01 June,2021 06:58 AM IST | Paris | AFP
Roger Federer returns to Denis Istomin yesterday. Pic/AFP
Roger Federer marked his return to the French Open with a straight-sets defeat of Uzbekistan qualifier Denis Istomin on Monday.
Federer, 39, the champion in Paris in 2009 but playing the event for only the second time since 2015, won 6-2, 6-4, 6-3.
It was his eighth win in eight meetings with Istomin. Federer, who skipped the 2020 tournament, was playing just his fourth match of the year and first at a Slam since losing to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals last year.
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Meanwhile, men's second seed Daniil Medvedev finally reached round two for the first time at Roland Garros on Monday. Medvedev, who had lost in the first round in all of his four previous appearances in the tournament, put his poor clay-court form behind him by beating the dangerous Alexander Bublik 6-3, 6-3, 7-5.
It is not just in Paris that Medvedev has struggled on clay. The Russian had lost eight of his previous nine matches on the surface dating back to 2019. But the two-time Grand Slam runner-up was too strong for Kazakh Bublik, setting up a second-round tie against either Australian wildcard Christopher O'Connell or US player Tommy Paul.
"I'd never won at Roland Garros before so I really wanted to win today. To win in three sets was a brilliant match on my part. I struggled in recent tournaments on clay, the balls are suiting me this week though and I hope I can go a long way. I think I move well on clay but I sometimes struggle with getting the power,"
Medvedev said.
Late on Sunday night, Germany's Alexander Zverev battled back from two sets down to beat compatriot and qualifier Oscar Otte 3-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-0 and reach the French Open second round.
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