PARIS, France – Round 1 of the 2019 French Open is in the books after three days of riveting play. WTA Insider dumps out the Notebook on the best of the opening days at Roland Garros.
Naomi, Simona, Serena come through their first tests.
There was plenty of drama on Court Philippe Chatrier in the first round, as No.1 Naomi Osaka, defending champion Simona Halep, and 23-time major champion Serena Williams all needed three sets to get their fraught first wins under their belts.
Playing her first ever match on Chatrier, Osaka came back from the brink by breaking Anna Karolina Schmiedlova as the Slovakian served for the win twice, to win 0-6, 7-6(4), 6-1. Osaka extended her record to 12-1 in the first round of the Slams, with her only loss coming in 2017 to Alison Van Uytvanck.
Returning to Chatrier for the first time since lifting the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen, defending champion Halep had to hold off a very good Ajla Tomljanovic, who has now taken Halep to three sets in both their meetings. The Aussie successfully pounded her way into a third set, but could not hold her level. Halep came through with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win and a solid level of play for her first match.