Updated
As 2018 Roland Garros finalist Sloane Stephens wraps up her day with an easy 6-2 6-2 win over Vitalia Diatchenko, so will I. Thanks all for following and we will be back tomorrow.
A summary of today’s play:
- Karolina Pliskova recovered from a set down to beat Mayar Sherif 6-7(9) 6-2 6-4. Sherif became the first ever Egyptian woman to compete in a slam main draw.
- Novak Djokovic easily moved into the second round with a 6-0 6-2 6-3 over Mikael Ymer.
- Heather Watson bowed out with a 7-6(4) 6-4 loss to Fiona Ferro, meaning that no British player has reached round two of a slam for the first time since Roland Garros 2013.
- 17 year-old Clara Tauson upset US Open semi-finalist Jennifer Brady on her slam debut, saving two match points before winning 6-4 3-6 9-7.
- A champion in Hamburg on Sunday, Andrey Rublev recovered from two sets and 5-2 down to beat Sam Querrey 6-7(5) 6-7(4) 7-5 6-4 6-3.
Quite an incredible effort from Andrey Rublev to recover from two sets down and 5-2 in the third set, beating Sam Querrey 6-7(5) 6-7(4) 7-5 6-4 6-3 to move on. He hit two unforced errors in the fifth set.
This is his first career recovery from two sets down and he can’t believe it. After collapsing to the ground, he is now sitting in his chair with his head in his hands. Two days ago, he was travelling to Paris after winning in Hamburg and he had so little time to adjust to these conditions. That was an impressive demonstration of his mental fortitude.
Updated
The plight of Rublev’s defeated foe in the Hamburg final, Stefanos Tsitsipas, only makes his own recovery more impressive.
Tsitsipas is now down two sets to No 109 Jaume Munar: 6-4 6-2.
Munar is playing a great match, barely making errors and moving Tsitsipas around with his forehand, but this is ugly and the Greek needs to find some rhythm.
Tsitsipas finished the set having lost 11 of the last 12 points and some of his errors are missing by 5, 6 feet.
Andrey Rublev continues to edge towards a career milestone: his first ever recovery from two sets down. From two sets and 5-2 down, he now leads *3-2 in the fifth. This would be an incredible effort if he can see it through.
Q. What kind of advice would you give expiring young Egyptian female players coming up through the ranks? MAYAR SHERIF: I would tell them that they can do it with hard work, with talent, because we have so many talented players in Egypt. They just have to believe in themselves, and they have to follow the way, the right way to get to where they want. There are many obstacles in Egypt that can stop a tennis player from, especially a female tennis player, from playing. They have to always believe, they have to always fight through this to get to where they want.
It looks like 5th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas may have to tread a similar path to victory as his opponent in the Hamburg final. Down break point, he just set up a lovely point, stepped forward to put away an easy overhead and sent it well wide. A horror. Jaume Munar now leads Tsitsipas 6-4 3-1*.
Andrey Rublev has recovered from two sets and 5-2 down to push Sam Querrey into a 5th set, 6-7(5) 6-7(4) 7-5 6-4. What a ride it has been:
Querrey-Rublev, a recap so far:
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) September 29, 2020
Set 1:
Querrey leads 5-2
Tied 5-5
Querrey wins in tiebreak
Set 2:
Querrey leads 5-1
Tied 5-5
Querrey wins in tiebreak
Set 3:
Querrey leads 5-2
Tied 5-5
??#RG20
Denis Shapovalov continues to produce some of the best tennis of his career, easing to a 6-2 lead over Gilles Simon.
Another top 20 seed is in danger. Former top 10 player and clay lover Julia Goerges leads 19th seed Alison Riske 6-3.
Updated
Still adjusting to the conditions and finding his rhythm, Stefanos Tsitsipas predictably drops the first set 6-4 to Jaume Munar of Spain. He hit 13 unforced errors.
However, Andrey Rublev’s fightback continues. After taking the third set 7-5, he leads Sam Querrey 3-1 in the fourth set.
Kristina Mladenovic on the bad call she received while leading 5-1* 40-Ad against Laura Siegemund. Mladenovic’s drop shot bounced twice but the umpire did not see the second bounce. Mladenovic lost the point, the game, 6 games in a row and eventually the match.
