Former champions Simona Halep and Stan Wawrinka began their 2020 French Open campaigns with victories amid cold, rainy, heavy conditions on Sunday in Paris.
Wawrinka made short work of Andy Murray in their highly-anticipated first-round match while Halep extended her winning streak to join Victoria Azarenka in the second round.
In other results, Alexander Zverev won in his first outing since reaching the US Open final, while teen talents Coco Gauff and Jannik Sinner stunned seeds Johanna Konta and David Goffin respectively.
Stan the Man against Murray
The Wawrinka-Murray match-up prompted gasps when the draw ceremony was conducted on Thursday, yet it unfolded in one-sided fashion.
In a rematch of their brutal five-set semifinal at Roland Garros three years ago, 2016 French champion Wawrinka outmuscled the former world No.1 6-1 6-3 6-2 in just over 90 minutes.
The highest seed to advance in the men’s draw on Sunday was No.6 Zverev, who recovered from 2-5 down in the first set to record a 7-5 6-2 6-4 win over Denis Novak.
Diego Schwartzman, the 12th seed and Rome finalist, won in even more comprehensive fashion, thumping recent Kitzbuhel champion Miomir Kecmanovic 6-0 6-1 6-3.
DRAW: French Open men's singles
Former world No.4 Kei Nishikori ousted 32nd seed Dan Evans in five sets, while 2018 French Open semifinalist Marco Cecchinato – a qualifier this year – upset No.25 seed Alex de Minaur 7-6(9) 6-4 6-0.
Halep, Azarenka continue fine form
Initially struggling to hit through the court in the heavy conditions, No.1 seed Halep fell behind 4-2 against Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo, having already sprayed 14 unforced errors.
Yet from there, the Prague and Rome champion committed just one more error in coming back to win the first set, and eventually won 10 straight games to complete a 6-4 6-0 victory; she has now won a career-best 15 matches in a row.
Azarenka, a recent US Open finalist, came through a rain-delayed encounter to brush aside Danka Kovinic 6-1 6-2 and will next face Slovak Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, who beat Venus Williams 6-4 6-4.
In one of the picks of the first-round matches, teen phenom Coco Gauff – playing for the first time in the French Open main draw – upset ninth seed and last year’s semifinalist Johanna Konta 6-3 6-3.
Former world No.4 Caroline Garcia overcame 17th seed Anett Kontaveit in three compelling sets on Court Philippe Chatrier, while Daria Gavrilova upset No.24 seed Dayana Yastremska to set up a second-round clash with a resurgent Eugenie Bouchard.
Upset of the day
In the opening match of the day on Chatrier played beneath the stadium’s new roof, Italian teenager Sinner hit 11th seed David Goffin off the court.
From 5-5 in the first set, the 19-year-old reeled off 11 straight games to take a commanding lead over the Belgian.
World No.75 Sinner, striking powerfully and cleanly from the back of the court, completed the 7-5 6-0 6-3 rout to win his first main-draw match at Roland Garros and will next face French qualifier Benjamin Bonzi.
Stat of the day
Gauff’s win over world No.13 Konta marks her fourth career victory over a top-15 player.
Incredibly, the 16-year-old has notched all of these notable triumphs in the past 12 months.
DRAW: French Open women's singles
After beating world No.8 Kiki Bertens en route to her first career title in Linz last October, she then stunned defending champion Naomi Osaka in the AO 2020 third round before upsetting 11th-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in Lexington last month.
Should she beat Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan in her next match, she will have reached at least the third round at all four Grand Slam tournaments.
Tweet of the day
A very special birthday celebration in my happy place!
— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) September 27, 2020
Feeling very loved today. Thank you all for all your messages and support ❤️#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/uFZGOd1ElV
Quotes of the day
“Conditions and everything around, they don't bother me. The only thing that can bother me is myself. So everything else around me is an exterior that is whatever. It's not easy. I'm not going to sit here and say, oh, everything is perfect and I'm on holidays. I just don't think about those things.”
- Victoria Azarenka, who battled through in wintry conditions in Paris on Sunday.
“I was on a boat in Monaco doing nothing at all. Then I came here. Then I practiced. Now I'm gonna play hopefully seven matches here, six more, and then we'll see.”
- a confident Alexander Zverev, on what he did in between reaching the US Open final and arriving in Paris.
“My dad … his goal was to become an NBA player, and he didn't make it. He told me, You're living your dream, not everybody gets to do that, just have fun on the court. That really changed my perspective. I was really nervous going into the match. That just calmed me down.”
- Coco Gauff, who upset No.9 seed Johanna Konta in straight sets in the first round.
"In terms of scoreline, I might be wrong, but I think that's the worst defeat maybe of my career in a Grand Slam. So, yeah, I'll need to have a long, hard think and try and understand what happened.”
- Andy Murray, after losing 6-1 6-3 6-2 to 16th seed Stan Wawrinka in round one.
“I feel like I'm in the best shape of life and a lot of my matches recently I've, you know, believed in myself.”
- A former world No.5 now ranked 168th, Eugenie Bouchard has won nine of her 12 clay-court matches since tennis resumed in August.
Day 2: Ones to watch
The heavy hitters come out to play on Day 2 of the tournament, with Dominic Thiem, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal playing in back-to-back-to-back matches at Court Philippe Chatrier on Monday.
Thiem faces a tough task against 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic, while Williams faces Kristie Ahn, just as she did in the first round of the US Open. Nadal, gunning for a men’s record-equalling 20th major title, opens against Egor Gerasimov.
ORDER OF PLAY: French Open Day 2
Several contenders for the women’s title – third seed Elina Svitolina, No.5 seed Kiki Bertens and former champion Garbine Muguruza – open their campaigns on other show courts at Roland Garros, while men’s No.8 seed Gael Monfils faces Alexander Bublik in what should be an entertaining first-round clash.