We start the second round this Wednesday, May 25 on the courts of Roland-Garros.
And it's the day of the stars: the three favorites of the tournament Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz are on the track.
Moutet confronts his childhood idol
Corentin Moutet is going to treat himself to a gala evening with his childhood idol, Rafael Nadal.
The prestigious event will take place at the Central with the honors of the evening session. “Rafa, I started playing tennis watching him play.
I remember his first Grand Slams.
I even imitated it when I was little.
I'm not going to hide it, it's a huge pleasure to be able to play against him, ”says the current 139th in the world, winner in the first round of the ghost Stan Wawrinka, winner Porte d'Auteuil in 2016 (2-6, 6- 3, 7-6, 6-3).
“When you're little, you need to have idols, to identify with people.
I, who was left-handed, was my inspiration.
I imitated his serve, his forehand, I imitated everything.
Until the moment when I decided to do what worked best for me, and it was certainly not to imitate him, ”continues the 23-year-old Parisian, left-handed like Nadal but small on the circuit with his 1 .75 m.
“I even slept with his Roland tank top!” he recalls.
But I was really small, don't make me look like I was fourteen or fifteen..."
A derby for Djoko, a 100% Spanish match for Alcaraz
For his second round, the defending champion and world number 1 will play a derby.
The Serb will face the Slovak Alex Molcan ranked 38th in the world at the end of the afternoon.
Impressive at the opening on Monday evening, Novak Djokovic may not have a trick as easy as that.
Molcan, whose first round was postponed from Monday to Tuesday due to rain, beat Argentinian Federico Coria 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 after three hours of play. .
Expected at the turn, Carlos Alcaraz very impressive for his first match will play against a compatriot, Albert Ramos-Vinolas ranked 44th in the world.
WATCH YOUR STEP.
We will know better this Wednesday evening in any case where the three stars of the tournament are.
Day 4 at your service 👀#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/m85y9rbvIY
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 24, 2022
The French condemned to the exploit
Apart from Moutet, all the Frenchmen entered for the day will have to achieve feats to go further.
Starting with the nice surprise of the first round Diane Parry (n°97).
In the evening on the Simonne-Mathieu court, the Boulonnaise will challenge the Colombian Camilla Osorio, ranked n°66.
The task will be even more complicated for Elsa Jacquemot opposite to open the day on the center court to the German Angelique Kerber.
Not easy either the mission that awaits Richard Gasquet against Sebastian Korda, the 27th in the world.
We sometimes wonder if there will still be French people in the third round.
the certainty is that there will probably already be less at the end of this day.
The program (from 11 a.m.)
Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Kerber (Ger.) - Jacquemot (Fr.);
Zverev (Ger.) - Baez (Arg.);
Evening session: Moutet (Fra.) - Nadal (Spain)
Short Suzanne-Lenglen
.
Djokovic (Ser.) - Molcan (Slo.);
Korda (USA) - Gasquet (France)
Court Simonne-Mathieu:
Isner (USA) - Barrère (Fr.);
Ramos -Vinolas (Spain) - Alcaraz (Spain);
Osorio (Col.) - Parry (Fr.)
The first rounds of the doubles tournaments take place on all the additional courts.