French Open: Anisimova knocks out Naomi Osaka in 1st round, China’s Zheng Qinwen breezes through
- Anisimova, who made the semi-finals in 2019, secures victory on a third match point with a sharp forehand down the line
- China’s Zheng Qinwen makes fast work of Maryna Zanevska to progress through to the second round of Roland Garros
Naomi Osaka’s return to Roland Garros ended in a first-round defeat to Amanda Anisimova on Monday, a year after she controversially quit the tournament.
The four-time grand slam winner, who withdrew from last year’s tournament with depression, was beaten 7-5, 6-4. American Anisimova, the 27th seed, had also beaten Osaka in the third round of this year’s Australian Open.
Throughout the 90-minute match Osaka was her own worst enemy, serving up eight double faults and committing 29 unforced errors.
“It’s tough to see Naomi Osaka in the first round so I knew it wouldn’t be easy,” Anisimova said. “I knew I had to play my best tennis and the conditions were not easy.”
China’s Zheng Qinwen got her French Open debut under way in dominant fashion, dispatching Belgium’s Maryna Zanevska 6-3, 6-1. Zheng dominated from the start, with a total of six aces helping her to secure the win in just 71 minutes.
Earlier this year the 19-year-old Zheng scored the first top-50 win of her career after upsetting 2016 champion and No 13 seed Sloane Stephens in the first round of the Credit One Charleston Open.
Later on Monday evening Zhu Lin was looking for a similar result when she took on Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova.
In the men’s singles, defending champion Novak Djokovic was set to play Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan, while Spaniard Rafael Nadal was taking on Australia’s Jordan Thompson.
