PARIS — The wheelchair tennis matches got underway at Roland Garros on Tuesday and the first round immediately saw an upset with Takuya Miki (JPN) taking out the number four seed, Martin de la Puente (ESP) in the first round.
In a tight first set Miki claimed the win 7-5 but things appeared to be stabilizing for de la Puente in the second which he claimed 6-3. Miki stormed back to win the third set 6-4, his second win in a grand slam. What is notable is that the pair both won 111 points but Miki was able to claim far more crucial points to win the match.
The rest of the men’s singles matches went as expected with wins for Alfie Hewett (GBR), Gordon Reid (GBR), Gustavo Fernandez (ARG), Alexander Cataldo (CHI), Tom Egberink (NED), and Tokito Oda (JPN) all in straight sets. Oda had the only scare of the group, only winning the first set on a tie-break 9-7 against Ruben Spaargaren (NED).
Another Asian player produced an upset in the women’s singles with Zhenzhen Zhu (CHN) taking out the number four seed Jiske Griffioen (NED) in straight sets. Zhu was made to work for it, winning the second only on a 7-5 tie-break.
Much like the men’s draw the rest was all straight sets wins for the favorites. Diede De Groot (NED), Aniek Van Koot (NED), Diana Mathewson (USA), Lizy De Greef (NED), Momoko Ohtani (JPN), and Yui Kamiji (JPN).
This year marks an historic tournament in Roland Garros as for the first time there will be youth championships at the grand slam. Tournaments in boys and girls singles and doubles start later this week with four competitors seeking to win the historic honor.
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