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2022 French Open Day 9: Jessica Pegula comes from behind to a brilliant comeback v Irina Camelia-Begu in the fourth round ahead of her Quarter-Final match-up tomorrow against Iga Swiatek

by Sports Benches

We also saw another brilliant match-up over at Court Suzanne Lenglen in the 4th Round yesterday of this year’s French Open, but in the women’s singles draw between American Jessica Pegula & Irina-Camelia Begu from Romania. Begu did a great job shutting down Pegula following a very competitive battle that saw her lead the opening set. But it’s all about racing towards the finish line where Pegula proved too good to eliminate Begu, having tied 1-1 ahead of the 3rd set decider before she earned her spot in the Final 8; 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Begu would be disappointed not to advance into the Final 8 as her best grand slam finish is just outside any finals appearance so far for the third time since 2016 here. She fired off really well even though Pegula doesn’t give Begu an easier pass that secured the opening set lead from the Romainian but then the momentum dropped and couldn’t find a way to stay in this fight ever since. She’s 31 right now but there’s still some time left to improve if Begu wants to go one better and secure her first ever grand slam finals appearance at Wimbledon next month.

And what a rebound it has been from Jessica Pegula. Yes, she may have fallen so short during the opening set spell by a close two game difference, but Pegula just never gave up battling 100%. She credits the renewed momentum that helped her close in on Begu ahead of the 3rd set decider before Pegula pulled off comfortably with another Quarter-Finals appearance on top of the Australian Open so far this year. It’s also her first finals taste here at the French Open, but she will need to overcome World No.1 Iga Swiatek for the semi-final spot against either Veronika Kudermetova or Daria Kasatkina on Day 11 tomorrow.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas comes out on top against Zdenez Kolar during an intense four-hour showdown that wraps up Day 5 of the 2022 French Open

by Sports Benches

What a way to finish Day 5 of the 2022 French Open with a four-hour thriller between Zdenez Kolar from Czech Repiblicj & Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas at Court Suzanne Lenglen. Tsitsipas went up ahead early in the first half while Kolar was never being given a free pass where he showed plenty of fight throughout the whole time. But a 3rd set win alone from Kolar wasn’t enough to drag this game even further towards a 5th set decider & a possible shock upset, as Tsitsipas takes out the win; 3-6, 6-7 via 8-10 tiebreaker, 7-6 via 7-3 tiebreaker, 6-7 via 7-9 tiebreaker.

It’s unlucky to see Kolar being eliminated after he did everything possible to stay in this fight during his Round 2 match-up. He responded really well from the opening set down where Kolar held back Tsitsipas until the very end through the tiebreak, which is a super competitive effort from the 25-year-old, who is currently ranked at World No.134. Although he denied Tsitsipas a straight sets win at the first attempt following the 3rd set, but a poor start and finishing just saw Kolar being too far behind when it comes to matching his opponent’s elite stature. There’s always room for improvement because Kolar never gave up & fought hard against a top-ranked player like an underdog tonight, as he hopes to come back better with even more miracles at Wimbledon late next month.

And congratulations To Tsitsipas with the win where he will advance to Round 3 on Day 7 Saturday v Mikael Ymer from Sweden. It was a very easy fire off as always with the opening set lead. Now Tsitsipas wasn’t given an easy ride as this tie goes on where he was constantly being challenged by Kolar that went all the way through the tiebreak. He almost got the job done in straight sets at one point, having secured a close 2nd set win before Kolar struck one back going into the fourth set. However, he finally found light at the end of the tunnel when Tsitsipas used his first-half advantage that came back to haunt Kolar & closed his gruelling night at the office on a high note.

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2022 French Open: Iga Swiatek too good for Alison Riske in Round 2 at Court Suzanne Lenglen

by Sports Benches

World No.1 Iga Swiatek was just too good against Alison Riske in straight sets at Court Suzanne Lenglen. Her first set spell so was outstanding that went unchallenged with six games to zero.

