French Open updates | Hugo Gaston earns 5-set victory
May 23, 2022, 2:01 PM | Updated: May 24, 2022, 11:53 am
France's Hugo Gaston shouts after winning a point as he plays Australia's Alex de Minaur during their first round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium Tuesday, May 24, 2022 in Paris. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)
(AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)
PARIS (AP) — The Latest on the French Open tennis tournament (all times local):
8:25 p.m.
Hugo Gaston pulled off a five-set victory over 19th-seeded Alex de Minaur of Australia.
The Frenchman trailed 3-0 in the deciding set after losing nine straight games before battling back to beat De Minaur 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 0-6, 7-6 (4) in a first-round match that lasted nearly four hours.
The 21-year-old left hander rattled off five straight points in the tiebreaker to clinch victory in front of the home fans at Court Suzanne Lenglen.
De Minaur was a quarterfinalist at the U.S. Open in 2020.
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7:15 p.m.
Third-seeded Paula Badosa needed just 54 minutes to beat wild-card entry Fiona Ferro 6-2, 6-0 at Roland Garros.
The 24-year-old Badosa lost only two points in the second set as she looks to build on her run to the quarterfinals at last year’s French Open.
Jessica Pegula also reached the second round with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Qiang Wang of China.
The 11th-seeded American led the second set 5-1 before Wang fought back. Pegula finally clinched it on her 10th match point.
A quarterfinalist at the Australian Open, Pegula reached the final of the Madrid Open earlier this month, losing to Ons Jabeur in three sets.
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6:45 p.m.
Frances Tiafoe finally earned his first victory at the French Open on his seventh attempt.
The American beat Benjamin Bonzi 7-5, 7-5, 7-6 (5) for his first win at Roland Garros after six first-round defeats.
The 24th-ranked Tiafoe advances to a second-round match against David Goffin of Belgium.
Tiafoe reached the fourth round at the U.S. Open in both 2020 and 2021.
The 24-year-old American first lost at Roland Garros in 2015, then failed to qualify for the tournament the following year.
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5:35 p.m.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga went down fighting. On Court Philippe Chatrier at the French Open.
He lost to eighth-seeded Casper Ruud 6-7 (6), 7-6 (4), 6-2, 7-6 (0) in what was likely his final match. The 37-year-old Frenchman has said he will retire after this year’s Roland Garros tournament.
An emotional Tsonga kneeled and put his head down to the clay amid thunderous applause after the defeat.
Tsonga won 18 titles over an 18-year career and reached No. 5 in the rankings. He was a finalist at the 2008 Australian Open.
Tsonga has the most Grand Slam match wins — 121 — among Frenchmen.
Tournament officials held a ceremony for Tsonga after the match.
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3:25 p.m.
Sebastian Korda advanced to the second round of the French Open with a 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (6) victory over Australian veteran John Millman.
The 27th-seeded American fended off two set points in the tiebreaker and converted his fourth match point when Millman hit a forehand volley long.
The 21-year-old Korda had 43 unforced errors to Millman’s 25. The Australian is 0-6 at Roland Garros.
Korda reached the fourth round at the French Open in 2020 as a qualifier. The 32-year-old Millman was a quarterfinalist at the 2018 U.S. Open.
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1:20 p.m.
Danish teenager Holger Rune upset 14th-seeded Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (4) in the first round of the French Open.
The 19-year-old Rune won the BMW Open this month and was a semifinalist in Lyon last week.
Shapovalov fought back in the third set to force a tiebreaker but fell behind 3-1 and couldn’t recover, sending a forehand wide on match point.
Rune won the French Open junior championship in 2019.
The Dane defeated Alexander Zverev en route to his first tour title in Munich.
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12:50 p.m.
Daniil Medvedev got his French Open off to a winning start — never a sure thing for the second-seeded Russian.
The U.S. Open champion beat Facundo Bagnis of Argentina 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Medvedev was a quarterfinalist at Roland Garros last year after four straight losses in the first round.
The Russian earned his first victory since undergoing hernia surgery nearly two months ago. He had lost his opening-round match at the Geneva Open last week on his return.
Medvedev reached the final at the Australian Open this year, losing to Rafael Nadal in five sets.
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11 a.m.
The first round of the French Open is scheduled to conclude on Day 3 and the top two men on the bottom half of the draw finally get started: second-seeded Daniil Medvedev and fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas.
U.S. Open champion Medvedev recently returned to the tour after hernia surgery and opens the morning in Court Suzanne Lenglen against Facundo Bagnis.
At the other end of the schedule, 2021 Roland Garros runner-up Tsitsipas closes the action in Court Philippe Chatrier with a night session matchup against Lorenzo Musetti.
The top half of the men’s draw is considered much tougher. It includes defending champion Novak Djokovic, 13-time champion Rafael Nadal, No. 6 seed Carlos Alcaraz and 2020 U.S. Open finalist Alexander Zverev.
Among the leading women in action on Tuesday are two-time major champion Simona Halep and No. 3 seed Paula Badosa.
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