Q. How much did that call affect your concentration or your focus from then on? KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Well, it did affect. I really tried to stay calm, though, and not try to complain much, because it was a brief complaint, because in these kind of situations, you know that they are bad, they made a mistake, there is nothing you can do about it. Just have to try to refocus and keep going. I had the results still in my hands, but you see how tennis, it’s about one point at times. And I got to give her credit for going for her shots afterwards and slowly coming back. I tried to stay there, but I’m not sure I’m gonna watch again, but probably I put a little bit less intensity probably my focus. Even though I tried, was a little bit away, was still in that point thinking, okay, I should have been in the second set already. It wasn’t easy, of course. Yeah, what can I say?
Q. On that call in the first set, do you think that Laura should have called it on herself and given you the point? KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Well, she would have been the best and most fair player on the tour if she would have done that (smiling). Unfortunately, she didn’t. I didn’t expect her to do it. But if she would have done it, she would have all my respect and be super-fair play. Yeah, this thing didn’t happen. But she’s not the one responsible. I think the chair umpire is the one that should be really focused on that call.
The big question now is how both Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas will fare after competing in the Hamburg final on Monday. They are both excellent young players in great form but they have had no time at all to prepare for the damp, slow conditions in Paris. Despite their ages, there is also surely some fatigue and there is nothing like a few best of 5 matches to expose any tiredness.
We have already received an answer from Andrey Rublev falling down two sets to Querrey, but he is fighting hard here, recovering from a break down in the third set to nab one set back. Let’s see if life will be less tricky for Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Around the grounds:
- [9] Denis Shapovalov 1-0* Gilles Simon
- Jaume Munar *2-3 [5] Stefanos Tsitsipas
- Sam Querrey 7-6(5) 7-6(4) 5-6* [13] Andrey Rublev
- [29] Sloane Stephens *1-0 Vitalia Diatchenko
- [13] J.Murray/N.Skupski *5-4 Londero/Vesely
- Julia Goerges *2-1 [19] Alison Riske
A fair point here. Dan Evans is around his career best ranking, Kyle Edmund was in the midst of rising back up the rankings after a poor 2019, Heather Watson returned to the top 50 this year. There have been far worse days for British tennis in the past - back in 2013 there were just 3 British female players (Laura Robson, Elena Baltacha and Watson) and no male players in the draw.
This year there were numerous tricky draws on a surface that most British players do not prefer, and this is where they are. Perhaps the bigger issue here is ensuring that the coming generations are able to embrace this surface from when they were younger.
The irony is, it's actually been a good season for most of the British players away from the slams. Evans, Edmund and Watson have all climbed up the rankings. But the most attention is inevitably on the slams.
— Eleanor Crooks (@EleanorcrooksPA) September 29, 2020
Heather Watson has been defeated 7-6(4) 6-4 by Fiona Ferro
For the first time since the 2013 French Open, no British player has won a match at a slam.
Watson should console herself in the fact that she did not play badly at all against a rising star who much prefers clay. After narrowly losing the first set and then going up a break in the second, she simply could not maintain her level. Her first win after the tour suspension remains elusive.
Updated
Novak Djokovic opens with an easy 6-0 6-2 6-3 win over Mikael Ymer
That closer resembled an exhibition match for Djokovic, who played well, worked on his drop shots and was off in a flash. Sadly for Ymer, he wasn’t able to offer much resistance this time. Greater challenges ahead.
Heather Watson quickly holds with few problems, forcing Fiona Ferro to serve it out. All pressure on Ferro’s shoulders. Watson 6-7(4) 4-5* Ferro.
"How did he break the barrier of doing something so big as a person that comes from Egypt?"@MoSalah, Egypt's newest star Mayar Sherif has a question for you... (and wouldn't mind a phone call 😉)#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/3UhZSgmNg0
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) September 29, 2020
Fiona Ferro recovers from 15-30 down to hold with some great serving. The Frenchwoman is one game away. Watson 6-7(4) *3-5 Ferro.
