Tag: Roland Garros

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Sinner, Sabalenka power into French Open second round

Jannik Sinner powered into the second round of the French Open on Tuesday as his fellow world number one Aryna Sabalenka also made a winning start at Roland Garros.

Sinner needed just over two hours to beat French wildcard Clement Tabur 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 to extend his winning streak to 30 matches.

After taking all three clay-court Masters 1000 events in the run-up to Roland Garros, the 24-year-old Italian appears to have cracked the code to victory on the red dirt.

Without double-reigning champion and world number two Carlos Alcaraz in the draw, top seed Sinner is considered the runaway favorite to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires for the first time come the men’s final on June 7 and complete his career Grand Slam.

“Pressure is always going to be there,” Sinner told reporters. “It’s normal. So I try to take it in a very natural way. I know what kind of player I am. Then, you know, if you don’t feel the pressure, it means you don’t care. I do care a lot about what I’m trying to achieve on a tennis court.”

He showed why he is the man to beat in the French capital with a punishing display against the world number 171, hititng 40 winners to just 21 unforced errors.

Sinner will meet Argentinian Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second round.

Belarusian Sabalenka hurried through a 6-4, 6-2 win against Spanish world number 50 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro first on centre court as temperatures continued to soar through the first week of the tournament.

The only real blip for Sabalenka as she returned to winning ways on clay after a surprise early exit from the Italian Open was her failure to serve out the match on Court Philippe Chatrier.

But the four-time major winner broke in the next game to book her spot in the second round against France’s Elsa Jacquemot.

“I’d say that for me always not easy, the first rounds,” Sabalenka said. “And then, as I get further in the tournament, as I get more comfortable, my level becomes better.”

Following a wet and cold Italian Open earlier in May and similar conditions during the practice week at Roland Garros, the big-hitting 28-year-old said the scorching conditions played somewhat in her favor.

“I’d say that it was a bit warm,” she joked. “Especially compared to the first days when I first got here, it was like 14C, like, freezing.

“Now it’s boiling hot and balls are flying, everything is much faster. But physically I feel strong, so I feel like it can benefit me.”

Women’s defending champion Coco Gauff made short work of fellow American Taylor Townsend, kicking off her tournament with a clinical 6-4, 6-0 performance.

The fourth seed joked the heat was “nothing” as she grew up in Florida, but added: “Honestly I felt more bad for the fans. Dang you’re watching in the heat and I hoped no one passed out. So I’m glad I finished quickly.”

Felix Auger-Aliassime claimed a fifth-set tie-break to move into the round of 64 as the Canadian narrowly avoided coming undone against Germany’s Daniel Altmaier.

Russian sixth seed Daniil Medvedev was not so fortunate, however, going down in five sets to Australian wildcard Adam Walton.

It was the seventh time in 10 French Open appearances that the former world number one has fallen in the first round. “I know that I am in good shape and I can play well in Roland Garros. I can,” Medvedev said.

American fifth seed Jessica Pegula also departed as she went down 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 to Australia’s Kimberly Birrell.

Alexander Bublik completed the list of big-name exitees for the day as the ninth-seeded Kazakh succumbed in four sets to German Jan-Lennard Struff.

Japanese four-time former major winner Naomi Osaka got off to a winning start, beating Laura Siegemund of Germany 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).

Last year’s breakout star at Roland Garros, Lois Boisson, was unable to recreate her stunning run to the last four as she went down 6-2, 6-2 to 22nd-seeded Russian Anna Kalinskaya.

Rising U.S. star Iva Jovic, 18, further confirmed her potential as she strolled past Alexandra Eala 6-4, 6-2 to book a clash with compatriot and former world number eight Emma Navarro, who defeated Indonesian Janice Tjen in straight sets.

Canadian teen Victoria Mboko was also victorious, needing just over an hour to beat Czech Nikola Bartunkova for the loss of only three games.

French 17-year-old Moise Kouame won his first match at his home major; an impressive 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, 6-1 victory over 2014 U.S. Open winner Marin Cilic of Croatia. (JapanToday)

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Gauff beats Sabalenka to win French Open title

Coco Gauff won the first French Open singles title of her career by fighting back to beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a rollercoaster final.

American second seed Gauff claimed a 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-4 victory after a tense battle between the WTA Tour’s two leading players in testing conditions.

“I honestly didn’t think I could do it,” Gauff, 21, said during the trophy presentation.

