French Open 2024 Day One Recap

An action-packed and rain-affected opening day at the 2024 edition of Roland Garros is complete, with several upsets already recorded and a day to forget for the Chileans and Brits.

The first surprise of the day saw the French number one Ugo Humbert taken out for the second consecutive year by Lorenzo Sonego.

One week ago, Chilean tennis was riding high, with Tabilo and Jarry making the semi-finals in Rome. Jarry eventually lost to Zverev in the final. 

Given that showing, both men will have been optimistic about their chances in Paris, but neither progressed out of the first round.

Alejandro Tabilo, the 24th seed, was the first to depart, crashing out to Zizou Bergs, despite leading 5-2 in the second set and then 5-2 in the break before losing 3-6 7-6 6-2, 6-2.

Nicolas Jarry then took on Corentin Moutet in front of a partisan crowd, and he couldn’t deal with the crafty play from Moutet, whose lefty game full of feel caused him many problems. He wasn’t helped by his footwork looking like he’d walked the journey from Rome.

It was an equally disappointing day for British tennis, as Jack Draper also suffered a poor loss, falling to qualifier Jesper De Jong in five sets, before Stan Wawrinka took apart Andy Murray.

Four top-10 seeds were also in action, with Carlos Alcaraz demolishing JJ Wolf, Andrey Rublev facing a stern test from Taro Daniel, Grigor Dimitrov consummately defeating Aleksandar Kovacevic, and Hubert Hurkacz going the distance against Shintaro Mochizuki.

You can see the complete results from day one below and select highlights from the critical matches.

Day One French Open 2024 Round of 128 Results

Rublev Rallies Past Daniel

Andrey Rublev overcame a challenging start at Roland Garros, besting Taro Daniel 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-5 to advance on the opening day.

Playing on Court Simonne-Mathieu, the sixth seed recovered from a second-set setback to maintain his unbeaten record against Daniel, a tricky outsider who’s tested several top-ranked players over the years.

Rublev, who has reached the quarter-finals in Paris twice before, leaned on his robust serving, winning 89% of points on his first serve. He also controlled the game with his potent forehand, especially during critical phases.

Following a mixed clay season highlighted by a Madrid Masters 1000 win but lacklustre performances elsewhere, Rublev aims to capitalise on his positive start at the French Open. He faces Pedro Martinez next, who triumphed in a five-set battle against Thiago Agustin Tirante.

It was a tough match, and he is a tough player. He knows how to play on clay, and we have played many matches against each other, so we know each other very well. The conditions were not easy to play, with the wind and everything, but in the end, we played a great match. Rublev on his win over Daniel.

Alcaraz Makes Ace Start

Carlos Alcaraz made a compelling start to his Roland Garros campaign on Sunday, swiftly defeating J.J. Wolf. On Court Philippe-Chatrier, Alcaraz took just one hour and 51 minutes to secure a 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 victory to show he’s back in form after a forearm injury had sidelined him for over three weeks.

The Spaniard had moderated his play due to the injury during his quarter-final appearance in Madrid and had withdrawn from Rome. However, he appeared to show no restraint against lucky loser Wolf, unleashing powerful forehands throughout their first meeting.

While the win will give him a nice boost of confidence, Wolf has been in very poor form recently, losing to Jesper De Jong in qualifying and only entering the main draw as a lucky loser, so he was never getting more than a handful of games, even if Alcaraz wasn’t able to tee-off on his forehand.

I’m really happy to be back, back here in Paris, and be back competing again. It’s been a really difficult month for me. I love competing and playing tennis, and staying away from that was hurtful for me. I tried everything I could do to be at my 100 per cent here in Paris, to show my best tennis, and I think I did it today. I  would have loved to have played more matches [this month], but I don’t think I need too many matches to get to 100 per cent. I made great preparations these past two weeks before arriving in Paris. I practised this week with top players and felt good moving and hitting the ball. My forearm is getting better, which is something good for me. Alcaraz on his win and fitness.

Wawrinka Schools Murray

Andy Murray has a new racket, but it was the same old story for him in Paris when facing Stan Wawrinka as he was brushed aside 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in just over two hours by the 2015 champion.

Stan took out Murray at the same stage in 2020 and also in the 2017 semi-final, thanks to his superior clay-court game and that proved the difference on Sunday evening.

While both men are a far cry from the level that propelled them to three Grand Slams each, Wawrinka still has the game to do damage, firing his brilliant backhand and penetrating bal that Murray could not handle.

Other Matches of Note

Sonego Upsets Humbert: Lorenzo Sonego triumphed over 16th seed Ugo Humbert 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Delivering 35 winners, Sonego secured his second consecutive victory over the Frenchman at Roland Garros.

De Jong Downs Draper: Jack Draper fell at the first hurdle, losing to Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong in a gruelling five-set match. Ranked 35th, Draper fell 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 3-6, 6-3, struggling with his serve throughout the match, leading to nine breaks of serve by de Jong, who capitalised on Draper’s numerous unforced errors.

Hurkacz Meanders Paast Mochizuki: Hubert Hurkacz took the scenic route in his opening round, battling to a five-set win against Japanese qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki, overcoming him 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 in almost 3 hours.

Gasquet Thrills Home Crowd: Wildcard Richard Gasquet took out Borna Coric (ranked 73rd) in straight sets, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/2), 6-4. It was his 21st appearance at the French Open, and he battled for 3 hours and 23 minutes to set up a likely encounter with Jannik Sinner.

Bergs Topples Tabilo: A 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-2 for the Belgian qualifier to take out 23rd-seeded Alejandro Tabilo, who entered Paris having beaten Djokovic en route to the semi-finals in Rome.

Nishikori Wins Another 5-Setter: Kei has barely played a match this season, but he overcame Diallo in five sets 7-5, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 1-6, 7-5 in 4 hours and 22 minutes. Kei has an impressive 28-7 (80% win rate) over five sets in his career.

French Open 2024 Day 2 Round of 128 Matches