Seeds Krygios, Paire Advance on Rainy French Open-ing Day; Wawrinka, Murray Monday
- 27 Comments
Rain saw only five men’s matches completed on opening day Sunday at the French Open. And since Nick Kyrgios was playing, you know there were fireworks.
ADHEREL
Two seeds advanced when No. 19 Benoit Paire outlasted Moldovian Radu Albot 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4, and the No. 17 seed Kyrgios topped Italy’s Marco Cecchinato 7-6(6), 7-6(6), 6-4.
“When I woke up this morning and saw the rain I knew it was going to be heavy conditions,” Kyrgios said. “I knew it was going to be a bit of a leveller out there. We were both going to be a little bit cold. I thought he played really well, the way he played the dropshots and he was very crafty. I knew it was going to be a tough match. He had two set points in the second set. I mean, I was a bit lucky at times, but I’m just happy to get through.”
Kyrgios will next face Dutchman Igor Sijsling who straight-setted Romania’s Adrian Ungur 6-1, 6-2, 7-6(5).
“He’s been on tour for a long time, and I know he’s probably played a lot of Grand Slams,” Kyrgios said of Sijsling. “My good friend Thanasi [Kokkinakis] played him a while ago, so I know what kind of game style he plays. I’m just glad I got through today and got a couple of days off and can do everything I can to prepare for that.”
The combustible Kyrgios could not get through his match without being a dick to one of the ball boys and receiving a warning from the chair umpire.
“A code violation for saying ‘towel’ loud?” Kyrgios told the chair umpire. “Now I’ve seen it all. That’s bullshit…are you kidding?”
In other all-unseeded play Russian Andrey Kuznetsov eased past Germany’s Benjamin Becker 6-2, 6-2, 6-4, and Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili beat American Donald Young 7-6(1), 6-2, 6-3.
Eleven of 16 matches overall on the day were cancelled or postponed.
Men’s matches to watch for on Monday in Roland Garros are (3) Stan Wawrinka vs. Lukas Rosol, (2) Andy Murray vs. Radek “The Worm” Stepanek, (9) Richard Gasquet vs. Thomaz Bellucci, (8) Milos Raonic vs. Janko Tipsarevic, (22) Viktor Troicki vs. Grigor Dimitrov, (33) Steve Johnson vs. Fernando “Hot Sauce” Verdasco, Sam Querrey vs. (WC) Bjorn Fratangelo in an all-American, and (27) “Dr.” Ivo Karlovic vs. Al Montanes.
MONDAY FRENCH OPEN SCHEDULE
Philippe-Chatrier Court 11:00 AM Start
Lukas Rosol (CZE) vs. Stan Wawrinka (SUI)[3]
Kei Nishikori (JPN)[5] vs. Simone Bolelli (ITA)
To Finish 6-1 7-5 2-1 3.
Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) vs. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[2]
Radek Stepanek (CZE) vs. Andy Murray (GBR)[2]
Alize Cornet (FRA) vs. Kirsten Flipkens (BEL)
Suzanne-Lenglen Court 11:00 AM Start
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK) vs. Garbine Muguruza (ESP)[4]
Gilles Simon (FRA)[16] vs. Rogerio Dutra Silva (BRA)
Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) vs. Richard Gasquet (FRA)[9]
Oceane Dodin (FRA) vs. Ana Ivanovic (SRB)[14]
You Might Like:
Nadal Might Have To Play Two On Friday In Rainy Barcelona; Sharapova Needs 3 Hours To Win Stuttgart
Watch Benoit Paire Hit This Sublime Drop Shot [Video]
Nishikori Leads Seeds at Moselle Open in Metz; ATP Preview
Gasquet, Paire, The Dog at ATP Marrakech; Preview
Paire Takes Down Ailing Auger-Aliassime For Lyon Title