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A great player leaves in the first round
In the first big surprise at Roland Garros this year, American Taylor Fritz, who was ranked seventh in the world and the most popular candidate to win half of the Spanish draw, bowed out of the French Championship in the first round after a dramatic defeat by his compatriot Passavaredi, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (9, 6-7), the Spaniard wide open 6-7. hopes led by Rafa Khodar and Alejandro Davidovic.
Expected exit to low level
Despite the shock of an early exit, the result wasn’t entirely surprising given the low profile Fritz arrived in Paris with, having played just one clay-court match this season, at the Geneva Championships, before landing in the French capital.
The American player withdrew from three tournaments in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome, trying to fully recover from chronic tendinitis in the knee, which had been bothering him since the beginning of the year and limited his physical and technical capabilities.
Disastrous performance during training and soreness doesn’t go away
Although he confirmed the pain was gone ahead of his first appearance at Roland Garros, his performance in practice has been poor on clay courts, considered the toughest and most tiring on the joints for the 2014 US Open finalist.
Indeed, Fritz made no secret of the fact that his recovery and season plan revolved around improving his game on grass courts, making it clear that his intentions and desire to compete seriously on clay courts were lacking from the start.
My team refused to accompany me
In a shocking admission that revealed the extent of the crisis he was suffering from, Fritz said at his pre-tournament press conference: “My team literally came up to me after Miami and said,
Anti-inflammatories no longer work
In a more disturbing revelation, Fritz admitted that he had been playing while taking anti-inflammatory medication earlier in the year, but even that temporary fix was no longer working.
He added with remarkable sincerity. “I felt like I was playing while taking anti-inflammatory drugs and I felt better, and then after the game I went back to the game and even while taking them I was in a lot of pain. So this is not an ideal situation and cannot be continued.”
He continued. “Obviously we wanted me to be healthy and in great shape for the grass season with the knee and that’s what we’re working on now.”
Basavareddy continues
The victory sees Basavaredi qualify for the second round, where he will face the winner of the Mickelsen-Shevchenko match, in a clash that could set him up for a possible third-round showdown with Spain’s Rafa Khodar, a semi-tie that was left open by Fritz’s early and sudden exit.
