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      2021 French Open: What to Watch on Thursday

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      Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Iga Swiatek and Ashleigh Barty feature in an action-packed second round at Roland Garros.How to watch: 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time on Tennis Channel; streaming on Tennis Channel+.The four Grand Slam tournaments are the most important tennis events of the year. For good reason, they draw the world’s best players. But it’s a rarity for all of the top players, the tournament favorites, to be playing in the same half of the bracket.On the women’s side, Iga Swiatek and Ashleigh Barty, the past two winners of the French Open, are both looking to extend their Roland Garros win streaks to nine matches. On the men’s side, the three most decorated champions of the sport, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, are appearing in the same half of a major draw for the first time. With 58 Grand Slam titles among them, the Big Three are still dominating. Any other player in their half will have quite a challenge to reach the final.Here are some matches to keep an eye on.Because of the number of matches cycling through courts, the times for individual matchups are estimates and may fluctuate based on when earlier play is completed. All times are Eastern.Philippe Chatrier Court | 10 a.m.Roger Federer vs. Marin CilicRoger Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam champion in men’s singles, recently returned to the ATP Tour after a pair of operations on his right knee. Now 39, he has missed the French Open four times in the past five years, often resting during the clay-court swing.Marin Cilic has won just one Grand Slam tournament, the 2014 U.S. Open, which made him the fourth most successful male player entering this year’s French Open. Twice, Cilic was denied a second major title by Federer, at Wimbledon in 2017 and the Australian Open in 2018.The two players are not well suited to the crushed brick of Roland Garros; Federer’s elegant slices and Cilic’s powerful serve and volley are dampened on clay. This match will revolve more around tennis fundamentals and fitness than on stylistic strengths.Philippe Chatrier Court | 10 a.m.Sloane Stephens vs. Karolina PliskovaSloane Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion, had to play through the qualifying rounds of the Italian Open in May, the first time she needed to qualify into a tournament since 2012. In the first round at Roland Garros, she edged Carla Suárez Navarro on Tuesday in a late-night match. Both players have had off-court struggles in the past year; Suárez Navarro recently underwent treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma, and Stephens had deaths in her extended family from Covid-19.Karolina Pliskova, the ninth seed, had a good run on the clay-court swing, reaching the final of the Italian Open. But then she was dismantled by the 2020 French Open champion, Iga Swiatek. Pliskova won only 13 points and lost, 6-0, 6-0. She will need to shake off any doubts from that performance.Philippe Chatrier Court | 8 a.m.Ashleigh Barty vs. Magda LinetteAshleigh Barty, above, beat Bernarda Pera in the first round, and will next meet Pera’s doubles partner, Magda Linette.Adam Pretty/Getty ImagesAshleigh Barty, the first seed, was pressed by Bernarda Pera in the first round. To win in three sets, Barty focused on consistency, making only 25 unforced errors as she focused on lengthening points. Her first serves were not in fine form, however. She landed only 66 percent of them, and when they did land, she was less likely to win the point than on her second serves. The 2019 French Open champion, Barty will need to address this issue.Magda Linette, ranked No. 45, struggled at the beginning of 2021, losing five of her first six matches. She has turned it around just in time, gaining some confidence as she reached the semifinals of the Internationaux de Strasbourg last week in France. Now, she will try to avenge the loss by her doubles partner, Pera, and upset Barty to equal her best major result.Court 7 | 10 a.m.Aslan Karatsev vs. Philipp KohlschreiberPhilipp Kohlschreiber, ranked No. 132, was once a regular presence in the fourth round of major tournaments. But in the past eight Grand Slam events, he has not made it past the second round, and this once fearsome player now seems to be edging toward the end of his career. That’s not to say that he is without hope. In the first round, he beat Fernando Verdasco, a clay-court specialist and former world No. 7.Aslan Karatsev, the 24th seed, burst into the public eye with an outrageous run to the semifinals of the Australian Open as a qualifier, knocking out three seeded players before being dismissed by Novak Djokovic. It was not just a flash in the pan. He followed that with his first ATP Tour title at the Dubai Open and big victories on clay over Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev. Karatsev’s consistency can be tested over the best-of-five format if Kohlschreiber imparts pressure with aggressive baseline play.Here are a few more matches to keep an eye on.Elina Svitolina vs. Ann Li; Suzanne Lenglen Court, 5 a.m.Sofia Kenin vs. Hailey Baptiste; Court 14, 5 a.m.Novak Djokovic vs. Pablo Cuevas; Suzanne Lenglen Court, 10 a.m.Rafael Nadal vs. Richard Gasquet; Philippe Chatrier Court, 3 p.m. More

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      2021 French Open: What to Watch on Wednesday

