And on that note, that’s all from us. I’ll leave you with today’s report. Thanks for reading!
French Open 2022: Zverev and Sakkari in action, Thiem, Jabeur and Muguruza out – as it happened!
This article is more than 1 year old
Dominic Thiem was dumped out of the French Open in dramatic style on the first day of the tournament
Updated
Sun 22 May 2022 13.03 EDT
First published on Sun 22 May 2022 05.00 EDT
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Key events
Gauff huffs and puffs, and at the fourth time of asking wins a break point to take it to 1-1 in the first. Zverev wraps up the second set, 6-4, and gets to work on the third.
Ruse has won three straight games against Mertens to pull it back to 4-3! And Gauff and Mairno get going, the latter breaking in the first game of the match! And Zverev is 5-4 and serving for the second set.
Zverev attacks the second set the same way he did the first, a couple of pinpoint backhands easing him into a 4-2 lead. No breaks in the second set between Sakkari and Burel. And Mertens has stormed into a 4-2 first-set lead against Ruse.
Next up on Simonne Mathieu is 18th-seeded 18-year-old Coco Gauff against Rebecca Marino. Meanwhile …
Popyrin buys himself a bit of time with a strong service set to claw it back to 5-4 in the third, but Fognini is hungry for the win and a predatory final set – letting one match point go before snatching up the second – does the job.
Zverev sees out the first set clinically, 6-2, Sakkari the same. Who will complete their win first? Over on Simonne Mathieu, Popyrin is serving to stay in the tournament. Elena-Gabriela Ruse and Elise Mertens, the 31 seed, are under way on court 6.
Ofner, fighting the tide, concedes another service game to Zverev who has the first set all but wrapped up. Likewise Sakkari against Burel, who leads by the same margin, 5-2 in the first.
A no-nonsense forehand from Zverev takes him 4-2 up against Ofner, who has a task on his hands. Fabio Fognini looks to be on his way to a straight-sets win against 22-year-old Australian Alexei Popyrin. Burel and Sakkari still neck and neck at 3-3.
Righto, my watch is over. Here’s Alex Hess to guide you through the remainder of the day. Thanks for your company, and ta-ra.
Ofner gets to 0-30 as Zverev looks to consolidate, then Zverev wins four consecutive points to make 3-1. Meantime, Burel makes deuce from 40-15 down, and from there breaks straight back! Burel 2-3 Sakkari
Zverev raises a break point but goes long on the forehand, handing Ofner deuce ... then rockets a forehand winner for advantage and cleans up the next point at the net; he leads 2-1 with a break. Meanwhile, on Chatrier, Bufrel saves two break points, then sends down a double, so Sakkari moves further ahead at 3-1.
Sakkari and Burel both look in decent nick, so this might be another proper match. On Mathieu, Fognini now leads Popyrin by two sets to love.
Ah, Sakkari’s top is a sleeveless version of Auger-Aliassime’s, which is a bit odd. The design made me think it was of particular personal significance, but I guess that’s what Adidas want us to think.
Zverev and Ofner are underway; Ofner, ranked 218 in the world, holds in game one, while Burel and Sakkari are tied at 1-1.
Borges has levelled his match with Khachanov at 1-1, while there’ve been developments in the football! Liverpool are drawing 1-1 with Wolves, and Villa have scored at City!
Mats is courtside and says it’s pretty windy, which will make Burel’s top-spinning forehand hard to play. it’s still hard to look beyond Sakkari, but already today we’ve seen Jabeur and Muguruza eliminated, despite taking the first set.
While, on Chatrier, Burel and Sakkari are out. Sakkari got to the semis last term and will think she’s a serious chance at doing better here – she also made the last four in New York, and looks more at ease with her game than ever before.
Next on Lenglen, we’ve got Zverev [3] v Ofner [Q]. they’ll be out shortly.
Ramos-Vinolas now leads Kokkinakis 6-4, but our coverage is on Felix, who says he needed to get used to the court-space – there’s lots of it. He also notes that his opponent played really well but after the second set, he had a better idea of the court so was able to slow the game down and dictate.
