French Open 2016: Americans with the Best Chance of Reaching Week 2
Americans in Paris? French Open 2016 has quickly thinned out ATP and WTA tennis pros like unwanted tourists. The survivors will have a tough time reaching the second week, especially on the men’s tour where only three of 10 players won their first match.
Not since Andre Agassi’s 1999 French Open title have the men had a legitimate contender on the red clay of Roland Garros. Brian Baker couldn’t get a dozen games from Bernard Tomic. Even a young player like teenager Taylor Fritz with a big serve and power game was easily defeated by European peer Borna Coric. It emphasizes Americans have to catch up with grinding out points and victories.
The women’s tour fared better with eight of 17 surviving the first round, but only a few are expected to last another round or two. Is Serena Williams the only star?
Who will make it to the fourth round when Week 2 features the true contenders?
Jack Sock
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Jack Sock sweated out a five-set win over Robin Haase. Had rain not pushed the conclusion to a second day, he might already be on a flight out of Paris. As it was, Sock did not exactly endear himself to the French fans when, according to Tennis.com, he screamed out at Haase and then put his fingers on his lips to respond to the fans’ boos.
Sock might regret not having better support over the next match or two, or he might use this as motivation to be more focused. Regardless, he’s going to need to back up his serve and big forehand with better defense and patience.
Last year, Sock proved he could play at Roland Garros when he won his first three matches, including wins over Grigor Dimitrov and Borna Coric. He took a fourth-round set from Rafael Nadal before bowing out.
The road to Week 2 is easier this week. He should be able to overpower charismatic athlete Dustin Brown and then outlast one of the many pesky clay-courters from either Spain or Argentina. As long as he doesn’t self-destruct, Sock will be in. Maybe he will tone down the emotion and show more deference to the French fans. It could help.
Sock is the only ATP player selected for this article. I don’t like John Isner’s chances to play roulette with his serve on clay and against No. 19 seed and Frenchman Benoit Paire in the third round, that is if he gets by Kyle Edmund in the second round.
Venus Williams
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It’s not easy for Venus Williams long after her glory years. There are times she can beat anyone on the planet, including a straight-up duel with younger sister Serena. There are other days that she lacks the energy and consistency.
The good news is, the No. 9-seeded Venus survived her opening win in straight-set tiebreakers. She’s going to need to play better.
Venus will likely roll fellow American Louisa Chirico who could be in awe that she is playing her legendary countrywomen. The third round could be a lot tougher against Frenchwoman Alize Cornet.
Cornet breezed through the opening round with her 6-1, 6-0 win. She is much better than her No. 50 world ranking and still within what should be her peak years at age 26. The French crowd could be an energizing factor for Cornet, so Venus will need a fast start in that one to get to the second week.
Sloane Stephens
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Sloane Stephens has played much-better tennis in 2016, but she’s just as likely to trip in a match she should win. The No. 19-seeded Stephens has more talent and physical strength than world No. 161 Veronica Cepede Royg, but she will need more of her maturity and patience to continue on to the third round.
She already received a bit of a break for the third round when No. 16 Sara Errani, a very good clay-courter, was booted out of the first round. Instead she could get Errani’s conqueror Tsvetana Pironkova or Johanna Larsson.
That’s a nice road to the second week, better than Coco Vandeweghe's second-rounder against Irina-Camelia Begu. Then the party could end in the fourth round against world No. 2 Agnieszka Radwanska—the shotmaking sorceress.
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Madison Keys
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Playing the Rome final against fellow American Serena Williams had to be a big confidence boost for young Madison Keys. She made strides on clay and played with the right blend of power and patience. Now if she can keep up her progress, she will cruise into the second week.
Keys dismantled Donna Vekic in the first round, and she only needs to keep her form against Colombian Mariana Duque-Marino. Then she would get another power player in either Julia Goerges or young—but talented—Monica Puig.
Providing she plays with growing consistency and patience to retrieve shots, Keys has the serve, power and athleticism to defeat almost anyone on a given day.
Keys has her sights set on a lot more than the second week. Angelique Kerber is no longer a quarterfinal possibility, so Keys might be the best player in her portion of the draw for a nice chance at the semifinals.
She would love a rematch with Serena.
Serena Williams
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On paper, Serena Willliams should be a shoo-in for the semifinals. With ailing Victoria Azarenka already cleaning out her locker at Roland Garros, Serena’s opponents will not be top-10 quality players until at least that semifinal stage.
But when Serena’s dominance is expected, she has been known to drop a surprising match. Usually opponents are more likely to pull off upsets early on in the tournament, meaning if she has her usual rhythm in the first week, the second week could be a coronation.
There are always challenges as she moved into her mid-30s. More retrieving players can mean longer matches on clay, and perhaps this makes it harder for her to recover her top-notch strength and reliability. It’s just not that easy.
Other American players will continue to fall, but Serena is still the standard for her country’s tennis, for that matter the standard of the entire WTA and one of the greatest players of all time. Barring the unusual, she will be contending for her fourth French Open title and third in four years during the twilight of her career.
Vive la Serena!
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