Tsitsipas gets past Vesely; Sabalenka sails into next round

Stefanos Tsitsipas put up a fine performance to pass a stern first-round test at the French Open 2023, where the fifth seed defeated Jiri Vesely 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 at the claycourt major on Sunday.

The fifth seed Greek appeared to be in rich form for a routine victory on Court Philippe Chatrier after claiming the first two sets but Vesely. The Czech clinched the third set, but Tsitsipas kept his cool to dig out a three-hour, 13-minute victory.

“He was a difficult obstacle today, I won’t lie. He gave me a hard time. I’m happy I overcame it in such a fashion. I was able to bounce back from all those difficulties that were being thrown at me constantly. Today’s win is very important for me,” said Tsitsipas.

Also Thanasi Kokkinakis defeated 20th seed Daniel Evans 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. The Australian wild card converted five of the 13 break points he gained on his way to his first main draw victory at Roland Garros since 2015.

In the women’s section, Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus kicked off her clay-court major with a winning start, coming from an early break down to defeat Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk 6-3, 6-2.

“Emotionally, I was a little bit nervous at the beginning,” Sabalenka admitted. “I was just trying to keep fighting, keep finding my rhythm, keep adjusting to the court.”

The second seed, who is aiming for her first secondweek appearance at Roland Garros, will next face qualifier Iryna Shymanovich, who celebrated her Grand Slam maindraw debut with a 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1 victory over Panna Udvardy.

Karolina Muchova knocked out a top-10 player on day one, as the Czech defeated No.8 seed Greece’s Maria Sakkari 7-6(5), 7-5 on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Canada’s Leylah Fernandez also knocked out No.21 Magda Linette of Poland 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in two hours and 11 minutes.

Chinese player Zheng Qinwen started her second French Open campaign in style, defeating Slovenian qualifier Tamara Zidansek 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday.

Earlier, Zhang Shuai of China, seeded 29th, faced a third consecutive first-round exit at Roland Garros, ousted by Poland’s Magdalena Frech 6-1, 6-1.