This is Fiona Ferro’s match to lose now. Ferro’s backhand has started catch fire and it put Watson under immense pressure throughout the game. Watson was unable to match Ferro, sending a backhand long on the second break point to hand over her service game. The question is whether Ferro has the nerve to see this through. Watson 6-7(4) 3-4* Ferro.
It is raining a bit more heavily now. Both Sam Querrey and Andrey Rublev took a beat while the umpire and court maintenance workers checked the conditions and state of the court. Over on court 14, both Watson and Ferro have just kept on going.
Both Heather Watson and Fiona Ferro are holding firm after trading breaks early on in the second set. The Frenchwoman just levelled the set at 3-3 with a whistling backhand down-the-line winner. Watson 6-7(4) 3-3 Ferro.
Elsewhere, Hamburg ATP 500 champion Andrey Rublev is having a tough time against Sam Querrey and now finds himself down 7-6(5) 7-6(4).
Rublev won his final against Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday afternoon, then he had to travel to Paris and then wait 24 hours for his negative COVID-19 test before he could begin his preparations for the tournament on Monday. This seems to be the very predictable result.
The positive news for him is that Querrey was leading *5-2 by a double break in the second set and Rublev was able to rally back and force a tiebreak. If the Russian has some energy left, this is not over.
Heather Watson immediately squanders her break, quickly losing her serve to 15. Ample pressure from Fiona Ferro, who put Watson under pressure with a couple of big forehands but Watson needed more first serves there. Back on serve. Watson 6-7(4) 2-1* Ferro.
A great response by Watson to losing the first set. She has come out taking more risks and attempting to dictate with her backhand. After surviving a tight deuce game, she opened Ferro’s return game with a searing crosscourt backhand, using it as a springboard to a quick break of serve. We’ll see if she can keep hold of it. Watson 6-7(4) *2-0 Ferro.
Some telling stats in Watson-Ferro:
Rallies won with 0-3 shots: 14-23.
Rallies won over 4 shots 28-23.
Fiona Ferro edges out the first set against Heather Watson 7-6(4) in the tiebreak.
Watson played well, but in the end Ferro’s greater firepower allowed her more free points and shorter points, while Watson had to work hard for every point she won. That showed from 3-3 in the tiebreak as Ferro elevated and left Watson behind.
Still, Watson is clearly in this and we’ll see if she can respond.
On Chatrier, Novak Djokovic moves up 6-0 6-2 on Mikael Ymer.
Speaking of drop shots, Djokovic has been hitting so many more since the start of this year, likely with Roland Garros and Rafael Nadal in mind. There have been so many of them today, with Ymer producing this brilliant tweener after one such shot.
Ymer will not win the match, but he has probably won the highlight reel today.
Tweener winner @MikaelYmer. Djokovic applause.
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) September 29, 2020
A true love story ❤️#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/2rUkYZAhnA
Here is that lovely drop shot sequence from Heather Watson to hold serve.
What a hold that is from @HeatherWatson92. 👏
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) September 29, 2020
4 set points saved. We'll have a breaker!
🇫🇷 #RG20 LIVE
📺 Eurosport 1
📱💻 Uninterrupted coverage: https://t.co/9yT3M9HMg7 pic.twitter.com/HQNJxa0zu6
Heather Watson forces a first tiebreak against Fiona Ferro with an incredible hold of serve, saving three break points in the process.
Watson saved the first two at 15-40. First she struck an ace, then she outmaneuvered Ferro with a lovely forehand crosscourt, forcing a forehand error. On the third, Watson refused to miss and eventually ground out a backhand error from the Frenchwoman.
Finally, at deuce Watson produced a gorgeous drop shot to bring herself to game point. On game point, she did the same thing, this time moving in behind the drop shot and placing her volley into the open court. That was just very nice to watch. Watson 6-6 Ferro.
Three consecutive breaks on Chatrier between Novak Djokovic and Mikael Ymer. Djokovic leads 6-0 *3-2.
Updated
Fiona Ferro is certainly not a player lacking firepower. She moves back ahead by drilling a backhand winner down-the-line after a long exchange, her 16th winner today compared to Watson’s 6. Watson *5-6 Ferro.
