Terrible day for the French. The No. 1 tricolors were beaten in the second round of Roland-Garros, Wednesday, May 31. Caroline Garcia, world No. 5 and best French chance of the Parisian fortnight, was eliminated on Wednesday in the second round of Roland-Garros by Russian Anna Blinkova (56th) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 who had need nine match points.
Reached the top 5 after a hair-raising second half of the season in 2022, including a title in Cincinnati, a semi-final at the US Open – her first grand slam – and a triumph at the end of the Masters season, Garcia (29), lost confidence, struggles to live up to his new status since the start of the year.
Humbert, 24, never managed to take his opponent’s serve in the first two sets. When he finally got there, at the very start of the third set, he couldn’t prevent Sonego from immediately picking up. The two men then kept their face-offs until the tie-break in which Sonego did not shake.
Lucas Pouille’s adventure at Roland-Garros ended in the second round on Wednesday. The Frenchman, who is trying to come back after years of physical and psychological darkness, was dominated by Briton Cameron Norrie (13th) 6-1, 6-3, 6-3. At 29, Pouille passed all three qualifying rounds as well as the first round of the main draw, something he hadn’t done in a grand slam since the 2019 US Open. He hadn’t won on the ATP Tour. since losing the second round of the Masters 1000 in Madrid in May 2022 and, this year, he had played until then only on the Challenger circuit, where he had won only three matches for four defeats.
The tournament also stops at this stage for Luca van Assche (82nd). The young Frenchman lost in three sets against the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (34th), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (8/6), for his first appearance at Roland-Garros. He never managed to control the game, leaving that role to his opponent of the day. However, he regained some color in the third set, and led 5-3. He then glimpsed a fourth round, but ended up cracking.
It only took two match points for Rublev (7th) to seal his victory against Corentin Moutet (61st), 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. But the French will have worried his opponent a little by going to win the third set. “I was playing well, I was leading two sets to nil, and I loosened up a bit, he started playing better, he had nothing left to lose, I tried to refocus and I was able to reverse the trend in the fourth set, “said the Russian puncher, so often caught up in his emotions. Not this time, because it is he who will play the third round.
The day ends as it began: in defeat. Leolia Jeanjean (124th) in turn lost to Russian Elina Avanesyan, 20 (134th), 6-0, 7-5. She has never been up to her opponent, breaking only once, at the start of the second set.
Of the 28 French people competing in the main draw, ten were still engaged in the second round. Diane Parry, Océane Dodin and Arthur Rinderknech are the last in line and will try to join the third round on Thursday. Because Gaël Monfils, who beat Baez after a crazy match, was forced to retire for a left wrist injury.
