Roland Garros Day 7: Mathieu

Curtain Call

Player: Paul-Henri Mathieu
Age: 30
Nation: France
Current Ranking: 261
Notable Conquest: John Isner (USA, 10th seed)
Today's Result: loss to Marcel Granollers (Spain, 20th)

Photo via Bettor.com

It's been a long and winding road for Mathieu, the ATP's Newcomer of the Year way back in 2002.  His most famous match was, unfortunately, one he lost.  In the final rubber of the final match of the 2002 Davis Cup, Mathieu gave up a two set lead to Mikhail Youzhny (Russia), ultimately losing in five.  He's one of the good guys in the sport.  It's great to see him have a good tournament.

Catching Up with Old Friends

Christina McHale (Curtain Call, US Open Day 5) - McHale, ranked #35, may have done enough to assure herself of a seed at Wimbledon.  She only reached the first round at Roland Garros last year so reaching the third round will add to her ranking points.  That will be important as she has second round points to defend at Wimbledon from last year.

Nina Bratchikova (Curtain Call, Australian Open Day 5) - This was only the second Major main draw of Bratchikova's career.  She matched her Melbourne performance by reaching the third round.  Today, she lost to Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic, 4th) in three sets.

Golden Squid Report


Jurgen Melzer - While still a viable singles player, Melzer, now 31 years old, has reinvented himself as a top-ten doubles player.  His singles campaign at Roland Garros was short-lived, losing in the first round to Michael Berrer (Germany).  He and doubles partner Philipp Petzschner (Germany) did a little better, reaching the third round before losing today to Ivan Dodig (Croatia)/Marcelo Melo (Brazil) in straight sets.  Melzer didn't play doubles in Paris last year so even though they lost to a lower-ranked team, the third round finish will still help bolster his ranking points.