GRIFFIN DOMBROSKE
Special to The Leader
It’s October, so you know what that means for all of the tennis lovers.
The French Open generally runs every year for two weeks in late May into early June.
This year, however, it was pushed back several times due to COVID-related issues.
Even though it seemed unlikely that they would ever play, the International Tennis Federation kicked off the competition last Sunday with some stunning performances from some of the players.
In the men’s singles, last year’s champion, Rafael Nadal is currently the fan favorite, having swept through the first four rounds in a surgical fashion.
Additionally, U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem managed to hold off French wildcard entry, Hugo Gaston in a very sweaty five-set win.
In the women’s singles, Polish 19-year-old Iga Swiatek turned the tables on Simona Halep, who beat Swaitek in the same round last year.
With that win, Swiatek became the only remaining teenager in the tournament.
Also in women’s singles, Serena Williams lost in the second round due to a walkover.
In tennis, a walkover is surprisingly not when a player walks over. It is when a player either cancels a match less than 24 hours before or fails to show up at all.
Shortly after her second match, Williams announced that she would be withdrawing from the tournament due to a lingering Achilles injury.
This unfortunate incident meant that Williams avoided having to face off against her sister Venus Williams, which would have been a match to watch.
In other news, a bit of controversy arose after the fourth round finished.
German player Alexander Zverev came out and said that he played the entire match without being able to breathe and with a 100.4 degree fever.
While the testing is still being done, this hiccup raises some questions about the restarting of the sport.
Have they started up too early?
With COVID still being a big issue in Paris, it’s easy to say that it’s a distinct possibility, but other than Zverev, there hasn’t been much of a problem thus far.
Assuming the tournament continues as expected, we are sure to see some stunning performances from the athletes still competing.