Shocking results are the story of the commencement of the 2025 Roland Garros tournament. 9 seed Emma Navarro wiped out in 57 minutes 06 16 to world no. 68 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain. “What the heck happened?” asked Patrick McEnroe. “I had her as one of my picks going deep.”
21 seed Tomas Machac falls to Quentin Halys 67 14.
32 seed Alex Michelsen was crushed by Juan Manuel Cerundolo 36 26 46.
29 seed Marta Kostyuk dismissed by qualifier Sara Bejlek 36 16.
28 seed Peyton Stearns sent home by Eva Lys 06 36.
27 seed Leylah Fernandez ousted by Olga Danilovic 36 16.
It’s one of the most stunning exodus of first round favorites I can remember. Today 4 seed Taylor Fritz has lost the first set to Daniel Altmaier.
Nick Kyrgios did the Changeover podcast with those two guys from the Caribbean and candidly revealed, “I can’t stand Rafa. I wanted to beat him so bad.”
Roland Garros staged the Rafa Tribute event yesterday and it was attended by Federer, Murray, Djokovic, Ferrero, Carlos, Hsieh but curiously Sinner was not there, nor was Del Potro or Wawrinka.
Raducanu won her first rounder today in three sets vs. Wang 75 46 63..
Emma Navarro · French Open · Rafa Nadal · Roland Garros
Scoop Malinowski · May 26, 2025 at 9:04 am
A good time to remember the greatest upset of French Open history, Horvath beating Navratilova https://thebradentontimes.com/stories/bradenton-resident-horvath-recalls-1983-historic-french-open-upset-of-navratilova,142909
Steve · May 26, 2025 at 9:23 am
Just checked the Gasquet book. It was Tarik Benhabiles that ruined his forehand and he never ragained his confidence on that side.
Scoop Malinowski · May 26, 2025 at 9:40 am
Did he specify the details of how he butchered his forehand? Just go back to the old way he hit it would make sense. I find that a cheat shot against Benhabiles. But then again, Benhabiles was made to loop like a suspect coach by Roddick’s stagnation. As soon as Roddick ditched Benhabiles and hired Gilbert, his career exploded. And Benhabiles all but vanished from the pro coaching scene. I think he had one more lower ranked WTA player and she didn’t do anything either. Tennis coaching can be tough luck. There are a lot of quality coaches out there who never get the chance to coach on the WTA ATP level. And then there are some good coaches who don’t get a fair shake. Who remembers Muguruza telling her coach Sam Sumyk on court on live TV, “Tell me something I don’t know.”
catherine · May 26, 2025 at 1:09 pm
Does anyone know anything about Sara Bejlek ? I didn’t see the match but was surprised to see Kostyuk go down first round.
Steve · May 26, 2025 at 4:46 pm
Later in the week when I have time I can type out the whole translation of that paragraph.
I don’t think Gasquet is cheap shot type of guy. Pros have to be careful changing something that’s already working, really any player.
Steve · May 26, 2025 at 4:47 pm
Did Tarik do technical work with Roddick? Cause Roddicks strokes were fugly esp. the backhand.
Scoop Malinowski · May 26, 2025 at 7:07 pm
Catherine, Bejlek is the girl player who two years ago was patted on her butt by her much older coach after a win. There were some cries from the tennis media about how inappropriate that looked but it’s their own private business. Beating Kostyk is the best win of her career.
Scoop Malinowski · May 26, 2025 at 7:11 pm
Ok thanks Steve, I would like to read that. Gasquet has never had any dispute with any player in 22 years as a pro. He deserved multiple sportsmanship awards. Not one blemish on his sportsmanship resume. Benhabiles tried his best and contributed to Gasquet’s successful career.
Scoop Malinowski · May 26, 2025 at 7:15 pm
Good question. Benhabiles was his main coach for a good duration so I would guess they did work on technical aspects. His backhand was good but it was not a big weapon, but neither were Moya’s, Ferrer’s, Johnson, Sock, etc. Benhabiles did a good job getting Roddick to where he did.
Steve · May 26, 2025 at 9:11 pm
Oh no, Gasquet plays your boy Sinner next. Well, he said he wanted to go out against a top guy. We’ll see. Would be nice if he can shock the world.
Scoop Malinowski · May 27, 2025 at 7:20 am
No-win situation for Sinner, killing the career of a respected revered French veteran on Chatrier will further villainize the king of Clostebol.
Steve · May 27, 2025 at 10:39 am
Here is the whole paragraph from the Gasquet book on his forehand via a crude translation from Google Translate:
“It’s hard for me to explain my ease with my backhand. On reflection, there may have been a compensatory effect with my forehand. When I was young, I played both shots with equal ease, but the more I doubted my forehand, the better my backhand performed. This produced a surprising result: the good backhand I initially had gradually became extraordinary, while my forehand declined. It seems to me that this is where part of the mystery of my game lies. But then, why did I lose confidence in this forehand? During the stressful periods I went through in 2003 and 2004, I lost some of the spontaneity, the magic that made my tennis; the forehand was the first to fail me in moments of doubt. This is still the case today: it comes and goes. Little by little, I began to take fewer risks with this shot, which usually allows you to attack. The decision of my coach at the time, Tarik Benhabiles, to modify my forehand technique coincided with the beginning of a series of defeats that affected my confidence and, above all, my lucidity regarding this gesture. Today, my right hand probably doesn’t belong to the top two hundred on the tour… Imagine if I had Federer’s: I wouldn’t even have needed to train.”
Scoop Malinowski · May 27, 2025 at 11:39 am
Interesting revelations from the master. Something becomes so powerful and then something has to weaken. It’s the strange nature of this complicated sport. The flowing beauty of his backhand somehow disrupted his cohesiveness on the other wing. All of our athleticism range has limits. Gasquet is a grandmaster and will be a superb coach and surely he will stay involved in the game. Might be too shy introverted to be a TV analyst but he would be excellent at that too. Future Davis Cup captain too. Thanks for sharing this Steve.