French Open 2018 First-Round Results: Stan Wawrinka Out, Rafael Nadal Advances

There were several disappointments, excitements and surprises in the opening round of the 2018 French Open on Tuesday, including Stan Wawrinka‘s early exit and Rafael Nadal advancing to the second round.

French Open 2018 Opening-Round Results

Wawrinka, the 23rd-seeded Swiss who won the 2016 US Open, lost in five sets on Monday to 67th-ranked Spaniard Guillermo García-López 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3. Wawrinka just recently returned to competitive tennis after being sidelined three months with a knee injury.

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Ten-time Roland Garros champion Nadal — the French Open top seed — reached the second round of the tournament in Paris on Tuesday by defeating unseeded Italian Simone Bolelli  6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (9) in a match that was delayed by rain and thus had to be completed over two days.

Third-seeded Croatian Marin Cilic also advanced to Round 2 by beating Australian youngster James Duckworth in straight sets. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov, a rising star, eliminated Australia’s John Millman 7-5, 6-4, 6-2.

Cilic’s game was also interrupted by rain for around an hour.

According to ESPN, Nadal — who will be 32 next week — hasn’t lost a set in Paris since the 2015 French Open quarterfinals.

John Isner, the ninth seed, and Kevin Anderson, the sixth seed, also reached Round 2.

Nadal next faces Argentine Guido Pella on Thursday. Also on Thursday, Cilic will play Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz. After beating fellow American Noah Rubin in the first round, Isner will face Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos on Thursday.

Sam Johnson will take on 28-year-old German Jan-Lennard Struff in Round 2.

On the women’s side, Serena Williams won her first Grand Slam match in almost 16 months when she eliminated the Czech Republic’s Kristyna Pliskova, 7-6 (4), 6-4 in a first-round match on Tuesday.

Article by Pablo Mena