Auger-Aliassime had never won a match at Roland Garros before, and in so doing today, he also showed improved mental strength. I doubt he’s going to win here, but he could properly do something at Wimbledon.
Isner, the number 23 seed, has beaten Halys, a French qualifier, 7-6(3) 4-6 7-6(1) 7-6(6).
Felix says it’s a joy to compete at Roland Garros, does the obligatory crowd-thanking, and after a year or two of stagnation, he’s coming along nicely again. A tennis-coach mate reckons he’s the best mover on tour, and the first time he saw him was certain he’d seen a major champion. Him and Alcaraz look to the be the future of the men’s game; Alcaraz is on once Sakkari and Burel are done, and they’re next on Chatrier.
Felix Auger-Aliassime beats Juan Pablo Varellas 2-6 2-6 6-1 6-3 6-3!
Auger-Aliassime raises three match points and though Varellas saves one, a booming forehand finishes off another splendid match. Auger-Aliassime meets Ugo Carabelli or Karatsev next; currently, the former leads by one set to love.
I’d love to know if there’s a story behind Auger-Aliassime’s top, incidentally.
A lovely backhand down the line gives Auger-Aliassime 0-30 on the Varellas serve, then he opens up body and shoulders to smite a forehand winner cross-court from corner to corner and has three break points! Varellas saves the first, whips a wrong-footing forehand that has his opponent eating the clay, then follows a big serve with a clean-up forehand! Pablo Varellas has stones! But after getting to deuce, he overhits a forehand, Auger-Aliassime then hits three consecutive monsters, and the last is another corner-to-corner winner! He’s 5-4 in front, and will shortly serve for the match!
Auger-Aliassime hasn’t lost a point after landing his first serve for a set and a half, but Varellas is still there with him; it’s 4-3 to the former in the final, which is to say we’re not far off a 10-point breaker. Elsewhere, Khachanov has taken the first set off Borges 6-3, Ramos-Vinolas is a break up on Kokkinakis, who he leads 4-2, and Griekspoor leads Davidovich Fokina 2-6 6-0 5-4.
You may be aware there’s some association football going on this afternoon...
Popyrin fell apart at the crucial moment to lose the first set to Fognini 6-4, while Varillas is playing much better than before; serving at 1-2, he’s 40-15 up. But though Auger-Aliassime annihilates an inside-out forehand for 40-30, Varillas turns up the power on a backhand and it’s enough to get him home in the game. Auger-Aliassime 2-6 2-6 6-1 6-3 2-2 Varillas
Well done Juan Pablo Varillas! He closes out from 30-all to level the decider at 1-1 while, elsewhere, Borges [Q] v Khachanov [21] is under way, likewise Popyrin v Fognin and Ramos-Vinolas v Kokkinakis.
Yupyup, Auger-Aliassime holds to 30 so he and Varillas , who qualified, will now play a decider. It’s been one-way traffic for the last hour, though.
Barrere beat Daniel in the fifth of that match we discussed earlier, and Isner did indeed take the third set against Halys on the breaker; he leads 2-1.
Varillas has stayed in the set without getting close to break, and and ace gives Auger-Aliassime 5-3. He’s a game away from forcing a decider, and has responded really well to going two sets down – though Varillas also ran out of form around then.
Isner and Halys are playing a breaker at 1-1 – Isner leads 5-1 – Van de Zandschulp is serving for the match against Kotov, and Auger-Aliassime now leads 4-2 in the fourth against Varillas.
Davidovich Fokina [25] has taken the first set off Griekspoor 6-2, and Fognini and Popyrin are about to start on Mathieu. Meanwhile, Varillas has just one his first game in seven to trail Auger-Aliassime 2-1- in set three having won the first two.
Auger-Aliassime is now 2-0 ahead in set four, and it’s hard to look past him now. he still trails by two sets to one, but Varillas has lost the pep he had to begin with.
