Before playing Marin Cilic in the third round of the US Open, Dominic Thiem said he didn’t want to face the Croatian that early in the tournament because of how dangerous the 2014 Flushing Meadows champion was. On Monday, the Austrian will face the former World No. 3 in the first round at Roland Garros.

“He’s one of the big champions of the last decade, one of the very few active players who has won a Grand Slam tournament,” Thiem said in New York. “On a good day he can beat anybody.”

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For a large chunk of their US Open match, Thiem controlled the action as Cilic sprayed groundstrokes. But once Cilic found his rhythm, Thiem needed to dig deep to earn a 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory.

“He raised his level a lot in sets three and four. Good tennis, very close. Probably would have gone to a fifth [if] I didn’t save these break points [in the fourth set],” Thiem said. “It was a good, close match.”

Thiem leads their ATP Head2Head series 3-0 and he has enjoyed better results on clay. The Austrian has made at least the semi-finals at Roland Garros the past four years (final in 2018-19) and the Croatian has never advanced past the quarter-finals.

Rafael Nadal is attempting to capture a record-equalling 20th Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.” />

Twelve-time champion Rafael Nadal begins his pursuit of a 13th Coupe de Mousquetaires against Belarusian Egor Gerasimov. The Spaniard is 93-2 at Roland Garros, while his opponent has only played 10 tour-level clay-court matches.

“I am here to fight and to play with the highest intensity possible,” Nadal said. “That’s the main goal for me: be competitive on Monday… Just [taking it] day-by-day. I know very well this place. It’s about being patient, being positive, just trying to find the positive vibes every single day.”

Gerasimov owns one Top 10 win, defeating David Goffin in Marseille earlier this year. But the World No. 83 has never played a main draw match at Roland Garros. He did not win a match in three attempts to qualify for the tournament.

Nadal has been ruthless in his first-round matches at the clay-court major, winning 13 of his 15 openers without losing a set. The lefty has won 22 sets in the first round at Roland Garros by a margin of 6-2 or greater.

Daniil Medvedev will face Marton Fucsovics in the first round at Roland Garros.” />

Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev will try to win his first match at this event when he plays Hungarian Marton Fucsovics. The Russian has won both of the pair’s previous tour-level clashes, including a three-set triumph at the 2018 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. Medvedev feels the heavy conditions might play into his hands.

“Maybe it can help me that it’s a bit colder, so the balls don’t fly as much, don’t go as spinny,” Medvedev said. “I think it can be an opportunity for me actually, an advantage.”

Also beginning his campaign on Day Two is French No. 1 Gael Monfils. The eighth seed will have to be on top of his game against another entertaining player in Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik. The World No. 49 is not afraid of playing unorthodox tennis, from using his underarm serve to carving drop shots.

Fourteenth seed Fabio Fognini, 15th seed Karen Khachanov, US Open semi-finalist Pablo Carreno Busta, Rome semi-finalist Casper Ruud and #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime are among the other stars beginning their tournament on Monday.

With Roland Garros beginning in late September instead of May due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are inevitable differences at the tournament this year, one of them being the weather.

In the cold and wet Paris conditions — it was less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday — players are doing their best to put themselves in the best position to play well on court. Alexander Zverev, competing in his first tournament since making the US Open final on hard courts, has adjusted his equipment for the cooler clay.

“I’m stringing three kilos less than I did in New York,” Zverev said, referencing his racquet’s string tension. “That’s quite a lot.”

That is nearly a seven-pound difference in tension, making the stringbed looser to create a “trampoline effect”. The looser a racquet’s strings, the more power a player gets. The tighter the stringbed, the more control and spin a player has.

Alexander Zverev” />
^{Alexander Zverev wore a long-sleeve shirt under his match kit on Sunday. Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour}
The German, who defeated Austrian Dennis Novak in straight sets, is not the only one stringing looser. Big-serving American John Isner strung his racquets between 38 and 39 pounds at the US Open. He has dropped that range to between 29 and 32 pounds in Paris. The heavier conditions at Roland Garros might seem detrimental to the 21st seed’s powerful game, but Isner said that’s not necessarily the case.

“With how the clay is now, I think it almost helps me in the sense that the really good movers can’t really slide around like they normally can because the clay is really damp. It kind of played like a slow hard court,” said Isner, who beat home favourite Elliot Benchetrit. “There wasn’t much sliding. I’m not the best slider. It’s tough conditions. I really don’t mind it.”

There are also players who are able to adapt their game to the heavier conditions. Stan Wawrinka, the 2015 champion, had no problems hitting through the court in his straight-sets triumph against former World No. 1 Andy Murray. His strength allowed him to power through regardless. After the match, Wawrinka put on a sweatshirt for his on-court interview. The Swiss was one of many players to wear a shirt under his match kit, while Murray wore leggings.

“For sure it’s tough conditions here. Heavy, slow, cold, completely different than normally at that time of the year. But again, I think I’m playing well,” Wawrinka said later on in his press conference. “Happy [that in] those conditions I can still play heavy with my game from both sides. So I use those tough conditions, heavy conditions, slow conditions to still play powerful tennis.”

