We feared the worst at the start of the tournament, but the French are resisting in the table. Léolia Jeanjean, Hugo Gaston and Gilles Simon joined Diane Parry in the third round of the tournament. On the side of the favorites, Daniil Medvedev advances quietly while Iga Swiatek crushes everything in his path…
The French: Leolia Jeanjean
At 26, after a more than bumpy journey, the former great hope of French tennis is finally on the front of the Seine. The Montpellier, 227th in the world, took out the Czech Pliskova, n°8 in the WTA (6-2, 6-2) in the 2nd round with astonishing mastery. Endowed with a great tactical sense, the Héraultaise handles the variations to perfection. Her trainer Thomas Delgado, who has been following her for a few weeks, estimates her level around 50th place in the world. Enough to open up some great prospects in the next round against the Romanian Begu.
The French: Hugo Gaston and Gilles Simon
Exhausted for their double on Wednesday, Hugo Gaston and Gilles Simon have found their colors. On the Suzanne-Lenglen court, the first perfectly contained the Argentinian Pedro Cachin, lucky loser (6-4, 6-2, 6-4). The second, who is playing his last Roland-Garros, again went looking for resources to take out the American Steve Johnson in three sets too (7-5, 6-1, 7-6). The two friends will have well deserved their day of rest. On Saturday, Gaston will meet the great Danish hope Holger Rune while Simon will find the Croatian Marin Cilic.
The perf: David Goffin
After chaining injuries, the 31-year-old Belgian disappeared from the top of the bill. But the 48th in the world seems to be climbing the slope. In Madrid, the former world No. 7 offered himself four match points against Nadal without managing to conclude. Showing by sequences that he was back. At the end of a three-hour fight, the Liégeois overcame the American Tiafoe (3-6, 7-6 (1), 6-2, 6-4) and qualified for the 3rd round. for the first time since 2019.
“It means a lot to me,” he explains. I’m playing well at the moment, I feel very good physically, mentally. My tennis is on point. So to join the third round, finally, it’s not a surprise, if you see my results these last months. But, inside me, it’s a little bit of a surprise…” In the next round, the task will be a little more difficult against the Pole Hurkacz (n°12).
Le bide: Simona Halep
During the end of the fortnight, Patrick Mouratoglou will have all his time to offer to France Télévisions. Her protege Simona Halep (n°19), winner in Paris in 2018 and double finalist, was unceremoniously taken out by the Chinese Zheng (2-6, 6-2, 6-1), who had never played the slightest match of his life at Roland-Garros… The Romanian was downright seized with a panic attack when she was leading in the score. “I didn’t know how to deal with it, because I don’t have it often,” she explains. I don’t know why it happened, because I was dominating the game, I was playing well, but lo and behold, it happened. And like I said, I lost my focus. I recovered, and I will learn, I will learn from this episode. Nothing dangerous, in any case in my opinion. »
The number: 30
Given the few minutes she spends on the courts, it’s sure that Iga Swiatek has time for sightseeing… The world No. 1 stayed longer visiting the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday than Thursday on the court Suzanne-Lenglen to crush the American Riske in one hour. The Polish, winner of the 2020 edition, conceded barely two games (6-0, 6-2). Like in the first round. And won his 30th victory in a row on the circuit. Did you say favorite?
The phrase: “If I saw a tarantula, I might be scared”
Even if he is not a big fan of clay, everything is going well for Daniil Medvedev. The world No. 2 went perfectly against the Serb Djere (6-3, 6-4, 6-3) and ensured his qualification for the 3rd round where he will find another Serb, Kecmanovic. Since he is no longer afraid of the surface, the Russian mentioned his aversion… to spiders. “It’s true, I can be a little scared, he smiled. But I was much more afraid of spiders when I was 10 or 12. When we grow up, afterwards, we face our own fears. And yes, fear is what you can feel every day in tennis. We’re afraid of losing, sometimes we’re afraid of what people will think of us…”
The image: end of the game for Caroline Garcia
On center court, there was no miracle for Caroline Garcia. The world No. 79 was dominated by American Madison Keys (6-4, 7-6). Injured in the foot, the Lyonnaise had a minimal preparation before arriving in Paris.
“Overall it was a positive game for me. This is my second for two months, she analyzes. It’s never easy. On the important moments and in particular two or three occasions that I had here and there on his service or the tie-break. She was a bit more aggressive than me and had more success. That’s what made the difference in the end. A bit of a lack of rhythm on my part. I can take positives from this game. »