“Is it just my imagination,” wonders Simon McMahon, “or are there more five set matches at Roland Garros than other Grand Slams? And more extremes in the set scores, too. Like the 6-3, 2-6, 6-0, 3-6 of the first four sets between Taro Daniel and Gregoire Barerre on Court 14 …”
I’m not sure, but I don’t think so, on either count. My guess is that the big serving surfaces allow for wider set-margins, and the competition with most five-setters was the 1983 US Open (the internet advises me).
Still to come today, we’ve got Sakkari, Alcaraz, Zverv and Gauff. Not bad, mates.
Varillas goes long with a forehand from the back, the swat of a bloke who knows the jig is up, and that’s the set. But if he can just get some first serves in, he’s got a chance. Auger-Aliassime 2-6 2-6 6-1 Varillas
Auger-Aliassime is now 5-1 in front in set three, and Varillas needs to take stock. He served so well in the first hour of this match, but he’s cooled since, and class is beginning to take control of form.
It’s raining pretty heavily now, but we’ve still got play everywhere. Halys has levelled his match with Isner at a set apiece, Barrere leads Daniel 4-2 in the fifth, Cuevas leads Brooksby [31] 6-2 601 and Siniakova is a set up on Martic.
On Chartier, Auger-Aliassime has broken Varillas for the first time. He still trails, 2-6 2-6 3-1, but you wonder if momentum has switched.
Kaia Kanepi beats Garbine Muguruza [10] 2-6 6-3 6-4!
It looked for all the world like Muguruza had this sorted at a set and a break up, but in classic style she lozzed five games in a row, then in the decider it was the 36-year-old Kanepi who hung tougher. She meets Haddad Maia next.
At 0-15, Muguruza does most of the hard work, then sends a forehand long. A return off the frame opens the court for a forehand winner that gives her 15-30, only for another error to allow 30-all, and Kanepi is two points away. Muguruza then goes long, and Kanepi has match point!
Shonuff, Muguruza finds herself at 15-40, clips the net cord with a backhand, and Kanepi strides confidently onto the ball, despatching a wrong-footing forehand winner. Leading 5-4 in set three, can she serve out?
We’re at 4-4 on Mathieu now, and both players know that any error and they’ve got a problem. I still fancy Muguruza – I’m really sticking my neck out here – because she’s both better and playing better. But there’s very little in it.
Diego Schwartzman is through, having beaten Andriy Kuznetsov 6-3 1-6 6-4 6-2. He meets Jaime Munar next.
Muguruza v Kanepi is getting tense – it’s 3-3 in the decider. The former looks the better player now, but with her you never know what’s around the corner.
Varillas is directing Auger-Aliassime about the court beautifully – he might be the best mover on tour, but he’d much rather be hitting from a base. He holds to 15, and the qualifier leads the number nine seed 6-2 6-2 after two one-sided sets!
Kanepi has, eventually, held; it’s 2-2 in the decider, and Muguruza will be rueing her inability to convert those break points. It’d be very her to lose her own serve now...
Muguruza holds from 15-40 down – she’s doing what she needs when she desperately needs to, and consecutive forehands onto the line give her 30-all. This is another really fun match – women’s tennis is so enjoyable at the moment because there are so many talented players – and Muguruza earns herself a break point, only to send a return long. Another follows and this time, Muguruza defends well, but can’t stick in the point; no matter, she forces another shy, Kanepi yanks her back again, then on Chatrier, Varillas wears two saved break points before converting his third! He now leads Auger-Aliassime 6-2 5-2! What a shock we’ve got on the cards here!
Goodness me, Varillas is on one here, racing to 0-40 with three points for the double break ... but Auger-Ailassime saves them all then closes out the hold. Can that spark him into life? He trails 2-6 2-3 while, on Lenglen, Isner took the first set against Halys on a breaker and we’re on serve at 2-3 in set two.
Has Muguruza gone? In double-quick time, she trails 0-40 in the opening game of the decider, saving the first break point with a banging forehand down the line. Kanepi then goes long, and Muguruza wins the next three points too for her hold. She leads 1-0 in the decider, and will be encouraged by how she took hold of herself there.