Updated
An excellent hold of serve by Heather Watson, shrugging off the pressure to breeze through a love hold. Watson has not hit many winners today, but she is moving the ball extremely well, opening the court with angles off both wings and forcing errors. It is not easy to deal with. Watson 5-5 Ferro.
On court 14, Heather Watson rebounded well after losing her serve, holding this time and then generating a break point.
Her backhand slice just went long after some impressive defence from Ferro, who dragged herself over the line and to a 5-4 lead. Watson will serve to stay in the first ser.
Novak Djokovic in the first set:
Winners: 10
Unforced errors: 1
As Mikael Ymer wins the opening game of the second set, Djokovic has already come down a little from that stratospheric level, but what a level it was.
Novak Djokovic is in the process of turning Philippe Chatrier into a gluten-free pâtisserie. He just served poor Mikael Ymer a 20 minute bagel. Djokovic 6-0 Ymer.
Updated
Fiona Ferro is starting to find her groove and move Watson around with her forehand. She breaks back after crunching a forehand winner off an ill-advised drop shot from Watson on break point. Ferro then breezed through a quick hold to 15.
Before her service game, Watson had asked the umpire whether they should continue playing in the rain. On Lenglen, play has indeed stopped as both Sofia Kenin and Liudmila Samsonova wait on their seats. On Court 14, they go on. Watson *3-4 Ferro.
On Chatrier, Novak Djokovic is already *3-0 up with a double break.
22 year-old Mikhael Ymer just looks a little overawed right now. Djokovic will not let him breathe.
Updated
In less positive news, it is raining quite heavily again. As Ferro holds for 2-3, they are playing on for now. We will see for how long.
This really is a pleasant surprise as Heather Watson is playing some brilliant tennis early on.
At her best, Watson is a lovely player to watch. She has such great natural timing, she can move the ball around and crack open the court with angles. She accents her ballstriking with some nice touch. She is doing all of that now and more as she consolidates the break with a love hold. Watson 3-1* Ferro.
Updated
After saving three break points in the opening game, it is Heather Watson who darts ahead with an excellent return game to break.
She started it with a lovely forehand drop shot and ended it by dragging Ferro off the court with an angled forehand, forcing an error from Ferror. With a few errors from the Frenchwoman, she moves forward first. A really creative, impressive start from Watson. Watson *2-1 Ferro.
Over on Court Philippe Chatrier, Novak Djokovic has started against Mikael Ymer as one would expect, crunching a sweet backhand down-the-line winner to register his first break in the opening game.
Updated
A good start for Heather Watson on her own service game as she saved three break points and endured numerous deuces before securing her first hold. Watson 1-1* Ferro.
While Fiona Ferro is in form, Heather Watson certainly is not.
She entered lockdown in some of the best form of her career, having won her fourth WTA title in Acapulco which catapulted her back into the top 50, but she has been one of the slowest starters since the tour returned.
Watson is still searching for her first win since lockdown and she has lost five matches in a row. Her last loss was a retirement early in the first set of her match in Istanbul, which led to her withdrawing from the rest of the clay season until Roland Garros.
In short, it would be a really pleasant surprise to see her produce the level required to match Ferro today.
There was certainly no rust from Fiona Ferro in the opening game as she strolled to a quick hold to 15, sealed with a big ace down the T. Watson *0-1 Ferro.
Heather Watson is the last British player standing and it’s going to be a really tough one against Ferro, a 23 year old rising star who knows this surface well.
Ferro is in form - she marked her return from the tour suspension by winning her first WTA title in Palermo, rising to a career high of 44. Currently at No 49, she is ranked slightly higher than No 56 Watson.
However, Ferro picked up an injury in that event and she hasn’t played since that tournament ended on August 9th. We’ll see if there is any rust today.
Around the grounds
- Novak Djokovic will begin his campaign shortly on Philippe Chatrier against Mikael Ymer.
- Play has just resumed on the outside courts. On Court Suzanne Lenglen, Sofia Kenin leads Liudmilla Samsonova 6-4 0-2. After taking the first set just before the break, she has lost two consecutive games since returning to court.
