French Open: Maria Sakkari and Belinda Bencic sovereign
Last year's semi-finalist Maria Sakkari (WTA No. 3) started the French Open 2022 confidently. Ons Jabeur was surprisingly eliminated.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: May 22, 2022, 09:58 pm
Sakkari beat France's Clara Burel 6-2, 6-3 to advance to Round 2 at Roland Garros. Sakkari had reached the semi-finals in Paris last year, where he was eliminated in a thriller against the eventual winner Barbora Krejcikova.
Also through: Belinda Bencic after beating Reka Luna Jani 6-1, 6-1, as well as Jil Teichmann after beating Bernarda Pera 6-2, 6-1.
The biggest surprise on day 1 for the women: the end of Ons Jabeur, last winner of the 1000 tournament in Madrid and finalist in Rome. The Tunisian lost to a strong Magda Linette 6:3, 6:7 (4), 5:7. Also eliminated: Garbine Muguruza, Paris winner from 2016 - she lost to "Grand Slam Fright" Kaia Kanepi 6: 2, 3: 6, 4: 6.
Leylah Fernandez was also victorious late in the evening: The US Open finalist had to compete against the French audience alongside local hero Kiki Mladenovic and ultimately won 6-0, 7-5, with Mladenovic giving up a few chances in the second round.
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