Andreescu earns 3-set victory to advance to 2nd round at French Open
Djokovic opens title defence with straight-sets win; Osaka ousted by Anisimova
Canadian Bianca Andreescu scored a three-set victory over Ysaline Bonaventure of Belgium in the first round of the French Open on Monday.
Andreescu dropped the opening set 6-3, before bouncing back to win the next two sets, 7-5 and 6-0.
"I really said to myself 'stay in the present moment, keep fighting because it's not over until it's over,"' Andreescu told TSN. "I really had to put pressure on her — if not, I knew she was going to win."
The former world No. 4 fell battled back from a 3-1 deficit in the second set to force the deciding set.
"Just having that fighting spirit until the end really helped me," she said.
WATCH | Andreescu wins final 2 sets to claim victory:
Andreescu was up 3-0 in the final set when played was halted for a two-hour and 20-minute rain delay.
When the skies cleared and play resumed, Andreescu needed just over 10 minutes to finish off Bonaventure, who served up 10 double faults in her first French Open main draw.
"She [Andreescu] raised her game and I was maybe a little bit less aggressive and in the third set she was clearly better than me. It was more difficult mentally for me to come back in the match," said Bonaventure.
Andreescu, from Mississauga, Ont., came to Paris looking to build on her successful clay court season following a months-long absence to recuperate physically and mentally from a tough 2021 season.
"It's great to know that even when I am not playing my best tennis that I can find a way to win," she said. "I am super happy with how I managed my emotions."
Leylah Fernandez and Felix Auger-Aliassime, both of Montreal, will be back on the clay on Wednesday following first-round wins on Sunday. Fernandez, the tournament's 17th seed, will play Czech Katerina Siniakova, while Auger-Aliassime, seeded ninth on the men's side, meets Argentine qualifier Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
Denis Shapovalov, of Richmond Hill, Ont., will play his opening-round match on Tuesday against Denmark's Holger Rune.
Djokovic kicks off title defence with win over Nishioka
Novak Djokovic's first Grand Slam match in 7 1/2 months went about as well as possible.
The No. 1-seeded Djokovic opened his title defence at the French Open with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-0 victory in less than two hours over Yoshihito Nishioka. He improved to 18-0 for his career in the first round at Roland Garros.
About the only uncomfortable moment for Djokovic might have been when some spectators booed after he let out some yells after winning points in the second set.
The match was played Monday night with the retractable roof at Court Philippe Chatrier shut because of rain.
He hadn't played in a major tournament since losing to Daniil Medvedev in the U.S. Open final last September, ending Djokovic's bid to complete the first calendar-year Grand Slam for a man since 1969.
Djokovic could not compete at the Australian Open this January because he has decided not to get vaccinated against COVID-19. There is no vaccine requirement for the French Open.
Osaka eliminated, may skip Wimbledon
Naomi Osaka says she is "leaning more towards not playing" at Wimbledon again because the WTA and ATP have said they will not award ranking points this year after the All England Club banned players from Russia and Belarus because of the invasion of Ukraine.
After losing in the first round at Roland Garros on Monday, Osaka said the tennis tours' move to withhold ranking points from Wimbledon "is kind of affecting my mentality" and she is "not 100 per cent sure if I'm going to go there."
She said she is "the type of player that gets motivated by seeing my ranking go up," but added that she needs to think about the issue more before making a final decision and could change her mind.
Osaka's return to the French Open ended in the first round Monday.
The former top-ranked player lost her opening match to Amanda Anisimova 7-5, 6-4 at Roland Garros on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam champion who took two mental health breaks last season. That included one that began when she withdrew before her second-round match at the French Open.
Anisimova is a 20-year-old American who reached the French Open semifinals in 2019. She also beat Osaka in the third round at the Australian Open in January.
Osaka double-faulted twice on break point, once in each set. After the second, which gave Anisimova a 4-3 lead, Osaka took a 40-0 lead in the next game but the American held.
Osaka played with tape on her left Achilles. She was stretching it and kicking it with her right foot when she was broken in the seventh game of the second set.
Nadal makes victorious return from injury
Rafael Nadal and all of his aches and pains reached the second round of the French Open.
The 13-time champion at Roland Garros beat Jordan Thompson 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 in the first round on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Nadal won his men's-record 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open but he has only recently returned from a rib injury that has bothered him since March.
3️⃣2️⃣ shot rally 🤯<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RolandGarros?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RolandGarros</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/RafaelNadal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RafaelNadal</a> <a href="https://t.co/5IaO7UCu8F">pic.twitter.com/5IaO7UCu8F</a>
—@rolandgarrosHe has also been dealing with chronic pain in his left foot. That kept him out of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year, and bothered him again during a loss on clay in Rome this month.
Nadal will next face Corentin Moutet, a French wild-card entry who beat 2015 French Open champion Stan Wawrinka 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-3.
Swiatek advances with 29th straight victory
Top-seeded Iga Swiatek has extended her winning streak to 29 matches by advancing to the second round of the French Open.
Swiatek's winning streak is the longest by any woman since Serena Williams won 34 in a row in 2013. She has won the title at her past five tournaments.
Swiatek has also won a tour-leading 14 sets at 6-0 this season.
Defending champ Krejcikova suffers upset loss
Barbora Krejcikova has become only the third defending women's champion to lose in the first round of the French Open.
Krejcikova, a Czech player who was seeded second at Roland Garros, lost to 97th-ranked Diane Parry 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.
It was Krejcikova's first match since February because of an injured right elbow.
The only other two women to lose in the first round a year after winning the title at Roland Garros were Anastasia Myskina in 2005 and Jelena Ostapenko in 2018.
Raducanu wins French Open debut
U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu's French Open debut was as difficult as can be for more than a set before she emerged with a 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-1 victory over Czech qualifier Linda Noskova.
At the U.S. Open, Raducanu was an 18-year-old participating in only her second Grand Slam tournament — and she became the first qualifier to win a major tennis trophy.
At Roland Garros on Monday, she faced the 17-year-old Noskova, who is ranked 184th and was making her Grand Slam debut after going through qualifying.
Noskova won the junior title in Paris in 2021 and was the youngest player in the women's field this time. Had she won, she would have been the first qualifier to beat a player seeded as high as No. 12 at a major since Raducanu knocked off No. 11 Belinda Bencic at the U.S. Open.
With files from The Associated Press
