Key events
A top-spin forehand whip-cracked flat into the corner, and Mpetshi Perricard has set point at 6-5! A fault follows, so he moves wider, looking to give his forehand room … and a second fault means he won’t need to use it! From 0-5 down he takes the breaker 7-5 for 2-1, and Bergs will be mentally barfing up his soul.
Now then! At 5-3, Bergs perhaps goes a little safe, guiding a backhand volley to the forehand corner, but even then, Mpetshi Perricard’s winner is unexpected, a forehand cracked from the back, and seconds later it’s 5-5! Incredible scenes!
At 0-5, Mpetshi Perricard thunders down an ace that’s harder than Geoff Horsfield, then adds another. He couldn’t, could he?
A lovely, disguised drop gives Bergs an immediate mini-break, then Mpetshi Perricard directs a stretch-volley into the cord and will it drop … no. The Belgian leads 3-0 … 4-0!
A mahoosive serve down the T makes it 1-1 6-6, and Mpetshi Perricard has earned a breaker to settle his third set against Bergs. I guess I’d back him in it because he’s got the biggest serve, but the margins are slim.
Next on Chatrier: Musetti (8) v Hanfmann (Q),
Reilly Opelka might be settling on the grass. He’s serving to level his match against Rinky Hijikata at a set apiece, while Navone has taken the third off Nakashima 6-1 and Paul leads Moller 2-1 3-0.
Qinwen Zheng (8) beats Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 6-3
A topsy-turvy match with a lot of thwacking, but it always looked like Zheng would find a way. Next for her it’s Eala or Arango, Arango up 1-0 in the third with a break.
From 0-30, Zheng makes 30-all, then Pavlyuchenkova nets and the no 8 seed has match point…
Oh dear, oh dear. With plenty of time to get nicely under an overhead, Pavlyuchenkova snatches at it, butchering long, and at 6-4 5-3, Zheng will now serve for the match. The Russian just can’t sustain her best stuff.
Again, Pavlyuchenkova breaks back, but can she hold? She wafts a forehand long at 40-30 then slaps another beyond the line; a big serve out wide saves her. And on Lenglen, we’re also playing a protracted game, Mpetshi Perricard looking to break at 1-1 4-4; Bergs does well to make deuce from advantage down.
Bergs breaks Mpetshi-Perricard back right away for 1-1 3-3, while Zheng re-breaks Pavlyuchenkova for 6-4 4-2. Here’s the latter enjoying the company of Sloane Stephens.
And here’s the rest of the ruckus:
We’re back out on Mathieu, Paul leading Moller 6-7 6-2 6-3, and on 14, Navone leads Nakashima 1-1 3-1. Pavlyuchenkova, meanwhile, isn’t going anywhere; she’s broken Zheng back and trails 4-6 2-3.
Mpetshi Perricard is enjoying himself now and Bergs is fading; a break that didn’t take all that much means the French favourite now leads 1-1 3-2 and his serve, raining down from 6”8 and a leap, is terrifying.
In comms, Chrissy notes that Zheng’s best shot is her backhand but the fore is on today too and, as I type, she makes advantage on the Pavlyuchenkova serve. Ouch, and a swat long from the back cedes the break, Zheng now up 6-4 3-1; the end looks imminent
Back on Chatrier, Zheng now leads Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 2-1 on serve and looks to have the bigger shots on the bigger points. She’s got a sleeve on her right arm but it doesn’t look to be giving her grief.
Good news: they’re cleaning up on Mathieu, and I hope we’ll soon be back playing there and on the other outside courts. Sun is peeping through.
Yet more sport for your delectation!
Meantime on Lenglen, a second-serve ace secures a 6-3 set for Mpetshi Perricard, who is now level at 1-1 with Bergs.
A drop then backhand clean-up gives Zheng 5-4 0-30, meaning she’s two points away from 1-0, and when Pavlyuchenkova overhits, fractionally, the no 8 seed has two break points. Oh, and another ball sent wide means all the work she did fighting back from 1-4 was for nothing: Zheng breaks to secure a 6-4 set.
Back on Chatrier, Pavlyuchenkova has settled, breaking Zheng back for 4-4 in the first. Her body language looks much more confident now, and this is another match brewing into something excellent.
