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By Chris Oddo | Tuesday May 31, 2016

Singin’ in the rain can be therapeutic, but the only true cure for frustration during a Grand Slam is winning. We look back on an abbreviated, crazy Day 10 here.

1. Conditions Are Playing a Starring Role in Paris

Conditions always play a huge factor at Roland Garros. The clay can be lively and produce high bounces on a sunny day; it can be sloggy and slow on overcast ones. But on Day 10 a new element of clay conditions was introduced. Who would have the edge in light but steady rainfall, hitting waterlogged tennis balls that got heavier and heavier by the game? Well, we found out the answer on Tuesday, as Sam Stosur and Tsvetana Pironkova both reversed courses in resumed matches that they trailed in at the start of the day to win easily.

“I guess for me today I was able to hit through the court probably a bit better than Simona was able to,” Stosur said after her 7-6(0), 6-3 victory on Tuesday. “Heavy, wet conditions like this don't typically help me too much, but I think today I was able to use them better to my tennis than what she was and I was able to put her under more pressure.”

In addition to the conditions, there was also another force at work, a more psychological one. Both Stosur and Pironkova looked at the bad weather and poor conditions as an opportunity and they played like players who were out to seize on a chance. Carpe Diem they did, with Pironkova reaching the quarterfinals in Paris for the first time and Stosur snagging a quarterfinal berth at a major for the first time in three and a half years.

“You take your chances when you get them,” Stosur said wisely in press after the match.

Pironkova took hers as well, while Radwanska and Halep were clearly not in the right frame of mind to continue their progress in Paris. Radwanska, the No. 2 seed, struggled with pain in her hand and played like someone who was unwilling to accept the bleak reality of her situation—that she’d have to win ugly in the red clay, while risking her body to do so. It wasn’t a sacrifice that Radwanska was willing to make on Tuesday. Nor Halep.

Halep said she was unhappy that the match was started on Tuesday in a brisk drizzle. Imagine trying to win a match at a major when you are unhappy to step on court? “I was [unhappy],” Halep said. “Because the court was not good. The balls were wet, completely wet during the match. So I think it's too difficult to play tennis in these conditions. I felt some pain, yeah, in my back, in my Achilles. Is normal. Sam was stronger and she played better today, and these conditions I think are good for her because she has a lot of topspin.”

Pironkova, one of two players ranked outside the Top 100 to reach the quarterfinals on the women’s side said she didn’t necessarily like the conditions either. “I'm not a player who likes slow courts, heavy balls, obviously, but I kind of tried to, you know, leave the fact that it's raining out of my mind and just focus on each and every point,” Pironkova said. “Obviously that worked.”

If only Radwanska could have seen it that way she might have been able to take three games and get out of the rain with a straight-sets victory. But on this day, in these conditions, the World No. 2 was outplayed. Both Radwanska and Halep expressed anger and disappointment that the tournament sent them out there to play, and that’s something that the tournament’s organizers should be having a good, long conversation about right now. It certainly was unfortunate for the losers, but equally impressive was the way that Stosur and Pironkova dealt with their harsh realities and kept on keepin’ on in Paris. This year’s French Open has been marked by muggy weather, rain and slow conditions. But for Stosur and Pironkova the sun came out in the form of a big win on Tuesday.

In the end, that is the job description of a professional tennis player. Deal with the cards you’ve been dealt, be mentally ready for difficulties, accept that it will be very, very trying, and try to come up with solutions.

Kudos to Stosur and Pironkova for doing that.

2. Novak Djokovic is in the Right Place Mentally

An emotionally volatile character in Rome, where he got into scuffles with umpires, smashed racquets and was generally gloomy, Novak Djokovic has turned his spirit around and appears fully ready to sacrifice everything to win the title in Paris. He dropped the first set to Roberto Baustista Agut on Tuesday in the same brutal conditions that played a pivotal role in the downfall of Halep and Radwanska, but rallied in a very positive manner to take the upper hand before play was called.

Djokovic’s stuggle will be difficult from here, and there’s no guarantee that he’ll get this title this year, but our money’s on him based on the way he handled himself on Tuesday. The Serb has been down this road before (see last year) and knows that there will be things that he can control and things that he can’t control. He appears ready to accept that he won’t be perfect, and he appears relaxed enough and confident enough to know that he will emerge victorious if it is meant to be. That’s the kind of mindset that he needs to have in order to get this monkey off his back.

So far, so good in that regard.

3. The weather will improve, but the conditions will still be unique

Were the slow, soggy conditions the key to Richard Gasquet’s inspiring victory over Kei Nishikori on Sunday? Do mucky conditions help or hinder Serena Williams’ push for a 4th Roland Garros title? These are questions we should all be pondering, because while there may be less rain in Paris over the weekend, there’s still plenty of precipitation in the forecast for the next four days. Think slow, soggy clay, long rallies, patience and persistence. Players that are suited to and willing to embrace those conditions will be rewarded.

4. Fitness will be a factor

Four matches in four days will have to be played on the women’s side top half for the eventual finalist if the final is played on a Saturday. For the men, the situation is just as bleak. The same goes for the top half on the men’s side, who could take the court in four of the next five days if the final is played on Sunday. A big part of the winning equation will consist of conserving energy, and not getting overly stressed by what one cannot control. Who is best equipped to handle the grind mentally? Who is best equipped to handle it physically? Are those the same players that were the favorites coming in? It’s a whole new ball game now, with the element of surprise and a new set of equations baked into the event, and if rain wreaks further havoc, things could get even more complicated.

 

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