Djokovic wins on Slam return as Nadal strolls, Osaka out at French Open
Reigning champion Novak Djokovic won in straight sets on his
return to Grand Slam action at the French Open on Monday and 13-time Roland
Garros winner Rafael Nadal eased to victory, but Naomi Osaka crashed out in the
first round.
Djokovic defeated Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-1, 6-0
in the first night session at full capacity in Paris in his first match at a
major since losing last year's US Open final.
His attempt to defend his Australian Open title in January
ended in chaos and controversy when he was deported from Melbourne for refusing
to get vaccinated.
"I'm happy to be back. Roland Garros is one of the
biggest tournaments in the world, and the memories from last year still are
fresh in my head, in my mind," said Djokovic.
The world number one, who turned 35 on Sunday, converted
eight of 18 break points against Nishioka under the roof on Court Philippe Chatrier
on a rain-interrupted day.
"I have to be pleased overall. I always expect highest
from myself, so I can always do better, but was a very good start of the
tournament," added Djokovic.
He will next meet either Federico Coria of Argentina or
Slovakia's Alex Molcan, who is working with Marian Vajda -- Djokovic's former
long-time coach.
Nadal, on a quarter-final collision course with Djokovic,
brushed Australia's Jordan Thompson aside 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 to improve his Roland
Garros record to 106 wins and just three losses since his 2005 title-winning
debut.
"It's a good start, of course, straight sets,"
said Nadal, seeded fifth.
"I played good for a while. Then things that I could do
better and I need to do better. But it's a positive start."
The Spaniard, who last week downplayed concerns over the
recurrence of a foot injury that plagued him in Rome, meets Corentin Moutet in
round two after the French wildcard defeated 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka.
Osaka, Krejcikova
dumped out
Four-time Grand Slam winner Osaka was knocked out 7-5, 6-4
by Amanda Anisimova -- the same player who ended the Japanese star's title
defence at the Australian Open this year.
Osaka served eight double faults and committed 29 unforced
errors on her return to Roland Garros, after withdrawing in 2021 when she
refused to honour mandatory media commitments before revealing she had been
suffering from depression.
"I thought I tried really hard, and I just feel like it
was a bit unfortunate because I wasn't able to play as many matches leading
into this tournament," said Osaka, unseeded at a Grand Slam for the first
time since the 2018 Australian Open.
Anisimova, the 27th seed, reached the semi-finals in Paris
three years ago.
"It's tough to see Naomi Osaka in the first round so I
knew it wouldn't be easy," said the American.
"I knew I had to play my best tennis and the conditions
were not easy."
Women's defending champion Barbora Krejcikova also crashed
out, losing 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 to 19-year-old Diane Parry of France in her first
match since February following injury.
The Czech world number two had yet to play on clay this
season after being sidelined by an elbow problem.
"I just think I just collapsed physically, and, I mean,
it was tough because I didn't play the matches," said Krejcikova.
Fifth seeded Anett Kontaveit became the fourth top-10 player
to fall before the end of the second day, going down 7-6 (7/5), 7-5 to
Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic.
Iga Swiatek, the favourite for the women's title, stretched
her winning streak to 29 matches by dispatching Ukrainian qualifier Lesia Tsurenko
6-2, 6-0 in 54 minutes.
The 20-year-old Swiatek, who took over as world number one
following Ashleigh Barty's shock retirement, has won her last five tournaments
and is bidding for a second French Open in three attempts.
She is unbeaten since February and has the longest winning
streak on the WTA tour since Serena Williams won 34 matches in a row in 2013.
"I'm pretty sure that it can end, but I just want to
keep going. I'm sure someday my streak will stop."
Ten matches were interrupted due to rain and will resume on Tuesday.
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