Swiatek not taking anything for granted at French Open
AP Photo/Thibault Camus
PARIS (AP) — It was a massive mismatch on paper and that’s the way it ended up on court, too.
Four-time champion Iga Swiatek required exactly one hour to eliminate 136th-ranked French Open debutante Emerson Jones 6-1, 6-2 in the first round on Monday, in front of a mostly empty Court Philippe-Chatrier on another steamy day in Paris.
The only real issue for the third-ranked Swiatek came when she needed a trainer to re-tape the middle finger on her tennis-playing right hand for an apparent blister after the first set.
“I’m just really happy to play on this court,” she said. “First matches are always also for getting used to the condition tactically and type of the ball.”
Swiatek has not won a title on clay this season and recently made a coaching change. She hired Francisco Roig, who previously worked with record 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal.
“Nothing comes easy,” Swiatek said. “With more titles it’s even a bit harder because everyone expects you to be ready always and play perfectly. So you need to stay humble and not take anything for granted and work your way from the beginning of the tournament.”
She improved to 28-1 in first-round matches at Grand Slams.
With the temperature due to rise to 90 degrees, Swiatek did well to make short work of her 17-year-old Australian opponent, who received a wild-card invitation from Roland Garros organizers.
Also advancing was Jasmine Paolini, who lost the 2024 final to Swiatek. The Italian beat Dayana Yastremska 7-5, 6-3.
In men’s action, Stan Wawrinka waved a fond goodbye to the French Open after losing in the first round. The 41-year-old Swiss, the 2015 champion and 2017 finalist, is retiring at the end of the season. He made his final Roland Garros appearance 21 years after his first.
Jesper de Jong finished off Wawrinka 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 with a whipped forehand winner, then urged the fans to applaud Wawrinka, whose face was almost as red as the baking-hot clay.
“It’s hard, it’s hard to say goodbye to you here,” an emotional Wawrinka said. “It’s because of Roland Garros that I wanted to become a tennis player.”
He was given an ovation at Court Simonne-Mathieu
In other men’s action, eighth-seeded Alex De Minaur defeated Toby Samuel 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
The popular Gael Monfils was scheduled to play fellow Frenchman Hugo Gaston in the night session. Like Wawrinka, this is the final French Open for Monfils who is set to retire at the end of the year.