Naomi Osaka withdraws from French Open after refusing to do news conferences
Naomi Osaka announces she will withdraw from the French Open as a result of controversy over her refusal to speak to the media.
Naomi Osaka announces she will withdraw from the French Open as a result of controversy over her refusal to speak to the media.
World number one Novak Djokovic says he may not play at the Olympic Games if spectators are not allowed in Tokyo.
Daniil Medvedev got a much-needed confidence boost on Monday that he can replicate his hard-court success on the clay of Roland Garros.
“I feel really hopeful,” said Medvedev, after a 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Alexander Bublik. You could see it today in the match, I’m feeling that here, at least this year with this weather, with these balls, I can play like on hard courts. It doesn’t feel different than the Australian Open for me coming into this tournament.
“Now, when I’m coming to these big tournaments feeling like this, I know I’m capable of doing big things. [At the] Australian Open I was in the final. If I lose here in Roland Garros, it’s probably going to be because my opponent will play really good. As I said, I feel very confident, I move well, slide well… So I’m feeling great.”
Medvedev led Russia to the ATP Cup crown prior to a run to the Australian Open final (l. to Djokovic) in February. He captured his 10th ATP Tour title at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille (d. Herbert) one month later and is currently 19-5 on the season.
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Medvedev’s reward for a first victory at Roland Garros on his fifth visit to Paris will be a second-round meeting with American Tommy Paul.
“[It] feels great,” said Medvedev. “But most important is the level of tennis. I’ve been showing, as I said before the tournament, it was not mind games. My opponent can see I was really feeling good. I managed to play consistent today. I actually played much better in practice than today, so there is room for improvement.
“That was one of not many matches where I was really tight. Hopefully, it can be only better for the next rounds. As I say, [I’m] really happy first of all with the win and then with my level of play also.”
#NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz notched another career first on Monday when he earned his maiden berth into the second round at Roland Garros.
The 18-year-old, who cracked the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time last week, defeated fellow qualifier Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-3, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(4). Alcaraz trailed by a break in the fourth set, but he clawed back to triumph after three hours and eight minutes.
“I think the mental game is really, really important in these kinds of matches. You have to be focussed and calm all the match, three hours and 10 minutes. It’s really important and not easy to do,” Alcaraz said. “I trust a lot in my physical [conditioning], yeah. I could play a really, really good game during the whole match.”
The teen sensation has now not just successfully qualified at the season’s first two Grand Slams, but he has also won a match in the main draw as well. Alcaraz earned momentum heading into the clay-court major by claiming an ATP Challenger Tour title in Oeiras, Portugal two weeks ago.
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Alcaraz showed impressive resilience against his countryman, who beat him in a Challenger final last September. Zapata Miralles seemingly had an answer for every Alcaraz surge, but the #NextGenATP star made his stand in the fourth-set tie-break. The World No. 97 hit 41 winners and broke serve eight times to earn a match against big-hitting Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili.
“I think it has been a tough match against a great player like Zapata, a really tough player. I think when I won the third set, I think he [was] going a bit down on the beginning of the fourth,” Alcaraz said. “But he [was] still playing really, really well in the fourth. I had to be focussed with his shots. I think I played a really, really good game in the fourth, going down all the set. I think in the tie-break I [went] for the match.”
The 28th seed beat 2019 Monte-Carlo finalist Dusan Lajovic 6-4, 6-3, 0-6, 6-2. Basilashvili had not won a match at Roland Garros since making the third round in 2017.
It’s not often Reilly Opelka breaks serve seven times in a match, but the American did just that in a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win against Andrej Martin on Monday to lead several Americans into the second round at Roland Garros.
The 32nd seed is known for his booming serve, but against Martin he only hit 10 aces. More notably, the American won 50 per cent of his return points.
“I didn’t have my best serving day. I was starting to find it a little bit as the match went on, but I was kind of resting my arm leading up to it. I didn’t get the same amount of reps that I would like to on my serve. But I definitely wasn’t hitting my spots, so a lot of balls came back and I had to play a lot of tennis today,” Opelka said. “I’m very, very happy that I was able to stay aggressive. A lot of times it’s easy to lose the aggressive mindset when your biggest weapon is not firing.”
