34-year-old Nadal needs another success in the Grand Slam to set a Swiss Roger Federer record. However, the Spaniard has described the mission – defending the title at Roland Garros – as “the most difficult of all time”, given the cold and humid weather in the tournament, which was delayed for four months by a coronavirus pandemic.
The French Open champion with the second number defeated Belarusian Yegor Gerasimov, who is the number 83 in the world, with 6-4, 6-4, 6-2, starting the competition 15 years after the triumph in his debut tournament. Nadal is on his way to winning the 13th French Open.
“I’m happy, to be honest. I did the things I had to do. I didn’t expect anything more,” Nadal said after the fight.
“I’m really happy to return to the court named after Philip Shatriye,” he said in front of 1,000 fans.
The Spaniard has arrived in Paris for the first time without a pre-season clay card title, skipping the recent US Open Covid-19 hardcover due to concerns.
Nadal won 32 games, making only 20 unmistakable mistakes and destroying Gerasimov, one of 31 men in the men’s competition in his first French Open.
“I don’t want to make mistakes. It’s different for Roland Garros this year, and the weather is very challenging, but we’re here to try our best,” added Nadal, who is meeting US tennis player McCenzon McDonald in the second round.
Meanwhile, Williams is trying to catch Australian Margaret Court by celebrating his victory in his 24th Grand Slam, but clay is William’s least successful cover.
The American star’s mistakes at the start of the match allowed the world’s 102nd American Christian Kristina to serve the first set, but the three-time “Roland Garros” champion still won 7-6 (7: 2), 6-0.
Williams, who is playing for the 18th time in the French Open, lost twice, earning Ana a 6-4 lead in the first round of the Flushing Meadows.
However, the sixth racket of the tournament in the first set reached Taiwan, which she finished with an elusive service after a 74-minute fight, and in the second, Williams celebrated a simple victory.
“He played very well in his first set, it wasn’t easy for me and he hit a lot of blows that brought a point,” Williams said after the game.
“The biggest difference was confidence. I just had to play with more confidence, like feeling like I was Serena,” Williams said.
Williams, who is numbered sixth here, has not reached the eighth final since his defeat in Paris in the 2016 final against Spaniard Garvinji Mugurus in Paris. Her last victory in the Grand Slam tournament was achieved during her pregnancy at the 2017 Australian Open.
US Open Championship winner Dominik Tim, who has lost to Nadal in the final in Paris in the last two years, defeated former Grand Slam Croatian marina Chiliic 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in his second Grand Slam tournament this month. .
“The tennis I played was good. I was very happy with the way I played from start to finish,” Tim said.
Having already won in New York, Tim is trying to become the only tennis player in the Open era to win the first two winning titles in two tournaments in a row.
“I love this tournament very much, it’s by far my best Grand Slam tournament to date,” said Tim, who will play in the second round with qualifying winner American Jack Sok.
“I’m from Austria, so I know how to play in these cold conditions. I like it when the courts are not too fast,” said the Austrian.
Meanwhile, the little-known Italian Lorenzo Justino himself won the place in the titles on Monday, when he beat the French tennis player Corentén Mouth with 0-6, 7-6 (9: 7), 7-6 (7: 3), 2-6, 18-16. With six hours and five minutes, it was the second longest match ever in the history of the French Open.
The game, which started on Sunday, was only 28 minutes behind the French Open championship record, which has belonged to the hosts Fabris Santoro and Arno Kleman since 2004.
The Roland Garros tournament was due to take place this year from May 25 to June 7, but in mid-March it was moved to autumn and is the last Grand Slam of the season.
The tournament takes place on clay.
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