Four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek opened her Roland Garros campaign with a commanding straight-sets victory on Monday, while another Paris favourite closed the chapter on his tournament career in emotional fashion.
French crowd favourite Gael Monfils, who like Stan Wawrinka will retire at the end of the season, was unable to extend his run in Paris, falling 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-0 to compatriot Hugo Gaston in a dramatic all-French clash on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Earlier on the main showcourt, Swiatek quickly rediscovered her rhythm after recent dips in form, easing past Australia’s Emerson Jones 6-1, 6-2 to underline her intent in pursuit of a seventh Grand Slam title.
“I’m really happy with the way I played,” the Pole said. “It was solid from start to finish. I knew what I had to do technically, and I just executed. It was a good day.”
While Swiatek enjoyed a smooth passage under the Paris sun, Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen struggled in the heat and was knocked out 6-4, 6-0 by Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska.
Zheng, who has battled inconsistency since elbow surgery last year, later said Chwalinska’s looping shot patterns disrupted her rhythm, particularly on the tighter confines of Court Seven.
“She has a good game on clay, and the court felt really small when she played high balls to me,” Zheng said, adding she is set to drop from world No. 56 to outside the top 100.
“I couldn’t go further back like on the bigger courts. That also makes a difference. Honestly, the conditions were tough for me. The weather has been really hot.”
Twice finalist Casper Ruud also struggled in the afternoon heat, squandering five match points in the third set and taking multiple medical timeouts before recovering to beat Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 0-6, 6-2.
“I felt like I had heatstroke. I’ve experienced something similar years ago in Washington when I had to retire in the third set,” Ruud said.
“I had that same feeling in the fourth set when I felt dizzy and just really tired, walking around like a zombie.”
Rome champion Elina Svitolina was made to work but survived a major scare to get past Anna Bondar 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10-3). Her husband Monfils later took to the showcourt in an attempt to fly the flag for the veterans.
Wawrinka, also part of that experienced group at 41, fell 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Dutch lucky loser Jesper de Jong before being celebrated by fans on Court Simonne Mathieu and in a video tribute featuring some of the sport’s greats.
“I’m always surprised to receive so much love and support from other players, from fans, and from tournaments in general,” 2015 champion Wawrinka told reporters.
“I’ve been on tour for more than 20 years. When I was young, my dream was to be a professional player, to be in the top 100, to play these tournaments.
“I never expected to achieve so much in tennis, but I never put limits on my career. I always wanted more. I always tried to push myself, push my own limits, and find my own way to get there.
“I’m happy and proud of what I achieved over the years. Today it was really tough. It’s never easy to say goodbye to something you love and have dedicated your life to.”
While Wawrinka closed his Paris chapter, Spain’s Rafael Jodar began his journey with a dominant 6-1, 6-0, 6-4 win over Aleksandar Kovacevic on his Roland Garros main-draw debut, adding to growing expectations around him.
Elsewhere, world No. 2 Elena Rybakina made short work of Veronika Erjavec with a 6-2, 6-2 win for her tour-leading 31st victory of the year, while Matteo Berrettini beat Marton Fucsovics 6-7 (2-7), 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 in his first Paris appearance since 2021.
American fifth seed Ben Shelton downed Daniel Merida Aguilar 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, while Russian Andrey Rublev beat Hamburg champion Ignacio Buse 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 7-5. Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis came through an epic against Terence Atmane 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. Former runner-up Jasmine Paolini, Daria Kasatkina, Anastasia Potapova, Amanda Anisimova and 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko also advanced to the next round.