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Opelka will next play a baseliner in Jaume Munar or Jordan Thompson. The two-time ATP Tour titlist was pleased he was able to compete so well from the baseline, but he is also keen to bring all parts of his game to the court moving forward in the tournament.
“It definitely helps my confidence. Andrej Martin is a tough player, but I think it does cap out at a certain level, unfortunately. A guy like Jannik Sinner or a guy like Felix [Auger-Aliassime], it would have been a different scenario. It’s not something I want to rely on,” said Opelka, who is in second seed Daniil Medvedev’s section of the draw. “To beat a guy like Jannik here, I have to be serving well and playing well from the back and volleying well.
“I do like that the things that usually are on weren’t today and I still won and the things that usually I struggle with, it wasn’t the case today.”
Two Americans won five-setters on Monday. Steve Johnson came from two sets down to defeat countryman Frances Tiafoe 6-7(5), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 after three hours and 11 minutes to reach the second round on the Parisian clay for the fifth time.
Tommy Paul was on the opposite end of the spectrum, leading Christopher O’Connell two sets to none. The 24-year-old held off the Aussie’s spirited comeback in a 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 4-6, 10-8 triumph after three hours and 33 minutes. Paul will challenge Medvedev in the next round.
#NextGenATP American Sebastian Korda arrived in Paris with momentum after lifting his first ATP Tour trophy on Saturday in Parma. The 20-year-old also made the fourth round at Roland Garros last year. But he fell against the man he defeated in the third round here in 2020. Spaniard Pedro Martinez ousted Korda 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 to set a showdown against fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
British number two Heather Watson makes a first-round exit from the French Open with a straight-set loss to Zarina Diyas.
No. 50 Sebastian Korda, +13 (Career-High)
The #NextGenATP American captured his first ATP Tour title on Saturday at the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma. Read Final Report & Watch Highlights
Korda, who reached his first final at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com (l. to Hurkacz) in January, rises 13 places to a career-high No. 50 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. The 20-year-old started the 2021 season at No. 118.
View Latest FedEx ATP Rankings
No. 83 Marco Cecchinato, +21
The Italian, who dropped to 3-2 in ATP Tour finals after his runner-up finish to Korda in Parma, has returned to the Top 100 for the first time since the week beginning 26 April. Cecchinato attained a career-high of No. 16 on 25 February 2019.
Other Notable Top 100 Movers
No. 52 Tommy Paul, +3
No. 72 Jaume Munar, +8
No. 81 Norbert Gombos, +6
No. 99 Fernando Verdasco, +8
Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem, who were potential quarter-final opponents at Roland Garros, practised together on Saturday. But by the time Zverev took to Court Suzanne-Lenglen on Sunday for his first-round match, two-time finalist Thiem was already eliminated. Considering the Austrian had made at least the quarter-finals in Paris in his past five appearances, that was jarring for Zverev.
For a moment, it appeared Zverev was in trouble, too. The sixth seed quickly fell two sets down against fellow German Oscar Otte, and he admitted that the Thiem stunner potentially had something to do with it.
“To be very honest, I think it did have a little impact on me at the beginning of the match, because yes, you try to focus on yourself, you try to not pay too much attention, but you do know the draw,” Zverev said. “You know who is where. You know that Dominic is one of the best clay-court players, especially here, one of the toughest opponents you can have, and then he’s out.
“So yes, it does affect you a little bit. But maybe that was part of the reason why I was a little bit nervous in the beginning [and why] I started off a little bit slow.”
Thiem had lost his opening match in Lyon against Cameron Norrie. But when Zverev trained with the fourth seed on Saturday, nothing seemed amiss.
“The way we were playing, the level was incredibly high, and he lost today,” Zverev said. “Matches and practices are still a little bit different. You still need the matches, you still need to get into the tournament. [Oscar] already had three matches, I think that’s a big difference.”
Zverev forcing a fifth set in Paris?
Who would have thought ?#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/00krXCbIVW
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 30, 2021
Instead of panicking and suffering his first opening-round exit at a Grand Slam since Wimbledon in 2019, Zverev raised his level and triumphed 3-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-0. The two-time Roland Garros quarter-finalist is now 7-0 in five-setters at the clay-court major.
