PARIS — It was a massive mismatch on paper and that’s the way it ended up on court, too.
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Four-time champion Iga Swiatek required exactly one hour to eliminate 136th-ranked French Open debutante Emerson Jones 6-1, 6-2 in the first round on Monday, in front of a mostly empty Court Philippe-Chatrier on another steamy day in Paris .
The only real issue for the third-ranked Swiatek came when she needed a trainer to re-tape the middle finger on her tennis-playing right hand for an apparent blister after the first set.
“I’m just really happy to play on this court,” she said. “First matches are always also for getting used to the condition tactically and type of the ball.”
Swiatek has not won a title on clay this season and recently made a coaching change. She hired Francisco Roig, who previously worked with record 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal.
“Nothing comes easy,” Swiatek said. “With more titles it’s even a bit harder because everyone expects you to be ready always and play perfectly. So you need to stay humble and not take anything for granted and work your way from the beginning of the tournament.”
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She improved to 28-1 in first-round matches at Grand Slams.
With the temperature due to rise to 32 degrees Celsius (90 Fahrenheit), Swiatek did well to make short work of her 17-year-old Australian opponent, who received a wild-card invitation from Roland Garros organizers.
Also advancing was Jasmine Paolini, who lost the 2024 final to Swiatek. The Italian beat Dayana Yastremska 7-5, 6-3.
In men’s action, eighth-seeded Alex De Minaur defeated Toby Samuel 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
Later, 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka and the popular Gael Monfils are in action in their final French Open before both players retire at the end of the year.
The 41-year-old Wawrinka takes on qualifier Jesper de Jong, who took the spot of Arthur Fils after the top French player withdrew due to a hip issue.
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Monfils plays fellow Frenchman Hugo Gaston in the night session.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
