A thrilling opening day at Roland-Garros saw Wawrinka, Zverev, Gauff and Garcia advance to round two
© Corinne Dubreuil/FFTStan Wawrinka commenced his Roland-Garros 2020 journey with a bang, claiming a convincing 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 victory over former world No.1 Andy Murray in a high-profile opening round that served as a rematch of their 2017 semi-final in Paris.
But unlike the five-set epic the pair produced three years ago, Sunday's duel was mostly a one-sided affair that saw the 16th-seeded Wawrinka dominate on his way to a second-round encounter with German lefty Dominik Koepfer.
It was the first time two Grand Slam men's champions faced off in the opening round of a major since Novak Djokovic dismissed Juan Carlos Ferrero at Wimbledon 2012.
Earlier on centre court, home favourite Caroline Garcia avenged her defeat to Anett Kontaveit from just 12 days ago as she ousted the Estonian No.17 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in a tough opening round in Paris on Sunday.
The French world No.45 dug deep to topple an in-form Kontaveit and set up a second round against Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
At 21 in the world, Kontaveit is the highest-ranked player Garcia has ever defeated at Roland-Garros. The 26-year-old, who spent a significant amount of time training at the Rafa Nadal Academy this year, reached the quarter-finals in Paris in 2017 - her best result at any major to date.
Closing out play on Court Philippe-Chatrier, recent US Open finalist Alexander Zverev recovered from a break down in the opening set before completing a 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 over Austrian Dennis Novak.
The German No.6 seed now awaits the winner of the first round match between American qualifier Michael Mmoh and Frenchman Pierre Hugues-Herbert.
"I didn't play any clay-court matches before this, so this is my first one and the conditions are not very easy, so I needed to get used to it," said Zverev on court. "But also Dennis is somebody that, on this surface, plays very well. He grew up with Dominic Thiem, so basically all they did was practice on the surface. So I'm happy to get the win and get through to the second round."
Over on Court 14, former US Open finalist Kei Nishikori squeezed past Britain's Dan Evans 1-6, 6-1, 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-4 in three hours and 49 minutes.
The Japanese star, who had a bout of coronavirus over the summer that ruled him out of the US Open, is a three-time quarter-finalist in the French capital and next plays Italian Stefano Travaglia.
No.21 seed John Isner eased past French wild card Elliot Benchetrit 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 while his fellow American Taylor Fritz, the No.27 seed, was taken the distance by Czech teen debutant Tomas Machac, avoiding an upset by the qualifier 7-5, 7-6(2), 1-6, 2-6, 6-3.
© Nicolas Gouhier/FFTAmerican teen phenom Coco Gauff enjoyed a winning Roland-Garros debut by delivering an upset to last year's semi-finalist, Johanna Konta of Great Britain 6-3, 6-3.
The 16-year-old Gauff, who was the girls' junior champion in Paris in 2018, eliminated the ninth-seeded Konta in one hour and 41 minutes to book a second-round meeting with Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan.
Canadian wild card and former semi-finalist Eugenie Bouchard recorded her first Grand Slam main draw win since the 2019 Australian Open with a 6-4, 6-4 performance over Russian world No.108 Anna Kalinskaya.
Her reward is a second-round clash with Australian Daria Gavrilova, who spent 18 months dealing with chronic foot injuries, and is playing just her second tournament in over a year.
Gavrilova shocked Ukrainian No.24 seed Dayana Yastremska 6-4, 6-3 to post a first Grand Slam victory in over two years.
ROLAND-GARROS
19 May - 8 June 2025
