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3 days ago
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'It can't look like a circus'
French Open 2025 Dates: 25 May-8 June Venue: Roland Garros Coverage: Live radio commentaries across 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, plus live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website and app Jaume Munar has criticised the "circus" created by French Open crowds and accused them of a "complete lack of respect" in his five-set loss to home favourite Arthur Fils. The Spaniard fought back from two sets down against 14th seed Fils in their second-round match but ultimately fell 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 0-6 6-4 on Court Suzanne Lenglen. A raucous French crowd offered passionate support to Fils as he battled through a back injury to seal an epic victory after four hours and 25 minutes. "I'm going to be very clear on the subject and I'm not going to mince my words," Munar said in his post-match news conference. "It's fine if they encourage the other player, if they shout, I'm used to it. In South America it's very intense as well. "But what I consider a complete lack of respect - and here, it happens often - is that they sing non-stop, they interrupt continuously. "It's not even a question of emotional or personal impact, it's simply that play cannot go on as normal." Boulter loses to end British interest in women's singles Sinner advances on day of upsets and drama Second seed Gauff through to Paris third round Munar had to ask the crowd to be quiet during the final game as he served to stay in the match, having previously been a break up. Despite struggling to move at one point, Fils brought the crowd to their feet as he completed a miraculous victory, before removing his shirt and lapping up the atmosphere. "It seems like a great show for the spectators, but you have to remember we're here to do our job," Munar said. "What it can't look like is a circus and there are times here it looks like theatre. "At the US Open it's a show but they understand sports differently. They can cheer a lot and have a sense of spectacle, but they never disrespect the players. In Australia it's similar. "Here in Paris, it's a bit much. It would be good to calm things down a bit to let play go on more as it should." Live scores, results and order of play Get tennis news sent straight to your phone
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4 days ago
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Alcaraz overcomes blip to progress
French Open 2025 Dates: 25 May-8 June Venue: Roland Garros Coverage: Live radio commentaries across 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, plus live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website and app Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz overcame a blip in form to beat Fabian Marozsan and reach the French Open third round - but 2021 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas is out. Spaniard Alcaraz started strongly but dropped the second set before recovering to wrap up a 6-1 4-6 6-1 6-2 win over his Hungarian opponent. But there was no such fortune for Greek 20th seed Tsitsipas, who was stunned by world number 167 Matteo Gigante of Italy, losing 6-4 5-7 6-2 6-4. Victory was Alcaraz's 17th in 18 matches on clay this year as he looks to become the first man since compatriot Rafael Nadal in 2020 to retain the Roland Garros title. "In the second set, he started to play much better and he was really aggressive. He didn't miss at all so it was a little difficult to deal with his game in the second set," said the 22-year-old. "But I'm really happy I stayed strong and refreshed myself. I started to play better and better which helped me have a really good last two sets." Alcaraz won titles in Monte Carlo and Rome in the build-up to the French Open and mirrored that form at the start as he broke three times to win the first set inside 28 minutes. Marozsan, looking to reach the third round at Roland Garros for the first time, broke early in a scrappy second set before fending off the second seed to level. But Alcaraz - a four-time Grand Slam champion - responded well to breeze through the rest of the match. He will face unseeded Damir Dzumhur in the third round after the Bosnian's 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 4-6 6-4 win over France's 31st seed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Raducanu outclassed by Swiatek at French Open Paolini sweeps aside Tomljanovic to reach third round It was another early Grand Slam exit for Tsitsipas, who lost in the 2021 final to Novak Djokovic in an epic five-setter. The 26-year-old has now failed to make it past the second round in his past four appearances at a major, while it is his earliest defeat at Roland Garros since 2018. The defeat means Tsitsipas is set to drop outside of the world's top 20 for the first time since August 2018. By claiming the biggest win of his career, Gigante - who is making his debut at the French Open after going through qualifying - is rewarded with a third-round meeting with American 13th seed Ben Shelton. Elsewhere, American 12th seed Tommy Paul pulled off an impressive comeback after being two sets down to beat Hungary's Marton Fucsovics 4-6 2-6 6-3 7-5 6-4. Paul will face Russian 24th seed Karen Khachanov, who booked his place in round three with a 7-5 3-6 7-5 4-6 6-2 win against Austria's Sebastian Ofner. Meanwhile, Lorenzo Musetti, the Italian eighth seed, went through to the third round with a 6-4 6-0 6-4 win against Colombia's Daniel Galan. In the men's doubles competition, Jacob Fearnley, who won his first French Open singles match on Monday, safely cruised into the second round alongside Canadian Gabriel Diallo with a 6-0 6-2 win over Nicolas Barrientos and Rithvik Bollipalli of Colombia and India respectively. Briton Luke Johnson reached the second round of a Grand Slam for just the third time as he and his Dutch partner Sander Arends beat Brazilian-Chile pairing Marcelo Demoliner and Nicolas Jarry 3-6 6-3 7-6 (10-6). Live scores, results and order of play Get tennis news sent straight to your phone
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5 days ago
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How can Raducanu stun the 'Queen of Clay'?
