Big names fall at Roland Garros

A couple of high profile players have crashed out on the opening day of the French tennis Open.

Ons Jabeur
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Twice Open finalist Dominic Thiem lost in straight sets to Bolivian world number 87 Hugo Dellien, while inform Tunisian Ons Jabeur, the women’s sixth seed, suffered a 3-6 7-6 7-5 loss to Poland’s Magda Linette.

Austrian Thiem, who has failed to win a match at any of the tournaments he has played since his wrist injury comeback in March, made 42 unforced errors as his once dominant claycourt game deserted him.

“It was not a good match at all but it is what it is,” Thiem, ranked third in the world in 2021 compared to his current 194th, said.

“I knew it would take time and the level is extremely high. It is going to take a few more months until I say now I am ready to beat those guys again.”

The 28-year-old struggled with his forehand throughout the match and said it was now time to compete in lower-tier tournaments to get match wins under his belt.

Jabeur, seen as one of the big threats to world number one Iga Swiatek at the claycourt Grand Slam, came to Paris at a career-high ranking and with a tour-leading 17 wins on the surface.

With her win in Madrid and runner-up finishes in Rome and Charleston, it seemed like Jabeur would have an easy outing against Linette when she made a strong start on Court Philippe Chatrier under overcast skies.

Linette, 30, had only defeated Jabeur in the first of their four meetings back in 2013 but she staged an inspired fightback in the second set, saving four breakpoints to level the match in the tiebreak.

As drops of rain fell on the main showcourt, Jabeur’s level also dipped and her unforced errors climbed and she made her frustration evident by kicking balls away after losing points.

Linette had lost to Jabeur in the third round last year.

Former champion Garbine Muguruza suffered a second consecutive first-round exit at the French Open, biting the red dirt in a 2-6 6-3 6-4 loss to Estonian Kaia Kanepi as she continued on her downward trend.

Muguruza, who lifted the Suzanne Lenglen Cup in 2016 and reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros two years later, was in cruise control in a one-sided first set before Kanepi ground her way back into the match.

Muguruza finished last year on a high, winning the WTA finals, but the world number has had a dreadful 2022, managing consecutive wins only once.

-Reuters