The third day at Roland Garros saw two big upsets in the men’s and women’s draw as ninth seed and Rome Masters winner Alexander Zverev and seventh seed Johanna Konta were knocked out. Top seed Andy Murray shrugged off a second set wobble to advance while Simona Halep and Eugenie Bouchard shrugged off injuries to register wins.
There were plenty of action as well, with Gael Monfils and Dustin Brown put up a show-stopping display of shots, a snubbed handshake and a player trying to kiss a female reporter on live television. Dive in for the all the headlines and sidelines.
The big news:
Verdasco displays Spanish flair
Spain’s Fernando Verdasco, 13 years older to rising star Zverev, pulled all stops in his first-round win over the 20-year-old. Despite the match being continued on the second day due to a bad light stoppage, Zverev had no answer to the veteran Verdasco’s style as he slumped to a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 defeat. Left-handed Verdasco, playing his 14th Roland Garros and 56th consecutive Major, had lost to Zverev in the first round on clay in Madrid earlier this year. But the experienced Grand Slam competitor, who has made the last-16 in Paris on five occasions, displayed his vintage flair to notch another win to remember.
‘Jokes’ inspire Hsieh to Konta shock
Thirty-one-year-old Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan recovered from a dreadful start to knock off seventh seed Konta 1-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 . The doubles specialist has won the 2014 French Open doubles title with China’s Peng Shuai, as well Wimbledon in 2013, but it was the first time she had played on the main Roland Garros show court in singles. “I was making jokes, ‘Oh coach I am so nervous I cannot play’. When you make it fun you feel more relaxed on the court,” Hsieh, who lives in Paris with her French boyfriend, said of her calm demeanour.
French player banned for kissing reporter against her will
Maxime Hamou, a French tennis player who tried to kiss a television reporter against her will, during a live broadcast at Roland Garros was banished from the tournament for his “reprehensible behaviour”. The 21-year-old grabbed Eurosport journalist Maly Thomas around the neck and shoulders while she interviewed him following his first round defeat on Monday. “It was frankly unpleasant. If it hadn’t been live on air, I would have punched him,” Thomas told the French edition of the Huffington Post.
Shot of the day:
That Gael Monfils and Dustin Brown are two of the most flamboyant players on tour, is a well-known fact. But in their match at Roland Garros, the two put up an shot-making exhibition to remember.
Quotable Quotes
“I played absolute shit – but it’s not the end of the world.”
– Alexander Zverev keeps it honest
“If it hadn’t been live on air, I would have punched him.”
– Reporter Maly Thomas on Hamou’s attempt to kiss her against her will on live TV.
“My arse is definitely going to be sore for the first couple of days.”
– Johanna Konta on looking ahead to the physical demands of bending low on grass courts
“I don’t think Nadal’s worried at all about anyone in this tournament, to be fair. Best of five, it suits him. He knows he’s not gonna lose. Let’s be realistic.”
– Nick Kyrgios on Nadal heading for a possible 10th title at Roland Garros
From the sidelines:
Handshake snub
French wildcard Laurent Lokoli refused to shake the hand of Martin Klizan after claiming the Slovakian had faked injury. “He wasn’t respectful. I have no problem with him. I just have the problem with his attitude because he wasn’t fair,” said Lokoli after his five-set loss.
Elina Svitolina on her tattoos
“They are quite simple. It’s carpe diem, but they all mean something different to me. It’s not the real thing. I mean, normally it means seize the day. But it has a special meaning for me. And this one is om sign, it’s a Hindi sign. But also very personal.”
Number-crunching
5 – The number of years since Juan Martin del Potro last played the French Open. He made a triumphant return defeating compatriot Guido Pella 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
0 – The number of matches won by Johanna Konta in her three visits to Roland Garros.
50 – The number unforced errors committed by Zverev, who drew jeers from the crowd when he took out his frustration by hammering his racquet into the clay.
20/40 – The aces and winners hit by Nick Kyrgios in his straight sets win over Philipp Kohlschreiber.
With inputs from AFP
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