Andreescu eliminated in French Open 1st round by 85th-ranked Tamara Zidansek
Canadian made 63 unforced errors in suffering 1st career loss on clay at top level
Bianca Andreescu says she's healthy, but her game remains a concern after making an early exit at the French Open.
The Canadian star, who has endured a roller-coaster return to tennis in 2021, lost 6-7 (1), 7-6 (2), 9-7 to world No. 85 Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia on Monday in a three-hour 20-minute first-round match at the clay-court Grand Slam.
"I didn't feel like I played good tennis today," the No. 6 seed, from Mississauga, Ont., said. "But at the same time, she played really, really well. She threw me off a lot with her heavy, spinny shots and her variety.
"But at least thinking on the positive side I'm healthy, and I was able to fight as hard as I could."
WATCH | Andreescu comes up short in Paris:
Zidansek is into the second round of the French Open for the first time after pulling off her first career victory over a top-10 opponent.
It was just Andreescu's fourth match, and first loss, on clay in her career at the top level.
The 20-year-old Andreescu pulled out of last week's Strasbourg warm-up event with abdominal discomfort after winning two matches.
I just want to keep my head up. ... I might cry a lot tonight, but tomorrow is a new day.— Bianca Andreescu on her 1st-round loss at French Open
Prior to that, the 2019 U.S. Open champion was off seven weeks. Andreescu suffered a foot injury in the final of the Miami Open in April and then tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in Spain for the start of the clay-court season.
63 unforced errors
Andreescu did not play at all in 2020 after suffering a knee injury at the WTA Finals in 2019.
"It sucks right now for me and I can just learn from it," Andreescu said. "Because that's what life's all about, you learn from your mistakes. I made a couple today, but that's part of life.
"I just want to keep my head up, feel what I feel right now. I might cry a lot tonight, but tomorrow is a new day."
Andreescu made 63 unforced errors, 17 more than her opponent.
"I think I prepared super, super well for this tournament. That's why to me it's very disappointing, because I thought I could go far," Andreescu said.
Andreescu said she has signed up for grass-court tournaments in Berlin and Eastbourne, England, before Wimbledon later this summer.
"Hopefully the hard work that I did put in today and over the past couple of weeks will really show hopefully for the grass, for the hard-court season, all of that," she said.
Auger-Aliassime opens play Tuesday
Zidansek, meanwhile, was thrilled with her performance.
"Obviously first top-10 win is a big one," she said. "It shows me that I can play with players like that. I showed myself today that I can beat them."
Zidansek will face American Madison Brengle in the second round.
Leylah Annie Fernandez of Laval, Que., the other Canadian in the women's singles draw, won her first-round match on Sunday. She'll face No. 23 seed Madison Keys of the U.S. in the second round.
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime, the lone Canadian in the men's singles draw after Milos Raonic and Denis Shapovalov pulled out, plays his first-round match against Italy's Andreas Seppi on Tuesday.
Medvedev out of 1st-round funk
At his fifth attempt, Daniil Medvedev has finally won a match at Roland Garros.
The second-seeded Russian, who lost in the first round on each of his four previous appearances on the Parisian red clay, claimed a maiden win at the Grand Slam event by defeating Alexander Bublik 6-3, 6-3, 7-5.
Medvedev has often struggled on the slow surface — he has a 12-20 record on clay — and much prefers hard courts. He holds a 148-59 record on hard and has won all his 10 titles on the fast surface.
During his on-court interview, Medvedev told the crowd he feels the balls used in Paris suit his game really well.
"Since I arrived here I'm feeling really well, I can almost play as if on hard courts," he said. "Hopefully I can achieve something big."
A two-time Grand slam runner-up, Medvedev is bidding to become the third Russian man to win a major after Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin.
Federer sweep in Grand Slam return
Roger Federer has made a winning return to Grand Slam tennis after 16 months away.
Federer's first match at a major tournament since the 2020 Australian Open ended with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 victory over qualifier Denis Istomin at the French Open.
Federer produced more than twice as many winners as unforced errors — 48 to 20 — and never faced a break point while improving to 8-0 against Istomin over their careers.
Federer, who turns 40 in August, had two operations on his right knee last year.
Federer won the 2009 French Open for one of his 20 Grand Slam titles. He shares that men's record with rival Rafael Nadal.
Kenin ends losing skid on clay
American Sofia Kenin has broken a four-match losing streak on clay and won her opening match at the French Open by beating 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko in three sets.
The score was 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
Kenin is seeded fourth and was the runner-up last year to Iga Swiatek. The victory was Kenin's first since announcing she's no longer coached by her father, Alex.
Kenin converted nine of 10 break points against Ostapenko and won despite losing serve seven times.
Italian teen Sinner avoids shocking exit
Italian rising star Jannik Sinner saved a match point in his opening match at the French Open before rallying past Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-1, 4-6, 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-4.
The 18th-seeded teenager was on the verge of a shocking exit at Roland Garros, a year after making it to the quarter-finals on his debut on the Parisian clay. But Herbert could not seize his chance, shanking a shot wide at 4-5, 30-40 in the fourth set.
That proved to be a turning point as Sinner finally held, broke, and sealed the set. Herbert's missed backhand volley then gave Sinner an early break in the decider and the Italian prevailed with his deep groundstrokes.
Swiatek back to winning ways in Paris
Defending French Open champion Iga Swiatek has picked up right where she left off last year in winning the title: running yet another opponent this way and that on the red clay of Roland Garros in a straight-set victory.
Her best friend on the tennis circuit, Kaja Juvan, was the victim on Court Philippe Chatrier on Monday as Swiatek emphatically kicked off her campaign to become the first woman since Justine Henin in 2007 to successfully defend the French Open title.
Playing on her 20th birthday, Swiatek treated herself to a 6-0, 7-5 victory — her eighth straight-set win in a row at Roland Garros, having also not dropped a set in winning last year as an unseeded 19-year-old.
Serena wins in 1st night session at French Open
Serena Williams is a winner in the first scheduled night session in French Open history. She overcome two set points to beat Irina-Camelia Begu 7-6 (6), 6-2 under the lights in the first round.
Matches at last year's tournament in September stretched into the night on courts with new lights. But scheduled night play is new this year at Roland Garros.
Williams and Begu took the court in the twilight at 9 p.m. with the stadium stands empty. Fans are being admitted for day matches this year, but not for night sessions.
Williams struggled with her first serve but moved well and played aggressively, charging forward when she had the chance. Facing a set point in the tiebreaker, she sprinted in and from the service line whacked a nervy swinging volley for a winner.
She has won the French Open three times, most recently in 2015, and at age 39 is chasing a record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title.
Williams improved to 77-1 in first-round Slam matches. The loss came in Paris in 2012.
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