French Open updates | Alcaraz makes quick work of 1st foe
May 21, 2022, 2:14 PM | Updated: May 22, 2022, 12:37 pm
FILE - Rows of empty seats are seen at centre court at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020, as Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Spain's Rafael Nadal warm up for the final match of the French Open tennis tournament. All COVID-19 related restrictions have been lifted and crowds are expected to fill the stadium. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, FILE)
(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, FILE)
PARIS (AP) — The Latest on the French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament (all times local):
9:30 p.m.
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.
Londero was not necessarily the toughest opponent: He is ranked 141st and lost in qualifying in Paris but got into the main draw when someone else withdrew from the tournament.
But 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.
8:20 p.m.
American teenager Coco Gauff did not let 10 double-faults, 12 break points or a warning from the chair umpire about receiving coaching from Dad disrupt her progress into the second round at Roland Garros.
The 18-year-old Gauff began her trip to Paris with a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino on Sunday.
Gauff’s best performance at any Grand Slam tournament came a year ago at the French Open, where she reached the quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova.
Gauff had some serving issues against Marino but managed to set aside 10 of the 12 break points she faced. One key stat that helped Gauff was that she made only 16 unforced errors, while Marino accumulated 40.
Marino was appearing in the French Open for the first time since 2011.
3:50 p.m.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Garbiñe 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.
Kanepi turns 37 next month and is the oldest player in the women’s draw in Paris. She is ranked 46th and is participating in her 15th French Open. Her best showings were quarterfinal appearances in 2008 and 2012; she has appeared in seven Grand Slam quarterfinals but never won one.
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.
2:50 p.m.
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 bowed out 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 against Hugo Dellien, a Bolivian ranked 87th who entered the match with a 2-7 career record in Grand Slam matches.
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.
12:20 p.m.
The first result of the 2022 French Open is in and No. 26 seed Sorana Cirstea is the first player to reach the second round.
The 32-year-old Romanian moved on with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Tatjana Maria of Germany on Court 6 on Sunday.
Cirstea is participating in her 53rd Grand Slam tournament and she has reached one quarterfinal previously — at Roland Garros in 2009.
She made it to the fourth round in Paris a year ago. Cirstea also got that far at the Australian Open in 2017 and this January.
11:10 a.m.
Play in the year’s second Grand Slam tennis tournament has started on the red clay of Roland Garros in Paris, with none of the COVID-19 restrictions that limited attendance the past two years.
The French Open is the sport’s only major championship that begins on a Sunday.
The schedule includes past Grand Slam title winners such as Sloane Stephens, Garbiñe Muguruza and Dominic Thiem.
The most anticipated match of Day 1 involves Carlos Alcaraz, the 19-year-old Spaniard who is seeded No. 6 and the youngest player to break into the top 10 of the men’s rankings since Rafael Nadal in 2005.
Alcaraz’s contest against Juan Ignacio Londero is scheduled to be held last in Court Philippe Chatrier, the site’s main stadium.
Novak Djokovic, last year’s men’s champion, and 13-time champion Nadal are slated to play their first-round matches on Monday. So is the No. 1-ranked woman, Iga Swiatek, who is on a 28-match winning streak.
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