Monday at Roland Garros may have delivered a raft of upsets, but the biggest names all secured their place in the second round of the French Open.
Title contenders Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem were comfortable winners on Court Phillipe Chatrier either side of three-time champion Serena Williams, who also won in straight sets.
Also moving through were major champions Garbine Muguruza and Petra Kvitova, but Gael Monfils, Madison Keys, Fabio Fognini, Angelique Kerber and Marketa Vondrousova bowed out.
Nadal, Thiem deliver statement wins
The Spaniard and the Austrian, who along with No.1 seed Novak Djokovic are the clear favourites for the men’s title, expressed doubts about how their games would fare in the cold, heavy, slow conditions in Paris.
DRAW: French Open men's singles
Monday's evidence suggests they have adapted well; recent US Open champion Thiem brushed aside Marin Cilic 6-4 6-3 6-3 before 12-time French winner Nadal dropped the same number of games in a 6-4 6-4 6-2 dismissal of Egor Gerasimov.
Nadal’s section has opened up somewhat following the loss of No.14 seed Fabio Fognini – a potential fourth-round opponent who lost in four to Mikhail Kukushkin – while Thiem’s projected quarterfinal rival, No.8 seed Gael Monfils, bowed out to Alexander Bublik 6-4 7-5 3-6 6-3.
No.15 seed Karen Khachanov – who has reached the second week in Paris for the past three years – advanced in straight sets over Kamil Majchrzak, while in-form No.28 seed Casper Ruud, a semifinalist in Rome last week, thumped Yuichi Sugita 6-1 6-3 6-1.
Sugita’s Japanese countryman Yoshihito Nishioka upset 19th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets.
Serena sails through, Muguruza survives
In a repeat of their US Open first-round clash just one month ago, sixth seed Williams overcame a slow start and a 4-2 deficit to ease to a 7-6(2) 6-0 win over fellow American Kristie Ahn.
The victory sets up a US Open quarterfinal rematch between Williams and Tsvetana Pironkova, who beat former top-10 player Andrea Petkovic in straight sets.
Two-time major champion Muguruza, who beat Williams in the French Open 2016 final, was pushed to the limit in a 7-5 4-6 8-6 win over Tamara Zidansek, a match lasting more three hours.
Also progressing was No.7 seed Petra Kvitova – who produced an impressive 29 winners to just 14 errors in a straight-sets win over local Oceane Dodin in the first match of the day on Chatrier – as well as third seed Elina Svitolina and fifth seed Kiki Bertens.
DRAW: French Open women's singles
Yet fellow seeds Madison Keys, Angelique Kerber and Karolina Muchova all fell in straight sets in the first round; Keys fell to Zhang Shuai, Kerber lost to Kaja Juvan, and Muchova found Christina McHale too strong.
Upset of the day
Perhaps the biggest surprise on Day 2 was the exit of 15th seed Vondrousova, last year’s French Open finalist.
The Czech lefty arrived in Paris in good form having just made the Rome semifinals, but lasted just 63 minutes in a 6-1 6-2 defeat to Polish talent Iga Swiatek.
The 19-year-old Swiatek, who reached the fourth round at last year’s tournament, next faces the crafty Hsieh Su-Wei for a place in the last 32.
Match of the day
Muguruza may have had the epic of the women’s draw, and Tennys Sandgren gets a nod for his 7-5 2-6 4-6 7-6(1) 11-9 upset of No.29 seed Hubert Hurkacz in four hours and 31 minutes.
Yet nothing was quite as dramatic as Lorenzo Giustino’s epic triumph over Frenchman Corentin Moutet.
The 1000 fans that are allowed in would have all been watching this match pic.twitter.com/liugdaStNF
— Daria Gavrilova (@Daria_gav) September 28, 2020
This battle spanned more than six hours – making it the second-longest French Open match in history – with the 29-year-old Italian qualifier eventually recording a 0-6 7-6(7) 7-6(3) 2-6 18-16 win on Court 14.
Giustino, now on a four-match winning streak at Roland Garros, next faces No.12 seed Diego Schwartzman.
Tweet of the day
It was a pleasure to play under the new roof on Chatrier! And with some fans too ?
— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) September 28, 2020
Feeling very grateful today @rolandgarros #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/bCOwetI2ZS
Quotes of the day
“The biggest difference was just confidence. I just need to play with more confidence, like I'm Serena.”
- Serena Williams, playing for major title No.24, discussing the improvement in her level between the first and second sets.
“Of course we play in the same place. But the conditions are completely different than any other Roland Garros that we played. But … the only thing I can do is just stay positive, do my job, try my best every single day. That's what I did since I arrived here.”
- Rafael Nadal, who has won 12 titles at Roland Garros.
“I know she was playing amazing tennis since the first set, so I just knew that just have to wait for my opportunities. So I was just trying to stay calm until I saw the chance, and then, yeah, I went for it.”
- Garbine Muguruza, who trailed 0-3 in the final set before recovering to beat Tamara Zidansek.
"It's one of my biggest wins, tonight. First over a top-10 player, especially on the Grand Slam. I really wanted to show that I'm a very good player, and I also want to break in the top 10."
- Marton Fucsovics, after upsetting No.4 seed Daniil Medvedev.
“I had good matches in Strasbourg, and I think they definitely gave me the confidence to play well, to move better, and gave me this little push after Rome because I played only few matches in Rome and I wanted to get better on the clay.”
- No.3 seed Elina Svitolina, a champion at the WTA event in Strasbourg last week, following her 7-6(2) 6-4 first-round win over Varvara Gracheva.
Stat of the day
Prior to his 6-4 7-6(3) 2-6 6-1 victory over world No.5 Medvedev, Fucsovics was 0-14 against top-10 opponents throughout his career.
And while the exit of the fourth seed from the men’s draw should, on paper at least, be considered the day’s biggest upset, it is less surprising when one takes a closer look at Medvedev’s clay-court credentials.
The Russian's loss to Fucsovics means he is now 0-4 at the French Open, and 10-18 lifetime in tour-level matches on clay.
Day 3: Ones to watch
Top seed Novak Djokovic commences his quest for a second French Open title on Tuesday when he takes on Swede Mikael Ymer in the third match of the day on Chatrier.
Second seed Karolina Pliskova opens proceedings on the premier court against Egyptian qualifier Mayar Sherif while the final match pits newly-minted top-10 player Denis Shapovalov against former top-tenner Gilles Simon.
ORDER OF PLAY: French Open Day 3
On Court Suzanne Lenglen, reigning Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin takes on Liudmila Samsonova before fellow young guns Stefanos Tsitsipas and Aryna Sabalenka face Jaume Munar and Jessica Pegula respectively.