Key events
Thanks Tom and hi again – Sinner is 30-all serving for a third breaker out of four.
Yet another Altmaier v Sinner game goes to multiple deuces – just the two this time – as Altmaier holds to lead 6-5, roaring to himself and the crowd once again as he does so. You’d fancy his chances to nick this set now and take the match into a decider.
And with that, I’ll hand you back to Daniel.
While I was engrossed in that Sinner service game, Swiatek broke Liu early in the second set and leads 3-0, and Bernarda Pera completed a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over the 22nd seed Donna Vekic.
Altmaier breaks back against Sinner for 5-5, fourth set. Altmaier’s fought tirelessly in this match, and he battles his way to a break point. Sinner saves again with a deft drop-volley at the net and then some strong serve-volley game takes him to match point. Altmaier then saves that in an extraordinary rally that he wins when a netcord deflects past an advancing Sinner. But his tenacity earned that luck. Match point No 2 ensues but Sinner squanders this too with an overhit backhand. And now Altmaier has a break point courtesy of a strong crosscourt forehand, which he converts when Sinner crashes a forehand wide. What a game.
And I seem to have reverse-jinxed Sinner into a winning position, as Altmaier’s blistering attempted forehand down the line is just out. He’ll now serve for the match at 5-4.
Meanwhile Tiafoe v Karatsev is going with serve in the second set at 3-3, and Donna Vekic is on the brink at 3-5 in the decider against Bernarda Pera.
Swiatek romps to three set points with that bullying forehand of hers, and converts at the first opportunity to win the first set 6-4. It’s not been a picnic for the top seed though.
Sinner gets himself two break points on another gruelling Altmaier service game but the German pulls him all over the court to save the first of them, and saves the second too. Sinner earns break point No 3 but Altmaier’s powerful serve down the middle saves that one too. We may be here some time …
And he’s got a point:
Back on Suzanne-Lenglen, an epic Altmaier service game goes to seven deuces and lasts more than a quarter of an hour, the German pumping himself up and roaring at the crowd on every successful point before finally clinching a hugely important hold. He leads 4-3 with the match on serve in the fourth set.
Zooting around the courts, Dimitrov is now two sets up on Ruusuvuori, and the No 23 seed, Ekaterina Alexandrova, has won the first set against Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-2.
Frances Tiafoe has an early problem to solve. He’s lost the first set to Aslan Karatsev 3-6. Another seed in trouble is Donna Vecic, the Croatian No 22 seed, who’s a break down in the decider against Bernarda Pera of the US in the decider at 0-2.
Oh, and Swiatek breaks back to lead 4-3. Panic over
Woah! What’s going on with Iga Swiatek? Twice she overhits forehands and before you know it, Claire Liu has three more break points. She saveds the first with a withering top-spin forehand to the corner but not the second when a soft return dollops into the net. It’s 3-3, first set, two breaks each.
Sinner’s mojo is restored – and he’s a compelling player to watch even when he’s just staying back and belting it from the rear of the court – as he breaks back and holds serve convincingly for 3-3 in the fourth. Meanwhile Vekic v Perra has gone to a decider after the unseeded American wins the second set 6-4.
A break of serve on Court Simonne-Mathieu – the 12th seed, Francis Tiafoe, has been broken by the unseeded Aslan Karatsev and trails 4-2. The unseeded Russian has never got further than the second round here. And Swiatek has a wobble on her serve, Liu grabbing a break point and taking it when the top seed nets a regulation forehand. Swiatek leads 3-1
Thanks Daniel. And you join me as Jannik Sinner’s game looks to have become rather ragged, unforced errors popping up at unexpected moments but he is at least on the board in the fourth set after holding to 30. Daniel Altmaier leads 3-1 and Sinner is two sets to one up. Meanwhile on Chatrier, Iga Swiatek as broken Claire Liu again and marched imperiously into a 3-0 lead.
Just as I’m signing off to do the camp run and grab some lunch, Swiatek breaks Liu in the first game; welcome to Chatrier old mate! But otherwise, here’s Tom Davies to ease you through the next hour.
