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05/25 07:02 CDT Four-time champ Iga Swiatek not taking anything for granted at
French Open amid tough clay season
Four-time champ Iga Swiatek not taking anything for granted at French Open amid
tough clay season
By ANDREW DAMPF
AP Sports Writer
PARIS (AP) --- It was a massive mismatch on paper and that's the way it ended
up on court, too.
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."
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.
Monfils plays fellow Frenchman Hugo Gaston in the night session.
___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
