Roland Garros Day 11 saw the second half of quarter-finals being played to set up the last 2 semi-finals. The day started with the ladies draw once again and the first match on was 14th seed, Haddad Maia, and she was up against 7th seed, Jabeur for a place in the semi-finals of Roland Garros. The first set went the way of the now experienced Tunisian 6 games to 3. The 2nd set impressively went on serve all the way to the tiebreak. No lady wanted to lose their service games. The tiebreak started perfectly for Haddad Maia as she raced to a 3-0 lead and she managed to keep distance between her and Jabeur all the way through the tiebreak, eventually taking the set on her 3rd set point 7-5. The Brazilian then started to hit Jabeur off the court and started to make a lot less winners. This tennis served her well as she won the 3rd set 6-1 and she became the first Brazilian lady to reach a grand slam semi-final since 1968. This lady just keeps on making history.
Her opponent was the winner of the match between number 1 in the world Swiatek and 6th seed, Gauff. Swiatek continued her form as she breezed past Gauff 6-4; 6-2 to set up a meeting against Haddad Maia. This semi-final will be an interesting encounter as Haddad Maia has spent 12 hours and 59 minutes on court compared to Swiatek who has only spent 5 hours and 36 minutes on court.

The first men’s quarter-final was between 22nd seed, Zverev, and unseeded Argentine, Etcheverry. This match was an interesting one as no one knew what to expect from the young Argentine. Zverev managed to settled the quicker of the 2 men, which was understandable and this allowed him to get the break and the first set 6-4. Etcheverry though regrouped impressively and managed to hit straight back with a set of his own 6-3 and we were level once again. Etcheverry then managed to break early in the 3rd set to lead 2-0 however from that point onwards Zverev started to find his best tennis and it did not take him long at all to break back and the German ended up winning it 6-3. Zverev then was the first to break in the 4th set and this allowed him to control the match. He finished it off in style with a clean service game as he took the 4th set 6-4. What a story this has been for Zverev…a year on from his horrific injury here in the semi-finals at Roland Garros, he is into the semi-finals once again.
His opponent was going to be the winner of 4th seed and finalist from last year, Ruud, versus Rune the 20 year old Dane who is also the 6th seed. Rune had taken their last meeting in Rome so on paper it looked like a tasty encounter but the first 2 sets were over in less than an hour. Ruud did what needed to be done while Rune really struggled for some reason in the night session on day 11. Rune went off for a change of clothes and came out looking a lot better and this allowed him to somehow fight back and take the match into a 4th set which did not seem likely. Ruud however used his experience that he has gained over the last few years to stay calm and take the 4th set and the match.

Picks which lost on day 11:
Men: Rune
Ladies: Gauff and Jabeur

Onto the Fantasy Leaderboard:
The leaderboard has become spicy at the top after day 11. ‘Royal Roland’ remain in the lead but their advantage at the top has diminished to just 2 points over ‘Volley Vibes’ who cannot seem to stop moving up the leaderboard. ‘Hawk Eye’ has dropped a spot into 3rd where they sit with ‘Rolanding on a River’ just 5 points off the lead. ‘Drop Shots’ has made a late surge which sees them into the top 5 in 5th spot and the last prize is currently going to ‘Team Kudu’ who remains in 6th spot.
‘Slider 2’ regains the wooden spoon for now as ‘Serve with Eish’ overtakes them. 10 points separate 3 teams in that race for the wooden spoon.

Matches to Watch on Day 12: – Ladies Semi-Final Day

• Muchova vs Sabalenka(2) (Live)
• Swiatek(1) vs Haddad Maia(14) (16:30)

Jared

Jared matriculated in 2020 from Wynberg Boys High School in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa. His passion for tennis afforded him the opportunity of travelling to Europe. He is a quizmaster and a fantasy organiser.