Gauff recovered from a difficult start where she trailed by a double break, eventually finding her rhythm and benefiting from a huge number of mistakes from 27-year-old Sabalenka.

“This hurts so much. Congratulations to Coco – she was a better player than me,” said Sabalenka, who was also bidding for her first Roland Garros title.

A stiff breeze played havoc with serve in the opening two sets, leading to the pair exchanging 12 breaks in an entertaining if not high-quality affair.

Gauff, who lost in the 2022 final, settled quicker in the deciding third set to move a break up and kept her nerve to serve out victory.

She had to survive another break point before winning her second championship point, falling to the clay on her back when Sabalenka pushed a forehand wide.

With her parents Candi and Corey dancing euphorically in the stands, Gauff shared an affectionate hug with Sabalenka before running off court to celebrate with her family.

Gauff’s previous appearance in the French Open singles showpiece, when she was still a teenager, ended in her covering her head with a towel as she sobbed on her chair.

It was the defining image of her defeat by Iga Swiatek, but she vowed to come back stronger – and she has.

“I was going through a lot of things when I lost here three years ago,” Gauff said.

“I’m just glad to be back here. I was going through a lot of dark thoughts.”

Three years on, Gauff returned to the final as a Grand Slam champion, having fulfilled the potential promised by winning in New York.

A productive clay-court swing, taking her to the Madrid and Rome finals, meant she arrived in Paris considered a sounder bet than defending champion Swiatek.

“Three finals… I guess I got the most important win – that’s all that matters,” said Gauff.

Only Sabalenka, who beat her to the Madrid title, had performed better and it was therefore unsurprising the top two seeds met again with the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen at stake. (BBC)

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Sinner beats Djokovic to set up Alcaraz final

Top seed Jannik Sinner teed up the French Open final against Carlos Alcaraz that many expected after edging past Novak Djokovic in a tense last-four contest.

Italy’s Sinner won 6-4 7-5 7-6 (7-3) to end Djokovic’s hopes of winning a standalone record 25th Grand Slam title.

Djokovic, 38, looked emotional as he put his racquet bags down on Court Philippe Chatrier and waved farewell to an adoring crowd.

Defending champion Alcaraz moved into his second successive Roland Garros final after eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti retired injured in the fourth set of their semi-final earlier on Friday.

Sinner, playing only his second tournament back after a three-month ban for failing two doping tests, meets the Spanish second seed on Sunday.

The pair were the clear favourites before the clay-court Grand Slam tournament and will now write another chapter in their developing rivalry.

Alcaraz led 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-0 2-0 when Italy’s Musetti, aiming to reach his first major final, was forced to end the match early.

“It’s never fair. I want to win but not like this,” said Alcaraz.

Age is clearly catching up with Djokovic – but the nature of this defeat showed just how much he still offers at the top of the game.

The Serb was aiming to become the oldest Grand Slam men’s singles champion by lifting the trophy on Sunday for a fourth time.

Djokovic’s quality and fight enabled him to stay within touching distance of the 23-year-old Sinner, who has taken the reins as the world number one.

Yet it still never truly felt like he would be able to snap his three-match losing streak against the nerveless Italian.

Djokovic tried a variety of tactics – baseline duels, drop-shots, serve and volley – but Sinner was virtually impossible to break down.

The constant pressure forced Djokovic into loose groundstrokes and badly-executed drop-shots in an opening set which swung Sinner’s way when he broke serve in the fifth game.

Djokovic’s level improved in the early part of the second set, with two holds to love followed by scrutiny on Sinner’s serve, but he could not find a way through.

An animated Djokovic roared at the crowd after saving a break point in the fifth game and looked up to the heavens in frustration when another poor return handed over the break in his next service game.

You can never completely count Djokovic out, though. He managed to break back for 5-5 before losing serve again as Sinner sealed a two-set lead at the second opportunity.

Djokovic needed treatment for an issue with his upper left leg before the third set, but Sinner is rarely fazed by any disruptions and soaked up most of what Djokovic threw at him.

That included saving three set points in a tense game at 5-4, where further drama was added by a disbelieving Djokovic arguing over a line call going against him at deuce.

Sinner quickly took control of the tie-break, helped by Djokovic smashing into the net for 3-0, to set up the tantalising meeting with Alcaraz – their first contest in a Grand Slam final. (BBC)