I’m afraid that’s all we’ve got time for in terms of our Roland Garros opening day live coverage. We’ll have the report from Murray versus Wawrinka later of course, as the pair with a combined age of 76 lock horns on Chatrier. It’ll be a fascinating duel, despite both men being past their peak by a good few years.
The headlines today are that Briton Jack Draper is out after a five-set defeat to Jesper de Jong, while big names in the men’s and women’s singles draws like Carlos Alcaraz, Naomi Osaka and Andrey Rublev are safely through. Bye for today! Thanks for joining us.
It all became very straightforward for the French player in the end, despite losing the opening set to 22-year-old 5 ft 5 qualifier Lys. Garcia wrote on social media yesterday that a “home slam is not always easy” and that proved somewhat prophetic. But she’s through after hitting her stride midway through the second set and that’s all that matters.
Garcia is serving at 5-2 up to close out her match. Meanwhile Gasquet v Coric remains on serve … rinse and repeat.
Finally, Gasquet takes the opening game. That took a while. Both men are looking a little flustered in this one. Coric starts his service game with an ace down the T.
Garcia has the break, the noise of the home crowd behind her, and is certainly improving as this match progresses. It would be a shock if the No 21 seed loses from here.
It’s bouncing back between deuce and advantage on the Gasquet serve, as Coric falls to the ground in search of another break point. He’ll need a moment, a mop of the head and he’s ready again. And he hits a down-the-line backhand to make it deuce again!
A report from earlier, via our man at Roland Garros, Tumaini Carayol.
Diana Shnaider v Chloe Paquet is under way on Simonne Mathieu. On that same court, American Sofia Kenin earlier survived a bit of an early scare to stroll past Laura Siegemund and seal her passage to the second round.
Gasquet v Coric hasn’t yet restarted as the former has been enjoying a rather lengthy comfort break. He’s now walked back on court clasping about eight drinks.
Gasquet takes the second set in some style! A crashing cross-court forehand made sure of that, and it’s 7-6, 7-6 now. Garcia and Lys continue to trade breaks of serve and it’s pretty much anyone’s to win on Philippe Chatrier. French fortunes on the up?
Coric has made far too many unforced errors in this breaker and it’s pretty much Gasquet’s to lose now. The Frenchman is striking up the band as Coric wallops another forehand wide of the tramlines. 5-2 to Ricky G in the breaker.
Kei Nishikori is a break of serve down to Gabriel Diallo on Court 6, while Gasquet is up a mini-break in search of the second set against Coric. There’s a cracking atmosphere under the roof, amid a blast of French horns. Garcia breaks Lys in the opening game of their deciding set.
De Jong’s prize for beating Jack Draper is a second round meeting with Carlos Alcaraz. Some challenge, that. Draper exited the court very swiftly after his defeat and you can’t help but feel for the young Briton. He’ll hope to fare better on grass courts later this summer.
It is indeed a Gasquet v Coric tie break. Can the 37-year-old repeat the trick of his win in the first set breaker?
Garcia takes the second set 7-5 against Lys! That cues another big cheer from the home crowd, who over on Lenglen will be hoping and praying that Gasquet can force another tie break. He’s a point away from doing so …
A sensational winner from the Dutch qualifier finishes off a fine victory! A proper gritty five-set match, which will represent disappointment for Draper. He was desperate to go one better than his first round exit in 2023, but it didn’t happen for him in Paris today.
It’s an all-Chinese clash on Court 9 as Xiyu Wang and Zhuoxuan Bai lock horns in their women’s singles first round match. We’re just in the opening knockings of that one. Meanwhile, Draper is facing two match points, he’s just not been able to get a foothold in this De Jong service game.
De Jong, who is ranked 100 places below Draper, is now just two points away from the second round …
Gasquet raises a fist to the crowd as he forces a break point against Coric. There’s a big point coming up on Lenglen.
Caroline Garcia has just missed an opportunity to level at one set apiece against Eva Lys. The Frenchwoman has it back at 5-5. Oh and it’s a double fault from Draper at the most horrendous time! He’s gifted the break to De Jong, who can now serve for the match.
Gasquet is made to work very hard to hold, but he does just that, to the delight of the Parisian crowd – they’re on their feet and dancing as it goes to 5-5.
Draper is undone by a canny De Jong drop shot, who has a break point in their final set decider over on Court 12.
Gasquet’s trademark elegant backhand serves him well after going 0-15 down. Lovely stuff down the line from the French veteran – 0-30 might have been dicey.
Thanks Daniel – and thanks for having me. Coric has just survived a couple of break points on Lenglen to force Gasquet to serve to save the set. Draper v De Jong is a proper ding-dong isn’t it? I’ll be all over those two matches, Lys v Garcia and of course it’s the small matter of Muzza v Stan the Man later.
Another hold for De Jong, who now leads 3-2 in set five, and with that my watch is over; here’s Dominic Booth to coax you through what remains of our coverage. Thanks all for your company; peace.
Draper makes it 2-2 and this is a really fun match, both men clouting the cover off it – likewise Lys who leads Garcia by a set and 4-3, upping the pressure with every hold. I strongly fancy her to see this out.
Back on Lenglen it’s on serve in set two, Gasquet leading Coric 7-6 3-4, and on Chatrier, Lys leads Garcia 6-4 3-2 on serve.
