Roger Federer should look safe in French Open second round – for multiple reasons

Wednesday will kick off the second round of the French Open, where Roger Federer expects tighter security – while he should also feel secure of a win against Marcel Granollers.

Roger Federer shown during his first round win against Alejandro Falla at the French Open on Sunday. Etienne Laurent / EPA / May 24, 2015

Here's guessing French Open security guards will not allow a selfie-seeker – or anyone else, for that matter – to get anywhere near Roger Federer following his second-round match on Wednesday.

Not after what transpired at the end of his victory in the first round. A teenager managed to make it out of the stands and stroll across the court to get to Federer, using a cellphone to try to snap photos.

It will be interesting to see whether there are any extra measures implemented at Court Suzanne Lenglen for Federer’s match again Marcel Granollers, given the 17-time grand slam champion’s criticism of security at Court Philippe Chatrier on Sunday.

“We need to make sure that it’s safe out there and people don’t just wander on the court like a free pass,” Federer said.

Tournament director Gilbert Ysern’s stance that day was there was no need to make any changes to protect players, but he did say: “For sure, we will reinforce the message again that clearly nobody is allowed to get on court in any case, at any time, for any reason.”

The contest itself between the second-seeded Federer and the 57th-ranked Granollers hardly seems all that intriguing: Not only has Granollers never been past the fourth round in 30 previous major tournaments, but he’s also 0-3 against Federer.

Here’s a look at what else is happening at the French Open today:

Monfils takes the stage

Tennis’ foremost showman, 13th-seeded Gael Monfils of France, plays on his country’s biggest stage, Court Philippe Chatrier, against Diego Schwartzman of Argentina. Last year, Monfils wowed the crowd at Roland Garros the day before the tournament started by breakdancing on centre court during an exhibition match. His running, leaping, diving shots are the stuff of legend around these parts – and there’s plenty to see on YouTube.

Czechs, mates

Fourth-seeded Tomas Berdych, the Wimbledon runner-up in 2010, takes on his Davis Cup teammate for the Czech Republic, Radek Stepanek, who at 36 is the oldest man in the draw. They helped their country win the Davis Cup in 2012 and 2013.

Sharapova’s cold

After her first-round match, Maria Sharapova dispensed with the customary post-match, on-court interview and headed straight to the locker room, drawing whistles and boos from spectators. She explained that she didn’t have much of a voice because of a cold that had her coughing throughout her win that day. On Wednesday, the defending champion faces another Russian, Vitalia Diatchenko, who is ranked 91st, 89 places below Sharapova.

Double dipping

The top-seeded men’s and women’s doubles teams are in action: American twins Bob and Mike Bryan, owners of a record 16 grand slam titles, face Raven Klaasen and Yen-hsun Lu, while Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza are up against Julia Gorges and Barbora Krejcikova.

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