Raducanu v Swiatek - French Open 2025 Date: 29 May Venue: Court Philippe Chatrier, Roland Garros Coverage: Live radio commentary on 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, plus live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app Eyes were inevitably drawn to the possibility of Emma Raducanu facing four-time champion Iga Swiatek in the French Open second round when the draw was made last week. Even Britain's Raducanu admitted she could not avoid the talk of what might lie ahead. The 22-year-old showed physical and mental resilience to beat Wang Xinyu on Monday - but victory over Swiatek, nicknamed the 'Queen of Clay', in Paris is one of the toughest tasks in the women's game. "It's a tall mountain to climb," said former British number one Annabel Croft, who will be covering the match for BBC Radio 5 Live. "But it's not a foregone conclusion because Swiatek has suffered a lot of losses this year." Before the pair meet at about 15:30 BST on Wednesday, BBC Sport analyses how Raducanu can cause a shock against the world number five. 'I think I deserve a diploma' - Norrie stuns Medvedev 'OK, no racquets...' - but Gauff still progresses Djokovic makes winning start to French Open bid Since claiming her first French Open title as a teenager in 2020, Swiatek has built a formidable record on the Paris clay. She has won four of the past five tournaments - and the statistics underline her dominance: 22 victories in a row 36 wins in 38 French Open matches Zero defeats since 2021 However, the 23-year-old's reign is under more threat than ever. Swiatek has not reached a final since her title triumph in Paris last year and had, by her high standards, a below-par clay-court swing. "She has a real problem with her forehand down the line, and players know that," former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash told BBC Radio 5 Live before the tournament. "She might be able to get away with it on clay because she's so fast and can keep pulling players out of position. "But it is a real liability on other surfaces and now it's a problem on the clay. "She'll hit one, miss one, hit one, miss one; you can't do that. You need to be hitting 20 points in a row before you make the mistake." One of the biggest natural strengths in Raducanu's game has been her backhand, but the forehand has become an increasingly useful weapon. "I think her forehand has developed into one of the best aspects of her game," Croft said. "I really like the cross-court forehand - it has height, it travels and she is dangerous on the run with it. "But against an athlete like Swiatek, more of them generally come back." Raducanu has had little joy against Swiatek. The 2021 US Open champion has lost all four of their previous meetings - twice on indoor clay in Stuttgart, and twice on hard courts at Indian Wells and this year's Australian Open. The 6-1 6-0 defeat in Melbourne was particularly chastening, with Swiatek's groundstrokes proving too powerful and precise for Raducanu. "She gets really fired up when she plays me - I don't know why that is but she's always played really well," Raducanu told BBC Sport. "I'm not sure if it is a me thing but every time we have played she has been high level." Raducanu has improved in the four months since they last met, but the way she was outclassed by world number two Coco Gauff on the Madrid clay showed the gap she still has to bridge. "Against a top quality opponent who is not going to go away psychologically, that's where you are going to see where Raducanu's game is at," said Croft. "She knows she has to come out and be aggressive against Swiatek. She won't get away with just pushing the ball around. "She will need to get the first strike in and will also need to get depth – or angle - to try and control the point. "If you start to play catch-up against Swiatek in a rally you will come out second best." Raducanu was criticised earlier in her career for seemingly not being tough enough to get through matches when she was not feeling 100%. She has made encouraging strides with her fitness this season and developed greater trust in her body. That provided the base for Raducanu to show more resilience in deciding sets, as she did successfully against Wang. "I have had a lot more three-set matches this year and come out successful more than in the past, which gives me more confidence," Raducanu said. Raducanu woke up feeling "sick" before her first-round match and any hint she is lacking energy on Wednesday will be exposed by Swiatek. But Raducanu offered a reassuring update in her post-match news conference. "I feel better. I had a good amount of food," she added. "I think it was also maybe just an earlier wake-up than usual for me. Maybe my body was just lagging a little bit. "After a good feed and some rest, I think I'll probably be OK." Live scores, results and order of play Get tennis news sent straight to your phone
