Monte Carlo champion Andrey Rublev, the seventh seed, overcame a mid-match wobble to beat Laslo Djere 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-4. Russian Khachanov defeated local favourite Constant Lestienne 3-6 1-6 6-2 6-1 6-3 and the 11th seed was joined in the second round by Polish 13th seed Hurkacz who battled past David Goffin 6-3 5-7 6-4 2-6 6-4.Īustralian wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis pulled off an upset by downing British 20th seed Dan Evans 6-4 6-4 6-4. He gave me a hard time and I'm happy I overcame it in such a fashion." "I said to myself there's no chance this is going to a fifth set," said Tsitsipas. Greek fifth seed Tsitsipas was made to work hard by Vesely, who is on the comeback trail following a lengthy injury absence, before winning 7-5 6-3 4-6 7-6(7). "It's been 15 months since the war has begun." "She (Sabalenka) never says that she personally doesn't support this war, and I feel like journalists should change the questions you ask these athletes because the war is already there," Kostyuk said. She added that the Ukrainian did not deserve to leave the main showcourt in the manner she did but Kostyuk urged Sabalenka to take a stronger and more personal stand against the war. Sabalenka, who initially thought the boos were for her, theatrically bowed to supporters before thanking them for their backing and later said she understood Kostyuk's choice to skip the customary gesture. Kostyuk had warned she would not shake hands with Russian and Belarusian players due to Moscow's invasion of its neighbour Ukraine and she kept her word on a sun-kissed court Philippe Chatrier after losing 6-3 6-2 to world number two Sabalenka. Stefanos Tsitsipas, the runner-up in Paris in 2021, was later dragged into a dogfight by Czech Jiri Vesely before he advanced in four sets and seeds Karen Khachanov and Hubert Hurkacz also battled their way into the second round. Kostyuk beat the Chinese star in three sets last season at Indian Wells and taking the powerful Ukrainian to win at least one here seems the sensible compromise in what could be an exciting battle.PARIS, May 28 (Reuters) - The famously fickle Paris crowd made themselves heard on the opening day of the French Open, booing when Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk refused to shake hands after her first-round defeat by Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus on Sunday. The 20-year-old has the higher-ceiling of the two players at either ends of their careers but Shuai Zhang is well capable of getting back enough extra balls to frustrate her opponent to defeat here. World number 76 Marta Kostyuk came back from a set down to beat Katie Swan in the first round, backing up a strong run at the Eastbourne International last week in which she beat Viktorija Golubic and Barbora Krejcikova. The 33-year-old reached the Singles and Women’s Doubles finals of the Birmingham Classic earlier this month before an injury saw her pull out of both but she claimed the third WTA title of her career earlier this year at the Lyon Open. Super-consistent Shuai Zhang handed lucky loser Misaki Doi a second-set bagel on Monday in a comfortable victory, all the more impressive as she would have been gearing up to face Elena Rybakina.
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