Tsitsipas, Alcaraz soar at French Open as Djokovic row simmers

Issued on: 31/05/2023 – 21:45

Djokovic remained the hot topic as the fallout of his statement earlier this week that “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia” continued ahead of his second-round match against Marton Fucsovics later in the evening.

Tsitsipas is chasing his first Grand Slam title and made a sluggish start to his campaign against Jiri Vesely but the fifth seed looked back to his best against Roberto Carballes Baena, as he overcame a wobble to beat the Spaniard 6-3 7-6(4) 6-2.

Top seed Alcaraz resumed his quest for a second Grand Slam title with a 6-1 3-6 6-1 6-2 win over Japan’s Taro Daniel on a windy afternoon to book a third-round date with Canadian 26th seed Denis Shapovalov.

But Djokovic remained the talk of Roland Garros. Kosovo Olympic authorities asked the International Olympic Committee to open disciplinary proceedings against him.

“Djokovic has yet again promoted the Serbian nationalists’ propaganda and used the sport platform to do so,” said Ismet Krasniqi, the president of Kosovo’s Olympic Committee.

“The further post-match statements made by such a public figure without any feeling of remorse directly result in raising the level of tension and violence between the two countries.”

France’s Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said that the message sent by Djokovic was “not appropriate” and should not happen again, although the International Tennis Federation which governs the game globally said the world number three had not violated any rule.

Svitolina comeback

Three-times quarter-finalist Elina Svitolina took a leaf out of her husband Gael Monfils’s playbook following the local hero’s five-set win over Sebastian Baez a day earlier to script her own comeback and down Australian Storm Hunter 2-6 6-3 6-1.

The Ukrainian then waded into the debate around Djokovic and said the world number three should have the right to express his opinion.

“If you stand for something, you think that this is the way, you should say,” Svitolina said.

Svitolina, who has called for a ban on Russian and Belarusian tennis players over Moscow’s 2022 invasion of her country, admitted she did not know the politics of Serbia.

“But coming back to the politics in sports, as I think all Ukrainians mention, it’s connected very much because we are all people. We all know the politics of our own country a bit, the way you hear something here, something there,” Svitolina said.

“For me it’s just part of human life, politics, sports, you know, different things.”

Former champion Jelena Ostapenko had not made the second week at Roland Garros in her last five appearances and the 2017 winner’s disappointing run continued as unseeded American Peyton Stearns prevailed 6-3 1-6 6-2 in their second-round clash.

The feisty Latvian’s exit along with 2021 champion Barbora Krejcikova’s defeat by Lesia Tsurenko a day earlier means holder Iga Swiatek is the only remaining winner of the Suzanne Lenglen Cup in the women’s draw.

World number three Jessica Pegula, who is hoping to hoist her maiden Grand Slam trophy on the Parisian clay, advanced into the third round after her ailing Italian opponent Camila Giorgi retired after losing the opening set 6-2.

Aryna Sabalenka then fought off fellow Belarusian Iryna Shymanovich 7-5 6-2 while Anna Blinkova dashed French hopes with a stunning 4-6 6-3 7-5 victory over fifth seed Caroline Garcia, wrapping up the contest on her ninth matchpoint.

Russian ninth seed Daria Kasatkina came up with an early contender for shot of the tournament with a tweener

in her 6-3 6-4 defeat of former runner-up Marketa Vondrousova.

(Reuters)