Novak Djokovic secured a win at the French Open, but Elena Rybakina faced an unexpected exit. The tournament continues with Jannik Sinner set to play Juan Manuel Cerundolo.
Djokovic Advances After Tough Match
Novak Djokovic beat France’s Valentin Royer in a match lasting almost three and three-quarter hours. Djokovic spoke in French in his post-match interview: “Obviously the feelings on the court are different when you win. It was a tough match in very difficult conditions.” For the second match in a row, Djokovic was taken to four sets by a Frenchman. Djokovic said: “I think Valentin [Royer] deserves a big round of applause for his performance today. I hope I won’t play any more French players for the rest of the tournament!”
Greg Rusedski commented on Djokovic’s performance: “At one stage, Novak’s second serve was averaging about 75-85 mph and against a big returner you’re going to get punished with that.” Rusedski added: “Physically, he looked like he’d been struggling. A lot of the players have been struggling with this heat but the good news for Djokovic is he’s going to start playing.”
Rybakina Suffers Shock Defeat
Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva caused a significant upset by defeating world number two, Elena Rybakina. Starodubtseva said in her on-court interview: “I’m super happy, Elena is one of the top players, she’s had an incredible year and I’m super proud of myself that I was able to do this today. It was a hard third set but I got it done.”
Starodubtseva spoke about coming back from a set down: “I feel someone like Elena, I expected it from her. You can’t be thinking that it’s going to be easy today. Even at 3-0 [ahead in the third set] I had a feeling that it might not be that easy which it appeared not to be. Tough match but happy to be the winner today.” She added: “I think clay is not the worst surface for me and the crowd was very, very nice to me today – I really felt the support today and I heard my name quite a few times and I really appreciated it.”
Remaining British Hope
Katie Boulter, the sole remaining British player in the singles draws, is set to face 28th seed Anastasia Potapova.
Looking Ahead
Aryna Sabalenka, Naomi Osaka, Amanda Anisimova and defending women’s champion Coco Gauff all play their second-round matches. Jannik Sinner continues his bid for a career Grand Slam tomorrow against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who defeated Great Britain’s Jacob Fearnley in round one.