French Open Day 3 recap: Daniil Medvedev shushing booing crowd and more
Day 3 of the 2023 French Open had a lot of thrilling matches and drama as the first round of the singles tournaments came to a close.
Iga Swiatek had a strong start to her title defense as she beat Cristina Bucsa 6-4, 6-0. The likes of Holger Rune, Taylor Fritz, and Coco Gauff all progressed to the second round with wins over Christopher Eubanks, Michael Mmoh, and Rebeka Masarova respectively.
There were also a few upsets, the most notable being Daniil Medvedev's loss to World No. 172 Thiago Seyboth Wild. 2021 champion Barbore Krejcikova and this season's Italian Open runner-up Anhelina Kalinina also bit the dust in the first hurdle, losing to Lesia Tsurenko and Diane Parry respectively.
It was an eventful day of tennis which also had its fair share of drama. On that note, let's take a look at some of the talking points from Day 3 of the French Open.
#1. Daniil Medvedev shushes the booing crowd
ATP second seed Daniil Medvedev entered the French Open as one of the favorites to win following his incredible victory at the Italian Open. However, the Russian suffered a 7-6(5), 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat to World No. 172 Thiago Seyboth Wild in the opening round.
The match had a moment of drama in the fourth set when Medvedev had his doubts regarding a line call. Chair umpire Aurelie Tourte came to check and the crowd soon began to boo the 27-year-old. Medvedev responded by repeatedly shushing them, claiming he was having a word with the umpire.
The Russian said in his post-match press conference that he was simply telling the crowd to shut up as he was discussing the line call with Tourte.
"I was just discussing with her like where does she see the ball in, and getting booed for whatever reason. I just told them to shut up, and that's it. Because I was discussing with another person, not with them, so they should shut up at this moment," he said.
Medvedev with the crowd control 🤫
#RolandGarros
https://t.co/NgyVkw07hU
#2. Miomir Kecmanovic's code violation for hitting the ball outside the court
ATP 31st seed Miomir Kecmanovic suffered a 5-7, 2-6, 7-6(8), 7-6(3), 7-6(9) defeat to Andrea Vavassori in the first round of the French Open. He started the match brilliantly and took the opening two sets 7-5, 6-2.
Vavassori fought back in the third and won it by a tiebreak before leading 5-3 in the fourth set. At this point, a ball from another court came in just as Kecmanovic served. The chair umpire asked to replay the point and the Serb, annoyed with the disruption, blasted the ball back to where it came from.
Kecmanovic was given a code violation for his actions and was far from pleased with it. He had a word with the umpire before asking for the supervisor, who did intervene.
#3. Gael Monfils registers first tour-level win in nine months
Gael Monfils' 2022 season was hampered by injuries and was eventually cut short after he hurt his foot at the Canadian Open.
Monfils returned to action this year at the Indian Wells Masters, where he endured a first-round defeat to Jordan Thompson. He then retired in his opening match at the Miami Masters due to a wrist injury.
The Frenchman endured opening-round defeats in Banja Luka and Lyon before getting his first win of the season at the French Open. He defeated Sebastian Baez 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 to book his place in the second round of the claycourt Major. It was the 36-year-old first win in a tour-level match in over nine months.
Monfils' win comes a day after his wife Elina Svitolina registered her first Grand Slam match win since becoming a mother.