Roland-Garros: Frech upsets 29th seed Zhang to become first player to reach second round

Poland’s Magdalena Frech became the first player to reach the second round of the French Open by defeating Chinese Shuai Zhang, the No 29 seed, 6-1, 6-1 at Stade Roland-Garros in Paris on Sunday.

Frech needed just 47 minutes for the win – only the fourth for the 25-year-old in a Grand Slam main draw.

First win of the tournament ✅

🇵🇱 Magdalena Frech advances to the second round, ousting no.29 seed Zhang 6-1, 6-1 in 47 mins.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/axjiAo27FU

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 28, 2023

This was the eighth match in a row at the WTA level that Zhang has lost, including a double bagel in Strasbourg last week. The Chinese player broke down in tears at her press conference, saying she was mentally exhausted after three difficult years during which she could not travel back to her country due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Zhang Shuai could not speak for sobbing in the press conference with Chinese media. Didn't play Toyko Olympics and had big conflicts with Chinese Tennis Federation. Under tremendous pressure and mentally exhausted after almost three years without coming back to China… pic.twitter.com/8fPDgO6Yrg

— Bendou Zhang🎾 (@BendouZhang) May 28, 2023

The Pole, ranked No 87, will play the winner of the match between Czech qualifier Sara Bejlek and Russian Kamilla Rakhimova next.

Roland-Garros (Grand Slam), other first round results (Stade Roland-Garros, clay, EUR 49,600,000)

• Yulia Putintseva vs. Maryna Zanevska
• Varvara Gracheva vs. Dalma Galfi
• Karolina Pliskova vs. Sloane Stephens
• Marketa Vondrousova vs. Alycia Parks
• Peyton Stearns vs. Katerina Siniakova
• Jelena Ostapenko vs. Tereza Martincova
• Elina Svitolina vs. Martina Trevisan
• Anna Blinkova vs. Ysaline Bonaventure
• Caroline Garcia vs. Xiyu Wang
• Catherine McNally vs. Ana Bogdan
• Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. Linda Fruhvirtova
• Elina Avanesyan vs. Belinda Bencic
• Lucia Bronzetti vs. Ons Jabeur
• Selena Janicijevic vs. Oceane Dodin
• Olga Danilovic vs. Kateryna Baindl
• Sorana Cirstea vs. Jasmine Paolini
• Dayana Yastremska vs. Donna Vekic
• Anett Kontaveit vs. Bernarda Pera
• Simona Waltert vs. Elizabeth Mandlik
• Petra Kvitova vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto
• Tatjana Maria vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia
• Rebecca Marino vs. Diana Shnaider
• Nao Hibino vs. Anna-Lena Friedsam
• Ekaterina Alexandrova vs. Viktoriya Tomova
• Petra Martic vs. Shelby Rogers
• Clara Burel vs. Sara Sorribes Tormo
• Linda Noskova vs. Danka Kovinic
• Elena Rybakina vs. Brenda Fruhvirtova
• Rebeka Masarova vs. Coco Gauff
• Arantxa Rus vs. Julia Grabher
• Mirra Andreeva vs. Alison Riske-Amritraj
• Anhelina Kalinina vs. Diane Parry
• Kaia Kanepi vs. Madison Keys
• Kayla Day vs. Kristina Mladenovic
• Aliona Bolsova vs. Kristina Kucova
• Veronika Kudermetova vs. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova
• Lesia Tsurenko vs. Barbora Krejcikova
• Lin Zhu vs. Lauren Davis
• Erika Andreeva vs. Emma Navarro
• Victoria Azarenka vs. Bianca Andreescu
• Xinyu Wang vs. Marie Bouzkova
• Rebecca Peterson vs. Fiona Ferro
• Ylena In-Albon vs. Claire Liu
• Iga Swiatek vs. Cristina Bucsa
• Jule Niemeier vs. Daria Kasatkina
• Danielle Collins vs. Jessica Pegula
• Mayar Sherif vs. Madison Brengle
• Liudmila Samsonova vs. Katie Volynets
• Anna Bondar vs. Irina-Camelia Begu
• Sara Errani vs. Jil Teichmann
• Tamara Zidansek vs. Qinwen Zheng
• Taylor Townsend vs. Anastasia Potapova
• Alize Cornet vs. Camila Giorgi
• Elise Mertens vs. Viktoria Hruncakova
• Leolia Jeanjean vs. Kimberly Birrell
• Clara Tauson vs. Aliaksandra Sasnovich
• Sara Bejlek vs. Kamilla Rakhimova
• Magda Linette vs. Leylah Fernandez
• Maria Sakkari vs. Karolina Muchova
• Marta Kostyuk vs. Aryna Sabalenka
• Panna Udvardy vs. Iryna Shymanovich
• Nuria Parrizas Diaz vs. Storm Hunter
• Nadia Podoroska vs. Jessika Ponchet

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