Gauff rallies in French opener; Medvedev ousted
Sixth-seeded Coco
Gauff of Delray Beach overcame a rough start for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Spain’s Rebeka Masarova on Tuesday to reach the second round of the French Open in Paris.
Errors plagued Gauff in the early going, with Masarova winning the match’s first three games en route to capturing the opening set.
Gauff, however, snapped a 1-1 tie in the second set by winning seven straight games.
A surprise finalist in Paris one year ago, Gauff ended the match in 1 hour, 46 minutes.
“Paris is my favorite city in the world,” Gauff said in her on-court interview. “And it’s not because of my results here. It’s been my favorite city since I first came here when I was 10 years old, and I just look forward to coming here.
“I love the French people. I know some people don’t like you guys, but I love you guys. I always defend you.”
Gauff’s win set up a second-round clash against Julia Grabher.
The Austrian posted a 6-2, 6-3 victory over
Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands.
Also on Tuesday, seventh-seeded Ons Jabeur of Tunisia claimed a 6-4, 6-1 win over Italian Lucia Bronzetti in 70 minutes.
Jabeur benefitted from hitting 27 winners, although her 24 unforced errors admittedly were troublesome as she continues to find her rhythm following injuries this season.
“It was a very difficult period for me after Stuttgart,” said Jabeur, who dealt with a “small tear” in her left calf that forced her to retire in that tournament.
She then pulled out of Madrid and returned to action in Rome with an opening loss to Paula Badosa of Spain.
Jabeur advanced to the second round to face Oceane Dodin, who seized a 0-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over fellow Frenchwoman Selena Janicijevic.
Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko posted a 6-2, 6-2 win over 13th-seeded Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic.
Frenchwoman Diane Parry notched a 6-2, 6-3 win over 25th-seeded Anhelina Kalinina of the Ukraine, while China’s Xinyu Wang secured a
6-4, 7-6 (7-5) victory over 31st-seeded Marie Bouzkova
of the Czech Republic.
On the men’s side, Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild, the 172nd ranked player in the world, pulled off a stunning upset of World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev in the first round.
Seyboth Wild rallied from a set down to oust Medvedev in four hours and 15 minutes 7-5 (7-5), 6-8 (6-8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
“It was pretty tough. I started cramping in the
second set. I did my best and tried to play my best tennis and it worked,” Seyboth Wild said. “I am really happy with the way I played.”
Medvedev blasted 14 aces but suffered 15 double faults among 48 unforced errors.
He had 45 winners against 69 for Seyboth Wild, who had 77 unforced errors of his own.
“Walking on court I just wanted to get to the net as
much as possible and use my forehand against his and it worked pretty well,” Seyboth Wild said.
Wild was playing in just the second Grand Slam main draw of his career.
“I’ve always dreamed about playing on this court, playing this kind of players,” Seyboth Wild said in his on-court interview.
“I mean, in my best dreams of even beating them. So, it’s a dream come true.”
Seyboth Wild will next face Guido Pella of Argentina or Quentin Halys of France in the second round.
However, another match lasted even longer than the Seyboth WildMedvedev affair, with another qualifier advancing.
Italian Andrea Vavassori took down No.31 Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia 5-7, 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-3),
7-6 (11-9) in five hours and 10 minutes.
No.27 Yoshihito Nishioka also rallied from two sets down to record a 1-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory over J.J. Wolf.
Fourth-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway breezed past Swedish qualifier
Elias Ymer 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.
No. 22 Alexander Zverev of Germany won in straight sets but needed two hours and 43 minutes to get past South African Lloyd Harris 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-0), 6-1.
No. 16 Tommy Paul dispatched Switzerland’s Dominic Stricker 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
Other winners in early Tuesday action included Genaro Alberto Olivieri of Argentina, Alex Molcan of Slovakia, Max Purcell of Australia, Nicolas Jarry of Chile and Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri.