Naomi Osaka: Grand Slams want 'meaningful improvements' & to 'advance mental health'
The Grand Slam events say they want to “create meaningful improvements” in supporting players after Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open.
The Grand Slam events say they want to “create meaningful improvements” in supporting players after Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open.
A champion is gradually being sculpted, thanks to an extraordinary natural talent and a team that knows how to guide him towards success. Carlos Alcaraz is already making his mark at just 18 years old.
The #NextGenATP Spaniard is making his Roland Garros main draw debut, which was a dream when he first visited the tournament a tournament six years ago. When he was a boy, Alcaraz played in the French capital in an Under-13 tournament organised by a Roland Garros sponsor at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
“I clearly remember that I came to play in Paris. I can even remember where I was staying,” revealed the Spaniard. “It was one of my few trips outside of Spain at that age and it was very special.”
Not only did he play just a few kilometres from where his idols were doing the same, he was also invited to watch a match, which was won by Richard Gasquet, on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. In just a few years, the Frenchman has become one of his many peers on the ATP Tour.
“At that time I couldn’t have imagined that I would be here now, having won my first match,” Alcaraz admitted.
At 18, Alcaraz now knows what it is to claim a win in the main draw at Roland Garros. Having come through qualifying, he defeated countryman Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-3, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) on Monday. He required three hours and eight minutes to open his account on the French clay.
It has been six years since that unforgettable childhood experience, enough time for a radical change in his aspirations. Now he is one of the players on the courts in the Bois de Boulogne Park, under the tutelage of former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero and a team of professionals taking care of his daily progress. Juanjo Moreno works on Alcaraz’s fitness.
“We remind him that every day is like a brick that he has to add as best as possible,” Moreno said. “So that the wall he is building is perfect and none of the bricks are misplaced during his daily work.”
Both Moreno and Alberto Lledó, members of the JC Ferrero Equelite Sport Academy team that guides the Spaniard’s career, have played a part in improving his fitness.
“Since Carlos arrived at the academy, after various tests and evaluations, we decided to focus on the biggest gaps we found,” Moreno said. “We’ve worked extensively to allow him to reach his potential and we’re still working on it to get more results.”
The physical change is evident not only in his appearance, which is becoming one of increasing sturdiness and strength, but also in his capacity to cope with long matches on consecutive days.
“The results are noticeable with that change in appearance, which has never been the goal, but it’s the side effect of a job well done. You can see it in the speed of his serve, the zip in his shots, the strength he hits the ball with, the way he moves on court,” Moreno said. “Obviously Juan Carlos’ work on court is proving to be spectacular and you can see that in his tennis, which is backed up by this fitness work.”
Photo Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images
Alcaraz himself corroborates Moreno’s words.
“I’ve had two tough preseasons as a good tennis player and that’s helping me a lot,” the 18-year-old said. “I have complete confidence in my team and I’ve made huge progress on the physical side. I think it’s very important to be able to cope with adversity and to deal with this kind of match. I have a lot of confidence in my fitness, and I think I’m ready to play really tough and very long matches.”
When the World No. 97 arrived at the facilities in Alicante, a plan was laid out to work on his musculature, tendons and musculoskeletal system to prevent injuries. They also prepared a plan to improve his resistance, strength, speed and coordination.
“We’ve focused more on recovery work, on taking care of the fine details that make up a professional tennis player,” Moreno said. “From the moment he gets up to when he goes to sleep, we try to educate Carlos on all the recovery processes, as he came here with a very good background after working with Néstor Vicente Salar.
“What we’ve done is to make the most of that knowledge he already had to continue highlighting the details that make the difference in the processes of recovery, so that he can be ready to train more intensely the day after a fitness session or intense tennis session. It’s very important to underscore processes such as rehydration, recovery, rest, reparative sleep.”
Alcaraz’s results show that the pieces of the puzzle are coming together perfectly, that the learning process is progressing healthily and that the professional team headed by Ferrero is a perfect guiding light.
“Juan Carlos always tells both Alberto and me the things he thinks need work on and what we can do to work on them. We get to work under the gaze of Juan Carlos’ great technical eye, with which he is able to spot anything that could be improved,” Moreno said.
Alcaraz will play Nikoloz Basilashvili for a spot in the third round.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Petra Kvitova withdraws from the French Open after suffering a freak ankle injury.
Fifth seed Elina Svitolina survives a second-set scare to beat teenage debutant Oceane Babel in the French Open first round.
As Roland Garros loses one of the sport’s biggest stars, the issues raised by Osaka’s withdrawal sit firmly in the spotlight.
