PARIS — World number two
Daniil Medvedev eased into
the French Open second round on Tuesday as Denmark's Holger Rune reminded
Roland Garros that Carlos Alcaraz is not the only teenager dreaming of the
title.
اضافة اعلان
Medvedev, who came into Paris with just one match on clay
this year following hernia surgery, routed
Argentina's 103rd-ranked Facundo
Bagnis 6–2, 6–2, 6–2 on the back of 35 winners and eight breaks of serve.
"I love Roland Garros, especially since last year,"
said Medvedev, who had lost in the opening round on his first four trips to
Paris before reaching the quarter-finals in 2021. "I hope this year I
can go further."
Rune, 19 and just a week older than the highly-rated
Alcaraz, marked his main draw debut with a 6–3, 6–1, 7–6 (7/4) dismissal of
14th-seeded Canadian Denis Shapovalov.
Rune, the boys champion in 2019 and a former world junior
number one, entered Paris at a career-high 40 having started 2021 outside of
the top 400.
In the current clay season, he won his first title in
Munich, beating world number three
Alexander Zverev on the way.
Shapovalov committed 53 unforced errors in a tie played at
breakneck speed.
"I didn't really show up today but Holger played great
tennis," said Shapovalov, a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2021.
Later Tuesday, fourth seed
Stefanos Tsitsipas, who lost last
year's final to Novak Djokovic after leading two sets to love, has a dangerous
assignment against Italy's Lorenzo Musetti in the night session on Court
Philippe Chatrier.
The 20-year-old, ranked 66, also led Djokovic by two sets in
the last 16 in 2021 before injury curtailed his challenge.
This year on clay he made the quarter-finals in Marrakech the
and third round at
Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid where he was forced to
retire against world number three Alexander Zverev.
However, Tsitsipas is enjoying an impressive clay court
season in which he has successfully defended his Monte Carlo title, was
runner-up in Rome and made the semi-finals in Madrid.
The Greek also enjoys a season-leading 31 wins on the tour
this year.
Ostapenko Wimbledon doubt
Two former women's champions were also in action.
Simona Halep, the 2018 champion, who is working with Serena
Williams's coach
Patrick Mouratoglou, faces Nastasja Schunk, an 18-year-old
lucky loser from qualifying, ranked at 165 in the world.
Jelena Ostapenko, who was a shock Roland Garros winner in
2017, defeated Italy's Lucia Bronzetti 6–1, 6–4 to end a five-match losing
streak having started the year winning 14 of 18.
Ostapenko became the latest player to cast doubt on her
appearance at Wimbledon after the tournament was stripped of ranking points in
response to its banning of Russian and Belarusian players.
"If there are no points, I'm not really sure what I'm
going to," said the Latvian.
"I think maybe they are going to change their mind. I'm
not sure about points. But I think a lot of things may happen within the next
week or two weeks."
Spain's world number four
Paula Badosa, a quarter-finalist
in 2021, takes on France's Fiona Ferro.
Before that match on
Court Philippe Chatrier, French fans
will possibly bid farewell to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the former world number five
who will retire once his French Open campaign ends.
Tsonga, unseeded, lost the 2008
Australian Open final to
Djokovic as the Serb claimed the first of his 20 Grand Slam titles.
He made it to the semi-finals twice at both the French Open
and Wimbledon and finished runner-up to
Roger Federer at the ATP Finals in
2011.
"It's a moment which I am sure will be full of
emotion," said the 37-year-old who takes on eighth seed Casper Ruud, the
champion in Geneva at the weekend.
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