PARIS – Emma Laducane overcomes illness and took the French opener against the Cinnacle One in three sets on Monday at Roland Garros.
Fearnley was the third UK to play on Monday, and he saw Wawrinka in straight sets. This was Fearnley’s first time in the main draw at Roland Garros, and he was paired with three-time Grand Slam winner Wawrinka.
Wawrinka, 40, is well aware of this part of Paris, considering she won the 2015 French Open.
However, Fianry, who has been rapidly rising in the rankings, sent Wawrinka out in a dominant performance, earning 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-2.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old Radukanu passed 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 against the player of China, the two spots below her in the rankings. This was comparable to Radukanu’s longest match in clay, as it took 2 hours and 44 minutes to pass.
The victory sees Iga Swietek, the four-time Roland Garros champion in the second round, in her play.
It was a tough battle with the King for Radukanu, and Britt needed a doctor’s appointment 6-5 up in the first set. There she ingested her blood pressure and temperature and appeared to be rubbing ice under her eyes. After remembering herself, she was able to offer her first set after returning to court.
Wang immediately started the second set, breaking Raducanu twice. Radukanu seemed to have low energy, but he spins to make the king break twice.
“After the second set, I think I went to the bathroom and really reorganized,” Raducanu said.
“I was thinking of getting a better start than the third thing because I knew it would help me maintain my spirit, keep my fights and maintain the same amount of energy I had.”
Britt came to Roland Garros, who had suffered from back convulsions at the Strasburg Open last week. She admitted that she doesn’t feel 100% towards the competition, but in the third set, Raducanu again found the rhythm and defeated Wang, who had committed a forced error of 54, and controlled it.
From there, she managed to close things down and took 6-3.
“I’m really pleased to be able to do that and give you a little cushion in the backend,” Radkanu said.
“I don’t know why I struggled today. I’ve never really felt good over the last few days. I think I’m managing a few things, but despite that, I can play against some really tough opponents today.
Radonukanu’s next opponent, Sweetok, spoke about the need to treat Britt as a serious threat to her own French open campaign after Paul drove Rebecca Schlankova in a first-round clash at Philip Chatelier.
“Everyone has a different path, you know, and you have different changes,” Swiatek said. But certainly she is a great player and (a) has a great forehand. She can use topspin quite often.
“So we’ve already played a few times and we know each other’s games. Certainly, I need to be intense and focused on myself. But certainly… she won at the US Open. She can play great tennis.
This is the second time Raducanu is in the main draw of Roland Garros. And after she reached the second round in 2022, we see her best finish at Roland Garros and see her defeated by Aliaksandra Sasnovic.
Elsewhere, fellow Britt Jody Ballage lost his first round match against Daniel Collins 7-6 (1), 6-4.
Ranked 165th in the world, Ballage was playing in her first Grand Slam since the 2024 Australia Open.
She missed most of the 2024 season due to wrist and ankle issues, but she pushed Collins against her for the first time in Roland Garros’ main draw.