French Open 2023 Results: Instant Reactions to Winners and Losers from Tuesday
Thiago Seyboth Wild authored the most shocking result of the 2023 French Open so far on Tuesday, as he beat No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev in five sets.
The unseeded Brazilian, who is ranked 172nd in the world, battled back from a 2-1 deficit to beat one of the top contenders for the men's singles title in the first round.
Medvedev had a clear path to the final with Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic drawn into the top half of the bracket.
Although Medvedev has a rocky history at Roland Garros, he appeared to turn a corner on clay courts after his triumph in Rome a few weeks ago.
The bottom half of the men's singles bracket is wide open for someone such as Casper Ruud, Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner or Americans Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe to get to the final.
There were no massive upsets in the women's singles draw Tuesday.
Two-time French Open champion and top seed Iga Swiatek cruised to a straight-set win over Cristina Bucsa on Court Philippe-Chatrier right after the Medvedev upset.
2022 runner-up Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur avoided upsets in their respective first-round matches.
Gauff was one of three high-profile Americans to win Tuesday. Fritz and Tommy Paul also opened with victories, and they both should have more belief they can make deep runs at Roland Garros with Medvedev out.
Tuesday Results
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Men's Singles
Thiago Seyboth Wild def. No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 4 Casper Ruud def. Emil Ymer, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2
No. 6 Holger Rune def. Chris Eubanks, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2
No. 9 Taylor Fritz def. Michael Mmoh, 6-2, 6-1, 6-1
No. 16 Tommy Paul def. Dominic Stricker, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4
No. 22 Alexander Zverev def. Lloyd Harris, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (0), 6-1
No. 23 Francisco Cerundolo def. Jaume Munar, 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1
No. 27 Yoshihito Nishioka def. JJ Wolf, 1-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3
No. 28 Grigor Dimitrov def. Timofey Skatov, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2
Andrea Vavassori def. No. 31 Miomir Kecmanovic, 5-7, 2-6, 7-6 (8), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (9)
Women's Singles
No. 1 Iga Swiatek def. Cristina Bucsa, 6-4, 6-0
No. 4 Elena Rybakina def. Brenda Fruhvirtova, 6-4, 6-2
No. 6 Coco Gauff def. Rebeka Masarova, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
No. 7 Ons Jabeur def. Lucia Bronzetti, 6-4, 6-1
Lesia Tsurenko def. No. 13 Barbora Krejcikova, 6-2, 6-4
Diane Parry def. No. 25 Anhelina Kalinina, 6-2, 6-3
Jasmine Paolini def. No. 30 Sorana Cirstea, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2
Wang Xinyu def. No. 31 Maria Bouzkova, 6-4, 7-6 (5)
Daniil Medvedev Eliminated in 1st Round
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Medvedev's stunning loss sent shockwaves through the men's singles draw.
The No. 2 seed was viewed by many as the favorite to reach the final out of the bottom half of the draw to face either Alcaraz or Djokovic.
The buzz surrounding him increased after he won in Rome in one of the biggest tune-ups to the French Open. Instead of cruising to a first-round win, Medvedev struggled throughout his five-set battle with Seyboth Wild.
The Brazilian won the first set in a tiebreak, but then the match seemed to turn when Medvedev won the second and third sets.
Seyboth Wild showed incredible resilience on Chatrier to pull out consecutive set victories and knock out the No. 2 seed.
Medvedev did not help himself, as he committed 15 double-faults and 48 unforced errors. Seyboth Wild had far more unforced errors with 77, but he balanced that by hitting 24 more winners than his opponent.
The loss was a massive blow to Medvedev's clay-court form. He reached the quarterfinals and fourth round in the last two years in Paris and played well in the buildup to this year's event.
Now Medvedev has five first-round exits in eight French Open appearances. He may not have an easy ride at the next major, either, since he has never made it out of the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Medvedev's exit allows Ruud, Rune, Fritz and others to push for a final appearance. Ruud, who lost two Grand Slam finals in 2022, has to be considered the new favorite to qualify for the championship match.
Iga Swiatek Cruises in Opening Match
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Swiatek's second title defense in Paris got off to a smooth start.
The two-time Roland Garros champion took care of Cristina Bucsa in one hour and 13 minutes.
Swiatek is now 19-1 on the Paris clay since she took the tournament by storm in 2020.
The Polish star won 18 of those 19 matches in straight sets. Her only three-set win in that span came in the 2022 fourth round against Zheng Qinwen.
Swiatek showed off her clay-court dominance in the second set Tuesday, as she swept Bucsa.
Another straight-set victory is expected in the second round against American Claire Liu, who is one of two possible unseeded foes before Swiatek faces a ranked player.
Victoria Azarenka is the only seed left in Swiatek's section after one round. 2021 French Open winner Barbora Krejcikova and No. 31 seed Marie Bouzkova were knocked out Tuesday.
Good Start for Top Americans
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Three of the five Americans ranked in the top 16 of their draws advanced to the second round with wins Tuesday.
Gauff faced the toughest challenge of the trio, as she had to fight back from one set down against Rebeka Masarova.
The No. 6 seed turned around the match fast and did not give her Spanish opponent a way back into it. Gauff outscored Masarova 12-3 in the last two sets.
Gauff is on a collision course for a quarterfinal showdown with Swiatek in what would be a rematch of last year's final. Gauff also advanced to the quarterfinals in 2021, so she should be viewed as the top American woman title threat, even though she is three seeds behind Jessica Pegula.
Fritz and Paul added to a group of four seeded American men with straight-set triumphs in the first round. Sebastian Korda and Frances Tiafoe won on Sunday and Monday, respectively.
The dominant wins were nice confidence boosts for both American men, who have struggled in previous Paris appearances. Paul has not gotten past the second round, and Fritz has not advanced out of the third round.
All the Americans in the bottom half of the men's draw have a huge opportunity in front of them with Medvedev out, but the focus for Fritz and Paul should be the next match so they too do not have an early exit.
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