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      Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Serena Williams feature on the first day of second-round matches.How to watch: 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time on Tennis Channel; streaming on Tennis Channel+.Grand Slam tournaments often feature some first round upsets, but this year’s French Open has been particularly eventful in the half of the draw that plays its second-round games on Wednesday.Pablo Andujar, who is 35 years old and has never reached the fourth round of the French Open, is trying to follow up his knockout of fourth-seeded Dominic Thiem in the first round. Naomi Osaka, who was seeded second, withdrew from the tournament after reaching an impasse with organizers about appearing at news conferences.While there are plenty of stars still present in the tournament, the field has certainly widened for new challengers to make deep runs.Here are some matches to keep an eye on.Because of the number of matches cycling through the courts, the times for individual matchups are estimates and will fluctuate based on when earlier play is completed. All times are Eastern.Court Phillipe-Chatrier | 3 p.m.Daniil Medvedev vs. Tommy PaulDaniil Medvedev, the No. 2 seed, secured his first French Open victory on Monday in his fifth appearance at the tournament. Medvedev has reached the final of two hardcourt Grand Slam events, but has struggled on clay. Although he pushed past Alexander Bublik in straight sets, it was not a particularly convincing performance.Tommy Paul, ranked No. 52, won his first-round match in five sets. Paul, a vaunted youth prospect who won the Junior French Open in 2015, has not yet bloomed on the ATP Tour, only making it to the third round of a major event once. Paul’s main weakness is his two-handed backhand, which is incredibly stiff and mechanical compared with his powerful, fluid forehand strokes.Paul will need to remain aggressive and try to unsettle Medvedev throughout their match to push for an upset, while Medvedev will clearly look to aim at Paul’s backhand when he needs to reset points and get himself back into winning positions.Court 13 | 8 a.m.Danielle Collins vs. Anhelina KalininaDanielle Collins, ranked No. 50, underwent surgery for endometriosis in the spring. Although she has not played a competitive match since March, Collins looked at ease in her first-round victory over Xiyu Wang. Although it took her three sets to win, Collins was consistent except on her first serve. With a few days of rest between matches, that will have been the focus of her practice sessions and a key to her advancing farther at Roland Garros.Anhelina Kalinina, a qualifier, upset Angelique Kerber, the No. 26 seed and three time Grand Slam champion, in straight sets on Sunday. This is Kalinina’s third main draw appearance at a major event — her first on clay — and the young Ukrainian seems to be oozing confidence as she tries to reach the third round for the first time.Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece reached the semifinal at the French Open last year.Martin Bureau/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesCourt Suzanne-Lenglen | 10 a.m.Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Pedro MartinezStefanos Tsitsipas, the fifth seed, has had a strong clay court season, winning the Monte Carlo Masters and Lyon Open and reaching the final of the Barcelona Open. Tsitsipas, 22, reached the semifinals of the French Open last year, and looks to be a favorite to reach the final this year, with both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the other half of the draw. Keeping focused and trying to be as efficient as possible will be Tsitsipas’s main goal throughout the early rounds.Pedro Martinez, ranked No. 103, is a clay-court specialist. His first-round upset over Sebastian Korda, an American who had just won the Parma Challenger, was clinical, as Martinez needled away at Korda’s weaknesses and drew out 47 unforced errors. Although Martinez’s task is much harder for the second round, a similar strategy would be appropriate: he should try to unsettle Tsitsipas and coax out mistakes with long, arduous points.Paula Badosa of Spain won the Serbia Open in preparation for Roland Garros. Yoan Valat/EPA, via ShutterstockCourt 6 | 8 a.m.Paula Badosa vs. Danka KovinicIt is quite rare for Grand Slam tournaments to have a player seeded No. 33. But Paula Bodasa received that designation when Alison Riske, the 27th seed, withdrew from the competition after the draw was announced last week. Bodasa filled in her spot in the draw but to avoid confusion about relative rankings, was formalized as the 33rd seed instead of every player being adjusted. Badosa, who won the Serbia Open in preparation for Roland Garros, should feel that a seeding is well deserved, especially after a fourth-round finish at the French Open last year.Danka Kovinic has never been past the second round of a Grand Slam event in 15 previous main draw appearances. Kovinic reached the final of the Charleston Open on green clay after defeating several top players, and will be hopeful that her success earlier this year can help lead to an upset against the in-form Bodasa.Here are a few more matches to keep an eye on.Fabio Fognini vs. Marton Fucsovics; Court 14, 7 a.m.Karen Khachanov vs. Kei Nishikori; Court Phillipe-Chatrier, 8 a.m.Serena Williams vs. Mihaela Buzarnescu; Court Phillipe-Chatrier, 11 a.m.Aryna Sabalenka vs. Aliaksandra Sasnovich; Court Suzanne-Lenglen, 1 p.m. More

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      2021 French Open: What to Watch on Tuesday

