French Open 2021 day 2 round-up: Roger Federer makes sublime return, Daniil Medvedev breaks Roland Garros jinx

Roger Federer started his 2021 French Open campaign on a high with a straight-sets win while Daniil Medvedev registered his first win in Roland Garros after five attempts.

Roger Federer was at his sublime best as he registered his eighth win against Denis Istomin. (Image credit: Twitter)
By Siddharth vishwanathan | Jun 1, 2021 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Roger Federer has played only a couple of games in 2021. He was playing in Roland Garros for the first time since 2015. But, the Swiss maestro did not show any signs of rust as he overcame Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin in the first round of the French Open 2021. Federer, the 2009 champion, won the contest 6-2,6-4,6-3. This was his eighth win in as many encounters against Istomin and he will play former US Open winner Marin Cilic in the second round.

Federer, who is seeded eighth in the tournament this time around, is placed in a very tough draw. Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are in the same half of the draw. There could be a potential new champion in 2021. Rafael Nadal, the 13-time champion, will start his French Open title defence against Australia’s Alexei Popyrin. World No.1 Novak Djokovic will face Tennys Sandgren of the US.

At the other end of the draw, Daniil Medvedev overcame a big jinx in the French Open. The Russian finally won a match at the French Open on the fifth attempt as he beat Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik 6-3,6-3,7-5. Medvedev had lost eight of his previous nine matches on the surface dating back to 2019. It was only 25-year-old Medvedev’s 12th win on clay out of 180 career matches.

Some upsets on day 2 of French Open 2021

French Tennis fans had to undergo some major disappointment as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga crashed out in the opening round to Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka. Tsonga, who has been struggling for form in the last couple of years, lost 4-6,2-6,6-3,6-7 (5). David Goffin, the No.13 seed, suffered humiliation as he suffered a straight-sets loss to Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti.

Goffin’s 0-6, 5-7,6-7 (3) loss was one of the major upsets of the day. Jannik Sinner edged Pierre-Hughes Herbert in an incredible five-set match. The match ended 6-1 4-6 6-7 7-5 6-4 in Sinner’s favor against the unseeded French. Sinner displayed incredible composure and stamina for his age to go the distance to advance to the second round of the competition. He had built a fine reputation for himself at the Italian Open recently. His performances shot him to number 18 in the world rankings.

Speaking after the match, Medvedev said he was relieved at the win. “I’d never won at Roland Garros before so I really wanted to win today. To win in three sets was a brilliant match on my part. I struggled in recent tournaments on clay, the balls are suiting me this week though and I hope I can go a long way. I think I move well on clay but I sometimes struggle with getting the power,” Medvedev said.