- Britain’s Heather Watson has just emerged on court 14 for her match against Fiona Ferro of France.
From a 5-1 lead in the first set, Kristina Mladenovic’s collapse is complete. She falls 7-5 6-3 to Laura Siegemund of Germany.
As noted earlier, this was not without controversy. At 5-1 and set point to Mladenovic, Siegemund failed to reach an excellent dropshot from the Frenchwoman, but the umpire did not notice that the ball bounced twice. Mladenovic eventually lost that point, and 6 games later she lost the set.
Mladenovic is one of the most outspoken players on tour and she will have plenty to say about this soon.
After last night’s latest ever Roland Garros finish at 12:10am:
A lovely moment at the French Open ❤️🤗
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) September 29, 2020
French teen star @clara_burel shared an emotional hug with her mother after her first-round win at #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/bLAFrR2YW9
Hello, this is Tumaini Carayol here again. After a 75 minute stoppage, the rain has stopped and the covers are being pulled off the outside courts. Play will resume shortly.
Over on Chatrier, Kristina Mladenovic is now trailing 7-5 4-3 after losing 6 consecutive games from 5-1 up in.
Updated
Six games in a row for Laura Siegemund as she takes the first set against Kristina Mladenovic 7-5. But we’ve not heard the last of this, though: this was 5-1 and set point to Mladenovic:
😱 Drama at #RolandGarros @laurasiegemund steals the opening set after the umpire missed this double-bounce when @KikiMladenovic was on set-point
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) September 29, 2020
🇫🇷 #RG20 LIVE
📺 Eurosport 1
📱💻 Uninterrupted coverage: https://t.co/3JsirazCfTpic.twitter.com/8Ic1Th9OZP
Updated
In the only match currently under cover (rather than under covers), Laura Siegemund has broken back twice against Kristina Mladenovic, and it’s now 5-5 in the first set.
Where we're at so far
Play will not resume on the outside courts before 2pm BST at the earliest.
Today’s events so far:
- Karolina Pliskova recovered from a set down to beat Mayar Sherif, the first Egyptian woman to reach a slam main draw, in three sets. She will face 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko in the second round.
- 7th seed Matteo Berrettini eased into the second round with a straight sets win over Vasek Pospisil.
- 17 year-old Clara Tauson pulled off a shock win over US Open semi-finalist Jennifer Brady.
With most matches suspended, I will be off to grab a quick lunch.
Updated
Cristian Garin also narrowly beat the rain as it is now completely pouring down and play has been suspended on all outside courts.
The only match in play is Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic versus Laura Siegemund under the new Chatrier roof. Mladenovic leads 5-1*.
Updated
Keep an eye out for 20th seed Chilean Cristian Garin, who just beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4 4-6 6-1 6-4. The 24 year-old loves clay and has already won two titles on the surface this year.
After winning the junior French Open in 2013, it took a long time for him to get his game and mentality together in order to reach the top 20. After years of being stuck around the 200 and 300, he finally broke into the top 100 after right at the end of 2018. Since then, he has catapulted up the rankings to the top 20. We will be seeing a lot of him deep in the big clay events over the next few years.
His story is quite similar to that of Marton Fucsovics, a 28 year old Hungarian who scored the biggest ranking upset of the tournament by defeating 4th seed Daniil Medvedev last night. After winning junior Wimbledon in 2010 at 18 years old, it took 7 years for Fucsovics to reach the top 100 at the end of 2017 aged 25. Since he finally made the leap to the top level, he hasn’t left it and he has been comfortable against the best players in the world.
This sport is so tough and there are so many more talented players who don’t have the mental toughness to travel around the world, playing in horrible conditions with no fans and doing all the work behind the scenes necessary to rise up the rankings and make it to these events.
Around the grounds:
- Laura Siegemund 1-2* Kristina Mladenovic
- Liudmilla Samsonova 4-5* [4] Sofia Kenin
- Ugo Humbert 2-6 2-6 6-3 3-5* Marc Polmans
- [26] Donna Vekic *2-3 Irina Bara
- [22] Dusan Lajovic 6-4 6-6 Gianluca Mager
30 forehand winners.