Andy Murray” />
^{Andy Murray sported leggings to stay warm during his first-round loss in Paris. Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour}
Another effect the current weather has is reducing how much the ball bounces off the surface. Some players hit with heavy topspin to force opponents to hit the ball higher than their typical strike zone. But according to former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori, who beat 32nd seed Daniel Evans, the ball is not shooting off the court like it normally does.

“For my tennis, I think it’s better balls are flying because I like to play quicker, finish the point a little bit quicker than other guys. But for sure there’s less bounce. Especially today it didn’t bounce,” said Nishikori, who noted how that low bounce helped Evans’ slice backhand. “[It was] almost half bounces [compared to] playing in the summer… maybe you want a little more power when you’re playing in heavy conditions.”

Diego Schwartzman played in similar conditions in an evening match at last week’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia against Rafael Nadal, upsetting the Spaniard in Rome. The

“For me, playing at night, similar to Rome under the rain, under the lights, [it] was similar to last week, so I felt great on court today,” said Schwartzman, who cruised past Kitzbuhel champion Miomir Kecmanovic. “For me, the conditions today were really, really good.”

Regardless of who enjoys the conditions and who doesn’t, all players have to deal with the same circumstances. Many who competed Sunday echoed the same sentiment: they simply need to make the most of it.

Schwartzman said: “We have to adapt to these conditions and try to do our best.”

Despite not playing a clay-court event before Roland Garros, Alexander Zverev didn’t seem bothered on Sunday evening in Paris. The sixth seed overcame a slow start to ease past Dennis Novak 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 in two hours and five minutes.

“I won, which is important,” Zverev said, cracking a laugh. “Obviously I didn’t play any clay-court matches before coming in here, simply didn’t have the time.

“Happy to get through, because Dennis is
somebody that plays well on this surface. He can beat good players.”

The German has made a habit of going the distance at the clay-court Grand Slam, needing five sets in five of his previous eight victories at the tournament. But Zverev won five consecutive games from 2-5 down in the first set and never relinquished that momentum against the Austrian.

In the early going, Novak went after his shots and pushed Zverev back. Sometimes, the German is willing to camp well behind the baseline and wait his opponent out. But that was not the case on Court Philippe-Chatrier, as he stepped into the court whenever possible and used his booming serve to control points against the World No. 92.

Zverev won 83 per cent of his first-serve points and hit 37 winners in his triumph. The 2018 Nitto ATP Finals champion is playing some of the best tennis of his career, fresh off reaching his first Grand Slam final at the US Open. The 23-year-old will next play home favourite Pierre-Hugues Herbert or American qualifier Michael Mmoh.

“I’m going to play hopefully seven matches here,” Zverev said. “Six more.”

Zverev will not have to face a seeded opponent until at least the fourth round after Marco Cecchinato raced to a 7-6(9), 6-4, 6-0 victory against 25th seed Alex de Minaur. The 2018 semi-finalist broke serve on eight occasions to move through to the second round in two hours and 51 minutes. 

Cecchinato has won four matches from qualifying without dropping a set in Paris. The Italian, who entered the clay-court Grand Slam championship with a 2-9 tour-level record this year, improves to 6-3 in main draw matches at Stade Roland Garros. He saved two set points in a tense first set.

“The biggest thing is I’m going through probably this rough patch, and everyone has it, but at the moment it’s what I’m dealing with,” said De Minaur. “I’m not happy with where I am, not happy with what I’m showing on court.

“It’s a little bit demoralising in itself that I can’t come out and play the tennis that I want to and that I know I can. It’s something that I’ve got to have a long hard look at myself in the mirror and figure out what’s happening, and basically just fix it and get back to where I want to be.”

Cecchinato will meet Juan Ignacio Londero for a spot in the third round. The Argentine outlasted countryman Federico Delbonis 6-4, 7-6 (1), 2-6, 1-6, 14-12 after four hours and 54 minutes in a match that featured 21 service breaks.

Kei Nishikori took another significant step on Sunday in his comeback from right elbow surgery almost one year ago. As the Japanese star sat back into his chair on Court 14, after a 1-6, 6-1, 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-4 victory over No. 32 seed Daniel Evans at Roland Garros, he breathed a huge sigh of relief.

In a match full of momentum shifts, Nishikori broke clear with a 3-0 lead in the decider, but fellow 30-year-old Evans responded and came within a point of breaking for a 4-3 advantage. Ultimately, it was Nishikori’s greater groundstroke power that earned him just his second win of 2020 over three hours and 49 minutes, when an aggressive backhand and forehand pinned Evans behind the baseline and forced the error in the final game. Evans had won 138 points to Nishikori’s 135 total points.

Nishikori, who returned to the ATP Tour earlier this month at the Generali Open in Kitzbühel, lost to Cristian Garin in the Hamburg European Open first round last week. He will next play Stefano Travaglia, who moved past Pablo Andujar 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 23 minutes Travaglia won 48 of his 60 first-service points and struck 32 winners.