Coco Gauff Overcomes Pre-Match Blunder to Advance; Medvedev Exits French Open Early
In a dramatic opening day at the French Open, American star Coco Gauff turned a potential disaster into triumph, while Daniil Medvedev faced an unexpected early exit on a day filled with surprises and stellar performances.
Gauff, the tournament’s second seed, forgot to bring her rackets to the court, prompting a frantic scramble by her team to retrieve them. However, once the match began, she displayed her championship potential with a commanding 6-2, 6-2 victory over Australia’s Olivia Gadecki. “The most important thing is to play with a racket,” Gauff joked after the match, posting a humorous photo on social media of her to-do list, which notably lacked the item “put tennis rackets in bag.”
“It probably relaxed me going into the match because it was such a funny thing. I’m just happy to get through,” she added, looking forward to her next matchup against Tereza Valentova.
On the men’s side, former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev struggled to find his rhythm, losing to Cameron Norrie in a five-set thriller, 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, 7-5. Medvedev, who had initially taken a 3-1 lead, faltered dramatically, dropping eight consecutive games. Frustrated, he displayed animated gestures toward his team, something Norrie noted was unusual for the typically composed Russian. “It was quite nice to see him freaking out,” Norrie said, relishing his victory.
Meanwhile, third seed Alexander Zverev cruised through his opening match with a solid 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 win over Learner Tien, making amends for a previous loss to the young American earlier this year.
As the day progressed, 38-year-old Frenchman Gael Monfils thrilled the crowd with a stunning comeback against Hugo Dellien, rallying from two sets down to win 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(4), 6-1, matching Yannick Noah’s record of 40 singles victories at Roland Garros.
In other notable matches, Novak Djokovic began his quest for a record 25th Grand Slam title with a straightforward 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 win over Mackenzie McDonald. “It’s great to return here a year later. I know I can play at a better level than today, but I’m satisfied,” Djokovic remarked.
The women’s draw also saw veteran Victoria Azarenka make history, becoming the oldest woman to win a singles Grand Slam main-draw match in the professional era at 35, with a commanding 6-0, 6-0 victory over Yanina Wickmayer.
