Kimberly Birrell’s first-ever French Open victory rates as the upset of the day as the Australian took down No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 on Tuesday in first-round action at the French Open in Paris.
Birrell lost eight of the first 10 games in the match before impressively storming back to win in one hour, 47 minutes. It was her first career Top 5 victory and third Top 10 win.
Birrell, ranked No. 83 in the world, saved 7 of 12 break points while sending Pegula to her first first-round loss at Roland Garros since 2020. Pegula also lost in the first round at Wimbledon last year in straight sets to Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto, her only other first-round exit at a Grand Slam in the last five years.
For Birrell, it was just her fourth career win in 17 Grand Slam matches with the first three all coming at her homeland Australia Open.
Birrell, 28, had lost nine straight matches at majors and failed to qualify three other times during the stretch prior to Tuesday’s biggest win of her career.
“I don’t really know what to say or think. When I saw the draw and saw I was playing Jessie, I knew it would be really tough,” Birrell said afterward. “I really admire her as a player and person. I tried to take it one point at a time. I thought she played so well in the first set. My goal was to just win one game and slowly gain some confidence. So happy I was able to play probably the best match I’ve played on clay, and able to play (it) during a Grand Slam.”
Pegula had a 30-24 edge in winners but committed 10 more unforced errors (38 to 28).
In the second round, Birrell will face Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynikova, who swept Russia’s Elina Pridankina 6-1, 6-2.
Greece’s Maria Sakkari pulled off her first French Open win since 2022 with a 7-5, 7-6 (3) upset of No. 12 Czech Linda Noskova on the final day of first-round action.
Sakkari, who made the 2021 semifinals at Roland Garros but had lost in the first round each of the last three years, staved off three set points down 5-3 in the second set before winning three of the next four games to force a tiebreaker she comfortably won to advance.
She had seven aces to seven double faults compared to five and nine, respectively, for Noskova, who also had 39 unforced errors. In four French Open appearances, Noskova has never advanced past the second round.
Other than these two matches, it was largely a chaos-free day of action in Paris, with no other seeded competitors losing.
Last year’s runner-up and top seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus began her pursuit of her first French Open title with a 75-minute 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. Sabalenka was actually broken three times but made up for that with six breaks on her opponent’s serve, holding Bouzas Maneiro to nine winners.
“I’d say that the first matches are always the trickiest ones,” Sabalenka said after the match. “Because you’re trying to see where you’re at and trying to get used to conditions and fight the nerves and everything. I’d say that for me always not easy, the first rounds. And then, as more I play, as further I get in the tournament, as more comfortable I get, my level becomes better.”
No. 4 Coco Gauff also won her opener at Roland Garros on Tuesday, finishing remarkably well in a 6-4, 6-0 win over fellow American Taylor Townsend. After getting into a minor car accident while being driven to the first match of her 2025 title defense, Gauff was broken to begin the match and fell in a 3-1 hole before winning 11 of the final 12 games to win in 81 minutes on an uncharacteristically hot day in Paris.
“When I saw it was going to be hot, I definitely think it’s something I do well in and can thrive in a bit because of growing up in Florida,” Gauff said. “I know some people try to practice early, but I try to sometimes practice in the prime of the day, even if it’s shorter, just to get used to (it) because you never know.”
No. 16 Naomi Osaka of Japan, No. 17 Iva Jovic, No. 19 Madison Keys, No. 22 Anna Kalinskaya of Russia and No. 30 Ann Li each won their openers in straight sets. Osaka bested Germany’s Laura Siegemund 6-3, 7-6 (3), Jovic swept Alexandra Eala of the Philippines 6-4, 6-2, Keys needed just 70 minutes to beat Belgium’s Hanne Vandewinkel 6-0, 6-4, Kalinskaya overcame France’s Lois Boisson 6-2, 6-2 and Li took care of China’s Shuai Zhang 6-4, 6-2.
No. 9 Victoria Mboko of Canada followed with a convincing 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Nikola Bartunkova of the Czech Republic in one of the final matches of the day.
In unseeded action, Czech Katerina Siniakova beat Simona Waltert of Switzerland 6-4, 7-6 (4), France’s Diane Parry rallied for an 0-6, 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina, Russia’s Alina Korneeva beat Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy 6-3, 6-3, Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic overcame Ashlyn Krueger 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, France’s Elsa Jacquernot swept Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-3, Egyptian Mayar Sharif beat Hungarian Dalma Galfi 7-5, 6-4, Claire Liu advanced when Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima retired in the third set down 3-6, 6-0, 4-1, Emma Navarro swept Indonesia’s Janice Tjen 6-4, 6-3 and Croatia’s Donna Vekic advanced in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, over France’s Alice Tubello.
–Field Level Media