Although Riske may have fought back a game or two after the break, but it’s all about the overall performance where Swiatek closed this off comfortably from start to finish; 6-0, 6-2.

It was not the exit Riske wanted, having been blown away by Swiatek’s elite offerings on the table. She did the best she can when Riske fought back a couple of games, as well as shown some late progress with two games being accrued in the 2nd set. But the ship was already sailed by that stage when it comes to the overall lead.

And there’s so many good things to say about Swiatek where she dominated this game for the whole time; left, right & centre. She will continue her French Open campaign going into Saturday for Round 3 against Danka Kovinic from Montenegro, in a bid to secure her 2nd grand slam triumph since that breakthrough here as a 19-year-old two years ago. And although she would’ve love to challenge Ash Barty at any final, but with Barty now retired, It’s Swiatek’s time now to prove herself that she can win grand slam singles’ tournaments every year.

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2022 French Open: Novak Djokovic advances into the 3rd Round with a straight sets win v Alex Molcan

by Sports Benches

It was an easy start by Novak Djokovic while Slovakian Alex Molcan began to make up some lost time after he was beaten easily in the opening set. However, Molcan’s late fightback in the 3rd set wasn’t enough to save his French Open campaign, as Djokovic closed out this Round 2 tie in straight sets with the win; 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 via 7-4 tiebreaker.

Congratulations to Djokovic who is through to Round 3 tomorrow against Aljaz Bedene from Slovenia. He was simply outstanding for the majority during these two opening sets. Although he had to overcome a competitive duel in the third while Molcan tried to keep this game alive, but Djokovic used the lifeline well going into the tiebreak and capped off in style with the win. Brilliant response there to hold back his opponent in a couple of areas that helped Novak being prepared to fight hard & show grand slam quality on the court.

Meanwhile, Moclan played some brilliant shots that earned him a few games, especially when he tried to stay in this fight which went all the way through the tiebreak in the 3rd set. But a poor opening set spell alongside a couple of gaps with his inconsistency just couldn’t him challenge the elite stature of Djokovic in the end. He came off a great run recently in the ATP Tour despite a couple of runner-up losses so far in 2022. But there’s still room for improvement though at age 24 where his best grand slam appearance was the US Open 3rd Round last year, as well as being the 38th ranked singles’ player right now.

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2022 French Open: Alex De Minaur eliminated early in a shock defeat by Frenchman Hugo Gaston despite a competitive battle out of a five-set showdown

by Sports Benches

We’re all gutted to see our Australian No.1 & World No.19 Alex De Minaur being eliminated early by Frenchman Hugo Gaston in the opening round of the 2022 French Open at Court Suzanne Lenglen, even though it was a really competitive effort by the two players.

He fired off well but then fell behind for a while where De Minaur at one point was on a brink towards an early end going into the third set. However, he never gave up and began to rebound lost time midway through this match-up with two easy mini-wins in sets 3 & 4. Unfortunately, he just couldn’t hold off Gaston in a head-to-head sprint to the finish when De Minaur blew his lifeline away during the 5th & final set via the tiebreak.

And hats off to 21-year-old Gaston who opened his French Open campaign he really wanted at home in Paris. He responded to De Minaur’s fire off beautifully at the beginning with a late snatch following the opening set before he was too good in the second stanza. Now he may began to falter when De Minaur denied Gaston the chance to close the opening round in straight sets, even though he was beaten so easily after the fourth set. However, you gotta praise his finishing going into the final set tiebreak where Gaston managed to reset himself that helped him bow out comfortably with the win.

The final score if 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 0-6, 7-6 via 10-6 tiebreaker, as Gaston will meet Argentine Pedro Cachin in the second round tomorrow.

There’s only one Aussie though in the men’s singles running when it comes to Jason Kulber after he too overcame a really tight battle v American Denis Kudla in straight sets that was all collected via tie-breakers. He will need to beat 10th seed Cameron Norrie from Great Britain if Kubler wishes to continue his run in the 2nd Round tonight.

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