French Open: Canadian Peter Polansky ousted in 1st round
Thornhill, Ont., native loses to Frenchman Pierre-Hughes Herbert in 4 sets
The Canadian contingent is the men's singles draw at the French Open is down to one.
Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ont., lost 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to Pierre-Hughes Herbert of France in a first-round match that concluded on Wednesday. Rain suspended the match after two sets on Tuesday.
The loss leaves No. 24 seed Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., as the lone remaining Canadian in singles. The 19-year-old faces Maximilian Marterer in a second-round match on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa is off to a winning start in doubles. The fifth-seeded team of Dabrowski and Yifan Xu of China downed Tessah Andrianjafitrimo and Fiona Ferro of France 6-3, 6-1 in a first-round match on Wednesday.
No. 2 Zverev outlasts 60th-ranked Lajovic
Elsewhere, second-seeded Alexander Zverev trailed by a set and a break — and was down a broken racket, too — before eventually collecting himself and coming back to beat 60th-ranked Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 2-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 in second-round play.
Zverev equalled his best showing at Roland Garros; he also reached the third round two years ago.
If the 21-year-old German is going to get to the round of 16 he'll need to do something he never has at a Grand Slam tournament: defeat a player ranked in the top 50. Zverev's next match comes against 26th-seeded Damir Dzumhur.
Former champion Djokovic advances
Former French Open champion Novak Djokovic posted another straight-set win to reach the third round of the clay-court tournament.
Facing Spanish qualifier Jaume Munar, the Serb delivered a solid display to prevail 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-4 and move into the third round for the 13th time.
Djokovic, who underwent right elbow surgery earlier this year, is the 20th-seeded player in Paris, his lowest Grand Slam seeding since the 2006 U.S. Open.
Williams sisters halt Grand Slam drought
Serena and Venus Williams have won their first Grand Slam doubles match in nearly two years.
The sisters moved into the second round by coming back for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over the 14th-seeded Japanese pairing of Shuko Aoyama and Miyu Kato in front of a Court 3 crowd that raucously supported the Americans.
The Williams-Williams duo last competed at a major tournament together at Wimbledon in 2016. They won their 14th Grand Slam title in women's doubles at the All England Club.
This return to doubles came a day after Serena Williams participated in Grand Slam singles for the first time in 16 months, winning her first-round match at Roland Garros. Venus Williams lost in the first round of singles on Sunday.
Canadian Dabrowski wins opener
Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa is off to a winning start in doubles. The fifth-seeded team of Dabrowski and Yifan Xu of China downed Tessah Andrianjafitrimo and Fiona Ferro of France 6-3, 6-1 in a first-round match.
Dabrowski and partner Mate Pavic of Croatia are the top-seeded duo in the mixed doubles draw. Dabrowski won the mixed doubles title last year at Roland Garros with Rohan Bopanna of India.
In men's doubles Wednesday, the 11th-seeded duo Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay and Spain's Marcel Granollers defeated Toronto's Daniel Nestor and Jeremy Chardy of France 7-5, 6-2.
Oliver Marach, Austria and Mate Pavic (2), Croatia, def. Adil Shamasdin, Canada and Sander Arends, Netherlands, 6-2, 6-2.