Vekic took the first set off Pera, who leads 4-3 with a break in the second; Dimitrov has not only broken Ruusuvuori back in set two, but broken him again for 3-1, after losing the first in a breaker; and Nishioka, 2-1 up on Purcell, leads 3-2 in the fourth, with a break. Oh, and on Lenglen, Altmaier is responding well to the shock of that third-set collapse, earning break point … which he takes for 2-0! This match isn’t over yet!
On Chatrier, Swiatek v Liu is away; on Mathieu, Karatsev v Tiafoe are 1-1 having also just started.
Borna Coric [15] beats Pedro Cachín 6-3 4-6 4-6 6-3 6-4!
That’s a colossal win for the Croatian – coming from 2-1 down to see off a clay-court specialist is no joke, especially in arm conditions over for hours and 23 minutes. He meets Etcheverry next.
Well who saw that coming? Sinner rushes through set three, taking it 6-1, and Altmaier has to win two straight now. Suddenly, a close match is disappearing.
Ruusuvuori has taken the first set off Dimitrov 7-4 in a breaker, then broken in the first game of the second. Just as Coric looked to be saving it, my acca is in trouble.
Next on Mathieu: Aslan Karatsev v Francis Tiafoe [12]. This might be the match of the day.
Oh yes! Sinner compensates for all those missed backhands, racing out of court to monster a backhand down the line that gives him a break for 31 in the third! He absolutely loves it, which tells us he knows he’s in a serious match here. Elsewhere, Coric, previously a break down, is now a break up on Cachin in the decider at 4-3 but they’re playing deuce, while Seyboth Wild leads Pella 4-2 in the first and Nishioka is now 2-1 up on Purcell.
Andreeva says she wasn’t expecting to play in the senior competition, but managed to qualify and is loving it. She was nervous, especially as the crowd were behind her French opponent, and is glad it didn’t show.
Mirra Andreeva beats Diane Parry 6-1 6-2!
Apologies, my computer restarted as that was happening, but that’s a very conclusive win; Andreeva meets Grabher or Gauff next.
Next on Chatrier: Iga Swiatek [1] v Claire Liu.
Ruud is chuffed to be back on Chatrier and see lots of people in the stands. It was a tough match, he reckons, and normally he’d have won 3 and 2, but over best of five there’s scope for comebacks. It also got physical, he explains, so he’s happy to still be involved and is looking forward to his next match on Saturday, saying the conditions currently, 24, 25 degrees are, in his opinion, perfect for tennis.
Casper Ruud [4] beats Giulio Zeppieri 6-3 6-2 4-6 7-5!
That was a fun match, because Zeppieri is a flamboyant talent. Ruud, though, has reached a level at which he knows he’ll beat pretty much everyone pretty much all of the time, and he faces Tirante or Zhang next.
Ach, Zeppieri is broken again and now appears to be cramping – it never rains – but he’s soon back receiving at 5-6 with Ruud serving for the match. He’s got plenty of shots, so with more matches and more practise, he might just develop into something.
Around the courts, Ruusuvuori and Dimmitrov are level at 5-5; Vekic leads Pera 5-3; Coric has broken Cachin back in the fifth; Pella and Seyboth Wild are 1-1; and Nishioka v Purcell is one set-all and three-all.
Well done Giulio Zeppieri! A banging forehand, then an inside-out brute into the corner, and he’s broken Ruud back for 5-5 in the fourth! Meanwhile, an error from Sinner hands Altmaier set point … and at the fifth time of asking, he annihilates an overhead, and my days he enjoys the release. We’re level at one set all!
On Chatrier, Ruud is serving for the match at 5-4 in the fourth; on Lenglen, Sinner saves two set points then lands a backhand return onto the line. He’s been waiting for some success with that shot but still, Altmaier ought to have done better than net in response, and at 6-6, he’ll be starting to wonder.
Altmaier takes an immediate mini-break, then Sinner nets a backhand to give him 5-3. This looks a lot like one set apiece, and when Altmaier uncorks a booming forehand, he’s got three set points! Meantime, Andreeva wins a long old game for break Parry for a 6-1 3-2 lead.
