CIAO, SCHIAVONEIJ
There were moments during what might have been 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone's last French Open match that she got rather emotional at Court Philippe Chatrier Truth is, it's the future that she finds most difficult to define. Before the Australian Open in January, Schiavone (pronounced skee-ah-VOH-nay) announced that she would retire this year. But when asked after a 6-2, 6-4 loss to defending champion Garbine Muguruza in the first round on Monday whether she could see herself competing in 2018, Schiavone replied: "Can be. You never know."
GUlBIS STRUGGlES
Not long ago, Ernests Gulbis played a semifinal at the French Open then broke into the top 10. A long list of injuries later, the latvian player has dropped to 230 in the ATP rankings and there is no sign he will get back to his best soon. Gulbis, who reached the semifinals in Paris three years ago after beating the likes of Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych, lost to No 7-seeded Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in the first round of Roland Garros on Monday. He said injuries to his calf and wrist hampered his preparations for the tournament. "I started to play points just three days ago and it was the best that I could do in these circumstances," he said. Once a bright prospect, Gulbis has turned into a 28-year-old unfulfilled talent still searching for a first win on tour since the French Open last year.
US MAN OUT
Jack Sock went to the island of Mallorca ahead of the French Open, planning to train with Rafael Nadal. Didn't work out that way. "It was supposed to be with Rafa," Sock lamented, "until he won Monte Carlo and Barcelona and every tournament he plays." So Nadal took some time off, and Sock wound up practicing with lower-tier players. Then he came to Roland Garros and endured a first-round exit at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament for the first time, losing as the No 14 seed to Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic 7-5, 7-5, 6-3 on Monday. "Overall," the highest-ranked American man summed up, "pretty horrendous day for me." He added: "I tried to get back in it, but when I was missing so many shots I was missing, seemed like an inevitable loss for me." Sock did not offer much in the way of specific explanations for what he thought went wrong.