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6 days ago
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Sinner overcomes late wobble to win Paris opener
French Open 2025 Dates: 25 May-8 June Venue: Roland Garros Coverage: Live radio commentaries across 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, plus live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website and app World number one Jannik Sinner defied a late wobble to begin his French Open campaign with a straight-set victory over Arthur Rinderknech. Playing his first Grand Slam match since serving a three-month doping ban, Italian Sinner beat his French opponent 6-4 6-3 7-5 on Court Philippe Chatrier. Advertisement It was not as comfortable as the scoreline suggests, however, with the 23-year-old forced to fight back from a double break down in the third set against a resurgent Rinderknech. It marked a return to winning ways for Sinner after Carlos Alcaraz ended his run of 26 successive match victories in the Italian Open final earlier this month. "First-round matches are never easy," he said. "I'm very happy with how I handled the situation, especially in the third set. "He made a couple of mistakes when he was serving for the set so that gave me some help. But I just tried to have the right mindset and attitude." Advertisement Earlier on Monday, world number four Taylor Fritz became the highest-ranked player to exit this year's tournament at Roland Garros as he was beaten by Daniel Altmaier in the first round. Having saved three early break points in a cagey opener, Sinner was gifted the first set in an error-strewn service game from 75th-ranked Rinderknech, a backhand planted into the net on Sinner's first set point sending the Italian on his way. He broke at the second time of asking in the fourth game of the second set and eased through its remainder, dropping just a solitary point on serve. But his game temporarily crumbled in the third set as Rinderknech, buoyed by a partisan crowd in his home capital, won the opening four games to take a commanding lead. Advertisement Normality soon resumed however as Sinner fought back to cancel out Rinderknech's break points, puncturing the atmosphere on the showcase court. From there he barely gave his opponent another sniff of a chance. Piling the pressure on the Frenchman's racquet, Sinner went a break up and sealed the match with a fierce serve Rinderknech, 29, could do little to match. Sinner will play French veteran Richard Gasquet in the second round. Former top 10 player Gasquet, 38, is playing the final tournament of his career at Roland Garros and beat compatriot and fellow wildcard Terence Atmane in his opening match. Advertisement Sinner won his third major title at the Australian Open in January but has yet to reach the final at Roland Garros, exiting in the semi-finals 12 months ago at the hands of eventual champion Alcaraz. In February he accepted an immediate three-month ban after reaching a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) over his two positive drugs tests last year. That suspension ended earlier in May, meaning he was able to compete at his home tournament in Rome - where he dropped just one set en-route to the final against Alcaraz - before travelling to Paris for the second major of the year. Fritz 'playing horrendous tennis on important points' Taylor Fritz will now fall below Britain's Jack Draper in the live rankings [Getty Images] Earlier, American Fritz lost 12 of the final 16 games in a 7-5 3-6 6-3 6-1 defeat by the German world number 47 Altmaier. Advertisement Fritz, 27, reached the final of last year's US Open - losing to Sinner in straight sets - but his poor form in 2025 continued on Court Simonne Mathieu. He will drop out of the top four as a result, with Britain's Jack Draper moving up a place in the live rankings. "I think I'm playing generally fine. It's just I'm playing horrendous tennis on a lot of the important points," said Fritz. "All the pressure, important points, I don't know what's going on. I'm finding ways to just play the worst point possible. "Physically, I don't really feel that bad. For how I've been most of this year, I feel good." Advertisement Altmaier