Sinner hasn’t been as solid as usual in this set and when he dumps a volley, Altmaier has 6-5 and 30-all. Not for long: Sinner quickly secures his hold and we have ourselves another breaker. Can Altmaier maintain his form with the pressure on, after losing the last 7-0?
But wait! Parry breaks back for 1-1 in the second, Coric serves out, eventually and through deuce, to secure his decider against Cachin, and Ruud breaks Zeppieri for a 3-2 lead in set four. Three holds and he’s home.
We’re at the business end of set two on Lenglen, with Altmaier leading Sinner 5-4; Zeppieri, who isn’t an Italian Marx Brother, is 2-2 with Ruud, trailing 2-1 in sets; and Andreeva breaks Parry in the first game of set two. This is a hiding!
Andreeva takes the first set 6-1 and looks to have a serious all-round game with room for improvement – you can tell she’ll add some power to her serve and groundstrokes over the next couple of years.
Andreeva is all over Parry, 5-1 in front and not just winning games, dominating them. Haddad Maia hasbeaten Shmaider 6-2 5-7 6-4 and the number 14 seed meets Alexandrova or Friedsam next; Purcell leads Nishioka 6-4 1-3; and Coric is serving for a decider against Cachin.
Calvin Betton, our resident coach, weighs in on Sinner, who he thinks could potentially win a Slam: “He’s got the weapons and mentality. He’s one-dimensional though. What he has in his favour is that he can beat Alcaraz in big matches. Alcaraz doesn’t like playing him at all because he can clean hit him off the court. He beat him at Wimbledon last year and had match points against him at US Open. They’re 1-1 this year.”
Sinner ought really to secure his break, but three backhand errors hand Altmaier deuce and he whoops it up in huge style after securing his hold for 3-2 in set two.
Zeppieri is, apparently, 21! And as I marvel at how old sportsfolk can look relative to their ages – and he looks old even by that standard – he raises three break points, Ruud nets on the second, and out of nowhere he takes set three 6-4! Well, well done young man!
Email! “Have just joined the Ruud match,” tweets @Mysteron_Voice, “and even in one 10-minute service game, Zeppieri has shown no consistency whatsoever…”
Yes, that’s fair, but he’s young and is learning what it takes to compete at this level. He’s got the shots, he just needs to learn how and when to deploy them.
Andreeva breaks Parry immediately for 2-0 while, in the other two games I’m watching we’re on serve: Ruud and Zeppieri are 4-4 in set three, Ruud leading 2-0, while Sinner and Altmaier are 2-2 in the second, Sinner leading 1-0 … and with 0-40 on his opponent’s serve…
On which point Pella has broken early in set four to lead 3-1; if he can hang on, we’ll have waselves a decider.
Tomás Martín Etcheverry beats Alex De Minaur [18] 6-3 7-6(2) 6-3!
Another seed falls, this time in the men’s competition. Etcheverry meets Cachin or Pella next.
On Court 6, Parry and Andreeva are away and I’ll be keeping an eye on that match because though I’ve not yet seen the latter play, I’ve heard great things about her. On Chatrier, meanwhile, we’re on serve in set three, Ruud leading Zeppieri by two sets to love.
Sinner takes the breaker to love, which will aggravate the hell out of Altmaier who slogged through a physical set only to toss all his hard work in minutes. He’s now got the trainer on for a finger injury but it’s on his left hand so hopefully won’t be too aggravating for him.
Altmaier nets a backhand to hand Sinner an immediate break and things don’t improve thereafter. I was wondering, watching the end of set one, whether Sinner’s extra class was beginning to tell, and he races to a 5-0 advantage.
Altmaier rebounds from 0-30 down, wearing Sinner’s jump-backhands to outlast him in another punishing baseline rally, serves out from there, and we’ve got ourselves the breaker both players deserve.
Next on Mathieu: Parry v Andreeva. On Lenglen, Altmaier will shortly serve for a first-set breaker and these two are pretty well-matched.