A stressful journey, a long wait – and then the constant rain: Maximilian Marterer’s start to the French Open could have been easier, but the result was still flawless. With a smooth 6:3, 6:2, 6:0 win against the Australian Jordan Thompson, the 28-year-old from Nuremberg easily made it into the second round on Sunday – and then took a deep breath.
“I’m happy that we got off to a good start,” said Marterer, who secured the first German victory in the main round of Roland Garros and certainly made a small statement. Laura Siegemund and Eva Lys, who both won their first set but were unable to maintain their lead, have already been eliminated. Tatjana Maria has also already been eliminated.
Marterer was completely different, reaching the second round for the first time in six years – back then he had surprisingly made it to the round of 16. The world number 101 was not disturbed by a long rain break. “I tried to keep the tension high. It was of course ideal that I managed the break straight after the break,” he said.
Strangely, Marterer had to wait days for his match. At first it looked as though he would have to compete in the qualification, so he traveled to Paris at Whitsun. “But all the trains were fully booked and all the flights were extremely full. On Saturday evening I was still on standby, but then I was able to fly,” he said. When he arrived in Paris, he slipped into the main field: “I hadn’t expected that at all.”
For Siegemund and Lys, however, it was a good start but they were eliminated. World-class doubles player Siegemund lost to former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin (USA) 6:4, 2:6, 2:6, while qualifier Lys missed a surprise against Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia with a 6:4, 5:7, 2:6 win. Hamburg’s Lys led 4:3 against 21st seed Garcia in the second set, but left the court as the loser. Tatjana Maria, who reached the semifinals at Wimbledon two years ago, lost in straight sets to Denmark’s Clara Tauson.
