Key events
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Andrey Rublev (17) beats Lloyd Harris 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-1
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Jakub Mensik (19) beats Alexandre Muller 7-5 (5)6-7 7-5 6-3
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Sonay Kartal beats Erika Andreeva 6-0 6-2
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Novak Djokovic (5) beats Mackenzie McDonald 6-3 6-3 6-3
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Magdalena Frech (25) beats Ons Jabeur 7-6(4) 6-0
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Djokovic wins the second set against McDonald 6-3
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Pegula defeats Todoni 6-2, 6-4
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Norrie beats Medvedev 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, 7-5
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Zverev beats Tien 6-3, 6-3, 6-4
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Gauff defeats Gadecki 6-2, 6-2
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Medvedev wins the fourth set against Norrie 6-1
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De Minaur defeats Djere 6-3, 6-4, 7-6; Medvedev wins third set against Norrie 6-4
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Baptiste stuns No 23 seed Haddad Maia 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
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Norrie wins the second set 6-3 against Medvedev
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Andreeva advances 6-4, 6-3
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Norrie wins the first set 7-5 against Medvedev
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Today’s order of play on the main courts
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Preamble
Boisson breaks Mertens for 3-1 in the third and whatever happens from here, she’s made a statement today: this is her level. Draper quickly makes 40-0…
Draper makes 15-40, and if he can win one of the next two points, he’ll serve for the match thereafter. And though he then nets a backhand, a terrifying forehand sets up the overhead, and after a little sit-down he’ll serve for the match. This has been a brilliant display, actually elevated by the fact he lost set one.
Draper consolidates for 4-2 while, back on 14, the youngster Boisson is giving Mertens all she can handle, 2-1 in front in the third, on serve. Otherwise, Moutet is serving for 2-0 against Tabur, Arnaldi trails Auger-Aliassime 1-2 5-2, and Cobolli has despatched Cilic 2, 1 and 3.
…and when Bellucci nets a forehand, he’ll be fearing the worst. But surely he won’t have expected the sensational winner that screeches by him, down the line from way out of court. Draper has hit a level, not just here but in his career, capable of going deep in Slams as a matter of course. He leads 3-2 in the fourth.
Draper is such an impressive individual, focused without being dour and sensible without losing his flair. He holds for 2-1 2-2, nails an an overhead for 0-15, and he seems to have an answer for everything Bellucci is trying. It’s soon 0-30, and this could be the beginning of the end…
At 1-1 in the fourth, Draper does really well from the back, his forehand allowing him in, but Bellucci finds a decent angle with the attempted pass, such that controlling the volley proves impossible, and from there he secures the hold. Bellucci 6-3 1-6 4-6 2-1 Draper.
On 14, Mertens has taken the second set against Boisson 6-4; the decider has just begun. And on 6, Arnaldi is saluting the crowd having won a point with a tweener, then gone on to break Auger-Aliassime to trail 0-2 3-1.
Next on Court 7: Hubert Hurkacz (30) v Joao Fonseca.
Andrey Rublev (17) beats Lloyd Harris 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-1
Harris gave a decent account of himself, but once Rublev settled there was only going to be one winner and, perhaps more importantly, he was able to maintain equilibrium, as least according to what I saw, even when things were going against him. Next for him: Adam Walton.
Time’s up: Rublev has broken Harris a second time in set four to lead 4-1, he consolidates to love, and is a game away from round two.
Bellucci does make 0-15, but Draper just detonates a succession of forehands to resolve the situation. Another mahoosive ace, his eighth, then raises two set points, and though the next return is a goodun, Draper spanks a forehand on to the baseline and he now leads 3-6 6-1 6-4. This is extremely impressive gear, especially for a man who’s never won a match at Roland Garros.
Yes he can. I’ve been impressed with Bellucci today, who played a beautifully creative first set, and even now, when class and power have taken over, he’s still playing brave, gritty tennis. Draper will now serve for 2-1 at 5-4 in the third.
…who thunks an ace down the T with a hollering flourish. Well done him, but can he make Draper serve for it?
