Well, we knew the women’s draw was gonna be wacky… but this wacky? So soon?
One day in, and we’ve already said au revoir to 2017 champ Jelena Ostapenko. Not exactly the most consistent of players, Sunday saw the Latvian at her worst, coughing up 13 double faults and 48 unforced errors in just 1 ½ hours of play.
If there’s any consolation, it’s that at 20 years old, she’s got plenty of time to make amends for this performance, all she needs is a little resilience – perhaps Venus Williams can give her some tips?
Of course, Roland Garros waits for no (wo)man, bringing us to day 2 of first round play and another three matches you won’t want to miss.
Ana Konjuh (CRO) v Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) [23] – First on Court 6
Tennis can be an exceptionally hard sport on the human body, and few players exemplify that better than Croatian Konjuh, who is coming in off the third surgery of her career at the age of 20. Going up against 23rd seed Carla Suarez Navarro not much is expected of her here, but if healthy her enormous potential could make the difference in a matchup where she will have a decisive power advantage. In any case this is a real win-win for the neutral, either as a chance to savour Suarez Navarro’s beautiful one-handed backhand, or make bad puns at Konjuh’s expense.
Frances Tiafoe (USA) v Sam Querrey (USA) [12] – Second on Court 7
Always an underrated aspect of early-round French Open tennis: matchups between two guys with no real idea how to play on the surface. Does Querrey serve-and-volley? Does Tiafoe overuse his slice? Do both men try and end the point with every forehand? Truly the “12” next to Querrey’s name here means nothing, with the only guarantee being some highly entertaining, if not particularly efficient tennis from the two Americans on this Memorial Weekend Monday.
Andrea Petkovic (GER) v Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) [29] – Second on Suzanne Lenglen
A quarterfinalist here last year, Kiki Mladenovic’s chances of a repeat performance will be immediately tested against the tricky Petkovic. No, you wouldn’t think a woman 77-spots lower than her in the rankings would be much of a concern, but considering Mladenovic’s abysmal clay form (3-5 since April) and Petkovic’s 4-0 head-to-head advantage, the German is exactly that. If the Frenchwoman is to turn the tables, she’ll have to do a significantly better job constructing points, as Petkovic loves to feast on her impatience, but that’s easier said than done in a matchup that could definitely leave the home fans disappointed.
