Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz sizzled and Japanese champion Naomi Osaka scraped through on the opening day of Roland Garros, but there was no Parisian joy for Australians Ajla Tomljanovic, Aleks Vukic, Jordan Thompson or Chris O’Connell.
The quartet are already eyeing off grass courts events through Europe, with Tomljanovic and Vukic suffering difficult losses, while Thompson was well beaten. O’Connell, meanwhile, withdrew before his first round match on Monday and is believed to have a shoulder issue.
Rain hit midway through the first day of the tournament but former champion Jelena Ostapenko, top Russian Andrey Rublev and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov were among the starts to progress before the weather hit.
With the withdrawal of O’Connell, Daria Saville and Max Purcell are the only Australians in action on day two of the clay court major on Monday.
Ajla eyes Olympics after two-year hell amid 25-year Aussie record: French Open Talking Pts
TOMLJANOVIC CONCEDES SHE HAS MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB AS SHE BIDS TO RECLAIM PEAK FORM ON GRASS
Ajla Tomljanovic concedes she is not the player she was prior to a string of injuries but the Australian has aspirations to return to the world’s elite over the next few months.
A three-time grand slam quarterfinalist, Tomljanovic started well against Australian Open semifinalist Dayana Yastremska before falling 3-6 6-3 6-3 in 2hr 9min in Paris on Sunday.
The 31-year-old had several opportunities early in the second set to seize complete control but a lack of match toughness enabled Yastremska back into the match.
“It’s hard to say you’re happy with the way it went, because I lost, but considering everything, I think I played as good as I could have played today,” Tomljanovic said.
“Those are like those competitive moments that I still felt in key moments that I was playing my game, but right now, it’s a bit off. I like that I still stay true to it but maybe I could have been a bit more sensible and played more high percentage when needed.
“But … it just clicked that I’ve missed a lot of tennis and it’s showing. But still, you get up for these matches, so it’s a pity that I couldn’t get it (done).”
Tomljanovic has played only 22 matches over the past two years due to a knee injury and surgery to remove uterine tumours but will use her protected ranking to play Wimbledon and also the Olympics.
Since the retirement of Ash Barty, Australia’s highest-ranked women have been plagued with injuries, with Tomljanovic, Daria Saville and Storm Hunter all sidelined for extended periods.
She is hoping to borrow from the mindset of Billie Jean King Cup teammate Hunter, who ruptured an Achilles tendon ahead of a tie against Mexico in Brisbane in April.
“I messaged Storm when it happened and I couldn’t believe it,” Tomljanovic said.
“I was in a bit of a funk and I said, ‘Look Storm, I’d love to say that I believe things happen for a reason, but sometimes it’s just shitty, you know?’ And she replied and she’s like, ‘No, I believe it happens for a reason’. And I love that about her thinking.
“It failed me a few times when too many setbacks happened and I was like, ‘Well, maybe this is just bad luck and I’ve got to get over it’. But there will come a moment where I’m going to be, ‘You know, if I didn’t go through this, I wouldn’t have this part of me and that’s great.’
“But it feels like I have a mountain to climb right now. I’m still here. I’m eager. If I didn’t feel that fire inside me to still keep going – it definitely has been very challenging – just I feel like I have to almost reprogram my mind and not think about the past, because I’m not the player I was.
“I have to … build everything up from the ground again. And that’s not easy … to accept mentally because you … come back and you’re like, ‘I want to get back from where I started where I was’.
“(But) that’s gone. That took me a bit of time to really connect to see that. It’s in the past. It’s gone. A lot of time has passed and I’m here now. It’s a process for sure.”
STINKY SHOES THE LEAST OF ALEKS VUKIC’S ISSUES AFTER EARLY EXIT
After a four set lost to trailblazing Chinese Zhizhen Zhang, a disappointed Aleks Vukic was contemplating a couple of immediate moves.
The Sydneysider, who was beaten 6-4 4-6 6-3 7-5, was lamenting a point deep in the fourth set at 5-all, deuce, when he swatted a relatively easy forehand straight back to his surprised rival, which led to the pivotal break of serve.
The Australian was frustrated that a left adductor strain he sustained on Friday, which prompted him to consider withdrawing from the tournament, hindered his movement. Vukic will undergo an MRI early this week to assess the seriousness of the injury.
“It crossed my mind (to withdraw). I couldn’t lift my leg up just sitting down, so I was like, ‘How am I going to play for four hours tomorrow?’” he said.
