Djokovic Advances at French Open; Medvedev Upset, Gauff Shines

Post by : Rinkal Joshi

Photo : Reuters

Novak Djokovic faced strong winds and light rain but still had an easy time beating American Mackenzie McDonald. He won in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 and moved into the second round of the French Open on Tuesday. Djokovic is now chasing his 25th Grand Slam title.

The sixth-seeded Serbian player recently won a tournament in Geneva, which was the 100th title of his career. He played on the same court where he won the Olympic gold medal in singles last year.

After the match, Djokovic said, "It’s great to be back here after a year. I’m not sure how many more Grand Slams I will play in the future, but this one is very special." He added that he felt good and enjoyed being able to relive his Olympic win. He also said, "Today’s match was solid, and although I know I can play better, I’m happy with the result. There’s a chance to make more history, and that’s what drives me to work hard and improve."

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Djokovic has now won all 21 of his first-round matches at the French Open. Since 2010, he hasn’t lost a single set in his opening match at this tournament.

Another top player, Alexander Zverev, who was last year’s runner-up, also won his first-round match easily. He beat American Learner Tien 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 to move into the second round.

In a surprising upset, Daniil Medvedev, a former world number one from Russia, lost his first-round match. He was beaten by Britain’s Cameron Norrie in a long five-set match 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, 7-5.

Medvedev started well, leading 3-1 in the first set, but then lost eight games in a row. He became very frustrated and showed it with strong reactions toward his coaches. However, with loud support from the crowd, he managed to fight back, winning the third and fourth sets. Medvedev even scored 16 points in a row in the fourth set.

In the final set, Medvedev broke Norrie’s serve to go 2-1 ahead with a quick and skillful shot. But Norrie fought back and broke Medvedev’s serve again, eventually winning the match on his first match point. This was Medvedev’s sixth time losing in the first round at the French Open.

On the women’s side, Coco Gauff had a funny moment before her match when she realized she forgot to bring her rackets onto the court. Despite this, she played very well and won comfortably against Olivia Gadecki 6-2, 6-2.

Gauff, who was the runner-up at the French Open before, showed her empty bag to her team and laughed about it. She told Sloane Stephens on TV, "I thought the rackets were in my bag, but my side bag was full of drinks and stuff, so I didn’t check carefully. Then I opened my bag on court and saw no rackets! Usually, my coach puts them in, so I don’t know what happened."

Other women players also moved forward. Sofia Kenin, who was a runner-up at Roland Garros before, won 6-3, 6-1 against French number one Varvara Gracheva. Hailey Baptiste beat Beatriz Haddad Maia, who reached the semifinals last year, in three sets 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Victoria Azarenka, a former world number one, made history as the oldest woman in the Open Era (since 1968) to win a singles match at a Grand Slam. The 35-year-old won easily, beating Yanina Wickmayer 6-0, 6-0.

Marketa Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champion, won 6-4, 6-4 against Oksana Selekhmeteva. Sixth seed Mirra Andreeva also won her match 6-4, 6-3 against Cristina Bucsa, showing she could be a strong contender after reaching the semifinals last year.

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