Day 1 Of The French Open

The French Open this year feels a little empty due to the absence of the 14-time Roland Garros Champion, the king of clay, Rafael Nadal. However, with the absence of Nadal, it opens up more opportunities for younger players to win the Slam. 

©Corinne Dubreuil / FFT

We saw a few of the men’s seeds suffer a scare in the first round, most notably no. 11 seed Karen Khachanov, who came back from 2 sets down to beat Frenchman Constant Lestienne. Also, no. 13 Seed Hubert Hurkacz needed a fifth set to beat German David Goffin, and the no. 5 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas who almost had to play a deciding set if he had not defended the set points the Czech Jiri Vesely had during the tie-break in the fourth.

On the ladies draw, we already saw a few upsets as the no. 8 seed Greek Maria Sakkari crashed out of the first round in straight sets 7-6(5) 7-5 against Czech Karolina Muchova despite a 3-0 lead in the first set. Also, the no. 21 seed Magda Linette, unfortunately, lost in three against Leylah Fernandez and the no.29 seed Zhang Shuai lost in straight sets against Magdalena Fręch. 

More exciting matches are to come as play continues for the first round of the French Open on Day 2. Who will be the new Roland Garros Men’s Champion and can Iga Swiatek remain on top of the women’s tour?