Officially, the French Open started today. Fans streamed through the gates, packing Roland Garros, lining up for crepes and champagne and Aperol spritzes.
Grand slam champions played — Alcaraz, Osaka, Ostapenko — and came away with victories, even Osaka, who nearly gave away her match twice, squandering a 4-0 lead in the third set before beating Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 4-6, 7-5. The defending champion, Novak Djokovic arrived.
And yet it all felt like a prelude, a kind of overture before the real business of the competition takes place,. Yesterday afternoon, the lines were 40-deep to get into Court Suzanne Lenglen , before the tournament had begun in earnest.
Why? Because Rafael Nadal was practising there. Below, Matthew Futterman previews his first-round match against Alexander Zverev. Don’t miss it.
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Rafael Nadal vs Alexander Zverev preview: Nadal’s French Open aura is its own opponent
First appeared on www.nytimes.com