Southampton are back in the Prem having beaten Leeds 1-0 at Wembley. Rob Smyth has all the reaction.
De Jong goes long again – maybe that slip has distracted him a little – but Draper nets when given a chance to pass, meaning back to deuce. Then, down advantage, a brilliant point full of murderous groundstrokes means another deuce, and this time when faced with pressure, the qualifier errs, going long on the backhand and that’s the break back! De Jong leads 2-1 in the fifth.
Eeesh, up 2-0 40-15 in the fifth, a blazing return from Draper incites De Jong to chase … and he slips. Gosh, that would be awful if he’s hurt at this point, but he looks to be OK when he gets up – though a forehand sent long means he’s to battle through deuce to retain his break.
A scare for the number 18 seed, who faces Donna Vekic next.
Draper finds himself down 0-30 but soon levels only to find himself break-point down, and after he mishitting a putaway volley at the net, De Jong seizes upon the opportunity, whacking a winner; what an effort this is from him. Garcia, meanwhile, botches a slice down the line then a return cross-court when up break point and Lys leads 6-4 2-1.
A brilliant get from Draper, on the stretch, followed by a forehand winner punished down the line – also on the stretch – keep him in a game that De Jong is struggling to see out. But he gets there in the end for 1-0 as, on Chatrier, Lys leads Garcia 6-4 1-1 and on Lenglen, Gasquet leads Coric 7-6 2-2.
A struggle for the number eight seed but he finds a way and faces Nakashima next.
A fine backhand return cross-court allows the wrong-footing putaway, a backhand into the corner as Garcia returns to centre, and Lys leads 6-4!
Serving at 4-5, Garcia saves one set point only to nets when up advantage, then again to cede a second. She misses her first serve too … only to nail her second, a high-kicking brute that’s almost above Lys’ head and the return strays wide; round we go. Draper, meanwhile, serves out, and at 5-7 4-6 7-6(3) 6-3, he and De Jong will now play a decider.
The rain-break felt like a good thing for De Jong, who must’ve felt the match slipping away. But he’s soon broken a second time, and though at 1-5, he swipes a backhand winner that claws back one of the two, it looks like we’re getting our decider. Excellent.
Lys and Garcia are playing a really fun at, the German going for everything she can; it’s 4-4.
A tremendous forehand from Gasquet, carted from middle rto corner, inside-out, raises set point at 6-3; Coric saves the first nicely, a netted return disappears another … but the third is on the Gasquet serve, the delivery has a big forehand behind it, and the local boy leads 7-6(5). He did a great job of upping the pace and therefore the risk-factor in that breaker, so earned his reward of a 1-0 lead.
Yup, Coric holds for 6-6 as the home crowd roar for Reechar – he quickly makes 4-1; on 12, Draper and De Jong return; and on lenglen, Garica is battling to hold, trailing Lys 2-3.
A gorgeous backhand – even by Gasquet’s standards – swatted cross, earns him 6-5, forcing Coric to serve for a first-set breaker.
Coric is having the better of things on Lenglen, but not by much and it’s 4-4 in the first, while Lys is giving Garcia plenty on Chatrier, earning her second break-back point and moving out of the road when her opponent goes long. They’re 2-2, also in the first.
Goods news: on Court 12, the covers are off. We should be away again in the next 10 minutes.
Garcia, up 15-40, watches a short service right on to her racket, only to dump her return … before sending the next into the tape. No matter: she raises another only to miss that one too, earns a fourth go, and this time she hares in to put away a forehand. Garcia leads 2-1.
Play on roofless courts now to resume not before 4.15 BST. And in the matches that are in progress, Gasquet breaks Coric back then holds for 4-3, whole Lys holds for 1-0 against Garcia.
Gasquet has such a strange service-action – he gets proper crouched before unspooling himself into a booming delivery. But he’s broken for 3-2 wihle, in a now very dark Lenglen, Garcia and Lys warm up. I’m sure there’s a good reason the roof is opaque, but it feels suboptimal.
Coric saves a break point in making it 2-2; Garcia makes her way on to Lenglen; and on 12, the sun peeks through.
Gah! latest:
On Lenglen, Gasquet leads Coric 2-1 on serve in the first.
Next on Chatrier: Eva Lys v Caroline Garcia (21).
The covers have come off on 12, with play not to resume before 3.45pm BST, so in 15 minutes, we should be close.
Alcaraz is really happy. He loves playing and wants to show his best tennis, which he thinks he did today. He also loves playing in Paris and thinks it’s great how many people have come out to watch him – more than would usually be around on day one. He doesn’t need much to get himself fit after injury, he practised last week against top players, and doesn’t feel like he ever stopped playing; his forearm is feeling good.
On which point they’re mopping up on 12, so we can assume the rain has stopped. Lovely.
Another error from the back and Alcaraz is through quicksmart, the match done in an hour and 51 minutes. The Wimbledon champ looks in typically splendid fettle and he’s a threat here; next for him it’s Draper or De Jong.
A swiped backhand drops wide and Alcaraz has match point, but he can’t close out, netting a backhand; no matter. Wolf plays a good point then sends a putaway long – Alcaraz, racing to retrieve, puts pressure on with his presence, forcing his opponent to go for a little more power than he thought. Here comes match point number two…
Gasquet and Coric are away on Lenglen while Wolf, serving to stay in the match, is at 30-all with Alcaraz.
