French Open 2015 Results: Thursday Scores, Updated Roland Garros Predictions
Thursday's action at the 2015 French Open set up one half of the championship weekend matches, with a pair of women's semifinals as the lone singles matches of the day.
No. 13 Lucie Safarova kicked things off with a gutsy win over No. 7 Ana Ivanovic to move one step closer to a second career Grand Slam title. One game away from conceding her run of straight-sets victories at Roland Garros, Safarova rattled off five straight games to take the opening set and didn't look back.
The last remaining top-10 seed nearly fell following Safarova's win, but top-seeded Serena Williams wasn't about to let that happen. Visibly distraught and battling the flu, she again battled back from the brink of elimination to win her final 10 games and oust No. 23 Timea Bacsinszky.
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Here's a glance at Thursday's final scores:
| No. 1 Serena Williams def. No. 23 Timea Bacsinszky | 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 |
| No. 13 Lucie Safarova def. No. 7 Ana Ivanovic | 7-5, 7-5 |
Safarova is just one more win away from beating the top two seeds at Roland Garros and winning the title, while Williams stands just two sets away from Grand Slam No. 20. That clash is set for Saturday.
Thursday's matches were only a sign of things to come for Friday, which involves two star-studded men's semifinals. With that in mind, let's take a glance at both of those matches and predict who will move on to Sunday.
Friday Schedule and Predictions
No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 3 Andy Murray
Having just reigned supreme in a clash of titans that saw Novak Djokovic top Rafael Nadal for the first time ever at Roland Garros, Djokovic has to turn around quickly and face perhaps an even tougher opponent in Andy Murray.
Murray has never made it further than this at the French Open but is hoping to break through in his third semifinal. He's never looked like a better bet to do it, going undefeated on clay in 2015 and taking that streak through this tournament in convincing fashion.
There's one thing going against Murray this time, however: He has to face Djokovic.
Not only has Djokovic reigned supreme in the last seven meetings with Murray, but he's never looked better. He's lost just one match since the Australian Open—an ATP final in Dubai against Roger Federer. Since then, he's won all of his last 29 matches, including four titles.
As told by Australian Open, Djokovic has never felt more comfortable with his game:
After Djokovic dispatched Nadal in straight sets, he made it the fifth time in his career that he's gotten this far without dropping a set—and what follows is typically more dominance, as Tennis View Magazine's Chris Skelton shows:
While Murray has showcased his usual dominance in the return game and great athleticism, he did allow David Ferrer plenty of opportunities in their quarterfinal match. Murray's missed chances in that match won't be easily surmountable against Djokovic, who is playing near-perfect tennis and takes advantage of every break that goes his way.
Murray's conditioning and improved game will show as the Serbian gets his toughest test of the tournament, but Djokovic won't be rattled and should eventually settle in for his second Grand Slam feat over Murray this year.
Prediction: Djokovic wins in four sets
No. 8 Stan Wawrinka vs. No. 14 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
A battle of similar yet conflicting styles will surface in Friday's semifinal opener, pitting Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga against Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka for the chance to clinch a spot in the final.
You would be hard-pressed to find two bigger hitters with as much of a refined overall game as these two contenders. Tsonga possesses one of the tour's strongest serves and finally appears to be back at his best after a long injury layoff, while Wawrinka has arguably the single most powerful forehand in the game, to which Federer can attest.
However, their similar styles of play have yielded different results in terms of time on the court and overall distance covered, per Roland Garros:
Tsonga will undoubtedly have the crowd on his side as France desperately awaits its first Roland Garros champion since Yannick Noah in 1983, but it's fair to question how much he still has in the tank. He's required nearly three hours more on the court than Wawrinka to this point, with Kei Nishikori giving him fits in a quarterfinal marathon match.
Meanwhile, Wawrinka is fresh off a straight-sets performance against Federer—which would have gone much longer if Wawrinka didn't firmly shut the door. He's shown the killer instinct at Roland Garros that helped him to win his only major at the 2014 Australian Open.
The crowd is working against Wawrinka, but he called upon his earlier dispatching of No. 12 Gilles Simon as proof it won't affect him, per ATPWorldTour.com:
“When I played Simon on Lenglen, I got booed. It doesn't really affect me. I don't have any problem. I don't think you can change the results. I don't think [crowd support] is what's going to make me win or [Tsonga] win."
A fast start would be expected from Tsonga against many other opponents, but Wawrinka has shown a similar affinity for starting strong at Roland Garros. He'll set the tone and take the crowd out early to beat the Frenchman and advance to face Djokovic.
Prediction: Wawrinka wins in four sets
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