French Open 2024: Andy Murray and Jack Draper being eliminated in the first round while Carlos Alcaraz advanced

Andy Murray was defeated by Stan Wawrinka in straight sets in what could potentially be his final French Open singles match. Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion, was overpowered by fellow veteran Wawrinka at Roland Garros. This loss comes as Murray has expressed his expectation to not play much beyond this summer. The match saw Murray lose 6-4 6-4 6-2 to Wawrinka, who also eliminated him in the opening stage of the tournament back in 2020, as well as in the 2017 semi-finals on his previous appearance. Despite his loss, Murray is not out of the French Open just yet, as he is scheduled to compete in the doubles with Dan Evans. Additionally, Murray missed out on a potential second-round meeting with Cameron Norrie.

Norrie, who has a match against Russia’s Pavel Kotov on Monday, is now one of only two Brits left in the men’s singles draw, alongside Evans, with Jack Draper being eliminated on the opening day after a five-set defeat to Jesper de Jong. Draper, aiming to reach the second round for the first time in Paris and set up a clash with world No 3 Carlos Alcaraz, recovered from two sets down but ultimately lost the decider. The 23-year-old De Jong, ranked 177th in the world, will next face Alcaraz, who shrugged off any injury fears in breezing past JJ Wolf in straight sets on Sunday.

The 21-year-old Spaniard’s participation at Roland-Garros had been in doubt due to an issue with his forearm that forced him to miss clay-court tournaments in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, and Rome, with his Madrid title defence also derailed by the problem. Alcaraz, a two-time major winner and semi-finalist in Paris last year, was in no obvious discomfort as he dropped only four games in winning 6-1 6-2 6-1 against 25-year-old American Wolf.

In addition, Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, survived an early scare when she laboured past unseeded Italian Lucia Bronzetti 6-1 4-6 7-5 to claim her first French Open win in three years. Returning this year from a 15-month maternity break, Osaka had fallen in the first round at the Australian Open in January but looked set to breeze into the second round in Paris as the former world No 1 bombarded Bronzetti from the baseline in a 28-minute opening set. However, after being forced into a decider, Osaka nearly imploded when throwing away a 4-0 lead before going on to clinch victory, setting up a potential clash with world No 1 Iga Swiatek in the second round if the reigning champion beats French qualifier Leolia Jeanjean on Monday.