PARIS, May 26 (Reuters) – The French Open second round gets under way on Wednesday with a mouth-watering lineup featuring four-times champion Iga Swiatek and 24-times major winner Novak Djokovic.
Second seed Alexander Zverev will continue his quest for a maiden Grand Slam title, while Elena Rybakina and Jasmine Paolini are also set to take centre stage at Roland Garros.
TOP MEN’S MATCH: DE MINAUR V BLOCKX
Australian eighth seed Alex De Minaur renews acquaintances with towering Belgian Alexander Blockx in a second-round clash that promises fireworks under the hot Paris sun.
The pair last met in the Monte Carlo Masters last month, where De Minaur managed to tame the big-serving qualifier who had just celebrated his 21st birthday.
But Blockx has been anything but quiet since that defeat, surging up the rankings to world number 37 heading into Roland Garros on the back of a stunning semi-final run in Madrid where he toppled four seeded players.
“He’s one of the young talents. He’s been playing some really good tennis,” De Minaur told reporters.
“We had a battle in Monaco where before that he beat some quality players. He backed it up week after week. In Madrid and in Rome he had some really good tournaments playing some good tennis.
“He’s a big kid, big serve, big forehand, dangerous player. Yeah, it’s going to be a battle in this heat and my goal is going to be to make it physical, extend rallies … We’ll see who gets on top.”
TOP WOMEN’S MATCH: SVITOLINA V QUEVEDO
Elina Svitolina was expected to cruise into the second round but the Ukrainian survived a major scare when the unheralded Anna Bondar forced her to a final set tiebreak.
Fresh from winning the Italian Open, Svitolina credited “mental toughness” for getting through the nail-biting contest while dismissing growing chatter about her title credentials.
“I’m not thinking too much. I think people are talking too much about it. I think I’m in good form, but there are still players who are more favourites than me,” Svitolina said.
“I think at least five players who are still bigger, they have bigger chances to win this tournament.
“When you are playing well, when you are at the top, like in the rankings, everybody is playing free against you … They have nothing to lose, so they bring their best game.”
Seventh-seeded Svitolina’s next opponent embodies that fearless approach perfectly — 20-year-old Kaitlin Quevedo, who made her Grand Slam main draw debut at Roland Garros.
One of Spain’s most promising young talents who came through the qualifiers and upset Leolia Jeanjean, Quevedo automatically earned more money with that one win than she had in her career.
UPHILL BATTLE FOR DJOKOVIC
When Djokovic played his first-round match, he broke Roger Federer’s record with his 82nd appearance at a Grand Slam, but the 39-year-old Serbian acknowledged the uphill battle he faces after arriving in Paris with minimal claycourt preparation.
“It is more challenging for me, this surface, and I’ve said it before, I always say this is not the ideal strategy of coming into Roland Garros with one match on clay,” he said.
“That was not part of the plan, but it was, you know, a situation that I have to accept with circumstances of being injured.”
After beating a Frenchman in the first round with a four-set victory over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, third seed Djokovic faces another local hope in Valentin Royer.
FRENCH OPEN ORDER OF PLAY ON WEDNESDAY (prefix number denotes seeding):
COURT PHILIPPE-CHATRIER (play begins at 1000 GMT)
Sara Bejlek (Czech Republic) v 3-Iga Swiatek (Poland)
7-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) v Kaitlin Quevedo (Spain)
Valentin Royer (France) v 3-Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
Tomas Machac (Czech Republic) v 2-Alexander Zverev (Germany)
COURT SUZANNE-LENGLEN (play begins at 0900 GMT)
8-Alex De Minaur (Australia) v Alexander Blockx (Belgium)
Yuliia Starodubtseva (Ukraine) v 2-Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan)
13-Jasmine Paolini (Italy) v Solana Sierra (Argentina)
15-Casper Ruud (Norway) v Hamad Medjedovic (Serbia)
COURT SIMONNE-MATHIEU (play begins at 0900 GMT)
Caty McNally (U.S.) v 11-Belinda Bencic (Switzerland)
Camilo Ugo Carabelli (Argentina) v 11-Andrey Rublev
32-Ugo Humbert (France) v Quentin Halys (France)
8-Mirra Andreeva v Marina Bassols Ribera (Spain)
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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