Tennis is World

Felix Auger-Aliassime survived a major scare Sunday at Roland Garros, rallying from two-sets-to-love down for the first time in his career to reach the second round in Paris for the first time. The World No. 9 recovered from a slow start to overcome Peruvian qualifier Juan Pablo Varillas 2-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 in a dramatic opening day encounter on Court Philippe Chatrier. “It's great. It's such a lovely court,” Auger-Aliassime said. “It's beautiful out there, and so it was really a treat and a pleasure to play on this court. It was disappointing in the match to see how things were going, I really hoped for better. “But I think that's why I also wanted to really push myself and really try everything…I feel like I left it all on the court. Because this was an important day for me, an important win. I really wanted to get this first one here.” In a tight match, the Canadian struggled to cope with the World No. 122’s variety and intensity in the first two sets

No. 56 Magda Linette stunned No. 6 seed Ons Jabeur, bouncing the Tunisian star in the first round of the French Open Sunday. The Polish underdog outlasted Jabeur in the two-and-a-half-hour battle, notching a 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-5 three-set win. Linette was only 2-16 against Top 10 opponents heading into Sunday’s contest, falling to Jabeur in the third round of the French Open last year. The unseeded Pole played clean tennis to overcome the No. 6 seed, registering 35 unforced errors to Jabeur’s 47. Jabeur has been dominant on dirt up until Sunday’s upset, winning a tour-leading 17 matches on clay in 2022. “I am just happy I managed to fight for every single point,” said Linette following the match, acknowledging the challenge Jabeur presented on clay. Linette now advances to the second round, where she will face the winner of Martina Trevisan and Harriet Dart.