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      Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Ashleigh Barty start their French Open campaigns on the final day of first-round matches.How to watch: 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time on the Tennis Channel; streaming on the Tennis Channel+ app.As the first-round matches stretch into a third day of play at Stade Roland Garros, there are two women who can claim defense of the French Open title. Iga Swiatek, the 2020 champion, won her first-round match on Monday. On Tuesday, we turn our attention to Ashleigh Barty, the 2019 champion, who did not play at the French Open or United States Open last year, citing pandemic health concerns. Today, Barty will return to Court Phillipe-Chatrier to face Bernarda Pera, ranked No. 70.Here are some matches to keep an eye on.Because of the number of matches cycling through courts, the times for individual matchups are estimates and may fluctuate based on when earlier play is completed. All times are Eastern.Court PHILIPPE-CHATRIER | 3 p.m. TuesdayNovak Djokovic vs. Tennys SandgrenTennys Sandgren made a joke on Twitter after the French Open draw was revealed that was a self-aware assessment of his slim chances, given he has only won one of his six clay court matches this year.Novak Djokovic, the world No. 1, has also assessed his chances of winning the French Open in clear terms. He sees only one player as his main challenge: Rafael Nadal. He lost to Nadal in three sets in the final of the Italian Open, so if they were to meet in the semifinals in Paris, the five-set format could favor Djokovic’s fitness. While there are plenty of opponents to mind before then, it’s unlikely that Sandgren will last long in the bullring with Djokovic, the Australian Open and Wimbledon defending champion.Court PHILIPPE-CHATRIER | 10 a.m. TuesdayRafael Nadal vs. Alexei PopyrinAlexei Popyrin, ranked No. 63, secured his first ATP title in February at the Singapore Open. The lanky 21-year-old’s game is more suited to hard courts, but Popyrin reached the third round at the Madrid Open on clay. Unfortunately, he then ran into Rafael Nadal, who summarily knocked him out.Nadal has won the French Open 13 times, and is the four-time defending champion at Roland Garros. The undisputed “King of Clay” won the Barcelona Open and Italian Open this year, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic in the finals. Although Nadal has not looked as usually dominant in the clay court tournaments, he demonstrated that he can still make up for shortcomings with tenacity. It is an almost foregone conclusion that he will advance to the next round on his way to a deep run.COURT SUZANNE-LENGLEN| 1 p.m. TuesdayKarolina Pliskova vs. Donna VekicKarolina Pliskova, the ninth seed, has struggled with her form over the past few years. Although she is an exceptional ball striker, her movement on court has declined. Pliskova added the renowned coach Sascha Bajin to her team in 2020, but so far, any improvement has been met with a counterbalance. At the Italian Open, she reached the final only to be swept by Iga Swiatek.Donna Vekic, ranked No. 36, did not played any clay tournaments in preparation for Roland Garros as she recovered from knee surgery after the Australian Open in February. Vekic reached the round of 16 in Melbourne, and has the ability to make a similar run in Paris, but without match fitness, it will be difficult to chase after Pliskova’s flat, powerful shots.Venus Williams has won seven Grand Slam tournaments but struggles on red clay.Juanjo Martin/EPA, via ShutterstockCourt 14 | 10 a.m. TuesdayVenus Williams vs. Ekaterina AlexandrovaEkaterina Alexandrova, the 32nd seed, won her first WTA title in 2020, but has yet to break through to the second week of a Grand Slam event. Alexandrova has reached the third round of the French Open for the past two years, and if all goes as expected she will meet the fifth seed, Elina Svitolina, there once again this year.Venus Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, has always struggled the most on red clay. Williams captured her first major title on grass at Wimbledon in 2000, before the defending champion of the French Open, Iga Swiatek, was born. This year, Williams has only won one match, but continues fighting for victories that seem only slightly out of reach.Here are a few more matches to keep an eye on.Ons Jabeur vs. Yulia Putintseva; Court 8, 5 a.m. TuesdayAshleigh Barty vs. Bernarda Pera; Court Phillipe-Chatrier, 8 a.m. TuesdayFelix Auger-Aliassime vs. Andrea Seppi; Court 13, 8 a.m. TuesdaySloane Stephens vs. Carla Suárez Navarro; Court Simonne-Mathieu, 1 p.m. Tuesday More

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      The First of Nadal’s 100 French Open Victims Has His Say

