Spoiler:
Later in the day, Casper Ruud, the No. 28 seed, powered his way into the second round to extend his clay-court record to 16-4 this year. The Norwegian, who has been in fine form since the resumption of the ATP Tour last month, cruised past Yuichi Sugita 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 in one hour and 33 minutes.
Ruud, who is competing in Paris at a career-high No. 25 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, hit 35 winners and now faces American Tommy Paul, who won 29 of his 38 first-service points in a first Roland Garros win over James Duckworth 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 43 minutes.
The 21-year-old Ruud won his first ATP Tour title at the Argentina Open (d. P. Sousa) in February and has reached back-to-back semi-finals in recent weeks, at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia (l. to Djokovic) and at the Hamburg European Open (l. to Rublev).
Ruud, who is competing in Paris at a career-high No. 25 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, hit 35 winners and now faces American Tommy Paul, who won 29 of his 38 first-service points in a first Roland Garros win over James Duckworth 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 43 minutes.
The 21-year-old Ruud won his first ATP Tour title at the Argentina Open (d. P. Sousa) in February and has reached back-to-back semi-finals in recent weeks, at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia (l. to Djokovic) and at the Hamburg European Open (l. to Rublev).