PARIS: Daniil Medvedev became the highest-ranked player to exit the French Open after a five-sets first-round defeat by Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild on Tuesday while Novak Djokovic was accused of fuelling tensions with his political stance.

World number two Medvedev was tipped as a surprise contender for the Paris title following his Rome triumph, but the Russian was blown away by Wild in gusty conditions on Court Philippe Chatrier and crashed to a 7-6(5), 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, defeat.

The gruelling encounter lasted for more than four hours but the 172-rank Wild prevailed in the end.

Meanwhile, Kosovo’s tennis federation said Djokovic risked aggravating an already tense situation after the world number three wrote that Kosovo was “the heart of Serbia” on a camera lens following his first-round win a day earlier.

Some 30 NATO peacekeeping soldiers were injured on Monday in clashes with Serb protesters in the northern Kosovo town of Zvecan, where Djokovic’s father grew up.

“The comments made by Djokovic at the end of his Roland Garros match against Aleksandar Kovacevic, his statements at the post-match conference and his Instagram post are regrettable,” Kosovo tennis federation chief Jeton Hadergjonaj.

“Despite a general message against violence, the statement ‘Kosovo is the heart of Serbia’ and further statements after the match made by such a public figure... directly result in raising the level of tension between the two states, Serbia and Kosovo.”

Last year’s runner-up and fourth seed Norwegian Casper Ruud advanced to the next round by thumping Swedish qualifier Elias Ymer 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 after American 16th seed Tommy Paul swatted aside Dominic Stephan Stricker 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

Alexander Zverev celebrated a winning return by getting past Lloyd Harris 7-6(6), 7-6(0), 6-1.

Earlier, world number seven Ons Jabeur made a near-flawless start to her campaign by brushing aside unseeded Italian Lucia Bronzetti 6-4, 6-1, while 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva earned her first Grand Slam main draw win.

Andreeva broke new ground at the majors with a 6-2, 6-1 win over former world number 18 Alison Riske-Amritraj.

The Russian qualifier meets Diane Parry after the French wild card beat Rome runner-up Anhelina Kalinina 6-2, 6-3.

Brenda Fruhvirtova, another 16-year-old seeking a statement win, crashed out following a 6-4, 6-2 defeat by Elena Rybakina as the Wimbledon champion continued her quest for a second Grand Slam title.

American sixth seed Coco Gauff also shook off a slow start to seal a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Spain’s Rebeka Masarova.

ALCARAZ CRUISES

On Monday, world number one Carlos Alcaraz got his French Open campaign underway with a 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 win over Italian qualifier Flavio Cobolli.

US Open champion Alcaraz won the first eight games of Monday’s match and was comfortably two sets up in just 52 minutes.

The Spaniard wrapped up the tie on a fifth match point in the 12th game.

Jannik Sinner closed out the night session with a dominant win as the eighth seed downed Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 to book a clash with Daniel Altmaier.

Meanwhile, Stan Wawrinka made his way into the second round after the 2015 champion beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-7(2), 1-6, 6-4 in an epic battle lasting more than four hours.

Zhang Zhizhen later became the first Chinese man in the Open Era to win a main draw match at the French Open as Dusan Lajovic retired while down 6-1, 4-1 while Dominic Thiem fell to Argentine Pedro Cachin who won 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(1) 4-6, 6-2.

In the women’s category, former world number three Elina Svitolina celebrated a winning return to Grand Slam tennis with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Italy’s Martina Trevisan while France’s Caroline Garcia fought her way into the second round by downing China’s Wang Xiyu 7-6(4) 4-6 6-4.

It was the end of the road for Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, however, as the Swiss player lost 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 against lucky loser Elina Avanesyan.

Double Grand Slam champion Petra Kvitova, the 10th seed, fell to a 6-3, 6-4 defeat to Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto while 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko battled back from 1-5 down in the second set to beat Tereza Martincova 6-3, 7-5.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2023