PARIS — Jack Draper’s win over Mattia Bellucci on Tuesday marks this as the most successful French Open for British tennis in 52 years.
Draper defeated Bellucci 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 to become the sixth Brit to win their opening match, the most British first-round victories since 1973. After wins for Emma Raducanu, Jacob Fearnley and Katie Boulter on Monday, Cameron Norrie kept that winning feeling going on Tuesday with a superb five-set win over Daniil Medvedev. Sonay Kartal then became the fifth Brit through to the second round with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Erika Andreeva with Draper rounding things off to make it six.
Draper started slowly against Bellucci out on Court Suzanne-Lenglen and struggled to get his serve on point as he fell 6-3 in the first set. Bellucci, who is ranked 68th in the world, secured the first set with an underarm serve.
Bellucci tried that again in the second set, only to hit the net, as he tried to tame an increasingly confident and accurate Draper. The Brit stormed through the next two sets 6-1, 6-4 and then closed out the match with a 6-2 triumph in the fourth set. He’ll now face Gael Monfils or Hugo Dellien in the second round.
“I’m really proud with the way I turned the game on its head, started to be more aggressive. It was a tough battle,” Draper said post-match.
“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish — and I finished pretty well. I have done well thanks to staying fit and hard work. I have good people around me. Focus on being consistent every day.”
Day three of Roland Garros started off with a remarkable match out on Court Simone-Mathieu as Norrie got his best win in over a year against Medvedev. Norrie was competing in his eighth consecutive French Open and came through 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, 7-5 against the 2021 US Open champion in 3 hours 53 minutes, for what was his biggest win since he defeated Casper Ruud at the 2024 Australian Open.
“There wasn’t a lot on my mind on match point. It was an incredible atmosphere. Thank you to everyone for supporting me there. I really felt like I had the momentum at the end, it was kind of similar to the first set. I just felt a lot of energy and I was able to get over the line,” he said on-court afterwards.
“I felt that he was a little tentative but honestly it was a crazy match. He is so tough to beat, I think I deserve a diploma for beating Medvedev because he’s beaten me the last four or five times. It was an unreal match.”
Heading into this match, Medvedev held a 4-0 lead over Norrie without surrendering a single set. But it was Norrie who started well against Medvedev and stormed into a two-set lead, complete with an underarm serve towards the end of the first in an attempt to catch out his opponent. All the while, Medvedev was getting visibly more frustrated with his own game, frequently shouting at his coaching box as he failed to get his forehand on point and at one stage, shipped eight games in a row.
Medvedev managed to wrestle the match back in his favour in the third set, during which he had treatment on his finger, but still came through 6-4. Medvedev then dominated the fourth, with his serve ruthless — his first-serve was at 89%, a vast increase on the 54% and 56% accuracy he found in the second and third sets respectively.
The fifth set started with a lengthy game as Norrie saved four break points to save serve but Medvedev broke him in the third game to take control. Norrie then broke back in the 10th game to make it 5-5 and broke Medvedev again in the 12th, to take the fifth set 7-5.
“He actually upped his level and I dropped my intensity. I wasn’t able to hang with him but I was able to find some energy in that fifth set. I don’t really remember too much of the final set because winning the match from being down is crazy,” Norrie added.
“It was really nice to get past the first round. I just enjoyed it from start to finish. We both played incredible tennis and it was an amazing win for me. It was so much fun.”
Norrie now faces a second-round match against Argentina’s Federico Agustin Gomez.
Meanwhile, Kartal will mark her progress to the second round at the French Open with a tattoo, but had to push back plans to get one on Wednesday morning due to a conflict with doubles.
This is Kartal’s first time in the main draw at Roland Garros and she breezed through her first-round match with Erika Andreeva, winning 6-0, 6-2. She’s also entered the doubles, where she’ll play alongside Jodie Burrage, but the scheduling means she has had to alter plans to get a tattoo on Wednesday morning, instead shifting it through to the afternoon.
“I actually had [a tattoo] booked tomorrow at 11,” Kartal said after her win over Andreeva. “But I’m on at 11. My sister just texted me and she’s changed it to 4. Yeah, I’ll be getting one tomorrow.
“Not actually sure what I’m going to get. I know she wants to get one, as well, so she’s booked it. I think she wants matching, so I’ll get whatever she wants.
“I’m hoping not just to have one. I would like to go back on a different day, as well. Maybe once I’m finished here, I’ll get something that resembles the French Open maybe.”
Kartal plans to get the tattoo on her arm, and it’ll take her tally to 14.
“I tend to just chuck them on and get them a bit scattered at the minute. I’ve been stuck on [13 tattoos]. I haven’t been able to get it. I’m happy to take it to 14.”
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