PETE ZIEBRON
The United States of America has managed to win just seven of twenty-one matches on the opening two days of Roland Garros. Worse yet, the Germans have won just one of the six matches they have played. Russia has gone 6-8 and the French have only been able to win seven of seventeen matches on Sunday and Monday. The Spaniards boast five wins in eight matches and the Italians are also a bit over the .500 mark, winning four of seven matches, while the Czechs have won three of four matches.
American men in particular nearly always have difficulty in Paris. These failures can be directly attributed to the fact that hardly any Yanks show up to play the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000 in April. Lack of participation can also be noted at the next Masters 1000 in Madrid. Finally, the American men decide to eventually make their way to Europe and play the Rome Masters 1000, just two weeks prior to the start of Roland Garros. Today, #14 Jack Sock was sent packing in straight sets and following the match stated that he needed a break from tennis.
Early exits by Germany are somewhat puzzling. World #1 Angelique Kerber continues to slump, managed to win just four games on Sunday and was dumped out of the tournament. Today, Mischa Zverev, the 32nd seed, lost to Stefano Napolitano of Italy, who was making his debut at a major. Zverev decided to play a tournament last week. He reached the final in Geneva losing to Stan Wawrinka and his excessive scheduling was most likely the main cause for his departure at Roland Garros.
The Russians have not lost any seeded players amongst their eight defeats. Meanwhile, the host French saw #31 seed Gilles Simon lose in the opening round for the first time since 2008. Kiki Mladenovic, the #13 seed and a pick by some to win the tournament was fortunate to escape with a 9-7 third set win that took nearly three hours today.
The Spanish continue to play well on clay and sport a better than .500 collective record on the initial two days of the tournament. Veterans Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer notched wins as did 2016 Champion Garbine Muguruza. Meanwhile the Italians and Czechs also have positive winning percentages through two days.
In the end, expect the European nations to supply the overwhelming majority of players in the quarterfinals onward to the final.
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