A slick Brazilian turned over a misfiring Russian and Francophile Coco says she's prepared to go loco with any critics of the country. It's just another day of fun in the Parisian sun.
Does anyone want to win
Of course they do. But Thiago Seyboth Wild and Daniil Medvedev put on a show of restraint on centre court. Seyboth Wild goes 2-0 up and gets pegged back to 2-2. Medvedev serves to lead 3-2 up but loses his serve. Seyboth Wild has a chance for 4-2 up and its 3-3 in the fifth after four hours. Honestly lads. Medvedev serves for 4-3 but no, not happening. Seyboth Wild eventually got his act together on his serve and won the decider 6-4. “You’re world number 172 and you played the qualifiers and you’ve just beaten the second seed,” said on-court interviewer Fabrice Santoro. "I'm living the dream," beamed Seyboth Wild. Seemed nightmarish to the review.
Night watch
Second night match and a second outing for the men. First night game was a straight sets defeat for the local hero Alexandre Muller. The eighth seed Jannik Sinner was too strong for him and it finished 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 to the Italian. Perhaps the French Open organisers felt a Frenchman on Day 3 would do better. And so they opted to send out showman incarnate Gael Monfils against the Argentine Sebastian Baez. And their reward was a five-set win for the 36-year-old Frenchman.
A tale of two toilet breaks
Iga Swiatek and Cristina Bucsa were bogged down by the errors during the first set of their first round tie on centre court: dropped service games, dodgy backhands, wayward everything. It wasn’t crisp, elegant shot-making at all. But after Swiatek won the first set 6-4, both women went off for a toilet break. Swiatek was the more free flowing of the duo after the pause. Service return winners and incision aplenty to romp away with it 6-0 in 22 minutes. Must have had different soaps.
Thanks, old sport
The great thing about the all-French match-ups is that the partisans go home happy. There was singing and chanting during the first round match between 36-year-old Richard Gasquet and Arthur Rinderknech on court Suzanne Lenglen. Gasquet was playing at Roland Garros when Rinderknech was still at primary school. Well, the young man schooled his elder in four sets and after the victory revealed he was a big fan of the player. "I don't know him that well as a man," said Rinderknech. "But me and my coach are big fans of his. Richard has always been ready and accessible to transmit his experiences to youngsters and I'd like to thank him for that." Bless.
Coco channels
Coco Gauff reached the second round following a three-set win over Rebeka Masarova. The sixth seed, who lost in last year's final, dropped the first set but swept through the next two 6-1, 6-2. "Paris is one of my favourite cities in the world," she gushed after the win. Once the cheers had subsided, she cooed anew: "I've loved it since the first time I came here when I was 10." Well, at 19, she has plenty of time to change her opinion. But that doesn't seem like it's going to happen any time soon. Looking around the Court Suzanne Lenglen, she added: "I know that some people don't like you guys but I do and I'll always defend you." Vive La Gauff.
