Prominent Aussies Survive French Open First Round

While five Aussies fell short of progressing through the first round of the French Open, top hopes Alex De Minaur and world number-one Ash Barty advanced in Paris.

De Minaur took care of his early Roland-Garross matchup in straight sets despite a third set tie-breaker. 

Facing an unseeded opponent, Barty battled over the line after dropping the second set. She spoke post-match about the battle and a late medical timeout which raised concerns of an injury cloud.

“It’s going to be a little bit tough this week. I think over the weekend we had a bit of a flare-up through my left hip, which obviously just needed a bit of help today,” she said.

“I’m not going to hide behind the fact I’m not quite 100 per cent but I can guarantee that I will go out there with the right attitude every day and be really accepting of that and give it a crack no matter what.”

A disappointing finish for fellow Australian campaigners, Alexi Popyrin fell to 13-time French Open winner Rafeal Nadal, as Jordy Thompson and Chris O'Connell battled relentlessly before being overcome. 

World number-43 John Millman made an unusual exit to his Grand Slam opener, withdrawing from the match due to a back injury just seconds before the scheduled start.

Out of the remaining Aussies, James Duckworth will need to get past Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis before a potential third round match-up against Novak Djokovic. On the women's side of the draw, Ajla Tomljanovic advanced to reach the second round, as did 25-year-old Astra Sharma. 

Headlining the prominent Aussies on day five, De Minaur will compete against Italian player Marco Cecchinato, while Barty faces Magda Linette from Poland.

Catch up on the latest headlines on The New South Wales Briefing. Available on LiSTNR