8 shocking tennis results from 1R at Paris Olympics ft. Jelena Ostapenko and Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka, Jelena Ostapenko, Chris Ebanks and Arthur Fils were among the players who were shockingly eliminated in the opening round of the 2024 Paris Olympics that concluded on Monday, July 28.
Tennis at the Games began with a bang on Sunday, July 27, as top players including Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek progressed to the second round. A few otheres, however, were not as lucky.
Let's take a closer look at eight first-round upsets at the Games.
#1 Jelena Ostapenko
World No. 11 Jelena Ostapenko clashed with Camila Osorio. With the Adelaide International and the Linz Open titles under her belt, Ostapenko was a big favorite against the Copa Colsanitas title-winner and World No. 83 Osorio.
Ostapenko's aggressive style pitted against Osorio's strong defense and tactical play was expected to make this a tightly contested match.
Surprisingly, Osorio ousted the 2017 French Open champion in their first on-court encounter with a scoreline of 6-4, 6-3. Osorio will next face Dayana Yastremska in the second round.
#2 Chris Eubanks
Chris Eubanks was stunned in the opening round by Lebanon's Benjamin Hassan. The clay of Roland Garros proved to be a challenge for the American, who has not gone past the first round of any French Open that he has competed in.
Hassan eventually handed Eubanks a 6-4, 6-2 defeat in just 53 minutes.
Hassan will next play Sebastian Baez in the second round.
#3 Arthur Fils
Matteo Arnaldi edged Arthur Fils 6-4, 7-6 in the opening round. Arnaldi had a 4-0 lead in the duo's head-to-head prior to this clash.
Fils' recent Hamburg Open title-win against Alexander Zverev was likely to have been a huge confidence boost. The Frenchman was also the crowd favorite as he was vying for the Olympic gold on home soil. However, Fils couldn't keep up with Arnaldi's power hitting and went down in straight sets.
Arnaldi will next play Dominik Koepfer in the next round.
#4 Nicolas Jarry
16th seed Nicolas Jarry clashed with Alexei Popyrin for a spot in the second round. Jarry has had some strong results on clay this year, including a runner-up finish at the Rome Masters where he lost in the final to Alexander Zverev.
But the Chilean found his match in Popyrin, who had previously stunned defending champion Andrey Rublev in the Round of 32 at the Monte-Carlo Masters, also held on clay.
Popyrin defeated Jarry 6-3, 7-6 to set up a second-round encounter against Stan Wawrinka at the Olympics.
#5 Katie Boulter
Katie Boulter was a strong contender for the win in her match against against World No. 67 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. Boulter has won two titles this season so far - the Rothesay Open and the San Diego Open - while Schmiedlova is still in the quest for her maiden title.
However, the Slovak cut Boulter's debut at the Games short with a 6-4, 6-2 victory. She will play Beatriz Haddad Maia in the next round.
#6 Mirra Andreeva
Magda Linette knocked out Mirra Andreeva in the latter's first Olympic outing. Linette came into the match fresh off her title-winning run at the Prague Open. The 32-year old's experience prevailed over the 17-year-old's talent as she defeated the latter 6-3, 6-4.
Linette will play this year's French Open runner-up Jasmine Paolini in the second round.
#7 Caroline Garcia
Two-time doubles French Open champion Caroline Garcia was the clear favorite in her opening round match against Jaqueline Cristian. It was Garcia's third Olympic outing, but first on home soil.
Garcia was unable to get the better of Cristian, who came from behind to win the match 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.
Cristian will next play Angelique Kerber in the second round.
#8 Naomi Osaka
Three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber sailed past Naomi Osaka in the opening round of the Paris Olympics.
The contest was expected to be tighter considering Naomi Osaka's performance against Iga Swiatek in the second round of the 2024 French Open. While Osaka lost the match, she did give the reigning French Open champion a scare in their three-set battle that lasted 2 hours and 57 minutes.
However, the Japanese couldn't recreate the same form in her match against Kerber, who will next play Jacqueline Cristian in the second round.