The final week before Roland-Garros delivered its first verdicts. From Hamburg to Strasbourg via Geneva and the Paris qualifying rounds, the tour is running at full throttle.
In Hamburg, Ben Shelton had to dig deep in his opener. The American second seed fought past compatriot Marcos Giron 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(3) in a tight encounter. After dropping the second set, Shelton made the difference in the deciding tie-break to claim his first win since lifting the Munich title. Alex de Minaur also advanced through the first round.
In Strasbourg, the headline story was Maria Sakkari getting demolished 6-3, 6-1 by Peyton Stearns in 76 minutes. The former world number 3 has just one clay win this season. On the brighter side, Leylah Fernandez beat Léolia Jeanjean 6-1, 7-5, Emma Navarro dispatched Sara Bejlek 6-1, 6-4, and Daria Kasatkina overcame Liudmila Samsonova 7-5, 6-3. Magdalena Frech also progressed, 7-6(0), 6-3.
In Roland-Garros qualifying, David Goffin made a strong start. The Belgian crushed Chun-Hsin Tseng 6-3, 6-1 and will face Britain's Toby Samuel in the second round. Grigor Dimitrov, the top seed in qualifying, also began his campaign, competing in Grand Slam qualifying for the first time since the 2011 Australian Open.
In Geneva, Casper Ruud is the clear favourite after his Rome final run. The Norwegian opened against Jenson Brooksby on Monday. The Geneva field offers a final clay test before the Parisian fortnight.
The engine is running. In six days, the Roland-Garros main draws will be revealed. Until then, every match matters for fine-tuning form, building rhythm, or simply surviving a packed schedule.
