French Open 2021: Day 1 Update

The 2021 French Open started on Sunday, May 30th and we got to see some piece of action from some of the top-ranked players in the world. The event is holding in the traditional month of May this year after it was shifted to September last year due to the pandemic

One of the major highlights of the day was when Naomi Osaka was fined $15,000 for failing to speak to the press after her match. Osaka defeated Patricia Maria Tig 6-4 7-6 (7-4) but failed to hold a news conference after the match, as expected from all players. She had revealed last Wednesday that she would not be talking to the press at the event in an effort to protect her mental health. However, this did not sit well with the organisers of the event who proceeded to fine her and threaten to remove her from the event if she keeps up with the act. According to the statement from the organisers, “We have advised Naomi Osaka that should she continue to ignore her media obligations during the tournament, she would be exposing herself to possible further Code of Conduct infringement consequences. As might be expected, repeat violations attract tougher sanctions including default from the tournament (Code of Conduct Article III T.) and the trigger of a major offence investigation that could lead to more substantial fines and future Grand Slam suspensions (Code of Conduct article IV A.3.).”

Also on the women’s side, Anhelina Kalinina, who entered the event as a qualifier, defeated three-time grand slam winner, Angelique Kerber, 6-2 6-4. This is the third time that Kerber would lose at the opening round in Roland Garros. Petra Kvitova saved a match point in the third round to beat Greet Minnen 6-7 (7-3) 7-6 (7-5) 6-1. Danielle Collins played her first game after endometriosis surgery and won 6-2 4-6 6-4 against Wang Xiyu.

On the men’s side, Dominic Thiem suffered one of the worst defeats of his career after losing 4-6 5-7 6-3 6-4 6-4 to Andujar Pablo. Thiem already enjoyed the advantage of a two-set lead but suffered in the hands of the veteran player for the remaining three sets. Dan Evans also had a bad first round after losing 6-1 3-6 3-6 4-6 to 21-year-old Miomir Kecmanovic.

Written by: Leon Osamor