There were mixed feelings for the Greek side in the first round of this year’s French Open with Stefanos Tsitsipas progressing to the second round, while Maria Sakkari made a shock exit.
Stefanos Tsitsipas passed a stern first-round test on Sunday at Roland Garros, overcaming Jiri Vesely 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(7).
After the match, the world no.5 said: “He was a difficult obstacle today, I won’t lie.”
“He gave me a hard time. I’m happy I overcame it in such a fashion. I was able to bounce back from all those difficulties that were being thrown at me constantly. Today’s win is very important for me,” Tsitsipas added.
Tsitsipas now holds a 19-6 record at Roland Garros, where he reached the championship match in 2021. His second-round opponent in Paris will be Roberto Carballes Baena.
Meanwhile, Maria Sakkari was knocked out by Czech Karolina Muchova 7-6(5), 7-5 on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
The Greek, seeded number 8, was defeated by Muchova at the French Open for the second straight year, by a nearly identical scoreline.
Sakkari, who had reached the French Open semi-finals two years ago, came into the match with a 15-1 win-loss record in Grand Slam first rounds.
She fended off two match points at 5-4 in the second set, but Muchova garnered two more chances at 6-5, and the Czech converted her fourth match point with an error-forcing forehand.
