French Open: Swiatek on form, Brits a mixed bag, Osaka out
It may have only been the second day of the French Open but there was drama all around at Roland Garros yesterday as favourites battled on, big names fell and British players offered a mixed bag of fortunes. Here are the three key takeaways.
Over it and out
There was a sense of unease about Naomi Osaka’s chances at Roland Garros. Despite a run to the final in Miami last month – where she lost to world No1 Iga Swiatek in straight sets – she failed to get past the round of 32 in Madrid this month.
In her first appearance at the Slam since she withdrew from the competition over mental health and problems with media commitments, she lost 7-5 6-4 at the hands of Amanda Anisimova.
Furthermore, following the defeat, she raised questions over whether she’d participate at Wimbledon next month, citing the lack of ranking points on offer due to a ban on Russian and Belarusian players competing.
“The intention of this measure was good, but the execution is all over the place,” she said. “I feel like if I play Wimbledon without points, it’s more like an exhibition.
“Whenever I think like something is an exhibition, I just can’t go at it 100 per cent.”
Storming Swiatek
It almost seems unnecessary to declare but Swiatek’s French Open run has begun with a win, her 29th in a row in all competitions.
The Pole is the outright favourite for the women’s title in the Parisian suburbs and conceded just two games in her 6-2 6-0 win over Lesia Tsurenko.
The 20-year-old will be the one to avoid at Roland Garros as she looks for her second Grand Slam title on clay.
After yesterday’s shock losses for Garbine Muguruza and Ons Jabeur, and today’s other results – including defending champion Barbora Krejcikova’s defeat – Swiatek will be the dominant force going forward.
There’s a level of expectation around Swiatek, understandably, and whether she’ll be able to continually ride that wave remains to be seen.
Flying the flag
Both Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans progressed through to the next round yesterday as Harriet Dart and Heather Watson both fell at the first hurdle on a day with heavy British interest.
Norrie cruised past Frenchman Manuel Guinard 7-5 6-2 6-0 while Evans beat Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 7-6 6-4 6-4. Dart suffered a 6-0 6-2 defeat at the hands of Italian Martina Trevisan while Heather Watson fell in straight sets to France’s Elsa Jacquemot.
British No1 Emma Raducanu lost her first set against Linda Noskova but came back to beat the 2021 Junior French Open champion in three sets.