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ROLAND GARROS 2015 - DAY 2 IP: 46.255.183.159 Posted on May 26, 2015 at 00:05:25 AM by David Barnes
ROLAND GARROS 2015
MONDAY 25 MAY - DAY 2
As Andy Murray, and Tim Henman before him, know only too well, the vast open spaces of the Suzanne Lenglen court here at Roland Garros can prove barren and depressing territory. So it proved for 19 year-old Yoshihito Nishioka from Japan, up against fourth seed Tomas Berdych, in the first match on that court today. Recovering only partially from a first set 'bagel', the teenager went out 6-0, 7-5, 6-3 in an hour and three quarters of torrid misery at the hands of an impressive Berdych. Hiring Andy Murray's former coach Dani Vallverdu has clearly started to pay dividends for the Czech player.
Nishioka was wearing a splendid pair of light maroon cross-check shorts, of the style pioneered a few years ago and continued since by Stan Wawrinka. Roger Federer had said yesterday in his press conference that he was enjoying wearing bright colours this Roland Garros (vivid orange in his case) especially in the light of a certain forthcoming tournament. His sideswipe at the Wimbledon dress code seemed a little harsh, but after the teenager selfie incident he was clearly on a roll; "It's going to change when Wimbledon comes around because rules have become ridiculously strict over there, and I love Wimbledon, but they have gone too far now. That's while we enjoy the colour while we can. Yeah, it's good to be fashionable in a fashionable city like here in Paris".
The Japanese teenager's shorts inspired him to something of a fight-back in sets two and three, but the result was as predictable as was Berdych's mastery of every aspect of the game; a massive serve, powerful shot placement to both sides, and relentlessly accurate length, all pulverised his opponent, on the latter's debut at Roland Garros. He will learn from the experience, as various British players have said they would over the years when losing here in early rounds on the harsh and unforgiving French clay. The same was true for the Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis, who opted for the blue version of the 'Stan shorts' and who lost in a similarly predictable manner, to the Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky, 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 in a shorter timeframe, of just under an hour and a half.
Andy Murray was in his favourite late afternoon/evening slot, against lucky loser Facundo Arguello from Argentina, on Philippe Chatrier today, although he was delayed by the Pouille/Simon and Kanepi/Sharapova matches which preceded him. Pouille has added the charismatic Yannick Noah (who won the title here in 1983) to his coaching team, which probably can't do any harm, but which, on the evidence of today's performance against a far from impressive Simon, has yet to bear much fruit. The older Frenchman won in four sets, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. Sharapova also won her match, against the nearly 30 year-old Estonian Kaia Kanepi, but the defending champion, who left the court without giving an interview, has still not fully recovered from the illness that forced her recent Fed Cup withdrawal, so she will have been glad to have been detained today for less than an hour and a half.
Murray and Arguello came on court in glorious sunshine at 5.45, so that a quick demolition job was called for from the Scot. In the event he obliged, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in an hour and three quarters, as did Heather Watson more or less simultaneously out on Court 2 against the local girl Mathilde Johansson; 6-4, 7-5 in a minute under an hour and a half. The French player endears herself to you immediately by naming in the WTA briefing notes her favourite book as Antoine de Saint Exupery's Le Petit Prince, a tome of unnerving simplicity, depth and beauty. Andy Murray endeared himself to the Centre Court crowd here by essaying a few words in French in his on-court interview immediately afterwards - perhaps Amelie Mauresmo has been including language lessons with her tennis coaching - and talking with wry Scottish humour about the benefits of his recent marriage to Kim. He'll win the Parisians over yet, le britannique Andy Murray, as he is usually introduced to spectators.
Heather Watson, who has just turned 23, said after her win against Johansson; "I dealt with the important moments and the important points well today - I made her play the extra ball". Just what Aguello, who reaches the same age in August, failed to do against Murray. I went along to the Argentinian's press conference to see how he would make out. It was a delight; he started by giving the journalist from his 'local' radio station, Radio del Plata, a big hug, said he couldn't 'do' English, and answered every question with a smattering of 'nadas', meaning that nothing really had bothered him in the match, but that he was disappointed not to have played as well in the third set as he had in the first and second. Such refreshing candour and wide-eyed optimism, in contrasting circumstances, from both players. In the second round Watson will meet Sloane Stephens, an opponent whom she said she likes playing and always plays well against, and who beat Venus Williams today in straight sets, 7-6, 6-1.
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David Barnes/Topspin, 2015
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