 "French Open 2017, Day 1 highlights: Madison Brengle's Parisian holiday, Dominic 'Thief' and more")
The first day at Roland Garros saw the inspiring Petra Kvitova triumph in an emotional comeback while World No 1 Angelique Kerber lost to Ekaterina Makarova in the very first round. Here’s a look at some of the off-court stories from French Open 2017. Age trumps youth [caption id=“attachment_3493573” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  USA’s Amanda Anisimova in action during her first round match against Japan’s Kurumi Nara at French Open 2017. Reuters[/caption] At just 15, America’s Amanda Anisimova was the youngest player in the draw since Alize Cornet in 2005. But despite a promising start, she lost 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Japan’s Kurumi Nara, 10 years her senior. The match featured 14 breaks of serve. Brengle gets bike buzz Madison Brengle likes to relax in Paris by sitting on the back of a Vespa moped, leaving friend and French player Julie Coin to do the steering. “This is the highlight. She has a little yellow one and I named it Bumble. So, I’m like, I just want to go every where on Bumble. Take me on Bumble. So that’s the highlight of Paris for me is riding the Vespa.” Not you, again! Ivo Karlovic will face Horacio Zeballos in the second round having already defeated the Argentine at the Australian Open in a five-setter lasting five hours and 14 minutes. The giant Croatian came back from two sets down to triumph in a 22-20 final set. “I like those kind of matches and that’s what I will remember. So hopefully not like this long match, but if it’s another epic match, I am all in,” said 38-year-old Karlovic. Thief spells trouble for Thiem Highly-rated Austrian Dominic Thiem may be a title contender having made the semi-finals last year and beating Rafael Nadal in Rome this year. But he has yet to reach the radar of media officials at the tournament. On a list of media conferences, he was listed as Dominic Thief rather than Thiem before the error was spotted. Thiem, meanwhile, won his opener on Sunday in straight sets against Bernard Tomic.
Spotted on the French Open transcripts website.... is this a new @bgtennisnation nickname? #DominicThief pic.twitter.com/ZDv6VGsQCJ
— Stuart Fraser (@stu_fraser) May 26, 2017
In the mood for love
So this just happened 💍 pic.twitter.com/CSEedRvxOd
— Sam Groth MP (@SamGrothMP) May 26, 2017
Australia’s Sam Groth was in the mood for love on the eve of the French Open by proposing to his girlfriend Britt Boys in Paris’s Jardin de Luxembourg. He tweeted a photo with him on one knee – Boys said ‘yes’. Last year, America’s Taylor Fritz asked Racquel Padraza to marry him in front of the Eiffel Tower. Kvitova’s comeback a reason to celebrate for all:
Congratulations to @Petra_Kvitova for so much more than winning a tennis match today. pic.twitter.com/rxPtVghEGS
— Julia Boserup (@juliaboserup) May 28, 2017
“I promised my doctor, who gave me the green light, that if I feel pain in my hand during the match or in the practice, I’m stopping immediately.” — Petra Kvitova after winning her first match following a knife attack six months ago “I don’t want to think of what she’s gone through. I saw her this morning and I hugged her. I’m like, How are you doing? How are you? How was time off?” — Svetlana Kuznetsova on the return of Kvitova “It was such a traumatic experience. I’m really happy for her and I’m glad to see all of the players giving her a warm welcome back because she deserves it and she’s such a great champion and a truly amazing person off the court that, you know, she deserves that and more.” — Olympic champion Monica Puig on Kvitova’s return
Tears in my eyes watching @Petra_Kvitova winning her first come back match at RG 😢😢😢 so emotional and inspiring... Bravo Petra ! #fighter
— Alize Cornet (@alizecornet) May 28, 2017
Impact Shorts
More ShortsStats of the day: 50 — match wins at Roland Garros by 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova after her opening victory over Christina McHale. 55/48 — the winners and unforced errors hit by Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko in her win over Louisa Chirico of the US. 79 — winners by Julia Georges in her three-set defeat (13-11 in final set) to Madison Brengle. With inputs from AFP
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