The Latest: Cilic walking on flowers at the French Open
May 30, 2015, 4:54 AM
Croatia's Marin Cilic's shoes are tied with five loops which appear to form a flower as he plays the third round match of the French Open tennis tournament against Argentina's Leonardo Mayer at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, France, Saturday, May 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
(AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
PARIS (AP) — The Latest from the French Open:
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1:45 p.m.
Either Marin Cilic had trouble tying his shoes this morning or the reigning U.S. Open champion is feeling inspired by the flowery blooms of the Parisian spring.
Our eagle-eyed Associated Press photographer Christophe Ena spotted the curious flower-shaped form of Cilic’s shoelaces while shooting the ninth-seed’s 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory Saturday in the third round against Leonardo Mayer, the 23rd seed from Argentina.
Ena’s photos can be seen here http://tinyurl.com/qc8eavp and here http://tinyurl.com/puytxer .
Cilic is into the last 16 at the French for the first time since 2010.
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1:26 p.m.
A big win for Andy Murray. The two-time Grand Slam champion is into the French Open’s fourth round for the sixth time after an overpowering 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 demonstration of powerful but also nuanced hitting against Nick Kyrgios, who was hampered by an ailing right forearm.
The third-seeded Briton and the 29th-seeded Australian played some hugely entertaining but also hot-tempered tennis.
In the last game, Kyrgios saved a first match point with a stunning forehand at the net and won the next point with a cavalier volley. But Murray pulled back to deuce.
The Scotsman then seized his next chance, returning an inviting serve with a powerful two-handed backhand from the rear of the court that zipped past Kyrgios for the win.
“Tough match because he was going for huge shots,” said Murray, a losing semifinalist to Rafael Nadal last year. He noted that Kyrgios’ arm problem, for which he was treated and got taping and massage in the second set, “slowed down his serve which is one of his biggest weapons.”
“That helped me,” Murray said.
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1:05 p.m.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is having her best French Open since she was a semifinalist in 2012. The fourth-seeded Czech is through to the last 16 with a quick-fire 6-3, 6-2 demolition of 30th-seeded Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu in 58 minutes.
Kvitova stalled in the third round last year and in 2013. She won Wimbledon last year and in 2011.
And there are tears from Andreea Mitu on Court 2. The unseeded Romanian is through to the fourth round at a major tournament for the first time having put out 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone — 7-5, 6-4 in 1 hour, 47 minutes. Mitu had never won a Grand Slam match before having now won three in a row at the French.
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12:53 p.m.
Andy Murray is up two sets against Nick Kyrgios who is playing with a problematic right forearm that was heavily taped by a trainer in a medical timeout.
“I can’t serve,” the Australian told the trainer after Murray broke him for a 5-2 lead in the set.
The trainer massaged the forearm and then wrapped it in thick white tape.
“Go for it,” Kyrgios told him.
But the 29th seed quickly abandoned the wrapping after Murray served out the set 6-2 and is now playing the third set without it.
That seems to have worked. The hot-tempered Australian broke the third-seeded Murray in the second game. Kyrgios also got a warning from the chair umpire for thumping a ball into the stands.
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12:13 p.m.
Oh la la. Fireworks on Court Suzanne Lenglen, where Andy Murray and Nick Kyrgios are playing incandescent tennis in the French Open third round. But cover the kids’ ears, because their language is blue.
Both have white-hot tempers and both dropped F-bombs in the first set won 6-4 by Murray. The third seed furiously thwacked his racket on the red clay and then threw his towel for good measure after serving a double fault to allow Kyrgios to break back in the fourth game.
“What is that? What is it?” Murray also yelled at himself in the eighth game, facing two break points he went on to save, the second of them with a delicious lob having sucked Kyrgios into the net with an exquisite drop shot.
The 29th-seeded Australian is berating himself, too.
“What is the point? What is the point!” he exclaimed after Murray broke him in the seventh game. “Useless.”
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11:22 a.m.
A mammoth Saturday of tennis at the French Open, with potential upsets on the cards for high-ranked seeds who fail to up their game.
An announcer has been getting the thin crowd on the Philippe Chatrier center court in the mood, leading them in a sing-along. The jig of a jazz clarinet is wafting on the air from another court.
Third-seeded Andy Murray needs to be in tune from the off against Nick Kyrgios, an explosive Australian seeded 29th with a distinctive Mad Max-style hairdo, shaved at the sides. They are out first on the magnificent Court Suzanne Lenglen. Kyrgios stepped out onto the red clay wearing pink headphones. Murray is wearing businesslike grey and is watched by coach Amelie Mauresmo.
Top-seeded Novak Djokovic plays the second match on Chatrier against 19-year-old Thanasi Kokkinakis, bidding to become the youngest Australian man in the Open era to reach the last 16 at the French.
The headline match could be No. 1 Serena Williams, who labored in her last match, against two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka. They play last on Chatrier.
Game on!
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