Key events
Next on Mathieu: Carole Monnet v Katie Boulter.
Altmaier says it was a very special match. He’s been working really hard to prepare and is ready to play anyone – “I really love my performance”, he concludes.
Two years ago, he beat Jannik Sinner in Paris and this is his favourite tournament “4 eva”; he’ll never forget and he hopes to have many more.
He has a long vision, wants to achieve something big in the sport, and off he goes.
Badosa says when she saw the draw she was really looking forward to playing a player she respects a lot, on and off court. She loves Osaka’s tennis and it’s not fair to play her first round, but she’s really happy with her level especially coming off an injury.
It was a match in which both players were aggressive and serving well, but on clay you have to be consistent. she knew she’d keep fighting and kept saying “let the best one win … and today it was me.”
Asked about serving it out, she says she works a lot on her mental game for the important moments and to try and keep things simple. She was saying go for it, go with the legs, do a good toss, accelerate – she tries to focus, thinking of it like it’s a rule book as she knows that she’s an emotional person and if the emotions come she’ll probably start cramping. Some days it works, some days it doesn’t, but it was a really fun match and the crowd gave her great energy.
Finally, she’s told that Tsitsipas, her boyfriend, also won, then says that at 7-6 down, the first thing she did was look at the Nadal footprint to get inspiration and fight like he did. Ah that’s great.
Fearnley breaks Wawrinka for a 7-6 6-3 2-0 lead and if he stays focused, as we know he will, he’ll be into round two.
Daniel Altmaier beats Taylor Fritz (4) 7-5 3-6 6-3 6-1
A conclusive tousing bins the no 4 seed and gives Altmaier his path through the draw. Next for him: Vit Kopriva.
Paula Badosa (10) beats Naomi Osaka (1)6-7 6-1 6-4
A fine match between two fantastic players and one that could just as easily have been a quarter-final. Osaka couldn’t quite muster the consistency to win, while Badosa did really well to hold it down when it got tight at the end. I wish we could see another couple of sets, but instead we have to make do with seeing the winner in the second round, where she’ll meet Ruse or Kessler.
And she quickly makes 30-0; can Osaka put her under pressure? Er, no: another big serve is slammed back, but just long. Three match points coming up…
A swift hold for Osaka means that at 5-4 in the third, Badosa must serve for the match.
Osaka swings a backhand just wide and Badosa endorses her break to lead 5-3 in the third; she had to fight for it, but it’s there and she’s a game away.
Otherwise, Fearnley closes out to lead Wawrinka 7-6 7-3 – what I like about him is his ability to keep turning up and delivering close to his best level – and Altmaier, leading Fritz 2-1, is now 4-1 ahead in set four. He’s two holds away from a massive win (that this blog suggested was possible).
A double hands Osaka break-back point, but Badosa really opens her shoulders defending it and eventually her opponent wilts; this is a brilliant contest, both players capable of the very best and very worst, sometimes in the same rally. And, as I type, Badosa – again, up advantage – sits up a second serve, duly spanked down the line for a deuce-restoring winner.
Down 15-30, Badosa tries a drop and, on the line, Osaka slips seeking to change direction; great shot. But from 40-30, she can’t close out, a first serve that barely clambers into the net followed by a backhand wafted long. Then, with Badosa up advantage, Osaka does brilliantly to stay in the point before detonating a forehand that restores deuce. The match, my friends, is right here.
Down 30-40, Osaka nails a serve down the T, then a clean-up forehand to the corner. Badosa, though, makes her play another ball, she misjudges her swing-backhand but the court’s empty and did she frame it in? She did not and what an oversight that is! Her opponent was barely in the picture! Badosa leads 4-3 in the third, but we know she’ll feel the nerves as she tries to struggle over the line.
OK, with Burrage over, I need to pick another match to watch. It’s either Altmaier 7-5 3-6 6-3 1-1 Fritz or Bautista Agut 7-6 2-3 Rune; I guess I’ll take the former.
Badosa eventually secures her hold for 3-3 and the players are getting increasingly desperate; lovely stuff. Fearnley, meanwhile, has broken Wawrinka for 7-6 3-1, and Khachanov, seeded 24, leads Vukic 6-4.
Danielle Collins beats Jodie Burrage 7-6(1) 6-4
Collins had too much in the end, but Burrage will be relatively happy with her performance – she just didn’t play the big points well enough. Next for the winner: Olga Danilovic.
Oh my days, a leaping Osaka annihilates a forehand winner cross-court that breaks the sideline and raises break point at 3-2 in the third; what a shot that is! Badosa, though, larrups a forehand close to the baseline and when the riposte falls long, she unleashes, perhaps too soon, because after a big serve allows her to clean up, she thwacks straight at her opponent … but Osaka doesn’t move her feet, so can’t get around the ball to control a shot that only needs to arrive into court. That’s a big missed opportunity, though as we go from deuce to advantage, she’s still in the game.
Collins leads 5-3 in the second and though Burrage has given a good account of herself, like Harriet Dart, she lacks a definitive weapon on which to rely when things get tight.
Meantime, Altmaier has taken the third set to leasd Frtiz 7-6 3-6 6-3; following them on Mathieu we’ve got Monnet v Boulter.
Back on Chatrier, Badosa breaks back immediately; we’re 2-2 in the fifth, and this is brewing into an epic.
Like Cam Norrie, Fearnley is a classic example of a late developer who gets much better than anyone expected. His exocet of a forehand is part of the reason why, but his ability to keep the heid is also crucial, and I’d not be surprised if we start seeing him in the second week of Slams this year or next.
