French Open 2017 Schedule: Replay TV Coverage, Live Stream for Thursday's Draw
Marin Cilic put all elements of his game together Thursday and reeled off a straight-set victory over Konstantin Kravchuk in the second round of the French Open.
The seventh-seeded Cilic earned a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory against his Russian opponent, and his first serve had a huge impact on the outcome of the match. The Croatian player was able to get his first serve in 44 times throughout the match, and he won a remarkable 42 points in those situations.
Kravchuk was victimized by 11 aces, and his inability to handle his opponent's serve kept him from having a single chance on a break point.
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Cilic had no such difficulty, as he had 10 break points during the three sets and was successful on five of them.
Cilic won the 2014 U.S. Open, but he rarely gets mentioned with top players like Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray or Rafael Nadal. However, if Cilic continues to play the way he has in the first two rounds, he could have a chance to have a long run at Roland Garros and possibly compete for the second Grand Slam title of his career.
Here's a look at Thursday's full schedule at the French Open.
TV Info: NBC; ITV 1 and ITV 4 (UK).
Live Stream and Highlights: NBC Sports App, Tennis Channel and ITV Hub (UK).
On the women's side, Agnieszka Radwanska managed to escape with a 6-7, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium in the second round.
The ninth-seeded Radwanska was teetering on the edge when she dropped the first set as a result of getting outplayed during the tiebreaker, but she righted herself in the second set and put her opponent away decisively in the third.
Radwanska was particularly effective when she went to the net throughout the match. She won 23 of 29 net-point opportunities, and she was not hesitant to go to the net on Van Uytvanck's serve. As a result, Radwanska was able to win six of nine break-point opportunities.
Radwanska had an easy 6-1, 6-1 victory over Fiona Ferro of France in the first round.
Thursday preview
The top-seeded Murray is involved in a second-round match with Martin Klizan of Slovakia, and he is looking to find his rhythm after beating Andrey Kuznetsov in four sets in the opening round.
Murray's game is primarily about his power, speed, athletic ability and skill, and the red clay of Roland Garros has not proved to be kind to him over the years. However, he did get to the championship round last year.
Much is expected as the top seed, and he should have an excellent opportunity to make a strong showing in Paris.
Defending French Open champion Stan Wawrinka is also in action Thursday against Alexandr Dolgopolov of the Ukraine in another second-round match.
Wawrinka earned a straight-sets victory over Jozef Kovalik of Slovakia in the first round, although he was pushed hard in the second set and extended to a tiebreaker before putting his opponent away. Wawrinka was forced to save three set points in the middle set.
Dolgopolov is a worthy opponent who earned a straight-set win in the first round. "Dolgo" (translates to the dog) has a big first serve, and he won 48 of 57 points in his previous match when he was able to put his first serve in play.
Match stats courtesy of RolandGarros.com unless otherwise noted.
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