The first round of the 2024 French Open took place on Monday, with four Canadians being victorious. Two lower-ranked Canadian players came away with a win. On the women’s side, 2019 United States Open champion and 228th ranked player in the world Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ontario beat the 43rd ranked player Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain 7-5, 6-1. On the men’s side, Denis Shapovalov of Toronto, Ontario beat the 103rd ranked player Luca Van Assche of France, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
The reason for Andreescu’s win was the fact she saw Sorribes Tormo’s serve very well. She had 11 break point opportunities, of which she broke Sorribes Tormo seven times. This was Andreescu’s first win of 2024 and was very impressive. She had not played since the 2023 National Bank Open in Montreal, Quebec.
Shapovalov’s serve meanwhile was working well. He had eight aces compared to one for Van Assche.
The other two Canadians who won their opening match at the French Open were both from Montreal. On the women’s side, Leylah Annie Fernandez, the 31st seed, steamrolled past Jessika Ponchet of France, 6-2, 6-0. On the men’s side, Felix Auger-Aliassime, the 21st seed, beat Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4.
In round two, Shapovalov will face the 25th seed Frances Tiafoe of the United States, in a battle of grand slam semifinalists. Shapovalov made the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2021 and Tiafoe made the semifinals of the United States Open in 2022. Shapovalov has beaten Tiafoe on four occasions. His wins came in the first round of Cincinnati in 2018 (7-6, 3-6, 7-5), quarterfinals of Miami in 2019 (6-7, 6-4, 6-2), first round of Shanghai in 2019 (6-4, 6-2), and the quarterfinals of Queen’s in 2021 (6-3, 6-4).
Andreescu will next face the 23rd seed Anna Kalinskaya of Russia. This will be their first meeting head-to-head. Fernandez will next face Xiyu Wang of China. This will be their first meeting head-to-head too. Meanwhile, Auger-Aliassime will play Henri Squire of Germany next, and they have not played against each other either.