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      And what he says, having played the Big Three in men’s tennis, is that it’s too hard to declare one the best. Now about that first match …Lars Burgsmüller remembers telling himself he could beat Rafael Nadal on the red clay at the French Open.And why not?Burgsmüller, after all, was a well-regarded 29-year-old veteran on the pro tennis tour. Nadal, only 18, was little known outside the game and was just beginning to write a remarkable story of Grand Slam brilliance.“I thought if I play my game, maybe I have a chance,” Burgsmüller said, recalling that windswept afternoon in late May 2005. “Maybe I can pull off the win.”As you probably guessed, no such luck.Instead, Burgsmüller became the answer to a trivia question. He was Rafael Nadal’s first opponent at Roland Garros. And Nadal’s first victim in a list that stands at a clean 100 as this year’s tournament begins Sunday.Much has changed in the world since 2005. But not Nadal. If he emerges with the title, it will be his 14th there. That would give him 21 major championships, the most in men’s tennis, one more than Roger Federer.So, would that make Nadal the best male player ever?I took that question to Burgsmüller, who has both experience on his side and a cleareyed distance from tennis.Three years after that Nadal match, having retired, he did something unusual for a professional athlete: He went to medical school and studied radiology. Now he is Dr. Lars Burgsmüller, 45, a physician treating cancer patients at a hospital in Essen, Germany.It’s a world away from his playing days, when he squared off against, and lost to, each of the so-called Big Three in men’s tennis.“They are all so close,” he said, during our recent video call. “Too close to judge. Each has been so consistent over the years. Each has his own strengths.”Nadal, he said, suffocated and punished opponents, particularly at the French Open, the most grueling of the major tournaments because of its slippery and uneven clay surface.Federer slashed so many smooth, fast stiletto winners that losing to him felt almost painless.There are no holes in Novak Djokovic’s game.To Burgsmüller, they are equals. But every year when the Open rolls around, he remembers young Nadal with particular fondness.He smiled, recalling the locker room chatter at Roland Garros back in 2005.The players knew that Nadal, who had established a foothold on the men’s tour but had missed the French Open in the previous year because of an injury, was soon to emerge as one of the best. But that meant a guy who could win a few major titles, not 20 or more.All Nadal needed to break through, his fellow pros thought, was a little more seasoning.“I didn’t want to listen to that too much,” said Burgsmüller , ranked No. 96 in the world at the time. “I tried to stay with my plan, to play my game.”That meant pressing the attack.He tried, but he quickly sensed that playing Nadal was unlike anything he had ever experienced. He had never faced anyone with such intensity. Or anyone who hit with such devastating topspin. Or anyone better able to sprint across a clay court, slide and stay balanced, and send balls back as scorching replies.Again and again, Burgsmüller thought he had won a point with a winning shot, only to see Nadal not only keep the point alive but smack back a winner.“Pretty early on, I could see he was better than I was,” said Burgsmüller, who was good enough as a pro to win nearly $2 million in prize money.The first of Nadal’s 100 Roland Garros victories ended quickly, with the Spaniard stretching wide for a backhand passing shot that rocketed across the net with no retort.Game, set, match: 6-1, 7-6, 6-1.Nadal on the way to 100 flexes at Roland Garros.Lionel Cironneau/Associated PressThough slimmer and baby-faced compared to the solidly built 34-year-old we see today, Nadal would march through the draw with little opposition. It was one of the most remarkable debuts in tennis history. He beat Federer, who was then ranked No. 1, in the semifinals. He then thumped his way to a win in the final and raised the champion’s trophy.Between then and now, Nadal has lost only twice at Roland Garros.If he defends his title this year, the arguments about the GOAT, the greatest male player to grace the game of tennis, will heat up once again. Such wrangling has been a hallmark of tennis in the 2000s, an era dominated not only by the men’s Big Three but by Serena Williams and her haul of 23 Grand Slam titles in the women’s game.It can be an entertaining debate, no doubt. It keeps fans and pundits alike preoccupied. It sells tennis, same as similar arguments sell other sports: Who you got, LeBron James or Michael Jordan? Leonardo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?It’s also nonsense.Even if Nadal tops Federer for the most Grand Slam titles, is Nadal the better player? No, they’ve won enough, taken enough bites out of each other’s hides in classic matches, to remain linked forever, side by side.Are those two better than Djokovic, whose haul of 18 major championships would have been unthinkable just two decades ago, when Pete Sampras topped the Grand Slam list with 14? Short answer: no.And who can say what the all-timers of past eras could have accomplished if they had grown up in the current era?In the 1970s and ’80s, Bjorn Borg won the French Open six times. Compared to the aerodynamically sculptured graphite instruments of destruction used today, Borg’s rackets look like an old-time carpenter made them out of pickup sticks.I get it. We live in a world fueled by the need to argue. A world where we seem pushed to quantify and categorize and, most of all, figure out who is the top dog.But I also believe we’re best served by setting debate well aside. Why can’t we simply say that the players who rise far above the field possess equal measures of brilliance?Having found himself across the net from genius more than once in his day, Burgsmüller agrees.At the end of our chat, he paused for a moment to reflect, thinking back on squaring off against maestros of tennis, on that long-ago duel at Roland Garros and his small part in Nadal’s still-unfolding story.“At the time, that was just another match for me,” he said. “I was disappointed to lose. But now when I look back, I can see that I was part of an important moment. Nadal really started with that match, on that date, and I was the one he played.“It’s a nice bit of history.” More

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      2021 French Open: What to Watch on Monday

