French Open 2015 Results: Thursday Scores and Friday Bracket Predictions
It wasn't an easy day for some of the big names, but the top seeds advanced Thursday at the 2015 French Open. World No. 1 Serena Williams dropped the first set against qualifier Anna-Lena Friedsam before righting the ship en route to a 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 win.
The early struggles had to have some thinking about Williams' second-round exit from last year's French Open, but the future Hall of Famer didn't lose her composure and took control of the match in the second set. She will have to clean up her game moving forward if she hopes to win her third French Open and 20th Grand Slam title.
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She made a whopping 52 unforced errors in Thursday's match. Against a more experienced player, Williams might not have survived Thursday's scare.
In a match that featured a little less drama, No. 1 Novak Djokovic handled Gilles Muller in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. Despite bad luck on plays like this one captured by the Roland Garros Twitter account, Djokovic powered past Muller.
Djokovic later took the light-hearted moment in stride as he acknowledged it via Twitter:
He's now won 24 straight matches and continues to solidify himself as the favorite to win his first French Open, which would complete the career Grand Slam for him. He's reached the final on two other occasions—including 2012 and 2014.
The results weren't as great for all of the seeded players.
| No. 3 Andy Murray def. Joao Sousa 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 | Philippe-Chatrier |
| No. 6 Rafael Nadal def. Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 | Philippe-Chatrier |
| Julia Goerges def. No. 5 Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) | Philippe-Chatrier |
| No. 1 Novak Djokovic def. Gilles Muller 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 | Suzanne-Lenglen |
| No. 1 Serena Williams def. Anna-Lena Friedsam 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 | Suzanne-Lenglen |
| No. 4 Petra Kvitova def. Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-2 | Suzanne-Lenglen |
| Jeremy Chardy def. No. 16 John Isner 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 | Court 1 |
| No. 27 Victoria Azarenka def. Lucie Hradecka 6-2, 6-3 | Court 1 |
| Andreea Mitu def. Karolina Pliskova 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 | Court 2 |
| No. 9 Marin Cilic def. Andrea Arnaboldi 7-6 (7-3), 6-1, 6-1 | Court 2 |
You can see the entire schedule, draw and all of the results at RolandGarros.com.
Thursday's Upsets
Caroline Wozniacki Falls
In the biggest upset of the day, No. 5 Caroline Wozniacki fell to unseeded Julia Goerges 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). Wozniacki simply didn't get enough from her service game during the match. She won just 55 percent of her first-service points and had no aces during the match.
Historically, she hasn't played well at Roland Garros. This is the third time in as many years that she has bowed out before the third round.
As for Goerges, the 26-year-old German came in ranked 68th in the world. Thursday's win was a big one and has to give her some confidence heading into the third round.
Karolina Pliskova Edged
No. 12 Karolina Pliskova was also bitten by the upset bug Thursday. The 23-year-old Czechoslovakian couldn't solve Andreea Mitu. The latter prevailed in a close, hard-fought and at times ugly match 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.
The match featured a combined 83 unforced errors, but it was Mitu who would seize control during the second-set tiebreaker and carry the momentum through the third and deciding set. The Romanian-born Mitu came in ranked 99th in the world.
She will see her ranking rise after her showing at Roland Garros.
Looking Ahead to Friday's Biggest Matches
| Damir Dzumhur vs. No. 2 Roger Federer | Federer |
| No. 26 Samantha Stosur vs. No. 2 Maria Sharapova | Sharapova |
| No. 14 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Pablo Andujar | Tsonga |
| No. 7 Ana Ivanovic vs. Donna Vekic | Vekic |
| Nicolas Mahut vs. No. 12 Gilles Simon | Simon |
| No. 13 Gael Monfils vs. No. 21 Pablo Cuevas | Monfils |
| No. 13 Lucie Safarova vs. No. 20 Sabine Lisicki | Safarova |
| No. 8 Stan Wawrinka vs. Steve Johnson | Wawrinka |
| Benoit Paire vs. No. 4 Tomas Berdych | Berdych |
| Elena Vesnina vs. No. 9 Ekaterina Makarova | Makarova |
| No. 21 Garbine Muguruza vs. No. 11 Angelique Kerber | Muguruza |
Damir Dzumhur vs. No. 2 Roger Federer
With Djokovic's current streak and Rafael Nadal's struggles during this clay-court season, Roger Federer has flown under the radar about as much as a man with 17 Grand Slam titles can.
On Friday, he'll continue his attempt to add an 18th title and his second-ever championship at Roland Garros. Damir Dzumhur will provide the opposition. The two men have never played against each other.
We know Federer's accomplishments, but a closer look at Dzumhur's resume shows that clay is his best surface. In fact, his 61-37 record on clay, per Wettpoint, is the only surface on which he has a winning percentage above .500 in his career.
That might create some hope, but overall, Dzumhur doesn't fit the description of a player who is likely to upset Fed. A straight-sets win for Federer is likely.
No. 26 Samantha Stosur vs. No. 2 Maria Sharapova
In 13 head-to-head matches, Maria Sharapova holds an 9-2 edge over Samantha Stosur. The latter has never beaten her opponent on clay and hasn't celebrated a win over the second-seeded Russian since 2012.
Sharapova is on a four-match win streak against Stosur, and all signs point to that streak hitting five on Friday.
No. 14 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Pablo Andujar
Before the tournament began, I tabbed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as a sleeper threat to win this year's French Open. The Frenchman will have the crowd firmly behind him in just about any match he plays, and he's had some good moments at Roland Garros in the past.
He reached the semifinals in the tournament in 2013.
He's only faced Pablo Andujar once in his career in 2013, but Tsonga won that meeting easily, 6-3, 6-2. It would be a major surprise if Andujar put up much more of a fight on Friday.
Tsonga should roll into the next round.
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