French Open tennis: Brilliant Brits set Open Era record in another excellent day at Roland-Garros
Three men and three women from Britain have reached the second round at the French Open for the first time in the Open Era, following Jack Draper’s win on Tuesday.
For the first time ever in tennis’s Open Era, three British men and three British women have advanced to the second round at the French Open.
It has been a dream start at Roland-Garros for some of the brilliant Brits taking part in Paris, and highly-fancied Jack Draper survived an early scare to see off Italy’s Mattia Bellucci in four sets on Suzanne-Lenglen today.
Draper is Britain’s big hope over the next fortnight, coming into the tournament seeded fifth after reaching the final in Madrid at the start of the month, and coming up just short against world number two Carlos Alcaraz in Rome prior to Roland-Garros.
The 23-year-old had to wait long into the Parisian night to see who his second-round opponent would be though, and it will be French maverick Gael Monfils, who came from two sets down to beat Bolivian Hugo Dellien to set up one of the standout ties of round two.
Norrie and Fearnley impress against notable names
Draper’s win has been slightly overshadowed by the success of fellow British men Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley though, who both earned big scalps in round one.
Fearnley knocked out 40-year-old former Grand-Slam winner Stan Wawrinka in straight sets, taking just over two hours to see off the Swiss veteran.
Like Draper, Fearnley will also face a hometown favourite in round two, as Frenchman and number 22 seed Ugo Humbert awaits on Thursday.
However, one of the most eye-catching results of round one was Norrie’s win over 2021 US Open winner Daniil Medvedev, who crashed out at the first round for the sixth time here at Roland-Garros.
That should not detract from Norrie’s win though, as he held firm in a mammoth encounter that went to five sets, with the Brit eventually getting over the line with a 7-5 win in the decider.
Boulter sets personal accolade as Raducanu and Kartal join her in round two
An early scare did little to knock Katie Boulter off track on the women’s side of the draw, as the British number one beat French qualifier Carole Monnet in three sets, taking the final two 6-1 after losing the first on a tiebreak.
That result marks Boulter’s first ever win at the French Open, and she progresses to round two to face Australian Open champion Madison Keys in what will be a devilishly difficult encounter.
Emma Raducanu has arguably the toughest draw of any woman in the draw though, as her reward for beating Wang Xinyu yesterday is a meeting with clay expert Iga Swiatek, who has won the French Open four times already by the age of 23.
The only Brit in action in the women’s draw on Tuesday saw Sonay Kartal make minimal fuss in seeing off Russian Erika Andreeva 6-0, 6-2, and she will now face Marie Bouzkova in round two in what should be classed a winnable encounter for the world number 56.
To have six players through to the second round is a sign that British tennis is in its strongest place for many years, especially on the men’s side, where Draper has real claims to go very far over the next fortnight.