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      Serena Williams and Roger Federer feature on Court Philipe-Chatrier on the second day of first-round matches.How to watch: 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time on the Tennis Channel and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on NBC; streaming on the Tennis Channel+ and NBC apps.In Serena Williams’s illustrious career, there have been many firsts. On Monday, win or lose, she will add another as the first person, alongside her opponent, Irina-Camelia Begu, to play a night session match at the French Open. But before then, there are plenty of entertaining contests to watch on Memorial Day.Here are some matches to keep an eye on.Because of the number of matches cycling through courts, the times for individual matchups are estimates and may fluctuate based on when earlier play is completed. All times are Eastern.Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates winning her first career Grand Slam singles title at the 2020 French Open.Alessandra Tarantino/Associated PressCourt PHILIPPE-CHATRIER | 6 a.m. MondayIga Swiatek vs. Kaja JuvanIga Swiatek, ranked No. 9 in the world, won the French Open last year without dropping a set, but hasn’t rested on her laurels since. In the Italian Open final this month, Swiatek defeated Karolina Pliskova, a former world No. 1, without dropping a game, and secured a No. 9 world ranking, a career high. Swiatek, who turns 20 on Monday, modeled her game after Rafael Nadal’s, evinced in her aggressive style of play and topspin-heavy shots. It’s well suited for the crushed red brick of Paris.Kaja Juvan, a 20-year-old ranked 101st, reached the third round of the Australian Open in February, her best major tournament finish. This is daunting opposition, and while Juvan’s deft touch serves her well on clay, her drop shot will be hard to execute against Swiatek, whose excellent movement was a factor in her march to the title last year. There is little doubt that Swiatek will be able to secure a win.Court PHILIPPE-CHATRIER | 8 a.m. MondayDaniil Medvedev vs. Alexander BublikWith Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal both in the other half of the draw, Daniil Medvedev, the two-time Grand Slam finalist, hopes to make a deep run on his worst surface. Medvedev, a 25-year-old lanky baseliner ranked No. 2, has struggled with clay, proclaiming during his first match at the 2021 Madrid Open that “I don’t want to play here on this surface.” Although he was able to win in three sets, he’s never done so at Roland Garros, losing in the first round every time.On the other side of the net, Alexander Bublik is equally unsuited to clay. Although Bublik, 23, reached a world ranking of No. 37 after a run to the quarterfinals at the Madrid Open in early May, his style is similar to that of Medvedev, preferring hard and grass courts. Bublik, a Russian-born player who now represents Kazakhstan, has had slightly more success at the French Open, reaching the second round in the past two years.Because of their poor performances on clay and similar styles, it’s hard to tell which player is favored. Bublik’s recent success might give him the confidence to beat the best all-around player in this half.Sofia Kenin competing at the Stuttgart Open in Germany in April.Pool photo by Philipp Guelland/EPA, via ShutterstockCOURT SUZANNE-LENGLEN | 10 a.m. MondaySofia Kenin vs. Jelena OstapenkoSofia Kenin, the fourth seed, had a breakout season in 2020. Kenin won the Australian Open at the beginning of the year and reached the French Open final. However, this season has not gone well; Kenin, 22, has lost her last four matches and announced in early May that she would no longer be coached by her father. While her style of play is well suited to clay, she may struggle, especially against better opponents.Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, will be pushing for an upset. Now ranked No. 44, Ostapenko hasn’t made it past the third round of a major since Wimbledon in 2018 and has lost in the first round on four occasions since. Having reached the quarterfinals at the Italian Open, Ostapenko, 23, will be confident, and a deep run is not out of the question if she can muscle past Kenin.Roger Federer practicing ahead of his first match on Monday at Roland Garros.Pete Kiehart for The New York TimesCourt PHILIPPE-CHATRIER | 10 a.m. MondayRoger Federer vs. Denis IstominRoger Federer, a 20-time major champion, last played a Grand Slam event at the 2020 Australian Open. Now, having recovered from two surgeries on his right knee, he has returned with a more grounded sense of what he can accomplish. Federer, 39, has spoken about the reality that even on his best days he was rarely a top contender for titles at Roland Garros, and that his focus is mostly on the grass courts at Wimbledon, which begins in three weeks.Denis Istomin, a 34-year-old qualifier, is in a similar position. Istomin, a Russian-born player who represents Uzbekistan, has never made it past the second round of the French Open. His style of play is better suited for grass and hardcourt tournaments. Although Istomin is ranked No. 204, he will be a tough challenge for Federer, if only because of his match fitness.Court PHILIPPE-CHATRIER | 3 p.m. MondaySerena Williams vs. Irina-Camelia BeguSerena Williams, the seventh seed, recently played her 1,000th match on the WTA tour, a testament to both her longevity and her success at the highest levels of tennis. However, she has recently struggled on clay. After reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open in February, Williams, 39, took a break, returning in May for the Italian Open. Now, having lost two of her three matches in preparation for Roland Garros, it’s unclear whether she has prepared herself properly for a deep run at the tournament.Irina-Camelia Begu, ranked No. 74, may see this as an opportunity for her first top 10 victory since 2018. Although Begu, 30, hasn’t won a main draw match since the Phillips Island Trophy in February, Begu’s grinding style of play works well on clay, and her plan will be to move Williams around the court and disrupt her powerful baseline play. More

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      2021 French Open: What to Watch on Sunday Morning

