According to Mirra Seal: Andreeva justifies the status of one of the favorites of Roland Garros

The start of Roland Garros turned out to be controversial for Russian tennis players. Following the results of the first round, Ekaterina Alexandrova, who lost to Camila Osorio, Lyudmila Samsonova, who lost to Jill Taichman, Anastasia Zakharova, who could not cope with Karolina Mukhova, and Daniil Medvedev left the tournament. The defeat of the sixth seed from the 97th racket of the world Adam Walton was the main sensation of the start of the French major. But the country's first racket Mirra Andreeva won her match quite confidently. For more information, see the Izvestia article.

Andreeva reached the second round of Roland Garros

The transition to the ground had a positive effect on Mirra's game and results. Before the start of Roland Garros, she had 15 wins in 18 matches on this surface this season, the best record on the tour. In Linz, the Russian won the title, in Madrid she reached the final, and in Rome she stopped in the quarterfinals. In addition, she won the doubles tournament with Diana Schneider in the Italian capital. In Paris, Andreeva had to defend the points for last year's quarterfinals, and the draw at the start looked quite favorable.

At the start, she got the former 39th racket of the world Fiona Ferro. The Frenchwoman rose to the top 40 in 2020, when she reached the 1/8 finals of the home major, but she could not stay at such a high level for a long time. Ferro currently ranks 200th in the ranking and performs mainly at not the most prestigious tournaments. Fiona, 29, has eight wins and four losses on clay this year. On the eve of Roland Garros, she played in Rabat, where she managed to qualify for the second round of the main draw.

However, it is unlikely that Fiona could impose a fight on a representative of the top 10. And so it turned out. But Andreeva's game was not without its differences. With the score at 4-2, Mirra had to win back two break points. Two more — serving for the first set. It seemed that the Russian was experimenting and trying to experience the Philippe Chatrier central court. When the situation became critical, she turned on her maximum and won important draws.

Mirra also started the second set with a break (2:1), and then made the second (4:1). It seemed that the match would be over soon. But then Ferro suddenly added, and Mirra, on the contrary, began to pour out mistakes. What are the three double faults in the sixth game that allowed Fiona to make the first break? Then she confirmed it on her pitch and received huge support from local fans. This support almost helped her to even the score, but Mirra pulled out the hardest eighth game, and soon won the match at the reception.

Andreeva reached the second round for the seventh Grand Slam in a row. In the second round, he will play Maria Bassols Ribera, who made it to the main draw through qualifying. Diana Schneider, Anna Kalinskaya and Alina Korneeva also overcame the barrier of the first round. The last two will play against each other. Ekaterina Alexandrova, Lyudmila Samsonova and Anastasia Zakharova completed their performances in Paris.

Rackets at the start: what to expect from Russians at Roland Garros

Medvedev is facing an unloved Thien in the fourth round, Mirra needs to cope with the stands

Medvedev sensationally lost to the 97th racket of the world

Unfortunately, Daniil Medvedev left the tournament in the men's draw. The Russian first racket lost at the start of the French major for the second year in a row. This year, Daniel's abuser was Australian Adam Walton, who upset a top-10 player for the first time (he had previously lost four out of four matches). This is a very disappointing defeat for Medvedev. His opponent, ranked 97th in the rankings, probably had the best match of his career, although he had never shone on clay before. Everything was decided in the final fifth game. In it, Daniil led 3-1 and 4-2 with a break, but eventually lost 4-6.

— I don't want to look for excuses, — leads Tennis.com the words of a Russian. — I know why I don't always play my best tennis at Roland Garros, but if I say it, it will sound like an excuse. So I'll keep it to myself. I haven't lost the ability to perform well on the Slams yet. I think it can come back at any time, for example, at Wimbledon. But again, if we talk about all four Grand Slam tournaments in general, I think the game has changed compared to what it was five years ago, and it doesn't suit me very well. It's very difficult for me to find the right rhythm.

But other representatives of the "Russian Three" won their opening matches. Andrey Rublev had a very serious rival Ignacio Buse. On the eve of Roland Garros, he won the ATP 500 tournament in Hamburg. The Peruvian started at 57th place in the ranking and from the qualifying round, and finished with his debut title in his career. During the competition, he beat last year's champion Flavio Kobolli, and in his first final he stood up in a duel with former eighth racket of the world Tommy Paul. Thus, Ignacio rose to the 31st place in the ATP.

However, it was not possible to develop success in the match with Rublev. The Russian put the squeeze on his opponent in four sets and will now play with Argentine Camilo Hugo Carabella. Karen Khachanova is waiting for a duel with another representative of Argentina, Marco Trungeliti.

In the first round, Karen beat Artyur Zha in three sets. Everything was decided in a tie-break in the second game, after which the Frenchman dropped his hands and gave up the victory with a "steering wheel" in the third set.