French Open: Azarenka beats bitter cold, Kovinic to set off at French Open | Tennis News – Times of India

The images coming out of Roland Garros give the tournament a chilly spin, blame it on inhospitable conditions. Tennis is not a winter sport. Victoria Azarenka looked good for a hike in the snow, layered from chin to ankle. Tennis shorts over ankle-length leg warmers, paired with a tracksuit jacket. Not to be left behind, Andy Murray’s gear was as colourful as it was cosy. Venus Williams, in black and white, was a tad more dramatic. She topped her star-spangled tights with a bolero.
Azarenka, seeded at a Slam for the first time since becoming a mother almost four years ago, beat Danka Kovinic 6-1, 6-2 in a rain-interrupted feature on the stately Suzanne Lenglen court.
When the curtains went up on the French Open on Sunday, the temperature was in single digits. A cold welcome — a pesky morning drizzle. After three games, Azarenka, who was struggling to grip her racquet, raged. When supervisor Clare Wood asked the 10th seed if she could wait out a passing cloud at courtside, Azarenka rebuffed the option. It was too cold, just eight degrees. “What’s the point of sitting here like ducks?” she asked before storming off the court with Kovinic in tow.

When the lanky Belarusian returned to the court, almost an hour later, she won four straight games to close out the first set. Azarenka allowed Kovinic her opening service game, but not much more, riding out a comfortable winner.
“It was drizzling when I was warming up. When it drizzles for about two hours, it gets a little heavier,” Azarenka said, before picking up from where Rafael Nadal left off on the new Wilson balls. “Does it increase the risk of players getting injured? Absolutely, I think it does,” she said, but refused to go deeper into the matter, preferring to focus on the tournament.
Italian teenager Jannik Sinner, playing under the roof at the Philippe Chatrier court, delivered the championships’ first shock result. And he did it, flaunting a temperament that reflected icy chill. Did Sinner only just turn 19? Was that his French Open debut? A 7-5, 6-0, 6-3 win over the 11th-seeded David Goffin in a shade under two hours.

It warmed the hearts. Sinner was perhaps the only player on court dressed lightly. Boyishly so. A summer tee on shorts. His age certainly was a factor, as was the roof on Chatrier, rolled out for the first time. His composure then only mirrored his gear.
Sinner didn’t give much away when he went toe-to-toe with Goffin in the first set. There was an occasional twitch as he reeled off 11 games in a row, starting at the end of the first set and carrying to the third
Another of the ATP’s young players, the 6-feet-5-inch Sebastian Korda, son of the former French Open finalist Petr Korda, won on debut after qualifying, beating Andreas Seppi 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Simona Halep pulled off a solid 6-4, 6-0 win over Sara Sorribes Tormo.