Tauson: 48W (30 FH), 46UFE
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) September 29, 2020
Brady: 39W, 25 UFE
Big power from the 17yo Dane. #RG20
17 year old Clara Tauson produces the biggest win of her career, saving double match point to upset US Open semi-finalist Jennifer Brady 6-4 3-6 8-6. Not a bad way to clinch a first slam match and win.
A brilliant attacking performance from Tauson, who hit 48(!) winners. However, even more impressive was her showing her mettle by saving double match point and then, unlike Brady, immediately recovering after she squandered three of her own. Down break point in the final game, she produced an astounding forehand to scupper the danger and she eventually got it done.
Just one slam after Caroline Wozniacki’s retirement, Denmark has a new idol. We will be seeing much more of her.
Updated
That was just impressive. After saving two match points and then squandering three match points, Clara Tauson breaks Jennifer Brady’s serve and she will have another opportunity to serve out the match after a long deuce game. This time, the 17 year-old Dane continued to attack but she made her targets bigger and cut down on her errors. Composure beyond her years. Brady 4-6 6-3 7-8* Tauson.
The drama continues as US Open semi-finalist Jennifer Brady saves three match points to push Clara Tauson back to 7-7 in the third set.
After winning 10 of 12 points from being two match points down herself, Tauson stepped up at 40-15 and made two overzealous unforced errors. On the third, Brady came up with a bold drop shot to keep herself alive.
In the long deuce game that followed, Brady kept her depth, refused to miss and took advantage of a nervous Tauson to break. We go on.
Incredible work from Clara Tauson, who carried her momentum from the saved match points before breaking serve to 15 by crunching a series of huge backhands. She will now serve for the match against US Open semi-finalist Jennifer Brady at *7-6 in the third.
Extra innings over on Simonne-Mathieu as 17 year-old Dane Clara Tauson just saved double match point to push 21st seed Jennifer Brady to 6-6 in the third set. Bold play from the youngster under pressure, touching multiple lines on the match points before holding with a huge forehand. Brady 4-6 6-3 6-6 Tauson.
Junior Australian Open champion Harold Mayot is making his slam debut today against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The 18 year-old Frenchman lead 5-2 before losing the first set on a tight tiebreak. On the set point, Fokina blasted a ball straight at Mayot before screaming in glee as he clinched the set. The unspoken message: Welcome to the pros.
“I had a couple of set points,” says Karolina Pliskova in her interview with former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli. Just 8.
Karolina Pliskova recovers to beat Mayar Sherif 6-7(9) 6-2 6-4
What a delightful slam debut from Mayar Sherif, the first Egyptian woman to ever compete in a slam main draw. With her spinny forehand, great movement and resourcefulness with ample drop shots, she has made life hell for Pliskova and she refused to let up even after the Czech levelled the match. We will see more of her over the coming years and it would be great if she can inspire more Egyptian and African players to follow.
For Pliskova, a good recovery after failing to convert 8 set points in that horror first set. Life does not get much easier for her - she faces 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko in the second round, who was in great form today.
Updated
Karolina Pliskova backs up the break with a quick love hold filled with huge serving. She is game away. Pliskova 6-7(9) 6-2 5-3* Sherif.
It took a long, long game of 6 break points, strong resistance from Mayar Sherif and mounting frustration for Karolina Pliskova, but the second seed finally breaks to move up a break in the final set. Pliskova 6-7(9) 6-2 *4-3 Sherif.
It is starting to rain a bit harder now.
Mayar Sherif continues to keep herself level with Karolina Pliskova on Chatrier. Some tense moments for the Egyptian in at 2-2 and 30-30, but Pliskova produced a couple of untimely errors to keep Sherif ahead.
Pliskova responded with a quick hold to put the pressure straight back on the Egyptian. Pliskova 6-7(9) 6-2 3-3* Sherif.
7th seed Matteo Berrettini moves on with ease, beating Vasek Pospisil 6-3 6-1 6-3.
Updated
Mayar Sherif is fighting hard on Chatrier and she is rewarded with a hold to retain her early 2-1 lead in the third set against Karolina Pliskova.
