Day 1 diary: Potapova shines

All the highlights from a memorable opening day at Roland-Garros.

Anastasia Potapova Roland Garros 2019 ©Corinne Dubreuil / FFT
 - Reem Abulleil

Day one of Roland-Garros featured a new stadium inauguration, the return of Roger Federer to Paris for the first time in four years, the defeat of a top-five seed and a local hero pull off a stunning back - quite the start of what promises to be a thrilling fortnight of clay-court tennis.

Upset of the day

Anastasia Potapova def. Angelique Kerber [5] 6-4, 6-2

Playing her first-ever Roland-Garros main draw, 18-year-old Anastasia Potapova did not blink during her straight-sets rout of No.5 seed Kerber. It may not come as a huge surprise considering Kerber has been hampered by a right ankle injury in the build-up to Paris, but the way the 81st-ranked Potapova held her nerve against the reigning Wimbledon champion speaks volumes of her potential. She fired 28 winners against 21 unforced errors during her 73-minute victory. Potapova is contesting just her third-ever Grand Slam main draw and her win over Kerber was her first triumph against a top-10 opponent.



Here's what the Russian teen said after her win:

"I mean, a lot of things in my head, but for sure, I was just speechless. I didn't know what to say and what to do, but, yes, I was so happy at the moment, and I'm still so happy," she said of how she felt after converting her match point.

"I was live for this win, for these emotions, for these moments. I'm going to do everything to live it through again and again and again."

She added: "I was really looking forward for this match, because Kerber, I like her very much. She's actually one of my idols, and when I was young I was looking for her game, how she's playing. When you step in on the court and you know you play your, I would say idol, you just gotta show your best. That helped me."

Comeback of the day

This is also arguably the feel-good story of the day as 37-year-old home favourite Nicolas Mahut came back from two sets down against last year's semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato to punch a ticket to the second round with a 2-6, 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 success. It was just his second main draw singles victory at a major in nearly two and a years and the reigning Roland-Garros doubles champion celebrated with his son on the new Court Simonne-Mathieu.

Nicolas Mahut and son©Nicolas Gouhier / FFT

"Some people took some risk by giving me this wildcard," Mahut said after his win, explaining that he considered giving the wildcard back last week because his back was hurting him. But his family and team convinced him to give it another couple of days. He started to feel better physically and managed to be fit in time for the start of the tournament.

"I trusted them and this was my payback today," he added.

Laugh of the day

Stefanos Tsitsipas is rarely seen without a camera when he's away from the courts. Between his amateur photography and his vlogging, the young Greek spends a significant amount of time dealing with cameras and lenses. So you can imagine his reaction when the cover of the camera lens broke off while he was signing it after his opening-round victory on Sunday. See for yourself!



Quotes of the day

"I think my favourite [stadium] will be Chatrier, because I have, every time I go there, I have, you know, my skin turns like chicken skin because I have beautiful memories."

-- Garbine Muguruza's version of goosebumps is 'chicken skin'.

"I know that every opponent can be dangerous. Every opponent can cause damage. To me, every win is the best win of my career."

-- Tsitsipas gives us a glimpse at the inner workings of his positive mentality.

 Tweet of the day

 Of all the renovations that took place at Roland-Garros, this is what stood out for Maria Sakkari.



Stats of the day

4 - Elina Svitolina snapped her four-match losing streak with her dominant win over Venus Williams on Sunday. The Ukrainian, who has been troubled by a knee injury hadn't won a match since Indian Wells in March, and handled her tricky opener the perfect mindset.

"I didn't really focus on this, I didn't really think about my losing streak because I think all the matches that I played, except Madrid maybe, was close and I felt not too bad," explained Svitolina after her 6-3, 6-3 win over Williams.

"And I didn't lose any confidence, I would say. And I think this mindset really helped me today to play good match under pressure because it was quite tough match."



On how she got through the tough times these past couple of months, the world No.9 said: "I think I watched lots of documentaries about the athletes, how they bounce back. And it's just the progress of overcoming challenges, and it's important to react the right way and find the things what is going to help you."

5 - Cecchinato's loss to Mahut on Sunday means the Italian has yet to win a Grand Slam match outside of Roland-Garros 2018, where he had posted five victories en route to the semis. He is 5-9 win-loss overall at the majors.