French Open 2026: Zverev, Raducanu and Fritz in action on day one at Roland Garros – live | French Open 2026
Key events
While she seems to have won a clean battle, Krejcikova sends a driven volley into the ribbon, then another hold from Baptiste means that at 6-5 she holds the set point… but a good first serve prompts a return long and wide.
Krejcikova frames a forehand cross… for a winner. It’s the mini-break back, and a hold brings us to 4-4 in what is a truly even contest.
Oooh yeah, Baptise signs a backhand winner down the line for 3-1, and his mahoosive game seems ready to win here. On the 14th, Davidovich Fokina broke again for 4-3 in the fifth; Dzumhur appears to be weakening emotionally, sitting at the change of ends with his head between his legs.
Speaking of Bonzi, of course, allows me to post this cheap piece, “Remember When is the Lowest Form of Conversation,” nostalgia.
But what level of rumor underlines this?
Baptiste holds 6-6 in the first and, Although I would almost always back the bigger server in a breaker, Krejcikova’s cunning makes her a living dog. Back on Chatrier, moreover, Bonzi leads 2-1 in the second serve, Zverev a set at love.
Baptiste is now playing better, more expansive tennis, but Krejcikova is so tough and reliable, holding at 15 for a 6-5 lead in the first. I can’t think of many players, if any, like her, a doubles specialist who, out of nowhere, won two singles slams. I don’t even know how she handles it – it’s amazing to think about it for a hiker like me, years later – a career for which she didn’t even anticipate that others would give up everything to not achieve it, hers with a lot of time to lose. This must profoundly change your self-esteem.
Oh, but Dzumhur is strong to back down, meaning he and Davidovich Fokina are tied at 2-2 in fifth.
Davidovich Fokina breaks Dzumhur for 2-1 in the fifth then, late on break point, he spanks a flat forehand winner – not for the first time. Likewise, Baptiste is at her own level at 5-5 against Krejcikova, and this match looks like it could come down to a point here and there in a break.
Back on Lenglen, Baptiste wins a break point… but Krejcikova saves her with a clever drop, then closes the hold for 5-4 in the first. It’s getting tense now.
Bonzi didn’t go away, saving two set points at 40-15 – a stone volley from Zverev, a quirk he never really tackled, costing him the second. And although a killer forehand then sets up another, once again he can’t convert… but after getting another, he finally manages to lead 6-3.
Leading 4-3, Krejcikova enters the court to make her returns a little early, making it 30-0 in total… then Baptiste closes the hold in short order. So far these two cancel each other out.
Bonzi saves the set point with a forehand winner and closes the hold thusat 5-3, Zverev will now serve for what, so far, has been a routine first set, the break arriving as we expected, with very little threat coming back the other way.
Zverev easily holds for 5-2 and looks solid as you would expect, while Davidovich Fokina calls the coach for a massage on his right quad. On Lenglen, Krejcikova serves at 3-3 in the third, neither she nor Baptiste have shot yet – they are really well matched.
Bonzi started well against Zverev but, losing his advantage on serve, he hit a forehand and it was the break.. At 2-4, he must now find a way to fight back against an opponent who has so far lost with two points on his own performance.
Great stuff department:
Allow Instagram content?
This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before uploading anything, as they may use cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click “Allow and continue”.
Machac, who I think could become good enough to threaten at majors, leads Bergs 6-4 1-3… and Davidovich Fokina is indeed a starter, so he will now play a decisive role against Dzumhur. This may depend on which of the two manages the heat better.
On Mathieu, Volynets beat Burel 3 and 1 – his second round match with Kostyuk will be one to watch. Zverev leads Bonzi 3-2 on serve, while Davidovich Fokina turned things around on 14, serving at 6-5 in the fourth to force a decider against Dzumhur.
Baptiste holds the score at 1-1 against Krejcikova, and it’s a good test of where she stands. She reached the fourth round of this competition last year and, a clay court specialist, hopes to improve her score – Jasmine Paolini is the highest ranked player and eighth. She beat her in Madrid last month, Bencic too, before eliminating Sabalenka in a third set break, before losing the semi-final to Andreeva – her putative round of 16 opponent here – and if she can reduce the unforced errors she has a good chance of becoming a top player.
Great work from Davidovich Fokina, who hooks a backhand high on the court then hits another on the line to secure this break-back. He trails Dzumhur 6-7 6-2 2-6 4-5.