A great move to seal the hold - after a heavy forehand down the line, Sherif moved into the net and picked off a great volley at full stretch after Pliskova attempted to drill a backhand down the line passing shot. With her momenum gone, Pliskova has to be careful here. Pliskova 6-7(9) 6-2 *1-2 Sherif.
Updated
Heather Watson is a set away from taking to court 14 against Frenchwoman Fiona Ferro. She follows Marc Polmans and Ugo Humbert. Polmans leads 6-2 6-2.
This has been a great turnaround from Karolina Pliskova, who has quickly made amends for failing to convert 8 set points in a horror first set performance by efficiently pushing Mayar Sherif to a third set. Let’s see what the Egyptian challenger has left to give. Pliskova 6-7(9) 6-2 Sherif.
Updated
One of the weirdest stats in tennis is resolved as 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko reaches the second round of Roland Garros for the first time outside of that delirious run to the title. She did so with style, beating Madison Brengle of the United States 6-2 6-1.
It has been a tough few years for Ostapenko since her title. After reaching a career high of 5 in March 2018, she fell as low as 82nd by last year. She has struggled with the pressure of her success and also her high-risk, unstable game that can hit anyone off the court on any given day, but can also spend long periods firing at the back fence.
Ostapenko was slowly finding some kind of form last year and one suspects that at some point her explosive game will randomly catch fire again. This could be a good opportunity to see where she is at - she faces the winner of the match between Karolina Pliskova and Mayar Sherif in the second round.
Jelena Ostapenko: number of main draw match wins at Roland Garros by year...
— Matt Roberts (@MattRobertsTTP) September 29, 2020
2015 - 0
2016 - 0
2017 - 7
2018 - 0
2019 - 0
2020 - 1 (and counting)
She’d better win the tournament now and maintain the trolliest record around. #RG20
Karolina Pliskova looks like she is back on track. The second seed has cut out her unforced errors now leads Mayar Sherif by a double break, 6-7(9) *4-1.
Updated
Over on Lenglen, Vasek Pospisil continues his running commentary while being flattened by 7th seed Matteo Berrettini. He just said that he “threw away” the first two sets by being too defensive. Whatever the reason, Berrettini leads 6-3 6-1 *0-1.
Karolina Pliskova has recovered well in the second set. After the pair traded three consecutive breaks to open the set, she has broken away with a hold to love, sealed with a serve-backhand 1-2 punch. Pliskova 6-7(9) 3-1 Sherif.
Updated
There is another upset alert on Simonne-Mathieu as 17 year-old Dane Clara Tauson leads 6-4 1-2* on 21st seed Jennifer Brady, who reached the semi-final of the US Open a few weeks ago.
Denmark is a small country without much of a tennis culture and so very few players have ever made it to the top 100 of either men’s or women’s tours. It feels right that the player to succeed the recently retired Caroline Wozniacki, a defensive player who hated clay and struggled with her forehand throughout her career, is an attacking player with a huge forehand who is breaking through on clay.
Updated
Mayar Sherif saves a total of eight set points to take the first set 7-6(9) on Karolina Pliskova. Incredible scenes appropriately sealed with a horror overhead from the second seed.
This has been an incredible effort from No 172 Sherif, who would have had every reason to be overwhelmed on a stage far greater than anything she has ever experienced. Instead, she has fought hard while demonstrating intelligence and resourcefulness under pressure.
Across the net, this has been a been a horror from Karolina Pliskova, summed up by her moving to 6-3 in the tiebreak and then losing three points in a row with two bad backhand errors and then a double fault.
Around the grounds:
- [7] Matteo Berrettini 6-3 *4-0 Vasek Pospisil
- [21] Jennifer Brady *4-5 [Q] Clara Tauson
- [20] Cristian Garin 6-4 Philipp Kohlschreiber
- Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 *2-1 Madison Brengle
- K.Skupski/S.Gonzalez 6-2 0-1* Bolelli/M.Gonzalez
A reminder of Mayar Sherif’s inexperience at this level: she is ranked 172, she only started to compete full time last year and rose from no ranking into the top 200 in only 5 months.
