Sinner saves match point en route to second round
Published: 04:05 PM,May 31,2021 | EDITED : 08:05 PM,May 31,2021
Italy's Jannik Sinner in action during his first round match against France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert. -- Reuters
PARIS: Italian prospect Jannik Sinner saved a match point as he laboured to a 6-1 4-6 6-7(4) 7-5 6-4 victory against France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the first round of the French Open on Monday.
The 19-year-old Sinner, who reached the quarter-finals on his Roland Garros debut last year, was 5-4 down in the fourth set when Herbert sent a backhand wide to give the world number 19 a lifeline.
Sinner barely got out of first gear in a one-sided opening set before Herbert started to put pressure on his first serve, rushing to the net to unsettle the Italian.
The plan worked to perfection as Sinner misfired and appeared to lose his cool. But his powerful groundstrokes eventually wore Herbert out, who missed out on an upset a year after forcing German Alexander to a five-setter - which he had lost, too - in Paris.
'When I saw the draw I knew it would be tough, also knowing that the crowd is for him but it's good to have crowds,' said Sinner on court Suzanne Lenglen.
'Being a match point down and winning... it's a crazy sport but I'm happy it went my way.'
Sinner next faces fellow Italian Gianluca Mager on his way to a potential fourth-round clash with 13-time champion Rafael Nadal, who ended his run last year.
Swiatek celebrates birthday with first round win
Iga Swiatek started her French Open title defence with a straight-sets win over her good friend Kaja Juvan in the first round on her 20th birthday on Monday.
The Pole, who powered to a surprise triumph last year at Roland Garros, won 6-0, 7-5 against her Slovenian opponent.
'You never know what's going to happen and I've never been a defending champion, even in the smallest tournaments, so I didn't know what to expect,' said Swiatek, who was presented with flowers on court after the match for her birthday.
Swiatek will face either Sweden's Rebecca Peterson or American Shelby Rogers in the second round.
The first set was the eighth seed's third straight bagel after thumping Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-0 in the Italian Open final earlier this month, which saw her break into the world's top 10.
Juvan put up much more of a fight in the second set, though, battling back from 3-1 down before missing two break points in the 11th game.
But her resistance ended shortly afterwards, as Swiatek came back from 40-0 down in the next game and secured victory on her fourth match point in the sunshine on Court Philippe Chatrier.
'In the second set it was really hard, she didn't give me any birthday gifts,' added Swiatek. 'So I'm really happy I could win those important points.' -- Reuters/AFP
The 19-year-old Sinner, who reached the quarter-finals on his Roland Garros debut last year, was 5-4 down in the fourth set when Herbert sent a backhand wide to give the world number 19 a lifeline.
Sinner barely got out of first gear in a one-sided opening set before Herbert started to put pressure on his first serve, rushing to the net to unsettle the Italian.
The plan worked to perfection as Sinner misfired and appeared to lose his cool. But his powerful groundstrokes eventually wore Herbert out, who missed out on an upset a year after forcing German Alexander to a five-setter - which he had lost, too - in Paris.
'When I saw the draw I knew it would be tough, also knowing that the crowd is for him but it's good to have crowds,' said Sinner on court Suzanne Lenglen.
'Being a match point down and winning... it's a crazy sport but I'm happy it went my way.'
Sinner next faces fellow Italian Gianluca Mager on his way to a potential fourth-round clash with 13-time champion Rafael Nadal, who ended his run last year.
Swiatek celebrates birthday with first round win
Iga Swiatek started her French Open title defence with a straight-sets win over her good friend Kaja Juvan in the first round on her 20th birthday on Monday.
The Pole, who powered to a surprise triumph last year at Roland Garros, won 6-0, 7-5 against her Slovenian opponent.
'You never know what's going to happen and I've never been a defending champion, even in the smallest tournaments, so I didn't know what to expect,' said Swiatek, who was presented with flowers on court after the match for her birthday.
Swiatek will face either Sweden's Rebecca Peterson or American Shelby Rogers in the second round.
The first set was the eighth seed's third straight bagel after thumping Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-0 in the Italian Open final earlier this month, which saw her break into the world's top 10.
Juvan put up much more of a fight in the second set, though, battling back from 3-1 down before missing two break points in the 11th game.
But her resistance ended shortly afterwards, as Swiatek came back from 40-0 down in the next game and secured victory on her fourth match point in the sunshine on Court Philippe Chatrier.
'In the second set it was really hard, she didn't give me any birthday gifts,' added Swiatek. 'So I'm really happy I could win those important points.' -- Reuters/AFP