Alex Zverev was back on centre court for the first time nearly a year after he was injured during his semi-final with Rafael Nadal – who he? And teen spirit is on its way to challenge old Iga.
Young Mirra, old Coco
Teen sensation Mirra Andreeva came through three rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw and, following a clinical 6-1, 6-2 destruction of the local lass Diane Parry, she will play the venerable Coco Gauff who is all of 19-years-old. Coco could tell Mirra a thing or two about nascent stardom. No chances of the 16-year-old Russian getting ahead of herself though as she targets the upper reaches of the women’s tour. “If I want to be a little bit like a diva, my coach will say something to me for sure because he doesn't like that kind of person,” she revealed. Of course, the 142,000 euros she’ll pocket for reaching the last-32 may well give her the option of changing coach.
Team supreme
No likelihood of sackings in Daniel Altmaier’s entourage. The 24-year-old German is into the third round for the second time in three visits to the French Open. The world number 79 beat the eighth seed Jannik Sinner on Court Suzanne Lenglen. During the fourth set, Altmaier had to save two match points before claiming it in the tiebreak. Altmaier served for the match leading 5-4 after five hours of drama. He fluffed his lines and Sinner levelled at 5-5. But then the Italian went wonky and lost his service to give Altmaier another chance to serve for the match. He moved to 40-0 and three match points courtesy of a forehand winner and service winner. But Sinner came back. A fourth match point appeared and went and then Sinner had three separate occasions to level at 6-6 and take it into another shoot-out. He failed. An ace from Altmaier on his fifth match point brought forth an explosion of emotion. How the fans cheered his tears. “In the past months we’ve been working to put together this kind of performance,” said Altmaier whose T-shirt aptly sported a logo for Vitamin Well. “This victory is a team effort.” Protein drinks all round.
Night fever
World number one Iga Swiatek happily admitted she was a day bird when quizzed on the men's monopoly of the five night games at the 2023 tournament. "There are players who like the hype and the energy, and maybe playing during the night because also of the conditions," said the Pole who celebrated her 22nd birthday soberly on Day 4. "But for me it's more comfortable to just have the normal day/night rhythm ... in terms of regeneration, recovery, and just kind of being in a good rhythm and also keeping better mindset." Doesn't look like her mind will be troubled any time soon. After all, in comparison with Mirra and Coco, she is getting on.
Back in the groove
On the subject of happy returns ... the night match was supposed to feature sixth seed Holger Rune from Denmark and the Frenchman Gael Monfils. Box office bonanza indeed. The scowling Scandi bad boy against the flamboyant showman incarnate. Only it didn't happen. Monfils pulled out on doctor's orders with a bad wrist. So the match between the unseeded Slovakian Alex Molcan and the 22nd seed Alex Zverev was drafted in to replace the blockbuster. Zverev was playing his first match on centre court since he twisted his right ankle there during last year's semi-final against Rafael Nadal. The 26-year-old German said he went out onto the court before the actual match. "I hadn't been out there on the court at all since the accident. So that was quite important for me. Then during the match, I was extremely excited to be playing on that court again. I wanted to do the best I could." He's into the third round where he'll meet the 12th seed Frances Tiafoe.
Give and take
As the fans on Court Suzanne Lenglen heaped vitriol on the American Taylor Fritz, the review was reminded of the British TV sitcom Dad’s Army which was based on the Home Guard in Britain during the second world war. One character, Lance Corporal Jones, had a catchphrase: “They don’t like it up ’em” stemming from his days fighting with a bayonet at the end of his rifle in the Boer War. They certainly didn’t like it up 'em when Fritz put his finger to his lips after defeating the local hero Arthur Rinderknech in four sets to move into the third round. Positively booed and jeered the 25-year-old American who had to cope with all kinds of distractions and poor behaviour during his match. The spectators inevitably interrupted his on-court post match interview with former player Marion Bartoli. It was a tad farcical and should have been called off really but Bartoli eventually got her question out. “I came out and the crowd was great honestly,” deadpanned Fritz. “They cheered so well for me I wanted to make sure I won. Thanks guys.” The locals won’t be able to go überpartisan any longer because there are no more French male players left in the draw. Cruel world.
