I love how those pretentious bastards want it to be called "Roland Garros" now. Oui Oui, Pierre.
As if Sinner needed any help, it looks like he's going to catch a huge break. With Alcaraz out, pretty much the only thing that could beat Sinner is the heat*. And the first round is going to be played in 90° temps. Luckily, Sinner doesn't even have a real opponent in the first round, as he's playing a wild card who is currently 165 in the world. Starting Wednesday, the temps are going to start dropping.
*In case nobody has been paying attention, pretty much ever since Sinner's return from his drug suspension, he's STRUGGLED with the heat. And for some stupid reason he often wears black. But with temps down into the 60s for the second week, he dodged a bullet.
It's insane how easy Gauff's quarter is, and she's still only +110 to win it.
Problem is, who else to bet? I kinda like Noskova and Kalinskaya, but neither has ever been past the round of 64 here. Maybe Lois Boisson goes on another dream run (at +15,000)? Mertens is probably a good bet at +2,000, but I just can't trust her. She'll need to get past Qinwen Zheng in the 2nd round and maybe Noskova in the 3rd. And, as overrated as Gauff is... who's going to beat her? I think the best chance of her losing in the first few rounds is in the first, against Townsend. I mean, Gauff has never beat Townsend. Ok, they've only played once. But it was on clay! Ok, it was American clay. And it was in 2019, when Gauff was 15 years old. But STILL!
Fuck, maybe Qinwen Zheng is the play. She's kinda rounding into form. While she lost in the round of 32 in both of her clay court tournaments coming into this, both were 3-setters. Against Rybakina and (peak) Ostapenko. And, obviously, she's had some success here, reaching the Quarters last year.
Hell, I could make arguments for Kalinina and Potapova.
Feels like I just wasted an hour, because I'm really no closer to deciding what the fuck to do here. Anyone with any thoughts?
Ok, one last note before I quit for the evening... fuck, the top of this quarter on the men's side is stacked. 3 of the top 5 choices to win the tournament.
As if Sinner needed any help, it looks like he's going to catch a huge break. With Alcaraz out, pretty much the only thing that could beat Sinner is the heat*. And the first round is going to be played in 90° temps. Luckily, Sinner doesn't even have a real opponent in the first round, as he's playing a wild card who is currently 165 in the world. Starting Wednesday, the temps are going to start dropping.
*In case nobody has been paying attention, pretty much ever since Sinner's return from his drug suspension, he's STRUGGLED with the heat. And for some stupid reason he often wears black. But with temps down into the 60s for the second week, he dodged a bullet.
It's insane how easy Gauff's quarter is, and she's still only +110 to win it.
Problem is, who else to bet? I kinda like Noskova and Kalinskaya, but neither has ever been past the round of 64 here. Maybe Lois Boisson goes on another dream run (at +15,000)? Mertens is probably a good bet at +2,000, but I just can't trust her. She'll need to get past Qinwen Zheng in the 2nd round and maybe Noskova in the 3rd. And, as overrated as Gauff is... who's going to beat her? I think the best chance of her losing in the first few rounds is in the first, against Townsend. I mean, Gauff has never beat Townsend. Ok, they've only played once. But it was on clay! Ok, it was American clay. And it was in 2019, when Gauff was 15 years old. But STILL!
Fuck, maybe Qinwen Zheng is the play. She's kinda rounding into form. While she lost in the round of 32 in both of her clay court tournaments coming into this, both were 3-setters. Against Rybakina and (peak) Ostapenko. And, obviously, she's had some success here, reaching the Quarters last year.
Hell, I could make arguments for Kalinina and Potapova.
Feels like I just wasted an hour, because I'm really no closer to deciding what the fuck to do here. Anyone with any thoughts?
Ok, one last note before I quit for the evening... fuck, the top of this quarter on the men's side is stacked. 3 of the top 5 choices to win the tournament.
