PARIS (AP) — Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka took advantage of the heat wave at the French Open to impose her attacking game in the first round Tuesday.
Daniil Medvedev struggled, though, in a five-set loss to 97th-ranked Australian opponent Adam Walton.
Sabalenka beat 50th-ranked Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4, 6-2 on Court Philippe-Chatrier with an array of approaches to the net and volley put-aways.
“That’s the most enjoyable part of the game right now -- that I’m able to come to the net to play points there,” Sabalenka said. “I’m super proud that I was able to improve that part of the game.”
The unusually hot conditions at Roland Garros make net-rushing — usually better reserved for hard and grass courts — a viable option because the court is drying out quicker and playing faster.
For a third consecutive day, the temperature in Paris was forecast to rise to at least 32 degrees Celsius (90 Fahrenheit).
“Let’s hope that this is the perfect condition for me,” Sabalenka said. “It suits my game really well.”
Sabalenka reached the final in Paris last year, losing to Coco Gauff. She has won the Australian Open and the U.S. Open on hard courts.
Gauff was opening her title defense later against fellow American Taylor Townsend.
Also advancing was 17th-seeded Iva Jovic, who beat good friend Alexandra Eala 6-4, 6-2.
Walton, who received a wild card invitation from tournament organizers, beat Medvedev 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 2021 runner-up to Novak Djokovic, was leading 6-2, 3-0 against Alexandre Muller when his French opponent retired. Muller wiped away tears as he left the court and later said he injured his right calf, three months after injuring his left calf.
Later, top-ranked Jannik Sinner looks to extend his 29-match winning streak when he opens against French wild card Clement Tabur in the night session.
Rising star
French teenager Moïse Kouamé made the perfect start to his French Open career with a 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-1 win against veteran Marin Cilic.
The 17-year-old Kouamé won one day after the 39-year-old Frenchman Gael Monfils made his last appearance at Roland Garros.
He raised his arms in triumph and tilted his head back after defeating the 37-year-old Cilic, who won the 2014 U.S. Open, finished runner-up at two other majors, and reached the French Open semifinals in 2022.
The ATP Tour said No. 318-ranked Kouamé became the first man born in 2008 or later to win a Grand Slam match, and the crowd on a sun-baked Court Simonne-Mathieu showed their appreciation by chanting “Mo-ïse! Mo-ïse! Mo-ïse!" and clapping in-between.
“It's not easy to stay in the present without thinking of the score,” Kouamé said. “It wouldn’t have been possible without the huge help you (the crowd) gave me.”
In March, he became the youngest winner in Miami Masters history when he beat Zachary Svajda in the first round — earning a congratulatory message from Djokovic.
___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Jerome Pugmire And Andrew Dampf, The Associated Press
