On the night from Saturday to Sunday, in the middle of the atmospheric cold and the empty stands of the Philippe-Chatrier track due to the curfew, Roger Federer suffered and won a pulse of more than three and a half hours to reach the round of 16 at Roland Garros.
Although shortly after, in a press conference, the Swiss questioned his continuity in the Parisian tournament.
“I don’t know if I’m going to play” in the second round against Matteo Berrettini, Federer launched after defeating German Dominik Koepfer (59th) 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/4 ), 7-5.
“I have to decide whether to continue playing or not. Isn’t it too risky to keep forcing (the knee)? Isn’t it the right time to rest? ‘
But for now, the first week of Roland Garros concluded without claiming any weight casualties in the men’s draw, where Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic sealed their pass to the second round this Saturday, while the Polish Iga Swiatek continues for the moment unstoppable towards a second title consecutive in Paris.
The paths of Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Diego Schwartzman, all three in the same part of the table, continue to draw closer at this Roland Garros. The Spanish (No. 3 in the world), and the Argentine (10th) won their respective third-round commitments, and see an eventual cross in the quarterfinals closer.
Nor did the Serbian fail, world number 1, who if the ATP hierarchy reigned, would meet any of them in the semifinals.
– Goodbye Alcaraz –
The one that Nadal will no longer be able to face is Carlos Alcaraz (97th), the tennis player called to succeed the 13-time winner of Roland Garros as the standard bearer of Spanish tennis in the next few years, who lost to the German Jan-Lennard Struff (43rd) -next Schwartzman’s rival- 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2.
In the first match of the day, Schwartzman (10th in the ATP rankings) defeated veteran German tennis player Philipp Kohlschreiber (132nd) in three straight sets.
The Peque needed just over two hours to impose his youth (28 years) and hierarchy against the German (37 years) on the Suzanne-Lenglen track under the cloudy sky of the French capital, and as in his two previous commitments (against Yen-Hsun Lu and Aljaz Bedene) did not yield a single set; 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.
“I am very happy to be back, to play my best tennis again, last year was my best tournament here, and few people were able to come, I am very happy to play in front of many people this week,” said Peque as soon as he finished. his match, recalling the semifinal reached last European autumn and lost to Rafa Nadal.
At lunchtime in Paris, Nadal jumped onto the track Suzanne-Lenglen to defeat Briton Cameron Norrie (45th) in just over two hours and in three straight sets.
Nadal sealed his 103rd win over Parisian clay with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
– Djokovic and Swiatek walks –
The 35-year-old from Mallorca will play for a place in the top eight against young Italian Jannik Sinner (19th).
“It has been a correct first week, with three games won without losing any set,” Nadal analyzed.
Another favorite, Novak Djokovic, enjoyed a triumphant ride on the Philippe-Chatrier track to beat Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis (93rd) 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 in 1 hour and 32 minutes.
“It may have seemed simple, but it wasn’t,” summed up the world’s No. 1.
In the women’s draw, Iga Swiatek defeated Estonian Anett Kontaveit (31st) 7-6 (7/4), 6-0 to reach the round of 16 of the Parisian Grand Slam, a round in which the Ukrainian-sixth Elina Svitolina after losing to Czech Barbora Krejcikova.
The 20-year-old Pole scored her 10th consecutive victory at Roland Garros.
Swiatek will face 18-year-old Marta Kostyuk (81st) of Ukraine for a place in the quarterfinals.
With some more difficulty, the American Sofia Kenin, world number five and finalist last year, went up a set to defeat her compatriot Jessica Pegula (29th), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
And the American Jennifer Brady, fourteenth in the world, abandoned her match against her compatriot Coco Gauff, a victim of a foot injury.
After the withdrawal of Naomi Osaka, second in the world, invoking her anxiety problems and depressive episodes, the loss due to injury of Petra Kvitova (12th) and the No. 1 in the world Ashleigh Barty, also injured, a new head of series left the Paris tournament prematurely. (GG) (AFP)