Britain’s Aljaz Bedene says his American opponent Ryan Harrison effectively threw away the second set of their first round match at the French Open.
| French Open |
|---|
| Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Dates: 28 May- 11 June |
| Coverage: Listen to live radio commentary and follow text coverage of selected matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online. |
British number three Aljaz Bedene is considering switching his allegiance back to Slovenia in order to compete at the Olympics.
Bedene, 27, became a British citizen in 2015 but has been unable to overturn a ban preventing him from representing Great Britain in the Davis Cup.
To go to the Olympics, a player must have been available for the Davis Cup.
“That’s a dream for every athlete,” said Bedene after beating Ryan Harrison to reach the French Open second round.
Bedene represented Slovenia in three Davis Cup ties before becoming a British citizen – and rules were introduced shortly after his switch barring players from representing more than one nation.
“I’ll have to see what can be done,” he added. “At the moment I’m representing Great Britain, but I do want to play Olympic Games.”
Bedene moved to Britain in 2008 but Dan Evans said earlier this month he still considered himself to be the British number three despite being overtaken by Bedene in the rankings.
“At the moment, for the clay season, I spent quite a lot of time in Slovenia,” Bedene said on Monday.
“My fiancee said she wants to move back. She wants to have her career there.
“I’m travelling a lot, so it’s not easy – but I do want to spend as much time as I can with her.
“I’ve still got a house in England. My home is still there. I have always been known as Slovenia-born – but I love Britain.
“I feel Slovenian and British.”
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
Bedene would need to play three Davis Cup ties for Slovenia between now and the Tokyo Olympics to be eligible for the 2020 Games, and so realistically would need to switch back in time for the 2019 competition.
He has a Slovenian passport, but also needs to be in “good standing” with the country’s Olympic Committee and would have to rebuild relationships broken when he started playing under the British flag.
In March, an arbitration hearing upheld the International Tennis Federation’s ruling that players can no longer represent more than one country, but expressed the hope the governing body could one day be persuaded that Bedene is worthy of an exemption.
That appears a long shot in the time available, and any switch back to Slovenia is likely to go down very badly with those at the Lawn Tennis Association who have spent so much time and resources on his case.
Earlier on Monday, Bedene won 6-4 6-0 3-6 6-1 against American Harrison – a player ranked 10 places higher at 42 in the world.
Afterwards, he accused his opponent of “tanking”, saying the American effectively gave up the second set to help him win the third
“That is in a way a tactic, and it worked,” Bedene told BBC Sport. “That was his decision. I’m not doing that.
“It’s never easy to start off the third set after someone’s tanking.”
Bedene has now won 21 of 24 matches on clay this year, winning two titles on the second-tier Challenger circuit and reaching an ATP Tour final in Hungary.
He will face Czech player Jiri Vesely in the second round, with Rafael Nadal of Spain a potential fourth-round opponent.
Fellow Britons Andy Murray, Kyle Edmund and Johanna Konta start their challenge on Tuesday, but Dan Evans lost on Sunday.
| French Open |
|---|
| Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Dates: 28 May-11 June |
| Coverage: Listen to live radio commentary and follow text coverage of selected matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online. |
Defending champion Novak Djokovic won his first match under new coach Andre Agassi to reach the second round of the French Open in Paris.
The 12-time Grand Slam champion teamed up with American Agassi after parting company with his entire coaching team.
The world number two Serb, who could meet Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals, beat Marcel Granollers 6-3 6-4 6-2.
Spaniard Nadal, bidding for a 10th French Open title, eased past France’s Benoit Paire 6-1 6-4 6-1.
Djokovic faces either compatriot Janko Tipsarevic or Portugal’s Joao Sousa in the second round, while Nadal will take on Robin Haase of the Netherlands.
| French Open |
|---|
| Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Dates: 28 May-11 June |
| Coverage: Listen to live radio commentary and follow text coverage of selected matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online. |
Spain’s Garbine Muguruza started the defence of her French Open title by beating 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone 6-2 6-4.
Fourth seed Muguruza went into the match having won only three times on clay this season, but she cruised through the first set.
Italian Schiavone, 36, won three games in a row to lead the second set but Muguruza fought back to win.
Muguruza will face Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit in the second round.
“I cannot believe in the first round we have two ex-champions. Not only that but Francesca is a legend and I was very excited to play on Philippe Chatrier court with her,” said Muguruza.
Muguruza defeated Serena Williams to win her maiden Grand Slam title a year ago, but the 23-year-old needs to return to the final to stay in the world’s top 10.
“I know I played good here before, but that doesn’t make me extra confident this year. I have to play well to earn that confidence again,” she said.
Schiavone, who is 37 in June, played in the tournament for the final time before her retirement at the end of the year.
Kristina Mladenovic – France’s biggest hope in the women’s draw – overcame American Jennifer Brady in a three-hour match on Philippe Chatrier court.
