It is 1:37 p.m. this Sunday, May 22, the opening day of Roland-Garros and the first big sensation of the 2022 tournament falls: the Tunisian Ons Jabeur, world number 6 is eliminated.
His executioner comes from Poland like world number 1 Iga SwiÄ…tek.
This one is called Magda Linette and she created the surprise by winning in three rounds 3/6, 7/6, 7/5 in just under 2h30 of match.
The blow is hard for Jabeur who seemed to be the number 1 outsider to hinder the plans of Swiatek who suddenly, thanks to his compatriot, has an even clearer road to the title.
Even before hitting his first ball on the ocher earth.
Opening round upset 🤯@MagdaLinette earns her first Top 10 win of the season stunning world No.6 Jabeur 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-5#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/bm4knpKc9H
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 22, 2022
Fallen to 194th place in the world, the Austrian Dominic Thiem for his part barely had time to put his bag down.
The double Roland-Garros finalist (2018, 2019) and winner of the US Open only two years ago was severely beaten when he inaugurated the Suzanne Mathieu court, that of the greenhouses.
The Austrian was curtly sent back to his studies by the 87th player in the world, the Bolivian Hugo Dellien (6-3, 6-2, 6-4).
The former number 3 at the ATP could not do anything, sent back to the ropes with each blow: “It's always a special feeling to be, he told us a few hours before entering the tournament.
It's the best tournament of my career, with two finals against Nadal and two halves, probably the place where I played the best tennis of my life and that's on my mind.
I love the courts, the conditions,
the atmosphere and I hope to find my first success there.
It's my 9th Roland-Garros, I feel a bit at home.
The 28-year-old Austrian has not won a single match on the circuit since his elimination in the round of 16 in Rome in May 2021.
Another result of the morning on the French side: Harmony Tan, 106th in the world, was beaten on Sunday by Colombian Camila Osorio (66th) in two sets 6-4, 6-3, becoming the first player eliminated from the 2022 edition of the Major on clay.
In four participations, Tan, 24, has only reached the second round once, in 2021. She was the first of the 28 French players involved (15 men, 13 women) to enter the competition.
Five other representatives of French tennis are still to play on Sunday: Clara Burel against Maria Sakkari, Kristina Mladenovic against Leylah Fernandez, Carole Monnet against Karolina Muchova, as well as Quentin Halys against John Isner and Grégoire Barrère against Taro Daniel.
