Stan Wawrinka’s Roland Garros career has come to an end after he lost his first-round match to Jesper de Jong in four sets.
Wawrinka’s Final Bow at Roland Garros
The former champion bid farewell to the French Open in the first round. Leon Smith reflected on Wawrinka’s career, noting his ‘wonderful tennis style’ and how his uniqueness allowed him to compete with Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Smith highlighted Wawrinka’s ‘brute force, a beautiful backhand and a very competitive guy who loved the long matches’.
Smith added that Wawrinka was a crowd-pleaser because he’s a shot-maker. Smith said that Wawrinka enjoys his life outside of tennis but his respect for him ‘is up there with anything because he managed to gatecrash that party [of Nadal, Roger Federer and Djokovic], just like Andy did when he was around’.
Boulter Advances as Top Seeds Dominate
In other action, Katie Boulter overcame Akasha Urhobo in three sets to reach the second round. Boulter is set to face Anastasia Potapova in the second round. Iga Swiatek crushed Emerson Jones in straight sets, losing just three games.
Elena Rybakina also had a dominant win, defeating Veronika Erjavec 6-2 6-2. Elina Svitolina fought back from a set down to beat Anna Bondar in a third-set tie-break. Amanda Anisimova, Jasmine Paolini, and Elise Mertens also advanced.
Men’s Draw Sees Upsets and Progress
Jiri Lehecka was defeated in straight sets by Pablo Carreno Busta. Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, Casper Ruud, Arthur Rinderknech, Rafael Jodar and Brandon Nakashima have all reached round two. Toby Samuel lost in three sets to Alex de Minaur 6-4 6-4 6-2.
Jannik Sinner is set to begin his bid to complete a career Grand Slam in the night session. British duo Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley are also in first-round action.
As the first round comes to an end, Aryna Sabalenka is set to play, while defending champion Coco Gauff is third on the main show court. Naomi Osaka, Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys will also feature.
Play continues with first-round matches from Roland Garros.