The world number 14 was trailing in the first set when she had to go off for treatment on a back problem.
She also found herself 0-3 down in the deciding set before coming back to win 6-3 3-6 9-7.
“I pulled my back yesterday and specialists were saying I needed 48 hours,” said Mladenovic. “I was almost sure I could not make it to court today.
“It was not the best thing obviously but I promise you I will come back and will fight until the end.”
Caroline Wozniacki had to fight hard to beat Australian Jaimee Fourlis 6-4 3-6 6-2.
Wildcard Fourlis, aged 17 and at 337 the lowest-ranked player in the main draw, pushed the 11th seeded Dane in the second set.
But Wozniacki, who had to retire during last week’s Strasbourg tournament because of a lower-back injury, regained control in the deciding set.
Andy Murray can go “very, very deep” at the French Open as he rebuilds his confidence, argues Davis Cup captain Leon Smith.
Top seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers lead a strong doubles field on the clay of Roland Garros. The Australian Open champions tasted victory the last time they were in Paris, lifting the Tennis Paris Masters trophy in November, and will look to continue their winning ways on French soil.
The Finnish-Aussie duo open against Spanish pair David Marrero and Tommy Robredo and will face stiff competition to lift the trophy. Defending champions Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez also reside in their quarter of the draw, while fourth seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo and seventh seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers also loom large in their half.
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Kubot and Melo enter on the heels of claiming their second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title of the season on the clay of Madrid. The No. 1 team in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London, they open against Frenchmen Julien Benneteau and Jeremy Chardy.
Second seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut and third seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan lead the charge in the bottom half of the draw. Herbert and Mahut are looking to become the second French duo to lift the Coupe Jacques Brugnon in the past four years (Benneteau/Roger-Vasselin in 2014). They are riding a wave of momentum after prevailing in Rome a week ago.
Another day of practice in the ?. #rg17 #teamizod pic.twitter.com/m9DAi3qmji
— Bob Bryan (@Bryanbros) May 28, 2017
The Bryans, meanwhile, carry their record haul of 16 Grand Slam doubles crowns onto the terre battue of Paris. The champions in 2003 and 2013, the American twins also finished as runners-up the last two years. They open again Philipp Petzschner and Alexander Peya.
Other tough tandems in their half of the draw include fifth seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares and Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters champions Rohan Bopanna and Pablo Cuevas. Cuevas won the Roland Garros title in 2008 alongside Luis Horna.
In a battle of Frenchmen, Lucas Pouille again got the better of Julien Benneteau, coming back from two-sets-to-one down to win 7-6(6), 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in three hours and 21 minutes on Sunday at Roland Garros.
“I knew he was going to put a lot of pressure on me. I knew he was going to try and play short balls because he didn’t want to play a long match of long balls, because physically he was not ready for that. I knew it was going to be a tough match,” Pouille said.
The 23-year-old Pouille had also beaten his compatriot last year to start their home Grand Slam tournament, but, during their match on Sunday, the 35-year-old Benneteau converted his lone break point in the third set to gain a two-sets-to-one lead.
Pouille, however, climbed back into the first-round contest, hitting 23 winners and breaking Benneteau three times in the final two sets to advance. A total of 19 Frenchmen started in the main draw, the most since 2014, when there also were 19.
“I’m disappointed, obviously, but at the same time I’m quite proud because I did as much as I can,” said Benneteau, who was playing in his 15th Roland Garros. “In a match like that, so many things can happen. It’s five sets. Especially on clay, so much can happen.”
The 16th-seeded Pouille will meet Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci in the second round. The Brazilian beat Serbian Dusan Lajovic 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4. Pouille has reached the second round in Paris three times, but never farther.
“I know him well. We practised together. We trained. He’s a good left-handed player. He hits hard. He has a lot of spin on his ball,” Pouille said. “I know it’s going to be a tough one. I know I will have to be very present on the court, and I will have to play better than today, hit harder, with more intensity. I will try to do so from the very beginning of the match.”
Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas ran away with his first-round match, dismissing Romanian Marius Copil 6-7(7), 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in just over three hours. The 19th-seeded Ramos-Vinolas, who reached the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters final (l. to Nadal) last month, hit 35 winners and benefitted from 68 unforced errors from the 26-year-old Copil.
The Spaniard will meet 20-year-old Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, who won his tour-level debut when #NextGenATP Russian Daniil Medvedev retired because of cramps down 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, 3-1.
In other action, American Tennys Sandgren fell in his Grand Slam debut 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 against Kazhakstan veteran Mikahil Kukushkin. Dutchman Robin Haase won 10/11 points at the net to prevail against #NextGenATP Australian Alex de Minaur 6-2, 6-3, 6-1. The 18-year-old de Minaur won his first Grand Slam match at the Australian Open earlier this year.
Go inside the tournament at RolandGarros.com.