Birthday girl Halep breezes through
Unsung teen Sinner sends Goffin home
PARIS: Romanian top seed Simona Halep started slowly before hitting top gear against Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo to celebrate her 29th birthday with a breezy 6-4, 6-0 win in the opening round of the French Open yesterday.
The former world No.1, who won her maiden Grand Slam at Roland Garros in 2018, took her unbeaten run to 15, dating back to her Dubai victory in February shortly before the professional circuit shut down due to the Covid19 pandemic.
Against an opponent she had never met before, Halep quickly found herself down 4-2 in the opening set but the Wimbledon champion shifted gears and won the next eight games to complete the victory in an hour and 22 minutes.
Halep completed the win on her second matchpoint when her 23-yearold opponent hit a forehand wide. She will next meet the winner of Jil Teichmann and Irina-Camelia Begu clash.
Earlier, Italian teenager Jannik Sinner upset 11th seed David Goffin in a breezy 7-5, 6-0, 6-3 victory on his French Open debut to confirm his status as one of the most exciting talents in men’s tennis.
The 19-year-old, who won last year’s NextGen ATP Finals title, had won his only previous meeting against Goffin in straight sets in the second round at Rotterdam this year.
But Goffin, who reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in 2016, would have fancied his chances against the 74th-ranked Sinner who before yesterday had only one Grand Slam win under his belt — at this year’s Australian Open.
Playing his first match on the main showcourt at Roland Garros and the opener in this year’s tournament, Sinner showed he belonged on this stage.
“The first set was very tight, it was like the key to manage to win the service games quite easily,” Sinner told reporters.
“In the beginning, that was not easy. He was returning well. I was not serving that well. But the balls here are very heavy. The court was heavy. It was not easy.
“But at the end, when you win the first set and go up a break, it’s a little bit easier to play.”
Sinner will next meet French qualifier Benjamin Bonzi who beat Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
‘SITTING DUCK’ AZARENKA
Former world No.1 Victoria Azarenka reached the women’s singles second round despite being forced to “sit like a duck” in the “ridiculous” rain and cold of Roland Garros.
The 31-year-old 10th seed eased past Danka Kovinic, the world No.74 from Montenegro, 6-1, 6-2.
Azarenka had been unhappy earlier in the tie when rain fell steadily, adding to the misery of playing in 10C.
RESULTS
(x denotes seeded player)
Men’s first round
Benjamin Bonzi (FRA) bt Emil Ruusuvuori (FIN) 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4; Jannik Sinner (ITA) bt David Goffin (BEL x11) 7-5, 6-0, 6-3; Sebastian Korda (USA) bt Andreas Seppi (ITA) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Women’s first round
Simona Halep (ROM x1) bt Sara Sorribes Tormo (ESP) 6-4, 6-0; Kamilla Rakhimova (RUS) bt Shelby Rogers (USA) 6-2, 6-3; Maria Sakkari (GRE x20) bt Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) 6-0, 7-5; Astra Sharma (AUS) bt Anna Blinkova (RUS) 6-3, 2-6, 7-5; Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS x27) bt Maddison Inglis (AUS) 6-3, 6-3; Kaia Kanepi (EST) bt Marie Bouzkova (CZE) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2; Elise Mertens (BEL x16) bt Margarita Gasparyan (RUS) 6-2, 6-3; Victoria Azarenka (BLR x10) bt Danka Kovinic (MNE) 6-1, 6-2