Quality Tennis Discussion / 2015 French Open contest

**Posted by Forehand_lob** 5/18/2015 3:21 pm

THE RULES

1. Pick quarterfinalists, semifinalists, finalists, and champions for both ATP and WTA draws. You will receive 7.5 points for each correct quarterfinalist, 5 points for each correct semifinalist and finalist, and 20 points for each correct champion.

2. SUBSTITUTE PICK: Pick a player from each draw to replace one of your quarterfinalists. If this player makes the quarters, they will take the place of whomever you picked in that section of the draw

3. BIGGEST LOSER: pick the highest seed that will lose in the earliest round from each draw. The player must be a top-16 seed. You get 5 points if your seed is the highest to lose and 2 points if your seed falls in the same round as the highest seed to lose.

EXTRAS

***Unseeded quarterfinalists are worth an extra half point for every seed they take out en route.

***WTF bonus: if you have a pick that makes it to the quarterfinals that no one else made (not even as a substitute pick), you'll gain an extra 5 points for it. WTFs only valid if we have more than 2 entries.

**Posted by Forehand_lob** 5/23/2015 9:33 pm

Men

Quarterfinals
Djokovic v. Nadal
Murray v. Ferrer
Nishikori v. Berdych
Wawrinka (Gulbis) v. Federer

Semifinals
Djokovic v. Murray
Berdych v. Federer

Final
Federer d. Djokovic

BL: Anderson

Women's

Quarterfinals
Azarenka (Serena) v. Petkovic
Keys v. Kuznetsova
Makarova v. Halep
Suarez Navarro v. Sharapova

Semifinals
Petkovic v. Kuznetsova
Halep v. Sharapova

Final
Sharapova d. Petkovic

BL: Wozniacki

**Posted by funches** 5/26/2015 11:38 pm

ATP

Quarterfinals

Djokovic over Nadal
Murray over Ferrer
Nishikori over Berdych
Federer over Wawrinka (substitute: Monfils)

Semifinals

Djokovic over Murray
Nishikori over Federer

Final

Djokovic over Nishikori 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5

Biggest loser: Cilic

WTA

Quarterfinals

Serena over Petkovic
Keys over Kuznetsova
Halep over Garcia
Sharapova over Suarez Navarro (substitute: Stosur)

Semifinals

Serena over Keys
Halep over Sharapova

Final

Halep over Serena 6-4, 1-6, 6-4

Biggest loser: Bouchard (that's cheating, but it was the obvious pick and one I definitely would have taken)

**Posted by funches** 5/26/2015 11:40 pm

I did not look at your picks before posting mine (near midnight on Tuesday). It's amazing we both have Keys and Petkovic in the quarters and one of them reaching the semis.

**Posted by Forehand_lob** 5/28/2015 6:14 am

I thought Bouchard would be able to manage one round while Wozniacki would go out in the second (like she did). Well, even if Bouchard stayed in Halep went out which messes up both of our picks (yours a bit more than mine).

Petkovic's section was really weak (Wozniacki is bad on clay and Errani is underpowered). Kvitova is a coin flip on whether she's going to be inconsistent. Keys seemed to be a reasonable choice, and I believe in the power of Lindsay Davenport's sunny optimism.

**Posted by funches** 5/30/2015 5:07 pm

We stunk at picking women's quarterfinalists. I only have two left, and you have three, but if Sharapova wins the tournament (a definitely possibility if Serena loses to someone else), you will win comfortably.

**Posted by Forehand_lob** 6/03/2015 10:57 am

I am almost certainly not going to win. Wasn't expecting Federer to go out to Wawrinka in straight sets.

Given that, as I write this, Djokovic is up 2 sets and a break to Nadal's 0 sets, I am going to go crazy again and pick Wawrinka to win. He should beat Tsonga on clay, and I think Wawrinka matches up very well against Djokovic, who will also be wrestling with pressure.

In the first game of the third set, some inexplicable errors crept into Nadal's game. The first point was an error that came out of nowhere and the last point ended on a terrible volley.

Now Djokovic is up 2 breaks thanks to a lucky let cord.

**Posted by funches** 6/03/2015 11:34 am

I agree Wawrinka should be in the final and agree he matches up well with Djokovic but don't see him having much of a chance to win. The Djoker will feel the pressure of history, but he handles pressure quite well and is just better than Wawrinka.

We'll never know if Wawrinka would have even won that Aussie final against Nadal if Nadal had not gotten hurt. There's a good chance he would have blinked.

He was brilliant against Federer yesterday, but Djokovic will make him hit more balls, and that's where Wawrinka becomes sloppy.

Having written all that, I picked Wawrinka to win the Aussie Open on the TennisChannel racquet bracket contest and considered picking him for all four slams (I ended up not entering the Roland Garros contest at all) because the only realistic way you can win one of those is to hit on a long shot pick. Wawrinka's shot-making ability and underrated serve give him a shot on any surface, including grass.

Last edited by funches (6/03/2015 11:36 am)

**Posted by Forehand_lob** 6/05/2015 2:57 pm

We were right that Wawrinka made it to the final. Now, it's going to be a little interesting since Djokovic and Murray are deadlocked in the 4th set at 3-3. If Djokovic comes out hot, it could be over quick. If Murray takes the set, the winner could have considerably less rest against Wawrinka.

I did catch the Serena-Bacsinszky match, and a crafty Swiss player being a set and a break up on a Williams sister on clay made me think it was 1998 all over again. Until, of course, she got broken back and didn't win another game.

With Serena in pretty bad shape, Safarova has a chance she wouldn't otherwise have. Still, it is more likely that she'll wrap her hands around her neck and fail to make it a good match. I would have thought you were on to something if you told me a lefty Czech would make the final. Didn't think it would be this lefty Czech, though.

**Posted by Forehand_lob** 6/07/2015 12:13 pm

funches, you win the French Open contest, but I am claiming a moral victory for being the person who did NOT write this:

funches wrote:
I agree Wawrinka should be in the final and agree he matches up well with Djokovic but don't see him having much of a chance to win. The Djoker will feel the pressure of history, but he handles pressure quite well and is just better than Wawrinka.

I literally started laughing at some of the amazing shots Wawrinka was pulling off. In particular, this shot:

https://amp.twimg.com/v/e2291821-3bf4-4672-81a6-9f2aa4b85bc3