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      Opening round matches feature Naomi Osaka and Dominic Thiem, who are both pursuing their first French Open title.How to watch: 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern time on the Tennis Channel and noon to 3 p.m. on Peacock; streaming on the Tennis Channel+ and Peacock apps.In 2020, the French Open was played in October, rescheduled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Now, back in the usual spring slot and with friendlier weather, the red clay welcomes a full field. The first round of play is spread across three days of competition, with plenty of excellent matches to watch.Here are some matches to keep an eye on.Because of the number of matches cycling through courts, the times for individual matchups are estimates and may fluctuate based on when earlier play is completed. All times are Eastern.COURT PHILIPPE-CHATRIER | 5 a.m. SundayNaomi Osaka vs. Patricia Maria TigNaomi Osaka, the second seed, has won the previous two Grand Slam events that she has played, the United States Open in 2020 and the Australian Open in February. In between, she passed on the fall edition of the French Open, watching from home as Iga Swiatek swept through the field to win her first Grand Slam. Osaka’s powerful baseline play has never fared well on clay. She has never reached the final of a clay court tournament, and has never made it past the third round at Roland Garros.Patricia Maria Tig, ranked No. 63, has never made it to the second week of a Grand Slam event, but her only WTA Tour title came on clay at the Istanbul Open in 2020. A back injury forced Tig to the sidelines in 2018, but she has worked her way back up the rankings. For Tig to cause a first-round upset, she will have to exploit Osaka’s discomfort on clay and keep her from settling into a rhythm that allows Osaka to rely on her blazing forehand.Dominic Thiem listens to his coach Nicolas Massu. He has reached the French Open final twice.Adam Pretty/Getty ImagesCOURT PHILIPPE-CHATRIER | 7 a.m. SundayDominic Thiem vs. Pablo AndujarDominic Thiem, the fourth seed, has reached the final of the French Open twice before, losing on both occasions to Rafael Nadal. Recently, however, Thiem has demonstrated unusually poor form. When asked about the potential for a deep run, he said, “I think the way I’m coming into that tournament, the way I also played the past weeks, the only thing I can focus on is the first round, I shouldn’t focus at all on who is in my quarter or even who is in my half.”Pablo Andujar may be the perfect opponent for the occasion. Andujar, ranked No. 68, is a clay court specialist, with all nine of his ATP finals, including four titles, coming on the surface. Last week, he beat Roger Federer in the second round of the Geneva Open before reaching the semifinals where he lost to the eventual champion, Casper Ruud.The five-set format of the Grand Slam tournaments significantly favors Thiem. Even if he is struggling, Thiem will have a lot of time to adjust to Andujar’s grinding style of play. Longer points will allow him to establish a steadier rhythm.COURT PHILIPPE-CHATRIER | 10 A.m. SundayVictoria Azarenka vs. Svetlana KuznetsovaSome matchups seem to be pulled from previous eras. When longtime tennis fans see them in the early rounds of a Grand Slam, they feel joy that only a matchup heavy with history can offer.Victoria Azarenka and Svetlana Kuznetsova are both two-time Grand Slam champions who debuted on the WTA tour in the early 2000s. They have faced each other 10 times over the past 14 years, and each is deeply familiar with the arsenal of shots that they will need to overcome.However, neither has played extensively on clay before the French Open. Azarenka withdrew from the Madrid Open in the second round, citing fitness issues, while Kuznetsova has not played a single clay court event this year. This match may come down to who can most quickly adapt their powerful baseline shots to the crushed red brick of Roland Garros.Fabio Fognini of Italy plays with an intensity that can go either way.Laurent Gillieron/EPA, via ShutterstockCourt Suzanne-Lenglen | 5 A.m. SundayFabio Fognini vs. Gregoire BarrereFabio Fognini, the 27th seed, is a volatile player. At last year’s French Open, Fognini lost in the first round but has reached the round of 16 in three of his last six Grand Slam events. Often, his matches can be decided by his intensity; a double-edged sword that can produce wild unforced errors or powerful forehand winners.Gregoire Barrere received a wild-card entry into the French Open, a perk that pleases each of the national federations that host a Grand Slam event. Barrere, ranked No. 122, has never been past the second round of a major tournament, understandable for a player who has often had to push through qualifying rounds.While Fognini will be heavily favored, a home crowd rooting against the Italian may unsettle him. At the least, it should be an entertaining match with plenty of spectator spirit. Fan capacity will be at 35 percent over the first 10 days of the tournament, and will increase to 65 percent for the quarterfinals and beyond.Here are a few more matches to keep an eye on.Márton Fucsovics vs. Gilles Simon; Court Simonne-Mathieu, 7 a.m. SundayAryna Sabalenka vs. Ana Konjuh; Court Suzanne Lenglen, 10 a.m. SundayCorentin Moutet vs. Laslo Dere; Court Simonne-Mathieu, 10 a.m. SundayAmanda Anisimova vs. Veronika Kudermetova; Court 9, 1 p.m. Sunday More

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      At the French Open, Naomi Osaka Seeks Comfort on Clay and No Interviews