And have a look! Fearnley, on Roland Garros debut, wallops a forehand, then swipes a backhand cross that breaks the sideline, and he seizes the breaker to lead Wawrinka 7-6(6).
Elsewhere, Bautista Agut leads Rune 7-6; Collins leads Burrage 7-6 3-2 with a break; and Tomljanovic leads Joint 6-1.
Osaka is back playing like herself, a winner making 0-30 and a ball close to the line forcing Badosa to flap wide. Badosa, though, makes 30-40, both players unloading the suitcase when hitting from the back … only for the break to be ceded via double. It really is outrageous how poorly Osaka played in set two and how much better she’s playing now; she leads 2-0.
Wawrinka outhits Fearnley from the back, targeting the backhand, but a backhand of his own, into the net, levels us at 3-3. Meantime, Osaka punishes a forehand that makes 30-all, then clinches a massive hold with a drop for 1-0 in the third; she’s back in the match.
Altmaier is a break up on Fritz in the third, leading 1-1 3-1; Fearnley and Wawrinka are playing a first-set breaker; Rune and Bautista Agut are 2-2 in their first-set breaker; and Tsitsipas now leads Etcheverry 7-5 6-3 1-1.
Osaka hangs on through deuce to make Badosa serve for the second set, but can she refocus? She lost interest after the second break and her hitting has been wild ever since, no more so than with the return that hands over 40-15. And from there, Badosa closes out for 6-7 6-1; she’s got to be the favourite heading into the decider.
Wawrinka is 40 now, so it’s incumbent upon us to enjoy him while we still can. There has never been a player more dedicated to arriving on court looking like he’s just come from the club and he’s giving it a serious thwack out there, Fearnley too. Stan holds to love for 6-5 in the first; Badosa leads Osaka 5-0 in the second.
Badosa breaks a second time for 4-0 in the second and what a comeback this is – the chance to subside was right there for her in game one of this. Taking of which, after all that work, Burrage has lost the first-set breaker to Collins 7-1, and it’ll take some serious reasoning with herself for the Brit to get over the mess that’s ensued after she earned the chance to serve for the lead herself.
While I was focused on Court 8, Badosa broke and consolidated so now trails Osaka 6-7 3-0, while Fearnley and Wawrinka are locked at 4-4. On Mathieu, Fritz has levelled at 1-1 against Altmaier, Bautista Agut leads Rune 5-4 on serve, Tsitsipas leads Etcheverry 7-5 5-3, and Tabilo saw off Cazaux 6-3 in the fifth.
Now then. Burrage breaks Collins for 65 in the first then, serving for the set, quickly finds herself down 15-40. But a service-winner then an error take her to deuce … only for two errors to hand over the game. Tiebreak coming up…
Scary hours for Badosa, serving at 30-all, and Osaka spirits a backhand winner down the line to raise a break point that’ll almost feel like a match point, Badosa, though, is a different personality these days, refusing to accept the chance to lose and instead making deuce then closing out with a forehand winner. That’s a huge hold.
Wawrinka has broken Fearnley and now leads 3-2 in the first, both players whacking with abandon. And on 8, Collins and Burrage are 5-5 in the first, neither with a big enough weapon to take control.
Osaka only needs one go at it, Badosa lamping a return long and plenty to concede a 1-7 breaker. She fell apart there, right as her opponent raised it.
Osaka continues her burst, reaching 4-1, then Badosa sends down a weak double and is the situation getting big on her? At 1-5, she nets a forehand on the run, and now faces five set points.
“Is there a lot of pressure on Emma Raducanu to be great again?” wonders Andrew Benton. “Perhaps from herself, perhaps from the media, and perhaps from the fans? I’m fine if she wins nothing again ever, she won the US Open on a whim and a bit of luck, and that’s achievement enough. I guess she’s got to make a living somehow, so she keeps plugging away. What do you think?”
I’d be shocked if she won another Slam, and I don’t think she’s under pressure from anyone but herself because everyone knows how unlikely it is. But she’s a pro who doubtless enjoys competing and thinks that she can do it again – rightly so. If she can stay clear of injury, there’s a fine career that’s hers for the taking.
Osaka makes 0-30 then nails a forehand cross … only for Badosa to punish a winner down the line from way out of court. At 30-all, Osaka swipes wide, not by much … then on set-point hammers a forehand winner towards the corner to earn deuce. A well-judged overhead is then enough for advantage, before more forehands secure the break-back and a tiebreaker. That was an excellent game from Osaka, her focused power too much for Badosa.
Up 30-40, Badosa lands a return close to the baseline, there’s another big forehand behind it, it too is deep, and the riposte drifts long. At 6-5, Badosa will shortly serve for the first set.
Righto, Osaka 5-5 Badosa is hotting up; it’s time to pay close attention.
Elsewhere, Fearnley has broken Wawrinka, the 2015 champ, in the first game, while Collins leads Burrage 4-3 on serve.
Here’s Tumaini Carayol on Raducanu.
Friends fear he’d happily wear Hakimi’s windcheater.
Alcaraz thinks he played solid and the first round is never easy, especially as defending champ. He tried to be focused and he’s proud of his start as he was excited to play his first match.
Otherwise, he wants to keep a good rhythm and level and his whole team are here with him which is great.
Finally, he’s offered the opportunity to trail his presumably revelatory documentary and says he wants to feel like a normal kid, before being shown Desiree Doue, Nuno Mendes, Achraf Hakimi and Joao Neves in the crowd; he’s looking forward to the Champions League final and hopes PSG win.
