French Open 2024: Tsitsipas, Alcaraz, Jabeur in action before Swiatek v Osaka – live | French Open 2024

Kenin consolidates to love for 4-2 and is starting to assert herself from the back.

Altmaier’s enjoying himself now, forcing another break point with ferocious hitting and a no-look drop-retrieval … for all the good it does him, Tsitsipas saving it and holding for 6-3 6-2 2-2. Meantime, Garcia is struggling to hold in a 10-minute game, missing various volleys then, with the court open, hammering an overhead that Kenin shouldn’t have smelt but somehow sends back. And it affects Garcia too; she loses the rally with an error, then cedes the game with another, so Kenin will now serve at 3-2 in the first.

Garcia makes break point, but Kenin responds with a serve out wide that’s too good; another first serve gives her advantage and then a forehand winner cross-court secures the hold for 2-2. Meantime, Altmaier is now going for his shots, earning a break point … quickly extinguished with a big serve … and though he hangs in there, Tsitsipas’ forehand is just too much, eventually polishing off the game. He leads 6-3 6-2 1-1.

Garcia leads Kenin 2-1 on serve, the players still settling. Kenin leads the head-to-head 2-0, but she’s had a poor season so might not respond well to pressure.

A benefit of the rain: Calv Betton is off court so can report on Ben Shelton. “His raw materials are great but his backhand is proper rubbish,” he says. “But I don’t think he wins a slam. There’s some mad stat that if you make him play a BH on the first shot of the rally he only wins 15% or something like that. He’s a top-15 player coz his serve and forehand are huge but I don’t think he goes higher by much. He’s defending a load of points and he doesn’t beat the top players.”

This is a very fine performance from Tsitsipas, who clinches the second set to lead 6-3 6-2. I’m still not sure his backhand is good enough to hold up when targeted by the best, but this is the best I’ve seen him play in ages.

Kenin and Garcia have started on Chatrier, and i wonder if this match will be defined by the latter’s serve or the former’s return.

Strong tracksuit game from the young man.

Altmaier is on the board in set two, trailing Tsitsipas 6-3 5-1, and we’ve just been advised that there’ll be no play on outside courts before 12.30pm BST.

And here they come. This should be a terrific contest, with a proper atmosphere.

We will, at least, soon have a second match to go with Altmaier 3-6 0-4 Tsitsipas, because Kenin, the 2o20 Aussie Open champ and French Open runner-up, is due on Chatrier to take on Caroline Garcia, the home favourite and number 21 seed.

So I guess now is a good time to round up scores around the courts: Nakashima leads Hurkacz 6-5 on serve; Arnaldi leads Muller 5-3; Fernandez leads Wang 5-3; Zhang leads Sonego 4-3 with a break; and Korda leads kwon 5-4 with a break.

Tsitsipas is enjoying himself now, spiriting a lush forehand down the line from way out of court, and he breaks again to lead 6-3 3-0. Elsewhere, Vondrousova has broken again too – Volynets is maybe the only person in the grounds pleased it’s expletive raining again, the score 6-0 1-4. On 7, it’s Shelton 5-5 Nishikori, but of course they’ve gone off.

Vondrousova has woken up, breaking and consolidating for 0-6 3-0. You get the feeling that Volynets needs to get this done in two, but women’s tennis remains the least predictable sport in the world, so.

I really like how Tsitsipas is playing here – the weight of shot is immense – and when he makes 15-40 at 6-3 0-0, Altmaier spanks an ace out wide before netting. Or, in other words, if his serve doesn’t go a long way towards securing the point, he’s got a problem.

We’re still on serve on Court 7, Shelton and Nishikori locked at 4-4. It’s Shelton looking the likelier, but if the set – and the match – come down to a point here and there, the wily veteran will fancy himself.

Vondrousova is on the board, holding in the first game of set two, while Tsitsipas takes the first set of Altmaier 6-3.

So Volynets has only gone and bagelled Vondrousova in set one, and in fairness she’s been steadily improving the last couple of years. She made round two of this competition in 2022, then round three in Melbourne a year later, and at 22 is settling into her style. She’s doing really well to hang in long rallies – Vondrousova isn’t known for her power – and she’s going for winners whenever she can.

Elsewhere, Sonego leads Zhang 2-1, Korda and Lwon are 2-2. and Shelton, who’s hitting winners, leads Nishikori 3-2 on serve.

Gosh, Volynets is now 4-0 up on Vondrousova. I’m not certain how as there’s no commentary and I’ve mainly had eyes elsewhere, but I’ve just seen Volynets find a lovely angle at the end of a long rally – the kind of angle i’d expect her opponent to create.

Tsitsipas is hitting it hard on Lenglen, but it’s a drop that looks to have given him 0-30. But Altmaier does superbly to run around a lob that wasn’t quite clean enough, slamming a forehand winner cross, with his opponent stranded at the net. Tsitsipas, though, sticks at it, his returning right there, and when he raises two break points, a backhand into the tape means he only needs one. Altmaier 1-3 Tsitsipas.

Can Ben Shelton contend seriously for majors? We’ll need our resident coach calv Betton to rule on that one and one of his lads, Luke Johnson, is playing in the men’s doubles currently so we’ll need to wait on him. But I really like what I see, physically, technically and mentally – he believes. He leads Nishikori 1-0 on serve, while Volynets has broken Vondrousova – who I think is a serious threat here – in game one.

I’m also watching Ben Shelton (15) v Kei Nishikori and Katie Volynets v Marketa Vondrousova (5) – for now.

We’re tossing up on Lenglen and this should be a decent match – Altmaier beat Jannik Sinner in last year’s competition and at 25 is round about his peak, while Tsitsipas is improving with every match on clay.

Preamble