French Open diary: Dominic Thiem still looks a shadow of his former self after 11th successive defeat, while the host nation are at a low ebb without a single seeded player of either sex at Roland Garros
- Dominic Thiem lost his 11th match on the trot as he crashed out in the first round
- Ons Jabeur and Gabarine Muguruza were also knocked out on the opening day
- Roland Garros is back at full capacity after restrictions in the last two years
- French tennis is struggling, with no male or female players seeded this year
The second Grand Slam tournament of 2022 got underway on Sunday as the French Open began at Roland Garros.
Britain has five players in the main singles draw, with Emma Raducanu, Harriet Watson, Harriet Dart, Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans set to take to the court.
However, none of them were in action on Sunday. Here’s what happened on the opening day…
US Open champion Emma Raducanu will be competing at her first French Open this year
A big shock in the first match on Philippe Chatrier this year as No6 seed Ons Jabeur was upset by Poland’s Magda Linette.
The Tunisian was highly fancied for the title after a stunning clay court season. Linette may have done her countrywoman, world No1 Iga Swiatek, a favour.
Ons Jabeur crashed out on the opening day after being beaten by Magda Linette
Dominic Thiem was a shadow of his former self as he lost his 11th match in a row, to Bolivian Hugo Dellien.
His once fearsome forehand looked ragged as he attempts to rebuild after a wrist injury. His body is right but his mind is not – he admitted his nerves were ‘toxic to my forehand’.
Dominic Thiem’s poor form continued as he was beaten in the first round by Hugo Dellien
Watch every match from Roland-Garros live and exclusive on discovery+ and Eurosport
Former champion Garbine Muguruza was the latest victim of Grand Slam upset queen Kaia Kanepi.
The Estonian has won 48 per cent of her meetings with top-10 players in the majors, compared to 14 per cent elsewhere. Even at 36, she remains the seeds’ worst nightmare in the first round.
Roland Garros welcomed back fans at full capacity for the first time in two years and they will have found things very different.
The nostalgic ‘bullring’ arena has gone to create more space, and there is now the spectacular Simone Mathieu court set within an orangery – it’s like watching tennis at Kew Gardens.
There were crowd restrictions at last year’s tournament, but that will not be the case this time
Traditionally one of the behemoths of the sport, French tennis is at a low ebb. This year, for the first time in 42 years, there was not a single seeded player of either sex from the host nation.
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