Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime took care of two missing items on his resume at Roland Garros on Sunday. The 21-year-old picked up a French Open victory for the first time in three tries and won a match after dropping the opening two sets.
The No. 9 seed from Montreal came back to eliminate Juan Pablo Varillas, a qualifier from Peru making his Grand Slam debut, by a score of 2-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 in the opening round.
“It was disappointing in the match to see how things were going, I really hoped for better,” Auger-Aliassime said.
“But I think that’s why I also wanted to really push myself and really try everything. … I feel like I left it all on the court. Because this was an important day for me, an important win. I really wanted to get this first one here.”
Auger-Aliassime will next face Argentine qualifier Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime rallies for 1st win at French Open:
Montreal native Felix Auger-Aliassime fell behind by 2 sets against Spaniard Juan Pablo Varillas before recovering to win 2-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 in Paris.
Alcaraz cruises into 2nd round
Rising star Carlos Alcaraz showed what the fuss is all about with a quick and clean first-round victory in the main stadium at Roland Garros.
The 19-year-old from Spain never faced a break point while beating Juan Ignacio Londero 6-4, 6-2, 6-0 in less than two hours Sunday.
Alcaraz, who is seeded No. 6, compiled more than twice as many winners as Londero — 22 to 10 — and also made fewer unforced errors in a match that concluded under the artificial lights at Court Philippe Chatrier.
Alcaraz displayed some of the shot-making and steadiness that have carried him to a tour-leading four titles and a 29-3 record in 2022. He is the youngest man to reach the top 10 in the rankings since Rafael Nadal in 2005.
Kanepi upsets Muguruza
Two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza is out of the French Open in the first round for the second year in a row.
Muguruza won the title at Roland Garros in 2016 and was seeded 10th this year but was defeated 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 by Kaia Kanepi of Estonia on Sunday.
The match ended under a drizzle and Muguruza missed a service return on match point, then cracked her racket against the ground.
She beat Serena Williams in the final at Roland Garros six years ago, then defeated Venus Williams in the final at Wimbledon in 2017.
Canada’s Rebecca Marino dropped her first round match against American opponent Coco Gauff (7-6, 6-0). while fellow Canadian Leylah Fernandez was also in action on opening day of the women’s tournament.
WATCH | Marino bounced by Gauff at Roland Garros:
Marino lost her first round matchup in straight sets, 7-6, 6-0, to the 18-year-old American.
Zverev dominates Ofner
German third seed Alexander Zverev produced a clinical performance to kick off his French Open campaign with a 6-2 6-4 6-4 win against Austrian qualifier Sebastian Ofner on Sunday.
The 25-year-old Zverev, who reached the semi-finals last year at Roland Garros, came to Paris with strong clay-court form behind him, having reached the final in Madrid and making semi-final runs at Monte-Carlo and Rome.
On a balmy evening he dominated proceedings from the start on Court Suzanne Lenglen against his opponent, ranked 218th in the world.
Zverev did not face a single breakpoint on his own serve while breaking Ofner twice in the opening set and once in each of the next two, and he closed out the contest in an hour and 49 minutes with his 13th ace.
He will next face the winner of the match between Serbian Dusan Lajovic and Sebastian Baez of Argentina.
Thiem still looking for a win
Two-time French Open finalist Dominic Thiem’s losing streak reached 10 matches with a first-round exit at Roland Garros as he works his way back from a torn tendon in his right wrist.
Thiem won the 2020 U.S Open and was the runner-up at three other majors. He lost to Rafael Nadal in the finals of the 2018 and 2019 French Opens, and to Novak Djokovic in the final of the 2020 Australian Open.
But Thiem’s last victory anywhere on tour came at Rome in May 2021. He is 0-6 this year.
In another early exit by a top player Sunday, No. 6 seed Ons Jabeur was knocked out of the tournament by 56th-ranked Magda Linette of Poland 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5.
Jabeur began the day with a tour-leading 17 wins on clay this season. She won the Madrid Open and made it to the final of the Italian Open this month.
Reference-www.cbc.ca