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      The world No. 2 has said she won’t talk to journalists at the tournament, which begins on Sunday, but she faces a bigger obstacle: her record on clay.PARIS — While other major players juggled practice and media commitments ahead of the French Open, Naomi Osaka focused only on practice this week.She was on court at Roland Garros early on Friday, hitting with the former No. 1 Angelique Kerber on the red clay, where Osaka does not feel entirely at ease. During breaks, she sat in a chair staring straight ahead as her coach, Wim Fissette, crouched by her side in conversation.The second-seeded Osaka is tennis’s biggest new star and now the highest-paid female athlete in the world, ahead of Serena Williams. Osaka has won four Grand Slam singles titles, two more than any other woman since 2018. But the French Open, the only Grand Slam tournament played on clay, will be a big challenge. She did not get past the third round in four previous appearances, and so she planned to approach the event differently: Osaka recently announced that, to protect her mental health, she would not “do any press” during the tournament, which begins Sunday.It remains unclear what her news-media abstention will entail. Osaka, who represents Japan and lives in the United States, is under contract with the Japanese broadcaster Wowow. Will she choose to speak with that network and other broadcasters? Will she give post-match interviews on court? Or will she simply choose to skip the traditional post-match news conference designed to serve a wide variety of outlets?Answers were not immediately forthcoming, and Stuart Duguid, her agent, declined to comment when asked for clarification. What is clear is that Osaka chose not to take part in the official media day on Friday, which made her the exception. The participants included the women’s No. 1, Ashleigh Barty; the reigning women’s champion, Iga Swiatek; and the 13-time men’s champion, Rafael Nadal. Already an immovable object at Roland Garros, Nadal now has a permanent presence after the unveiling this week of a steel statue of him ripping his trademark forehand.Nadal and his fellow players addressed numerous topics on Friday, and most were asked about Osaka’s decision. None criticized her choice, but all said they would take a different tack.Rafael Nadal, the No. 3 seed, practiced on Court Philippe Chatrier.Pete Kiehart for The New York Times“As sports people, we need to be ready to accept the questions and try to produce an answer, no?” Nadal said. “I understand her, but in the other hand, for me, without the press, without the people who normally are traveling, who are writing the news and achievements that we are having around the world, probably we will not be the athletes that we are today. We aren’t going to have the recognition that we have around the world, and we will not be that popular, no?”Nadal, who will turn 35 on Thursday, is a creature of habit who began giving interviews as a preteen prodigy. The landscape has changed dramatically since he won his first French Open title in 2005. Athletes now speak through social media, but the surprise announcement from Osaka, 23, is not all about a generation gap.Barty, from Australia, is 25, and Swiatek, from Poland, is 19. Both are past French Open champions, and both are big stars in their home countries.“In my opinion, press is kind of part of the job,” Barty said. “We know what we sign up for as professional tennis players. I can’t really comment on what Naomi is feeling or her decisions.”Worn down by expectations and the intensity of professional tennis, Barty took a nearly two-year break in her career before returning in 2016.“At times, press conferences are hard, of course, but it’s also not something that bothers me,” she said. “I’ve never had problems answering questions or being completely honest with you guys.”In a statement on Friday, the WTA emphasized how seriously it took the issue of mental health, but also stressed that media obligations are part of the job.“The WTA welcomes a dialogue with Naomi (and all players) to discuss possible approaches that can help support an athlete as they manage any concerns related to mental health, while also allowing us to deliver upon our responsibilities to the fans and public,” the statement said. “Professional athletes have a responsibility to their sport and their fans to speak to the media surrounding their competition, allowing them the opportunity to share their perspective and tell their story.”Swiatek, like the young Canadian Bianca Andreescu, has prioritized the mental side of her game, using sports psychology from an early age and hiring a performance psychologist, Daria Abramowicz, as part of her team.Swiatek said on Friday that she did not think taking part in news conferences was difficult or had affected her mental health.Iga Swiatek during hitting practice at the Australian Open with her performance psychologist, Daria Abramowicz.Alana Holmberg for The New York Times“I feel that the media is really important as well because they are giving us, you are giving us, a platform to talk about our lives and our perspective,” she said. “It’s also important, because not everybody is a professional athlete, and not everybody knows what we are dealing with on court. It’s good to speak about that. We have like two ways to do that: media and social media. It’s good to use both of these platforms and to educate people.”What social media lacks — unless an athlete chooses to regularly answer questions from followers — is dialogue.Tennis news conferences are not what they used to be. They are generally shorter and much lighter on inquiries about tactics, technique and the match that just finished. But they remain an opportunity for journalists to ask questions on any subject. They also allow a chance for those who report regularly about tennis to develop a rapport with the athletes and better understand their personalities, psyches and, as Swiatek smartly alluded to, their motivations and intentions.Billy Jean King, who won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, said that she was torn over Osaka’s decision.“While it’s important that everyone has the right to speak their truth, I have always believed that as professional athletes we have a responsibility to make ourselves available to the media,” King wrote in an email. “In our day, without the press, nobody would have known who we are or what we thought. There is no question they helped build and grow our sport to what it is today. I acknowledge things are very different now with social media and everyone having an immediate ability to speak their truth. The media still play an important role in telling our story. There is no question that the media needs to respect certain boundaries. But at the end of the day, it is important we respect each other and we are in this together.”It is true that some of the world’s most prominent athletes do not give postgame interviews as a matter of course. Soccer players in Europe’s top leagues generally grant limited access. But top tennis players are hardly alone in speaking after every match. Star golfers usually are interviewed after each round. Top track and field athletes and Alpine skiers do interviews after each race. The Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, now retired, would win in less than 10 seconds and then spend half an hour or more running a gantlet of television, radio and print journalists.Osaka, with her long list of sponsors, has many new commercial partners who have a stake in her maintaining a high profile. But she already gives very few individual interviews and has reached a level of celebrity that she can probably maintain through social media, her sponsors and coverage of her matches.Osaka with members of her coaching staff at her practice Friday.Pete Kiehart for The New York TimesOsaka is subject to a fine of up to $20,000 for each news conference she skips at Roland Garros. She explained in her announcement that she had seen many instances of players breaking down after a loss in the interview room. She said that players were often asked questions that “bring doubt into our minds, and I’m just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me.”The doubts are legitimate, however, when it comes to her clay-court results.Osaka, who will play her first-round match on Sunday against Patricia Maria Tig, is a great hardcourt player but not yet a proven threat on clay or grass. She has won two United States Opens and two Australian Opens, all on cushioned acrylic hard courts. On clay, she has a career singles record of just 19-16 and has yet to reach a tour final. After winning the U.S. Open in 2020, Osaka skipped the French Open, which was postponed to September and October because of the pandemic. This year, in her only tournaments on clay, she lost in the second round and then in the first.“Her challenges are lack of confidence with sliding and movement, and her shots don’t carry as much weight on clay as on a hard court,” said Pam Shriver, the ESPN analyst who was a U.S. Open finalist in 1978. “Her serve is also not as much of a weapon.”Osaka, who tends to aggressively rip her returns, is prone to making more errors on clay than on hard courts, where the bounces are true and shots are easier to time correctly. Players like Swiatek and Barty get more net clearance on their groundstrokes than Osaka, and Barty can change pace and trajectories more effectively with her crisply sliced backhand.But power players with relatively flat groundstrokes and sliding issues have solved the clay-court riddle, particularly Maria Sharapova, who once derided herself as a “cow on ice” on the surface but ultimately won two French Opens.“It takes time to develop, and it takes many hours on the practice courts for you to feel that your weight is underneath you on clay,” said José Higueras, the veteran coach who guided Michael Chang and Jim Courier to French Open titles. “If you hit exactly the same ball on a hardcourt that is a pretty decent shot, on clay it may not be that decent, because the other player has a little more time to adjust.”On Sunday, Osaka will try again to adjust her game in Paris. Win or lose, she plans to skip the news conference, and though her decision has stirred resistance, it will also stir reflection. More