Mpetshi Perricard is forced to save two break-back points, but Bergs finds lovely forehand angle, leaping to drive cross-court into the corner for advantage. A service-winner follows, then Bergs nets a forehand having earned a fourth opportunity to regain the break; from there, Mpetshi Perricard serves out the consolidation, and this match is maturing into a really entertaining contest.
Mpetshi Perricard clobbers a forehand that Bergs can’t return, raising two break points; Bergs saves the first … and the second thanks to a ridiculous volley at net, a racket flung out to end the best rally I’ve seen so far today. So we’re back at deuce, but Mpetshi Perricard quickly earns advantage then pounces on a short approach to drill at Bergs’ tootsies, and he now trails 0-1 4-2.
There’ll be no play on Mathieu till at least 1.30pm BST. The rain doesn’t look too heavy.
We do, of course, have a roof on Chatrier and Lenglen, so we’ll stick with those matches. On the former, Zheng leads Pavlyuchenkova 4-1 while, on the latter, Bergs is up 6-4 2-3 on Mpetshi Perricard.
Rain stops play on outside courts
Aaaarrrgghhh! Hopefully it’s just a quick shower.
“That backand is gold,” coos Chrissy as Zheng, up 2-0 on Pavlyuchenkova, nails one down the line; praise indeed. Meantime, time looks up for Moller, Paul breaking him to secure a 6-3 second set and a 2-1 lead.
Nakashima did indeed level his match with Navone at 1-1 while, on Chtrier, we’re under way again. Pavlyuchenkova, unseeded for the first time in time, reached the final in 2021 and is a minging first-round draw for the Olympic champ – especially given the poor season she’s enduring.
Biggup!
Also going on:
Back on Mathieu, Paul has broken Moller for 1-1 3-2; that match now seems to be proceeding in predicted fashion. Otherwise, Bergs has taken the first set off Mpetshi Perricardf 6-4; Nakashima is serving for the second set against Navone, having lost the first; Hijikata leads Opelka 6-1; Medjedovic has beaten Majchrzak 6-3 6-3 7-6; and Fucsovics has beaten Schoolkate 6-4 6-2 6-2.
Next on Chatrier: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Qinwen Zheng(8).
Viktorija Golubic beats Petra Kvitova 3-6 6-0 6-4
It’s great to see Kvitova out there, but tennis is hard. Next for Golubic: Stojanovic or Anisimova.
Sabalenka looked pretty nasty out there. It’ll take something decent to stop her ludicrous blend of power and touch, though there are easier third-round opponents than Danielle Collins should both make it through.
Sabalenka tells Marion Bartoli that she’s happy to be back in Paris and excited for the tournament; she wants to do well.
The first round is always difficult, especially when playing someone you like – Rakhimova is nice and a good friend.
She likes taking Polaroids of her life and is grateful for every moment – how much she enjoys being herself is equal parts moving and inspirational – and she plans to stick around to see the goodbye ceremony for Rafael Nadal, coming up once the day-sesh matches are done on Chatrier.
Aryna Sabalenka beats Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1 6-0
An ace raises match point, two booming backhands take change of it, and a sliced drop seals the deal. Next for Sabalenka: Stefani or Teichmann.
At 6-1 5-0, Sabalenka is serving for the match. She’s also got different coloured laces in her trainers, which I don’t totally understand: why not just get a funner colourway to begin with? We must be told.
Paul has taken over against Moller, four games on the spin giving him a 5-2 second-set lead. And, looking to level the match at 1-1, he begins with an ace then holds to 15; we’re back level and no 12 seed will be feeling much better.
They’re properly slogging on Court 14, where Navone leads Nakashima 7-6 2-2; I’ve actually stopped watching that one for a look at Mpetshi Perricard, who has one of the devastating serves I’ve ever seen. He’s not a clay-courter – his best Slam performance came at last year’s Wimbledon, where he made round four – but he’s dangerous on any surface and Calvin Betton, our resident expert and coach of Henry Patten, is a fan, Bergs, though, leads him 3-2 with a break.
Thinking more about Sabalenka, similar was so of Andy Murray. It was when he stopped losing to good players playing close to their best – the Verdascos of this world – that I knew he was ready to win Slams.
Back on Mathieu, Paul breaks Moller from 0-30 down, unfurling a succession of winners. Might this be the turning point? We shall see but, in the meantime, Moller leads 7-6 2-3.
