Humbert crashes out as Garcia, Gasquet delight French fans

Seasoned campaigners Caroline Garcia and Richard Gasquet kept French hopes alive at Roland Garros with battle victories on Sunday, but talented 17th seed Ugo Humbert was eliminated in the first round.

Garcia, the 21st seed, overcame a slow start in which she dropped the first set to defeat German Eva Lys 4-6 7-5 6-2 under the roof at Philippe Chatrier.

"It's never easy to start a new Roland Garros, there have been difficult moments for me in this tournament, even if it's dear to my heart," said Garcia, who is bidding to become the first French woman to win the title since Mary Pierce in 2000.

"I succeeded to stay in the game and to get better as the match goes on. It's difficult for me to keep my focus at a high level, especially with my game."

The 2022 WTA Finals champion, who has lost in the second round of her last three French Open appearances, will face American Sofia Kenin.

At 37 and nearing the end of his career, Gasquet is not the man most fans will be rooting for to end the country's wait for a first homegrown champion since Yannick Noah's victory in 1983.

However, in his 21st Roland Garros main draw appearance, which matched Feliciano Lopez's Open era record, the silky Gasquet showed plenty of steel to defeat Croatian Borna Coric 7-6(5) 7-6(2) 6-4 to huge cheers from the Suzanne Lenglen crowd.

"I knew that the first set was key for me. I handled the decisive moments well, the first and second set tie-breaks," said an emotional Gasquet.

"It may not be the best moment of my career, but still a superb moment."

Humbert, the highest seeded French player in the men's draw, was defeated 4-6 6-2 4-6 3-6 by Italian Lorenzo Sonego, his fifth loss in six appearances at the year's second Grand Slam.

The Marseille and Dubai champion has struggled on the clay, with his form steadily dipping, and he was exposed once more by Sonego in a rematch of their second round meeting last year.

"He's really good on clay, that's true. His match was really very solid. My level wasn't as good as I expected and therefore, I thought, well, it's not enough to go to the second round," Humbert told reporters.

Corentin Moutet defeated Rome runner-up and 16th seed Nicolas Jarry, 6-2 6-1 3-6 6-0, in front of a raucous crowd on Simonne Mathieu Court.

Chloe Paquet advanced to the second round of the French Open, defeating Russian Diana Shnaider 6-3 6-1, seven years after her first and only win in the main draw. She'll face Katerina Siniakova, the 32nd seed from the Czech Republic.

Alexandre Muller defeated Italian Luca Nardi 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 in his fourth appearance at Roland Garros.

SportsLigue