“I feel quite confident maybe in my physical stand. From that side maybe I know I can go the distance,” Zverev said. “I don’t always need to. I know that, as well, but when I need to, I feel comfortable doing that.”
It wasn’t a perfect start to the tournament for the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals champion, but Zverev lives to fight another day. In the second round, he will play Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin.
“All in all, I’m happy to be through,” Zverev said. “At the end of the day, that’s all that matters for me right now.”
On an opening day full of surprises and marathons, it was business as usual for fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas as he took down Jeremy Chardy in straight sets to reach the second round at Roland Garros.
Fifth seed Tsitsipas, who reached the semi-finals here last year, has been in red-hot form throughout the clay-court season. He’s gone from strength to strength after winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, reaching the final in Barcelona (l. Nadal) and claiming his eighth ATP Tour title in Lyon.
Tsitsipas, the FedEx ATP Race to Turin leader, saved four of the five break points he faced en route to a 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-1 win over Chardy on Sunday, his 17th clay-court victory of the season.
“I think the first tiebreak was a game-changer, in a way,” Tsitsipas said in his post-match press conference. “I did a lot of psychology, a lot of positivity and it kind of loosened me up a little bit. Starting the second set a bit more aggressive, starting a bit more free-spirited, those things kind of contributed in breaking and raising my level.
“[In the] third set, I felt like in total control. I felt my return was working much better. I got into the game even more, and I felt like things were working out for me. I could find the depth of the court, I could execute and be in control.”
The Greek raised his level after facing a set point during the closely contested opening set. Playing against Chardy on Court Philippe Chatrier – but without a crowd of French supporters due to Paris’ 9 pm curfew – Tsitsipas took control with an early break at 1-1.
His serve bailed him out of trouble when Chardy worked his way back into the set. Chardy levelled the score at 3-3 and pushed Tsitsipas to set point at 5-4. But the Greek fired a big unreturned first serve to get back to deuce, and closed out the game after punishing a short return with a blistering forehand winner. From 1/4 down in the tie-break, Tsitsipas won five of the next six points to retake the lead and close out the 58-minute opening set.
After the first set, Tsitsipas raised his level and never looked back. The Greek did not face a break point across the final two sets, and broke serve four more times en route to victory. Tsitsipas fired 31 winners in the match and kept his unforced error differential positive with 25, outpacing Chardy’s 25 winners and 35 unforced errors.
With his ATP Tour-leading 34th win of the season, Tsitsipas booked a spot into the second round for the fourth year in a row. He awaits the winner of #NextGenATP American Sebastian Korda, who lifted his first ATP Tour title in Parma on Saturday, and Pedro Martinez, ranked No. 103 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.
“I haven’t played them, but I’m gonna do my routine with my coach, analyse and be well prepared for my next game,” Tsitsipas said. “You will have a big server on one side, the American, and a Spaniard who I think plays really good on clay. Same for Sebastian, who has showed good tennis on clay last week. [I am] just focusing and concentrated on what’s next.”
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In the same quarter of the draw, 22nd seed Cristian Garin battled past Argentine Juan Ignacio Londero 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(6), 6-2 after three hours and nine minutes. The Chilean is into the second round on the Parisian clay for the third straight year.
Garin has proven himself a clay-court stalwart. The 2013 Roland Garros boys’ singles champion has won all five of his ATP Tour titles on the surface, and he will next play American qualifier Mackenzie McDonald, who eliminated Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3.
In the same section of the draw, 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov had to retire in the fourth set of his match due to a back injury. The Bulgarian led Marcos Giron 6-2, 6-4, 5-1 0/40, but the American rallied to win the set, and Dimitrov retired at 0-3 in the fourth.
Giron will challenge Guido Pella for a spot in the third round after the Argentine lefty defeated Colombian qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan 6-3, 7-6(4), 7-5.
Did You Know?
At 22 years 305 days, Tsitsipas is bidding to become the youngest Grand Slam men’s singles champion since Juan Martin del Potro won the 2009 US Open aged 20 years 355 days.
Pablo Andujar produces a sensational comeback to stun world number four Dominic Thiem in the first round of the French Open.