Draper holds for 5-2 in the third and I’d not be surprised if he broke for the set. Shonuff, he makes 0-15, then dominates the next point from the back for 0-30 and Bellucci is running out of ideas. He is not, though, running out of fight, quickly making 30-all, only to waft a forehand long when he really didn’t need to. Scary hours for the Italian…
Cobolli, a player I really like, now leads Cilic 6-2 6-1 1-1. He meets the winner of Arnaldi-Auger-Aliassime next – that’s a match I’ll not miss – with the winner of that likely to meet Zverev in round three.
Aha, Rublev breaks Harris – oh, Cuz – for 2-1 1-0, while Bellucci has forced 30-40 … so Draper unleashes a wickedly swerving ace down the T. He is in such great control of his game now, AND HAVE A LOOK! Bellucci sends him nashing off to the forehand corner … whereupon he monsters a gorgeous forehand winner down the line, a further ace follows, and that’s 1-1 4-2. This is very serious stuff from the British no 1, who has matured and is maturing into a helluva player.
I’ve only been watching out of the corner of my eye, but Rublev has just broken Harris to win set three 6-3; he leads 2-1 and from here, should progress. Also winning a set is Auger-Aliassime, who leads Arnaldi 7-2 6-2, an impressive show against a talented player. And Draper has consolidated his break; he’s now serving at 1-1 3-2.
And there it is! A hooked forehand that Bellucci frames, a 1-1 2-1 lead, and the Italian has no answers; he can barely fathom the questions.
We’ve a potential shock brewing on Court 2, where Lois Boisson, a French qualifier, leads Elise Mertens, seeded 24, 6-4 – though, as I type, Mertens breaks for 1-0 in set two. Draper, meanwhile, makes advantage at the end of an 18-stroke rally, and I’d be shocked if he didn’t win this match now; he’s by far the better player.
Draper earns himself break point, the sense is that if it isn’t now, it’ll be soon. But after a lot of backhand-to-backhand action, he runs around it to paint an inside-out drop … into the net. No matter: Bellucci then nets himself, bringing us to deuce, and he’s fighting just to stay level…
Auger-Aliassime, now seeded as low as 29, has broken Arnaldi twice at the start of set two to lead 7-5 4-0, while Rublev and Harris are 1-1 2-2 and Moutet leads Tabur 5-3.
This next service-game is massive for Bellucci: if he loses it, I fear he’ll be gawn quicksmart, and his reticence to go line on the forehand gives Draper 30-all. From there, he closes out, but the sense remains that the match is not on his racket.
Superb behaviour from Draper, who serves out a 6-1 set to love, and you can taste his confidence through the screen; Bellucci has a lot of thinking to do, though the match is level at 1-1.
Draper is so solid these days. He didn’t panic when well behind nor did he tank the first set; rather, he played his way into form such that by the time Bellucci clinched it, he was second-best, and he still is. Down 15-40, he slices into the net and Draper, hrtting so freely now, leads 5-1.
Oh, and a third set is over: Cobolli leads Cilic 6-2 and should have way too much for the 36-year-old 2014 US Open champ; I bet the thought of losing to Nishikori, who he beat in the final, still knocks Andy Murray sick.
Draper endorses the break for 3-0 and I’d not be shocked if he won handily from here. Bellucci played pretty much as well as he can in the first set – he’s an artist and so much of what he tried came off, but over the stretch it feels unsustainable. Of course, as I type, he comes in behind his second serve, but that kind of thing won’t sustain him through a best-of-five though, for now, he leads 6-3 1-3.
Elsewhere, two sets have just finished: Auger-Aliassime leads Arnaldi 7-5 and Harris is now level with Rublev at 4-6 6-4.
Cousiiiin!
Yeah, Draper’s into this now. I nip to the facilities, return to find he’s got a break point, and a pair of venomous forehands convert the opportunity. He’s up 2-0 in the second set and looks in decent control now.
Rublev, though, has been broken again by Harris – gwan, Cuz – who will shortly serve for set two at 4-6 5-4.
Losing that first set will have stung Draper – first he lost it badly, then he lost it well, not what anyone wants. But he keeps his focus, holding for 1-0 in the second, while Cobolli is up 4-2 on Cilic, one of those players I can’t believe has won a Slam.