Court Philippe-Chatrier is the place to be on a stacked Tuesday that will see World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and 13-time champion Rafael Nadal hit the court in back-to-back matches to start their Roland Garros campaigns.
Before the tournament, Nadal told press that he is ‘not worried’ about landing in Djokovic’s half of the draw, a result of being seeded third behind Daniil Medvedev. That means Nadal and Djokovic, who have contested three championship matches in Paris, including as recently as last year, could meet in the semi-finals.
Nadal will indeed have a long way to go before having to worry about that potential second-week clash, as he starts against the ‘dangerous’ Alexei Popyrin in the first round. The 21-year-old Aussie has shot up the FedEx ATP Rankings in 2021, peaking at career-high World No. 61 after claiming his maiden tour-level title in Singapore.
“He’s young, he has the power. He has big shots. As always, I need to be ready for it,” Nadal said. “I need to keep practising the next couple of days [to] try to be in the best shape possible for the beginning. I know every round is tough and I [always] respect every opponent. I respected everyone since the beginning of my career, and Popyrin is a dangerous one. So I need to play well and I’m looking forward to trying to make that happen.”
Nadal, who owns a 100-2 record at Roland Garros, has played his way into form during the clay-court season after capturing titles at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome. The winner of Nadal and Popyrin will face French opposition in the second round: either wild card Hugo Gaston or veteran Richard Gasquet.
Top seed Djokovic hits the court next to headline the new night session on Chatrier, which was outfitted with floodlights in 2020 for the first time.
“I know there’s a buildup potentially for that matchup [against Nadal] in the semis,” Djokovic said before the tournament. “There are a lot of obstacles to overcome for both of us. If we get there, of course I know what expects [of] me and I know what I need to do.”
The first obstacle for Djokovic will be Tennys Sandgren. The American’s reaction to the draw could be summed up in one succinct tweet, with the ‘F’ meme signifying condolences after a tragic event:
f https://t.co/PtRwtDVvJp
— Tennys Sandgren (@TennysSandgren) May 27, 2021
But Sandgren knows what it takes to take down top players on the big stages, evidenced by his runs to the 2018 and 2020 Australian Open quarter-finals. In 2018, he defeated Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem, while in 2020 he took down Matteo Berrettini and held seven match points against Roger Federer.
Djokovic arrived in Paris in high spirits after delighting Serbian fans by winning his 83rd tour-level title at the Belgrade Open, where he also enjoyed spending quality time with his family in his hometown. The World No. 1 owns a 20-3 record on the season, including a record-extending ninth Australian Open title and a run to the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final (l. Nadal).
The 2016 champion, who also landed in the same quarter of the draw as 2009 champion Roger Federer, owns a 3-0 lead in the ATP Head2Head against No. 66-ranked Sandgren. Sandgren famously took a set off him at the US Open in 2018, but they will be meeting on clay for the first time. Frenchman Lucas Pouille or experienced clay-courter Pablo Cuevas awaits the winner.
Novak Djokovic celebrates his 83rd tour-level title in Belgrade. Photo credit: AFP/Getty Images
Around the grounds, there will be plenty more seeds in action on Tuesday as seventh seed Andrey Rublev is set to return to action for the first time since the Rome quarter-finals (l. Sonego). He will take on Jan-Lennard Struff, whom he defeated in the first round in Rome to improve to 2-1 in their ATP Head2Head, on Court 14. Frenchman Gael Monfils, the 14th seed, will start on Court Suzanne-Lenglen against Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who owns 17 clay-court wins on the season – more than Nadal (14) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (16) coming into the tournament.
Ninth seed Matteo Berrettini, 10th seed Diego Schartzman and #NextGenATP Felix Auger-Aliassime, the 20th seed, will also start their Roland Garros runs on Tuesday. Berrettini, one of 11 Italians who began in the main draw, will face qualifier Taro Daniel for the second time this year. Berrettini defeated Daniel en route to the Serbia Open title to bring their ATP Head2Head to 1-1. Schwartzman will be aiming for his first victory over Yen-Hsun Lu (trails 0-1 in their ATP Head2Head), while Auger-Aliassime will meet Andreas Seppi for the first time.
It’s not often that a first-round clash between a tournament debutant and a qualifier draws much attention, but tennis fans will want to keep an eye on Court 8 as Aslan Karatsev takes on #NextGenATP Jenson Brooksby for the first time. The 20-year-old American’s never-say-die attitude has turned heads after saving three match points to qualify for the main draw of a Grand Slam for the second time (also 2019 US Open). He will meet 24th seed Karatsev, who made a strong start to the season after posting a run to the Australian Open semi-finals and lifting his first ATP Tour trophy in Dubai.
