Tsitsipas comes back from brink
Stefanos Tsitsipas came back from the brink to reach the French Open second round as Roland Garros was again overshadowed by the crisis engulfing Wimbledon.
Fourth seed and 2021 runner-up Tsitsipas defeated world number 66 Lorenzo Musetti 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in a match which finished early Wednesday.
Greek star Tsitsipas triumphed as 20-year-old Musetti collapsed from the brink of a famous Paris win for the second year in succession.
Twelve months ago, the Italian took the first two sets against Novak Djokovic in the last 16 before injury forced a final set retirement.
He enjoyed a flying start when the night session first round tie started Tuesday, sweeping through the first two sets, out-hitting Tsitsipas just as he had done against Djokovic.
But then came the familiar power failure and Tsitsipas comfortably pocketed the next two sets.
Tsitsipas came into the tournament on the back of a successful defence of his Monte Carlo title and a runners-up spot in Madrid.
He was also on a season-leading 31 wins which became 32 in the decider courtesy of two more service breaks.
"It was positive and a good effort in the end. I wasn't feeling very good in the first two sets, something was off with my game. Lorenzo wasn't giving me any rhythm," said the 23-year-old.
World number two Daniil Medvedev also eased into the second round but could not escape the shadow of Wimbledon, the Grand Slam tournament where he has been declared persona non grata.
Medvedev routed Argentina's 103rd-ranked Facundo Bagnis 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 on the back of 35 winners.
"I love Roland Garros, especially since last year," said Medvedev, who had lost in the opening round on his first four trips before reaching the quarter-finals in 2021. "I hope this year I can go further."
One place he will not be going, however, is the All England Club next month after Wimbledon banned all Russian and Belarusian players in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
The ATP and WTA responded by stripping the sport's most prestigious tournament of ranking points.
One day after former world number one Naomi Osaka revealed she was "leaning towards not playing" Wimbledon while defending champion Novak Djokovic said he will play despite losing 2,000 points, the controversy showed no signs of abating.
"I will go there to get my prize money, as I would for an exhibition tournament," said Frenchman Benoit Paire after a 6-3, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 loss to Ilya Ivashka.
Claiming that "99%" of players want a Wimbledon with points, he added: "I'm sorry for Russia and Russians, but they are the ones causing all the trouble."
Denis Shapovalov, a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2021, said he objected both to the ban and the decision to strip the points.