2019 Roland Garros: Osaka survives, Wawrinka inches closer to win 500

Three full days of Round 1 action wrapped up on Tuesday in Paris with former Grand Slam Champions Naomi Osaka and Stan Wawrinka leading the charge.

Day 1
Casper Ruud (NOR) was one of the first players into the second round at Roland Garros after winning in straight sets to open play on Sunday. The 20-year-old committed only 18 unforced errors and is sitting at a career-high ranking of 63 heading into his second round match.

[15] Belinda Bencic (SUI) and Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) also made quick work of their opponents on the opening day. Both Bencic and Vondrousova will be looking to reach the third round in Paris for the first time in their respective careers when they face unseeded opponents on Wednesday.

Day 2
On the women’s side, Team Yonex picked up where they left off on Sunday, as [23] Donna Vekic (CRO) and [12] Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) also cruised in their opening round matches. Vekic defeated Liudmila Samsonova of Russia, while Sevastova defeated Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum.

Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA), the 2018 Doubles Champion at Roland Garros, scored a come-from-behind victory to the delight of his hometown crowd. Opting out of defending his doubles title to focus on singles, Herbert came from two-sets-to-love down to upset 12th-seed Daniil Medvedev and will face fellow Frenchman Benoit Paire in the second round.

To conclude action on Day 2, [24] Stan Wawrinka (SUI) found his footing on the brand new Simonne-Mathieu court and advanced in four sets in the opening round. The 2015 Roland Garros Champion is now only two matches away from his 500th victory on the ATP Tour.

Day 3
World No. 1 Naomi Osaka (JPN) survived an opening round scare against Anna Schmiedlova after dropping the first set 0-6 in just 20 minutes. The top seed had to break Schmiedlova twice to stay in the tournament and won the second set in a tiebreaker to even the match.

After regrouping and finding her composure, Osaka rolled in the third set to advance to the second round where she’ll face former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka.

Earlier in the day, [24] Caroline Garcia (FRA), who had very little rest before opening her Roland Garros campaign on Tuesday, advanced in straight sets. France’s top women’s player reached the finals in Strasbourg on Sunday and showed no signs of fatigue winning in just over an hour.

“Sometimes it's not a bad thing not to have too much of a break,” said Garcia, who is looking to reach the second week for the third straight year at her home Slam.

To wrap up the first round for Team Yonex, Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) defeated American Mackenzie McDonald in five sets to win his first main draw match at Roland Garros. Nishioka will face eighth-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro for a spot in the third round.

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Women
[1] Naomi Osaka (JPN) – EZONE 98 / POLYTOUR STRIKE 125 def. Anna Schmiedlova (SVK), 0-6, 7-6, 6-1
[24] Caroline Garcia (FRA) – VCORE 100 / POLYTOUR STRIKE 125 def. Mona Barthel (GER), 6-2, 6-4
Monica Puig (PUR) – VCORE 100 / FUSIONREV3 / Paris Collection def. Kirsten Flipkens (BEL), 6-1, 7-5
Sorana Cirstea (ROU) – EZONE 100 def. Kaja Juvan (SVK), 5-7, 6-4, 7-5
[15] Belinda Bencic (SUI) – EZONE 100 / POLYTOUR PRO 125 def. Jessika Ponchet (FRA), 6-1, 6-4
[23] Donna Vekic (CRO) – VCORE 100 def. Liudmila Samsonova (RUS), 6-2, 6-4
Viktoria Kuzmova (SVK) – VCORE 100 / POLYTOUR PRO 125 & POLYTOUR FIRE 125 def. Alize Cornet (FRA), 6-4, 6-3
Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) – EZONE 100 / POLYTOUR AIR 125 def. Yafan Wang (CHN), 6-4, 6-3
[12] Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) – EZONE 98 / POLYTOUR PRO 125 / ECLIPSION2 / Paris Collection def. Luksika Kumkhum (THA), 6-1, 6-4

Men
Radu Albot (MDA) – VCORE 98 / ECLIPSION2 / Paris Collection def. Tennys Sandgren (USA), 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-1
Lloyd Harris (RSA) – EZONE 98 / POLYTOUR STRIKE 120 def. Lukas Rosol (CZE), 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2
Alexander Bublik (KAZ) – EZONE 98 / POLYTOUR PRO 125 def. Rudolf Molleker (GER), 7-5, 6-7, 6-1, 7-6
Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) – VCORE 98 / POLYTOUR SPIN 125 / FUSIONREV3 / Paris Collection def. Mackenzie McDonald (USA), 6-7, 6-0, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
[24] Stan Wawrinka (SUI) – VCORE PRO 97 / ECLIPSION2 / Paris Collection def. Jozef Kovalik (SVK), 6-1, 6-7, 6-2, 6-3
Casper Ruud (NOR) –EZONE 100 / POLYTOUR PRO 125 & POLYTOUR SPIN 125 / FUSIONREV3 / Paris Collection def. Ernest Gulbis (LAT), 6-2, 7-6, 6-0
Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) – VCORE PRO 97 def. [12] Daniil Medvedev (RUS), 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5
Yannick Maden (GER) – EZONE 98 def. Kimmer Coppejans (BEL), 7-6, 7-5, 6-3

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