PARIS, Sept 28: That Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka were back together on Court Philippe Chatrier, all these years and operations later, was something of an accomplishment � not to mention a rare first-round matchup between past Grand Slam champions. Only one, Wawrinka, played like it.
Having no trouble smacking his one-handed backhand and other strokes through the thick air as the fall-time French Open got going on Sunday, the barrel-chested Wawrinka needed just 97 minutes to overwhelm Murray 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.
The six games collected by Murray equalled the fewest he has managed in any of his 237 career Grand Slam matches; that also happened in a loss at Roland Garros in 2014 against 12-time champion Rafael Nadal. �I�ll need to have a long, hard think,� said Murray, ranked 111th as he works his way back from two hip surgeries, and try and understand what happened.
One big problem: He didn�t serve well, putting only 36 per cent of his first serves in play.
Another: He didn�t return particularly well either and won only 25 per cent of points in Wawrinka�s service games.
Murray said those things weren�t related to his artificial hip.
�It�s going to be difficult for me to play the same level as I did before. I mean, I�m 33 now and I was ranked No. 1 in the world, so it�s difficult with all the issues that I have had,� Murray said.
�But, yeah, I�ll keep going. Let�s see what the next few months holds, and I reckon I won�t play a match like that between now and the end of the year.�
This was the first time two men with Grand Slam titles � Murray and Wawrinka each own three such trophies � played each other in the first round at Roland Garros since Yevgeny Kafelnikov against Michael Chang in 1999, and at any major tournament since Novak Djokovic faced Juan Carlos Ferrero at Wimbledon in 2012.
Murray and Wawrinka met in the 2017 semifinals in Paris and neither has been quite the same since.
�Many things happened to him,� said the 35-year-old Wawrinka, who is seeded 16th.
�To me, also.�
But 2015 French Open champion Wawrinka�s road back from two procedures on his knee has been less arduous than Murray�s journey.
And Wawrinka�s path in Paris continues for at least another match.
Venus Williams finished 2020 with an 0-3 record in Grand Slam matches, adding a first-round exit at the French Open to those she had at the Australian Open and US Open.
After her 6-4, 6-4 loss to Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in front of a handful of spectators at Court Simone Mathieu, the 40-year-old Williams said that, no, she would not play again this season � but that, yes, she definitely will be back on tour in 2021.
�It�s really just about going back and re-evaluating and moving on as quick as possible,� Williams said.
�It�s been a very long year of quarantine. Now I�ll get to rest. So I�m looking forward to that.�
She is a seven-time major champion and was the 2002 runner-up at the French Open to her younger sister, Serena. But after a resurgent 2017 reaching two finals at Grand Slam tournaments and making it to the semifinals at another � the older Williams has not enjoyed much success at her sport�s four most important events.
Dating to the start of 2018, she now has failed to get past the first round in seven of the past 11 Slams.
Schmiedlova plays US Open runner-up Victoria Azarenka in the second round.
And what�s next for Williams?
�I�m going home from here. I�m done,� she said. �If there is somewhere to play, I won�t be there.�
For Sebastian Korda, sports success is all in the family.
The 20-year-old American�s father, Petr, won the 1998 Australian Open and was the runner-up at the 1992 French Open; his mother, Regina, reached the top 30 in the WTA rankings.
Korda is making a name for himself now, earning his first main-draw match win at a Grand Slam tournament by beating Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 after qualifying for the French Open. � AP
