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A forehand winner down the line and Moller is shaking fists! He leads Paul 7-6(5) and the no 12 seed is in a match!
A forehand winner gives Moller the mini-break and at 6-4 he soon has set point … only to net a backhand. Meantime, Sabalenka breaks Rakhimova at the first time of asking, then consolidates for 3-0.
Yup, a slightly wild forehand from Nakashima hands back a break he spent an hour seeking; at 6-6, he and Navone will now play a breaker, on which point Paul attacks a poor second serve to earn a mini-break against Moller. He leads 4-3.
Moller holds for 6-6 so he and Paul will now play a breaker; we said Navone and Nakashima could go long and that looks more than possible the former struggles to serve out the set with a 6-5 lead.
A shriek, a thump, and Sabalenka is away; Rakhimova quickly nails a forehand winner down the line. More importantly, though, what a we calling this colour? Cyan? and what on earth are those headphones? The top seed holds to 15 for 1-0.
It’s sunny now, the earlier drizzle gone. but Kvitova must wish the rain had come down harder – having won the first set, Golubic now leads her 5-0 in the second.
Elsewhere, Hamad Medjedovic is a set up on Kamil Majchrzak, and I think he could do something here – the highest-ranked seed in his section is Taylor Fritz.
Looking to serve out the first set, Moller finds himself at deuce, then a backhand error means Paul has advantage. Oh, and another backhand error, hooked wide, means we’re back on serve at 5-5; I fear the occasion got big on the young man there.
Sabalenka looks pretty calm and will soon be with us. I can’t wait to see how she goes here – though she has, over the last few years, become extremely adept at moving through week one, so we may not see her challenged for a while. Still, here she comes!
A comfy enough hold gives Moller 5-3 against Paul and he’s a game away from set one. I can’t say I’ve seen him play before, but his backhand is a shot. I’d expect the no 12 seed to grind him down over the stretch, but for now he’s doing nicely.
Sonmez isn’t long for this competition. Svitolina, another class mum, now leads her 6-0 2-0 and it’s incredible how she’s established herself as a second-week fixture since returning from giving birth. Her lack of heavy artillery might stop her beating the best on the big occasions, but she’s a much better player than I saw her becoming; can there be any better consloation?
Goodness me, Peyton Stearns, the 28 seed, is having one; Eva Lys has bagelled her in the first.
Kvitova has taken the fist set to lead Golubic 6-3; mums are class.
Tommy Paul looks to have made a step over the last year. He’s unlikely to seriously contend for a Slam, but has hit a groove – in Madrid the week before last, he beat Machac, De Minaur and Hurkacz, then took a 6-1 set off Sinner before losing the semi. Still, Moller consolidates for 4-2 … and it’s raining. Not hard enough for play to stop, but it does look to be getting worse.
Ah, Svitolina serves out for a 6-1 set; Sonmez is, I’m afraid, out of her depth. She’s seeded to meet Paolini in round four, which could be a terrific contest.
On Lenglen, Svitolina is serving for the first set, 5-1 up on Sonmez; on Mathieu, a fine backhand return, dipping cross, is too good for Paul, whose volley floats long, and that’s a break for Moller, the 21-year-old lucky loser, who leads 3-2 in the first.
On TNT, they’re talking about Sabalenka, who sounds full of it as she discusses her ambition to win on clay. Her Aussie Open defeat to Madison Keys will have stung her badly, though – earlier in her career she was the one who choked – and as soon as she’s put under serious pressure, we’ll see whether the wound has healed.
It’s pretty windy on court, and so far, that’s suiting Kvitova who, back from giving birth to her son, Petr. She leads Golubic 3-1 … ah, Golubic has just broken back. But still, what a joy to see her competing, all the more so as I’ve just discovered we share a birthday.
Looking around the courts, Svitolina leads Sonmez 3-0; Nakashima leads Navone 2-0; Paul and Moller are 1-1; Jvitova leads Golubic 2-1 on serve; and Lys leads Stearns 1-0 on serve.
And though she’s capable of it, the others will sense opportunity. Coco Gauff, seeded two, has to play really well to win, whereas Sabalenka can do so when not quite at it.
I’d also look out for a perennial favourite of this blog, Karolina Muchová: seeded 14, she is the best player in her section and has a seriously clever game. Oh, and don’t forget the eighth above, featuring Mirra Andreeva, Naomi Osaka and Paula Badosa – the latter two meet tomorrow in a match that could be the highlight of the first round.
We’re under way in our early matches so, as the opening games take shape, we might ponder who’ll be with us at the end. In the women’s competition, Iga Swiatek – seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive crown – looks more vulnerable than ever before, without a title since winning this one last term. In her eighth of the draw is Elena Rybakina, she could face Paolini too, before a potential semi against Sabalenka and a final against Gauff. That’d be some effort.
There’s a decent row on Court 14 as Navone and Nakashima settle. This has the potential to be a properly long, nasty, hurtful tussle – let’s hope so!
Oh! The move from Eurosport to TNT seems to limit me to just three matches. What a world. I guess I’ll leave Stearns v Lys for the now.
So where shall we start today? We don’t get going on Chatrier, with Sabalenka v Rakhimova, for another hour or so, but there’s plenty to detain us prior to then. I’m going to watch Zeynep Sönmez v Elina Svitolina (13), Elmer Sønmez (L) v Tommy Paul (12), Mariano Navone v Brandon Nakashima (28) and Peyton Stearns (28) v Eva Lys.
Preamble
Salut et bienvenue à Roland-Garros 2025 – premier jour!
In such moments it’s easy to look forward, wondering who’ll win what and how, but though we’ll chat plenty about it, at this point it barely matters. Grand Slam tennis isn’t a fact, rather an experience, immersing us in the full gamut of human emotions and stories communicated through some of the greatest sport the planet has to offer.
And what a start awaits us over the next many hours. Aryna Sabalenka begins her campaign with a match that could test her, against Kamilla Rakhimova, while Elina Svitolina and Jasmine Paolini, last year’s beaten finalist, also gets going. Add to that Leylah Fernandez, Amanda Anisimova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Qinweng Zheng, Donna Vekic v Anna Blinkova and Petra Kvitova v Viktorija Golubic and that’s a pretty serious situation for us to navigate – and it’s just the women’s competition.
As for the men, we’ve got Lorenzo Musetti, now ranked eight in the world, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard v Zizou Bergs, Francis Tiafoe v Roman Safiullin, Brandon Nakashima, Tommy Paul, Tomas Machac v Quentin Halys and my sleeper match of the day, Alex Michelsen v Juan Manuel Cerúndolo
C’est la période la plus merveilleuse de l’année!
Play: 11am local, 10am BST