Dzumhur played well today and he beat Davidovich Fokina for 2-1 5-3… only to go down 0-40 on serve for the match. He recovers two break-back points, however, and a forehand into the net means we are two up. Meanwhile, in Lenglen, Baptiste and Krejcikova are getting knocked up – this should be an awesome contest.
This makes me laugh:
Zverev begins his campaign with a love catch.
Mcnally saw it against Tomljanovic, a 6-3 third set that earned him a second-round meeting with Bencic; Dzumhur broke Davidovich Fokina in the fourth set to lead 2-1 3-2; and Machac leads Bergs 5-4 in service.
We watch Zverev’s VT talk about his back pain, saying he felt “amazing” after seeing famous German doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt, known as Healing Hans. After a few months, however, things got even worse, so he came back to him after Rome and he feels good again.
He will know it’s a chance for him, without Carlos Alcaraz – he has the No. 2 seed’s path to the draw, the best player in his eighth Khachanov, with a round of 16 meeting against Fritz scheduled and Djokovic his most likely semi-final opponent. This is a huge chance for him to break his Grand Slam duck – he won’t get a better one, which brings immense pressure, the kind he’s wilted under before.
Continuation on Lenglen: Hailey Baptiste (26 years old) against Barbora Krejciokova.
Karen Khachanov (13) beats Arthur Géa 6-3 7-6(3) 6-0
Géa played pretty well, especially in the second set, but isn’t ready to compete physically at this level and towards the end it showed. Still, he has talent, and it will be interesting to see where he goes from here; Khachanov then meets Jacquet or Trungelliti.
Alright, Dzumhur won the third set 6-2 to lead Davidovich Fokina 2-1… only to be broken in the first game of the fourth. Kecmanovic beat Maroszan 6, 3 and 4, so he will next meet Etcheverry or Borges; Machac and Bergs are tied at 3-3 in the first period; and Khachanov now leads Gea 2-0 5-0, the youngster wilting in the heat.
Continuation on Chatrier: Benjamin Bonzi against Alexandre Zverev (2).
Bencic says she was understandably nervous in the first round, but she was so excited when she saw she would be playing Chatrier. This is her second Roland-Garros as a mother, which has changed a lot – Caroline Garcia, pregnant and who interviews her, will soon experience this feeling, she says – but she is really happy to be able to travel with her family and play lots of great tournaments; she’s open to recommendations as to where they should go on her day off.
Belinda Bencic (11) beats Sinja Kraus 6-2 6-3
A decent workout for Bencic – Kraus, at 24, seems to be hitting her stride – and she’ll face either Mcnally or Tomljanovic next.
Kraus was forced to fight through several ties, but ultimately held on 3-5; Bencic must now serve for the match while, unsurprisingly, Khachanov holds the breaks, leaving Gea behind to lead 6-3 7-6 2-0.
It also happens:
On Lenglen, Bencic consolidates to lead Kraus 6-2 5-2, and she will be really happy about it against an opponent who will give her a proper test. The highest-ranked player in her eighth place is Svitolina, who she will absolutely feel like she can beat – but Kenin and Tauson will consider themselves good enough to stop her from getting there.
I was wondering if Davidovitch Fokina took over against Dzumhur…and he didn’t. The Bosnian leads 1-1 4-1, the No. 21 seed in difficulty. Elsewhere, Mcnally leads Tomjlanovic 3-0 in the third, Kecmanovic is ahead against Maraoszan at 1-1 4-3, and Wang beat Tagger, last year’s women’s champion, 6-3 3-6 6-4. Then for her, Sorribes Tormo or Korpatch.
Khachanov races to 6-3, hits his first ace of the match – yes, it really took that long – to lead 6-3 7-6(3). Gea had good chances in the set and in the break, but couldn’t stay level enough to make them count. However, he will get better with experience.
Gea makes the first mini-break, but Khachanov responds immediately, a big forehand into the corner creating the kind of tricky drop he’s famous for not playing well. Oh, and Gea also loses his next point of service, which is that the big dog seems to find enough quality to fend off anything that comes home. Khachanov leads 4-2, while Kraus has also wilted, broken by Bencic who leads 6-2 4-2 and, after a decent workout, is almost home.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Health-GettyImages-1744313305-a082c099d442458d8239bab29447e846.jpg?w=390&resize=390,220&ssl=1 "5 Ways to Stay Active Indoors All Winter Long")
