French Open 2012 Schedule: Day 7 TV Coverage, Matches and Bracket Guide
It was a rather routine Day 6 at Roland Garros.
No. 1 seeded Novak Djokovic advanced in straight sets over Nicolas Devilder (6-1, 6-2, 6-2), Roger Federer needed an extra set to down Nicolas Mahut (6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5) and No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (7-5, 6-4, 6-4) cruised past Fabio Fognini.
On the women’s side the big story was 19-year-old American Sloane Stephens.
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With a US Olympic team spot on the line, she coasted 6-3, 6-2 over Mathilde Johansson. Her forehand shot was incredibly consistent, and her backhand wasn’t too far behind. She makes it look easy and is one of the big stories of the French Open heading into the next round.
Keep an eye on her.
As the cream of the crop begins to rise, here is all of the information you need to know for Day 7 of the French Open at Roland Garros.
TV Schedule
| June 2 | 5 a.m. - 12 p.m. (Live) | Round 3 | Tennis Channel |
| June 2 | 12 p.m. - 3 p.m. (Live) | Round 3 | NBC |
Notable Matches
Men’s
No. 4 Andy Murray vs. Santiago Giraldo
How is Murray’s back feeling?
That’s the No. 1 question on the men’s side of the draw right now, and nobody is quite sure of the answer.
According to the Telegraph, Murray was only able to serve at 75 percent strength in his practice session on Friday, and by the end of his 50-minute workout, was seen in viable pain.
After contemplating retiring from his second round match, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the upset of the tournament here.
No. 13 Juan Monaco vs. No. 19 Milos Raonic
This is a very intriguing match.
Raonic has been one of the most improved players on tour this year, winning two ATP titles already (San Jose, Chennai) and entering Saturday’s match with a 23-7 record in 2012.
The Canadian is dangerous, but he is going to have his hands full against Monaco.
He has two clay court wins this season (Vina del Mar, Houston) but was dealing with a hamstring injury as recently as last month.
This has the potential to be a five-set match, and I give the nod to Monaco for his experience and superior play on the surface.
Women's
No. 2 Maria Sharapova vs. No. 28 Peng Shuai
Sharapova will be playing on back-to-back days, and her conditioning will be put to the test.
Considering she has dropped a grand total of two sets in her first two matches, I think Sharapova will be just fine. But it’s certainly something to note as we get deeper into this tournament.
No. 7 Li Na vs. Christina McHale
The defending champion Na has struggled since hoisting the trophy at Roland Garros a year ago, but it seems as if she has ironed out most of the mental issues and has cruised early on.
She’ll be facing an opponent in McHale, who will be making her first appearance in the third round here at Roland Garros. The 20-year-old is one of just three Americans remaining of the 12 who started.
With a 5’ 7’’ frame, she will have a length advantage over Na, but will have to compensate for a lack of speed.
Here are two potential matchups that could hold some serious intrigue in the quarterfinals.
Quarterfinals: No. 3 Roger Federer vs. No. 9 Juan Martin del Potro
Del Porto may be nursing a bothersome left knee, but he has shown no ill-effects thus far at Roland Garros.
He’ll be looking to exact revenge on Federer, who defeated him in the semifinals at this event back in 2009.
He hasn’t made it that far ever since.
Federer hasn’t looked particularly sharp thus far, but has yet to face the sort of competition he would meet against del Potro. These two provide incredibly entertaining matches more often than not, and this one would surely follow suit if they were to meet.
Quarterfinals: No. 1 Victoria Azarenka vs. Sloane Stephens
While most of the world will assume an easy win for Azarenka, this is a potential match to keep an eye on for American tennis fans.
If Stephens can make it to this point, it will be an incredible achievement in itself. The vast amount of experience she would receive from this match cannot be understated. But could she win?
Stephens plays with a certain effortless that bodes well as the grueling sun heat pounds down on fatigued players that have been competing for over a week. The 19-year-old Stephens would hold the serious advantage in this aspect.
Obviously Azarenka earned her No. 1 ranking from a reason, but she can be vulnerable. She had to withdraw from the last tournament she participated in with a right shoulder strain. If Stephens can pound her forehand to ware down that shoulder, we could be looking at the story of the entire tournament.
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