American tennis did not have a good Memorial Day at the 2015 French Open as Sloane Stephens was the only American to win. She beat American Venus Williams 7-6 6-1 in about 90 minutes.
Stephens came in to the tournament a mediocre 14-10 on the year. American tennis fans had started to murmur about her slump. However, her performance on Monday quieted the doubter–at least for now.
Stephens and Williams had never met before Monday. There was a lot of hype going in to the match with most believing that Williams was not only the favorite to win the match but was considered to be a dark horse to go deep in the tournament. However, from the start Stephens came out as the more consistent player. Williams made too many errors at key points. It is no secret that clay is Venus’ weakest surface.
Americans Mediocre on Day 2 of 2015 French Open
Stephens will likely have a pretty favorable match up against Great Britian’s Heather Watson. If Stephens is able to get to the fourth round she will likely set up another match with Serena Williams. Serena leads the head to head but Stephens had the memorable upset at the 2013 Australian Open.
American teenager Francis Tiafoe made his Grand Slam debut but had a lackluster performance. Tiafoe earned a wild card by winning the most points during the USTA Pro Circuit’s clay season. He went out in straight sets to Martin Klizan. Tiafoe is going to look back and not be happy with the majority of his performance. He played a better third set and even jumped out to a 3-0 lead before Klizan came roaring back, at which point Tiafoe collapsed mentally and Klizan was able to close the match with ease. Tiafoe has great athleticism but there are definitely some mechanical and mental issues to work on but that is to be expected with a 17 year old especially in his Grand Slam deut.
Borna Coric dispatched Sam Querrey in four sets. Querrey was able to bagel Coric in the third set but was unable to build any momentum after that. Coric played very smart while Querrey made too many unforced errors and was unable to really utilize his big serve and big forehand. It will be very interesting to see where Querrey goes from here because he still hasn’t had much recent success other than in some Challengers last year.
Sarah Errani beat young American Allison Riske 7-6 2-6 6-0. Riske played extremely well in the first two sets but Errani put her foot on the gas in the third set and was able to run away with it. Riske definitely has the raw talent needed to perform at the top level but still needs to hone her craft.
Other Americans to lose on Monday were Madison Brengle, Bathanie Mattek-Sands, Donald Young, and Nicole Gibbs. The good news for American tennis is there is a slew of Americans slated to play Tuesday including John Isner, Serena Williams, Jack Sock, Madison Keys, Christina McHale, and Taylor Townsend.
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