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by Philipina A. Marcelo
They sighed, wimpered, screamed (a lot, in the case of Maria Sharapova)... and then celebrated - a win! And, on the other side of the net, head hung with the devastating agony... of defeat.
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Big-name crash, underdog comeback
I rushed home from some big meetings at work, sprinted to my room, dropped my bag on the rug by my bed, kicked off my shoes, and breathlessly switched on my TV - fifth day of the French Open, second round for the other half of the men's and women's draws. Game on!
What greeted me was Kim Clijsters - in her new hair style, of course - battling Arantxa Rus of Netherlands. Clijsters arrived in Roland
Garros a little "cold", barely recovering from a twisted ankle, which she said she sustained while having fun in her cousin's wedding. She went through the first round though with relative ease to set up a meeting with Rus. And now, they were on... wait, third set?? And the score was 3-6, 7-5, 4-1 in favor of... Rus?? Yes, Rus! The 20-year old Dutch came back from one set down to go even with the No. 2 in the World, Clijsters. And Rus was trying to close the third set, hammering Clijsters, who was looking painfully vulnerable amidst disappointed "ooohs" and then appreciative claps - for Rus - 
from the crowd. I had to pour myself a tall glass of watermelon flavored Fit n' Right on a pile of ice cubes to take that all in. Before, I could even peel off my "restraining" blouse for a more comfortable tank top, the young Dutchwoman caused the biggest upset so far at Roland Garros: she sent the No. 2 in the World to a shocking second-round exit! And Clijsters's young conqueror stood there with a charming smile and a quiet and unassuming shrug after her 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 win - very adorable. :)Another big-name crash and underdog comeback played up in Roland Garros when the former #3 in the World, now seeded #28, Russian Nikolay Davydenko let unseeded Croat Antonio Veic come back into the match, to go one set even with him after the second set. The Croat then took the third set, while the Russian himself came back in the fourth before finally crashing in the fifth set. The Croat took the match with a 3-6, 6-2, 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 win.
But, perhaps, the most heartbreaking big-name crash of the day was that of Number 8 in the World, Germany's Jurgen Melzer's. He went first on
a seesaw win-lose contest with unseeded Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic, until they went two sets even to go into the fifth set. The duo opened the match with a tightly contested first set, which went on a tie breaker, and eventually won by the German, 7(7)-6(4). Rosol came back strong in the second set, taking it at 6-4 before giving the third set to the German, 4-6. The fourth set, once again went into tie break, which Rosol won 7(7)-6(3). Rosol went into the fifth set charging and took it 6-4, advancing to the third round over the disappointed German. The focus shifted to Andy Murray's match with Simone Bolleli over at Philippe Chatrier. Hmmm... it was like watching Caroline Wozniacki. Zzzzzzzzzzz....
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Intensity and big name comebacks
Guess what brought me back to planet earth from my Murray-induced enthusiasm crash (ok, ok... I was tired from work, too)... Maria Sharapova's ear-
splitting lung-power, of course! Ugh! Uhm, mute button, quick! *press* There! Whew!The Shrieking One amazingly came back from one set down to go even with the brilliant Caroline Garcia... and I mean, "brilliant" as in "really brilliant"! Yes, Sharapova was completely outshone (but not outscreamed, of course) by the Frenchwoman in the first set... and half of second set. But experience and intensity (and her annoying shrieks?) helped her get back into the game, getting Garcia commit a lot of errors, and then finally taking the match with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 win and a very loud "c'mon" plus a swirl of the skirt of her pretty picnic, er, tennis dress! *yawn*
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And, hey, hey, hey, what have we got here... an all-Spaniard second round showpiece starring The King of Clay, Rafa Nadal, and the late John F. Kennedy Jr. look-alike,
Pablo Andujar at the Court Suzanne Lenglen. The match started out with an early struggle for Rafa Nadal to win the first game! Oh, gosh, I have take-home work to do tonight... no more of that five-setter, please, Rafa! Actually, I should've been talking to Andujar... 'cause, with his passing shots and some powerful forehand shots there, he took The King up to his game, making Rafa work hard to shakily win the first set, 7-5. And then, Rafa Nadal had to
hold his game up to assert himself in the second set, taking it convincingly at 6-3. But Andujar reminded himself that John Isner almost managed to demolish the King of Clay two days ago... and so, he tried his luck in the third set... impressing the crowd with awesome shotmaking. All of a sudden, the third set score was 5-1... in favor of Andujar!!! I needed another tall glass of iced watermelon Fit n' Right! And then, with the hallmark of his distinguished kingship on clay, Rafa Nadal, picked his tempo up, saving several set points, and toiled his way back patiently to take control of the third set despite fantastic showing by Andujar. One game at a time, he reached the tie break to take control of the third set, 7(7)-6(4). And he did it - through to the third round! Vamos! ---
Although, this is not our traditional big-name comeback, Andy Murray had to keep coming back - to his own mind - as he faced Simone Bolleli at
Court Philippe Chatrier. Bolleli forced the No. 4 in the World Scot from a languid first-round run to a more spirited showing... and was handed some success by the Scot with almost a full mental presence on court. The match was peppered with breaks and break-backs, down on points and comebacks, as Murray went hot and cold... and back again. So, what's new? But he did bring the match to a three-set finish with a 7-6, 6-4, 7-5 win at the approval of his Mum (is it just me, or is Andy's Mum's presence in every single match he played has already become very annoying?). To be honest though Andy Murray's less than committed run sent my mind flying somewhere else, and I didn't see most of the third set... somebody crashed, big time - me. :) ---
Comeback nuggets:
While #5 in the World and two-time Roland Garros runner-up Swede, Robin Soderling (I really like his "all business" stance everytime he steps
on the court), had an easy passage through to the third round, Fernando Verdasco of Spain had to comeback from one set down to go even in the second set with Belgian, Xavier Malisse. He then had to dig deep from his tennis emergency shotmaking kit to win the tie break in the critical third set. He eventually clinched his second-round match, 4-6, 6-3, 7(7)-6(5), 6-1. Verdasco will be up against Croat Ivan Ljubicic, who beat American Sam Querrey, in the third round, while Soderling will be facing Argentina's Leonardo Mayer who beat Marcos Baghdatis in another tight contest.Edward Cullen look-alike, #18 Gilles Simon looked rusty as he let the first set slip in his own match with fellow Frenchman, the unseeded Jeremy Chardy. But, he came back strong to win the match in four sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4.
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Photo credits: All photos were grabbed from Zimbio - thanks!
