Italian teen Sinner enjoys a tremendous start to his campaign in Paris, as Halep claims birthday victory
© Corinne Dubreuil/FFTItalian teenager Jannik Sinner had a Roland-Garros debut to remember as he cruised past Belgian 11th seed David Goffin 7-5, 6-0, 6-3 in the opening round on Sunday, in just under two hours.
In the first match to be played under the new roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Sinner posted his second win from two meetings with the 29-year-old Goffin to set up a second round against French qualifier Benjamin Bonzi.
The 74th-ranked Sinner is now an impressive 4-5 against top-20 opposition.
"At the beginning it's never easy, especially at the beginning of a new tournament. It's the first time for me here at Roland-Garros" said the 19-year-old Sinner.
"It's very nice to see once more a little bit of crowd, which I think this sport needs. Obviously playing against David, he's a great player, I know him quite well, we're good friends, so it's not easy, but I'm very happy."
Next on centre court, top seed and 2018 champion Simona Halep celebrated her 29th birthday with a 6-4, 6-0 success over Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo to extend her winning streak to 15 matches in a row.
"I'm really pleased with the victory. It's always tough to start the tournament. I was a bit nervous. She played really well in the first set, she didn't miss. Then I just found the rhythm, I started to open the court better and not going for everything. So I changed, I had a plan B and it worked very well for me today," said Halep on court, after being serenaded by the centre-court crowd, wishing her a happy birthday.
"I'm really honoured to play here today the first round under the roof. Actually it's going to be a unique moment for me playing on my birthday at Roland-Garros. So forever I will keep it, and I just want to enjoy today because it's really special."
Making her Grand Slam debut and playing just her second tour-level match, 19-year-old Russian qualifier Kamilla Rakhimova blasted past former Roland-Garros quarter-finalist Shelby Rogers 6-2, 6-3 to become the first player to reach the second round at Roland-Garros 2020.
The world No.182 did not blink en route to a 64-minute victory over Rogers, who defeated Serena Williams last month on her way to the Lexington semi-finals.
Former world No.1 Victoria Azarenka kicked off her campaign with a smooth 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Danka Kovinic of Montenegro.
The recent US Open finalist needed just 61 minutes to advance to a second round against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, who ended a 12-match losing streak in Grand Slam main draws to topple Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4 on Court Simonne-Mathieu.
ROLAND-GARROS
19 May - 8 June 2025