Back with Rublev, he’s redeemed the break he ceded early in set two and now leads Harris 6-4 3-3; Arnaldi and Auger-Aliassime are 4-4 in the first.
It takes a while, but he gets there in the end. Bellucci whips a forehand to the corner, Draper can’t get it back, and that’s a 6-3 set to the Italian, who hit 19 winners versus six for his opponent. Draper, though, played much better once two breaks down, and came close to retrieving the situation, so he’s not out of this by any means.
Now then. Bellucci tries a drop, nets, and at 0-30 he looks tentative. Gosh, then he slices into the net, grinning to himself but not with any kind of joy. He fights back really well, though, dominating the next three points for deuce … then another for advantage. But big, swinging, lefty forehands restore Draper to deuce … only for Bellucci to punish a leaping, lefty, backhand winner … before netting a forehand with the court open. Even if he wins this set, the next should be far harder for him.
Is Draper into this now? He holds, forcing Bellucci to serve for the set a second time, and that might get the Italian thinking: he’s played expansive stuff so far, but pressure does funny things to a person. Apparently. Bellucci 5-3 Draper.
Draper hasn’t given up this first set and he breaks Bellucci for 2-5. I’m afraid, though, that he’s wearing that nonsense Nike stash with the hoops, that looks like a football training top.
Back on Lenglen, Draper is, so far, getting something of a clay-court lesson from Bellucci, who’s serving for the first set at 5-1; Rublev leads Harris 6-4 1-1 and I’ve also got that match on; Jacquemot, a wild card, beat Sakkari 3 and 6; and i need to decide between Arnaldi 2-2 Auger-Aliassime and Cilic 1-0 Cobolli. I guess I’m taking the former.
Djokovic tells the crowd he’s happy to be back among friends and has good memories of Roland Garros following the Olympics. He’s working hard on his French, he says – speaking French – and applause follows.
Otherwise, he says it was great to have his wife and family in Geneva with him – he won there last week – but he doesn’t have his gold medal with him. That and all the trophies are with his old fella.
Jakub Mensik (19) beats Alexandre Muller 7-5 (5)6-7 7-5 6-3
A very impressive win for Mensik, who was pushed hard and still had more than enough. He’s a very, very good player, never mind prospect, and faces Basilashvili or rocha next – they’re currently level at a set apiece.
Sonay Kartal beats Erika Andreeva 6-0 6-2
A fantastic win for the surging Brit, and on her Roland-Garros debut too. Next for her, a much harder task: Kalinskaya or Bouzkova.
Novak Djokovic (5) beats Mackenzie McDonald 6-3 6-3 6-3
An impressive win for the champ; next for him, Moutet or Tabeur.
Magdalena Frech (25) beats Ons Jabeur 7-6(4) 6-0
Oh dear. Frech was an unpleasant draw, but I fear Ons’ decline may be irreversible. She meets Selekhmeteva or Vondrousova next.
Thanks again and salut again. When I left you, Muller was a break up in set three; now he’s match-point down at 5-2 in in set four … and he nets for deuce. Oor Ons was also up a break; she now trails Frech 7-6 5-0.
Daniel is back to take you through the rest of Draper, Djokovic, Kartal and much more. A demain!
Draper is broken. Not that I saw much of it, because I was watching Djokovic. But I did catch a glimpse of a brilliant Bellucci forehand, a fortuitous return winner and a Draper double fault. Draper is 3-1 down.
Djokovic is close to striking a potentially fatal blow against McDonald, leading 6-3, 6-3, 3-2 and 15-40 on the American’s serve. But both break points come and go, the second when Djokovic prods a lame backhand into the net. Djokovic’s drop shot prompts a wonderful angled effort from McDonald, but it’s not enough and Djokovic emerges victorious for a third break point. Which he fails to take too. Here’s a fourth … and McDonald saves it with a stinging serve down the T. And a fifth … and Djokovic has one clay-covered foot in the second round when McDonald makes the error. Djokovic leads 6-3, 6-3, 4-2.
Bellucci holds to 30 in his opening service game, as does Draper. It’s 1-1.