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      On the Tennis Court, Lefties Can Be ‘Annoying’

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      Some players say southpaws have an advantage, and many righties must prepare to play them.As a child, Rafael Nadal hit with two hands from both sides until he was told to choose one side so he would have a single-handed forehand. Although the boy did most things right-handed, he instinctively started playing tennis as a lefty.With his talent and his tenacity, Nadal likely would have been an all-time great no matter what, but being left-handed might have given him an edge — most notably, his high bouncing serve to a right-hander’s backhand has proved especially challenging for his rival Roger Federer. A win at Roland Garros would give Nadal 21 Grand Slams, one more than Federer. And since Nadal has won the French Open 13 times, including the last four years, he is the heavy favorite again in 2021.The conventional wisdom is that being left-handed is an advantage in tennis. Lefties naturally hit with a slight side spin and can serve wide to a righty’s backhand in the ad service box on the most crucial points, and right-handed players suddenly find they need to adjust their tactics in rallies after days or weeks of playing only righty opponents. Switching gears during the tournament makes lefties “really annoying” to play, the player Matteo Berrettini said.Petra Kvitova is the top-ranked left-handed player on the WTA Tour.Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images“Everybody doesn’t like to play lefties because it takes more thinking,” added Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion and the top lefty on the women’s tour. Even she gets thrown off when facing a fellow southpaw. “It’s a bit weird, because you want to hit to the backhand and suddenly their forehand is there,” she said.Filip Krajinovic said he faced lefties once every month or two and had trouble with the adjustment. “It’s harder to play a lefty,” he said. “They have a different style of play, and it’s a little harder for me when they play their cross-court forehand high to my backhand, so I have to focus more on that side and really hit it deep cross court.”There are exceptions, like Cristian Garin, who said: “I really like to play lefties. I think my serve is better against them.”It is difficult to prove statistically whether lefties truly benefit — most righties would lose to Nadal simply because he is better, and most lefties would have the same fate against Federer or Novak Djokovic. But lefties do attain disproportionate success, especially on the men’s tour where the serve is such a vital weapon.While lefties are about 10 percent of the world’s population, three of the Top-10 winners of Grand Slams in the Open era are men (Nadal, Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe), which does not even count Rod Laver, who won the final four of his 11 majors in the Open era.John McEnroe, a left-handed player, won seven Grand Slam singles titles.Adam Stoltman/Associated PressIn doubles, the four men’s teams with the most Grand Slam wins in the Open era all had one lefty. On the current ATP Tour, there are 15 lefties in the Top 100 and seven in the Top 50. Two of the greatest Grand Slam champions among women — Martina Navratilova and Monica Seles — are lefties, but the 10 lefties in the WTA Top 100 are in balance with the overall demographic.Most lefties are not Nadal, of course, yet facing a southpaw still requires a little something extra.“You have to plan for the match differently — there are different spins and different angles you have to play,” said Elena Svitolina, who recently beat the lefties Angelique Kerber and Kvitova back-to-back in Stuttgart, Germany, but then was upset by another lefty, Jil Teichmann, in Madrid.Some players are more blasé about it then others. Svitolina said the major issue before facing a lefty was practicing return of serve, but Ashleigh Barty said that while she would seek out a lefty in practice before a match against a lefty, years of partnering in doubles with the lefty Casey Dellacqua meant returning “millions of her left-handed serves, so it’s not something that really concerns me.”The left-handed player Martina Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam singles titles.Eamonn McCabe/Popperfoto, via Getty ImagesWhen Jan-Lennard Struff is not playing in a tournament, he tries mixing in practice against a lefty once a week. Garin’s coach is a lefty, which helps him practice serve returns, but if Garin has a lefty opponent coming up he will seek out another lefty from the draw to practice with or ask the tournament to find a sparring partner.“It can be difficult to find someone, but you can usually access a hitting partner provided by the tournament,” the player Caspar Ruud said.Service returns may be the biggest challenge, but Struff said that overall, “You need to adjust your patterns to play lefties.”Dominik Koepfer, who is a lefty, said, “What I usually do against righties doesn’t work against lefties, so I need different tactics.”Even as they make adjustments, the players said they tried not to get too caught up in the shift. “You do have to change up your game a little, but you can’t be too frightened to play to their forehand,” Ruud said.Berrettini said he ultimately wanted to play to his strong suits. “I try playing to the weakest stroke of the opponent, but if I want to serve to the T on the deuce side where it’s a lefty’s forehand, I’m going to trust my weapon,” he said about serving down the middle of the court where the service box lines intersect.Denis Shapovalov, the highest-ranked men’s left-hander not named Rafa, said, “I just play my game and go for my shots, so it doesn’t really matter, lefty or righty.”But there are lefties, then there is Nadal, and there is Nadal at Roland Garros, where he has lost only twice. Even for someone as confident as Shapovalov, that can be intimidating. “I’ve never had to play Rafa there, but I imagine it’s not too much fun,” he said.Krajinovic said he hoped that he would not get assigned to play Nadal at the beginning of the tournament.“If I see him in the draw I will not be happy,” Krajinovic said.Koepfer would like the challenge, but only under certain circumstances. “I hope it’s not the first round. I’d like to play righties in the first three rounds before playing Rafa.”For anyone who has the misfortune of matching up with Nadal, Ruud suggested calling Robin Soderling or Djokovic, the only players to have beaten him at Roland Garros, for advice. “And then you just pray he doesn’t have his best day.” More