The Baseline Top 8: French Open Week 1 highs and lows

From comebacks to grand gestures of kindness and everything in between, it was quite the first week at the French Open. Here’s a look at some of the highs and lows in Roland Garros so far.

1

AN EMOTIONAL RUN

Playing with a heavy heart after the recent loss of his father, Steve Johnson’s run to the third round of the tournament made for a gripping tale.

2

WELCOME BACK PETRA

Petra Kvitova lost in the second round, but was a winner in everyone’s eyes. The two-time Wimbledon champ made her return to tennis after a horrific attack, delighting spectators around the world.

3

JUAN TO REMEMBER

Give Juan Martin del Potro all the sportsmanship awards right now. His actions after his second-round opponent Nicolas Almagro had to retire from their match due to injury won’t soon be forgotten.

4

NO. 1 IS DONE

The year is looking more and more like a lost season after that 2016 dream campaign for Angelique Kerber. The German was the first top-seeded woman to drop her opening match at Roland Garros in the Open Era.

5

FRENCH FLAIR ON THE WOMEN’S SIDE

Kristina Mladenovic, Alize Cornet and Caroline Garcia all made it to the fourth round. Cornet and Garcia play each other next, guaranteeing a second French quarterfinalist. On Sunday, Mladenovic took out defending champion Garbine Muguruza to secure a quarterfinal berth.

6

BEGONE WITH YOU NOW

Laurent Lokoli wanted nothing to do with Martin Klizan at the end of their first-round match, a five-setter won by Klizan. He let him know with a dismissal for the ages when Klizan tried to shake hands.

7

HOW DO THEY KEEP GOING?

French Open favorite Simona Halep has defied the odds with her second-week run, considering she was on the verge of missing the whole tournament with an ankle injury.

Venus Williams has also opened some eyes with her level of play, becoming the oldest woman in the Open Era to reach the fourth round in Paris (where she would fall in three sets to Timea Bacsinszky).

8

WILL THEY PARTY LIKE IT’S 1999?

Novak Djokovic showed up at the tournament with none other than 1999 French Open winner Andre Agassi. The two have hit it off so far, and it’ll be interesting to see if Djokovic, the defending champ, can pull off a repeat.

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