There was so much going on at Roland-Garros on Day 1 that we will forgive you if a couple of things slipped through the net.
Here’s a summary of the action:
➡️ In the day’s big upset, world No.148 Nishesh Basavareddy stunned No.7 seed Taylor Fritz on Court Suzanne-Lenglen 7-6(5), 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 6-1 in the biggest match of the 21-year-old wildcard’s career. “What a match,” Basavareddy said afterwards. What a match, indeed.
➡️ Earlier in the day, Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk beat Oksana Selekhmeteva to seal her 13th successive win on clay and move through to the second round.
➡️ Men’s No.2 seed Alexander Zverev eased through in his match against Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi and will now face Czech Tomas Machac.
➡️ Hayley Baptiste downed 2021 Roland-Garros champion Barbara Krejcikova – saving two match points in the process.
➡️ Putting last year’s disappointment of losing to world No.361 Lois Boisson behind her, Mirra Andreeva had no problems getting past French wildcard Fiona Ferro.
➡️ The carnival atmosphere returned to Roland-Garros as Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca took on French qualifier Luka Pavlovic. It was loud, it was packed and it was a straight sets victory for Fonseca.
➡️ Under the lights of Court Philippe Chatrier, Novak Djokovic held off the threat of big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, fighting back from a set down to move through to the second round as he bids to win a 25th Grand Slam title.
That’s a lot of reading for you. If you’re pushed for time, Lee Goodall wrapped it all up here.
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