Tennis

Tsitsipas survives first-round scare, Badosa makes quick work of Ferro

25 May 2022 - 08:50 By Reuters
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece celebrates winning against Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in their first round match on day 3 of the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on May 24 2022.
Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece celebrates winning against Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in their first round match on day 3 of the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on May 24 2022.
Image: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Last year's runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas survived a first-round scare at the French Open, beating Italian Lorenzo Musetti 5-7 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-2 to advance into the second round on Tuesday.

The Greek fourth seed was out of sorts in the first two sets before finding his range to set up a meeting against Czech Zdenek Kolar.

“It was a great first round. I'm going to keep working hard to improve and build a relationship with the crowd here,” Tsitsipas said on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Musetti last year took the first two sets against Novak Djokovic in the last-16 before injury forced the Italian to retire. On Tuesday, Musetti broke decisively in the 11th game in the opening set when an unforced error from Tsitsipas gave him a 6-5 lead. The Italian followed up on serve and took a one-set lead as his opponent buried a backhand into the net.

Musetti carried the momentum into the second set, racing to a 4-0 advantage as Tsitsipas continued to falter. But the Greek found his range to stem the bleeding, pulling a break back.

Musetti served for the set at 5-4 and after first missing out with a double fault, he took a two-set lead when Tsitsipas made yet another unforced error. Tsitsipas cantered into a 3-0 lead in the third set, maintaining the advantage to reduce the arrears.

The Greek moved 2-0 up in the fourth set, saved a break point in the third game to extend his advantage, only for Musetti to break back with a forehand winner. But Tsitsipas made the most of his opponent's nerves to break again and go 4-2 up before levelling the contest.

The Italian had run out of gas and Tsitsipas was business-like as he wrapped up the match late in the night to extend his stay in Paris in the bottom half of the draw, where he will not have to meet defending champion Novak Djokovic or 13-time winner Rafael Nadal.

Third seed Paula Badosa made quick work of French wild card Fiona Ferro by winning 6-2 6-0 in under an hour to book a spot in the second round on Tuesday night and boost her confidence after a dip in form earlier this month.

The Spaniard, who had cited mental fatigue as one of the reasons for early exits in Rome and Madrid this month, required just 54 minutes for her opening win. She looked in top form as she chased the 25-year-old Ferro across the court with her trademark thundering groundstrokes.

Badosa, a quarterfinalist in Paris last year, grabbed two breaks in succession at the start of the first set and held serve comfortably, with wild card Ferro failing to carve out a single break opportunity. It was even easier in the second set as Badosa stormed through it in 18 minutes to seal victory.


subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now