French Open 2015 Results: Women's Final Score and Men's Final Predictions
Serena Williams sealed a 6–3, 6–7(2), 6–2 victory over Lucie Safarova on Saturday to clinch the third French Open crown of her career. In defeating Safarova, Williams claims her 20th career Grand Slam and closes in on Steffi Graf's record of 22 Grand Slam wins since the beginning of the Open era in 1968.
Saturday also saw Novak Djokovic book his place in Sunday's men's singles final with a tremendous 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 5-7, 6-1 win over Andy Murray. There, he'll be seeking to earn a maiden French Open championship against Stanislas Wawrinka, playing in his first-ever final at Roland Garros.
Read on for a preview and prediction of how the action will unfold in Sunday's men's final.
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Fatigue Will Take Its Toll on World No. 1
One-and-a-half sets of tennis may not seem like much to fathom in the mind of a world-class athlete, but Djokovic could find that Saturday's unwelcome outing comes to affect Sunday's performance.
The world No. 1 and top seed at the French Open was forced to resume his semi-final against Andy Murray on Saturday after it was suspended the night previous. Speaking after Saturday's triumph, the world's No. 1 player said, per the official ATP World Tour website:
"I don't think I was lucky. I think I was playing some great tennis yesterday. He found his game late in the third. I had many opportunities to finish the match in straight sets, but credit to Andy.
He showed why he's one of the biggest competitors and fighters on the tour. A bit different conditions, with sun and then later in the evening it got a bit slower. He was using his variety in the game very well. It was a really tough match, over four hours all together, yesterday and today. No different from any other match that we played against each other. It's always a thriller, always a marathon.
He just came up with some great shots, great points. I want to congratulate him for a great tournament and a great fight, and I wish him all the best.
"
Djokovic will have felt the most substantial drain in Friday's four-set session, assuredly, but the mental fatigue of having to match that motivation level less than a day later will run in Wawrinka's favour.
It's worth mentioning as well that Djokovic's gluten-free diet has been an intriguing point of discussion regarding his ability to last in long matches over recent years. Joshua Robinson of the Wall Street Journal confirmed at Roland Garros last month that choice of nutrition remains high on the player's priorities:
Slight though it may be, Wawrinka will cherish any extra rest he has compared to his Sunday opponent, and the extra time afforded to him in preparing for the climactic clash won't go astray.
It also makes for an interesting watch in terms of how Wawrinka chooses to play, coming out of the blocks early in the hopes of establishing an early lead or drawing out the fixture in the hope that Djokovic tires.
Serbia Trumps Switzerland As Experience Wins Out
It's been no simple path for Wawrinka to reach what will be just the second Grand Slam final of his career on Sunday, not least impressing with his straight-sets dismantling of countryman Roger Federer.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the No. 8 seed gave off a confident front, expressing his comfort in being able to deal with a player of Djokovic's quality:
"When I play my best, I know I can beat all the players. It's changed in the past year. This is what I told Magnus (his coach Magnus Norman). If you look at the draw, in the past I'd say, 'OK, who is going to play against whom? It's going to be wonderful quarter-finals, semi-finals.
Maybe I thought, maybe it's going to be me if I can go deep. It's true, it's special. I know if I am here it's because I've played well and because I deserve it. I feel this is my role. This is where I should be. But I'm not forgetting that this is huge for me. It is normal because I'm not in the 'big four' - they have all played 25 finals and won so many of those.
"
While this would be a first title for Djokovic at Roland Garros, it's his third time making it to the final matchup, and Sunday sees the 28-year-old searching for a ninth career major.
It's been more than a year since Wawrinka broke his Grand Slam drought and won his first major at the 2014 Australia Open, but it stands to reason that Sunday's foe will be the far more settled.
On his day, Wawrinka possesses a fearsome backhand and may be able to contest with the world's finest, but beating competitors of that standard is something Djokovic has done for fun over the last four years.
Match Prediction: Djokovic wins in four sets.
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