Sherif has only ever played 4 top 100 opponents and her highest ranked opponent was ranked 38. No matter, she is a great athlete with a tricky, spinny forehand, some nice variety and a lot of court sense. Now she is battling the third ranked player on one of the biggest stages in the world.
Much better work from Karolina Pliskova, who stepped into the court and buried a couple of forehand down-the-line winners to break back at the death. Pliskova looked to just be finding her range before she lost her serve at 5-5, so there was no reason to panic. Pliskova 6-6 Sherif.
After saving three set points, it’s Mayar Sherif who rolls with the momentum to break for *6-5. She will serve for the opening set against Karolina Pliskova.
On Chatrier, No 172 Mayar Sherif continues to put up some great opposition for second seed Karolina Pliskova. She just saved three set points to hold for 5-5.
Although Pliskova should have done much better on a couple of them, Sherif produced a bold, gutsy drop shot on the second. This is Sherif’s first ever match at this level and she does not look at all overawed.
Once again, it is beginning to rain in Paris and with miserable weather comes miserable tennis players. Vasek Pospisil: “Worst conditions in the world.”
There are multiple ways to play this sport. pic.twitter.com/DklcrGYpG0
— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) September 29, 2020
Italian 7th seed Matteo Berrettini is up *3-2 and an early break on Vasek Pospisil of Canada. Likewise, 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia leads Madison Brengle *3-2.
Meanwhile, Karen Khachanov and Nick Kyrgios have been going back and forth over the Australian’s social media conduct. This is all quite bizarre considering, of all the disagreeable things Kyrgios has ever said, defending his friend Andy Murray against some quite spiteful comments by Mats Wilander isn’t exactly high on the list.
Bro it’s your call.I really think you are a good lad and I don’t have any problem with you.But once you are sitting at home and writing different comments about players that makes me think who has the real problem..
— Karen Khachanov (@karenkhachanov) September 29, 2020
Mayar Sherif is holding her ground in the early stages on Chatrier, easing through her opening two service games to level Karolina Pliskova at 2-2.
Up first on Chatrier is a really interesting story as Mayar Sherif becomes the first Egyptian woman to reach a slam main draw after coming through qualifying. She has received plenty of support from Mo Salah this week.
24 year-old Sherif plotted her route to Roland Garros through college in the United States. She was unranked last year and she has quickly risen up the rankings since she finished college. Reem Abulleil covered the story of Sherif and other Arab players using college as a pathway to the professional tour last year.
Today’s order of play on the main courts:
Court Philippe Chatrier:
- Mayar Sherif vs Karolina Pliskova
- Laura Siegemund vs Kristina Mladenovic
- [1] Novak Djokovic vs Mikael Ymer
- [9] Denis Shapovalov vs Gilles Simon
Court Suzanne Lenglen
- Vasek Pospisil vs [7] Matteo Berrettini
- Liudmilla Samsonova vs [4] Sofia Kenin
- Jaume Munar vs [5] Stefanos Tsitsipas
- [8] Aryna Sabalenka vs Jessica Pegula
Court Simonne-Mathieu
- [21] Jennifer Brady vs Clara Tauson
- Sam Querrey vs [13] Andrey Rublev
- [10] Roberto Bautista Agut vs Richard Gasquet
- [WC] Pauline Parmentier vs Veronika Kudermetova
As Britain searches for its first singles win of the tournament, we are down to our final player. Heather Watson faces the extremely tricky Fiona Ferro of France second up on court 14.
Preamble
Hello! Welcome to day three of our Roland Garros coverage as this marathon three-day first round finally comes to an end. In action will be top men’s seed Novak Djokovic, women’s second seed Karolina Pliskova, Denis Shapovalov, Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev.
Beyond the top seeds and champions, Tsitsipas and Rublev will be of particular interest since they will have to navigate a very unique situation in order to make a deep run in Paris.
As play began on Sunday, Rublev and Tsitsipas were competing 750 kilometres away in the ATP Hamburg Final. After Rublev edged out Tsitsipas for his first ever ATP 500 title, both players had to travel straight to Paris and, it appears that they had to quarantine for 24 hours while awaiting a negative COVID-19 test. They would have only started preparing for their matches on Monday evening. How will they fare?