earned the biggest win of his career by ranking to set up a second-round meeting with 86th-ranked Czech player Vit Kopriva. The 26-year-old broke Fritz's serve three times as he reeled off the final six games of the match, sealing victory in two hours and 41 minutes. Fritz reached the French Open fourth round in 2024 but has lost four of his seven matches on clay this year. Also on Monday, men's defending champion Carlos Alcaraz made serene progress, beating Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri 6-3 6-4 6-2. Two-time runner-up Casper Ruud avoided any scares, breezing past Spanish qualifier Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3 6-4 6-2, while 10th seed Holger Rune came back to beat Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-3 6-2. Advertisement Stefanos Tsitsipas, the beaten finalist in Paris in 2021, also advanced, beating Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-5 6-3 6-4. Etcheverry's compatriot Francisco Cerundolo, the 18th seed, was also knocked out in a 7-5 6-3 6-4 defeat by world number 54 Gabriel Diallo of Canada.
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6 days ago
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Boulter and Fearnley earn maiden French Open wins
French Open 2025 Dates: 25 May-8 June Venue: Roland Garros Coverage: Live radio commentaries across 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, plus live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website and app Britain's Katie Boulter finally landed her first French Open main-draw victory at the age of 28 after Jacob Fearnley won on his debut against former champion Stan Wawrinka. Boulter, ranked 38th in the world, overcame a tense start to win 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 6-1 against French world number 231 Carole Monnet. "I'm really pleased with myself," said Boulter, who could play reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the second round. "I sometimes find it really difficult on this surface and I've kind of persevered and tried my hardest to bring some good tennis. "This one is special for me and it'll go in my books." Also playing in front of a partisan opposition crowd, 55th-ranked Fearnley made smooth progress with a 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 6-2 victory over the popular 40-year-old Wawrinka. The pair were joined in the second round by Emma Raducanu, who fought through "feeling sick" to beat China's Wang Xinyu earlier on Monday. However, Jodie Burrage was unable to complete a British clean sweep on day two of the clay-court Grand Slam event. The 25-year-old, playing under a protected injury ranking, lost 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 to American former world number seven Danielle Collins. Sick Raducanu 'really proud' of battling Paris win Alcaraz 'expected worse' at start of French Open title defence Swiatek & Badosa inspired by Nadal in opening wins Fearnley was only three years old when Switzerland's Wawrinka made his French Open debut in 2005, but had the benefit of youthful vitality - if not clay-court experience - over the three-time major winner. Wawrinka beat Novak Djokovic to lift the trophy in Paris ten years ago but has since dropped to 138th in the world rankings. Fearnley, meanwhile, had never played an ATP Tour match on clay before this year. The 23-year-old from Edinburgh was ranked outside of the world's top 500 just 12 months ago but has risen rapidly up the rankings to a career-high of 55. After clinching the opening set via a tie-break, Fearnley broke early in the second and raced out to a 4-1 lead before serving the set out to love. Wawrinka, who knocked Andy Murray out in the first round last year, dropped serve immediately in the third set but fought back to move level at 2-2 - much to the delight of the crowd on court 14. Their joy was short-lived as Fearnley quickly restored his lead and won four straight games to wrap up victory. On overcoming the pro-Wawrinka crowd, Fearnley said: "There were a lot of guys talking to me. It was mostly in French. They could have been saying nice things, but I doubt it." Fearnley has now won on his main draw debut at each of the three Grand Slams he has featured at so far - Wimbledon, the Australian Open and Roland Garros. He will face either Christopher O'Connell of Australia or French 22nd seed Ugo Humbert in the second round. Fourth seed Fritz out of French Open in first round Ninth seed Navarro suffers 6-0 6-1 first-round upset 'Big Four' reunite at Nadal's French Open farewell