“There was a chance to make it worse, but we took the risk, and I don’t think it is worse. It is manageable.
“Right now I’m not over the moon. It is tennis. You can’t win them all. You have an opponent to beat, so credit to him. He deserved to win. But I am very gutted. I thought I had a decent clay swing and put myself in a position and I could not get over the line today.”
After spending the last nine weeks, the Sydneysider had one other goal in mind when he returned to his hotel room on Sunday night ahead of a switch to the grass court circuit.
“The best feeling will be throwing away the clay shoes. They are disgusting right now,” he said.
“So that’s the first thing I’m going to do when I get back in the room. Then it will be less grunting (than on clay), more volleys, more serves. It is a nice switch, in a way.”
Jordan Thompson, meanwhile, started reasonably against qualifier Max Marterer but was out of sorts when dropping the first two sets. He failed to improve after a rain delay in the third set when beaten 6-3 6-2 6-0.
AUSSIE DEMON HAS PLAYED THE GIANTS THIS CLAY COURT SEASON BUT FACES A POTENTIAL PARIS PICKLE
Australia’s leading man Alex de Minaur has described a clay court season in which he has faced the greats of world tennis as a whirlwind heading into his opening match Roland Garros on Tuesday in Paris.
The No. 11 seed, who faces an intriguing opening round test against emerging American Alex Michelsen, has produced his best efforts to date on clay this season.
The 25-year-old, who broke into the top 10 earlier this year, reached the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters before falling to Novak Djokovic in a tight affair.
He then tackled Rafael Nadal twice in a fortnight in his home country, defeating the legend in Barcelona before falling to him in Madrid.
At his most recent clay court event in Rome, de Minaur scored a couple of strong wins in the Italian Open before being trounced by Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is considered a leading contender in a wide-open Roland Garros given the queries surrounding several top men.
“It is safe to say this whole clay season has been a little bit of a whirlwind,” de Minaur said.
“It has not been a normal clay season. There has been a lot of talk, a lot of hype around and it has not really been about the actual tennis. There has been a lot of (noise) on the outside.
“But, yes, it has been an incredible experience and it has definitely got me ready for here in Paris.”
de Minaur was well-beaten in his only clash against Michelsen, a 19-year-old who reached the third round of the Australian Open, in a match in Los Cabos in February. But there is a caveat there.
The Alicante-based Australian had just come off a taxing week in Rotterdam, where he defeated Andrey Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov before losing to Jannik Sinner in the final, and arrived in Mexico exhausted. He rebounded to win in Acapulco a week later.
“He is a tall American (who is) dangerous and has powerful groundstrokes,” de Minaur told Stan Sports.
“He might not have as much experience on the clay so hopefully I can use that to my advantage. It should be a tough battle, which I am looking forward to, and hopefully I can get my revenge from earlier this year.”
ZVEREV FACES COURT CHALLENGES
While Rafael Nadal has been the subject of substantial coverage heading into what shapes as his final Roland Garros, his first round rival Alexander Zverev is in the headlines as well.
The attention is not solely due to his success in the Italian Open last week which places the former US Open finalist among the favourites for success in Paris over the next fortnight.
Zverev has launched an appeal against a penalty order issued by a German court, which fined him A$736,000 for a domestic abuse charge against former partner Brenda Patea.
The appeal is due to begin on Friday but Zverev, who has denied the accusations in this case as well as a separate matter involving another ex-partner, will not attend court.
Roland Garros tournament director Amelie Mauresmo, a dual-major winner, said that as the proceedings are still going, there was no option other than to allow Zverev to participate.
“So far, our policy is that, as long as the trial isn’t finished and there isn’t a decision, he’s considered innocent and so that’s why he is allowed to be part of the draw,” she said.
“And as far as the trial is concerned, we’re not going to comment on anything because the trial is happening, so we are going to respect that.”
Zverev prepares for king of clay | 01:05
Zverev, for his part, said he had belief in the German legal system ahead of the appeal.
“At the end of the day, I do believe in the German system. I do believe in the truth as well,” she said.
“I have to be certain that, you know, I do know what I did. I do know what I didn’t do. That’s, at the end of the day, what’s going to come out and I have trust in that.
“Everything else is out of my hands. Not out of my hands, but I do believe that I’m not going to lose this procedure. There’s absolutely no chance I am.
“That’s why I can play calmly and I think my results have been showing it. Winning in Rome, I think, is a big title … and obviously being here, if it (was) on my mind, I wouldn’t be playing the way that I am.”