Welcome to the French Open Briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament.
On day one of Roland Garros 2024, there was magic on Simonne-Mathieu, a five-set record from the gods, the dangers of clay, and more.
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Match of the day: Corentin Moutet vs Nicolas Jarry
One normal day of Corentin Moutet, that’s all we ask. It will never happen.
These words apply to today’s match, but they’re the same ones that greeted his incredible contest against Jerry Shang in Madrid earlier this year.
On Court Simonne-Mathieu — the French Open’s resident bear pit — the Tricolores were dancing, the chants were resounding, and Chilean Nicolas Jarry was having an absolutely horrible time.
Moutet is a showman who feeds on vibes, attention, and maverick shot selection, and for two sets he was moving like a TGV towards the second round. This was already a spicy match: Moutet had been on the other side against Jarry in Santiago in March, and his coach had gone as far as to implore the crowd to create “hell” on home terre battue.
Moutet soaked in the acclaim in Paris (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images)
Then, Jarry came into things. He’s just been in the final of Rome; he’s got a gigantic serve and a rocket of a forehand; he’s got the game. He took the third set. Moutet was upset, angry, combustible.
And then something that definitely isn’t normal Corentin Moutet happened, but it might just be something that he can rely on from time to time. He locked in. He held. He broke. He held again, despite consternation over a very close line call, the crowd baying for the umpire, for technology, for a mark that was on their side. He broke. He held, again, after being taken to deuce. He won, 6-2, 6-1, 3-6, 6-0. He married showmanship and seriousness.
It might mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. But for one night in Paris, it meant an awful lot.
GO DEEPER
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‘What if’ of the day: Lucia Bronzetti and some brick dust
For 95 per cent of Naomi Osaka and Lucia Bronzetti’s curtain-raiser on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the match was on the four-time Grand Slam champion’s racket. She used that to her advantage in running away with the first set; she used it to her detriment in giving up the second with a series of scattershot forehand errors.
In the third, she went 4-0 up, then back to 4-4. Then it went to 5-5. Then… some very strange things happened.
Bronzetti was unfortunate after hanging in for so long (Frey/TPN/Getty Images)
The wind whipped up in the stadium, blowing dust all over the court. Bronzetti was serving from the “bad end” at that time, and it held true: Osaka grazed the outside edge of a line with a ball that Bronzetti thought was out. She hit a net cord to go 15-40. She missed a routine ball to go 30-40.
And then… on break point, a huge amount of dust flew up from the court in the wind as Bronzetti struck a groundstroke, it got in her eyes. She missed. Osaka went on to win the set 7-5, in a match that she was very much in control of her own destiny. But when it mattered, it was the things out of her control that went her way.
GO DEEPER
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Stat of the day: Kei Nishikori and the tale of five sets
A bit like Osaka, three-time French Open quarter-finalist Kei Nishikori was cruising — until he wasn’t. Up two sets on Canadian Gabriel Diallo, the injuries and physical limitations that have dogged his career in recent years reemerged, all of a sudden and all at once, and it was 2-2 before he could believe it.
Still, Diallo probably knew that taking Nishikori the distance wouldn’t end well. Despite all those problems, the Japanese former world No 4 came through 7-5 in the fifth, and Nishikori now has a 28-7 win-loss record in five-set matches, an exactly 80 per cent win-rate. Novak Djokovic is just behind with 79 per cent.
Nishikori was pushed to the limit but came through (Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Shock of the day: Barbora Krejcikova’s miserable year continues
The world No 26 went out to Swiss world No 74 Viktorija Golubic, continuing her unfortunate run of Roland Garros exits since winning the title in 2021. She is 5-7 for 2024.
Shot of the day
Passing de revers sur balle de match. Richard Gasquet ✨#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/UWbJSf5amk
— FFT (@FFTennis) May 26, 2024
📅 Today’s key results:
- 🇨🇭 Stan Wawrinka def. 🇬🇧 Andy Murray, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
- 🇺🇦 Marta Kostyuk (18) def. 🇧🇷 Laura Pigossi, 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-4
- 🇪🇸 Carlos Alcaraz (3) def. 🇺🇸 JJ Wolf, 6-1, 6-2, 6-1
- 🇺🇦 Dayana Yastremska (30) def. 🇦🇺 Ajla Tomljanovic, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
- 🇧🇪 Zizou Bergs def. 🇨🇱 Alejandro Tabilo, 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-2
- 🇱🇻 Jelena Ostapenko (9) def. 🇷🇴 Jaqueline Cristian, 6-4, 7-5
- 🇫🇷 Richard Gasquet def. 🇭🇷 Borna Coric, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4
- 🇷🇸 Olga Danilovic def. 🇮🇹 Martina Trevisan, 6-1, 6-2
📅 Tomorrow’s highlights:
- 🇩🇪 Alexander Zverev (4) vs 🇪🇸 Rafael Nadal, third on Court Philippe-Chatrier
- 🇹🇳 Ons Jabeur (8) vs 🇺🇸 Sachia Vickery, first on Court Philippe-Chatrier
- 🇫🇷 Gael Monfils vs 🇧🇷 Thiago Seyboth Wild, night session on Court Philippe-Chatrier
- 🇺🇦 Elina Svitolina (15) vs 🇨🇿 Karolina Pliskova, fourth on Court Suzanne-Lenglen
- 🇫🇷 Hugo Gaston vs 🇺🇸 (15) Ben Shelton, first on Court 14
- 🇵🇱 Iga Swiatek (1) vs 🇫🇷 Leolia Jeanjean, second on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Tell us what you noticed on the first day as things continue…
(Top photo:Mateo Villalba/Getty Images)