Read More: Jenson Brooksby’s Breakthrough: Meet The #NextGenATP Star Who Refuses To Lose
Men’s doubles also kicks off on Tuesday, with second seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah starting their Roland Garros campaign with an intriguing clash against the reunited Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski.
Click Here To View Full Day 3 Order Of Play
Defending champion Iga Swiatek celebrates her 20th birthday with victory over Kaja Juvan in the French Open first round but Bianca Andreescu loses.
Roger Federer eases through his French Open return with a straight-set win, while Daniil Medvedev earns his first win at Roland Garros.
Lorenzo Musetti made a splash in his Grand Slam main draw debut Monday evening when he beat 13th seed David Goffin 6-0, 7-5, 7-6(3) to reach the second round at Roland Garros.
Nine months ago, the #NextGenATP Italian was still outside the Top 250 of the FedEx ATP Rankings. But now the World No. 76, he has proven a tough foe for any opponent, dismissing 2016 quarter-finalist Goffin after two hours and 18 minutes.
“I think this is the proof that I have the level. Sometimes when I am not focussed and not playing really good, of course my level is not like today.
For sure I am playing better when I’m without pressure because today, I was playing really relaxed,” Musetti said. “Of course, it was not easy to win even if I was relaxed. When you play against the [No.]13 in the world, it’s not the same thing [like] playing [someone] worse than you [in] the rankings that you must [beat].”
Despite a slow start, Belgian put pressure on the 19-year-old, breaking the Italian when he served for the match twice in the third set. But Musetti did not fold, aggressively finishing the match with impressive shotmaking to advance in Paris.
“I was a little bit under pressure when I was serving for the match. He was always returning from the baseline really close to the line. He was giving me a lot of pressure,” Musetti said. “I just stayed calm and tried to think at each point, like the last one. I tried to [not] speak, [not] talk. It worked. I am happy about that.”
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Musetti broke serve six times and saved six of the eight break points he faced. Goffin, who made it to at least the third round here in five of the past six years, made 48 unforced errors, nearly doubling his opponent’s count (27). The 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up felt the level on both sides was best towards the end of the match.
“I think the match started too late on my side. And then of course when you start too late and you have an opportunity and you just have one, if you don’t take it, then it’s too late,” Goffin said. “Then he finished it really well in the tie-break. But I think at the end, he was just solid. He played high, he served well, played higher with some spin and waiting for the mistake or the opportunity just to go for his shot.”
The #NextGenATP star will next play former World No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Japanese lefty Yoshihito Nishioka.
Did You Know?
This was Musetti’s fifth win of the season against a Top 20 opponent.
Roger Federer used the disappointment of an early exit at the Gonet Geneva Open to trigger a positive response on his first appearance at Roland Garros for two years.
“I just felt overall much clearer, much better,” said Federer, who beat Denis Istomin 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 in the first round. “I think [I’m] getting used to tournament and match rhythm again, the whole thing – the towels there, the shot clock there and everything that goes with it. I really felt like I didn’t find the rhythm [in Geneva].”
Two weeks ago, Federer lost to Pablo Andujar at the ATP 250 tournament in Geneva. It was just his third tour-level match of the season, following two right knee surgeries last year.
“I always struggle early on with my returning a little bit on clay,” admitted Federer, the 2009 Roland Garros champion. “Funny enough, you would think it’s the easier surface to return [on]. I don’t mind the grass-court and hard-court returns, as I’m blocking it more than hitting it.”
“I felt today I really made a bigger effort of going more in swings and not going through [the motions] like in the practice, where you just go point for point for point – let’s play a maximum amount of points. I sometimes have to tell myself, ‘Take a little bit of time, walk to the towel, do something different’. You might think it’s silly, but it’s true.”
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Federer, who is tied with joint record-holder Rafael Nadal on 20 Grand Slam singles each, reached the 2019 semi-finals (l. to Nadal) when he last played on Parisian clay.
“For me coming back after many months or over a year of rehab, the light at the end of the tunnel or the measuring stick was always: Can I come back to a good level against good players? I hope Wimbledon is going to be that place. Maybe there’s going to be even something here in Paris. We’ll see.”
The 39-year-old is in the same half of the Roland Garros draw as his great rivals, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and 13-time champion Rafael Nadal.
“I hope I can stay healthy from now on forward,” said Federer, who plays Croatia’s Marin Cilic in the second round. “I’m quite confident that’s going to stay that way. I’ve also been getting better every month that’s [gone] by, which has been really positive. I didn’t have any setbacks in a year.”
