Tsitsipas comes from two sets down to advance
PARIS: Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 2021 French runnerup, has overcome a twoset deficit against Lorenzo Musetti to advance to the second round at Roland Garros, a year after blowing a twoset lead in the final against Novak Djokovic.
Tsitsipas needed more than three and ahalf hours yesterday to turn things around and get past 20yearold Musetti, of Italy, 57, 46, 62, 63, 62.
‘‘My serve was really off . . . maybe not the first few games of the match, but after, it completely collapsed. It wasn’t there. That threw me off a lot,’’ Tsitsipas, who set up a meeting against Czech Zdenek Kolar, said.
‘‘Once I really found my momentum . . . I knew that it can be a different match.
‘‘It would have been kind of not fair, from my perspective, to have a different outcome.’’
Secondseeded Daniil Medvedev though took less than 100 minutes to progress but world No 15 Denis Shapovalov lost to Danish teenager Holger Rune.
Medvedev brushed aside an injured Facundo Bagnis 62, 62, 62 while Shapovalov lost 63, 61, 64, 76 (74) to Rune.
Norwegian Casper Ruud, the eighth seed, was the day’s villain, bringing down the curtain on the career of French favourite JoWilfried Tsonga who said he would retire after the tournament.
The 37yearold took the first set but, by the end, the ailing twotime semifinalist could barely serve as Ruud won 67 (67), 76 (74), 62, 76 (70).
Gilles Simon’s last French Open will continue after a marathon victory over No 16 seed and twotime US Open semifinalist Pablo Carreno Busta.
The 37yearold Frenchman delayed his retirement for at least another match by winning 64, 64, 46, 16, 64 in a little under four hours.
Russian seventh seed Andrey Rublev survived a firstset scare to move past Kwon Soonwoo 67, (75) 63, 62, 64.
In the women’s draw, former winners Simona Halep and Jelena Ostapenko both reached the second round, avoiding the fate of holder Barbora Krejcikova and 2016 champion Garbine Muguruza who were knocked out on Tuesday.
The pair will be joined in the second round by last year’s Wimbledon finalist, Karolina Pliskova, who came through a tricky tie, and this year’s Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins.
Halep eventually turned on the style in a strange match against 18yearold German lucky loser Nastasja Schunk.
Having won the first set 64 she lost the second 16 before reversing that score in the third.
Ostapenko, the 2017 champion, ended a fivematch losing streak with a 61, 64 win over Lucia Bronzetti to advance to meet Alize Cornet, who saw off Japan’s Misaki Doi in straight sets, 62, 60.
Pliskova had to dig deep to avoid joining Tuesday’s culled seeds, coming back from a set and a break down against home hope Tessah Andrianjafitrimo.
The Czech No 8 seed eventually prevailed 26, 63, 61.
Collins made a strong start to her Paris campaign, cruising past lucky loser Viktoriya Tomova 60, 64.
Third seed Paula Badosa made quick work of French wild card Fiona Ferro winning 62, 60 in under an hour and boost her confidence following a dip in form earlier this month.
Madison Keys came from a break down in the deciding set to close out a 63, 36, 64 win over Anna Kalinskaya.
In the last firstround match of the tournament, Aryna Sabalenka was a set away from becoming the fifth top10 seed to depart in the opening round. But the seventh seed turned her match around against French hope Chloe Paquet, prevailing 26, 63, 64. — AAP/Agencies