Key events
Raducanu is getting nowt for nowt, forced to 30-all as she seeks her endorsement. From there, though, she does well to close out for 4-2, while Bouzas Maneiro breaks Navarra at the start of srt two for 6-0 1-0. This is an absolute tousing … so far.
Inside-out backhand to the corner … and Wang can’t control her response. Raducanu breaks again, for 3-2, and can she hold on to it this time?
Back on Lenglen, Bouzas Maneiro completes her bagel, which reminds me my 11-year-old is downstairs making focaccia. It doesn’t yet smell like my intervention is required, but I guess I should remind her that I’m hungry.
Bouzas Maneiro is all over Navarro – when I began typing it was 4-0, now it’s 5-0. It’s not exactly a clay-court thing either; rather, she’s clouting the fuzz off it.
Elsewhere, Ruud leads Ramos-Vinolas 4-1; Rybakina leads Riera 6-1; Nishioka leads Popyrin 4-3 on serve; Tabilo leads Cazaux 4-1 in a match that could go long; Korda leads Darderi 6-2 1-0; and Raducanu, 2-2 with Wang, has two break points,
I’m not sure if everyone’s trying to camouflage with the clay, but there are a lot of clay-coloured rigs on show this morning. More news as I get it.
A well-directed serve saves Raducanu a break point. But on deuce she goes long with a moon ball, then a double, the second part of which was one of the worst serves you’ll ever see, and Wang is on the board at 1-1. Meantime, Bouzas Maneiro breaks Navarro a second time to lead 3-0 and on 7, Blanchet, a qualifier, leads Gaston 4-0.
Elsewhere, Rybakina leads Riera 3-0 and Korda leads Darderi 3-1. I think there’s a fair chance it’s just me who calls him Smurf, dardas being smurf in Hebrew.
A backhand winner down the line raises two break points for Bouzas Maneiro … both saved by Navarro. So to deuce we go and they’re absolutely zetzing it now, Bouzas Maneiro converting her second advantage for 1-0. Already, this looks like a belting tussle while, on Court 8, Wang is serving having come back from 0-30 down to deuce. As I type, though, Raducanu punishes a return then a swing-volley for advantage, Wang then swipes wide, and that’s a break too.
Emma Navarro knows herself. This last year, she’s gone deeper in all four Slams than ever before – the last eight at the Aussie Open and Wimbledon, round four in Paris and the semis in New York – as well as her highest ranking, eight. I’m not certain she’s the weapons to beat the best on the biggest occasions, but she’s at one with her game and a seriously dangerous match-player.
Bouzas Maneiro, though, knows how to play on clay and is also settled into herself – last year, she binned Marketa Vondrousova, the defending champion, at Wimbledon – and this should be a fun tussle.
So where do we start? Good question. But fear not, I’ll now stop responding to myself and say I’ll be watching Raducanu v Wang, Bouzas Maneiro v Navarro and Ruud v Ramos-Vinolas. To begin with…
Preamble
Salut et bienvenue à Roland-Garros 2025 – deuxième jour!
An absolutely indecent quantity of stupendous tennis awaits us today – so much so that it’s hard to know where to start, but we’ll do our best!
The match of the day comes second on Chatrier, where Naomi Osaka takes on Paula Badosa – I’d not want to be a ball in that one. Before that, though, we’ll see Iga Świątek, going for an unprecedented fourth title in a row but horribly out of confidence, along with Emma Navarro, seeded nine, against the canny Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
Then, later in the day, Katie Boulter begins her campaign against the qualifier, Carole Monnet; Madison Keys, the US Open champion – and what a thrill it is to type those words – takes on Daria Saville; while Elena Rybakina, Daria Kasatkina and Barbora Krejcikova are also in action.
And goodness me, that isn’t it – in fact that’s so far from it, it’s barely possible to process. Because coming right up are Jelena Ostapenko, Emma Raducanu v Wang Xiyu and Danielle Collins v Jodie Burrage – before we even take a look at the men’s competition.
Which of course is popping too. Carlos Alcaraz, the defending champion gets back involved; Taylor Fritz, seeded four, faces a nasty opener against Daniel Altmaier; Holger Rune, seeded 10, meets Roberto Bautista Agut; Jacob Fearnley encounters Stan Wawrinka; with Stefanos Tsitsipas, Arthur Fils, Seb Korda and Casper Ruud all drawn against tricky opponents.
On y va!
Play: 11am local, 10am BST; Chatrier 12pm local, 11am BST.
