Roland-Garros: Seeds Evans and Shelton fall in first round, Tsitsipas and Rublev advance in four

Day one of Roland-Garros has claimed some casualties in the men’s draw, with both Dan Evans and Ben Shelton failing to progress. Other seeds are through to the second round, but not without some difficulty

28 May 2023

Thanasi Kokkinakis at Roland-Garros 2023 Image Credit: AI / Reuters / Panoramic

Bren Gray

French Open •First round • completed

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T. KokkinakisvsD. Evans

Men’s seeds Dan Evans (20) and Ben Shelton (30) were the biggest casualties on day one of the men’s draw in Roland-Garros 2023.

Australian wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis upset Britain’s Dan Evans 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, putting on a strong display with 46 winners to 26 unforced errors. This was the Australian’s first main draw win at the French Open since 2015, when he reached the third round. Since then, he has played only twice at the tournament, going down in the first round each time.

Kokkinakis, ranked No 107, will face the winner of the match between Swiss Stan Wawrinka and Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas next

Evans was honest in his reflections on the match, admitting that his performance was frustrating to take.

“It was a difficult day, bottom line, really. Yeah, I was poor from start to finish. That was basically it. He took advantage of it. He served well. Yeah, frustrating really, and that’s about it.”

Meanwhile, it was Italian Lorenzo Sonego who dispatched No 30 seed Ben Shelton, defeating the American 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in just less than three hours on Court 13.

Big seeds Rublev, Tsitsipas through unscathed on day one

Unlike Evans and Shelton, the two biggest seeds in action on day one of the men’s draw – No 7 Andrey Rublev and No 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas – ensured that they will fight another day in Paris.

Both men dropped a set, and were sternly tested in their opening matches. For Tsitsipas, his challenge came at the hands of Jiri Vesely, who forced a tight 7-5 opening set, before winning the third set and taking the fourth to a tiebreak. The win sees Tsitsipas face Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena in the second round, who defeated American qualifier Emilio Nava 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-2.

Rublev also had his hands full in the first round, taking on in-form Laslo Djere on Court Suzanne-Leglen. After splitting the first two sets, the Russian eventually gained the upper hand and won in four, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. The No 7 seed will face Corentin Moutet, winner against wildcard Arthur Cazaux today.

Khachanov, Hurkacz take the long route to second round

Other seeds Karen Khachanov and Hubert Hurkacz also progressed to the second round on day one of Roland-Garros, but not without a few speedbumps.

No 11 seed Khachanov dropped the first two sets to home favourite Constant Lestienne, before roaring back into contention with a reverse sweep of the final three sets, winning 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3. The Russian will now play qualifier Radu Albot as he continues his streak in French Open first rounds, now at 7-0.

Hurkacz, the No 13 seed, was embroiled in an ebb-and-flow affair with veteran David Goffin, taking five sets to defeat the Belgian. Eventually winning 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, Hurkacz is into the second round with the hope that he can rekindle some form in 2023.