PARIS. – Clay court master Rafael Nadal and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic cantered into the second round of the French Open where the shockwaves of Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal were still felt.
Japan’s Osaka left the clay court Grand Slam on Monday after refusing to attend the mandatory post-match press conferences and revealing she had been suffering from bouts of depression for three years.
While Nadal and Djokovic had no trouble against their respective opponents Alexei Popyrin and Tennys Sandgren, Russian seventh seed Andrey Rublev was knocked out in five sets by unseeded German Jan-Lennard Struff.
For the first time since tennis turned professional in 1968, only three French men made it to the second round.
World No. 1 Djokovic barely broke sweat as he eased past American Tennys Sandgren 6-2 6-4 6-2 in the first round in the first men’s match to be scheduled in a night session at Roland Garros.
The 18-time Grand Slam champion, who is on a semifinal collision course with 13-time French Open winner Nadal, next faces Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay.
In the women’s draw, world No. 1 Ash Barty fought through a hip injury and a tricky opponent in American Bernarda Perawith a 6-4 3-6 6-2 victory on her return to the French Open.
Returning to the Philippe Chatrier court for the first time since her maiden Grand Slam win in 2019, the 25-year-old Australian seemed to be cruising against the 70th-ranked Pera when she was up 5-2 in the opening set.
But an injury seemed to start bothering Barty, who skipped the clay court Grand Slam last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as her movement appeared restricted.
Former runner-up Venus Williams made another first-round exit while fellow American Sloane Stephens came through in three sets against Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro. — Reuters
