Roland Garros round-up: Sharapova jeered, Murray flawless

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  • Eventful day in French Open for Sharapova and Murray.

    For Andy Murray, feeling nervous in an opening match at a grand slam is a good thing, and luckily for the Brit, nerves were very present for his 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 first round win over lucky loser Facundo Arguello at the French Open.

    The world No3 made a strong start against the skilful Argentine, racing to a 3-0 lead but was pegged back to 3-all before he eventually found his stride.

    In testing windy conditions, Murray – one of six grand slam champions in the draw – admitted Philippe Chatrier stadium was playing slower than he’s ever felt it there and was pleased to get through the encounter unscathed.

    “The first set I didn’t feel like it was great. I felt like it was difficult. The start was very windy on the court and cold, so it was quite slow conditions. I found it difficult at the beginning. Then I felt when the wind died down a bit in the second and third set, I felt that the level of tennis was better,” said Murray, who extended his winning streak on clay to 11-0 in 2015.

    “It was more entertaining rallies, we played some good points. Because he moves extremely well, when he was in defensive positions he came up with some good re-dropshots and lobs. There were some good points.

    “’I was a little bit nervous. I like that, it shows I care. Hopefully I’ll play better as the tournament goes on.”

    Earlier in the day, No11 seed Feliciano Lopez became the highest-ranked casualty on the men’s side when he suffered a 6-3, 7-6 (9), 6-3 defeat to Russian world No74 Teymuraz Gabashvili – the 10th time the Spaniard has lost in the opening round at the French Open in 15 appearances.

    This was only Gabashvili’s second main draw win at Roland Garros since he made the fourth round in 2010.

    World No4 Tomas Berdych set up a second round with fellow Czech Radek Stepanek – the oldest man in the draw at 36 – thanks to a 6-0, 7-5, 6-3 win over Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka. Despite being the No4 seed and having an incredibly consistent season, Berdych hasn’t been mentioned in the French Open contenders conversation – something he insists has no impact on him.

    “There is the fact that there are other guys who have grand slam titles and I don’t have (any). That’s a fact, and the only thing I can do about it is try to change that, just try to take my chances. That’s all I can do about it,” said the 29-year-old.

    Youngsters Nick Kyrgios, Dominic Thiem, Borna Coric and Thanasi Kokkinakis were all winners on day two, with the latter two both recording success on their French Open debut.

    “It was a pretty hard final last week, so I was maybe a little bit tired. But I’m really happy how I handled it and also how I handled the different conditions,” said recently-crowned Nice champion, Thiem, following his 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3 win over Aljaz Bedene, who saved two match points in the third set.

    Three jeers for Sharapova 

    If omens are anything to go by, Maria Sharapova should be feeling quite good about her chances of successfully defending her title this year in Paris.

    Except unfortunately for her, the omen is her catching a nasty cold, the same way she did last year before the start of the tournament.

    The world No2 battled through illness and a tricky opponent in Kaia Kanepi 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the second round at the French Open.

    With her infamous grunts sounding much lower than usual, Sharapova even had to skip her on-court post-match interview as she struggled to speak up. The notoriously-tough French crowd didn’t appreciate that and the Russian walked off the court to the sound of boos.

    “Of course I totally understand that everyone usually does post-interviews and answers a few questions to the crowd. It’s absolutely normal. I’m not making any excuses but I’ve got to do what I have to do,” said Sharapova, assuring there were no hard feelings.

    Sharapova said the conditions were tough, and playing while sick was a challenge but insists there was never any doubt in her pulling out of the event.

    “Unless I’m really in my coffin, I’m going to be out there,” she said laughing.

    Ex-world No1 Victoria Azarenka, who hadn’t played in Paris since making the semi-finals in 2013, was happy to make a winning return after missing the tournament through injury last season.

    The Belarusian, seed 27 this fortnight, beat Spaniard Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor 6-2, 6-1, and is a potential third round opponent for Serena Williams, who plays her first match on Tuesday.

    Things didn’t go as well for former world No2 Agnieszka Radwanska who appeared in press after her 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat to world No83 Annika Beck with visible tears in her eyes, clearly disappointed to have suffered a first round exit at a major for just the third time in her career in 36 appearances.

    “My game is not really working together. It’s just not the same as the hard court or grass,” said the 14th-seeded Radwanska, whose only previous meeting with Beck was a 6-0, 6-0 thrashing of the German.

    “I’m just getting nervous because I can’t really do what I want on court and it’s not really working. That makes me nervous and angry.”

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