All the latest updates from a busy Tuesday in Paris
© Christophe Guibbaud / FFTDay 2 of qualifying is upon us with a full schedule of intriguing match-ups in the cards as more players begin their quest for a place in the Roland-Garros 2023 main draw.
More and more stars are arriving as well and are hitting the practice courts ahead of Sunday's official tournament kick-off.
Follow along as we deliver updates throughout the day from across the grounds at Porte d'Auteuil.
Away from the match courts, top stars continue to descend on Roland-Garros in preparation for Sunday's main draw kick-off.
Defending champion Iga Swiatek scheduled her first practice in the private confines of the Jean Bouin facility, marking her first appearance since a thigh injury forced her to retire during the third set of her Rome quarter-final against Elena Rybakina.
The Polish world No.1 looked upbeat and was training without any visible taping on her leg.
© Christophe Guibbaud / FFT>> MORE PHOTOS FROM THE PRACTICE COURTS
French world No.5 Caroline Garcia had two sessions on the two biggest courts Philippe-Chatrier and Suzanne-Lenglen, while Ons Jabeur, Victoria Azarenka, and Madison Keys were also spotted putting in the hard yards, with Azarenka still repping PSG.
World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka was put through her paces on Court Suzanne-Lenglen while Corentin Moutet got his first taste of Chatrier.
© Philippe Montigny/FFT19-year-old Maria Timofeeva, contesting her first ever Grand Slam match at a senior level, leapt into the second round of qualifying with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over 34-year-old Marina Melnikova.
Timofeeva will next tackle the challenge of Polish 21-year-old Maja Chwalinska, who dropped just three games in her opening-round win against No.2 seed Lucrezia Stefanini on Tuesday.
© Nicolas Gouhier/FFTLast year's Roland-Garros junior doubles champion and singles semi-finalist Sara Bejlek also advanced with a hard-earned 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4 victory over 27-year-old Dutchwoman Arianne Hartono.
At only 17, Bejlek has already successfully qualified for the main draw at two Grand Slams and will be looking to make it a third consecutive berth at the majors. The Czech lefty next takes on Carol Zhao of Canada.
Another Czech teenager made waves on Tuesday as 16-year-old Brenda Fruhvirtova saved a match point on her way to a 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(10) over Croatian Antonia Ruzic.
Fruhvirtova qualified for her first Grand Slam main draw as a 15-year-old at the Australian Open earlier this year and is looking to make it two majors in a row.
© Cédric Lecocq/FFTRecent Madrid Open semi-finalist Aslan Karatsev needed two tiebreaks to overcome home favourite Pierre-Hugues Herbert 7-6(2), 7-6(1) and reach the qualifying second round.
Karatsev, who made the last-four stage at the Australian Open in 2021 as a qualifier, was ranked as high as 14 in the world last year before slipping down the charts. His run in Madrid earlier this month -- also as a qualifier -- saw him re-enter the world's top-100 but it was past the cut-off date for main-draw entry at Roland-Garros.
The 29-year-old will have to earn his way into the tournament and his strong start to his qualifying campaign bodes well for his chances this week on Parisian clay.
He next faces 22-year-old Dominican Nick Hardt, who beat last year's Roland-Garros junior champion Gabriel Debru 6-2, 1-6, 6-3. Debru struggled with injury late in the match and left the court limping and in tears.
©Nicolas Gouhier / FFTA semi-finalist at Roland-Garros two years ago, Tamara Zidansek is down to 110 in the world and had to contest the qualifying rounds in Paris this year.
The Slovenian No.4 seed needed two hours and 36 minutes to post a 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-2 result against Uzbekistan's Nigina Abduraimova and set up a second round against 21-year-old Anastasia Zakharova.
© Cédric Lecocq/FFTA week after reaching the quarter-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome, 31-year-old German Yannick Hanfmann is battling his way through qualifying with hopes to compete in the Roland-Garros main draw for a third time.
Seeded No.2 in qualifying, the world No.64 opened his campaign with a 7-6(3), 6-4 victory over Italian Mattia Bellucci on Tuesday to set up a second round against Zdenek Kolar.
©Clément Mahoudeau / FFTAustralia's Marc Polmans dashed home hopes as he posted a 7-5, 7-5 result against 21-year-old Frenchman Harold Mayot in the opening match on Court 14.
Attempting to feature in the Roland-Garros main draw for just the second time in his career, the 26-year-old Polmans needed one hour and 54 minutes to dismiss Mayot, who was the Australian Open junior champion in 2020.
The South Africa-born Polmans next takes on Sweden's Elias Ymer, who beat Italian Francesco Passaro 7-6(5), 6-0 over on Court 4.
Home favourite and former Australian Open junior champion Harold Mayot opens proceedings on Court 14 against Marc Polmans of Australia.
Tamara Zidansek, a semi-finalist at Roland-Garros in 2021, is seeded No.4 in this year's qualifying draw and will begin her campaign today against Uzbekistan's Nigina Abduraimova.
Recent Rome quarter-finalist Yannick Hanfmann is first up on Court 8 against Italian Mattia Bellucci while Czech teen phenoms Sara Bejlek and Brenda Fruhvirtova are also in action.
© Cédric Lecocq/FFT
ROLAND-GARROS
20 May - 9 June 2024
