good morning hoddlers and welcome after one of the more chaotic French Opens we’ve seen in years.
On the men’s side, Alexander Zverev claimed his maiden Grand Slam title on his fourth attempt. He defeated the Italian (no, not that Italian) Flavio Cobolli in five sets on Sunday, in a match that will be less remembered for the tennis and more for the end of a strange fortnight.
After World No.1 Jannik Sinner and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic were bounced out in the second and third rounds, respectively, the draw was wide open for someone to claim their first major. Zverev’s triumph will be the big takeaway from this tournament here, although it remains to be seen if he’ll be able to compete in a tournament when Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are both healthy.
The longer-lasting legacy of this, however, might be the breakout of rising Brazilian star Joao Fonseca. The 19-year-old came back from two sets down to defeat Djokovic, and then backed that up with a win over Casper Ruud.
The last couple of seasons has left tennis watchers asking who will be the player to insert themselves into the Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry. After this tournament, it looks like we might have our answer: Joao Fonseca.
Speaking of teen sensations, Mirra Andreeva (19) became the youngest woman to win the French Open since Monica Seles in 1992.
Andreeva has had very high expectations for years. She rocketed up to the top five in the world last year after winning two WTA 1000 tournaments.
Andreeva locked in after a shaky second-round match and pretty much coasted the rest of the way, defeating qualifier Maja Chwalinska in the final. Again, a final that won’t be remembered so much for the tennis and more for this being Andreeva’s major breakthrough.
Like the men’s side we also come out of this asking another big question: Just how many of these tournaments will Andreeva win during her career?
Ftizie’s track of the day: Runner, by Tennis
And now for your links:
BBC: “Eriksen conscious after collapsing in Denmark game”
Alasdair Gold: “Dejan Kulusevski delivers positive new injury update after World Cup disappointment”