Sinner so far has won more points than Djokovic in every category of rally length:

+ 4 on 1-4
+2 on 5-8
+4 on 9 or more.

Oh, here we go. Djokovic calls for an injury time out, lying prone getting his leg and hip worked on. We'll see how long this break goes. 5 minutes 44 seconds since last point.

This is far more predictable than the rest of the match.

Time for me to play some tennis of my own. They'll just have to carry on without me